Emptying my notebook from Edmond Memorial’s win over Moore
Edmond Memorial running back Daniel Smith, left, runs during his team's 13-10 win over Moore on Thursday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Emptying my notebook from Edmond Memorial’s 13-10 win over Moore on Thursday at Wantland Stadium in Edmond.
* Edmond Memorial is now on a two-game winning streak after starting the season 0-3. The Bulldogs tried to go to a more pass-oriented offense early in the season, but they’ve returned to focusing on the run and it’s working.
* Senior running back Gavin Fouts, who rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown — and was really responsible for turning the momentum with an 86-yard run in the third quarter — said the Bulldogs are finally leaving it all on the field.
“The thing is, our boys just needed to get it in their heads to go hit somebody,” he said. “We were sitting back on our heels playing the pass game, and it really works to our advantage to take the punch to the defense. It’s working out great.”
* The win streak has Edmond Memorial gaining lots of confidence.
“I always believed in my team,” Fouts said. “I knew they had it; we just had to bring out the passion. I’m glad to see it finally come out, and hopefully we’ll continue to build on that.”
* Bulldogs coach Justin Meredith is quick to point out, though, that his team still has a long way to go. For example, Memorial was penalized 10 times for 85 yards.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that if we don’t quit making bone-headed mistakes that anybody can beat us, and we’re not gonna be very good,” Meredith said.
“We just can’t do those things. If they’re better than us, and they beat us, then so be it. But we can’t beat ourselves.”
* You have to give Moore tons of credit. The Lions just snapped a 24-game losing streak last week with a win over Choctaw, but they play as hard as any team I’ve seen this year.
And some teams might quit down 13-3 late in the fourth quarter, but not Scott Myers’ team.
You can see some of Myers’ attitude in his team — never quit, keep working, play hard. It’s that inspiring attitude Myers shows every day in his struggle with cancer.
* The Lions scored a touchdown to cut Edmond Memorial’s lead to three, and then recovered the ensuing onside kick. But a missed field goal with under two minutes left pretty much sealed the Bulldogs’ victory.
* I came away really impressed with Moore quarterback Corey Reeves. He kept several plays alive with his legs, but can also throw the ball.
Jason Kerseyjkersey@opubco.com
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Putnam City North OL Daniel Burton commits to Iowa State
Putnam City North offensive lineman Daniel Burton committed to Iowa State on Thursday.
Putnam City North offensive lineman Daniel Burton verbally committed to Iowa State on Thursday, Panthers coach Bob Wilson told The Oklahoman.
Burton had several offers, including Arizona and North Texas, but the 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior decided on Iowa State after visiting the campus a couple weeks ago.
Burton was ranked No. 13 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s top recruits in the 2012 class in August. He is considered a valuable prospect because of his ability to play any position on the offensive line. He plays tackle for the Panthers, but also has the versatility to play guard. Some schools, like Oklahoma State, had also shown interest in him as a center, and he began working on the details of that position, like the shotgun snap.
Here’s a story I wrote about Burton during the summer. I hope to speak with him when he finishes practice today to get his feelings on his decision.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Picks: Week 5
Jason had the best call of the week, locking Edmond Santa Fe over Westmoore in a game the Wolves won with a late comeback. Scott slipped back a spot on Jason and Ryan after picking Thackerville to beat Ryan (Ryan won 56-7). Through four weeks, Ryan stands one game up on both Scott and Jason and a game up on Scott in locks of the week.
Last week
Ryan: 8-2
Jason: 8-2
Scott: 7-3
Overall
Ryan: 30-10, 4-0
Scott: 29-11, 3-1
Jason: 29-11, 2-2
Ryan
DC-Lamont 35, Coyle 12
Wynnewood 20, Elmore City 7
Timberlake 36, Covington-Douglas 24
Tulsa East Central 27, Coweta 14
Seminole 24, Stigler 20
Broken Bow 24, Hilldale 14
Lawton 28, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Fox 32, Paoli 24
Commerce 21, Colcord 14
Clinton 34, Piedmont 14
Lock of the week: Broken Bow over Hilldale. Broken Bow is one of the toughest places to play on the road and Hilldale isn’t quite ready to go win a game like this on the road against one of the best teams in 4A.
Jason
DC-Lamont 35, Coyle 27
Wynnewood 31, Elmore City 21
Timberlake 52, Covington-Douglas 45
Tulsa East Central 42, Coweta 24
Seminole 41, Stigler 28
Broken Bow 35, Hilldale 27
Lawton 24, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Fox 45, Paoli 38
Colcord 24, Commerce 17
Clinton 35, Piedmont 20
Lock of the Week: DC-Lamont over Coyle. Coyle has made significant strides this season and will, in all likelihood, earn the first playoff berth in school history this year. But the defending Class C champion Eagles will be too much for the Bluejackets this week.
