Deer Creek vs. Piedmont game moved to old Yukon stadium
EDMOND — Friday’s game between Piedmont and Deer Creek has been relocated to Yukon’s old stadium, Antlers coach Grant Gower said. It will still begin at 7:30, as scheduled.
The game was moved because renovations at Deer Creek’s stadium aren’t completed yet.
“Right now it just isn’t feasible to play it there, so we decided to go ahead and move it (to Yukon),” Gower said.
The Antlers have another home game scheduled for next Friday, September 9, against Shawnee, and Gower said he hopes the stadium is ready by then.
Deer Creek has undertaken a massive athletic expansion project that will span several years. Last year, the stadium added new lights, artificial turf and a track around it. This year’s project is expanding the home stands to seat about 3,500 more people.
The next phase, which has already begun and is set to be completed by next summer, is adding a new field house west of the stadium.
Deer Creek’s Blaine Powell is the Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Deer Creek Blaine Powell, right, and Taler Buck finished first and second, respectively, at the Guthrie Cottonwood Flats Invitational meet on Saturday. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN
Deer Creek’s Blaine Powell won the Class 5A-and-below, three-mile boys race at the annual TIG Guthrie Cottonwood Flats Invitational, and the performance earned him The Oklahoman’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors.
Powell ran the race in 15:31 for a five-second victory over teammate Taler Buck. The Deer Creek boys placed six runners in the top 10, winning the race as a team. The Deer Creek girls also won their race as a team.
Edmond North gets big gift in lineman Will Wiedenmann
EDMOND — Edmond North’s football team got a nice gift after fall practices started.
Will Wiedenmann (6-foot-7, 336 pounds) moved from Statham, Ga., to Edmond.
“He came a couple days after practice started, and asked if we had a spot on the team for him,” Huskies coach Jeremy Dombek said. “I took one look at him and said, ‘I think I can find one.’”
Wiedenmann passed his physical, and the OSSAA cleared him to play last Thursday, Dombek said.
Wiedenmann will be in the starting lineup at left guard when the Huskies open the season on Thursday at Southmoore.
“He’s still learning our scheme, but there’s no doubt that he’s a player,” Dombek said.
“There’s no bones about it — he’s going to raise some eyebrows when he comes off the bus.”
Norman-Norman North principals wager on game
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
The principals at Norman and Norman North made a wager on Thursday’s Norman Bedlam matchup between the schools.
If Norman wins, Norman North principal Bryan Young will race in Norman’s alumni 5K run Sept. 25 wearing a Norman High singlet while pushing a baby stroller carrying a replica of the school’s Tiger mascot.
If Norman North wins, Norman principal Scott Beck will sing Norman North’s fight song during halftime of the team’s basketball matchup Jan. 27.
Norman has a 10-4 edge in the series, beating the Timberwolves 24-7 last season.
Thursday’s game will be played at OU’s Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium.
Norman principal Scott Beck and Norman North principal Bryan Young make a wager on Thursday's football opener between the schools.
Oklahoma City-area high school football stadium rankings: No. 10, Tuttle
Tuttle High School football stadium. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
TUTTLE — Today we kick off our series on the Top 10 high school football stadiums in the Oklahoma City area.
These rankings were produced by Ryan Aber and I, and are based on facilities, uniqueness and home-field advantage.
We will unveil the next stadium on this blog every Tuesday, culminating with our pick as the best high school football stadium in the city area on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
No. 10 on the list is Tuttle’s Bill Hinkle Field at Tigers Stadium.
Why it’s on the list: There are few high school football programs in Oklahoma with Tuttle’s consistency. Coach Phil Koons is entering his 19th season as head coach, and he won state championships in 2001 and 2005 to go with his career 180-41 record.
Jason White, the 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, played his prep football on Bill Hinkle Field.
Some of the Tigers’ success can be attributed to the incredible support they get from the Tuttle community. Friday nights in Tuttle aren’t quite like anything else.
The stadium may not be the fanciest around, but the small-town feel is what ultimately lands it on our list. That feeling comes from the rabid fan support and the stadium’s centralized location in Tuttle.
Named after: Bill Hinkle, Tuttle High School’s former maintenance director. Hinkle loved the field so much that he continued working on it several years after he retired. He died July 10, 2000 at the age of 74, and the field was named after him before the start of the 2000 football season.
How to get there from downtown Oklahoma City:
*Take Interstate 40 westbound to Exit 147A, and exit heading west on Interstate 44.
*Continue on West Interstate 44 to Exit 108, and exit heading west on State Highway 37.
*Continue into Tuttle city limits, and turn right on N. Cimarron Rd.
Tuttle’s 2011 home schedule
Friday: Cache, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23: Bridge Creek, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7: Blanchard, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Weatherford, 7:30 p.m.
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Former Sentinel, OSU standout Rebel Ridling earns honor
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Former Sentinel and Oklahoma State standout Rebel Ridling was named the Southern League’s Hitter of the Week for the week ending Sunday.
