Unbeaten Cascia Hall deals Fort Gibson 1st loss
BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Friday, October 19, 2012
10/19/12 at 6:01 AM
FORT GIBSON - Cascia Hall has a way of raising its level of play in football games that are expected to test the No. 1 Commandos' mettle.
The Commandos did it again Thursday night, racing to a 28-point lead early in the third quarter and beating sixth-ranked Fort Gibson 35-7 before 4,500 spectators at Leo Donahue/Tiger Stadium, giving the sixth-ranked Tigers their first loss in 2012.
Abrm McQuarters rushed for 193 yards and scored three times, including twice in a near-flawless first half for the Commandos, who won their 27th consecutive regular-season game and took a big step toward the District 4A-4 title.
Cascia scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and fortune smiled as the Commandos stopped the Tigers near the goal line early in the game when Fort Gibson threatened to tie the score at 7.
Charles Cook's 73-yard run on the second play of the third quarter made it 28-0, and the Commandos spent the remainder making sure they held the dangerous Tigers, led by Jake Gandara's 145 rushing yards and one touchdown, at arm's length.
"If our defense plays well, we feed off of that, and that's what happened tonight," Cascia Hall head coach Joe Medina said. "We talk about the great Cascia Hall system, but the players are the thing, and we raise 'em for moments like this."
Cascia improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in District 4A-4. The Commandos can clinch the district crown by winning its final regular season games, next week against Tulsa Will Rogers and at home to Broken Bow on Nov. 2.
Fort Gibson, off to its best start in 13 years, fell to 7-1 and 4-1.
Both teams have clinched playoff berths, and the Tigers can sew up a home playoff game by winning its final regular-season games. They visit Stilwell next week and close at home with Sallisaw on Nov. 2.
McQuarters capped Cascia's first drive by racing 23 yards with a screen pass from Tate Swab, and the game swung on Fort Gibson's next possession.
From the Cascia 13, quarterback J.R. Singleton appeared to hit tight end Ned Adair for a score, but Adair apparently was ruled just over the back line of the end zone. Next, the Tigers missed a field goal but Cascia roughed the kicker and Fort Gibson had new life.
The Tigers reached the 1-yard line before being flagged for procedure on third down, and Daniel Mielnick missed a 22-yard field goal on fourth down.
Cascia went 80 yards, capped by Swab's 10-yard bootleg run around left end. A Tiger fumble on the next kickoff set up McQuarters' 6-yard run and it was 21-0.
Singleton's right hip was injured on a late hit by the Commandos in the third quarter, and did not return to action. Tigers head coach James Singleton, the quarterback's father, said he did not think the injury was severe, saying a team doctor told him it was probably a strained or torn oblique muscle.
CASCIA HALL 35, FORT GIBSON 7
| Cascia Hall |
7 |
14 |
7 |
7 |
- |
35 |
| Fort Gibson |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
- |
7 |
CH: McQuarters 23 pass from Swab (Rosendo kick)
CH: Swab 10 run (Rosendo kick)
CH: McQuarters 6 run (Rosendo kick)
CH: Cook 73 run (Rosendo kick)
FG: Gandara 69 run (Mielnik kick)
CH: McQuarters 23 run (Rosendo kick)
| Cascia | Ft. Gibson |
|
First Downs | 17 | 11 |
|
Rushing-Yards | 42-315 | 29-214 |
|
Passing Yards | 48 | 57 |
|
Comp-Att-Int | 3-5-0 | 3-11-1 |
|
Punts-Avg. | 4-27.0 | 3-27.3 |
|
Fumbles-Lost | 3-0 | 3-2 |
|
Penalties-yards | 13-117 | 6-30 |
Mike Brown 918-581-8397
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
