Brayle Brown, all 6-foot-4-inches, sat on the ground, staring into nowhere.
Kevin Dukes, at 260 pounds already a mountain of a young man, sobbed uncontrollably.
Cooper Ansell, one of 20 Shawnee seniors, had that dazed look of finality.
While dazed and confused Shawnee wondered what went so heartbreakingly awry Friday night, Bixby’s fans and players went delirious after recording a stunning 28-21 playoff victory at Jim Thorpe Stadium.
In high school athletics, there is virtually nothing that buffers the disappointment of a season-ending playoff setback, especially when the loser carried the favorite’s tag.
“These seniors had a lot invested in this program,” Shawnee head coach Billy Brown said. “They had a great year but one bad night. They had been working hard since December for a state championship.”
Truth is, Shawnee had just one bad half Friday night. When the teams went to halftime, there seemed to be nothing in the extremely foggy air that would warrant a Shawnee panic.
The Wolves led 21-7 at the break and had performed offensively in the style in which they had become accustomed — Class 5A’s most productive through an 11-0 start.
Brayle Brown had thrown three beautiful first-half TD passes, bringing his season total to ?, and Jordan Acock hadr ushed for 70 yards, putting his season total over 1,000.
The Wolves appeared penciled in as one of the four Class 5A semifinalists.
But on their first four offensive possessions of the second half, Shawnee was unable to record one first down.
In a season in which the Wolves had very few four-and-out situations, Bixby’s defense accomplished the task four straight times. Seven SHS rushes produced only 22 yards and five passes netted just one 5-yard completion.
The worm had turned. Bixby, which had experienced one of 5A’s toughest regular-season schedules — its four losses had all been to squads at one time carring the No. 1 ranking — now had the momentum.
Like a boulder speeding downhill, the Spartans seized control, scoring touchdowns on their first, third and fifth possessions of the closing half to establish a 28-21 lead.
Twice in the last quarter, Shawnee drove from its territory to the Spartan 1-yard-line, only to be rebuffed without any points.
The latter came on the next-to-last play of the game, setting off Bixby’s mammoth on-field celebration.
Opportunities gained but lost. That served as the death knell for Shawnee’s 2009 state title aspirations.
While Shawnee’s title hopes fell by the wayside, little else can diminish the overall excellence of the 2009 edition.
These Wolves became the first Shawnee squad since the 1973 state championship team to finish the regular season undefeated.
Billy Brown had nothing negative to say about his squad’s effort. “I’m proud of the way we fought in the second half,” he said. “We never quit and played hard to the end of the game.”
His final words painted the harsh reality.
“This one is going to hurt for awhile.”
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Brayle Brown, all 6-foot-4-inches, sat on the ground, staring into nowhere.
Kevin Dukes, at 260 pounds already a mountain of a young man, sobbed uncontrollably.
Cooper Ansell, one of 20 Shawnee seniors, had that dazed look of finality.
While dazed and confused Shawnee wondered what went so heartbreakingly awry Friday night, Bixby’s fans and players went delirious after recording a stunning 28-21 playoff victory at Jim Thorpe Stadium.
In high school athletics, there is virtually nothing that buffers the disappointment of a season-ending playoff setback, especially when the loser carried the favorite’s tag.
“These seniors had a lot invested in this program,” Shawnee head coach Billy Brown said. “They had a great year but one bad night. They had been working hard since December for a state championship.”
Truth is, Shawnee had just one bad half Friday night. When the teams went to halftime, there seemed to be nothing in the extremely foggy air that would warrant a Shawnee panic.
The Wolves led 21-7 at the break and had performed offensively in the style in which they had become accustomed — Class 5A’s most productive through an 11-0 start.
Brayle Brown had thrown three beautiful first-half TD passes, bringing his season total to ?, and Jordan Acock hadr ushed for 70 yards, putting his season total over 1,000.
The Wolves appeared penciled in as one of the four Class 5A semifinalists.
But on their first four offensive possessions of the second half, Shawnee was unable to record one first down.
In a season in which the Wolves had very few four-and-out situations, Bixby’s defense accomplished the task four straight times. Seven SHS rushes produced only 22 yards and five passes netted just one 5-yard completion.
The worm had turned. Bixby, which had experienced one of 5A’s toughest regular-season schedules — its four losses had all been to squads at one time carring the No. 1 ranking — now had the momentum.
Like a boulder speeding downhill, the Spartans seized control, scoring touchdowns on their first, third and fifth possessions of the closing half to establish a 28-21 lead.
Twice in the last quarter, Shawnee drove from its territory to the Spartan 1-yard-line, only to be rebuffed without any points.
The latter came on the next-to-last play of the game, setting off Bixby’s mammoth on-field celebration.
Opportunities gained but lost. That served as the death knell for Shawnee’s 2009 state title aspirations.
While Shawnee’s title hopes fell by the wayside, little else can diminish the overall excellence of the 2009 edition.
These Wolves became the first Shawnee squad since the 1973 state championship team to finish the regular season undefeated.
Billy Brown had nothing negative to say about his squad’s effort. “I’m proud of the way we fought in the second half,” he said. “We never quit and played hard to the end of the game.”
His final words painted the harsh reality.
“This one is going to hurt for awhile.”
