It’s only fitting that a 7-6 defensive victory for a third straight State Championship should end on a defensive play.

That’s exactly what happened in Edmond Friday afternoon.

Linebacker Hudson Howard broke up a pass play on a fourth-and-8 for Millwood from near midfield to preserve Washington’s third straight State title and third straight championship victory over the Falcons at Chad Richison Stadium on the campus of UCO.

The Warriors have now won 44 straight games and are 70-3 over the last five seasons, after making the State finals six of the last eight years.

The Warriors last loss was in the State Championship game against Marlow in 2021.

Millwood drew first blood on a three-yard Anthony Keys touchdown plunge, but their two point attempt play was thwarted.

Keys was nailed at the goal line, and held out in what proved to be a key play in the contest.

Offense was limited on both sides of the field but four-star recruit and Ohio State-signee Nate Roberts heated up in the second half to haul in six Creed Barrett passes for 74 yards and one touchdown. A Tatum Wilk kick provided the difference in the toe-to-toe heavy weight battle for the Gold Ball.

Roberts wasn’t the only one who heated up in the second half.

Senior running back Hudson Howard got rolling as well.

“It’s pretty crazy,” head coach Brad Beller said in retrospect. “You don’t go into a season thinking your are going to go undefeated. You just take each game one at a time. Then you look back and see what you’ve accomplished. When you think we’ve played in the last five State Championship games, you almost have to pinch yourself.”

Beller credited his defense for them nailing down a state title three-peat.

“You gotta’ give the defense a ton of credit. They played great, especially when our offense put them in bad field position.

“Our defense is the reason why we won the State championship,” the coach declared.

Senior defensive back Tanner Olson drew a tough assignment covering Division 1 receiver prospect Xavier Thompson.

Olson was up to the task, intercepting two quarterback Schuylar Turnbull passes, breaking up a pair of passes and making nine tackles.

Thompson has several DI offers.

“Kale Brakefield had a really, really good game,” Beller said of the junior linebacker. “We put him in a spot where he had to cover a lot of ground all game. He was all over the place making lots of tackles and bringing physicality to the game.”

Case Alexander led the tackling of the shark-bit defense with 15 stops.

Brakefield was right on his heels with 13 tackles, a figure matched by Blake Heiliger.

Dawson Thomas finished with 10 tackles while Kash Guthmueller had nine.

Beller called the offensive production from seniors Nate Roberts, Hudson Howard and Mason Singletary “fitting.”

“It was very fitting that our three seniors were the main contributors,” Beller said. “They all had highlight reel plays and were models of consistency.”

Singletary had five receptions for 70 yards and had one fourth down catch that Beller called, “one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen in person.”

“He was double covered, somehow got to the ball and was able to get his foot down in bounds,” Beller said in amazement.

Roberts wrapped his mitts around six Creed Barrett passes for 74 yards, including the nine-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter followed by the all important PAT by Tatum Wilk that kissed the left upright before falling in for the winning point.

“From that point on we had to play complimentary football,” Beller said.

“Hudson Howard was able to get rolling running the football and our defense was able to pitch a shutout in the second half.

Howard carried the rock 17 times for 100.

“Hudson and Nate haven’t played much defense. But Nate, playing defensive end, had a big hit on the quarterback and Howard broke up the big fourth down pass attempt. Those seniors, who have played since they were sophomores, rose to the occasion. Their record of 44-0 is a mark that will never be forgotten around here,” Beller said.

Roberts got into a little action at fullback as well, icing the game with a sneak for a first down  to seal the victory.

“They were a very quiet class, not a group that made a lot of noise but a group that just worked every day and got the job down,” Beller concluded.