EDMOND — One cut back to the middle of the field, and Alex Ross was gone.

So, it soon became apparent, were the championship hopes of Edmond Santa Fe.

A 91-yard touchdown scamper by Jenks’ star tailback turned the momentum, and allowed the perennial powerhouse Trojans to pull away from the Wolves, 48-21, in the Class 6A state football quarterfinals at Wantland Stadium on Friday night. Ross, a University of Oklahoma signee, rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns in his first game back since a collar bone injury in week 6.

The loss finishes the season for the Wolves at 10-2, as they come up short in their bid for a fifth state semifinal trip in school history. Jenks will meet rival Tulsa Union in the 6A state semifinals.

“They were better than us tonight, but we didn’t help ourselves,” ESF head coach Lance Manning said. “We had too many turnovers, and you just can’t do that against these guys. We weren’t sound enough to beat them, and that was one of the things we knew we had to do going in.”

Aside from being unable to stop Ross, Santa Fe’s biggest obstacle most certainly was turnovers. The Wolves had five of them, not including the times when they turned it over on downs or a high Jenks kickoff that was caught by the wind and recovered near midfield by the Trojans.

In fact, the miscues started almost immediately. Jenks defensive back Matt Linscott intercepted a pass on the fifth offensive play of the game and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown and an early Trojan lead. The Wolves would fumble the ball away two more times before halftime, including one that was returned for another Jenks defensive score.

Still, thanks to 246 yards of offense in the first half, the Wolves found themselves behind only 28-21 and with the momentum late in the third quarter. That’s when Ross broke loose, on a third-and-10 play, for his long touchdown run. Not even Santa Fe speedster Trevan Smith could catch Ross, who put the Trojans up 35-21.

That was followed by an interception, which led to a short field and another Jenks score. Suddenly, it was 42-21, and Santa Fe was in a hole it wouldn’t come out of.

The Wolves ran the ball sparingly, enabling quarterback Justice Hansen to put up big numbers. He finished 26-of-39 for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Blitzed pretty much the entire night, Hansen was sacked four times and also threw three interceptions.

Santa Fe showed it could withstand punches early on. After the early pick-six, the Wolves answered right back, going 80 yards in nine plays, as Phillip Sumpter evened the score on a 27-yard touchdown run. Jenks regained the lead early in the second quarter on a 17-yard scoring romp, but Santa Fe again answered. The Wolves got a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Sumpter to make it 14-14.

A Santa Fe fumble meant the Trojans had to go just 55 yards to get their next score, then Jenks scooped up a fumble on a quarterback sack and rumbled 15 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-14. The Wolves kept punching, though, as Hansen found Tre Kelley in the back of the end zone for a 33-yard strike with just 1:28 left before halftime.

The loss was the final outing for a talented group of seniors, yet Santa Fe played 2011 with one of the youngest squads in Class 6A and promises to be an early favorite for next season. Plus, after going 1-9 a year ago, it was easy to find the silver lining in this one.

“These guys have had people telling them all year how great they’ve done, and they deserve it,” Manning said. “I’m proud of the kids and how they bought in and prepared. They did a wonderful job.”

 

Trojans 48, Wolves 21



Jenks            7 21 7 13 - 48

Santa Fe       7 14 0  0  - 21

 

Scoring

First period

Jenks - Linscott 45 interception return (King kick), 10:05

ESF - Sumpter 27 run (Freeman kick), 7:46

Second period

Jenks - Barr’e 17 run (King kick), 10:48

ESF - Hansen 26 pass to Sumpter (Freeman kick), 8:07

Jenks - Ross 20 run (King kick), 3:18

Jenks - Jones 15 fumble return (King kick), 3:02

ESF - Hansen 33 pass to Kelley (Freeman kick), 1:28

Third period

Jenks - Ross 91 run (King kick), 1:53

Fourth period

Jenks - Collins 25 pass to Michalczewski (King kick), 11:53

Jenks - Ross 40 run (run failed), 1:51

 

Individual statistics

Rushing: ESF - Hansen 12-31; Sumpter 5-40 TD.

Passing: ESF - Hansen 26-39-352-3 2 TDs.

Receiving: ESF - Jefferson 7-87; Smith 7-85; Sumpter 5-44 TD; James 4-76; Kelley 3-49 TD; Moore 1-20.