High school football: Kingfisher quarterback, running back too much for Tuttle

Tied midway through the second quarter on Friday night against No. 7 Tuttle, the Yellow Jackets came up with four big plays before halftime to take a two-touchdown lead, then played solid defense after that en route to a 35-14 win in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Kingfisher quarterback Grant Newton rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and passed for 103 yards, while his backfield mate, Landon Nault, carried 25 times for 104 yards and three scores and also threw a 39-yard touchdown pass.

The Yellow Jackets' defense also shined, limiting Tuttle (10-2) to seven yards rushing. Tuttle's Jesse Gregory, one of 3A's hottest running backs in recent weeks, had seven carries for 15 yards.

“We've heard a lot of talk about how we really haven't had a tough schedule, and we haven't,” Newton said. “But we were really excited about coming out and playing a team that was going to push us physically and make us play a four-quarter game. It was fun to play four quarters for the first time in who knows how many weeks.”

Kingfisher (12-0) had been in only one close game all season, a 21-20 win at 2A power Hennessey in the third week of the season. The Yellow Jackets have posted seven shutouts and allowed only two teams to score more than six points in any game.