EL RENO, Okla. —
The Chickasha High School football team did something against El Reno that it couldn't seem to do in week one against Anadarko: Finish.
The Fightin' Chicks won their first game of the season, 15-14 on the road against the Indians, and are now 1-1 this season.
Sophomore running back Dalvin Madison had a breakout game, rushing for 83 yards on 12 carries, including a 35-yard run.
"Dalvin is an outstanding running back, him and Daniel Neff both," head coach Tom Cobble said. "I would love it if they were 40 pounds bigger, but hey, they can move around and we're pleased with them."
Chickasha scored the game-winning touchdown thanks to some late-game heroics by lineman Jacoby Brown. Brown only had nine yards on four carries, but he had the one that counted the most.
Brown came into the game as a fullback in the fourth quarter, clearing some space for Madison and Josh Latham as a lead blocker. When the Fightin' Chicks got to the one-yard line, Brown got the hand-off and scored a touchdown, making the score 14-13 El Reno.
Brown wasn't done. He ran in the two-point conversion that gave Chickasha the lead, a risky call by Cobble with about eight minutes remaining in the game.
"We've been known to put those big fullbacks in there before," Cobble said. "We hate to use [Brown] too much because he plays so much on defense, but he put the points on the board and won it."
The power running game was an emphasis for Chickasha throughout the game, and where the team found much of its success.
Chickasha often lined up with Brandon Wright and T.J. Filer at tight end, put Latham or Brown at fullback, and Latham or Madison at tailback and ran it right up the middle.
"We said we're going to get in the double-tight I-formation and we're going to run at them, and we did that," Cobble said. "In the second and third quarters, I think our offensive linemen answered the call."
Quarterback Cade Morris, playing his first game as the Fightin' Chicks' starting quarterback, struggled in the first half in the wind and the rain, and had one interception.
Morris looked much more comfortable in the second half, finishing 10-for-16 with 76 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he ran for 46 yards on 13 carries. The touchdown came on a ten-yard pass to receiver Shaq Oliver, with Morris rolling out to the left and finding Oliver in the end zone in the third quarter.
"I think he settled in in the second half and got where he needed to be," Cobble said of Morris.
Oliver caught six passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Neff had the other four receptions, also for 38 yards.
The Chickasha defense played extremely well in the first half, shutting out the Indians until 8:36 left in the third quarter. El Reno quarterback Hunter Freeman was responsible for a majority of the Indians' offense.
Freeman passed for 100 yards, completing eight passes out of 18. He ran for 65 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Rashawn Thomas led Chickasha in tackles with six total. Levi Kell had 5.5 tackles, T.J. Filer had four tackles, and Brown had 3.5 tackles.
Chickasha's next game is homecoming against Cache on Friday, and Cobble wants his team to use the El Reno win for momentum.
"You just build on it," Cobble said. "We've come down here two years in a row and won a game that has gone down to the wire, and you've got to learn to do that. That's a huge lesson for us."
