By Blake Colston
Sports Writer
Yukon got 71 yards rushing and two scores from running back Logan Day, but Westmoore quarterback MJ Graham accounted for four touchdowns and 373 total yards as the Jaguars rolled past the Millers, 54-28.
Yukon provided its home crowd some moments to enjoy – particularly on offense – in the first game of head coach Brent Barnes’ tenure. Receiver Kenison Rogers hauled in a team-high 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Holden Kee ran for a four-yard touchdown and threw for 187 yards on 40 attempts as Yukon debuted its new spread passing attack.
Graham stole the show, though. A transfer from Southeast High School in Oklahoma City, Graham was undaunted by Yukon’s fast-paced, no-huddle offense. The University of Houston commit ran for 197 yards and passed for 176 more to help Westmoore even its record at 1-1. Graham had touchdown runs of 1,4 and 65 yards.
Yukon (0-1) had some opportunities to swing momentum its way early on. Each time, Graham made a play instead as the Jaguars built a 30-7 lead by half.
With Westmoore facing a fourth-and-2 from its own 29-yard line on its opening drive, the hard-to-tackle Graham raced up the middle eight yards for a first down.
Later, Graham completed a short pass to running back Matt Evans who turned up field for a 26-yard gain on third-and-25.
And even when the Millers forced a punt from Westmoore midway through the second quarter, Graham improvised to pick up a first down after initially dropping the snap on fourth-and-9.
On the next play, Graham found Jaden Hunter open in the flat. Hunter darted away from three defenders for a 43-yard touchdown to give the Jaguars a 27-7 lead with 3:28 left in the second quarter.
The season got off to an inauspicious start for Yukon’s offense. Kee couldn’t control a high snap on the Millers’ first play from scrimmage, and the ball trickled into the end zone where Westmoore’s Devin Lacroix recovered it for a touchdown.
The Millers responded on their next drive when Kee passed to Rogers for a 6-yard touchdown as Yukon evened the score 7-7 with 4:26 to play in the first quarter.
But YHS didn’t score again until the 7:24-mark of the third quarter when Day found the end zone from four yards out. A 31-yard reception from Lucas Jones and an 18-yard dash from Day helped get YHS in position.
Westmoore beat Yukon for the second year in a row. The Jags in 2022 dropped the Millers 30-7.
Yukon will try for its first win again next Friday when YHS hosts Stillwater in a non-district matchup. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
