On Friday, November 7th, the Seminole Chieftains travelled to Tulsa to take on the Victory Christian Conquerors in the regular season finale of their 2025 campaign.

The Chieftains, needing a win to make the Class 3A playoffs, spoiled the home team’s senior night with a dominant 42-14 win. Seminole finishes the regular season 7-3 overall and 4-3 in district play and returns to the postseason for a second straight year.

After defensive back Mason Bennett got the game started by batting down a Victory pass on fourth down, he followed that up with a 60-yard touchdown reception two minutes later. This gave the visitors a 6-0 lead at the 6:53 mark.

Seminole quickly struck again after recovering the ensuing onside kick. Quarterback Donavin Garfield capped off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, making it 14-0 Chieftains. Victory later cut the deficit in half on a 35-yard touchdown run. As the first quarter came to a close, the Chieftains were threatening again.

Facing a fourth down in the red zone to begin the second, QB Donavin Garfield would find wide receiver Mason Bennett for a 17-yard score. It was the duo’s second connection of the ballgame and gave the visitors a 20-7 lead. After both squads traded fumbles midway through the second quarter, the Chieftain defense forced a three-andout and would capitalize off it. Qaurterback Donavin Garfield extended Seminole’s lead at the two-minute mark with his second rushing touchdown of the game, allowing the Chieftains to take a 28-7 lead into the intermission.

The Conquerors received the second-half kickoff, methodically made their way down the field over the course of seven game minutes, and cut the Seminole lead down to 28-14.

This momentum would carry over to the ensuing kickoff when Victory recovered an onside kick, injecting life into the home crowd. However, DB Mason Bennett stole the momentum right back for his squad with a diving interception just plays later, setting up QB Donavin Garfield’s third rushing touchdown of the ballgame, and helping Seminole take a 34-14 lead into the final quarter.

With a playoff spot on the line, the Chieftain defense stepped up big in the fourth. The unit was able to force a turnover on downs on all three of Victory’s fourth-quarter possessions. These stops, combined with one final Seminole touchdown, this time courtesy of a 47-yard reception by WR Jay Ladd, helped the visitors secure the 42-14 win and a spot in the postseason.

Here is what Head Coach Mike Snyder had to say after the game about being back in the playoffs. “Well, it is good, you know, that is where we are supposed to be. That is what this program tries to do every time we turn around, and our kids were able to do that. It was a little sloppy at first, but you play somebody 2-7 sometimes that happens. Their kids played really hard, and we had Mason Bennett have a big ballgame, so I am excited for him.”

Bennett finished with seven receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns; he also had an interception on the defensive side of the ball. He was accompanied in the receiving game by WR Jay Ladd, who finished with nine receptions for 143 yards and a score. Airing the ball out to these two receivers was QB Donavin Garfield. Garfield tallied an ultra-efficient performance, going 17-20 through the air for 315 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 18 carries for 134 yards and three more scores on the ground.

The Seminole defense forced two turnovers, four turnovers on downs, and held the Victory QB to 5-20 passing for 55 yards.

The victory over the Conquerors has the Chieftains back in the playoffs for the second straight year. Next up, Seminole will travel to Heritage Hall for their firstround battle, and a rematch of last year’s first round game, a 42-20 win for the Chargers.

This time around, the #4 seed Chieftains will begin their 2025 playoff run, looking to secure Coach Snyder’s 400th career win, and try and keep their season alive on Friday, November 14th, when they take on the #1 seed Heritage Hall Chargers. Game time is set for 7:00PM.