Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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When Bixby plays football, there is an inevitability.
Even as an opponent has a nice quarter or an impressive half, there’s always that feeling that the Spartans eventually will counter with a jolting level of ferocity and efficiency — and that the final score will make you forget that the opponent actually did have some special moments.
A perfect example of Bixby inevitability: the 2023 state semifinal that matched the Spartans and a fired-up and talented Owasso team. After the Rams scored at the midway mark of that third period, there was a 14-14 tie. Owasso had a clear advantage in momentum.
In that moment, it really felt as though Owasso would get that victory.
About an hour after that 14-14 sequence, the Bixby kids celebrated a 56-14 win.
In a stunning display of Bixby firepower, there were three touchdowns in two minutes. There was a 42-0 run over the final 18 minutes of that game.
The most recent example of Bixby inevitability: the second half of Friday’s District 6AI-1 opener at Jenks’ Allan Trimble Stadium.
On paper, it’s impossible to have a more attractive match-up than a No. 1-ranked team (Bixby) being challenged by a No. 2-ranked team (Jenks).
And it’s impossible to have a greater display of big-game, big-play highlights than what the Spartans and Trojans provided during the opening half. When time expired on the half, there had been 10 touchdowns and there was a 38-35 Bixby lead.
Would this second half be comparably fun and entertaining?
Might Jenks get the upset?
Or would the Trojans get punched in the mouth by another shot of Bixby inevitability?
It was the latter.
Limiting Jenks to a second-half total of 20 offensive yards, the Spartans would prevail 66-35. After trailing 21-8, Bixby outscored its rival 58-14.
“I was pretty stressed during that first half,” Bixby coach Loren Montgomery said before driving a team bus back to the Spartan facility.
How does Montgomery feel about the possibility that the 2025 Spartans might be his most complete team?
“Well,” he replied, “it doesn’t really make you feel that way when you see us give up 35 points in the first half. That’s not Bixby Spartan football.”
Ahead of this week’s home game against Moore, Bixby is 4-0 overall, 1-0 in District 6AI-1. If you’re a consistent reader of the Tulsa World, you can recite the Bixby credentials in your sleep.
Spartan teams are 89-3 in their last 92 games.
If Montgomery’s 16th Bixby team does capture the 6AI championship this season, the result would be the Spartan program’s 11th title in 12 years (and fourth consecutive title since moving from 6AII to 6AI in 2022).
Against Jenks, Spartan QB Carson Kirby passed for 231 yards and six touchdowns, while Spartan running back Jayson Moll rushed for 231 yards and scored on 44- and 70-yard sprints.
Moll is a small back, but Montgomery loves that the senior transfer from Owasso is more than just a willing, adequate blocker. At 5-foot-6 and 165 pounds, Moll is a dynamic blocker.
“The way he picks up pressures and the way he lead-blocks — he’s tough and physical,” Montgomery stated.
Guys like Braeden Presley and Cord Nolan frequently get their names in the paper, and each of those Spartan seniors was predictably impactful against the Trojans. Montgomery was asked whether any player would qualify as having been Bixby’s most pleasantly surprising so far this season, and the coach immediately mentioned sophomore right offensive tackle Gavin Wilson.
“You never expect a sophomore to start at tackle,” Montgomery explained. “We expected him to be a JV kid. He’s playing at a high level, and he’s been doing it since the spring, and we’ve had some more (experienced) guys fighting for that position.”
As it does seem that the annual greatness of Bixby seems to drain the drama from 6AI football seasons, I’m sure there are some who suffer from Spartan fatigue.
Montgomery’s program has been historically amazing. He’s had the same coordinators — Tyler Schneider offensively and Rodney Flowers defensively — since the 2014 start of Bixby’s dynasty period.
Montgomery is 47 and may coach for 20 more years, and he’ll probably never leave Bixby. There are no signs that Bixby might eventually become average.
Because Montgomery was a Jenks assistant before he became the Bixby head man in 2010, he must feel immense satisfaction in having coached Spartan teams to five consecutive victories at Allan Trimble Stadium.
Here’s how Montgomery celebrated Friday’s 66-35 outcome: at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday, he was in his office to evaluate the video of his offensive line’s performance against Jenks.
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Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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