Southmoore: Season outlook…
By Justin Hite
Justin Hite says Kendal Thompson and Southmoore should do just fine this year.
Southmoore
Offensive outlook: Is it safe to say that the SaberCats have the best backfield in the state of Oklahoma? I can’t make a case that they don’t. Junior Andrew Long might be the best back in the state not named Barry Sanders. Kendal Thompson might be the best quarterback in Oklahoma — Bob Stoops seems to think so. Plus having two senior linemen that are both taller than 6-foot-1 and weigh more than 570 pounds combined is always nice. Wide receiver will be a question, but having Long and Thompson will let the pass catchers mature. By the end of the season expect this unit to be putting up big numbers. I’m thinking somewhere close 40 points per game numbers.
Determining the defense: There are plenty of standouts here. Senior cornerback T.J. Wright should comeback after missing his junior season and D’Vante Henry is an absolute force at outside linebacker. The only question is up front. The SaberCats lost two starters on the defensive line. Most games are won and lost in the trenches and if that’s true, there could be some holes in the SaberCats armor.
Key game: There are two things standing in the way of Southmoore and the 6A-3 district title: Broken Arrow and Jenks. When the SaberCats head to Broken Arrow in mid-October the season is on the line. Not only that, but Southmoore can’t challenge Jenks the next week until they beat Broken Arrow first.
Bold prediction: Despite losing 17 starters from the 2009 state semifinalists, Southmoore will be back. Expect the SaberCats to still trail Jenks for the district title, but I’m counting on one playoff upset from Southmoore. When that will be who knows, but don’t be surprised to see them back in the semifinals.
Wednesday: Outlooks for Moore and Westmoore.
Heritage Hall, Jenks make moves in volleyball rankings
Only a couple of notable moves in the new volleyball polls released Tuesday morning on OKRankings.com, with Heritage Hall moving ahead of Cascia Hall for the No. 1 spot in Class 4A being the only change in any of the No. 1 slots.
The Chargers defeated Cascia at the Broken Arrow Tournament, which was loaded with good competition from all classes.
In 6A, Edmond Memorial held onto the top spot and Jenks jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 after starting the season 9-0. The Trojans have lost two of their last three, including a loss Monday night to Edmond Santa Fe — the team they moved ahead of for the second spot.
The other team to beat Jenks was 5A’s No. 1, Tulsa Kelley, which is facing off with Edmond Memorial and Edmond Santa Fe tonight at Memorial. Should be a couple of thrillers.
Other items worth noting in Tuesday’s polls: Following its big win over Heritage Hall last week, Christian Heritage moved up one spot to fifth in 4A… Unbeaten Putnam City (9-0) moved up to No. 7 in 6A, Norman North (10-1) jumped to No. 8 and 8-3 Mustang slipped into the poll at No. 15… In 5A, unbeaten Coweta (9-0) moved into the top 5 at No. 5 and Southeast is No. 10.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Matchup of the Week: Del City offense vs. Midwest City defense…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Del City's Chazten Gonzales will play a big role Friday night.
Maybe I’m getting too brainwashed being around all the boys in the Mid-Del Schools because I’m a lot more pumped up for Midwest City and Del City than what I’ve ever been before.
Started to hit me a little bit less than two weeks ago at a photo shoot of all things. I arranged to get Carl Albert’s Dwight Dobbins, Midwest City’s Trevon Lewis and Del City’s Chazten Gonzales together for the cover of the Mid-Del preview that came out last Friday.
Can’t really find a neutral spot, but I picked Rose Field as like a middle ground. How wrong I was. While Lewis was at home in Bomber country, Gonzales and Dobbins, and especially Gonzales, were getting weird looks from passersby.
Del City Red is not welcome in MWC black and gold territory.
When the teams meet up Friday night at, ironically enough, Rose Field, Gonzales won’t be shy. He won’t be gun shy, either, bringing with him an incredibly potent, fun offense to watch.
That works out great as the strength of the Bombers has got to be that speed and power of the defense.
So…who wins?
Del City offense: Gonzales has emerged as one heckuva leader since last year, and he wasn’t even lacking in that department too much last year.
He can beat you with his arm and throws a beautiful deep ball. But he’s just as effective with his legs, and he showed that in the team’s scrimmages. His dual-threat ability is a big reason why he is committed to TCU.
Adrian Fletcher turned my head last year. He’ll ram right into you, and when you add Greg Johnson to that mix, that’s a great running game.
Johnson and Marquis Walters should be the top receiving targets, taking over for Chris McAlister and Donavan Dan. I think Johnson is going to be the wild card to this team all season.