Scott
DC-Lamont 42, Coyle 35
Wynnewood 28, Elmore City 21
Timberlake 44, Covington-Douglas 36
Tulsa East Central 34, Coweta 24
Seminole 38, Stigler 27
Broken Bow 35, Hilldale 28
Lawton 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Paoli 42, Fox 38
Colcord 28, Commerce 21
Clinton 34, Piedmont 31
Lock of the week: Seminole over Stigler. Mike Snyder is in his 40th season on the Seminole coaching staff and his 32nd as the head coach. And he’s still going strong. Led by QB Garrett Clark, the Chieftains are talented enough to make a deep run in the 3A playoffs this season, and I think they’ll keep rolling this week.
Oklahoma City-area high school football stadium rankings: No. 6, Stillwater
Stillwater's Pioneer Field. PHOTO COURTESY OF STILLWATERFOOTBALL.COM
STILLWATER — Here is the fifth installment in our weekly series on the top 10 high school football stadiums in the Oklahoma City area.
The rankings were produced by myself and Ryan Aber. We based our choices on facilities, uniqueness and home-field advantage.
We will unveil a new stadium every Tuesday, wrapping up with our pick as the top area high school football stadium on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
No. 6 on the list is Stillwater’s Pioneer Stadium, which first opened its gates on Sept. 4, 2009.
Why it’s on the list: Pioneer Stadium is one of the newest and nicest places to watch a high school football game in the state. The home side seats 4,000 fans and the visiting side seats 2,000.
The scoreboard, located on the stadium’s north end, is a 32-foot by 24-foot Daktronics unit, which includes a 31-foot by 11-foot LED video display.
The field is made up of artificial turf (FieldTurf).
How to get there from downtown OKC: Take I-40 East to I-35 North. Take Exit 174 towards Stillwater. Turn left onto S. Western Road, and continue on W. Hall of Fame Ave. Turn left onto N. Main St., and continue on N. Boomer Rd. Turn right onto N. Husband St.
Stillwater’s 2011 remaining home schedule
Oct. 7: Ponca City, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 28: Bartlesville, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 4: Tulsa Union, 7:30 p.m.
Facebook posts not immune from scrutiny
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Transfers from one district to another face plenty of scrutiny in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association sends checkers to make sure moves are bonafide, parents and schools have to fill out forms and, staff (or the OSSAA’s Board of Directors on appeal) must find the transfer to meet certain criteria.
In Tennessee, a pair of offensive linemen were ruled eligible after presumably moving from Henry County to Perry County. But their mother’s post on Facebook made it clear that the pair had not fully moved. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association found out about it and Perry County was forced to vacate three wins for playing the ineligible players.
Mother’s Facebook posts cost Perry County three football victories
Amber Hayes records Oklahoma high school football theme song
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Perhaps no song is more associated with a singular sporting event than Hank Williams Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight.” The song is synonymous with Monday Night Football.
Since 2006, “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night,” a reworked version of Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” has introduced Sunday Night Football on NBC. Pink sang the theme song the first year. Since, Faith Hill has sang the theme song.
Well, now high school football in Oklahoma has its own theme song. Weleetka, OK native Amber Hayes recorded “Friday Night Fight.” She co-wrote the song with Angela Sullivan and Bill DeLuigi. Hayes took part in a video shoot for the song during a game in Moore and the video will be used to introduce the weekly televised games on Cox Sports.
The music video, shot at a high school football game in Moore, isn’t available online but here’s the song:
Cox will televise the Putnam North at Midwest City game this Friday.
Edmond Santa Fe’s Aaron Anderson gets offer from Nevada
Edmond Santa Fe senior Aaron Anderson has scholarship offers from Nevada, Oral Roberts and Fresno State.
An official visit to the University of Nevada produced a scholarship offer for Edmond Santa Fe senior combo guard Aaron Anderson over the weekend.
“Aaron really liked it out there, had a great time meeting the team,” Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk said. “As a coach and a player, that’s really important, because you want to see what the other players are like, and how they interact with each other. Aaron had a great time.”
The trip to Nevada was Anderson’s first official visit among the trio of schools that have offered him. Schenk said Anderson will visit Oral Roberts and Fresno State in October prior to the early signing period, which runs Nov. 9-16 for basketball.
