Miller Wrap-up: ’09 was a building block for Yukon
Football fields are silent around the West Metro, so before we turn our attention to basketball season — which I’m very excited about — let’s take some time to wrap up the football seasons that were for the three West Metro playoff teams.
I’ll get to Mustang and Putnam City North soon, but we’ll begin with the Millers, who took a monumental step in their program’s development by reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1998.
When I asked Yukon coach Todd Wilson about the importance of just getting to the playoffs before last week’s game at Jenks, he didn’t want to discuss it. He wanted to talk about creating a mindset that his team could go into the home of the state’s best team and win. If I’m a Miller fan, that’s what I want to hear from my coach.
Week 11 is no time for “just happy to be here” thoughts. The trip didn’t go well, but that happens. The important thing was that a lot of juniors and sophomores got to see just how intense playoff football is. That will mean a lot to this team when it steps on the field for 2010.
Speaking of, let’s take a look at the Millers’ district for next fall. They move back to the west side in 6A-1, which was the toughest district in the class this year, and looks like it could be again next year, even though it has some different faces. The district consists of:
Yukon
Midwest City
Edmond Memorial
Putnam City North
Norman North
Moore
Lawton Ike
Choctaw
Midwest City should be good again, and Memorial could be really good. Putnam City North will be strong as well, so this has the makings of a pretty talented district, with Yukon and Ike both making the playoffs this season, and Norman North reaching the top 5 in the state early on before fading.
On the field, the Millers have to be happy about their skill players on offense, almost all of whom will be back. The questions will come on the offensive line, where four seniors saw a lot of playing time, including the BrickMasons — I’ve been waiting all year to use that nickname for Mason Mathews and Mason Haun.
But there were some young players who got good experience on the line this season, like 6-foot-7 Travis Henning and sophomore center Lantz Parks.
That group of skill players is led by QB Corben Jones, who will just be a junior, his senior brother, RB Terry Jones, and a bunch of receivers who were juniors this fall, including Kollin Retter, Kaiden Horn and Eric Granado. WR Dylan Walker and RB Brandon Banta will be missed.
Like the offense, the defense will lose some beef in the middle of the line. But both starting DEs, Andrew Edwards and Jake Doyle, will be back, along with linebackers Jake Henderson and Carson Mathews.
The secondary will suffer some losses, with guys like Andy Vowell, Jon Garcia and Hunter Bohannan graduating. Retter and Jordan Edwards will be the primary returning players in the secondary. I really think Retter has a future as a college safety if his senior year goes well.
Overall, the Millers have a lot to look forward to, though they’ll need to develop some interior strength over the offseason, because you know teams like Midwest City and Edmond Memorial will be big.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
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Thanks to all the Yukon fans for driving clear to Jenks and really supporting their team. Good luck next year!