Talihina to play in semifinals

Talihina to play

Talihina to play in semifinals 7 p.m. Friday against Thomas-Fay-Custer at Harrah High School with the winner advancing to the Class A-II football championship game.

The championship game is 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at the University of Central Oklahoma. Tickets can be purchased online HERE.

The Talihina and Thomas-Fay-Custer will play the Regent Prep/Woodland winner in the finals. Those two teams play in the other semifinal Friday at Catoosa.

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Talihina is one of the best stories among the teams in the playoffs. Two year ago, the Golden Tigers didn’t have enough players to field a varsity team and now, fielding a team mainly consisting of sophomores and juniors and only three players on the roster, the Golden Tigers are hoping to add a second state championship in football to go along with the previous championship in 1966.

Talihina and Thomas fay custer

Talihina finished in a three-way tie for the district championship in A-7 with fellow semifinalist Regent Prep and Central. The Golden Tigers were awarded the top seed by district points. Talihina defeated Central and lost to Regent Prep while Central handed Regent Prep its only loss.

The loss to Regent Prep was the only blemish for Talihina, which was battling the injury bug during that game. Thomas-Fay-Custer finished in a tie with Mangum, but the Terriers won the head-to-head matchup. Thomas-Fay-Custer’s only loss came in a 34-33 loss at Apache, a team that didn’t make the playoffs.

Talihina and Thomas-Fay-Custer have one common opponent in Texhoma/Goodwell. Talihina won 36-24 in the semifinals last week over Texhoma while the Terriers defeated Texhoma, 19-12, in district play.

Talihina has a slight advance in points scored while the Terriers’ defense has allowed fewer points per game. The Golden Tigers are averaging 40.5 points per game compared to 33.25 for Thomas-Fay-Custer. Both teams have stiff defenses. The Terriers allow 13.7 points per game while Talihina gives up 16.4 points per game.

Talihina has a balanced offense for the Terriers to try and slow down. The Golden Tigers rush for around 260 yards per game and pass for 216 yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Landen Griffith leads Talihina’s offense. He has passed for over 2,270 yards and rushed for around 1,600 yards on the season and missed the Regent Prep game due to an injury.