Shawnee 57
Claremore 56
Nov. 12, 1999

Had this been a state championship game, it would been my selection as the biggest game in Shawnee history.

It certainly was the most exciting, entertaining and exhilarating high school football game I ever witnessed — with an unmatched ebb and flow that continued to the final play of the game.

And what a final play it was.

When Claremore took its only lead of the game, 56-49, on Roswell Kinard’s touchdown run in the second overtime, Shawnee had to match the touchdown or the game was over.

The Wolves went one step better.

On first-and-goal from the 10, Seymore Shaw — a man among kids on this November night — shook off a couple of tackles for a TD run that made it 56-55.

Shawnee head coach Gary Higgins opted for a 2-point conversion attempt and the win. Shaw, who had already rolled up 270 yards on 31 carries, took a handoff from quarterback Brandon Edwards and cut back into the middle. A host of Claremore defenders appeared to have the 210-pound junior stopped cold at the 2 but Shaw continued moving his feet, then suddenly lateraled to teammate Britton Stewart, who scored untouched and set off a wild celebration among Shawnee coaches, players and fans.

Stewart, interviewed after the game, said, “I was yelling at Seymore with my hands up. The next thing I knew, I was in the end zone. I just saw Seymore look at me and chuck the ball. Then, I got mauled in the end zone.”

Shaw, a junior who would eventually play collegiately at Oklahoma State, scored five touchdowns on the night and backfield mate Walter Tate scored two touchdowns.

That Shawnee was even in a position to play at Claremore was a pretty good story. The Wolves were at 2-5 and 0-4 in the district, only to win their final three 5A-4 games — 43-0 over Tulsa Webster, 28-27 over Bixby and 31-14 over Tulsa Central — to earn the fourth and final district mark.

Shawnee entered the Claremore game at 5-5 overall while Claremore was 9-1 with its only loss coming to Class 6A Owasso.

Entering the game, Edwards had what turned out to be a timely prediction.

“I think we have a chance to win,” Edwards said. “They are pretty good defensively, with a good middle linebacker and a good defensive tackle, but they are beatable.”

Claremore head coach Dennis Casey’s pregame comment on Shaw also was right on the button.

“Shaw is as good as any running back I’ve been around since I’ve been coaching,” Casey said. “He can do so many things when he has the ball.”

Shaw entered the game with 1,783 yards on 216 carries, including 16 touchdowns.

The Wolves started the contest strong, opening up a 28-7 advantage on touchdown drives of 80, 72, 74 and 72 yards. Shaw posted the first three touchdowns, including a 70-yarder.

Claremore’s first possession of the game reached the SHS 1-foot line, only to have Heath Casey, son of Dennis Casey, stopped dead in his tracks by Bobby Hartfield and company on a fourth-down play.

At the intermission, Shawnee led 28-14 and had already racked up 307 yards of offense.

After the hosts pulled within 28-21 in the third quarter, Edwards and Tate collaborated on a 70-yard scoring pass to make it 35-21 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.

Casey’s 3-yard scoring run in the final quarter trimmed the margin to 35-28.

The Wolves appeared to put the final nail in the coffin when Shaw’s 2-yard TD upped the count to 42-28 with less than six minutes left.

But Claremore quickly retaliated with a 55-yard scoring run, then forced Shawnee’s offense to punt.

With two minutes left, Claremore had the ball at its 29. With 24 seconds to go, Heath Casey tied the game on a 3-yard run.

Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime — Shawnee via a 10-yard Shaw ramble and Claremore through Kinard’s 13-yard scamper.

David Bence of Shawnee hit all seven of his extra points. Teammates Kevin Abel and Jeff Scott had a fumble recovery and an interception, respectively.

Shawnee advanced to play Tulsa Kelley and lost by a field goal in overtime. Kelley had pinned a 24-3 regular-season defeat on the Wolves. The Wolves concluded the season at 6-6.

Higgins, who still resides in Shawnee, recently talked about the 1999 thriller.

“We just rolled the dice on defense,” he said. “They were averaging 42 points but we had a good game plan in for the first half — a little bit of a different alignment. We were able to hold them off for awhile, then neither defense could stop the other team’s offense.

“My coaches deserved that win. It did our kids a lot of good because they believed we turned the corner and it gave our program a boost. Our players really responded in that game.”