Before Friday night's MidFirst Bank Backyard Bowl, Jenks senior Dylan Harding posted on Twitter, "I wanna make a play like Kejuan."
And then Harding went out and did it.
Harding caught a 76-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Nunley with 25 seconds left to lift top-ranked Jenks past No. 2 Union 20-16 in the matchup of Class 6A powers before 19,287 fans at the University of Tulsa's Chapman Stadium.
"It's amazing," Harding said. "We always see the Kejuan Jones replay and you always dream about making a play like that. I couldn't be happier."
Harding was referring to Jones' 80-yard TD reception with 8 seconds remaining to give Jenks a 41-37 victory over Union in 2000.
When Jenks (2-0) gained possession down 16-13 with 1:05 left at its 19, Harding said to wide receivers coach Greg Calabrese, "Kejuan Jones right now."
It was the third time in the past 13 regular-season meetings that Jenks came back to win in the last 30 seconds. In 2005, Isaac Norman got behind the Union secondary for a 63-yard TD pass from Jake Strain with 18 seconds left for a 48-44 win.
Unlike the previous two lightning strikes, Jenks had not seen the lead slip away in the last minute. Union took a 16-13 lead on Jace Holt's 28-yard field goal with 4:54 left to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive that began when Robert Thomas recovered a fumble at the Redskins 10.
After Jenks punted without picking up a first down on its ensuing possession, Union (0-2) gained a first down on a pass interference call with 2:44 remaining and the Trojans out of timeouts. But Jenks was able to save around 40 seconds when Union tailback Tyler Adkins was knocked out of bounds at 1:57, and Union eventually punted from its 45.
Jenks' winning drive started with an incomplete pass and Brett Tye's 5-yard reception before Harding caught Nunley's bomb and outraced Thomas.
"I wanted to make a play," said Harding, who is committed to Oklahoma State as a defensive back. "I knew I was going to get manned up. As soon as I caught it, I knew I was gone. It was a dream."
Dillon Stoner's interception preserved Jenks' comeback victory.
"This continues to be a big game and unfortunately that play (Harding's TD) at the end went to Jenks," Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. "They made the plays when they needed to and I felt our kids made plays as well. I'm real proud of the effort. I told them coming into this game we wanted to improve our effort and intensity and I really feel like at times we played very well."
Nunley completed 10-of-16 passes for 237 yards and two TDs. Jenks' Steven Parker had four catches for 89 yards and Harding had two for 113. Cameron Booty was Jenks' leading rusher with 11 carries for 92 yards.
Adkins, Union's No. 3 tailback who started due to injuries to Justin Silmon and Derek Finch, carried 25 times for 105 yards and a TD. Zach Fisher, who started at quarterback in place of injured Mason Farquhar, completed 19-of-30 passes for 155 yards.
Jenks opened the scoring on Nunley's 1-yard touchdown pass to Matt Cloud with 6:16 left in the first quarter. That came one play after Parker's 47-yard reception.
After Deion McKittrick's end-zone interception kept Jenks from increasing its lead, Union followed with a 10-play, 80-yard drive. Coleby Evans barreled into the end zone on a 1-yard TD run, but Adkins did most of the work on the possession with seven touches for 34 yards. A missed extra point kick left Jenks with a 7-6 lead.
The Redskins took a 13-7 lead on a nine-play, 51-yard drive. Union converted a pair of fourth downs and scored on Adkins' 14-yard run around right end as he took advantage of Carson Meier's block midway through the second period.
Booty tied the game with a 39-yard TD run, assisted by Parker's block, with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter, but Jenks also missed an extra-point kick. For the second straight year, the Backyard Bowl was tied going into the fourth quarter, setting up another dramatic finish in the series between the two teams that have combined for the past 17 state titles in 6A.
"I'm proud of the kids for working hard and never giving up," Jenks coach Allan Trimble said. "This was a really good football game with two really good defenses. It could be defined by one play, but there were a lot of good plays by both sides."
Jenks 20, Union 16
| Jenks |
7 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
- |
20 |
| Union |
0 |
13 |
0 |
3 |
- |
16 |
J: Cloud 1 pass from Nunley (Ridener kick)
U: Evans 1 run (kick failed)
U: Adkins 14 run (Clevenger kick)
J: Booty 39 run (kick failed)
U: FG Holt 28
J: Harding 76 pass from Nunley (Ridener kick)
| UNION | JENKS |
First Downs | 15 | 11 |
Passing Yards | 155 | 237 |
Comp-Att-Int | 30-19-1 | 16-10-1 |
Rushes-Yards | 34-114 | 37-106 |
Punts-Avg | 6-30.2 | 7-35.6 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
Penalties-Yards | 1-5 | 4-35 |
Barry Lewis 918-581-8393
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
High School Football
Junior returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and had 419 all-purpose yards in a 47-33 victory over Tahlequah Sequoyah.
Senior defensive back had 21 tackles and a key fourth-quarter play in a 25-22 win over Oklahoma City McGuinness in a rematch of last year's Class 5A quarterfinals.