Midwest City defense: This team has to replace Dominque Jones and Emmanuel Maxwell but still might even be better. How do you make sense of that?
The leader is going to be defensive lineman Trevon Lewis. Ryan Aber told me Lewis absolutely dominated last week in the scrimmage against Carl Albert.
If it’s not Lewis, it could be Cameron Hishaw or Jesse Venzor. And you know this group, in particular, is going to be incredibly motivated after what Gonzales did last year in this game.
The secondary is anchored by Ricky Reeves. He came up huge at the Oklahoma Showdown in the summer. And you add James Flanders at corner, this is a stout group.
Friday is loaded with incredible matchups, don’t forget the Mid-Del boys. This should be a fun one.
Softball: Jenks, Little Axe ascend to throne…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
A rough week for some of last week’s No. 1-ranked softball teams in the state, particularly with the Millerettes of Yukon.
Road losses at Edmond North and Mustang have dropped Jennifer Leonard’s club from No. 1 to No. 3 this week with Jenks earning the No. 1 ranking. Not a big deal in the long run for Yukon as we all know it’s a marathon and not a sprint, but the Trojans were playing some good softball until back-to-back losses.
Also making a big move is Edmond North as Rick Nordyke’s girls go from No. 4 to No. 2 based on the Yukon win and a strong showing at the Hall of Fame Tournament.
The Huskies showed Monday they can win a slug fest, too, as North went to Mustang to pull out a 20-11 victory.
In Class 5A, here come the Titans. Colin White’s girls are on fire right now and have earned the No. 2 ranking as Lawton MacArthur remains No. 1.
The Titans have beaten formidable foes such as Little Axe, Newcastle, Piedmont and Mt. St. Mary’s in the last two weeks.
Speaking of the Indians, Mike Bread’s girls are ranked No. 1 for the first time ever. And the votes couldn’t be closer as Little Axe edged out Blanchard by two points in today’s poll.
Tuttle, last week’s No. 1, dropped two spots to No. 3.
Led by Peyton Watson and Lacey Williams, this appears to be THE year for Little Axe. The team has seven returning starters from a club that reached state last year.
After losing to Cache 1-0 on Friday at the Hall of Fame event, the Indians have responded with three straight wins. And at 16-2, the girls finally get a little rest with only three games this week heading into a mega-showdown with 3A No. 1-ranked Purcell next week.
No change in the No. 1s from 3A down.
Top 10
Class 6A: 1. Jenks; 2. Edmond North; 3. Yukon; 4. Broken Arrow; 5. Mustang; 6. Moore; 7. Owasso; 8. Union; 9. Sand Springs; 10. Westmoore.
Class 5A: 1. Lawton MacArthur; 2. Carl Albert; 3. McAlester; 4. Tahlequah; 5. Pryor; 6. Coweta; 7. Deer Creek; 8. Grove; 9. Skiatook; 10. Shawnee.
Class 4A: 1. Little Axe; 2. Blanchard; 3. Tuttle; 4. Cache; 5. Piedmont; 6. Glenpool; 7. Sequoyah-Claremore; 8. Newcastle; 9. Oologah; 10. Harrah.
Class 3A: 1. Purcell; 2. Bethel; 3. Mt. St. Mary’s; 4. Washington ; 5. Morris; 6. Sequoyah-Tahlequah; 7. Caney Valley; 8. Verdigris; 9. Kellyville; 10. Meeker.
Class 2A: 1. Healdton; 2. Konawa; 3. Colbert; 4. Apache; 5. Dale; 6. Liberty; 7. Commerce; 8. Oktaha; 9. Tushka; 10. Latta.
Class A: 1. Fort Cobb-Broxton; 2. Dewar; 3. Sterling; 4. Mooreland; 5. Roff; 6. Velma-Alma; 7. Smithville; 8. Bray-Doyle; 9. Rattan; 10. Minco.
Class B: 1. Leedey; 2. Red Oak; 3. Tupelo; 4. Sentinel; 5. Frontier; 6. Binger-Oney; 7. Coleman; 8. Hammon; 9. Maud; 10. Cyril.
Got softball news? Shoot it this way.
Moore: Cross country off to good start…
By Justin Hite
Moore boys run the road
The Moore Lions ran their first race of season this past weekend in the Moore War Run. In the 5-kilometer road race, coach Chad Mashburn had four runners finish in less than 20 minutes. Mashburn was extremely pleased with the times this early in the season from a team that made the Class 6A state meet last year.
“It’s hard to say right now how far we are going to be able to go,” Mashburn said. We’ve got 7 guys who are capable of running really well.
