Howard's Field Goal Lift Bronchos Over Kingfisher
Launch the media gallery 1 playerKingfisher, OK - Bethany (4A-#8) traveled to Kingfisher (3A-#2) last Friday night and left town with a 38-35 victory after a walk off field goal by the Bronchos' Jackson Howard. On a night when a lot went wrong for Bethany what showed was a tremendous amount of fight and the ability to overcome adversity which will hopefully prepare the Bronchos for a tough schedule over the next few weeks as they face Blanchard (4A-#3) and Tuttle (4A-#5).
Early in this contest Kingfisher grabbed the momentum on a Bethany interception that Cole Crosswhite returned to give Kingfisher a 6-0 lead early in the game. Bethany answered though on a 60 yard touchdown run by Sam Brandt which was his first of three rushing touchdowns on the night for Brandt. On the ensuing possession we saw the first of three big plays by the Kingfisher offense on the night that led to long touchdowns on a 62 yard pass from Caden Stevenson to Zach Goodwin. The Broncho defense was the one unit that certainly had some adversity on the night giving up three long plays for touchdowns on some uncharacteristic errors. Those three plays alone accounted for 195 of the 325 yards that the Broncho defense allowed.
Despite the big play problems from Bethany's defense the Broncho offense had a big night the rest of the way. Quarterback Sam Brandt ended up with two more touchdown runs on the night as he had 163 rushing yards on 17 carries while throwing for 230 yards and a touchdown as well. Running Back Jacob Kyle also had a great night with 116 yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries. The Bronchos overcame more adversity later in the game as they did throw a second interception and had to overcome a huge deficit in penalty yardage with 13 penalties for 120 yards to just five penalties for 40 yards for Kingfisher. The Bronchos then muffed a pun deep in Kingfisher territory at the beginning of the fourth quarter which allowed Crosswhite to score on a six yard run to take a 35-28 lead.
After that final Kingfisher touchdown Bethany's resiliency showed even more than it had the rest of the night. Brandt led the Bronchos down the field on an 80 yard touchdown drive which was capped by his own eight yard run and Howard's extra point tied the game at 35. The Broncho defense then stepped up and got a huge three and out with just under one minute remaining which gave Bethany the chance to move the ball into field goal range. Broncho receiver, Skylar Holzhauser, who had seven catches for 85 yards on the night had two big catches on this final drive to get the Bronchos set up for the game winning field goal that Jackson Howard knocked through from 36 yards out as time expired.
This win for Bethany over the 2nd ranked team in Class 3A was the first time Bethany has won a game in Kingfisher since 1968. The Bronchos return home on September 21 to face Blanchard who is currently the #3 ranked team in Class 4A and a defending state semi-finalist.