EDMOND — Norman High running back Joe Willie made the most of his opportunity at Edmond Memorial Friday night.

With star quarterback Cade Horton sidelined with an injury, Willie was the Tigers’ workhorse in a 21-3 victory over the Bulldogs that Norman hopes will serve as a springboard during the final month of the season.

Willie carried 24 times for 143 yards and a touchdown Friday as the Tigers won for the first time in three tries to improve to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in district play.

“He ran hard and he was tough,” head coach Rocky Martin said of Willie. “We thought we were better than them up front and obviously Joe took over and ran really hard.”

The victory came after back-to-back 14-7 losses to Yukon and Moore, respectively, that provided plenty of frustration, especially offensively. Friday, Norman took a step forward, Willie said.

“We ran the ball. That’s what we’re good at,” Willie said. “We finally pulled one out.”

Willie’s 33-yard touchdown run with 4:14 left in the third quarter gave Norman a 14-3 lead, which was plenty of cushion for a Tigers defense that limited Memorial to 160 total yards.

In for Horton, Ryan Haley threw a pair of touchdown passes, one to Jonah Paden and another to Gabe Ferguson while completing 14-of 23 passes for 134 yards.

“He managed the game well, he made really good reads and he made some great slant throws,” Martin said. “Overall, really positive.”

Haley misfired on three of his first four passes, but settled into a groove quickly after that. He connected on 4-of-5 passes for 55 yards on the Tigers’ first scoring drive that culminated in a 15-yard strike to Ferguson midway through the second quarter that put Norman in front 7-0.

Haley connected with Paden on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to close the scoring.

Willie said the team had confidence in Haley throughout the game.

“We know he and Cade can both throw touchdowns and play well,” he said. “We didn’t really change anything about our offense.”

Haley’s lone mistake came on a fourth-quarter interception on a deep throw down the field, but Norman’s defense forced Edmond into a three-and-out on the ensuing drive.

The Bulldogs struggled to get out of their own way for a majority of the game.

Memorial’s first snap of the game sailed over quarterback Trace Evans’ head for a 14-yard loss. Later, a penalty nullified a 33-yard pass to Dakari Charlton that would’ve given Memorial a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

Edmond’s struggles were in large part due to a Norman High defense that dominated at the line of scrimmage while totaling six sacks and numerous pressures.

“That was huge,” Martin said. “The defense played great tonight.”

The Bulldogs scored their only points of the night on a 21-yard field goal by Jamie Buchli in the second quarter, but even that was a win for the Tigers. Memorial had the ball first-and-goal at the 1-yard line before a series of miscues sent them in reverse.

Norman will host Enid Friday as they look to pull closer to the fourth and final playoff spot in District 6A-1.

“We’re going in the right direction. We still haven’t put it all together,” Martin said. “Overall, I’m happy, but the good thing is we can improve.”
