3A Finals Capsule: Berryhill vs. Cascia Hall

By Ryan Aber
raber@opubco.com

Cascia Hall Commandos
Record: 12-0
Ranking: No. 1
Coach: Joe Medina, 11th season at Cascia Hall.
Previous state titles: 1989 (2A), 1999 (2A), 2007 (2A), 2008 (3A)
Road to 2009 final: Beat Okmulgee 35-14, beat Purcell 28-7, beat Seq. Claremore 37-7.
2008 record (playoffs): 13-0 (Beat Roland 41-7, beat Blanchard 34-14, beat Tuttle 13-10, beat Sequoyah Claremore 28-21)
Last week: It wasn’t nearly as close as the regular-season matchup between the teams as Cascia Hall scored 21 second-quarter points to take control of the game by halftime and continue its perfect season.
Player to watch: Stephen Rouse, QB. Rouse has thrown for more than 1,200 yards but the more impressive number is his touchdown to interception ratio. He’s thrown 22 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
Key stat: 40. The number of consecutive games won by the Commandos, the longest active streak in the state.
News to know: Cet Caldwell leads Cascia Hall with more than 1,300 yards rushing. … Kyle Cowan had 11 tackles and a touchdown catch in the playoff win over Purcell where the Commandos held Purcell to just 136 total yards. … Cascia Hall’s last loss came Nov. 18, 2006 to Henryetta, 28-23, in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs. That loss snapped an 11-game winning streak by the Commandos to start that season. Cascia Hall hasn’t lost a regular-season game since Sept. 23, 2005. … Placekicker Eric Testa has a long field goal of 33 yards this season. Last week, he hit a 27-yarder. … The Commandos beat Berryhill 24-6 on Oct. 2 at home. That was one of eight games this season where Cascia Hall held its opponent to seven points or less. … Cascia Hall did not play a game during the season’s second week. 

Berryhill Chiefs
Record: 11-2
Ranking: No. 3
Coach: Pat Harper, fourth season at Berryhill
Previous state titles: 2004 (3A)
Road to 2009 final: Beat Checotah 26-0, beat Blanchard 20-6, beat Dewey 23-7.
2008 record (playoffs): 5-5 (None)
Last week: Justin Tomlinson broke open what was a close game in the third quarter, with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown as Berryhill held off district 3A-3 rivals Dewey for the second time this season. Berryhill won the regular-season meeting 25-6.
Player to watch: Justin Tomlinson, LB. The sophomore is one of the most prolific tacklers in the class, with around 200.
Key stat: 7. Times this season the Chiefs have held their opponents to eight or less points. Opponents are averaging just 11.5 points against Berryhill.
News to know: Tyler Brown has thrown for 927 yards and 10 TDs. … Brown completed just five passes—on just eight attempts—last week but threw for 136 yards and a touchdowns. … Brown threw for two fourth-quarter TDs against Blanchard. … Tyler Johnson and Andy Morgan each have more than 800 rushing yards. … The Chiefs have eight players with 100 or more tackles. … Berryhill lost at Cascia Hall 24-6 on Oct. 2. … The Chiefs held Dewey to just 35 rushing yards.