Duncan 13
Shawnee 10
Nov. 16, 1990

Veteran sportswriter Ray Soldan and I couldn’t believe what we had witnessed at Duncan’s Haliburton Field.

Duncan’s top-ranked, undefeated Demons had staved off defeat despite being on the short end of one of the most lopsided statistical battles of recent years.

The Demons combined a 94-yard interception return and two Marco Millan field goals for an overtime victory in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

Duncan, which had averaged 37.1 points in its 11-0 accomplishment coming into the game, got the better of Shawnee in only one statistical category — turnovers.

The Wolves turned the ball over four times, including Chad Hudgins’ 94-yard interception return for a touchdown that produced a 7-7 tie in the third quarter.

For the game, Shawnee registered 18 first downs. The Demons had only three first downs and one of those came via a penalty.

Shawnee rushed for 295 yards on 57 carries. Duncan was limited to 18 yards on 23 carries. Duncan connected on just one of seven passes.

Total yardage — Shawnee 325, Duncan 37.

“In this case, the best team didn’t win on this given night,” an emotional Shawnee coach Mike Sperry said after the game. “A bunch of good kids gave everything they had and came up just a little short.”

Shawnee had the only first-half touchdown, a 1-yard Jarrett Smith run on its fourth possession of the game.

David Broberg’s point-after kick made it 7-0.

The drive constituted 43 yards and took 10 plays.

Pivotal plays included an 11-yard run by Garrett Shelton and a 19-yard rollout by quarterback Anthony Ramirez to the Demon 2. Smith scored on a third-down play just 2:20 before halftime.

The Wolves appeared ready to increase that margin midway through the third quarter after moving to the Demon 3. But an offsides infraction put the ball back to the 8 and a Ramirez rollout pass was intercepted and returned for the 94-yard touchdown.

Duncan then took a 10-7 lead at the 10:57 mark of the final quarter when — following another Wolfpack turnover — Millan booted a wind-aided 48-yard field goal. It tied the school record for the longest FG.

With 4:05 remaining, Shawnee regained possession at its 20. On first down, sophomore fullback Alan Hill rambled 38 yards to the Demon 42.

Three straight running plays, including a Smith 11-yarder, put the ball at the 18. After three more rushing plays netted just 6 yards, Broberg nailed a 38-yard field goal into the wind for a deadlock at 10 with 37 seconds left in regulation.

Shawnee, which had the first possession of overtime, faced a third-and-goal from the Demon 7. Ramirez handed off to wingback Jason Dyer, who pitched to Tommy Starnes. Starnes rolled right and threw into the end zone. Brian Heindselman went high for the ball but lost possession when his arms hit the ground.

Broberg was then wide left on a 25-yard field-goal attempt.

On its first overtime possession, Duncan didn’t waste any time going for the field goal and Millan calmly booted the game-winning 27-yarder.

Amazingly, Shawnee ran 63 plays in the game to just 30 for the hosts.

In the first half, Duncan’s 15 snaps produced 14 yards, including minus-5 yards on the ground.

Smith, a 170-pound junior, chalked up 127 yards on 21 carries.

Prior to the second-round matchup, the most rushing yards Duncan had surrendered on the season was 209 to Ardmore. In its first 11 games, Duncan outscored foes 245-47 and registered 39 rushing touchdowns.

Shawnee’s defense, led by Chad Self, Rhio Gallina, Tony Floyrd, Collins Kickapoo and Heindselman, dominated the line of scrimmage.

“I think about it every time I get together with some of my buddies I played with,” said Self, who resides and works in Shawnee. “How we lost was a fluke, just a very unique game. I wish it had never happened because we would have been in the semifinals if we had won.

“What I remember most about that year’s team was that our offensive line averaged about 185 pounds. The best thing we had going was how hard we tried and worked. It definitely wasn’t our size.”    

Shawnee concluded the year at 8-4, including a first-round victory over Anadarko.