By AJ Watson

The Pike Liberal Patriots weren’t able to circle the wagons in time, as the Lakeside Chiefs from Eufaula scalped them 33-14 Friday.

The Patriots both outgunned and outran the Chiefs with 253 yards of total offense and looked tough for the entirety of the first quarter – scoring both of their touchdowns in the first quarter within 30 seconds of each other.

The senior Patriots quarterback Russ Thomas continuously moved the chains early in the first quarter with a 38-yard bomb to Dustin Newman shortly followed by a 19-yard gain off of a pass to senior Michael Carroll.

Thomas then punched it in with a 4-yard touchdown run with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter.

The Patriot defense held tough and forced a Lakeside punt following kickoff.

Russ Thomas was back to field the punt and took the pigskin to the house for a 62-yard touchdown return with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Then Pike Liberal started to crack.

Following two personal fouls on Pike Liberal, Lakeside was set up in prime scoring position after a 30-yard Kyle Phillips reception to knock on the door of the Patriot 1-yard line.

Lakeside halfback Ja’Cory Hobdy finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Special teams proved fruitful for both teams when Kyle Phillips ran a punt back for 80 yards to tie the game up 14-14 with 7:43 remaining in the first half.

Following a Patriots fumble, Lakeside seized the opportunity and, moving the chains consistently with large gains, left Pike Liberal in the dust for the rest of the game.

Ja’Cory Hobdy crammed six points down the Patriots throats with a 9-yard touchdown run with more than five minutes remaining in the half.

Lakeside quarterback Tyler King hooked up with Brody Thomasson for a series of large gains totaling over 80 yards to make it 26-14 going into the half.

The final score came off of an 85-yard touchdown interception by Kyle Morris with 3:21 remaining in the final quarter.

With most, if not all, players fielding both ways, Patriots head coach Wayne Grant said he didn’t understand the lack of stamina on the field.

“Actually, that’s a questions I posed to the boys and got no answer,” Grant said. “As much as we run and as much as we work out and as much as we do each week in preparation we should be in better shape than what we are.”

Grant said he was proud of the younger guys and expects them to get better with every second.

“I was proud of them for coming in and stepping up and doing what they could to help the team – that’s how you learn.”

Thomas, who accounted for 200 yards of offense, agreed.

“We need to work on playing together and keeping our heads up,” Thomas said. “It was a good experience for the (younger players). Everybody played hard.”