Stillwater 17
Shawnee 14
Oct. 16, 1992

This ranks as one of the most unusual games in Shawnee history because of the controversy surrounding the end of the contest.

Entering the game, Shawnee held a 5-1 record that included a 2-1 district mark in the state’s largest class.

Stillwater head coach Bill Defee had high pregame regard for the Wolves, saying, “I think Shawnee has the third-best talent in the league. No. 78 (Marvin Johnson) seems like a dominant defensive player and Jason Dyer and Billy Leach are outstanding receivers.

“And (Anthony) Ramirez is a fine, fine quarterback. Shawnee’s skilled people impress me a lot.”

Ramirez entered the game with 825 aerial yards, including nine touchdowns. Dyer had caught 19 passes for 314 yards and five touchdowns.

Shawnee dominated the opening half, outgaining the host Pioneers 199-81 but led just 7-0 at intermission.

On their first possession, the Wolves lost a fumble inside the Shawnee 40.

On possession No. 2, Dyer outjumped two defenders for a 42-yard reception to the Pioneer 43.

Another Dyer catch of 14 yards and a 16-yard Alan Hill run produced a first down at the Pioneer 8. Two incompletions and a 1-yard Hill run stalled the touchdown possibility and a 25-yard field-goal attempt was wide right.

Shawnee finally succeeded in its touchdown ambitions on its fourth possession, cranking out a 79-yard, 10-play scoring drive.

Jacques Williams hauled in a short Ramirez pass en route to a 49-yard gain to the Pioneer 15. Faced with a fourth-and-5 situation from the 10, Williams scooted 8 yards over the left side to the 2. Two plays later, Hill, behind clearing blocks by Jeff Brown and Hunter Valentine, scored untouched from the 1. The extra-point kick by Leach gave Shawnee the lead 2:24 before halftime.

Stillwater had just three first downs in the opening half.

The Pioneers tied the game at 7 when Paul Grant concluded an 85-yard, 11-play drive by barely touching the goal line on a 4th-and-inches situation with eight seconds left in the third quarter.

Shawnee regained possession but two penalties and a 23-yard punt set the Pioneers up at visitors’ 31. Two plays later, Grant took an option pitchout and broke three tackles on a 28-yard scoring run to make it 14-7 with 8:41 left to play in the game.

Shawnee responded with a 57-yard, five-play TD drive with the big plays coming on a 14-yard rollout by Ramirez and a 31-yard reception by Dyer in which he broke three tackles.

Ramirez circled the right end from the 4 for a touchdown at the 6:42 mark.

Shane Varnell of Stillwater returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the SHS 47. Stillwater then recorded three first downs, including a 9-yard opton maneuver by Josh Holliday..

With just 57 ticks remaining, sophomore Jay Berry’s 24-yard field goal gave the hosts a 17-14 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Dyer went 23 yards to the Wolfpack 34. On first down, teammate Derek Shankland made a leaping 44-yard catch.

Two plays later, Dyer made a diving catch of a 19-yard pass in the corner of the end zone — with 15 seconds to go — only to have the TD nullified on what officials said was an illegal receiver infraction.

Following two pass incompletions, Shawnee misfired on a 42-yard FG attempt to end the game.

A review of the game film showed that no offensive lineman penetrated the two-yard neutral zone on the controversial play.

Shawnee coach Mike Sperry, who was upset at several other calls during the contest, presented a game film to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association but no action was taken by that governing body.

“That’s the only game I coached that I thought officials had reallly botched it up enough to cost us a game,” said Sperry, who still resides in Shawnee.
Dyer posted six receptions for 109 yards and Shawnee had four pass plays of 31 or more yards. Stillwater had just two plays that covered more than 28 yards.
The third quarter was costly for Shawnee. On three offensive possessions, the Wolves netted only 2 yards.

For the game, Shawnee compiled 331 yards of offense to 238 yards for the Pioneers.

With the loss, Shawnee fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the district. Stillwater was tied with Tulsa Washington for second place in the district at 3-1.

Shawnee, because of the controversial call and the loss, finished fourth in the district instead of third. That sent the Wolves to Jenks for the first round of the playoffs. Shawnee stunned Jenks by opening up a halftime advantage but the Trojans rallied in the second half for the win.