West Metro POW: Johnny Smith, PC West

Had the situation been different, the story in Saturday’s paper would have been all about Putnam City West running back Johnny Smith.

With the help of a few key plays by other people, Smith essentially carried the Pats on his back to their first victory in three years. He ran for 196 yards on 29 carries, scoring five touchdowns. He pounded out the tough yards in the middle. He punsihed tacklers who got in his way and ran past the ones who didn’t.

Smith just kept making big play after big play, like his two interceptions, one of which he returned 74 yards to the 1 and plunged into the end zone two plays later.

Overall, just an incredibly impressive performance. And congratualtions to the Patriots on the victory.

Other contenders

Casey Curtis and Elie Rushing, Putnam City: Curtis, behind another strong effort from his offensive line, posted yet another 200-yard game as PC knocked off Edmond North Thursday night. Rushing came up with a key tackle inside the 1-yard line to prevent Edmond North from cutting it to a one-score game. The win sets up a huge game at Mustang on Friday night, with major playoff implications on the line.

Corben Jones, Yukon receivers and Carson Mathews: With brother Terry playing on a bum ankle, Corben Jones threw for 280 yards, including TDs of 25, 29 and 41 yards to Kaiden Horn, Jordan Edwards and Eric Granado to carry the Millers to another win. Granado, who hasn’t gotten much notice for his solid play on defense this season, recovered a fumble for a TD to give Yukon its final points. Mathews intercepted a pass that was a huge turning point in the second quarter. It set up the Millers for a TD to take the lead just before halftime.