Tahlequah scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and was able to notch its first win of the season Friday at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah, defeating unbeaten Putnam City West, 29-19, in the District 6A-II-1 opener for both teams.

The Tigers, now 1-3 under head coach Brad Gilbert, went ahead for good on a Cash McAlvain 27-yard touchdown pass to Beckett Robinson. Darryn Spahr capped the scoring on a 2-yard scoring run with three minutes remaining.

Spahr led the Tigers with 90 rushing yards on 18 carries. Robinson added 14 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, and McAlvain completed 9 of 13 passes for 129 yards with a TD and an interception. Jacob Morrison had 70 receiving yards on three catches, and Robinson finished with three receptions for 41 yards and touchdown.

Tahlequah’s other scores both came during the second quarter as Robinson scored on TD runs of 2 and 3 yards.

LOOKING AHEAD: The win was much needed for Tahlequah as it gains some confidence and momentum going into this week’s road contest against Sand Springs (2-2, 0-1). The Sandites suffered a 51-13 setback to Muskogee in its district opener.

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ADAIR 39, CLAREMORE-SEQUOYAH 36

Brady Bradbury got his first career win as a head coach and Adair picked up its first win of the season Friday as the Warriors outlasted Claremore-Sequoyah, 39-36, on the road in District 2A-8 openers for both teams.

The Warriors improved to 1-3 overall, while handing the Eagles their first loss of the season.

“It was a great experience to get the first win. To be able to go into a ranked opponent’s place and come out with a win is always good,” Bradbury said. “Put ourselves in good positioning to start district play. We played really well in all three phases of the game and had no turnovers. 

“Proud of our coaching staff for putting a good game plan together and our kids for playing extremely hard with pride.” 

The Warriors’ Player of the Game was quarterback Cale Winfrey, who threw for 179 yards, rushed for 164 yards and combined for two touchdowns. Reece Jackson found the end zone three times on the ground and rushed for 82 yards on 21 carries.

Adair returns home to face Mayes County rival Salina Friday. The Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) opened 2A-8 play with a 30-17 victory over Rejoice Christian and have won three straight games since dropping their season opener.

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SALINA 30, REJOICE CHRISTIAN 17

Eli Swarer passed for 218 yards and four touchdowns, Cooper Hooker had 130 receiving yards, and Brandon Hawk logged 10 tackles and had two interceptions to help carry Salina to its third straight win Friday.

The Wildcats, who haven’t lost since falling to Quapaw in their season opener, moved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in District 2A-8 under head coach Clayton Saiz.

“Definitely great to get a big win to start district play. Awesome team win,” Saiz said. “We played well up front on both sides of the ball and made the plays we needed too in the back end to win the game.”

Salina also received strong contributions on offense from Teagen Byrd who had three receptions for 45 yards with a pair of TDs, and Jescee Sanders, who rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries. Hooker and Micah Richards each had a receiving touchdown.

Cody Wheeler led Salina with 11 tackles and had 2.5 tackles for losses. Maverick Williamson finished with six tackles, four of which were for losses, and recorded two quarterback sacks. Byrd recorded eight tackles and had an interception, and Richards collected three tackles and had an interception.

The Wildcats will visit Mayes Country rival Adair (1-3, 1-0) on Friday.

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TONKAWA 26, CHOUTEAU 0

Chouteau’s offense was held in check in a 26-0 road loss to fourth-ranked Tonkawa, finishing with just 126 total yards.

“It didn’t turn out the way we wanted,” Chouteau head coach Jeff Brown said. “We had a few turnovers and busted plays on both sides of the ball , but nothing that is not correctable by coaching or focusing on fundamentals. Very proud of our players.”

The Wildcats, who slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in District A-5, were coming off the first win of the season last week over Warner to wrap up non-district play.

Quarterback Nick Lunsford was limited to 13 yards passing on five completions and rushed for 33 of Chouteau’s 113 yards. Gavin Graham also finished with 33 yards on the ground, and Tayler Applegate closed with 25 rushing yards. Jaxsen Craine had two receptions for 13 yards.

The Wildcats’ defense allowed 253 total yards, 159 of those on the ground. Graham led with eight tackles. Applegate followed with seven tackles, Lunsford addes six, and Kaleb Ramsey, Kyler Hill and Isaac Hill each finished with five. Craine had an interception, and Graham had a fumble recovery.

Chouteau will host Woodland (4-0, 1-0) Friday.