Bishop McGuinness girls earn Chesapeake title…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The Irish girls were dominant in winning the Chesapeake Challenge
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 64, Cascia Hall 41 (championship)
OKC Storm 56, Holland Hall 46 (third place)
Heritage Hall 46, Weatherford 24 (consolation championship)
Kingfisher 43, OKC Knights 40 (seventh place)
Girls
McGuinness 52, Weatherford 22 (championship)
OKC Knights 41, Kingfisher 30 (third place)
Cascia Hall 34, Heritage Hall 33 (consolation championship)
OKC Storm 59, Sunrise Academy 44 (seventh place)
NewsOK.com Player of the Year candidate Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Is Guthrie's Kentrell Brothers the NewsOK.com Player of the Year?
Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
Class: Senior
Team record: 11-2 (5A semifinals)
Stats: 63 catches for 1,304 yards and 18 touchdowns. 18 carries for 171 yards, TD. One touchdown pass. 100 tackles and 19 sacks.
The case: Watch him just one time and try to tell me Brothers is not the best player in the state. I dare ya. If you’ve never seen Brothers, you knew who he was within five minutes of watching him play.
It’s always interesting to hear what The Tulsa World says about the kids they normally don’t get to see. I got to watch the Booker T. and Guthrie game with Matt Baker. In what was arguably Brothers’ worst game of the season, Baker still came away totally impressed.
Imagine if Baker had seen Brothers against Duncan? You know, where he caught three touchdowns and had five sacks. Or what about Carl Albert? An epic outing of seven catches for 150 yards and four touchdowns and eight tackles. Coweta wasn’t too bad. You remember that game, don’t ya? Two receiving touchdowns, one rushing score and even a touchdown pass.
Brothers dominated in every game he was in that coach Rafe Watkins simply wasn’t impressed anymore. He just knew what to expect. Watkins wasn’t alone as your jaw may have dropped for one of those games. But if you’d seen more just like it, eh, you didn’t flinch because you knew you were watching the best player in the state.
He was a two-way starter for three years, nearly unheard of at such a high-level program like Guthrie. Watkins said in Brothers’ all-state nomination form that Brothers is the best football player in the state. You know what? Watkins isn’t wrong on that one.
Brothers had the ability to snag the jump ball on passes by Bryan Dutton. He wasn’t afraid to go over the middle to make the big first down catches. And on defense, well, it was feeding time for the Bluejays defense with Brothers leading the charge and making life miserable for opposing offenses.
Brothers attracted attention from all over the nation, finally deciding Missouri was where he was taking his talents. At Missouri, he’s projected to be a linebacker. There aren’t going to many linebackers with Brothers’ raw natural ability.
And his character is just as high off the field as his play is on the field. Watkins was always quick to point out what a great leader and student Brothers had become. It didn’t overshadow what he did on the field, but it did complement him well. And he’s blossomed into one of the best and most versatile talents in the state.
And we still get to watch him in basketball for one more season.
Voting for the first NewsOK.com Player of the Year is open until Friday. Every day this week Varsity writers Robert Przybylo and Scott Wright will tell you why a certain player should win the award. The winner will be announced Jan. 2, the same day The Oklahoman’s All-State team comes out.
Monday: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall (Przybylo)
Tuesday: David Glidden, Mustang (Wright)
Wednesday: Brandon Swindall, Millwood (Wright)
Thursday: Aliston Cobb, Douglass (Wright)
Friday: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie (Przybylo)
Chesapeake Challenge: Day 2 results…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Championship: Cascia Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 4 p.m.
Third place: OKC Storm vs. Holland Hall, 12:40
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Weatherford, 4 p.m.
Seventh place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 12:40
Girls
Championship: McGuinness vs. Weatherford, 2:20
Third place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 11 a.m.
