Broken Arrow Orange Seventh Grade Football Survives Scare in Sand Springs

The seventh grade Orange team from Broken Arrow in Oklahoma almost saw their hard work come crashing to the ground in Indian Nations Football Conference action on Saturday night, as they survived a hotly contested road game against the Sand Springs White team at the high school field.

Orange took over after Sand Springs turned the ball over on downs to start the game and marched down the field behind the "thunder and lightning" running duo of Israel (Izzie) Tristan and Jamal Shaw.

Orange scored on their first possession on a Shaw run and converted on another run for the extra point.

Broken Arrow scored again later in the half but missed the two-point conversion kick.

Despite leading 13-0 at halftime, things were not clicking for the talented team from Broken Arrow and it was apparent they were in for a barn burner when the Sandites scored quickly to start the second half.

The Sand Springs score was set up after a Broken Arrow opening drive was stopped by a turnover in the red zone that was returned past midfield, where Jacob Knutson made a saving tackle to prevent a touchdown.

The Sandites scored quickly after that, though, as their hard-charging tailback, No. 17, took a pitch and broke a few tackles on his way to the end zone. Sand Springs' extra point attempt was unsuccessful and the score was now 13-6.

After a long delay when a Sandites player was injured on the ensuing kick-off by a hard but clean hit by Brendon Franklin and taken away in an ambulance, Broken Arrow did not look sharp the rest of the game, while the Sand Springs team came out fired up after the stoppage in play.

The home team stopped Broken Arrow on fourth down towards the end of the third quarter to take over the ball with over a quarter left to play and a chance to take the lead.

Again, a superb effort by the No. 17 Sand Springs tailback brought the home crowd to their feet with an electrifying run down the sideline. He dodged three tackles and outran the rest of the Broken Arrow defense on his way to end zone to give the Sandites a chance to take the lead with only five minutes remaining in the game.

Orange blocked the two-point conversion kick to maintain a lead of only 13-12 but the home team had the momentum and an amped-up crowd behind them.

Broken Arrow responded on the first play after the kickoff when Jamal Shaw took a handoff, juked, jived, and out-ran the defense to the end zone. Jacob Knutsons' two-point conversion kick was good and Broken Arrow had a two-score lead of 21-12 at this point with about 4:30 left to go in the game.

The team from Sand Springs showed the heart they had played with the entire game when they again took the ball and started marching it downfield against a suddenly shaky Orange defense.

Their talented tailback, No. 17, came within inches of breaking another long touchdown run with about two minutes remaining in the game. He again ran through numerous tackles and appeared ready to sprint to the end zone but was slowed down just enough by cornerback Michael Ray, who grabbed hold of his jersey and held on for dear life, until help arrived to bring down the powerful runner.

Sand Springs continued the drive but were stopped on the final play of the game at about the Broken Arrow five-yard line.

A Sandite touchdown on that final drive would have set up the opportunity for them to recover an on-side kick and possibly score the winning touchdown with no time left for a Broken Arrow comeback.

While the victory keeps the Orange team on track to reach their team goals, it should be a wake-up call for the young players to realize that they cannot take any win for granted. Only a focused and determined effort is acceptable and they should not be willing to settle for anything less.

To be champions, a team must play smart and hard for an entire game and make every play count.