Stillwater defeats Del City
DEL CITY — Qwontrel Walker only saw one thing.
Trailing 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the sophomore running back for Stillwater took the delayed hand off from quarterback Gunnar Gundy, plowed through the line and came out clean on the other side.
Walker found the end zone from 38 yards out to tie the game at 21-21.
“I saw grass,” Walker said. “And so i just ran.”
Simple words that state what was an incredible night for Walker and his Stillwater teammates as they scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Del City 35-21, finishing the regular season undefeated for the first time in more than 40 years and winning the Class 6A-II-1 district title.
Stillwater (10-0, 7-0) rode Walker for most of the night as the 5-foot-8 back ran for 277 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter.
“He’s an unbelievable talent,” Stillwater coach Tucker Barnard said. “When things are tough
and the competition is stiff he steps it up to a whole new level.”
Despite the final two-touchdown differential, Del City was in control of the game for most of the night on senior night at Robert Kalsu Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Jahkobie Smith threw two touchdown passes and junior quarterback Quinlan Ganther threw a third as the Eagles managed to stay ahead or tied with the Pioneers until late in the fourth quarter.
But after Walker’s 38-yard touchdown run, the Stillwater defense forced Del City into a three-and-out. A bad Del City punt gave Stillwater the ball at the Eagle’s 27, setting up another Walker touchdown run from 10 yards out to give Stillwater its first lead at 28-21.
Del City could not get anything going on its last possession, going for it on fourth and long but failing to convert.
All Stillwater had to do was kneel down and the game was over. But Del City called a timeout with 40 seconds left, forcing Stillwater to run a play on fourth down to try and milk the rest of the clock.
Instead, Walker took the hand off and danced to the outside, sprinting 25 yards to the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the night and the game’s final score at 35-21, giving Stillwater its first district championship in 23 years.
“He’s an incredible player,” said junior quarterback Gunnar Gundy. “He’s quiet but he gives it his best every single play of the game.”
Gundy finished 6-of14 for 93 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The lone passing touchdown went to Luke McEndoo, who also recorded two sacks on defense.
For Del City (7-3, 5-2), senior receiver Jeff Foreman caught eight passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.Running back Tyus Messner finished with 76 yards rushing and one receiving touchdown.