Edmond Memorial 14, Southmoore 7: Southmoore comes up short in first game

By Ryan Aber

Published: September 5, 2008

MOORE — Despite what the scoreboard said, there was an upbeat feeling in Southmoore's postgame get-together Thursday night.

Sure, there was plenty of disappointment at the final score — Edmond Memorial 14, Southmoore 7 — but there was also plenty of optimism over the SaberCats taking the Bulldogs down to the wire at Moore Stadium.

"The way we have to approach it as coaches, and it took me awhile to learn this, is the scoreboard isn't always the indicator of how well you played,” SaberCats coach Chris Jensen said. "We want to see them pressing for victory all the time no matter what the score is, and we saw that tonight.”

In its inaugural game, Southmoore came within a play or two of beating a team that made the Class 6A playoffs last year and is expected to contend for the postseason again in 2008.

That one play might've been Cody Loyd's interception return, when he was tackled at the 27 after a 39-yard return. Or maybe it was one of Kendal Thompson's passes, particularly two in the end zone that were dropped by Southmoore receivers. Or it could've been the two Edmond Memorial interceptions in the end zone in the fourth quarter that ended the SaberCats' chances to pull off the stunner.

Afterward, Loyd stopped and smiled a bit after talking about his interception return.

"I should've cut back,” Loyd said. "All in time I guess.

"We'll get there.”

Thompson, the sophomore son of former Sooners quarterback Charles Thompson, had plenty of ups and downs during his first start.

But he helped put Southmoore back in the game, hitting Kyuann Thompson for a 35-yard score on third-and-goal late in the third quarter.

It was hard for Thompson to get those two late interceptions out of his mind.

The first was by Nelson Medeiros. The second, just two plays after Loyd's interception, bounced off the hands of Southmoore's Derek Serowski and DeShawn Phillips before Adrian Shoecraft came up with the diving pick to all but seal Southmoore's fate.

"We were just a couple plays away,” Kendal Thompson said. "We've just got to execute.”

Early on, it looked like Edmond Memorial might run away with the game.

Anthony Morales scored late in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs up, then less than five minutes later, Morales scooped up a blocked punt at the 42 and returned it for a touchdown.

Next week, Southmoore gets its first taste of the new-look "Moore War” when it is the visitor at Moore Stadium against big sister Westmoore.

"We had a season-worth of bad breaks tonight,” Jensen said. "But we'll come out here and watch them (Westmoore) play (today) and get to work getting better.”

Comments