Norman upends Broken Arrow in opening round of Class 6AI playoffs
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA – The one thing Norman High wanted to accomplish was to be the more physical team.
That was the mindset of the entire program when they faced Broken Arrow Thursday in the opening round of the playoffs.
After years of watching teams from the East running through Westside squads, NHS knew the only way it could get past BA was to impose their will on the game.
In the end that is what happened as Norman held on for a 21-18 at Harve Collins Field in the first round of the Class 6AI playoffs. It was Norman's first postseason win since 2012, a squad that featured, among others, future San Francisco 49ers' tight end George Kittle.
“I think we wanted to play physical,” Norman coach Rocky Martin said. “That's what we challenged the team to do. We've got to play more physical than them. I think upfront we did a good job. And then I think on the defensive side, for the most part, we played pretty good.
"We got off the field when we needed to. We gave up some big plays, but overall I was pleased with the effort for sure, on both sides of the ball.”
However, the contest came down to the final minutes when Broken Arrow stopped Norman on a fourth-down attempt, turning the ball over on downs with more than four minutes left.
Led by quarterback Cooper Bates, BA drove up the field and had the ball inside Norman’s 20-yard line. But that would be as close as they would get as Norman’s defense kept them out of the end zone and forced a turnover on downs to preserve the win.
“Defense played great all night,” Norman’s Dax Noles said. “I saw we held on some good situations, got a stop on the goal line and we just closed it in the end.
"I think we wanted it more. We wanted to be here, we wanted to win. We want to go (to the) next round.”
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Broken Arrow finished the night with 439 total yards compared to 239 for NHS. That includes Bates racking up 177 yards on the ground and 169 through the air.
Norman’s Devon Alexander tallied 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
“We knew coming into this game, the more dominant team, the more physical team was going to win,” Alexander said. “So, we just wanted to want to start off good, which we did.”
Norman jumped on the scoreboard first when Kamran Donald returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Just five minutes later, quarterback Phoenix Murphy and BJ Randle connected on a 30-yard scoring strike in the back of the end zone to give NHS a 14-0 advantage.
However, on the ensuing possession, Bates broke through the Norman defensive front and reeled off a 75-yard touchdown run to close the gap to 14-7.
NHS had a chance to push its lead to 14 when they had the ball inside Broken Arrow’s 20-yard line with less than a minute on the first-half clock. They decided to go for it on fourth down and Murphy attempted to hit Crew Noles, who was by himself in the corner of the end zone.
However, the pass was short and Norman left empty-handed, but still led 14-7 at halftime.
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Broken Arrow took its opening possession of the second half and drove it right down the field into Norman territory. But NHS forced BA to settle for a 26-yard field goal to cut the lead down to four, 14-10.
After Broken Arrow recovered an onside kick, they had a chance to take their first lead. However, Norman’s defense once again forced them into a fourth-down situation in which they chose to go for it. But this time, Norman forced a turnover on downs.
However, Murphy was hurt on the ensuing possession and had to be taken to the sideline. The combination of Crew and Dax Noles took turns under center leading the offense down the field.
Alexander finished the drive off with a short touchdown run to give NHS a 21-10 advantage in the fourth quarter.
With 9:17 left in the game, Broken Arrow scored on a Deshaun Caldwell touchdown run to cut the deficit to three, 21-18.
“It was a good team win,” Murphy said. “It wasn't the prettiest game, but when it got down to the nitty gritty, we pulled through.”
Norman advances to the second round of the 6AI playoffs next week, where they will meet defending champion Bixby, who had the week off.
Norman defenders converge on a Broken Arrow ballcarrier during the opening round of the Class 6AI playoffs Nov. 9, 2023.
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
