Barry Lewis
Tulsa World Sports Editor
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Mike Simons
Tulsa World Photojournalist
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BIXBY — Bixby has a deep receiving corps and on Friday night it was Nathan Gonzalez’s turn to have his breakout game.
Gonzalez, who has been a reliable offensive contributor for the past two seasons, had his first three-touchdown game as he produced the hat trick during the first quarter of Class 6AI No. 1 Bixby’s 57-7 rout over 6AII No. 3 Choctaw at Spartan Stadium.
“It feels great to come out here and show all the effort you put in during the week,” Gonzalez said. “I’m really grateful.”
Choctaw’s last previous visit to Bixby was a low-scoring defensive affair in 2020, a season ended with the Spartans winning another similar duel against the Yellowjackets in the 6AII state final at UCO. However, this trip to Bixby from the start was much different for Choctaw (1-2), which was coming off a two-point loss last week at Kansas title contender Hays.
Gonzalez returned the opening kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown.
“I was ready, I was feeling it,” Gonzalez said. “I was feeling this game.
“Everybody starting going to the left, so I just hit that hole pretty aggressive and I just made that one cut.”
Less than three minutes later, Jayson Moll scored the first of his two TDs on a 1-yard run for a 14-0 lead.
With 5:03 left in the first, Gonzalez caught a 40-yard TD bomb from Carson Kirby. At 1:47, Kirby fired a 12-yard TD pass to Catcher DeHart, and Gonzalez added his third TD on a 42-yard reception that made it 36-0 before the first quarter ended.
For the night, he had four catches for 96 yards. Gonzalez had six catches, including a TD in the first two games of the season. Last year, he was second on the team with 36 receptions, with five of those touchdowns. He also plays cornerback for the Spartans.
“Nate’s electric,” Bixby coach Loren Montgomery said. “I talked to him at halftime, just congratulating him. He said, `Coach that was so much fun.’ And we’re so thrilled for Nate. He’s a senior and just a fun kid to be around. He just continues to get better.”
Choctaw’s lone first-half TD came on Landon Gatson’s 16-yard TD to Titus Hawk with 28 seconds left — that’s the same combination the produced the winning touchdown in last year’s 6AII state final against Muskogee. But Bixby needed only 10 seconds to get that TD back with Moll’s 65-yard scamper for a 50-7 lead.
Kirby completed 12-of-14 passes for 180 yards and four TDs.
Here are four takeaways from Friday:
1. A rout, but still some room for improvement
Montgomery liked his team’s performance.
“I think we played hard, we played physical,” Montgomery said.
But as dominant as the Spartans were in the first half, they had some sloppy moments. They had two holding penalties that wiped out big plays, including a Braeden Presley TD catch — that was followed soon by Gonzalez’s second TD. They had another big gain erased by holding early in the third quarter. And an interception by the defense was nullified by a penalty.
Bixby also had two unforced lost fumbles — the second set up Choctaw’s TD. However, Jayson Moll, who lost that fumble on a lateral, raced 65 yards for a TD on the next play from scrimmage to give Bixby a 43-point lead going into halftime.
“We had some guys make some mistakes they don’t typically, which is odd, because we had a couple weeks to install this game plan, so we’ve got to clean that up,” Montgomery said. “As coaches, we need to look at some of those things. But as far as the kids, I thought they executed and played really well.”
2. How does Choctaw compare to another 6AII contender, Sand Springs?
This was a good chance to see how No. 3 Choctaw stacks up with second-ranked Sand Springs in 6AII. Each lost to Bixby by almost an identical score as the Spartans won 56-7 over the Sandites.
3. Bixby backup QB shows potential
The highlight of a second half with a running clock was sophomore quarterback Reece Madden’s strike to Corey Foreman, who turned a slant pass into a 65-yard touchdown with 2:20 left. It was Madden’s first varsity TD pass.
“He’s a great kid and a good quarterback,” Montgomery said. “He was on the youth team I helped coach.”
4. Good preparation going into next week
Next Friday, Bixby will play No. 2 Jenks in a district opener that will likely be the most anticipated game of the regular season. Friday was a good rehearsal for Bixby.
“We came out healthy and executed some things at a high level,” Montgomery said. “We came out with the W and that’s all you can hope for.”
BIXBY 57, CHOCTAW 7
Choctaw;0;7;0;0;—;7
Bixby;36;14;0;7;—;57
BIX — Gonzalez 72 kickoff return (pass failed)
BIX — Moll 1 run (Gill run)
BIX — Gonzalez 40 pass from Kirby (Thao kick)
BIX — DeHart 12 pass from Kirby (Nolan pass from Kirby)
BIX — Gonzalez 42 pass from Kirby (Thao kick)
BIX — Nolan 27 pass from Kirby (Thao kick)
CHO — Hawk 16 pass from Gatson (Gambill kick)
BIX — Moll 65 run (Thao kick)
BIX — Foreman 65 pass from R. Madden (Thao kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs — CHO 10, BIX 12; Rushes-Yards — CHO 32-74, BIX 16-219; Comp-Att-Int — CHO 9-17-1, BIX 14-18-1. Passing Yards — CHO 71, BIX 245. Fumbles-Lost — CHO 4-1, BIX 3-2. Penalty Yards — CHO 11-70, BIX 7-60. Total Yards — CHO 145, BIX 464. Punts-Avg. — CHO 9-25.2, BIX 1-25.0.
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com
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Barry Lewis
Tulsa World Sports Editor
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Mike Simons
Tulsa World Photojournalist
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