The Po-Hi varsity football team has had a great season so far. The Wildcats played the Sand Springs Sandites for their first game there on Sept. 2. They pleasingly defeated the Sandites with a score of 38-12. Shabray Parker scored the first touchdown in the first quarter. Josh Johnson scored in the second quarter with a 56 yard screen pass. Johnson scored for the second time in the third quarter. The Sandites also scored due to some errors Ponca let by. In the fourth quarter, Jonathan Gilliland make a field goal and Johnson scored again.
The Wildcats took on the Bartlesville Bruins on Sept. 9 at Sullins Stadium. In the first half of the game, Travelle Carns made the first touchdown of the night. John Nimmo aided Andrew Taber on to gain another touchdown for Ponca. Johnson rushed 60 yards and made one for the team as well. In the second half, Johnson again scored two more touchdowns defeating the Bruins with a score of 48 - 12.
The Wildcats played a good game against the Talequah Tigers on Sept. 17. Johnson took it to the end zone and made his first touchdown of the game. Nimmo drove in and also made one to end the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Tigers scored a field goal and a touchdown. In the second half of the game, Johnson scored a touchdown following a conversion he made. In the last quarter, Nick Pollard rushed 35 yards and made the final touchdown, ending the game with a score of 41 - 9. Johnson really took control of the game for rushing 315 yards and making the new record for Po-Hi.
After a three game winning streak, the Wildcats met their match when they went against the Tulsa Union Redskins on Sept. 23 and wore defeated by them with a score of 47-7. In the first half of the game, the Redskins moved forward and scored 23 points due to some unfortunate mistakes the Wildcats made. In the second half of the game, Parker scored the Wildcat’s only touchdown of the game with Nimmo’s help. Union also scored twice in the third quarter and again in the fourth quarter.
Ponca City played the Edmond North Bulldogs on Sept. 30. In the first half of the game, Johnson and Nimmo scores two touchdowns and Gilliland making the extra point for each one. Wildcat defense members Andrew Garza, Nick Shiltz and Rashawn “Bubba” Parker threw in some nice plays as they tackled down the Bulldogs and kept them from scoring. Third quarter slipped by and Johnson scores 2 more touchdowns with Gilliland also making the extra points again. Ponca Defense members still played as one without letting the Bulldogs to score. Last quarter rolled around and Chris McClaff scores the final touchdown with Jose Martinez making the field goal ending the game with a score of 49-0.
Claudio Ramirez commented, “They put in good work and they were awesome compared to last year. It seems they have improved their game this season.”
On Homecoming night they played the Northwestern Classen Knights. In the first half of the game the Wildcats scored 42 points. In the second half Ponca City made 28 points and in the third quarter the Knights finally made a touchdown. The Wildcats dominated the Knights with a score of 70-7.
On October 14 they played the Sapulpa Sandites, one of the most intense and longest games of the season. The Wildcats defensively beat the Sandites with a final score of 45 - 42 after going into over four times.
Three times a charm as that luck came in when the Wildcats played the Stillwater Pioneers on October 20 in Stillwater. In the first half of the game the Pioneers scored three touchdowns and made none of the extra points ending the first two quarters Pioneers 20, Wildcats 0. In the second half of the game things started turning around for Ponca as the Wildcats scored three touchdowns by Kinkaid, Johnson and Nimmo. Shiltz, Stephen Viljoen and Bubba Parker scored a safety. The Po-Hi Wildcats conquered the Pioneers with a final score of 22 - 0.
Ponca City is ranked 4 -1 and could possibly change after the outcome of playing Enid and Edmond North.