The Tennessee Smokies infielder took a 13-game hitting streak into Monday night’s game against Jacksonville.
He started the week with five hits and seven RBIs over two games Monday and Tuesday.
Ridling, a 25th-round pick of the Cubs in 2008, is hitting .311 with 20 home runs and 78 RBIs for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate.
Bishop McGuinness’ Brandon Nguyen cleared
Bishop McGuinness senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen will play this week vs. Shawnee's JV team. PHOTO BY ZACH GRAY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Bishop McGuinness linebacker Brandon Nguyen (concussion) has been cleared to play this Thursday in the Irish’s season opener against Shawnee’s junior varsity team, coach Justin Jones told The Oklahoman.
Nguyen suffered the concussion on a helmet-to-helmet collision with Lawton MacArthur running back Darius Graham during the Irish’s first scrimmage on Aug. 18.
Nguyen had 117 tackles last season and is one of McGuinness’ top leaders on defense.
Jason Kerseyjkersey@opubco.com
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Bridge Creek-Elgin football pushed back to 8 p.m.
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Friday’s season opener between Bridge Creek and Elgin has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. kickoff due to heat concerns. The game will be played at Elgin.
“We talked about it last week and looked at the weather and decided it was the right move to make,” Bridge Creek coach Jerry Wallis said. “It was the best thing we could do for the kids and the best thing we could do for the fans.”
The game isn’t the only one that has been pushed to a later kickoff.
Lawton and Lawton Eisenhower moved their Friday game back to 8 p.m. as well.
As of Monday morning, the forecast for Saturday calls for highs in the mid-90s.
Video: Douglass QB Chris Compton after All-City Preview
Douglass won the All-City Preview championship once again on Friday night, but just like last year, the discussion turned to a much more important trophy than the one the Trojans claimed Friday.
It’s all about another state title for this team, which starts its season Sept. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, against DeSoto High School
It won’t be an easy game, and the Trojans know that. For the sake of comparison, DeSoto’s official enrollment is 2,750. Douglass’ is 495. If you moved DeSoto to Oklahoma, they’d be the fourth-largest school, right behind Jenks (2,843) and just ahead of Owasso (2,604).
I’ll get into the game a little more throughout the week, and I’ll be traveling down to Texas for the game as well.
Here are a few other thoughts from the semifinals and finals of the All-City Preview:
-Millwood still has a lot of talent, and even though they graduated so many Division I players from last year’s squad, I don’t expect to see a ton of drop-off. Dametric Sanders is a very athletic quarterback who is dangerous when he gets to the edge. Marc Robinson didn’t get to play in the scrimmage because of OSSAA rules as he completed his required one year of sitting out after transferring from Heritage Hall. He’ll be a big boost, especially on defense. He and Larry Lambeth will be one of the better linebacker pairs around.
-John Marshall is still young, even though some of those guys, like quarterback Devion Smith, got some good experience last year. Kameron Bryant is a tall, athletic receiver with good ball skills, and he could be in for a big breakout year. He’ll be a tough matchup for any cornerback in that district. Tyler Stamm provides a big, athletic tight end target as well, so look for the passing game to take a step forward this year. Defensively, the secondary is the strenght of the team, but the front seven seems to be coming together.
-Star Spencer coach James Harding always talks about making his players accountable, and he’s clearly going to be a man of his word. The Bobcats opened fall camp with 62 players but had fewer than 40 suited up Friday night. Players who missed practices or got in trouble at school were held out as Harding implements his value system in his new program. On the field, the Bobcats will rely on defense, especially with a couple of athletic, hard-hitting players in the front seven. Kenneth Davis and Derrick Ward are two good leaders and both — but Davis especially — can pop the pads.
Lastly, don’t forget that our state-wide, class-by-class season preview publication will be included in Sunday’s paper. Be sure to pick one up. We have everything from preseason rankings, all-state teams and feature stories on some of the best dynamic duos in the state. It’s a little different than in past years. Instead of having separate sections for OU, OSU and high schools, it’s all one big section together, so don’t miss it.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Scrimmage win over Jenks a big boost for Edmond Santa Fe
Edmond Santa Fe football coach Lance Manning.
After struggling through a 1-9 season last year, Edmond Santa Fe couldn’t possibly have more momentum heading into Friday’s season opener against Edmond Memorial.
The Wolves beat perennial power Jenks, which has won nine of the last 15 Class 6A state championships, 9-0 at the Jenks Preview on Friday.
“Like I told (the players), let’s don’t pretend it is a full four quarters,” first-year Wolves coach Lance Manning said. “But you go to Jenks and play them 9-0, play physical and with a lot of emotion, and it sure gives you a lot of confidence going into Week 1. We’ve got a long ways to go, but if you’re going to draw it up, that’s the way you want it to go.”
