By CRAIG HALL
Heavener and Spiro have played virtually every year in football over the last two decades, but big games between the two LeFlore County rivals have been few and far between.
Actually, the last big game that helped decide a playoff team came in Nov. 2, 2008, when the Wolves defeated Spiro, 58-26, to advance to the playoffs.
Heavener will hope for a repeat when the Wolves host Spiro in a Week 9 game Friday that should determine the third and fourth place teams in District 2A-8 as long as neither team stubs their toe in Week 10 games which have Heavener visiting Antlers and Spiro hosting Wilburton.
Both teams are 5-3 overall and 3-2 in district play, losing only to the district’s top teams in Eufaula and Idabel.
While the third and fourth seeds will likely be matched up against Prague or Vian in the first round of the playoffs, it will still be an achievement, especially for Heavener, which has not made the playoffs since 2011 and not won five games in a season since 2012.
Both teams took care of business Thursday to set up next week’s game. Heavener dominated Wilburton, 42-20, in a game that could have easily been more lopsided except the officials got a little flag-happy against the Wolves, which comes as no surprise as the game was played at Wilburton. Spiro knocked off a talented Hugo team, 30-21.
In the Wolves’ win over Wilburton, Heavener’s defense intercepted four passes and P.J. Riddley, pictured above in an earlier game with Valliant, had another monster game.
Riddley rushed for 208 yards on 20 carries, his second straight week to go over 200 yards, plus he scores on runs of 1 and 19 as the Wolves’ offensive line steamrolled Wilburton’s defenders.
Quarterback Jackson Clubb had touchdown runs of 32 and 30 and a scoring pass from 5-yards out to Camden Broyles.
The only negative for Heavener was being called for 11 penalties for 125 yards, several which were questionable.
The game wrapped up a stretch of three straight road games with the trip to Wilburton after traveling to Idabel and Hugo the previous weeks. Heavener’s road tour is not finished as the Wolves close out the regular season at Antlers.
While it appears the winner of Friday’s game will finish third and the loser fourth, Spiro plays Wilburton in Week 10 while Heavener is on the road again at Antlers.
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