'The emphasis was to start fast': Edmond Memorial bounces back, cruises past Southmoore

EDMOND — Edmond Memorial had a bad taste in its mouth heading into Friday’s game against Southmoore.

The Bulldogs lost to crosstown rival Edmond North by three touchdowns last week.

They were feeling frustrated after having beat Deer Creek before that.

“All week long we kind of challenged them to respond,” Edmond Memorial coach Logan Thomas said. “All three games we’ve played this year — wins and losses — we’ve gotten down by a significant amount at some point in the game. So tonight, the emphasis was to start fast.”

Edmond Memorial did just that Friday night.

The Class 6A-I 10th-ranked Bulldogs started strong and went on to cruise to a 51-7 home victory against Southmoore.

Junior quarterback and Kansas commit David McComb led Edmond Memorial’s offense and finished with four passing touchdowns despite not playing down the stretch.

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He’s having a great junior season and set a school record with 477 passing yards against Deer Creek. He’s looked like one of the best signal callers in the state so far.

“He’s a stud,” Thomas said. “I get asked about him all the time obviously, and I can’t say enough good things about him. Obviously, he’s a great player on Fridays, but he’s a great kid, great leader, great teammate.”

Edmond Memorial (2-2) dominated Southmoore (0-3) from the opening quarter, and Nick Booker was the first to score as he ran for a 7-yard touchdown with 10:16 left in the first quarter.

McComb tossed a 15-yard touchdown to Cade Sanderson later in the quarter, and the rout was on from there.

Edmond Memorial led 37-0 at halftime, with McComb throwing three touchdowns during that span and Booker running for two.

It was the biggest victory for Edmond Memorial under Thomas, who took over in 2021.

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“It was a good win all around for especially the front seven,” McComb said. “We tried to get that going throughout the first couple of games. They took it personal that other schools were not respecting it as much, and we really showed that we could run the ball today.”

Edmond Memorial has steadily gotten better under Thomas.

The Bulldogs didn’t win a game in 2020, the season before Thomas arrived at Edmond Memorial. The Bulldogs earned one win in 2021 before getting four victories last season.

“Now, the expectation is definitely way more than four wins,” McComb said. “We want to go and be a contender. And you can’t be a contender when the expectation is low. So, we’re going to set the standard high.”

Edmond Memorial, which plays at Edmond Santa Fe in its first District 6A-2 game of the year next Friday, didn’t have much to celebrate a few years ago. Now, the Bulldogs are getting used to being relevant.

“It’s one of those things I think we’ve gotten people maybe a little bit accustomed to having some success,” Thomas said. “They’re not storming the field after winning a game."

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at hhart@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school football: Edmond Memorial blows out Southmoore