All-City Volleyball
by Brandon Chatmon
bchatmon@oklahoman.com
With today’s release of the All-City volleyball teams, I just wanted to blog about the tough decisions I had to make on the team… But first, I want to post what would have been the second team all-city selections…
Second Team
OH Taylor Rowton, Edmond North, Sr.
S Sam Ball, Edmond Memorial, Sr.
S Courtney Iser, Bishop McGuinness, Sr.
OH Lacy Reasons, Edmond Santa Fe, Sr.
OH Morgan Roy, Bishop McGuinness, Jr.
Libero Jessica Adams, Heritage Hall, Jr.
It was a very tough team to pick because Heritage Hall and the
Edmond schools are so dominant. Several second teamers would have been first-teamers in previous years.
Adams, Ball and Reasons were particularly hard to leave off the first team. Several people have told me Adams has college-level ability as a defender, Ball was the engine that made the 6A state champs run and Reasons was a big reason why Edmond Santa Fe ranked among 6A’s top three teams for much of the year.
Thanks to all the coaches and players who provided feedback for these selections and congrats to everyone on the success you’ve had.
Stooges signing off for football…
By Robert Przybylo, Jason Kersey and Zach West
The entire regular season your favorite stooges have wanted a chance to show what we know. We got cocky and challenged Ryan Aber in the playoffs. The result?? Well, we were put in our place. Ryan finished three games better than any of us. Robert wants to give Jason credit for going with Kingfisher as the lock. And for 47 minutes, it looked like pure genius, but then Torrance McBrayer added his name to Clinton lore. So let’s give out a little hardware. Check back to your favorite high school blog this weekend where awards will be given, witty banter will be exchanged and much more. Well, maybe not, but you can count on the first two.
Final Standings
Zach (157-69, 12-1)
Robert (153-73, 10-3)
Jason (150-76, 6-7)
Playoff Standings
Ryan (50-12)
Zach (47-15)
Robert (46-16)
Jason (42-20)
Friday notes from Oklahoma’s Best Tournament in T-Town
By Justin Harper, Staff Writer
jharper@oklahoman.com
Girls basketball notes from Friday’s action at the Oklahoma’s Best Tournament at Tulsa University’s Reynolds Center:
Sequoyah-Tahlequah winning streak snapped
Tulsa Washington defeated Sequoyah-Tahlequah Friday in the semifinals of the Oklahoma’s Best Tournament in Tulsa to advance to Saturday’s final against Sapulpa.
The loss snapped a 41-game winning streak for Sequoyah-Tahlequah, the three-time defending champion and top-ranked team in Class 3A. Tulsa Washington, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, ended the Indians’ run with a 57-47 victory. The Hornets will meet 6A No. 1 Sapulpa in the 8:30 p.m. championship game at the Reynolds Center. Sapulpa knocked off Washington, ranked second in 3A, 65-40 in the other semifinal.
In what could be a preview of the 3A state final, Washington and Sequoyah-Tahlequah will square off in Saturday’s 7 p.m. consolation game.
Adair’s Luper injured again
Adair junior Kevi Luper, a member of the Oklahoman’s 2007 Super Five team as a sophomore, will miss five to six weeks after breaking a bone in her right arm Thursday night in an opening-round loss to Sapulpa.
Luper, who is being recruited by numerous Division I schools, had just recently returned to action after breaking a bone near her right wrist in June. The first break, which happened at the University of Oklahoma Team Camp, kept Luper sidelined for four months. The injury suffered Thursday, a distal radius hairline fracture about three and a half inches above the wrist, was not in the same place as the broken bone suffered in June.
Luper, who led Adair to the 3A state final last season while averaging more than 21 points per game, has had a run of bad luck to start the season. Even before the injury Thursday, Luper had been ill in the days leading up to the tournament and had a 102-degree temperature as recently as Wednesday.
She’ll be in a brace until Tuesday and will be confined to conditioning and left-handed drills until late January.
Washington’s Beaty also hurt
Washington senior Krista Beaty sprained her right ankle in Friday’s semifinal loss to Sapulpa and will not be available for the Warriors’ game against Sequoyah-Tahlequah Saturday. Beaty injured the ankle in the third quarter.
“I think she just landed on her other foot and rolled her ankle,” said Washington coach Rocky Clarke. “Right now we don’t know for sure when she’ll be able to come back, but she won’t be able to play (Saturday).”
A day after beating 4A No. 1 Fort Gibson, Washington saw any chance to upset 6A No. 1 Sapulpa end just as the first half came to a close. Trailing by 10, the Warriors ran a play that opened up for a layup, but the shot rimmed out with four seconds left in the half. Sapulpa star Alyssia Brewer, who will play fort Tennessee next year, grabbed the ball and launched a half-court shot that went through just before the horn. Instead of trailing by eight, Washington found itself down by 13. Then with Beaty going out in the third, Sapulpa cruised.
College atmosphere
Aside from the fact that the tournament is being played in a college gymnasium, Tulsa University’s Reynolds Center, there is a heavy college presence at the Oklahoma’s Best Tournament as dozens of coaches from around the region have gathered to see a handful of the state’s top players. Saturday there will be even more college atmosphere as Tulsa will host No. 9 Oklahoma at 3 p.m. prior to the consolation and championship games.
Poor Patriots…
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Putnam City West just can’t catch a break. The Patriots are 1-4, but are only five points away from being 4-1.
The Patriots have dropped three of their last four games by two points or less.
Last Tuesday, Mustang hit a buzzer-beater to down PCW 66-64.
Friday, in the first round of the Bartlesville tournament, the Patriots lost 36-35 to Bentonville, Arkansas. Tonight they fell to Bartlesville, 41-39.
Putnam West can blame its misfortune on inexperience.
Each of the Patriots big men, (6-8, 6-7, 6-5) are sophomores. They start only one senior.
If these young guys can learn how to finish a game, they could cause the rest of class 6A some trouble.
Class 3A: These girls are good!
By Ray Martin
rmartin@oklahoman.com
Class 3A is loaded.
It’s the best class in high school girls basketball.
The Oklahoma’s Best tournament is a case in point.
The prestigious tournament is a preview of what the Big House will look like next March. For the first time ever, four 3A teams are battling in the elite tournament at the University of Tulsa’s Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Defending Oklahoma’s Best and class 3A champion Tahlequah Sequoyah, 2A champion Washington (which bumped up to 3A this season), Adair and Verdigris comprise half of the field.
Sequoyah knocked off Verdigris 40-32 tonight, improving its winning streak to 40 games. Verdigris, though, trailed by only four with 30 seconds remaining.
Washington downed Ft. Gibson, the top ranked team in class 4A, 57-47.
Adair fell to Sapulpa after Kevi Luper went down with an arm injury.
A Sequoyah win over Tulsa Washington, and a Washington win over Sapulpa on Friday likely sets up a preview of the 3A state finals.
Can Washington, or anyone for that matter, knock off Angel Goodrich and company? It’s doubtful.
Saturday, and March, should be fun.
Guthrie receivers shine in title game
By Justin Harper, Staff Writer
Guthrie receiver Kent McDonald went out with a bang Friday night in trhe Bluejays’ 16-3 win over Bixby in the Class 5A state final. With Guthrie’s running game being slowed by Bixby, the senior wideout came through with four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
“All us receivers can be counted on, too,” McDonald said. “We’re all big targets and can make things happen. Tonight was our chance to step up and we did.”
Fellow receiver Israel Escoe also had a nice showing with three grabs for 54 yards.
