Ups and downs for Mustang, Midwest City in scrimmage
Midwest City's Ronnie Davis throws a pass during Thursday's scrimmage against Muskogee.
Unless you were a Tulsa Union fan, you probably didn’t come away feeling completely satisfied after the four-team scrimmage at Midwest City Thursday night.
The Redskins, owners of the last three Class 6A gold balls, looked solid across the board Thursday night, including junior starting quarterback Hunter Atyia (pronounced uh-TIE-uh). More on him later.
As for Mustang and Midwest City — two of the teams who will be battling this year for the title of Great West Hope — both had their bright moments, but both faced some struggles, especially on defense.
Union scored four touchdowns on the Broncos during the 30-minute scrimmage. Mustang started several sophomores last season, so they’re still young on that side of the ball. But they have a good amount of experience.
“No excuses right now, because a bunch of them played last year,” coach Ty Prestidge said. “I’m happy with them. I think Union will make a lot of people look like that, especially this time of year.”
Offensively, you knew Midwest City would be a little shaky at times, considering two quarterbacks — Ronnie Davis and Joel Davis (no relation) — are battling for the starting job. The two alternated series, and both had some good moments. Ronnie Davis had the big play of the night, though most of the work was done by receiver Zac Brannon.
Brannon caught a pass on a slip screen coming in from the right side of the field, cutting across the traffic and outrunning everyone to the end zone for a 70-yard TD.
Here are some more news and notes from Thursday night:
Huff looking for more from defense
After a so-so showing from his defense — which is expected to be among the best in the state — Midwest City coach Steve Huff hopes his players will clean up their tackling.
“With as many returners as we have on defense, I think maybe we’ve been reading our clippings too much,” Huff said. “Right now, the main thing for that group is to tackle better. They did not tackle well, and they know it. They’ll watch film and they won’t like what they see, but they’ll go back to work.”
Mustang’s Taylor leading the charge
The Mustang quarterback is working with several new receivers and a few new offensive linemen, so he’s trying to get everyone on the same page in the Broncos’ fast-paced offense.
He was intercepted twice — once on a tipped pass — but overall, coach Ty Prestidge was pleased with his quarterback’s play against Tulsa Union.
“When he has time to throw, he’s good. And he’s like anybody else when he has people hanging on him,” Prestidge said. “We’re gonna get better on the offensive line, and I think our receivers are gonna come around.
“We were happy with Brandon’s performance. He’s gonna have a good year.”
Mustang looking for receivers
Mustang graduated its top five receivers from last year’s team, including All-State first-teamer David Glidden, so the pass-happy Broncos are looking for depth, playmakers and reliable hands.
Aside from a couple of drops, Mustangs receivers were solid, coming through with a few big plays. Derek Garvin and Dakota Warrington are among the leaders of the group, and sophomore Colton Hadlock is working his way into a bigger role.
“He’s a big target and he caught everything that was thrown at him tonight,” coach Ty Prestidge said. “I think he’s gonna come on and be a good one. He showed some promise tonight.”
Tulsa Union’s Atyia steps into starter’s role
Hunter Atyia got plenty of experience as a sophomore last season filling in when starting quarterback Kale Pearson got hurt, and Atyia looked solid moving the offense against Mustang Thursday night at Midwest City.
But the expectations will be a little heftier for Atyia this season.
“He’s really made for that position,” Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. “The experience is there, but as a sophomore, there weren’t a lot of expectations on him. This year, it’s a different game. It’s a lot easier to go in and play as a backup than it is to be the guy. But he’s getting there, and we’re excited about what he did tonight.”
Muskogee’s Williams in different role
Williams is in a new offensive role under first-year coach Josh Blankenship, shifting from quarterback to receiver. He’s being recruited primarily as a defensive back, but his offensive skills will be valuable for the Roughers this year.
“A lot of our offense is gonna have to be finding as many creative ways as possible to get the ball in his hands,” Blankenship said. “That’s why we put him in the receiver position. We want to get the ball to him out in space.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
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Comments
Union’s defense looked solid, especially their secondary…#20 had an interception, tipped ball to #29 for another oskie, and one knock down on the first play of the scrimmage. Who is that kid? Did he play for them last year?
Craig – I didn’t have rosters for any of the teams on Thursday night, so I had to find people to help me identify kids I didn’t know. I didn’t get a name on No. 20, but you’re right, the Union DBs played well. They looked good as a team overall.
mwcfan – Union and MWC played each other during the scrimmage portion of the night when Mustang and Muskogee were , so I was trying to watch both at the same time and didn’t see every play. MWC played Muskogee in the half-game.
-Scott
Mustang coming along well, still looking for receivers, junior running back Kale Harper made it to the end zone for the only Bronco TD! Good job Broncos!