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Cascia Hall, 2:20
Seventh place: Sunrise Academy vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
Thursday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 52, Holland Hall 42
Weatherford 56, OKC Knights 50
Cascia Hall 54, OKC Storm 50
Heritage Hall 42, Kingfisher 37
Girls
Weatherford 42, OKC Knights 40
Cascia Hall 56, OKC Storm 49
McGuinness 53, Kingfisher 19
Heritage Hall 55, Sunrise Academy 44
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56
Ardmore Holiday Classic, final day
Another busy day here at the Ardmore Holiday Classic. I’ll keep you updated to the end, with a couple of exciting championship games on tap. Here are today’s scores and schedule, with game-by-game updates below:
Thursday’s Results
Girls
Ardmore 58, Lawton 45, seventh place
Northwest Classen 64, Putnam City West 50, girls fifth place
Mustang 68, Southeast 50, third place
Fort Smith-Northside 54, Yukon 32, championship
Boys
Guthrie 45, Southeast 40, seventh place
Midwest City 62, Ardmore 58, fifth place
PC West 82, Carl Albert 67, third place
Del City vs. Yukon, 7 p.m., championship
4:05 p.m.: The Mustang girls have a 22-point lead on Southeast in the girls third-place game with just under two minutes left to play. More exciting, however, we’re running pretty well on time after a dreadfully long day yesterday that ended around midnight.
5:07 p.m.: After holding a 10-point halftime lead, Putnam City West has started the second half fast and leads 54-35 on Carl Albert midway through the third quarter in the boys third place game.
5:15 p.m.: One thing we’ve learned this week: PC West is for real. They didn’t get lucking in a couple big wins. This is a good basketball team. Kyndall Dudley has hit six 3-pointers. He and Dante Lewis could each go for 20 in this game. The Pats are up 21 as we near the end of the third quarter.
5:40 p.m.: PC West takes third in the boys tournament with an 82-67 win over Carl Albert. Dante Lewis finished with 28 and Kyndall Dudley had 25 for the Pats. The girls title game is a few minutes away.
6:07 p.m.: Northside leads Yukon 8-4 at the end of the first quarter.
6:24 p.m.: Impressive run by the Millerettes gets them a brief lead late in a wildly exciting, fast-paced second quarter, but Northside finishes strong for a 21-17 advantage at the break.
6:50 p.m.: Big third quarter from Northside for a 39-22 advantage heading into the fourth.
7:14 p.m.: Northside takes the girls title, 54-32, over Yukon. The boys title game between Yukon and Del City will get going in about seven minutes.
Here is your girls All-Tournament team: Whitney Dunn, Mustang; Mackenzie York, Yukon; Jade Hardy, Yukon; Mannasha Bell, Northside; Taylor Green, Northside; MVP: Chauntel Terry, Northside.
7:40 p.m.: The first quarter goes to Yukon with a 15-10 advantage on Del City. Yukon’s D’Anthony Perkins has shown he is as athletic as just about any guard in the city area.
7:55 p.m.: A late rally for the Millers gives them a 25-21 edge at halftime. Del City led 21-18 with under two minutes to play in the half.
8:16 p.m.: Del City keeps scoring, and Yukon keeps answering, particularly with 3-pointers — one apiece from Shon Willilams, D’Anthony Perkins and Matt Burton, while Jordan Brown added a three-point play inside. Yukon leads 43-33 after three quarters.
8:32 p.m.: Yukon pulled out to a 49-38 lead, but seven straight points from the Eagles has it down to a four-point game with just over three minutes left to play.
8:47 p.m.: It came down to free throws, and the Millers held on for a 55-52 win.
Boys All-Tournament Team: Kyndall Dudley, PC West; Steffon Herd, Del City; Brett Cannon, Del City; Shon Williams, Yukon; Jacob Koontz, Yukon; MVP: D’Anthony Perkins.
West Metro hoops and hardware
A busy day for West Metro hoops, and at the end of the night, at least one squad will be holding a championship trophy.
The Yukon boys and girls are both in the finals at the Ardmore Holiday Classic, where I have been camped out the last three days. The Millerettes face Fort Smith-Northside in what should be a good battle of two teams with good size inside and shooters on the perimeter.
