And for the second straight year, Burkburnett had a chance to pull out a victory in the fourth quarter over their Wichita County rivals. Last year, some last-minute heroics gave the Bulldogs a 28-25 win.

This time, the Bulldogs recovered a fumbled punt by the Coyotes in the first minute of the fourth quarter, setting Burk up at the WFHS 16-yard line.

But the Coyotes' defense, which had given up 264 yards and 13 first downs through three quarters, came through when it counted.

Burkburnett backed up with a holding penalty and then had to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Derek Devereaux, cutting the lead to 21-17.

The Coyotes followed by going for a fourth-and-two from their own 43-yard line and Henderson threw incomplete.

But on the very next play, with Burk trying for a go-ahead score, WFHS safety JaQua Charleston intercepted the Bulldogs' Jason Beach on a deep pass at the Coyotes’ 16.

WFHS was able to get two first downs and then punt the ball away, forcing Burkburnett to go 80 yards for a score. Consecutive sacks by Armonty Bryant, Daryl Ibarra and Daniel Cortez, with help from Bryant, closed out the Bulldogs.

Burkburnett had only 5 yards of offense and no first downs in the fourth quarter, but still finished with more total yards (269) than WFHS (238).

"Our defense stepped up in the second half," WFHS coach Travis Pride said.

The go-ahead score for the Coyotes came on a 1-yard run by Ryan Robison with 1:34 left in the third quarter. Anderson set that up with a 17-yard run on a lateral where he completely reversed his field and nearly made it to the pylon.



Anderson did go the distance in the first half on a 73-yard kickoff return that answered Burk's only score before intermission. It was the last time the Bulldogs kicked to the Oklahoma State-bound speedster.

Robison, making his first varsity start at running back, gained 71 yards on 15 carries and caught three passes for 20 yards. And he had the game-winning touchdown.

"I thought he did well," Pride said. "It was his first game at running back and in a pressure situation, coming off a loss.

"And in the first half I was determined not to throw the ball. They were dropping eight and I wanted to establish a running game. We can run the ball, but we needed to gain some confidence."

Burkburnett had an impressive drive to open the second half as fullback Jonathan Frank connected with Keaton Green on a 38-yard completion on a trick play. Frank also broke a 23-yard run, setting up Jay Gould’s 5-yard TD run. That tied the game at 14.

"We had our chances," Burkburnett coach Bill Dalke said. "We got a little tired in the fourth quarter and missed some plays I thought we could have made in the passing game.

"I felt like we competed against a good 4A team and that’s encouraging."

Burkburnett held Henderson, who went for 406 yards passing the last time he saw a 3A team, to 12-of-20 passing for 96 yards. The longest play of the night in the air was a 24-yarder to Riley Mason, the team’s possession receiver.

"Our defense held them to 14 points," Dalke said.

Before the interception, Beach and the Bulldogs were extremely effective with their passing game. Beach hit 4-of-5 passes 89 yards in the first half, including a big 36-yard hookup with Keaton Green at the end of the second quarter didn’t lead to points, but coming from the Burkburnett 12-yard line, it likely prevented the Coyotes from scoring again.

Burkburnett was led by Gould with 69 yards on 15 carries, while Frank had 62 yards on 10 tries.

The Bulldogs were without top rusher Lyn Barnes, who served a one-game suspension.

Assistant sports editor Andy Newberry may be reached after 4 p.m. weekdays by calling (940) 720-3470 or (800) 627-1646, extension 447; or e-mail to NewberryA(at)timesrecordnews.com.

I wanted to add that the bulldogs played real hard against the coyotes and i was very impressed with how they played against a good 4a team! We out beat them in stats and should have out beat them in the score! Keep your heads up and keep playing smart!