Upon further review: Norman North
People have said it’s amazing the way the season turned around in Norman in regards to the two high schools. With Norman North out of the playoffs — thanks to a 24-7 loss to Edmond Santa Fe Friday — and Norman having a good chance to make the postseason, playing a 3-win Lawton Ike team, the notion is that Norman has become the better team in town.
That’s not exactly accurate. The Tigers have improved greatly and Donovan Roberts, Jaime Myers and Greg Offenburger are standout talents. What’s more, the Timberwolves have declined since manhandling Putnam City North in week four. There’s little arguing that.
Still, it’s comparing apples and oranges, because the districts the two teams play in are by far the biggest reason for the change in fortunes. District 6A-1 is the toughest in 6A by a longshot, boasting four teams in the top 10 and seven quality teams. Southmoore, Mustang and Del City are among the top teams in the state. Lawton and PC North are strong. When Edmond Santa Fe and Norman North are bottom dwellers, that’s a vicious district. There’s only one easy game in that whole district.
Now, take 6A-2. Midwest City is a beast. After that, you have Edmond North and Edmond Memorial squads that are maybe the equal of PC North and Lawton. But while the Edmond schools are going to finish second and third, PC North or Lawton won’t even make the playoffs. Westmoore, Putnam City, Putnam City West, Norman and Lawton Ike all have losing records — five of eight teams. Only two of eight teams in 6A-1 have losing records, Santa Fe and Moore. And even the upper echelon of each conference don’t compare: two teams in 6A-2 have seven wins; four teams in 6A-1 reached at least that many and another team has six wins.
In other words, put each team in the other’s district and the big swing in momentum wouldn’t have happened the way it did. Now that’s not to say Norman wouldn’t like a crack at North now. No doubt the Tigers figure they would fare much better than the blowout loss they suffered to the T-Wolves in opening week.
But putting the teams on the field together would be the only accurate way of determining if Norman has come so far and North has fallen off so much. And that’s not going to happen until next season. So, no use in making the comparisons when there really isn’t a comparison there.
As far as North is concerned, though. The T-Wolves could sure salvage some pride with a win at Lawton. It would make a huge difference even with the postseason out of the picture. Because a win means a winning record and going out on a high note. A loss means a losing record and closing the book on a season with five straight losses. So, plenty to play for for North this week.
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