With their 35-7 victory last Friday over Comanche, Purcell secured second place in District 2A-3 and will host Holdenville’s Wolverines at Conger Field this Friday night at 7 p.m.

Going into the contest Purcell is  8-2 while Holdenville is 7-3.

“Holdenville is really, really good,” confirmed head coach Aaron Dillard. “They finished third in their district but they could have won it, had a couple of plays gone their way.”

Holdenville finished behind Kingston and Davis but Dillard reports the Wolverines played both of those teams really tough.

“They are definitely going to be a challenge for us. They like to run double tight ends and try to run over you. That’s their MO,” Dillard said.

Holdenville has three monstrous down linemen on defense.

“They run an odd stack and do a lot of blitzing and stunting. Their linebackers and secondary are fast and athletic. They will challenge us for sure,” the coach said.

Dillard said the key for Purcell is to win first down on both sides of the ball.

“The team that wins first downs will win the ball game. We are both fairly run based on offense. We need to get them in second and third in long.

“And on offense we need to be in second and third in short to have the upper hand,” Dillard said. “Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd and have a good shot to advance. We’ll have to play well.”

Junior Boston Knowles led the way in the 35-7 victory at Comanche last Friday night.

Knowles, who rushed the rock 13 times for 87 yards scored on runs of three, 30, nine and two. Guillermo also found the end zone on a 10-yard  burst.

“Boston had a really good game,” Dillard said. “I’m really proud of him.”

Dillard said his offensive line played a lot better in the second half.

He was talking about Brody Holder, Gunnar Baker, Carter Goldston, Derek Cravens and Brian Bernal.

They paved the way for Kash Guthmueller to rush for 85 yards on 10 carries. Carter Bennett gained 82 yards on eight carries while Nathan Tekaat had three carries for 35 yards. Martinez carried the mail six times for 34 yards.

“Anytime you run for 350 yards you’re doing some good things,” Dillard said. “We got good production from our A backs especially Tekaat and Bennett.

Christian Kirk led the team with 10 tackles while Knowles finished with eight.

“Our defensive line did a good job stopping the run,” Dillard said of Tavian Engert, Brody Holder, Jonathan Minor and Landry Bacon.

Senior linebacker Ryker Fink is out for the remainder of the season due to a lower leg injury he sustained at Comanche.

Dragon notes:

Head coach Aaron Dillard nominated Boston Knowles as the Offensive Player of the Week for his four touchdown performance against Comanche.

The Defensive Lineman of the Week nominee was Tavian Engert with five stops.

The Defensive Player of the Week nominee was Christian Kirk with 10 tackles.

There was no Offensive Lineman of the Week nomination.

Friday’s home playoff contest is the first one at Conger Field since 2016.