Bethany to honor 1961 team
As part of its homecoming festivities at Friday night’s game against John Marshall, Bethany will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its 1961 football team.
Led by twin brothers Jimmy and Jerry Gilbert in the backfield, and John Kendall at tackle — all selected to The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Team that year — the Bronchos went 7-3, including losses to Choctaw, which went on to play for the state title.
Former Oklahoman writer Lynn Garnand was also a senior on the team. He was later inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association and National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fames after a long career as a sportswriter.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bethany/Southern Nazarene Stadium.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Bethany running smoothly in win over Washington
Bethany's Brett Gilstrap rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in the Bronchos' 48-28 win over Washington in the Children's Center Bowl Friday night.
The week-long festivities of the Children’s Center Bowl came to a close with an impressive performance by the Bethany Bronchos in a 48-28 win over Washington Friday night in Bethany — here’s my game story.
And in case you missed it, here’s my story on the importance and impact of the Children’s Center Bowl for our Friday Night Lights series, along with a video and some amazing photos from John Clanton of the teams’ visit to the Children’s Center on Thursday.
The final tally from the fundraising efforts of the two schools was $11,476 for the Children’s Center in Bethany, quite a performance by everyone involved.
As for the game, Bethany has to be feeling confident with their 3-0 start based on the way they’ve played. The Bronchos were a well-oiled machine on Friday night when their starters were on the field. QB Ryley Claborn threw for five touchdonws and 239 yards on 11-of-15 passing. He only threw one pass — a six-yard completion — in the second half.
Defensively, the final statistics probably show a mediocre Bethany performance, but a lot of the Washington yards came after the Bronchos began to sub on defense. Washington barely had 100 yards in the first half as Bethany built a 34-7 lead. Washington’s only first-half points came off a muffed punt recovered inside the 10-yard line.
When you look at the Bethany offensive line, you don’t see how they could possibly be a top-five team in Class 3A, with a couple of guys who aren’t even sniffing 200 pounds. But they do their job. Claborn only got sacked once, and the run game was effective with a committee of running backs that offer a good combination of speed and power.
The passing game obviously relies a lot on Claborn running the show, but you don’t complete 80 percent of your passes with a bunch of stone-hands receivers, either. Gage Diffee had a big day Friday, but John Page, Blake Collins and others give Claborn plenty of passing options.
Washington has gone through a tough non-district schedule that will pay off down the line, even though it probably doesn’t feel that way now. The Warriors have some young players in key positions, so keep an eye on them as the season goes along. Against Class 2A competition, Brad Beller’s squad should be able to handle themselves well.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Week 3 Picks
Scott picked up a game on both Jason and me last week while all three of us were corrects on our locks of the week. Here are our overall records and picks for this week:
Last week:
Scott 7-3, 1-0
Ryan 6-4, 1-0
Jason 6-4, 1-0
Overall
Ryan: 14-6, 2-0
Jason: 13-7, 1-1
Scott: 13-7, 1-1
Ryan
Midwest City 21, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Jenks 28, Owasso 7
McAlester 35, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 10
McGuinness 21, Millwood 13
Heritage Hall 42, Davis 17
Bethany 28, Washington 13
Kingfisher 14, Hennessey 12
Ryan 22, Coyle 18
Tipton 33, Thackerville 22
Lock of the week: Kingfisher over Hennessey
This is a tough one for me because there was a lot I was impressed with last week when I watched Hennessey play Jones. But Kingfisher has the depth to wear down Hennessey a bit by the end of the game and the athleticism to not let Ivan Moreno and Levi Hill wear their defense down. The Eagles will be better for having played this game once district play begins but Kingfisher gets it done.
Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Midwest City 20
Jenks 45, Owasso 24
McAlester 27, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 24, Tulsa Washington 14
Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Heritage Hall 35, Davis 10
Bethany 31, Washington 17
Kingfisher 24, Hennessey 21
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 35, Thackerville 30
Lock of the week: Bishop McGuinness over Millwood
The Falcons have a tough power running game that will be tough for future opponents to slow down, but not the Irish. McGuinness’ defense — especially with their outstanding linebacking core of Brandon Nguyen, Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffries. Last season, Millwood won a shootout 48-41, but expect a more low-scoring game this time. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Scott
Midwest City 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Jenks 35, Owasso 24
McAlester 35, Ardmore 21
Tulsa East Central 30, Tulsa Washington 21
McGuinness 21, Millwood 20
Heritage Hall 41, Davis 17
Bethany 38, Washington 28
Kingfisher 21, Hennessey 20
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 28, Thackerville 27
Lock of the week: McAlester over Ardmore.
