Tigers pick up second straight win on gridiron

Joel Stevens
The Red Oak Express

One week after a one-point win over West Central Valley delivered Red Oak its first win of the season, the Tigers once again proved their mettle in another nail-biter Friday.
Red Oak scored all 14 of their points in a 90 second stretch in the second quarter and survived a Missouri Valley second half comeback, including a two-point conversion attempt in the final five minutes to pick up a 14-13 win on homecoming in Red Oak.
“It’s a great win, especially for these seniors,” said Red Oak coach Allen Gray after the game. “We had a great crowd tonight. There are some things we need to clean up, but I told the boys, ‘Enjoy it right now, we’ll get back to work Monday.’”
It was the Big Reds that had the jump on the Tigers early, taking a 7-0 lead late in the first half.
But the Tigers, after turning the ball over and punting on their previous two possessions in the second quarter, saw their offense sparked by their defense. A sack of Missouri Valley quarterback Dylan Davis popped the ball loose and Red Oak took over in Big Reds territory at the 27 with four minutes to go in the half.
Five plays later, Tiger quarterback Masen Fisher’s touchdown toss and extra-point knotted the score at 7-7 with 1:16 to go in the half.
The Tigers weren’t down, however.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Red Oak’s Jacob Patterson intercepted a Davis pass and returned all the way to the Big Reds’ 8-yard line. Three plays later, Fisher plunged into the endzone, and the Tigers entered halftime with a 14-7 lead and all the momentum.
The score would remain at 14-7 for much of the second half as both defenses dominated. The team traded turnovers and penalties for much of the final quarter and a half until the Big Reds finally answered with a 10 play, 49-yard drive capped by Jack Handlos’ 3-yard TD scamper with 5:13 to go.
The Big Reds elected to go for two on the point-after and, following an illegal procedure penalty that moved the ball back to the 8-yard line, the Red Oak defense once again rose to the occasion stopping a short completion two yards short of the endzone.
That would not be the end of the drama, however.
Missouri Valley attempted an on-side kick on the ensuing kickoff and won the possession, taking over in Red Oak territory at the 42. But the Tigers’ defense stiffened, holding the Big Reds to minus-26 yards on three plays and forcing a punt.
Red Oak secured the ball at the own 26 with a little over three minutes to go and ran out the clock on their second straight victory.
“We got that stop and I told the offense, one first down and we can clock it,” said Gray. “The leadership on this team is starting to grow and now it’s starting to be infectious.”
The Tigers’ game plan the second half was simple: play defense and run the ball. On its 21 second half snaps, Red Oak threw just twice.
“If we can run the ball, it gives us Homthe best chance to win at the end of the game,” Gray said.
The coach went on to say the back-to-back close wins and his team’s gelling on both sides of the ball feels like a momentum-flipper for a team that started the season 0-2.

“It’s building,” Gray said. “We have something special starting to happen and when it comes together, it’s going to be amazing.”
Red Oak heads out on the road to face Tri-Center (1-3) in a District 8 matchup Friday in Neola. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.