Last season, Carl Albert had to travel to Del City as an underdog in the first round of the playoffs. The Titans edged out a win in that contest, 28-21, ending the Eagles' dream season that saw them win nine games in the regular season.
This season, Del City found itself as the underdog traveling to Carl Albert in the first round. The Eagles had plans to avenge their loss and send the Titans home early.
However, Del City could not stop Steven Thompson, who had 297 total yards (241 rushing and 56 passing), and four touchdowns, and the Titans ran away with a 34-12 win to move on to the quarterfinals. Del City had a total of 260 yards.
"He's got speed, he's got quickness, vision, toughness, and the best thing is he's a stinkin' football player," said Carl Albert coach Gary Rose of Thompson.
Thompson had three touchdown runs called back thanks to penalties, including one from 55 yards out on the Titans' second play of the game.
"I started getting frustrated a little bit," Thompson said. "But my linemen picked me up, my teammates picked me up, and we just kept on carrying on."
At halftime, the score stood at 13-6 in favor of Carl Albert, and there was reason to believe the second half would be much of the same.
The Titans got the ball to begin the half, and that spelled disaster for the Eagles. Thompson did what he does best, marching his team down the field and then finishing it off himself with a nine-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 20-6 with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
But that's not all. "Do Everything" Thompson intercepted a pass on Del City's next possession, and plays later scampered 28 yards for a touchdown on a big fourth down to make the score 27-6.
The Eagles showed some resilience, returning the following kickoff for a touchdown, but that was the closest they would get.
Thompson scored his third and final rushing touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run with 7:24 remaining in the game to make the score 34-12. The Titans got another chance to score after Dillon Lohr returned an interception to the 30-yard line followed by a 24-yard run by Chantz Woodberry to the 6-yard line, but tempers flared between the two teams. The refs made the decision to call the game although there was still three minutes left on the game clock.
After the game, Rose was not long-winded on the situation.
"It was a mutual decision to end the game," said Rose
Next up for the third-ranked Titans (9-2) is the second-ranked McAlester Buffaloes (10-1) on the road.
"We just gotta get ready," said Thompson. "We have to have a good week of practice next week, and we gotta go in there, focus, and play hard."