The Millermen face Del City in a matchup of two different but equally well-coached squads. Del City is more athletic and
And the Mustang and Putnam City North boys will square off for the title at the Duncan Invitational, pitting two undersized but extremely athletic squads against each other — and two teams off to very good starts with state tournament goals ahead of them.
Should be a fun day, and I’ll try to keep you updated on as much of it as possible.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
NewsOK.com Player of the Year candidate Aliston Cobb, Douglass
If clutch performances in the playoffs are your thing, maybe Aliston Cobb deserves your vote for NewsOK.com Player of the Year.
Aliston Cobb, Douglass
Class: Senior
Team record: 12-2 (Class 4A state champs)
Stats: Rushed for 2,448 yards and 32 touchdowns on just 216 carries, an average of 11.3 yards per touch. Rushed for 850 yards and 10 TDs in four playoff games, finishing with the best single-season rushing performance in Douglass history — by a long shot.
The case: You want clutch? Cobb is your guy. Three 200-yard games in the playoffs, including 240 and a pair of 50-plus yard TD runs in the state title game. I hate when a guy gets on camera after a game and rattles off that goofy phrase “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” but Cobb personified it.
Everyone knew he was getting the ball in the postseason, and he kept breaking big runs. Had he not pulled his hamstring in the third quarter of the title game, it might have never made it to overtime. The Douglass offense was stagnant after he went out that night, until Donnell Ward’s trick play TD throw to Marcus Caddell in OT.
But the best thing about Cobb was his humble qualities. He never looked for the spotlight, never tried to show up his opponents. And always credited his blockers.
“It really all came down to our offensive line,” Cobb said. “They pushed people back and gave me good holes. And I just did what I could do.”
Voting for the first NewsOK.com Player of the Year is open until Friday. Every day this week Varsity writers Robert Przybylo and Scott Wright will tell you why a certain player should win the award. The winner will be announced Jan. 2, the same day The Oklahoman’s All-State team comes out.
Monday: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall (Przybylo)
Tuesday: David Glidden, Mustang (Wright)
Wednesday: Brandon Swindall, Millwood (Wright)
Thursday: Aliston Cobb, Douglass (Wright)
Friday: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie (Przybylo)
Chesapeake Challenge: Day 1 results…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Thursday
Boys
Holland Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 12:40
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 12:40
OKC Storm vs. Cascia Hall, 4 p.m.
Heritage Hall vs. Kingfisher, 4 p.m.
Girls
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 11 a.m.
Cascia Hall vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
McGuinness vs. Kingfisher 2:20
Sunrise Academy vs. Heritage Hall, 2:20
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56
Ardmore Holiday Festival blog, Day 2
UPDATE: Yukon takes it, 58-48 over PC West in the final semi of the night. The Millers will face Del City for the tournament title Thursday at 7 p.m., following the Millerettes’ in the girls title game against Fort Smith-Northside.
For the Millers, this will be their first time playing for a tournament championship since the current seniors were freshmen.
“It’s gonna be good,” said senior guard Shon Williams, who led the Millers with 16 points Wednesday. “We’ve been working hard, working together for the last four years. We think we can win this, so we’re gonna go out and try our hardest to play well and se if we can win it.”
Added coach Ralph Nigro: “I think it means a lot (to play for a title). We have seven seniors and they’ve been through some bad times. Last year, we won, what, five games? The year before, we won six. So it means a lot to them. I’m happy for them. I’m happy to see them smiling and winning. It’ll be a tough game tomorrow, though.”
Mike Nicholson had 13 points for Yukon, while D’Anthony Perkins and Matt Burton added 10 apiece and Jacob Koontz had nine. Kyndall Dudley led the Patriots with 15 points and Dante Lewis added 14. Kevin House had 11, hitting three of the Pats’ eight 3-pointers.
