Turnovers plague Chieftains in opener

SEMINOLE – Turnovers and poor field position were the stories of the game Friday night as the Class 5A No. 11 Duncan Demons beat Seminole 20-7 at Chieftain Stadium.
“Turnovers on the first and second possessions set the tone for the game,” said Seminole head coach Mike Snyder.
Duncan turned both of those early first quarter fumbles by Seminole into a quick 13-0 lead. At the 9:29 mark of the first quarter, Duncan quarterback Houston Johnson connected with wide receiver Axel Rauh for a 16-yard touchdown. The point after attempt failed and Duncan led 6-0.
On the first play of Seminole’s second possession of the night, senior receiver Jarrod Lloyd was stripped of the ball after a short completion from freshman quarterback Garrett Clark. Duncan recovered at the Chieftain 11-yard line. Four plays later, Johnson sneaked into the end zone from the one. Levi Huff’s point after attempt put the visitors ahead 13-0 only four minutes into the game.
In the first half, the Chieftains had the ball five additional times after the early turnovers.  Four of those ended with punts. The only Seminole possession that began in Duncan territory came after a 47-yard punt return by sophomore Tristan Johnson. However, this drive ended on a fourth-and six end zone interception by Duncan’s Johnson.
Despite his team’s 13-0 lead at the half, Duncan coach Jim Holloway was not pleased, “We did not play as good of a 1st half as we did in the second. But a win at Seminole is a good win.”
The Chieftain defense bowed its neck after the sluggish start by the offense. Duncan’s remaining possessions of the evening resulted in a combination of punts, turnovers and a missed field goal. Duncan did put one nice drive together in the second half. The 10-play, 71-yard drive was capped by a 15-yard strike from Johnson to Rauh.
Seminole’s lone score came with 1:43 remaining in the game. Quarterback Clark hit a streaking Josh Cramer down the visitors’ sideline for a 74-yard touchdown. Zach McGee’s PAT was good, finishing the scoring.
The freshman Clark ended his first start as a varsity quarterback by throwing for 124 yards on 10 of 22 passes, including one touchdown and two interceptions. Coach Snyder praised Clark after the game, “He didn’t play like a freshman tonight.”
Senior running back Myron Barnes led the ground attack for the Chieftains with 75 yards on 20 carries. Cramer led all receivers with 88 yards on only two receptions with one touchdown.
Holloway, a veteran coach of 38 years, praised Snyder and his staff, “Coach Snyder’s got a good bunch and boy are they coached well.”
Seminole will be on the road next week to take on the Sallisaw Black Diamonds. The kickoff for that game will be at 7:30.