In the days leading up to Broken Arrow’s district game against Edmond Memorial, coach David Alexander knew what was coming.

And it had nothing to do with the opponent.

With sustained winds in the 25 to 30 miles per hour range, Alexander figured the Tigers’ vertical passing attack would have to take a back seat, instead focusing on a ground-and-pound game plan.

Fifty carries and 403 yards later, Alexander walked off the turf at Wolves Stadium a happy camper amid the blustery conditions following Broken Arrow’s 49-7 victory.

“We had a great game plan for the weather,” Alexander said. “You gotta have two guys who can run the football. You go into the game, you see how they’re going to get lined up and in formations and, once we found our two or three run plays that were working, we stuck with them.”

Just like that, the Tigers (5-4, 5-1) ran the Bulldogs to their eighth loss of the season.

Running back Noah Cortes totaled 231 yards and three touchdowns, Kejuan Tolbert ran for 173 yards and three more TDs and the Broken Arrow defense did its part, pitching a shutout into the fourth quarter.

Broken Arrow held a 440-104 yardage advantage, led by that suffocating defense, which allowed just 8 rushing yards on 26 carries and tallied seven sacks and an interception. Edmond Memorial didn’t record a first down in the entire third quarter.

“Me being an offensive lineman, I love that when the defense and offensive line have big games,” Alexander said.

Entering the game averaging 178 yards passing, Broken Arrow attempted just seven passes. But two went for TDs from quarterback LaFayette Wright.

Broken Arrow found early success running sideline-to-sideline against Edmond Memorial’s loose defense. Washington ripped off an 84-yard TD run on an off-tackle play to the left, making one cut through a massive hole with the closest defenders 15 yards away. He used a nifty spin move on his second TD, eluding a pair of defenders on the 17-yard run.

“I was seeing good holes and used my vision,” said Tolbert, a sophomore who came in with just 369 yards and five TDs in eight games. “I just wanted to go to the end zone.”

Cortes set the tone with 102 yards in the first quarter. He bruised his way to extra yards, fighting off tackles and throwing defenders to the ground. Tolbert, meanwhile, used pure speed.

Edmond Memorial attempted a halftime adjustment, squeezing the edges to beef up containment. All it did was open up inside running lanes.

“It’s a little game of chess between everybody, and we came out on top,” Alexander said.