“He wants to give a fair shot to all the schools that are recruiting him,” Schenk said. “I don’t know if he’ll sign early or not. I’ve told him if he knows, and he’s comfortable — if he wants them and they want him — then there’s no sense in waiting.”
The Wolves went through a sometimes-challenging recruiting experience with Josh Richardson last season.
Richardson passed up some offers during the early signing period, then saw several of the teams who were recruiting him lose their head coaches at the end of the season. Ultimately, it paid off for Richardson when he landed an offer from Tennessee, but it was a stressful month or more for everyone involved in the process.
Schenk was unsure if that experience would have an impact on Anderson’s plan to sign early or not.
Nevada received a commitment from a guard on last week, but the team contacted Schenk to let him know that the commitment had no bearing on Anderson’s recruitment.
Anderson averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last year. The 6-foot-2 senior impressed college coaches over the summer with his defensive strength and improved decision-making with the ball.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Yukon, Putnam City North battling QB injuries
The playoff race in District 6A-1 already looks to be a wild one, and now, a couple of the top contenders for postseason bids are facing quarterback injuries suffered in last week’s games.
Yukon was without senior Corben Jones in the second half of last Friday’s 42-14 loss to Midwest City after he suffered a concussion.
His availability for this week’s game at Norman North is uncertain, but Hayden Somerville was solid in his place. The sophomore completed six of 12 passes for 119 yards and two TDs with one interception.
Putnam City North could be without starter John Robert Simon for a couple of weeks, including this week’s game at No. 3 Midwest City, after he sprained his MCL in the 31-24 loss to Edmond Memorial. Starting safety Alex Clark will step in for Simon behind center.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Barry J. Sanders to be officially announced as U.S. Army All-American game participant at Oct. 4 ceremony
Heritage Hall's Barry J. Sanders will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7 in San Antonio. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Heritage Hall running back Barry J. Sanders will be officially announced as a participant in January 7′s U.S. Army All-American Bowl at a ceremony at Heritage Hall on Oct. 4.
Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley will announce Sanders’ selection.
Sanders, No. 1 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30, has said he will announce his college choice at the game, held annually in San Antonio.
His top four choices are Alabama, Florida State, Oklahoma State and Stanford.
Top 10 games of the week
Top 10
1. Class C No. 1 DC-Lamont (4-0) at No. 7 Coyle (4-0)
Eight-man showdown between the defending champions and a Coyle team looking to to earn its first playoff berth in its seventh season.
2. Class A No. 8 Elmore City (4-0) at No. 3 Wynnewood (4-0)
Two of the three undefeated teams in District A-5 go head-to-head.
3. Class C No. 3 Timberlake (3-0) at No. 5 Covington-Douglas (4-0)
A week after squeaking out a win over Tipton on the road, Covington-Douglass gets another big challenge.
4. Class 5A No. 1 Tulsa East Central (4-0) at No. 10 Coweta (2-2)
The Cardinals get another solid test in a rough schedule as the defending runners-up try to solidify their place in 5A-4. Coweta hasn’t won a game by more than six points or lost by more than four.
5. Class 3A No. 9 Seminole (4-0) at Stigler (4-0)
Seminole has scored 41 or more points in all four games thus far while Stigler has topped 42 in three out of four.
6. Class 4A No. 10 Hilldale (3-1) at No. 6 Broken Bow (3-1)
Big win over Poteau last week lifted Hilldale into the rankings while Broken Bow has shut out two opponents last season.
7. Edmond Santa Fe (3-1) at Class 6A No. 6 Lawton (3-1)
Both teams started district play with statement wins and this game will feature two of the best defensive ends in the state in Lawton’s D.J. Ward and Santa Fe’s Michael Onuoha.
8. Class B No. 6 Fox (3-1) at Paoli (4-0)
Fox has shutouts in each of its three wins while Paoli has topped 53 points three times and scored 42 in its other win.
9. Commerce (3-1) at Class 2A No. 8 Colcord (4-0)
Commerce has two shutouts and its only loss came to a Kansas school. Colcord has won games primarily with its offense (41-14 at Salina last week) and with its defense (8-0 vs. Haskell on Sept. 16).
10. Class 4A No. 4 Clinton (3-1) at Piedmont (2-2)
Clinton blew out McGuinness last week at home while Piedmont got a statement win over Elgin.
Other good bets:
Heritage Hall at Tulsa NOAH
Millwood at Luther
Mustang at Edmond North
Woodward at McGuinness
Yukon at Norman North
By Ryan Aber
