Shoulder injury won’t keep Southmoore’s Haywood out
Perhaps its wishful thinking for opponents or just a joke, but the rumor that Southmoore standout Austin Haywood is out for the season couldn’t be more wrong.
Apparently word circulated at school that Haywood had the same injury as Sam Bradford and was done for the playoffs. Well, here’s how that misinformation likely came about — people saw Haywood, in street clothes, with his arm in a sling on the sideline during last week’s win over Lawton Ike. And with all the attention afforded Bradford’s shoulder, that injury would be a trendy one to toss out as to why Haywood was in a sling.
It’s all nonsense, though. Haywood will be back in his usual spots at tight end and defensive end tonight against Bartlesville. And it’s not even his return to full-speed action. Haywood has been practicing all week. The injury Haywood was dealing with was a strained shoulder muscle. The OU commitment has scored 18 touchdowns for the SaberCats this season in 10 games.
Game Capsule: Bartlesville at Southmoore
Southmoore (10-1) at Lawton (9-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight
Where: Moore Stadium
Southmoore
Why the SaberCats can win: Southmoore has the talent to compete with any team in the state. What the SaberCats don’t have is playoff savvy and know-how. That comes with experience and Southmoore is only in its second year of existence as a program. However, one of the main things teams with playoff experience stress is to not overlook anyone in the playoffs. And another aspect is having focus without being too nervous or affected by outside distractions. And while Southmoore has just one postseason game in its history, that one game gave the SaberCats a big dose of both of those factors.
After a lack-luster and fortunate 34-32 win over a four-win Lawton Ike team in the first round, players acknowledged they didn’t prepare well and didn’t take the Eagles serious enough.
Lesson learned. Southmoore has had great practices all week and players are so zoned in, nerves won’t be a problem.
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Bartlesville
Why the Bruins could win: Bartlesville has an explosive high-scoring offense. The Bruins are one of the few teams in the state which pile up yardage on pace with Southmoore. And, on average, the Bruins have scored more points per game — 37.3 to 35.9.
And those numbers haven’t been padded against weak foes. The Bruins put 40 points on No. 1 Jenks. Even in their two losses (Jenks and Broken Arrow), the Bruins averaged 34 points per game. In the regular season, Bartlesville scored 40 or more points in half of its games.
Having said all that, Bartlesville’s first-round playoff win over Owasso came by the low score of 14-7.
Key matchup: Bartlesville receivers Mike Thompson and Garrett Powell vs. Southmoore corners Julian Wilson and Nyko Symonds.
Thompson and Powell are each among the top receivers in the state individually. As a duo, they are lethal. And their stats are almost identical. Thompson: 51 catches, 980 yards and 10 touchdowns; Powell 48 catches 952 yards and 12 TDs.
Southmoore is as well-equipped as any team to slow the terrific tandem. What’s more, Wilson and Symonds have already gotten a crash course in dealing with a pair of star wideouts when they squared off with Del City standouts Donovan Dan and Chris McAlsiter. And they’ve worked against other terrific wideouts in Mustang’s David Glidden and Midwest City’s Cole Eddy. After tonight’s game, they will have gone up against six of the top seven receivers statistically in 6A.
The pick: Southmoore 26, Bartlesville 23. It could be an offensive shootout to the tune of 45-42, but I’m expecting both defenses to perform well. The offenses are virtually a wash. But I see Southmoore having the talent edge on defense. This one could have a lot of sways in momentum. Southmoore showed last week it can handle that. So, SaberCats head to the semifinals.
Southmoore’s equal-distribution hasn’t kept Haywood, Symonds from eye-popping games
With the way Southmoore spreads the ball around in the passing game it has allowed numerous players to make big-factor plays. And while the balance has resulted in impressive stats for a handful of players, it has prevented any stunning, eye-popping numbers.
As far as the number of receptions is concerned, Southmoore has a quartet of standouts who are all within a few catches of each other. Running back Andrew Long leads the team with 35 grabs, wide receiver Nyko Symonds is next at 29 and tight end Austin Haywood has 27. Receiver Derek Serowski, who was second in 6A in receptions last year, has 23 catches. Seven other players have logged two or more catches and Jordan Newby has 12.
Haywood leads the way in touchdowns by a long shot, snaring 11 TD tosses. Symonds has six touchdowns and Serowski four. And in the yardage department, Symonds has almost 200 yards more than the next highest total with his 634. Serowski, Long and Haywood each have more than 400 yards and are within 32 yards of each other’s totals. Newby has 209 yards.
But, as said above, all the even distribution keeps any one player from having those crazy, jaw-dropping stats like some other receivers have by virtue of being the main (or lone) target game in and game out. Nevertheless, mixed in among his season totals, Symonds has a pair of games that would be classified as monster outings.
First there was the little-bit-of-everything game. Against Midwest City, the senior had five catches for 105 yards, a touchdown catch, an interception, which he returned for a TD, and recovered a fumble. Later came the yard-gorging game against Putnam City North where he piled up 254 yards and three touchdowns on just six receptions.
So, there is room for some unreal stat-piling. Just look at Haywood’s game against Moore when he accounted for five touchdowns. In that one game the OU commitment scored TDs running and receiving and threw for another. Even Long has gotten in a see-it-to-believe-it play, rambling for a 95-yard touchdown against Lawton Ike.
Southmoore RB Kyaunn Thompson just can’t escape injury bug
It was a sad sight to see Southmoore running back Kyaunn Thompson being helped over to a table on the sidelines last week where Thompson had to deal with yet another serious injury.
