Norman North shuts down Moore, hands Lions first loss of season
NORMAN — Norman North made a statement Thursday night.
The Timberwolves had dropped their opening two district games and had sloppy defensive performances in both of them, giving up 49 then 70 points against Mustang and Owasso, respectively. Thursday was an opportunity to right the defensive ship, but the task wouldn’t be easy with an undefeated Moore team visiting.
Norman North completely flipped the script.
The 6A-I eighth-ranked Timberwolves held the No. 6 Lions off the scoreboard until the game’s final play in their 29-6 win at Harve Collins Field. Norman North’s defense was stout, with senior Duncan Parham and junior Parker Andrews dominating on the defensive front while senior quarterback Gavin Frakes and junior running back Chapman McKown took care of business on offense.
“Hats off to our defensive guys,” Norman North coach Justin Jones said. “They prepared really well.”
Moore senior star Marcus Dockins Jr. scored a 1-yard touchdown on the game’s final play, but Norman North otherwise held him in check. Dockins had seven carries for 29 yards and the score and only two catches for 4 yards.
The Timberwolves (4-2 overall, 1-2 District 6A-I-2) started quickly, scoring on a six-play drive to begin the game. Frakes found Cason Cabbiness for a 29yard touchdown on a post pattern.
The team then exchanged punts before Norman North found the end zone again, this time courtesy of Frakes on a 2-yard run.
Moore responded with a 7-minute drive, but a trick play on fourth-andgoal fell short when the Timberwolves broke up a pass.
Norman North scored before the half when Frakes scrambled and floated a pass to McKown, who dove into the end zone for a 7-yard score, giving Norman North a 21-0 advantage at half.
Even with as strong as the offense was, the defense was key to ending Moore’s unbeaten season.
“Our theme this week was backs against the wall,” Parham said. “We took those two hard losses, and this was a game to show we were going to make something happen.”
Parham had numerous tackles for loss and pass breakups.
On offense, Frakes finished with 211 total yards and three touchdowns. McKown had 19 carries for 138 yards and a rushing score, which came midway through the fourth quarter, and two catches for 12 yards.
The win gives Norman North a big leg up with four games left in district play. While the Timberwolves have played most of the stronger teams in district play thus far, Moore (5-1, 2-1) has the toughest part of its schedule ahead.
Either way, Thursday night was a positive step for the Timberwolves.
“We’ve been so close on different things,” Jones said. “It’s a credit to our guys responding the right way and doing what they needed to do for four quarters.”