BARTLESVILLE FOOTBALL: BRUINS LOSE HEARTBREAKER AT CUSTER STADIUM
Bartlesville High School’s Matthew Sears (5) leaps over a Ponca City tackler last Thursday in Bartlesville. The Bruins fell 24-23.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville High School’s defense tackles a Ponca City runner last Thursday in Bartlesville. The Bruins fell 24-23.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Oct. 27, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS
Heartbreak manifests itself in many ways.
On Thursday night it was as seemingly inconsequential for the Bartlesville High School football team as a simple two-pointer.
The Ponca City High School Wildcats rolled the dice in the fourth quarter to tack on two points following a touchdown drive.
‘Cats converted on a pass to nudge into the lead, 24-23.
That would be the final score.
The loss dropped the Bartlesville Bruins to 1-7 overall and 1-4 in District 6A-II-2, likely dealing a final blow to the team’s hopes to host a first round playoff game. Ponca City improved to 3-5 and 2-3 — also carried home the ConocoPhillips Bowl Cup trophy.
It had been an all-out brutal battle at Bartlesville’s Custer Stadium decided by the slimmest of margins. Pads popped, helmets crashed, penalty flags fluttered like confetti, human electricity flowed from the spectators like a waterfall of kinetic excitement — it was indeed a sparkling calliope that encompassed the full range of dramatic human emotions.
The tension was unrelenting. Both teams made big plays in the clutch of pressure.
Only one team could win this classic game of dramatic twists and turns and evolving storylines — that was the only shame of it all.
Ponca City — losing to Bartlesville, 30-20, last year at home — snapped out to a 9-0 lead in the first six minutes. The ‘Cats got on the board first on a Bartlesville mistake — an errant pitch that went into the end zone that resulted in a Bruin safety that put Ponca City ahead, 2-0.
Obviously those two points would loom gigantic as the script unfolded.
Following the safety, the Bruins kicked the ball off and the Wildcats made an explosive kickoff return all the way to the Bruin 21-yard line. That set up an easy Ponca City touchdown on Inell DeRogers’ one-yard plunge. The extra point extended the Wildcat lead to 9-0 — with more than six minutes left in the first quarter.
But the Bruins — coming off a season-high 42 points the previous week — answered immediately. On the ensuing possession, quarterback Michael Kent engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive in just two minutes.
They employed a bit of sleight-of-hand to score. After the snap, Kent pitched the ball on the opposite side to Matthew Sears, who loaded up his arm and flung a tall arching pass to Harrison Ketchum, who was streaking down the right side after outrunning his single coverage. He hauled the ball in stride and sprinted several yards to the end zone to put the Bruins on the scoreboard. Dillon Burson booted an extra point to cut Ponca City’s lead to 9-7.
Neither team scored again in the first half.
In the third quarter a Bartlesville fumble led to a Ponca City touchdown pass. The extra point extended the Wildcats’ lead to nine points, 16-7.
Bartlesville didn’t quit.
They answered on a 65-yard aerial connection from Kent to Boden Roberts — on a 4th-and-5 play. Kent rolled out, spotted Roberts along the right sideline, zipped the ball to him and Roberts took off on a mad dash the final 50 yards, or so, to pay dirt. Sutton Williams scored the two-point conversion to pull the Bruins within one point, 16-15, with 2:20 left in the third quarter.
Ponca City then fumbled the ball back — with Bartlesville’s Christian Ketiku making the recovery —to set up the Bruin offense at the Ponca City 18-yard line. The drive ended on a one-yard run by Williams — his fourth rushing touchdown in two weeks. Sears hauled in the two-point pass and Bartlesville led for the first time in the game, 23-16.
As the game wound into the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Bruins might pull the win after all. But with about eight minutes left, Ponca City completed a 64-yard touchdown drive — highlighted by a 12-yard run and a 36-yard pass completion that the receiver fumbled out of bounds near the goal line. Ponca City scored on a short run on the next play to cut Bartlesville’s lead to 23-22. Instead of going for the tie, the Wildcats opted to try a two-pointer. They completed the pass to go ahead, 24-23.
Bartlesville still had plenty of time to try to rescue the victory. The Bruins then made an epic 47-yard drive, with tailback Daeton Stevens doing most of the heavy work. Bartlesville converted on a 4th-and-2 play at midfield to keep the drive going. But, the drive stalled again and Bartlesville went for it again on fourth down, barely into Ponca City territory. The pass was incomplete and Ponca City took possession of the ball with 3:18 left.
The Wildcats burned up the rest of the clock with three first downs.
Next up, the Bruins hit the road Friday to play Putnam City West. (1-7, 1-4). The Bruins can clinch a playoff spot by winning out, although home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs is probably out of reach.
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PCHS: 9-0-7-8 — 24
BHS: 7-0-16-0 — 23
FIRST QUARTER
PCHS — Safety, 7:19.
PCHS — 1 run (Love kick), 6:07.
BHS — Ketchum 62 reception from Matthew Sears (Dillon Burson kick), 4:00.
THIRD QUARTER
PCHS — Colt Schickram 35 yards (Love kick), 7:10.
BHS: Boden Roberts 35 catch from Michael Kent (Sutton Williams run), 2:20.
BHS — Williams 1 run (Sears 2pt catch), 0:29.
FOURTH QUARTER
PCHS — DeRogers 2 run (2-pt pass), 8:03.
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BARTLESVILLE LEADERS
Passing: Michael Kent 15-26-0-237, 1 TD; Matthew Sears 1-1-0-62, 1 TD.
Rushing: Michael Kent 11-81, Daeton Stevens 12-33, Sutton Williams 8-23.
Receiving: Harrison Ketchum 3-84, 1 TD; Boden Roberts 4-76, 1 TD; Matthew Sears 5-28.
Defensive fumbles recovered: Christian Keiku (1).
Defensive backs: Davin Carter (1).
Defensive total tackles: Wyatt Mathis (7), Ivan Griffith (6), Christian Ketiku (3), Adrian Jones (3).