Well, actually, this was a continuation of a serious injury suffered six weeks ago. Thompson suffered a knee injury that was classified as an ACL tear. Thompson knows the injury well. He missed the second half of the season last year with a torn ACL.
Knowing full well how long rehab is when dealing with an ACL tear, and since this is his last high school season, Thompson did not have surgery in hopes he could strengthen the knee enough to return for the postseason. And darned if he didn’t pull it off.
Even before this season’s knee injury, Thompson missed preseason scrimmages and the first game of the season with a hamstring problem.
So, it was well deserved when Thompson received a loud ovation when he ran onto the field (with bulky knee braces on each leg) last Friday, his first game action testing the knee. And the cheers kept coming as he ran for eight yards on his second carry. Later he picked up a first down on a four-yard pass. But it was on a 10-yard run when his knee apparently gave out.
Thompson wasn’t hit and didn’t fall awkwardly when it happened. On the play he ran out of bounds on the Southmoore sideline, tumbling to the turf. The senior stayed down for a good five minutes before he was helped to the table, where he put an icepack on the knee is resigned himself to the probability of surgery.
Hopefully, Thompson will heal well, rehab hard and get a chance to play college ball. He’s got next-level talent. He was averaging more than 100 yards per game rushing when he got hurt last year. This season never really got off the ground thanks to the hamstring woes, the knee injury and subsequent re-injury. He did, though, score a critical touchdown in the SaberCats’ double-overtime win over Midwest City earlier this season.
With the way things turned out, Thompson’s gamble didn’t pay off. On the other hand, it was a gutsy decision to try to make it back to help the team in the playoffs. And the try gave him something to work on rather than stand around on crutches. And it no doubt made him feel more a part of the team’s hunt for a state title. You have to applaud the effort.
Southmoore freshman QB thrown into spotlight on 6A playoff stage
Among the multitude of subplots that surrounded Southmoore’s 34-32 squeaker past Lawton Eisenhower in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs was a glimpse of the SaberCats’ future. Well, a very short glimpse, but one nonetheless: Freshman quarterback Tre Edwards made his varsity debut.
Starting quarterback Kendal Thompson was held out of Southmoore’s first series because of a missed practice. That bumped Edwards into the spotlight. And for a kid who was playing freshman football just two weeks earlier, being tossed on a stage as big as the Class 6A playoffs is no small step.
Edwards played well, though things got off to a shaky start. Before he even was able to run the SaberCats’ first offensive play, a timeout had to be called to quell some confusion. His first snap was a mishandled snap in shotgun formation that resulted in a 5-yard loss. The second play was a run for a 1-yard loss.
Nevertheless, the youngster was undaunted and on third down hit running back Andrew Long with a short swing pass that went for 37 yards. Later in the drive, Edwards came through with a 2-yard QB sneak when Southmoore went for it on fourth-and-1 at the 13-yard line.
Four plays later, Long threw a touchdown pass to Kaleb Thompson on a fake field goal. So, though Edwards didn’t get to chalk up his first touchdown, the drive was a success to be sure — 65 yards in 12 plays, including two fourth-down conversions and a touchdown. He was 2 for 2 passing for 46 yards.
Edwards turned things over to Kendal Thompson after that, but he showed reason to feel good about what’s to come after Thompson leaves following the 2010 season.
Desiree Bradley signs with USC
Carl Albert girls basketball standout Desiree Bradley, who was being recruited by several major-conference schools, including teams from the Big 12, has signed with Southern California.
“I loved the academics and I think I can go in and make a difference early,” said Bradley of choosing USC. “And I liked the coaches a lot.”
The USC head coach is former Los Angeles Lakers star Michael Cooper. Cooper, who has coached in both the NBA and WNBA, was an eight-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive Team and also the Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Cooper won five NBA titles as a player and two WNBA crowns as a coach.
Bradley, who helped guide the Titans to a Class 5A runner-up finish last season, averaged just over 10 points and five rebounds per game as a junior.
Norman North girls a hot pick as break-out team in 6A
Expectations are high for a Norman North squad that is a trendy pick for the Class 6A break-through team this season.
T-Wolves’ coach Jeff Blough has all five of his starters back from last season’s 13-14 team. And not only could North make a run at the program’s first state tournament since finishing as Class 6A state runner-up in 2003, this could be the start of something big that lasts a while.
Eleven of the 15 varsity players are underclassmen and almost half are sophomores or freshmen. But even though young, the T-Wolves have a lot of experience and a lot of talent. Seniors Andee Wayne (who signed with Central Oklahoma last week) and Madison Marquardt, as well as junior Hayley Scott, were all-conference players last season. Another junior, Mariah Turner, is a Division-I recruit.
With a top-10 preseason ranking and a dominating scrimmage against No. 7 Lawton Tuesday, confidence is high.
“We played real well,” said Blough of the scrimmage. “The girls all played hard and we looked good.”
Southmoore sports this week
Southmoore sports this week:
Friday
Football: Bartlesville at Southmoore, 7:30 p.m. Class 6A quarterfinals
Saturday
Wrestling: Southmoore Open
Westmoore sports this week
Westmoore sports this week:
Friday
Swimming: at Altus
Saturday
Wrestling: at Southmoore Open
Norman sports this week
Norman sports this week:
Tuesday
Girls basketball at Lawton, 6:15 p.m.
Boys basketball at Lawton, 8 p.m.
