Friday night at Joe Etheredge Stadium, Choctaw went toe-to-toe with No. 6-ranked Auburn, a Class 6A program out of Alabama, and while the Indians showed significant improvement from their Week 1 outing at Mosley, the Tigers proved to be the better team in a 31-21 final.
“We’ve gotten better each week in a lot of different areas,” Choctaw Head Coach Frank Beasley said. “We just can’t seem to put it all together yet. When you’re playing high-caliber opponents like we’ve been playing, you don’t really have time to hone in on the things you really need to get, but these are the kinds of games that get us ready for the ones down the season.”
The Tigers came out swinging, forcing a Choctaw three-and-out before Arkansas commit Carson Myers sliced through the Indians defense on Auburn’s opening drive, capped by Jaeden King punching it in to put the Tigers up 7-0 early.
But the Indians responded. Jack Coblentz fumbled, and Choctaw recovered. Two plays later, Carter Marracco ran it all the way in from 62 yards out to tie the game.
- Auburn answered with another drive, with Myers and the Tigers’ ground game once again causing Choctaw problems before the Tigers scored on a quarterback keeper to make it 14-7.
Meanwhile, Auburn’s defense held the Indians offense in check. Andrew Fligel missed a field goal, but the final drive of the half proved to be an enormous one for Auburn. Deep in its own territory, Myers found a wide-open BJ Collins, who took it all the way to the Choctaw 15. King followed with his second rushing touchdown of the night as time expired, giving the Tigers a 21-7 lead heading into halftime.
The second half brought a different energy from Choctaw.
Auburn fumbled the opening kickoff deep in Indians territory, and the Choctaw offense made quick work. Isaiah Collins found Brody Combs for a 15-yard touchdown to narrow it to one score.
But the Tigers responded. Auburn ground out another long drive, capped by Coblentz scoring from two yards out to push the lead to 28-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Indians pulled within one score again. Choctaw put together a solid drive, with Marracco taking it in from 15 yards out to make it 28-21. But Auburn answered once more, with Fligel connecting on a 32-yard field goal with just under eight minutes remaining to make it 31-21.
After that, the Choctaw offense could not find another answer. Collins threw an interception, and despite forcing multiple Auburn punts, the Tigers defense tightened up and preserved the win.
There were positives to take away. Collins showed potential at quarterback and will continue as the starter going forward.
- “We’ll see how that goes this week,” Beasley said. “Isaiah had a really good second half. We felt like we needed a little spark. We’ve got to get that position going in the right direction.”
Choctaw also cleaned up its penalty issues from the Week 1 loss at Mosley.
“We’re just growing as a team,” Beasley said. “We’ve done some stuff internally to make sure that we try and fix some of those things.”
The schedule does not get easier, with Pace, Escambia and Niceville all coming up.
“It’s going to be tough,” Beasley said. “Pace is a physical football team. They always are, and it’s going to pose problems. They have a really good coaching staff. Getting our guys prepared and ready, it’s going to be a tough stretch, but we’re prepared for it.”
