The Blue Devil Beat: Dominant second half propels Blue Devils (w/video)

  • Cordell QB Raydon Kuehne rolls out looking for an open receiver. COURTESY PHOTOS BY CHARLINDA OGLE
    Cordell QB Raydon Kuehne rolls out looking for an open receiver. COURTESY PHOTOS BY CHARLINDA OGLE
  • LEFT: JD Maddox tackles Eagles runner Bryce Grimaldo. COURTESY PHOTOS BY CHARLINDA OGLE
    LEFT: JD Maddox tackles Eagles runner Bryce Grimaldo. COURTESY PHOTOS BY CHARLINDA OGLE

A couple of key moments nearly turned the tide in the second quarter during Cordell’s 43-22 win over Washita County rival Burns Flat-Dill City in the Class A play-in playoff round Friday night. First, all the momentum

First, all the momentum Cordell built with a quick 14-0 first quarter lead, then a 17-7 second quarter lead, had disappeared. Sloppy play, penalties and a turnover enabled BFDC to take a 22-17 lead and, clearly, the momentum.

Second, senior quarterback Raydon Kuehne left the game because of an injury with about 1:45 left in the half as the Blue Devils were trying to re-capture the momentum and get points on the board right before halftime. The injury came at the end of a 15-yard scamper for a first down. Kuehne immediately grabbed his leg and was helped off the field.

Somehow, though, Cordell overcame both the injury and the momentum shift and drove for a late score on freshman backup quarterback Kray Roger’s 9-yard pass to Bode Gallagher, who somehow leapt high in the air to grab the pass and still managed to get his foot down in the endzone for the goahead-TD with less than 15 seconds left in the half.

“Sometimes you just make a play, right place at the right time,” the senior Gallagher said. “It was an excellent ball from my quarterback, who had to step in definitely unprepared, but he was ready for the opportunity. I just made the play, made the catch.”

Time kind of slowed down during that catch, Gallagher said.

“It’s crazy how much time slows down during those kinds of moments. It kind of gives you a chance to take it all in,” he said.

The touchdown let Cordell take a 23-22 lead into the locker room.

That was a game-changing, game-saving close to the first half, coach Zane Trammell said.

“We managed to get into halftime with a score there late. And definitely at halftime, we were trying to evaluate a few things and figure out what we could do with (Kuehne), what we could do without him,” Trammell said. “He’s a tough kid, he taped it up. He’s going to ready to rock’n’roll next Friday.”

As for Kuehne, he didn’t think his injury would hold him back.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be good by next week,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to be a ‘dawg’ and tough it out. That’s all there is to it.”

The injury did, however, make him more one dimensional in the second half. The dual-threat QB was noticeably gimpy and was left to mostly hand off or throw the ball.

But, that was enough, as Cordell dominated the second half, scoring an additional three touchdowns and holding BFDC to 0 points.

“We came out the second half ready to play. We kept the foot on their throat the whole time and didn’t let up,” said Adden Zanghi, who finished with a receiving touchdown and two rushing TDs.

The last of Zanghi’s rushing touchdowns, a 64-yarder, put the game out of reach.

“I knew if I bounced outside and just gassed them down, we’d be going on to next week. I just knew I needed to score,” Zanghi said.

His coach called Zanghi the best player on the field on most nights.

“Adden Zanghi is going to be debatably the best player on the field no what game you’re playing,” Trammell said. “I always talk about these guys being ‘dawgs,’ and that’s exactly what he is, offensively and defensively.”

Senior Dane Corbin added two rushing touchdowns, and Kuehne added a touchdown pass and field goal.

The Blue Devils improved to 3-4 on the season. Their four losses were by a combined 10 points.

Trammell said his team will need to rely on its senior leadership as it plays its next playoff game against Thomas (8-1 overall) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

“We’re going to have to play an almost perfect game. We came nowhere close to that tonight,” Trammell said. “Thomas is a good team. They’re good every year, and that really speaks to the culture of their program. That being said, our boys are going to fight, they’re going to compete no matter who they’re playing.”

• GAME NOTES:

BFDC finishes the season with a 5-5 record. Sebastian Huffmaster had a 31-yard touchdown reception for the Eagles’ first touchdown. Kody Wheeler had a nice 35- yard TD run where he broke a few tackles. Bryce Grimaldi had an 8-yard TD run that put BFDC up 22-17 with 2:51 left in the second half and give the Eagle fans hope.

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