MOORE — For the first time since 2015, Southmoore is the Southwest Showdown champion.
The SaberCats defeated Westmoore 17-14 Friday night at Moore Lions Stadium not only to secure their first victory over the Jaguars in 9 years but their first win as a program since Week 1 of 2022.
“Man, it’s been a long time coming,” Southmoore third-year head coach Jake Monden said after the win. “We’ve got such great kids here at Southmoore. Most of these guys, we’ve had them for two years since I’ve been here. . . We messed up some things here and there, and we’ve got a lot of stuff to correct, but I tell you what: Our kids played really hard tonight.”
The game’s quarterbacks wrote its story. Westmoore senior Brodie Inhofe dazzled in his command of the Jaguars’ offense on two spectacular drives. But Southmoore sophomore Taven Hayes stole the show in his debut.
“It’s just up from here now,” Hayes said. “We’ve been working hard for this. We definitely deserve it.”
After a 3-0 Southmoore start via Breckett Bailey’s 40-yard field goal, the two passers dueled out the final four minutes of the first half.
Inhofe produced perhaps the game’s most impressive drive after the Jaguars inherited the ball 93 yards away from the end zone. After completing passes to several receivers, he turned the keys over to Jaylan Woody at the 15, who dashed into the end zone to give Westmoore the lead.
Southmoore took over at its own 20 with 51 seconds left in the half, down 4 and to-receive the second-half kickoff — Most teams would have ran the ball to play it safe. The SaberCats, and primarily Hayes, made play after play. A penalty gave Hayes and the offense an extra 15. With four seconds left in the half and ball on the 23-yard line, Monden could have sent Bailey to knock down his second 40-yard field goal of the night. But it was personal.
“Our kicker is very capable of making that kick, but in a game like this, it’s a deal for us where most guys take a knee or kick the field goal,” Monden said, “but not us. We’re playing to win, right?”
Hayes took the snap, felt pressure and scrambled left. He locked eyes with sophomore Lance Lingo crossing the field with him. Hayes fired it off and led Lingo just inside the goal line. He dove and secured the snag as the clock hit zeros on a Southmoore halftime lead.
“Taven did a heck of a job right there of knowing the situation with two seconds left and being able to put it in there and just give us a chance to score,” Monden said. “Lance Lingo made that catch, and he’s a sophomore for us. That kid just does everything right. It’s incredible.”
The third quarter felt much like the first as both teams struggled to gain footing. It appeared bleak for Southmoore’s offense well into the fourth quarter until, on third-and-17 from the 49-yard line, Hayes made yet another spectacular throw.
“I just saw Garrett [Eddy] down the field, and I’m like Dude, he’s 6-3. I mean, I’ve got to give him a shot,” Hayes said.
Hayes stepped up and rifled the ball half the length of the field to Eddy, practically uncovered in the end zone. He caught it with his back to the end line in what would become the SaberCats’ win-clinching play with seven minutes left in the game.
“Man, we really feel like we’re heading in the right direction, and we’ve got two more tough non-district opponents coming up,” Monden said. “As long as we improve every week, I feel like we can be right where we want to be at the end of the season.”