EDMOND —
There were so many numbers that told the story in Edmond Santa Fe’s state quarterfinal loss to Tulsa Union on Friday night at Wantland Stadium.
Like 5 — the number of turnovers the Wolves had, two of which ended in defensive touchdowns.
Or 359 — the number of rushing yards the Redskins rolled up, mostly after nabbing an early lead.
Even 4 — the number of dropped passes that would have gone for at least a Santa Fe first down — had its impact.
At the end of the night, though, the only number that really mattered — a final score of 52-19 — said enough. And it was easily enough to finish the Wolves’ season at 10-2, while moving Union on to the state semifinals, where the Redskins will continue to go after a fifth consecutive state championship.
“There were too many opportunities we failed to take advantage of,” ESF head coach Lance Manning said. “We just didn’t execute well offensively. We got behind the defense, but we weren’t able to connect. Why? That’s the million-dollar question.
“We know Tulsa Union’s a good football team, but five turnovers against the four-time defending state champions is just not going to get it done.”
Santa Fe fell behind, 21-0, in the first half, as Union dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball in the early going. The Wolves managed plenty of big plays after that. In fact, junior quarterback Justice Hansen finished with 349 yards passing, going 20-of-43. However, all five of Santa Fe’s turnovers came after that early three-touchdown deficit, limiting the ability for a comeback.
Union sophomore running back Terrel Buchanan romped his way to 251 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 29 carries, carrying much of the load for a Redskin offense that punted after its opening possession and then didn’t punt again until the waning minutes.
Union converted two fourth-down attempts on a drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown by Buchanan that put them on the board first. On the Redskins’ next possession, Buchanan broke loose for a 54-yard scoring run and it was quickly 14-0.
A 34-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter put Union up by three touchdowns, but Santa Fe answered back in one offensive play on an 82-yard hookup from Hansen to Trevan Smith, making it 21-7.
A turning point came with less than a minute to play in the first half and Union up, 24-7. Santa Fe had picked up two first downs and driven to the Redskin 25 when linebacker Coleby Evans intercepted a pass over the middle and returned it back to the Wolves’ 30. Union scored three plays later on a 12-yard pass to make it 31-7 at halftime.
Santa Fe went 76 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 28-yard touchdown from Hansen to Calvin Harkless, on the opening drive of the second half. That made it 31-13, but was soon followed by the Wolves’ barrage of turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown and a fumble recovered by Union in the end zone for another score.
Of course, anytime the postseason rolls around in Class 6A football, there’s one more number that always lingers — 1995. That was the last year someone other than Jenks or Tulsa Union captured the state football title in Oklahoma’s largest class.
So, while Santa Fe finishes with a healthy record and another trip into the state quarterfinals, the program remains with unfinished business.
“It was a great season,” Manning said. “We just need to figure out a way to get over the hump and move on against teams like Tulsa Union.”
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Related Photos
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Union defenders bring down Santa Fe wideout Calvin Harkless III Friday night.
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Santa Fe's Cornelius Fugett looks up field pursued by Union defenders Friday night.
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen runs for yardage against Tulsa Union Friday night.
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Santa Fe's Trevan Smith checks the defender as he comes across the goal line against Tulsa Union Friday night.
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Santa Fe running back Cameron Westbrook tries to break a Union tackle Friday night.
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BRENT FUCHS | SPECIAL TO THE SUN Santa Fe defenders track down a Tulsa Union ball carrier Friday night.
Discussion
Defending champs down Santa Fe
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Workman's blasts cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. -
UCO to host US women's sitting volleyball team's exhibition matches against Russia
The University of Central Oklahoma will host five exhibition matches of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team versus the Russian National Women Sitting Volleyball Team beginning tonight at 10. Matches continue on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a single match on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This will be the first time the Paralympic silver medaling Team USA has faced Russia since 2011. According to Head Coach Bill Hamiter, these matches will serve as preparation for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in 2014.
Team USA will be available after each match to meet with fans and sign autographs.
All exhibition matches are free and open to the public. -
Impact-making Graves inks with OBU
When a basketball team goes 80-3 over the years a player was there, that athlete has made a profound impact on that particular program.
Not only did she/he leave a legacy athletically to have that type of success in Class 6A, but left a mark in a leadership capacity as well.
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe’s standout guard who led 6A in assists her senior season with 129, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma Baptist University last week. - More Sports Headlines
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