Yukon returns to postseason with win over Choctaw

By Scott Wright, Staff Writer, swright@opubco.com Comments 1
Published: November 7, 2009

CHOCTAW — The Gatorade bath his players gave him helped to hide the tears that were building in Todd Wilson's eyes. But the Yukon coach didn't bother hiding his emotions after the Millers' 41-14 victory over Choctaw on Friday night that put Yukon back in the playoffs for the first time since 1998.

“Eleven years is a long time,” Wilson kept repeating. “Eleven years is a long time.”

Wilson has only been at Yukon for five of them, starting with a one-win season in 2005. He's been building his program toward the moment he and his players enjoyed on Jensen Field.

“Unbelievable,” said senior safety Hunter Bohannan. “This is the most exciting thing in the world. Working all this way, summer workouts, two-a-days — this is when it pays off.”

The Millers finished fourth in District 6A-4, sending them to play No. 1 Jenks in the first round of the playoffs.

Wilson's emotion was no surprise to his players.

“He loves us” said senior Tyler Meyer.

“He's an emotional coach,” added Bohannan. “He worked hard for this. He was here for some tough years.”

The Miller defense turned in another strong performance, giving up just 188 yards and creating three turnovers. Yukon (5-5, 4-3) allowed more than 14 points only twice in district play.

On a windy night, Wilson went away from his typically balanced offensive game plan, throwing the ball just five times, and only once in the second half. Instead, the Millers turned junior running back Terry Jones into their workhorse, and he responded with 184 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries.

“Our guys up front did a great job. A great job,” Wilson said. “I would have liked to thrown it more, but when you're running it so well, why take the chance? We just kept pounding it and those guys were great.”

Sophomore quarterback Corben Jones completed four of his five pass attempts for 65 yards, including a 33-yard strike to Kollin Retter for the first touchdown of the night. Corben Jones also rushed 11 times for 87 yards and Brandon Banta added a pair of rushing TDs as the Millers exploited the mismatch at the line of scrimmage.

“I'm so proud of all these guys,” Wilson said. “This is for all those guys in the past 11 years that have battled their tails off for this team.

“We're glad to be where we haven't been.”