No. 4 Ada forces seven turnovers in rout of Fort Gibson

Oct. 21—The Ada High School football team forced an incredible seven turnovers and overwhelmed Fort Gibson 48-14 during District 4A-4 matchup Thursday night at Norris Field.

The fourth-ranked Cougar ran their record to a perfect 8-0 on the year and are now 5-0 in district play, while the Tigers left town at 3-5 and 2-3.

Along with the bevy of turnovers — three fumble recoveries and four interceptions — AHS quarterback Brock Boyles tossed six more touchdown passes, tying the single-game record he set last week at Stilwell and Ada standout Deante Lindsay found the end zone four times.

The Cougar offense had four plays of 55 yards or more and piled up 506 yards of total offense — 370 through the air and 136 on the ground.

"We kind of opened the offense up and the kids are learning the concepts and understanding. and if you're going to go one-on-one with some of our guys, we're going to take advantage of it," Ada head coach Brad O'Steen told The Ada News following the game.

Ada can now give its full attention to next week's matchup at No.1 Poteau for all the 4A-4 marbles. The Pirates are also 8-0 and 5-0.

"We've worked our butts off for three years to get to this point. This senior group has been with me for three years. I'm just really proud of them for buying into our system. This is what we set ourselves up for — next week," O'Steen told The Ada News following the win over Fort Gibson. "I'm excited for our kids."

Many considered Thursday night's battle with Fort Gibson the perfect definition of a trap game.

The Cougars would have none of it. They forced three consecutive turnovers on the Tigers' first three drives of the game and cashed in on each one en route to a quick 20-0 lead.

The first FG turnover came when lineman Will Johnson anticipated a screen pass and stepped in front of quarterback Logan Bethel's throw for an interception. That set up Ada's offense at the Fort Gibson 35.

Five plays later, Ada quarterback Brock Boyles hit open tight end Cord Cofee with a 13-yard TD strike and Caden Mitchell kicked the PAT to put the home team on top 7-0 at the 8:36 mark of the opening period.

Camariee Richardson singlehandedly stopped the next FG drive when he forced a fumble and recovered it for the Cougars.

Ada turned that big play into a seven-play, 44-yard drive that culminated in a Boyles touchdown pass to Lindsay that covered 30 yards. Mitchell missed his only PAT kick of the night — he made 6-of-7 tries — and the Cougars led 13-0 at the 5:43 mark of the first quarter.

Fort. Gibson drove to the Ada 17 on its next possession. But Bethel tossed a backward pass in the direction of running back Judd Rudd that fell incomplete. Ada's Kolten Carlock realized the backward pass was a live ball and jumped on the loose pigskin to force another Tiger turnover.

On the very next play, Boyles aired the ball out to receiver Lakievin Richardson, who got behind two Fort Gibson defenders. The pass hit Richardson in stride and he raced into the end zone with an 83-yard touchdown reception that pushed the Ada advantage to 20-0 at the 2:39 mark of the opening quarter.

Fort Gibson finally got on the scoreboard when Bethel — the team's talented freshman QB — tossed a perfect over-the-shoulder strike to Brody Hansen that resulted in a 50-yard score. Eli Scaggs kicked the extra point and the Tigers had pulled with 20-7 with 6:55 left in the second quarter.

Ada used still another FG turnover to score late in the period. Lindsay stepped in front of a Bethel pass near midfield and returned the interception 25 yards to the Fort Gibson 22. Lindsay then reeled in a 19-yard TD catch and Ada held a 27-7 lead at halftime.

Lindsay made two huge plays to start the third quarter that effectively put the game out of reach. He hauled in a pass from Boyles while running down the far sideline, shook off a tackle attempt by Fort Gibson's Jaiden Johnson at around the 20 and walked into the end zone with a 55-yard touchdown catch and run. That boosted the AHS advantage to 34-7 with 11:14 left in the quarter.

On Fort Gibson's ensuing drive, they attempted another backward pass to Rudd, who bobbled the ball before it hit the turf. Lindsay was Johnny on the Spot and picked up the loose ball and raced 30 yards with the fumble recovery for a score. That put the Cougars on top 41-7 at the 10:25 mark of the third period.

"It doesn't matter if it's a live ball or not. Our kids are going to get on it and make sure. The kids are getting some football savvy about them. Those are heads-up plays," O'Steen said.

Lindsay finished his big night with four catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns, plus the fumble return for a score.

"He's a playmaker. He's one of those kids that has worked his tail off and developed and has really become a heckuva player. He's making plays and doing what he needs to do. I'm really proud of him," O'Steen said.

Lakievin Richardson ended a fantastic outing of his own by catching a short pass on a slant and breaking away for a 69-yard touchdown catch and run with 7:14 left that put Ada on top 48-7. He finished three receptions for 164 yards and two long TDs.

Ada receiver Case Stafford nearly gave Broyles his seventh touchdown throw of the night when he turned a short pass into a 62-yard gain before he was caught from behind by speedy Fort Gibson defender Jesus Monsivais, who made a TD-saving tackle the 11-yard line. The Cougars let Tyler Walker attempt a 23-yard field goal, but the kick sailed wide right at 9:46 left in the game.

Boyles finished the game, completing 11-of-25 pass attempts for 370 yards. Xander Rhynes was Ada's leading rusher, finishing with 61 yards on 12 carries.

Parker Lockhart, who plays multiple positions for the Tigers, scored on a 4-yard keeper with 1:33 showing to make the final score 48-14.

Ada's defensive unit, which came up with the seven turnovers, — Chase Bailey and freshman Canaan Parker had late interceptions for the Cougars — was without its two starting senior linebackers. Both of the M&M Brothers — Fisher Marr and George Maddox — missed the game due to injuries.

"I'm proud of our kids. We played without our two inside linebackers defensively. Kelton (Stipe) and Brennon (Riddle) stepped up and that was big for us," O'Steen said.

Rudd led the Fort Gibson offense with 121 yards on 25 carries. Bethel completed 7-of-18 passes for 99 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.