Sitting in a press box in El Reno two years ago during the Class 5A semifinals, I began to take note of a talented McAlester team. Then I noticed the amount of young players on the roster, and I realized this was a team that would only keep getting better. Now we’re seeing it come to fruition, and I think this week will be another sign of things to come for the Buffs.
Bethany, Washington excited for Children’s Center Bowl week
Bethany was awarded the Children's Center Bowl trophy after defeating Kingfisher in the game last year.
With the fun part of Children’s Center Bowl week still ahead, there’s definite anticipation as the Bethany and Washington football teams prepare to be a part of the unique event.
Throughout the week, the two schools are working together to raise money for the Children’s Center, a private, nonprofit pediatric hospital serving children with complex medical and physical disabilities in Bethany.
Each school is competing in Penny Wars to raise money, which will be given to the Children’s Center on Friday. In addition, the players and cheerleaders from both teams will meet Thursday evening to tour the hospital, meet patients and participate in the Goodwill Games, a friendly competition designed to teach the players about living with physical disabilities.
The football game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Bethany/Southern Nazarene Stadium. Patients, families and staff from the Children’s Center will be on hand to take part in the pregame coin toss, and some will participate with the band at halftime.
“We’re really excited,” Washington coach Brad Beller said. “We visited the Children’s Center last summer. It’s an amazing place and it’s great what they do for children.
“Our whole school is really excited to e a part of it.”
I’ll have a lot more coverage of the Children’s Center Bowl throughout the week, including a feature story in Friday’s newspaper and game coverage in Saturday’s edition.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Heritage Hall vs. Bethany to be televised on ESPNU
ESPN released it’s schedule for the 16-game Geico ESPN High School Football Showcase on Thursday morning, and it will conclude with the Week 9 showdown between Heritage Hall and Bethany.
The Chargers will host the Bronchos Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
That will be the series’ second stop in Oklahoma. Tulsa Union hosts Louisiana’s Evangel Christian in the season opener on Sept. 2, which will also be broadcast on ESPNU.
Heritage Hall and Bethany met twice last year. In Week 9, Heritage Hall won at Bethany 14-7 in a game that sealed the district title for the Chargers. The two teams met again in the Class 3A semifinals, with the Chargers taking a 28-14 decision and going on to win the state championship over Kingfisher the next week.
The chance to play on ESPNU is an exciting one for the players.
“It’s gonna be incredible,” Bethany quarterback Ryley Claborn said. “It’s a great chance for the guys on the team that haven’t been looked at by colleges, especially. It’s a great way to get exposure for our players and our school. It’ll be fun to have that feeling, then go home and watch the game and know you’re on national television.”
Fifteen of the 16 games for the ESPN series were announced Thursday and include 30 teams from 13 different states. Here’s the full schedule.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
All-Best of the Rest football team…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours from the Varsity staff. I’ma go back to being Uncle Bob to my niece and nephew here in Kansas.
Here’s the final installment with an all-best of the rest. Basically, teams in the OKC area that aren’t in one of the set zones.
Here ya go:
All-Best of the Rest
Offense
QB — Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek
RB — Devin Campbell, Bethany
RB — Blake Riojas, Newcastle
WR — Caden Locke, Bridge Creek
WR — Abraham Luna, Santa Fe South
WR — Travis Carroll, McLoud
OL — Landon Chappell, Newcastle
OL — Caleb Craig, Harrah
OL — Blake Belcher, Guthrie
OL — Dexton Robertson, Cashion
OL — Gonzalo Delatorre, Kingfisher
K — Nathan Lee, Jones
P — Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defense
DL — Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
DL — Darren Davenport, Bethany
DL — Micah Thompson, Jones
DL — Derrick Luetjen, Hennessey
LB — Kenny Dennison, Blanchard
LB — Landry Chappell, Guthrie
LB — Jeremy Seaton, Cashion
DB — Tanner Koons, Tuttle
DB — Tylor Seabolt, Jones
DB — Orlando Pina, Hennessey
DB — Mike Miller, Davenport
KR — Jeremy Smith, Kingfisher
Offensive Player of the Year: Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
Coach of the Year: Shannon Watford, Hennessey
Kinda get a glimpse into a lot of our Little All-City team with this list. I’ll have much more to say when the LAC team comes out Thursday, Dec. 30.