“… I know our top-4 guys are going to be top of the class. They can finish in the top-25 in my opinion. They’ve got to go out and run. A lot of things can happen between here and the state meet.”
The Lions will be running in the Brookhaven Run in Norman this weekend, another road race.
Moore girls playing the numbers game
Moore coach Lori Morgan has more runners out for the girls’ cross country team than ever before. She’s hoping that it turns into a Class 6A state meet berth by the end of the season.
“Our goals are sometimes a little bit simpler,” Morgan said. “I think we really have a chance to qualify as a team at state.”
Last year, Moore only had individuals qualify.
Sophomore Haley Gee is one of the leaders on the team, which will compete Friday at Edmond Santa Fe. Moore finished third in its first meet last Saturday at Guthrie.
Santa Fe: Wolves banged up heading into Edlam…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
No teams can afford to have injuries. But in Class 6A with not nearly as many kids out as some of the other programs, Edmond Santa Fe certainly had to avoid the injury bug.
It hasn’t. Coach Bruce Gowen said the Jenks Preview really took its toll on some of his kids, especially the big boys on the offensive line.
We lost a couple of kids at positions that, you know, we really couldn’t afford to lose kids at. But we’re definitely fired up.” – Gowen
Gowen said he hasn’t made a decision yet on whether senior Paul Bronson or junior Ty Hensley will be the starting quarterback. He said it might end up being a game-time decision.
After losing to Edlam rivals Memorial and North last year, the Wolves are even more pumped to get to work Friday against the Bulldogs (I’ll be there).
First game adds some distractions. Going against Memorial brings even more distractions, but Gowen said the team had a great practice Monday.
Ed North: Jarion Tudman ready to take over…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The Edmond North defense only returning two starters was a big red flag in thinking the Huskies are going to be successful this season.
Expectations took a dip even more when junior running back Jared Benway, who was going to be the team’s workhorse, suffered a season-ending leg injury during an intersquad scrimmage.
However, the Huskies have found someone to ease the pain in junior running back Jarion Tudman. From some research, Tudman has some serious speed. He’s a transfer from Tascosa in Amarillo, Texas, and has has quickly become the ‘head turner’ for the team.
He’s been great. He’s stepped up and has shown a lot. It was a big hit when Jared went down, but he wasn’t the whole team. We have a lot of other weapons, and we have to find ways to use them.” – senior QB Travis Townsend
Townsend said the team did well in its two scrimmages. The offense was able to move the ball down the field well, but he said there was a little trouble finishing drives.
The biggest thing with this team is the variety of targets. I brought that up during the Oklahoma Showdown. It looks like DonQuay Hammons is going to be the top target, but Townsend has been getting everybody some work. He said he’s been completing passes to as many as eight different receivers.
Edmond North begins its season Thursday night, welcoming Southmoore to UCO’s Wantland Stadium (Moore blogger Justin Hite will be there).
Is it too early for hoops talk?
OK, so its finally game week for football teams, but let’s take a quick break for a little basketball talk.
I was just looking over the field for the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where Oklahoma’s top team, the Douglass Trojans, will kick off their season.
A photo of Douglass sophomore Stephen Clark is on the event’s web site. The event features state champions from Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as a few Texas state runners-up.
Douglass will play in the featured game on Saturday night at Duncanville High School against Flower Mound-Marcus, which has two top-50 recruits and is expected to be one of Texas’ best teams this winter.
I’ll have more on the event when it gets closer, and a lot more on the Trojans when basketball season arrives. Coach Terry Long is putting together a tough schedule, and it should be a fun year.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Westmoore: Q&A with coach Billy Langford…
By Justin Hite
I’m not the only one new to the Moore War this year. Less than a week before the season starts, I spoke with new Westmoore coach Billy Langford for a quick question and answer session about his outlook on the season. He seemed as excited as I am to get the 2010 season underway. Here’s a little bit of our conversation:
Justin Hite: How does it feel to be back in charge as a head coach?
Billy Langford: It’s good. I already had a really good experience with coach (Ty) Prestidge at Mustang. He let (the assistant coaches) do a lot of things on our own and just let us do our jobs. That’s the kind of guy I want to be. Make sure everything gets done but let everyone do their job. I want to let my coaches be free and do their job.
JH: What challenges does coaching in Class 6A football bring that other classes don’t?
BL: There’s no doubt that when you are talking about a 6A football program, especially with Westmoore as a bigger school in Class 6A, just the numbers game is probably the most difficult thing to deal with as far as you’re talking about more coaches, obviously more players, more teachers in school to keep in contact with. … It’s all really just bigger. The kids are all about the same, there’s just more of them.
