Coke bottle (Stigler) explodes…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
It’s not often that in one game, you can score nearly 700 percent more than what you did in four contests.
But Friday night, the Stigler Panthers, nearly did just that.
Stigler had only managed a mere seven points through four weeks while giving up 119. It’s hard to get down too much on Chris Douglas’ boys as taking away a 7-0 week 1 defeat to Haskell, Stigler lost to Valliant, Morris and Vian. In other words, three teams who are a combined 14-1.
But wham, Stigler trounced Wilburton 47-6 to up its total to 54 points.
And the funny thing is Stigler didn’t really even get to practice two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) because of severe rainfall. Huh, maybe now we know the secret. I wonder if they’ll practice in the junior high gym for two days this week, too.
Honestly, Douglas said he started to simplify things. It was back to fundamentals and stop worrying so much about learning all the intricate schemes.
Quarterback Chance Sherwood took advantage of the simplification (is that a word?) by passing for two touchdowns and completing 66 percent of his passes. For most teams, those stats won’t wow anybody, but for a team with only one touchdown in four games, to throw two in one game stands out.
Like most struggling teams, Stigler suffered bad turnover problems and ineffectiveness in the red zone. For instance, against Haskell, Douglas said his team had four possessions in the red zone and netted 0 points.
Douglas said he felt the team was just trying too hard at times. He said they were getting beat on plays because they were overpursuing and leaving cutback lanes open.
Trying to accurately sum up what happened against Wilburton, all Douglas could come up with is “we were like a coke bottle.”
Say what?? Douglas said the bottle was being shaken up for four weeks and was bound to explode sometime. Hmm, picked a good time for all that carbonation to come out.
Last year, Stigler lost all non-district games and reached the playoffs at 4-6. If the Panthers can find the success they found last week, that could be a realistic outcome again this year.
Or as Douglas would say, we need more bottle explosions in these last five weeks.
Stigler looks for win No. 2 Friday at Savanna.
Best game no one saw: We’re going to Class C where Sasakwa picked up its first win of the season by defeating Bokoshe in a good ole-fashioned “defensive battle.” Yep, the Vikings pulled out a 56-54 victory. Hope to have more about this thriller later in the week.
Magical night not surprising
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@Oklahoman.com
Maybe the number of touchdowns Bethel quarterback Jace Johnson threw is surprising, but the talent the senior has exuded throughout the last two years has had me believing this has always been possible.
Johnson threw for 8 touchdowns and 336 yards in Bethel’s 54-14 win over Wellston, improving the Wildcats to 3-2 in the process.
Wellston has been good to Mr. Johnson. Last year, Johnson tied the school record with four touchdowns. Amazingly, Bethel coach Kevin Nichols has said in the past that there’s still more to come.
“Jace is an excellent runner,” Nichols said. “Last year, we didn’t have to use him that much because of Josh (Dutton). But this year with the injuries we’ve had, he’s been able to display those talents a little more.”
Meeker is certainly hoping history does not repeat itself. Last year, Johnson set the then school record with 5 touchdowns in a 42-28 victory. That was the end of a crazy night for me in Shawnee as I covered the Lady Wildcats’ softball team at ASA for the semis and then watched Jace put on his show at night. There’s no way Johnson can one-up himself this Friday, right? No, really, right?
Bethel has been an odd team to say the least so far this season. In its two losses, the Wildcats never sniffed victory ( a 32-13 defeat to 5-0 Bridge Creek in week 1 and a 42-12 thumping to 4-1 OCS in week 4). Nichols was ejected in the BC loss. In their three wins, the Wildcats have looked like a top-tier team in the crazy-loaded Class 2A. Outscoring opponents 132-46 in the three wins, yep, Bethel is a head-scratcher.
But the Wildcats are singing the same tune, knowing the only thing that matters is their first ever playoff berth.
At 1-1 in district, Bethel’s got Meeker, Millwood, St. Mary, Jones and Heritage Hall left on the ol’ schedule. It seems like a given to pencil in Heritage Hall and OCS in the playoffs and Millwood has found its offense in two district wins. That leaves, presumably, one more spot, hmm, should be interesting.
Best QB in the state? No contest.
By Matt Patterson
I jumped on the Mark Ginther bandwagon after watching him play in a 3OT loss to Tulsa Washington last season. I liked his football smarts and poise.
The Jenks quarterback is a bit of a string bean, and doesn’t look at all menacing, but there is no better high school quarterback in this state than the 6-foot-2, 175 pound Ginther.
The senior completed a staggering 17 of 18 passes in a 48-7 blowout of top 10 Owasso. He had TD passes of 35 and 45 yards. Afterwards, Jenks coach Allan Trimble mentioned that most of Ginther’s completions came on his second or third read.
And therein lies the secret to his game. What makes him so good isn’t his arm, but what’s between his ears. Trimble has raved about his quarterback’s inteligence on and off the field in the past. It shows up during games. He doesn’t make noticable mistakes and appears incapable of being rattled. Most high school quarterbacks, even the best, often struggle with reading defenses. But for a player completing over 75 percent of his passes this year, it isn’t a problem.
Over the years I’ve covered some great high school quarterbacks like Paul Smith when he was at Deer Creek, Zac Taylor at Norman, Aso Pogi during a 10-0 season in 1998 and Sam Bradford during his hey days at Putnam North. Ginther is as good (or better) than any of them were in high school.
