Owasso 48, North 0

OWASSO — Owasso put in extra time with its punt block unit during the week. The result paid off for the No. 7-ranked team in Class 6AI in a big way. The Rams blocked a pair of kicks, tackled the Edmond North punter behind the line of scrimmage on another occasion and intercepted passes on consecutive series, all of which played a key role in Owasso jumping out to an early lead in a 48-0 win Friday in District 6AI-2 action at Owasso Stadium. “(Assistant coach Jake) Bray works on punt block and he came up with a good plan,” Owasso coach Bill Blankenship said. “Our guys really bought into it.” Quarterback Will Kuehne completed 17-of-25 passes for 133 yards and accounted for four touchdowns to help the Rams (2-3, 1-1) snap a three-game losing streak. Isaiah Jacobs, who made his season debut after sitting out the first four games with a strained knee, tallied 151 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries. The Owasso special teams and defense stole the show in the first half as each helped set up the Ram offense in favorable field position. Facing fourth-and-2 from its 45, Edmond North (0-5, 0-2) lined up to punt. But punter Logan Young had to leap up to catch a high snap. By the time Young landed, Owasso’s Tristan Profit chased him down for a 13-yard loss. The Rams scored four plays later when Kuehne found Dawson Adams for a 10-yard touchdown strike. The Huskies’ next possession ended when Josiah Stephens blocked a punt, which Owasso recovered at the Edmond North 13. That led to a Christian Johnson 25-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead with 5:34 left in the first quarter. Owasso made it 17-0 midway through the second quarter on Kuehne’s 5-yard TD run on a keeper. Kuehne’s score was set up by Ram punter Alex Haight who ran untouched up the middle for 25 yards on a fourth and 3 from the Owasso 44. Linebacker Caymon Severs snuffed out a screen pass for an interception on the Huskies’ ensuing series. Severs returned the pick to the Edmond North 27. Kuehne found Payton Lusk for a 30-yard score two plays later as Owasso grabbed a 24-0 lead with 2:04 left in the half. Lusk also had a 15-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter. Jacobs, who was plagued by two first-half fumbles, broke off a 52-yard touchdown jaunt with 3:10 left in the third quarter and expanded the cushion to 34-0. “Having Isaiah, with the threat of taking it the distance, he makes the defense load the box. That makes my job easier,” Kuehne said. The Ram defense, which came up with four turnovers for the game, held Edmond North to 66 rushing yards on 26 attempts as they posted their first shutout since last year’s 21-0 win over Jenks in the 6AI semifinals. “It felt great,” said cornerback Deuce Mayberry, who had two interceptions. “We were getting stops. It felt like we were coming together.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Edmond North High School Athletics

OWASSO 48, NORTH 0

SHAWN HEIN

Tulsa World | 9/29/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Evan Brown