JH: As a former offensive line coach, what’s it like getting the chance to work with a D-I prospect like Tyler Newton?
BL: It’s good. He’s a really good kid on top of that. That’s what makes it really fun. You get a good athlete like him, as talented as he is, but he’s still a really humble kid. He’s one of the hardest working kids on the team. Every sprint that we have he’s trying for the most part to win, especially with the linemen group. He’s got a lot of talent and hopefully a lot of football left in him the next few years.
JH: I know it’s early but what are your general expectations this season at Westmoore?
BL: Who knows about those, but we want to obviously get back into the playoffs. Those are the expectations that we have for our program and that’s the tradition that’s been established there and that’s our job — to get the kids and the program back in the playoffs. Once you get in the playoffs anything can happen. That’s our main goal. … Moore War is a big deal this week coming up. That’s a really huge one for the kids and the coaches and the whole school as well.
JH: This is the first time you’ve been a part of the Moore War. Would you say you are more excited or nervous?
BL: I’m probably a little of both. I’m nervous as anybody. I’m sure before the game I’ll be more nervous, but at the same time I’ll be excited. Yesterday, we were watching film of last year’s game. Seeing all the people and the atmosphere that’s there, it’s neat to even see it on film. I’m excited just to be a part of it. I’d be lying to you if I said to you I’m not nervous as well. I’m excited for our kids to get on the field when it means something.
JH: In Week 9 you face your former team, Mustang. Do you have any secrets in mind?
BL: We obviously know each other really well. I know how they do things. I’m sure they are going to change a few things along the way as well. It’ll be fun to kind of go back there and see those guys. I’m really tight with all their staff and still with a lot of the kids there. … I hope they are undefeated and we are undefeated for that week.
JH: So you aren’t going to teach your defensive line their offensive line audibles or anything like that?
BL: Well, we’ll probably be practicing on those signals and those types of things. I’ll take every advantage I can get and I’m sure we’ll need it too. We’ll be well coached up.
Football: Will 5A be cleared up this week?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Every week I will try to have this post up by Sunday or Monday where I’ll tell you the three biggest questions I have for the week in the greater Oklahoma City area.
There are SO many questions with week 1, but here are the three that are standing out the most.
1. How much more will we know about Class 5A by this time next week?
This is the top thing on my mind this week. IMO, we have the top four teams playing against each other with both games in our backyard.
No. 1 Booker T. is at No. 2 Carl Albert while No. 4 Duncan is at No. 3 Guthrie. Both games are Friday night.
The first is a battle of the last two state champions. The Hornets never got a chance to really defend their title last season after all the forfeitures. However, when both teams were at full strength, BTW got the best of the Titans in Week 1 last year.
Carl Albert looks nothing like the team from last year. Dillan Dansby is small but quick compared to the big, rugged J.T. Realmuto. RB Kenton Whittington should have a huge season behind a solid offensive line.
It’s also a quasi-homecoming for BTW coach Darrell Hall, who won the 4A title with Star Spencer last year. Also interesting to see what the Hornets do without QB Jordy Albert, who must sit out two games.
Go north a little bit and head to Jelsma Stadium for the Bluejays and Demons. It’s being billed as Kentrell Brothers vs. Dominique Petties, but it’s a lot more than that.
How is Duncan going to handle the expectations that come with this season? How much has Guthrie QB Bryan Dutton matured?
2. Has Norman caught up to Norman North?
New Norman blogger James Corley will be at Owen Field on Thursday for Norman and Norman North, and he’s being introduced to a very intriguing matchup.
Loved what I saw from the Tigers last Thursday against McAlester. Zach Long might be a little young at quarterback, but when you have RB Donovan Roberts and WR Jaime Myers, life gets a little bit easier.
Timberwolves have all the tools for a memorable year. Daniel Davis is sensational, and I’m expecting big things from QB Brad Valentino and RBs Raymond Demby and Emilio Gatewood.
I still give the edge to the Timberwolves, but really like what Greg Nation is doing with the Tigers.
3. Will it be two years in a row for Del City over Midwest City?
The tension was there a couple of weeks ago when the Bombers were in attendance for Del City’s scrimmage at Carl Albert, so you know it’s going to be nuts Friday.
The Eagles surprised MWC last year. With this game at Midwest City, definitely expect the Bombers to be even more fired up.
I don’t know if this game is as simple as the Midwest City defense against the Del City offense matchup, but it will go a long way to determining the victor.
