The football spotlight in the state of Oklahoma was shining squarely on Custer Stadium Friday night as the top ranked and undefeated Jenks Trojans came to town to face the only other undefeated team in 6A, the Bartlesville Bruins. Aided by a raucous crowd and an exciting offense, Bartlesville hung tough with the number one ranked team in the state. But the Trojans' overpowering offensive line and explosive junior running back Zack Langer ended up being too much for the Bruins, who were handed their first loss of the season.
The Bruins gave the hometown fans plenty to cheer about early, striking quickly on a long touchdown run by Chandler Bennett to take a 7-0 lead. The Trojans answered by riding the powerful legs of Langer to tie things up before the end of the first quarter tough, and then took the lead on a 21 yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
An interception by Senior Justin Thompson would set up a tipped touchdown catch for Garrett Powell and the Bruins, but Langer was just too much for Bartlesville to handle in the first half. He scored on a 64 yard run and then a 10 yard run to put Jenks up 28-13. With one minute to go in the first half, Bartlesville quarterback Kirby Schoenthaler threw an interception that would lead to a 56 yard touchdown pass from Jenks quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen to receiver Brandon Kitchens, giving Jenks a more comfortable halftime lead.
The second half of the game didn’t start off nearly as well as the first half did for the Bruins. Bartlesville allowed the opening kickoff of the second half to be returned all the way down to their own 10 yard line. Jenks, in turn, sent out Langer to punch in a quick score. With a 42-13 lead, things looked dire for the Bruins, but Schoenthaler turned to the passing attack in an attempt to claw back into the game.
A 44 yard pass from Schoenthaler to senior receiver Blake Hood, quickly followed by a 15 yard touchdown catch by Garrett Powell, who had an outstanding overall game, closed the gap to 49-27. But Zack Langer just couldn’t be stopped. Despite starting the season as the backup tailback, Langer looked every bit the star of the team by scoring two more second half touchdowns, all but single handedly securing the victory for Jenks. Langer scored seven touchdowns and ran for 268 yards in the game, running wild on Bartlesville’s porous defense, who clearly couldn’t handle the speedy back.
A late Bartlesville touchdown brought the final score to 63-40. Schoenthaler’s 373 yards through the air and Garrett Powell’s three touchdown catches were bright spots in a losing effort for the Bruins. Bartlesville’s 40 points against Jenks are the most points scored against the Trojans so far this year.
