It was supposed to turn into another Class 5A barnburner when the number three ranked Carl Albert Titans made the two and a half hour trip to take on the number two ranked McAlester Buffaloes.
However, we got the exact opposite. McAlester jumped all over Carl Albert early and cruised to a surprising 52-13 victory, ending the Titans' hopes of winning back-to-back state titles.
Perhaps what was even more surprising than the score was the Buffaloes defense on Carl Albert's star quarterback Stevie Thompson. The senior signal-caller, who normally shreds opposing defenses, was held to just 104 yards rushing on 27 carries and 48 yards and 1 interception on 4-14 passing.
He was thoroughly overshadowed and outclassed by the opposite quarterback, Dalton Wood. The junior quarterback completed 9-16 passes for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 99 rushing yards on 11 carries and 2 touchdowns.
The teams were trading empty possessions until McAlester running back Jarome Smith zipped through the core of the Titans' defense untouched for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Buffaloes on top 7-0 with 6:57 left in the first quarter.
There was not much concern for Carl Albert yet though, because in the previous week Del City was competitive early against the Titans, but faded as the game went on. Unfortunately, that optimistic view would soon dwindle.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Titans fumbled the ball and McAlester recovered it at Carl Albert's 39-yard line. Then, just plays later, Smith dove across the pylon for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Buffaloes two scores in under a minute.
Things were looking bad for the Titans, down 14-0 before they could even blink.
Thompson got the game back to a one-possession lead when he kept the ball on a quarterback draw and got into the end zone from two yards out. The extra point was missed, making the score 14-6 with just 10 seconds gone in the second quarter.
That touchdown couldn't cover up what was an otherwise awful first half for the Titans. The Buffaloes rattled off 21 unanswered points after that Titans score, making it a shocking 35-6 game at the half.
What McAlester did so well was ending Carl Albert possessions quickly. The Titans had three failed fourth down and short conversions in the first half alone and six overall. The Buffaloes also forced two turnovers inside the 10-yard line on the night.
Only a miracle could save the Titans but on the second play of the second half, Thompson went down with an injury, thus ending any hopes of a comeback. It was a huge blow to Carl Albert from which they wouldn't be able to recover.
Thompson eventually returned in the fourth quarter; his team was down 42-6 by that point. Desperate to put some points on the board for the Titans, Thompson threw the ball deep down the field only to get it intercepted.
McAlester capitalized on that turnover as well on a 47-yard touchdown run by Rhyln Stephens, extending the score to 49-6 with 10:48 still to play.
On the Titans' next possession, the Buffaloes blocked Gavin LaValley's punt, and four plays later, Taeam Kang booted a 42-yard field goal to make it 52-6.
In the end, McAlester scored 38 points on six of the nine Carl Albert turnovers.
The Titans finally scored in the fourth quarter with Chantz Woodberry rumbling 15 yards for a touchdown to make it 52-13 with 5:57 left in the game, but that was in garbage time against the Buffaloes' reserves.
In the end, it was a great performance by McAlester. The Buffaloes deserve the recognition headed their way, and if they continue to play like that, they will be the state champions for the first time since 1988. The game goes down as the worst loss for head coach Gary Rose in his 19 years at Carl Albert.
McAlester (11-1) will play Lawton MacArthur (10-2) in the semis. Carl Albert finishes the year with a record of 9-3.
