November 18, 2008 05:22 pm
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By JIM OTTS
Register Correspondent
THACKERVILLE, Okla. — The Thackerville Wildcats scored four touchdowns and added a safety in a little more than five minutes Friday and eventually sent the Boise City Wildcats home in merciful fashion 54-6.
The Boise City squad traveled 449 miles across Oklahoma for the playoff meeting of Wildcats just to get 45’ed.
“I never thought it would happen this way,” Thackerville Coach Cody McCage said. “Our offense came out hot and fired on all cylinders.”
The passing game seemed to find some extra cylinders from the opening bell.
On the first play from scrimmage quarterback Hunter McCage connected with Tague Hinkley for a 59-yard touchdown. Colton Young bulled his way into the end zone on the PAT try to give the hometown Wildcats the 8-0 lead.
Hinkley proved to be the favorite target for McCage with four receptions good for 111 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a pass good for two points on a conversion attempt and made one twisting catch for 33 yards to set up another TD.
“He (Hinkley) has been doing that all year,” Cody McCage said. “I don’t think there is a defender in our classification who can keep up with him.”
Boise City had its moment following the first Thackerville TD.
The visitors used runs by fullback Dalton Hunt and running back Reed Gore to take the ball 59 yards to paydirt. Gore went over the doublestripes with a pitch sweep to the left from the five on the drive’s 14th play. The same play on the PAT try got stuffed, however, foiling BC efforts to tie.
Gore carried for 26 yards, Hunt for 10 and quarterback Trey Sparkman once for two during that drive and the BC Cats picked up all five of their first downs along the way.
Thackerville defenders buckled down and held BC to 23 passing yards and minus one yard rushing through two quarters. The host Cats also caused and recovered two BC fumbles.
But the story was the offensive explosion during the latter stages of the first quarter.
Colton Hackler took the BC kickoff and ran it to the visitor’s 25. A McCage to Hinkley pass got it to the nine and a 3-yarder, McCage to Hinkley, found paydirt two plays later.
Boise City went three-and-out, then punted to the Thackerville 34. The 33-yard McCage to Hinkley combination got the T-Cats closer and McCage threw a 13-yard strike to Aaron Vondrak for the TD.
Two plays later Thackerville recovered a Hunt fumble at the BC 20 and a 3-yard pass from McCage to Hackler capped off that short drive.
A scant 40 seconds after that, Thackerville brought the dogs to pressure BC quarterback Sparkman and he threw the ball away to avoid the sack. He was in the end zone at the time and officials called intentional grounding. By rule Thackerville was awarded a safety.
Boise City had to kick from its own 15 and T.J. Richey ran the ball back to the B-Cats 35. Jonathan Buckaloo started inside, broke out to the left and went the distance.
McCage threw a middle screen to Vondrak for an 18-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-six play and Richey had a 4-yard run midway through the second stanza to cap Thackerville scoring.
Boise City needed a score to avoid the 45-point mercy rule prevalent in 8-man football and increased its defensive efforts and used its allotment of times out to try and get the ball back.
The guests succeeded in stopping a Thackerville drive and appeared to get a needed break when Richey’s punt went off the side of his foot and went backward 10 yards and out of bounds at the T-Cat 26.
Sparkman rolled to his left and looked for a receiver downfield, but got knocked down and fumbled the ball toward the sideline. Vondrak alertly pounced on the loose pigskin just before it reached the stripe and Thackerville was able to run out the clock,
Boise City finished the year at 7-4.
Thackerville moves to 11-0 and will host the winner of the Covington-Douglas, Claremore Christian game next Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
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