Clarke narrows list to five
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Verdigris star Rotnei Clarke has narrowed his list to five: Arkansas, Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Oklahoma State and Gonzaga.
OSU recently got into the mix for Clarke and apparently he’s just as interested since they made his final five. I think OSU would be a great fit for Rotnei. He stays near home and he could be the sharp shooter the Cowboys need, not to mention he’d be playing with a team which boasts several good passers.
Arkansas and Gonzaga would be a good fits for him also.
Don’t count out Tulsa. People have been overlooking them and rarely mention them when talking about his recruitment yet there they are in his final five.
Notably missing is OU. I’ve heard OU liked Rotnei a lot but they liked him at the point, which I’m not sure about. Rotnei would be perfect on the wing, killing defenses which slacked off. Thus, having him run the offense doesn’t take advantage of his exceptional ability to score.
Duncan hands Western Heights its first loss
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Duncan came to the metro area and, thanks to senior quarterback Trent Wilkins, handed Western Heights a 37-17 loss. Duncan was extremely impressive as the Demons went the entire game without punting the ball.
They amassed 25 first downs and had 409 total yards in the game.
There were some players on the Western Heights football team which impressed me. Running backs Anthony Anderson and Will McCullough are superb.
McCullough ran for 114 yards on 8 carries including a 69 yard touchdown run and he also added a 44 yard touchdown catch.
Anderson impressed me with his balance and athleticism for a 5-10, 185-pounder. Anderson had a great leaping catch and was a tough runner.
Zach West’s Top 10 game picks
By Zach West
zwest@oklahoman.com
Jenks over Owasso (LOCK)
Duncan over Western Heights
Bixby over Shawnee
Sequoyah-Claremore over Berryhill
Alva over Perkins
Morrison over Christian Heritage
Putnam North over Edmond Santa Fe
Midwest City over Edmond Memorial
Douglass over Weatherford
(Zach called in his picks to the office, that’s why this was posted by Jason Kersey)
Week 5 State Area Picks…
By Robert Przybylo, Jason Kersey and Zach West
Reaching the midway point of the season, hopefully some things will clear up after tonight’s action. If Shawnee is not Robert’s Waterloo, then McLoud definitely is. Two straight weeks picking against the Redskins has registered two straight L’s. To say Robert and Jason were off on Ponca City over Del City would be a gross understatement. Jason’s best pick was being the only person to believe in Plainview while Zach went out on a limb and won with Del City, Elgin and McLoud. Robert, well, he would like to forget last week. Without further ado…
Week 5
Perkins at Alva
Robert – Perkins; Jason – Alva; Zach – Alva
Bridge Creek at Comanche
Robert – Bridge Creek; Jason – Bridge Creek; Zach – Bridge Creek (LOCK)
Duncan at Western Heights
Robert – Duncan; Jason – Duncan; Zach – Duncan
Elgin at Newcastle
Robert – Elgin; Jason – Newcastle; Zach – Newcastle
Morrison at Christian Heritage
Robert – Morrison; Jason – Morrison (LOCK); Zach – Morrison
Tecumseh at McLoud
Robert – McLoud (LOCK); Jason – McLoud; Zach – McLoud
Hilldale at Broken Bow
Robert – Broken Bow; Jason – Broken Bow; Zach – Broken Bow
Hennessey at Fairview
Robert – Hennessey; Jason – Hennessey; Zach – Fairview
Purcell at Madill
Robert – Purcell (but extremely close); Jason – Purcell; Zach – Madill
Last week’s totals – Robert (8-8, 1-0 LOCK); Jason (11-5, 1-0 LOCK); Zach (11-5, 1-0 LOCK)
Overall – Robert (36-20, 2-1 LOCK); Jason (37-19, 3-0 LOCK); Zach (36-20, 3-0 LOCK)
Westmoore’s Ralls did it all, except lead Jags to win
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
Westmoore running back Craig Ralls had an outstanding game with 19 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the Jag’s 17-14 loss to Putnam City.
But he was overshadowed by the Pirates’ late game heroics to pull out the win. Going against a defense which entered the game allowing 81 rushing yards per outing, Ralls showed excellent balance and great toughness on his way to 126 yards on 6.5 yards per carry.
Judged by what I saw tonight, Ralls is a guy who should probably be getting a little more attention from college coaches…
PC has tons of heart
Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
After covering Putnam City’s 17-14 win over Westmoore, one thing is clear to me now:
Putnam City may not have a team stacked full of playmakers and top recruits, but they have a very good team. And the respond with a vengence when backed against a wall.
As the game unfolded, I thought PC was left for dead. The ball was deep in their own territory with just over three minutes left and Westmoore lining up for a 4th-and-inches conversion attempt. PC showed me a lot, not only by stepping up and stopping the Jaguars, but also taking the ball the length of the field in 1:47 and scoring. The Pirates then stepped up and stopped Westmoore’s offense again to secure the win.
I’m not sure how far PC will go in the playoffs, but one thing is clear. They will have to be BEATEN. They WILL NOT give up and WILL NOT beat themselves.
Kersey’s Week 5 Top 10 picks
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@oklahoman.com
Jenks over Owasso
Westmoore over Putnam City
Duncan over Western Heights
Shawnee over Bixby
Sequoyah-Claremore over Berryhill
Alva over Perkins
Morrison over Christian Heritage
Edmond Santa Fe over Putnam North
Midwest City over Edmond Memorial
Douglass over Weatherford
