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SPRUILL: 'Dogs end 15-year drought
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DREW HARMON | THE EDMOND SUN Edmond Memorial head coach Justin Merideth talks to his team from the sidelines during the Mustang win Friday night. Drew Harmon
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DREW HARMON | THE EDMOND SUN The Edmond Memorial pom squad urges on the Bulldog crowd during the win over Mustang Friday night. Drew Harmon
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TREVOR HULTNER | THE EDMOND SUN Edmond Memorial defensive back Hunter Dawson jogs back from the endzone after returning an interception the full length of the field for a touchdown Friday night. Trevor Hultner
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It was a scene that was 15 years in the making. After getting to the playoffs for the third straight season, Edmond Memorial finally got the monkey off its back, and did so in a big way, knocking off No. 6-ranked Mustang 38-7 at Wantland Stadium on Friday night.
And in the middle of it all, Memorial athletic director Mike De la Garza was enjoying every second of it.
“We haven’t won a playoff game since 1994. At the pep assembly today we announced to our kids that it’s our time. If not us, then who? If not now then when? It’s our time,” De la Garza said.
Why not? Though numerous news outlets predicted a big scoring output by Mustang’s high-powered offense, Memorial was having none it. And why should they? They had faced Midwest City and Southmoore, two of the state’s top offenses already. And the most they had given up was 22 points in a single game. Before Mustang scored on a short field following a Bulldog turnover, it had been 12 quarters since anyone had scored on Memorial.
Memorial’s defense gave up some yards, but they never did break. Daniel Farrow had his moments, but couldn’t take over. This defense who gave up just 8.4 points a game throughout the regular season, forced four turnovers in the first half.
“Did I think we would hold them to seven, I knew we were going to hold them down, seven points is unbelievable,” Memorial head coach Justin Merideth said. “We knew we could lean on our defense. Defense is what wins games in the playoffs.”
Teams can big play you with their offense. Memorial big played Mustang with it’s defense at crucial moments in the game. They stripped Farrow of the ball at the half-yard line late in the first quarter, as they held a 7-0 lead.
Then as the Broncos tried to make it a seven-point game just before the half, Hunter Dawson picked off a pass and returned it 106 yards to steal the momentum and a 21-0 lead. Funny thing is, nobody but Dawson thought he should have taken the ball out of the end zone.
“Honestly, I didn’t see anybody in front of me. Everyone was telling me that I was crazy for taking it out, but I didn’t see anyone in front of me. I made a few cuts and when I got to the other 40-yard line I was breathing hard, I was gassing, but I made it and it was awesome,” Dawson said.
“We have the best defense in the state, bar none. People have underestimated us all year on defense. But we come out to play every down. And if they score on us, we would come back the next series and just get it.”
Mustang’s offense, which had averaged 22.7 points a game in the fourth quarter, got nothing in the fourth quarter on this night.
Memorial dominated Mustang’s offensive line, which features University of Oklahoma recruit, Bronson Irwin. This was supposed to be the better team. But deep inside, Memorial knew better, despite everything everyone else was telling them.
“We were ready, we knew everybody underestimated us, the papers and everything. We just wanted to go out and prove everybody wrong,” senior defensive lineman Bryce Burget said of the predictions. “We highly doubted Mustang was going to be able to put points up on us.”
Next up for the Bulldogs is Jenks. And once again they will be heavy underdogs. But you know what they say about the underdog: "If you got no fear of the underdog, you will not survive." After all, it’s their time.
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