Soaring Mustang not taking Del City lightly
By Matt Patterson
Mustang might be on the cusp of capturing the 6A-1 title, but the Broncos aren’t looking past Del City this week. The Eagles have won two in a row, including a stunning upset of Norman North.
“They will be ready to play us,” Mustang coach Ty Prestidge said. “They beat Norman North and they beat Moore pretty badly. I feel like they can play and we’re looking for a tough old ball game. We’re not thinking past them at all.”
Prestidge said he has been informed that if the Broncos go undefeated it will be the first time in school history they’ve gone 10-0 in the regular season.
Shootin’ the breeze…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Not everything a coach says can fit in the paper. Not because it’s profane or anything. It’s just, you know, sometimes, you can’t fit it in.
In talking with both Lawton coach Randy Breeze and Southeast coach Michael Branch, the two delivered a couple of gems I did not want to leave out.
Breeze: “District 6A-1 is like the Big 12 South. Everybody is so good that we’re just beating each other up. The downside is that a couple of real good teams won’t make the playoffs just like a couple of teams in the South will have more losses than they should have. But you want that. You want that tough schedule because you learn a lot about your team.”
Branch: “The kids are buying into our system. It’s like talking to that pretty girl. You practice in front of the mirror and you do it over and over. You feel confident about it. But then the opportunity comes, and you get flustered. That’s us right now. We’re doing all the right things in practice and working hard but during the game, we’re just making a mistake here and there.”
It’s fun for writers to hear coaches say stuff besides the usual “limit turnovers and make some plays and worry about ourselves and not the other team.” While all those may be true, I like a coach who is willing to have a little fun, too.
Biggest week in Edmond football??
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Think about it like this. When a game between Deer Creek (6-2, 4-1) and Altus (5-3, 4-1) is pushed to the back page, you know you have a pretty good week.
Edmond is the place to be Thursday and Friday. I don’t know which one I’m more geeked for, Edmond Santa Fe and Norman North on Thursday or a good ol’ fashioned Edlam battle between Memorial and North on Friday.
Deer Creek coach Grant Gower said he has no issues with being under the radar. “That’s the great thing about high school football. Every week, there are some huge games out there for people to see and be pumped about.”
Gower may even have to take a backseat in his own family. His brother, Andy, is the offensive coordinator at Purcell. The Dragons are coming off a huge win against Bethany last week and have a major showdown with Pauls Valley this week.
There are intriguing storylines for both games. If ESF can pull this off, you can pretty much pencil in a second-place finish. And as Del City fanatics have said, if the Eagles can continue their stellar run, all the sudden, NNorth is in quite the quandary.
For the T’Wolves, hey, chance to show some dominance. Make that statement heading into the playoffs.
It’s funny, but I think Tyler Tettleton needs to come up huge for NNorth to pull out this one. Beau Blankenship will be bottled up (but that doesn’t necessarily mean stopped).
And then you just have an Edlam game in Week 9. Say wha? The Huskies have come together just at the right time while Mark Walker’s kids aren’t getting any love from anywhere. All Memorial has done is quietly gone 6-2 and are giving up a mere 13 points per contest this season.
And how about Kameron Doolittle? You don’t think he’s not going to want to make something special happen? With all the known commodities, I’m saying the winner of the Qua’Don Henderson and Doolittle matchup, wins this game.
On both counts, I don’t care who wins these games. I just know they should be fun.
So if you could only go to one Edmond game this week, which one would it be?
Ways to stop Heritage Hall? Lock the gates
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
I posed this question to John Marshall coach Bruce Troxell: “What are some things you can do to slow down Heritage Hall’s offense?”
Troxell’s response?
“Lock the gates and don’t let them in,” he said.
That seems about right. Heritage Hall hasn’t been slowed down all year by anyone, so it’s doubtful that John Marshall will be able to find a way to stop the Chargers.
Del City on a roll?
By Matt Patterson
Don’t look now but Del City has won their last two games — a stunning upset of Norman North and a blowout win over Moore this past Friday night.
While the Eagles aren’t in the playoff hunt at 3-5, they can play the role of spoiler in their last two games. A win over Mustang this week would put Edmond Santa Fe back in the 6A-1 district race.
The Eagles have some horses, including quarterback Chazten Gonzales who has 1,200 passing and 11 touchdown passes. Running backs James Allen and Greg Johnson have a combined 1,000 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns.
Mustang, not just about offense anymore
By Matt Patterson
Since their Class 6A runner-up finish in 2005, Mustang has made a name for itself on offense with players like Matt Edmonds and Josh Cooper. But the Broncos have also played pretty good defense this year. Friday night’s 38-14 win over Putnam North is case in point as defensive lineman Qynton Harris finished of the Panthers with a key fourth down sack in the fourth quarter.
“I really believe we’re sound defensively,” Mustang coach Ty Prestidge said. “I’d put our defense against a lot of teams. We’re not real big but we run to the football.”
Harris might be the biggest of the bunch at 280 pounds. The noseguard is a three-year starter.
“He’s a very talented athlete,” Prestidge said. “He’s a three-year starter and his first step is unbelievably quick. He’s a good nose guard and very strong in the weight room.”
McGuinness looking like a contender again
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
McGuinness got off to a rough start to its 2008 season.
Consecutive losses to Guthrie and Tulsa Bishop Kelley made people think that McGuinness’ dominance might be over. But now, the Irish have won six games in a row and look like a contender for their third straight Class 4A championship.
“The first two weeks we played some really good teams,” senior tight end Gabe Ikard said. “Even though we got a couple losses, which for the last few years we haven’t been used to, ultimately it made us better. Those were two of the best teams in the state.”
The Irish opened up the last two seasons with Kingfisher, and when Kingfisher didn’t want to continue that series, McGuinness coach Kenny Young put Guthrie in its place.
Playing good competition always makes a team better, and Guthrie is certainly tough. And Tulsa Kelley is always a solid team and a rival to McGuinness.
John Marshall wants to elevate play
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
John Marshall (2-6 overall, 1-4 in District 2A-1) knows it is facing a daunting task on Thursday when it hosts Heritage Hall (8-0, 5-0), but coach Bruce Troxell said it is important for the development of his program.
“These are the people that we want to play against,” Troxell said. “We’ve got to raise the bar to that level.
“They’re an outstanding team in all facets of the game. We’ve got to wrap up, make plays when we get a chance and eliminate mistakes.”
John Marshall has been doing a good job of eliminating some mistakes — the Bears have had just one penalty in each of their last two games.
Bethany at Northeast — series history
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
Well, make that two first ever games.
Bethany and Northeast play on Thursday, and that game will mark the schools’ first ever football meeting.
Interesting…. we have at least two city area games this week that feature teams that are near each other and have never played.
Bishop McGuinness at Southeast — series history
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
Here is a look at the series history between Bishop McGuinness and Southeast:
1960: Southeast, 52-14
1961: McGuinness, 12-8
1967: McGuinness, 34-20
1972: Southeast, 25-20
1973: McGuinness, 20-3
1976: Southeast, 27-20 (playoffs)
2001: McGuinness, 20-7
Overall series: McGuinness leads, 4-3
