CLEVELAND — Cleveland spent much of Friday night trying to climb out of a hole Wagoner dug almost instantly.
But for a few stretches, the Tigers showed plenty of fi ght.
Wagoner jumped out with 21 fi rstquarter points and eventually rolled to a 72-22 District 4A-3 victory, dropping Cleveland to 1-5 on the season — Wagoner doing Wagoner things.
But the Tigers found a spark on special teams.
Sophomore Sam Sizemore fi elded a deep kicko around the 4-yard line and tore roughly 85 yards through the Wagoner tacklers, giving the Tigers their fi rst real scoring opportunity of the night.
Carson Taylor fi nished the drive with Cleveland's fi rst touchdown.
Wagoner answered almost immediately, needing just two plays to score again.
But Cleveland answered right back. Taylor found daylight and broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run, giving the Tigers their biggest o ensive play of the night and momentarily turning what had threatened to become a runaway game into something more competitive.
Cleveland later added its third touchdown when quarterback Bryson Sullivan kept the ball and powered into the end zone.
The Tigers, however, never found an answer for Wagoner's volatile o ense.
The Bulldogs came into Cleveland
after a 35-31 loss to Skiatook but erupted for their biggest o ensive night of the season, surpassing the 46 points they scored in a Sept. 25 win over Miami.
Cleveland was also playing shorthanded. Dawson Kelsey was sidelined with a foot injury, while Leland Kimbrough missed the game because of illness, leaving the Tigers without two key contributors against a Wagoner program with a long history of success in Class 4A, but with a new coach holding the keys.
The loss was Cleveland’s fourth straight since its 42-41 victory over Sequoyah Claremore on Sept. 4.
There were few positives to pull from a 50-point defeat, but Cleveland did produce three touchdowns after being shut out by Grove the previous week — and Sizemore and Taylor showed the Tigers still have the ability to create explosive plays when given a little daylight.
Cleveland now turns its attention to another di cult district assignment.
The Tigers travel to Cushing Thursday for a 7 p.m. kicko .