Oklahoma commit Spears-Jennings shines, seals win with an INT
MOORE — Westmoore quarterback Shyheim Johnson floated a deep ball in the second quarter against Broken Arrow, and Robert Spears-Jennings’ offensive instincts kicked in.
Although Spears-Jennings was playing defensive back, he resembled a wide receiver on this play.
The OU commit smoothly backtracked, ran under the pass and made the interception. And once he had the ball, he knew what to do.
Spears-Jennings found space along the sideline and glided past his opponents as he returned the interception 48 yards for a touchdown.
Spears-Jennings showed a glimpse of why he’s considered one of the state’s top recruits in the 2022 class, and it wasn’t his only great play of the night.
The senior was all over the field in Broken Arrow’s 19-12 victory Thursday night at Moore Stadium and even sealed the win as he intercepted a pass in his own end zone with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Spears-Jennings hadn’t started on defense this season until Thursday. Broken Arrow, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A-I, likely would’ve lost the district opener if that change hadn’t been made.
“It felt great,” said Spears-Jennings, who primarily played wide receiver last year. “I like the feeling of it because next year I’m going to play safety. I just need to get a feel for safety and make sure I made the right decision. I feel like I made the right decision. I just felt like I belonged today.”
Spears-Jennings’ two interceptions weren’t his only highlights of the night.
A 43-yard catch in the first half was his biggest play on offense.
But arguably his most important contribution came the play before his game-sealing interception.
With Westmoore (1-3) trailing by seven, the Jaguars got the ball to the Broken Arrow 22 in the final minute when backup quarterback Jake Blice rolled to his right and tossed a perfect ball to a Westmoore receiver in the end zone.
The receiver went up and made the catch, but the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Spears-Jennings ran in and popped it loose as the Westmoore player came down and tried to secure it.
“I put my hand in the middle and just pulled through,” Spears-Jennings said. “The ball was on the ground, and I was hyped.”
With the win, Broken Arrow improved to 2-2.
It’s safe to say Spears-Jennings will get plenty of playing time on defense for the rest of the season.
“He had been primarily on offense,” Broken Arrow coach Josh Blankenship said. “We wanted to get him over there, try to add some physicality and some playmaking on that side of the ball. It definitely paid off.”