BLUEJACKET, Okla.—Your Welch Wildcats ended tonight’s football game just a bit early as they racked up a 48-0, game-ending touchdown with 2:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was all Welch tonight, from the opening kick-off, which Asa Chenoweth returned for a TD, to the very end. A great deal of Bluejacket’s forward motion came from Wildcat penalties, and the Chieftains spent very little time in Wildcat territory.

Though billed as the “battle for the bell,” Bluejacket again would not allow Welch to have possession of the rivalry-symbolizing bell. This fact has been interpreted as less-than-sportsmanlike behavior on Bluejacket’s part for years. For now, the Cats will have to be content with a romping victory and their celebratory photo with the non-mobile bell.

Here are some photos of the drubbing:

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Regional Tournament Consolation Champs

MORRISON, Okla.—After a thrilling overtime victory over Ripley Friday night, your Welch Wildcats took on the Morrison Wildcats in a big cat battle Saturday afternoon at the Morrison Event Center. Both teams knew the stakes going in: the winning team would be the regional tournament consolation champion and advance to the area tournament next week; the losing team would move on to Spring sports, having complete its 2010 basketball season. Your Welch Wildcats rose to the occasion. Joey Powers delivered his usual, strong showing, and Austin Buchanan was on fire, sinking trey after trey. Strong efforts by all the Welch Wildcats—starters and reserves, scorers and non-scorers—illustrated why this team is so phenomenally successful. Coach Josh Schertz has crafted a group of young men who are all class.

Welch won the tip and set their offense looking to score first. A trey by Austin Buchanan got the Cats on the board first. After a defensive stop, the Cats scored again on another three-ball by Buchanan. Welch held Morrison scoreless the first three minutes of the game before the hosts got on the scoreboard with a bucket by their big man down low. Jacob Mount answered with a bucket of his own to increase the lead, and yet another trey by Buchanan forced a Morrison timeout. Welch led, 11-2, with four minutes left in the quarter. The scouting report on the Wildcats says to shut down Powers’ outside game and Mount’s inside game. Morrison seemed privy to this information, as they kept a man on Powers and packed the inside with their 2-1-2 zone against Mount. That strategy let Buchanan run free, to the tune of 13 first-quarter points. At the end of one period, the Cats of Welch were leading, 17-9.

The second quarter started like the first, with another trey by Buchanan, this one from the left side. The only thing that slowed Buchanan down was his second foul call, causing him to visit the bench early in the second period. The whistles came fast and often against Welch, and Morrison was in the bonus with 5:40 remaining in the half. Jacob Mount scored in the paint for an “and-one,” raising the Welch lead to 23-17. Powers got his second bucket, extending the lead again, and Welch forced a turnover to get the ball back again. Powers was fouled shooting and made both freebies to advance the Welch lead to 27-17 with under three minutes remaining in the half. Welch missed the front end of a pair of 1-and-1′s twice. The defense stepped up, allowing only a single bucket on the Morrison end and ending the half ahead, 27-19. Buchanan alone almost outscored the opposition combined, sinking 16 first-half points.

Welch got the ball first in the second half, and Joey Powers quickly converted a bucket to extend Welch’s lead to double digits. Buchanan made a free throw, and, after a Morrison turnover, nailed another trey to push the Welch Cat lead to 14 with 5:45 left in the quarter. A made free throw and an ensuing jumper, both by Powers, ran the Wildcat lead to 17 with under five minutes left in the quarter. Welch went cold the next couple of minutes, as Morrison worked a full-court press, hoping to contain the Cat’s offense. Welch was not able to attack after breaking the press, but Morrison could not buy a bucket, either. A basket by Mount and a free throw by Powers at the end of the quarter got the Cats back on track. At the end of three periods, the Wildcats from Welch led, 41-24.

Powers started the fourth quarter with a layup off a pass from Moore to stretch the Welch lead to 19 with 6:30 remaining in the game. Another bucket by Powers extended the lead to 21, quieting the unexpectedly small Morrison crowd. A Powers put-back and a Mount layup upped the Wildcat lead to 24 with 4:39 to play, and the Welch Wildcat bench started to see the court. The reserves proved a formidable challenge for the home-court Morrison Wildcats. Just before the end of the game, and before a made basket by Morrison, Welch had doubled their opponents, 62-31. That last Morrison basket made the final score, 62-33, Welch. Powers led the Cats with 24; Austin Buchanan added 20; Jacob Mount tallied 13; Asa Chenoweth nailed 3, and Chance Harris had 2. The Cats move on to the area tournament in Enid as the regional consolation champions.