Here’s the Ardmore Holiday Classic schedule and results, with more game-by-game updates below:
Wednesday’s results
Girls
Northwest Classen 41, Lawton 38
PC West 49, Ardmore 41
Yukon 47, Southeast 28
Fort Smith-Northside 58, Mustang 39
Boys
Midwest City 63, Guthrie 41
Ardmore vs. Southeast, 3 p.m.
Del City 52, Carl Albert 46
Yukon 58, Putnam City West 48
Thursday’s games
Girls
Ardmore vs. Lawton, 11:30 a.m., seventh place (at middle school gym)
Northwest Classen vs. Putnam City West, 11:30 a.m., fifth place
Southeast vs. Mustang, 2:30 p.m., third place
Yukon vs. Fort Smith-Northside, 5:30 p.m., championship
Boys
Guthrie vs. Southeast, 1 p.m., seventh place (at middle school gym)
Midwest City vs. Ardmore, 1 p.m., fifth place
Carl Albert vs. PC West, 4 p.m., third place
Del City vs. Yukon, 7 p.m., championship
Updates below…
Clark, Douglass staying warm on the beach
Myrtle Beach is Stephen Clark’s kind of place.
The Douglass sophomore has made 15 3-pointers through two games at the Beach Ball Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C., carrying the Trojans to a pair of victories in the national tournament.
Douglass routed a local SC team, Socastee, 90-46 in the opener on Monday with Clark pouring in seven 3s in 20 attempts. Dorrian Williams hit three 3s and finished with 20 points and Romond Jenkins logged a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
In Wednesday’s second round, the Trojans got 27 from Clark, with an 8-of-12 mark from 3. Williams scored 20 points again, and Jenkins had 15 with eight boards. DeVonte Smith is running the show well, too, averaging 9.5 assists per game.
Douglass will be back in action Thursday at 6 p.m. OKC time against Miller Grove (Ga.), which is ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings and No. 7 in the ESPN RISE Fab 50. Miller Grove outscored Washington D.C.-based Gonzaga High 8-0 in overtime for a 67-59 win in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
You can follow the action — including a live webcast of each game — at this link.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
NewsOK.com Player of the Year candidate Brandon Swindall, Millwood
Brandon Swindall, Millwood
Class: Senior
Team record: 13-1 (lost in 2A semifinals)
Stats: Where to start… How about 1,312 receiving yards and 17 TDs on just 52 catches, an average of 26.2 yards per catch. Or 17 interceptions as a cornerback, returning eight for touchdowns to set a national record, according to the NFHS.
The case: You saw the part about the national record, right?
When the ball was in the air, nobody went and got it better than Swindall. He was a big play waiting to happen on both sides of the ball.
And he has a natural instinct of knowing where to be on the field at the right time, evident by the game-saving tackle on Douglass QB Shon Bridges at the 1-yard line on the final play of the Falcons’ 36-31 win in the Soul Bowl. He had a crucial pick to help Millwood try to come back in the semifinal game against Hennessey, as well as a huge fourth-down catch in triple-coverage to keep a scoring drive alive.
Swindall wants to play receiver at the next level and he will get a chance to do it. He has offers from Tulsa and New Mexico — where he took an official visit last week.
But the fact that this kid isn’t rolling in major-college offers right now shocks me. He’s close to 6-foot-4 with long arms, good jumping ability and great hands. His body control and ball skills are hard to beat. His straight-line speed seems to be the only drawback for recruiters, but considering how skinny he is, a year in a college weight room should solve that problem.
Voting for the first NewsOK.com Player of the Year is open until Friday. Every day this week Varsity writers Robert Przybylo and Scott Wright will tell you why a certain player should win the award. The winner will be announced Jan. 2, the same day The Oklahoman’s All-State team comes out.
Monday: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall (Przybylo)
Tuesday: David Glidden, Mustang (Wright)
Wednesday: Brandon Swindall, Millwood (Wright)
Thursday: Aliston Cobb, Douglass (Wright)
Friday: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie (Przybylo)