Click here to see more, high quality photos from this game in our Flickr photo set.

Patrick Hankins contributed this report. You, too, can be a WelchOK.com contributor. Email your news, info, and pics to info at WelchOK dot com.

WELCH—The Quapaw Wildcats braved the then-uncleared roads to face the Welch Wildcats last Friday night at the Welch Wildcat Gym here in Welch. Seemingly thankful for a break in the boredom due to the week-long severe cold and weather, a good crowd showed up for the games.

Welch Lady Cats v. Quapaw

It had been three weeks since the Lady Cats were in action before Friday’s tip-off against the visiting Quapaw girls. The game, originally scheduled as Welch’s homecoming, should have seen the Lady Cats in formals and heels, but because of the frigid weather having put a damper on school activities, homecoming has been rescheduled, so it was back to shorts and high-tops instead.

In the Wildcat-Wildcat battle on a brisk Friday night, both teams seemed to start off cold and and somewhat rusty from their holiday break. The Welch Lady Cats played well in the first half, forcing the visitors to a poor shooting performance with their pressure defense, and went into the half with a 12-9 lead. Sierra Hankins led the Welch attack with 10 first-half points, as the Lady Cats dominated the glass and the inside game.

The visitors returned from halftime determined to to claw their way back into the game, and six straight points erased their deficit and gave them a 15-12 lead in the first couple minutes of the third quarter. The Welch Lady Cats got cold from the field during the third quarter, as they only scored three points to fall back behind the visitors heading into the fourth quarter. The Welch Lady Cats fought back, and with contributions from their back court of Krystin Marlow, Megan Carpenter, and Tylor Dodson, they cut Quapaw’s lead to four points with under four minutes to play. The visitors, however, connected on their free throws down the stretch, pulled away, and escaped with a 35-26 Lucky Seven conference win.

Scorers included Sierra Hankins with 17, Megan Carpenter with 4, Erin Snedden with 2, and Tylor Dodson, Kristin Marlow, and Kelsie Smith, each with 1.

The loss puts the Lady Cats’ record at 4-7 for the season as they head into Lucky Seven Conference play in the upcoming weeks.

Welch Wildcats v. Quapaw

Following a long holiday break, the Welch Wildcats, currently ranked 13th in the state in Class A with a 10-1 record, were back in action on the Ken Sooter court inside the Wildcat Gym facing the visiting Quapaw Wildcats last Friday night. With homecoming moved to the 16th because of the weather, the Wildcats were free to focus on the competition instead of the glitz and formalities of homecoming.

The cold temperatures outside the gym couldn’t rival the cold shooting both teams exhibited in the first quarter, as everyone struggled to find the mark. At the end of the first quarter, Welch led Quapaw, 6-3.

The second quarter didn’t warm up much, as both teams continued to struggle at finding the range from the outside. With Welch playing shorthanded because of injuries and illness—Jacob Mount’s imposing presence was especially apparent—they seemed out of sync at times and found themselves in the unfamiliar position of being tied at halftime, 16 all.

The third quarter was more of the same, as the teams traded baskets with neither team imposing its will on the other. Midway through the fourth quarter, on a pair of free throws by Jordan Dry, Welch extended their lead to double digits for the first time with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. Welch played keep-away from the visitors, limiting their shot attempts the remainder of the fourth quarter to finish the game with a 39-25 win.

Scorers included Joey Powers with 15, Jordan Dry with 7, Grant Bullard with 5, Asa Chenoweth with 5, Gabe Moore with 4, Brenton Hale with 2, and Chance Harris with 1.

Welch’s homecoming has been rescheduled for Sat., Jan. 16, against the visiting Commerce Tigers. The Lady Cats will be back in action tonight at Commerce.

See more basketball photos in our Flickr stream.

Patrick Hankins contributed to this report. You, too, can be a WelchOK.com contributor! Email your news and photos to info[at]WelchOK[dot]com.