Best of the Rest honor: Landon Nault, Kingfisher…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I’ve talked with Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers enough to know that Landon Nault has some talent. But I had no idea what the freshman could do until I saw him in person.
Nault was sensational in leading the Yellowjackets to a 33-6 dominating win against Metro Christian in the Class 3A semifinals.
Nault rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns that included touchdown runs of 80 and 83 yards in the second half.
With the win, Kingfisher finds itself with another opportunity for the gold ball, taking on Heritage Hall in the championship Friday night at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Other contenders
Derek Patterson, Kingfisher: Efficiency was the QB’s game. Patterson threw for two touchdowns and continues to be the team leader. Look for a HUGE Patterson story later this week.
Ivan Moreno, Hennessey: Need players to step up if you’re going to pull off the upset. Moreno did just that, scoring two touchdowns in the Eagles’ memorable 29-28 win against Millwood.
Bethany defense: Nothing to be ashamed of. After a brilliant outing against Cascia Hall, slowed down the Heritage Hall attack in a competitive 28-14 loss.
Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek: Welcome back to basketball. Spangler notched a triple-double in points, rebounds and blocks in his first game of the season.
Kendra Steward, Dale: In a good early season matchup, Dale dominated Washington 47-30 with Steward leading the way with 18 points.
SMQ: Markus Wakefield scores twice for Heritage Hall…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Every now and then you know what you’re talking about. I said somebody else would have to step up for Heritage Hall besides Sterling Shepard. Markus Wakefield did.
I said Devin Campbell would have to get the running game going or Bethany was in trouble. He didn’t, and it was.
And I said it would be 28-16 Heritage Hall, and it turned out to be 28-14…I’ll take it.
Heritage Hall 28, Bethany 14 – for my story, go here
Boneman’s Breakdown
- Have to start with that Wakefield pass. First, I’m glad I picked that play to shoot video of, got lucky on that front. I was kinda in shock to see the big man throwing it out there, but he did. In talking to the three parties involved (Wakefield, Shepard and coach Andy Bogert), all felt pressure.
- Wakefield wanted to make sure he got it to Shepard. Shepard wanted to make sure he didn’t what he knew would be a TD. And Bogert, well, talk about a gutsy call early in a game. It all worked as Wakefield found Shepard from 23 yards out and a touchdown.
- After another great call got Quintaz Struble in the end zone on 20-yarder from Cooper Cloud, I thought it was over. Figured we were on our way to a 42-10-ish beatdown.
- But Gage Diffee said not so fast, Boneman. Diffee’s 71-yard touchdown reception from Ryley Claborn made it a whole new game (great speed by Diffee), and Bogert said that was a game-changer. He knew his team was in for a fight.
- And lucky for us, both teams were ready for a fight. And when the Charger defense needed to come it big, it did…in a huge way. By my unofficial count, I had Bethany for negative rushing yards in the second half and only nine yards total in the second half.
- Neither team had much of a running game. A.J. Knowles and Brent Gaddis of Heritage had their moments as did Campbell. Campbell tied the game at 14-14 in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run. It was fun to see Campbell, though, and he’s definitely a contender for LAC running back.
- The discipline of the Heritage defensive line is impressive. That’s what led to the five sacks, two fumbles and touchdown. After Heritage pinned the Bronchos down, Bogert told the defense to go get a safety. Wakefield did one better and recovered a fumble in the end zone to put the game away.
- Both teams had huge plays called back by penalty. Bethany had a reverse to Diffee that went around 50 yards that was called back. Heritage had a 68-yard TD pass from Cloud to Shaun Tkach taken off the board. I don’t wanna say it was a sloppy game, but there was a lot of anxiety in this one as the teams racked up before-the-snap penalties.
- Fantastic season for Bethany. Bronchos close the year at 10-4 and that win vs. Cascia Hall in the quarterfinals will remain one of the year’s best games. Seriously, that was a top 5 moment right there.
- As for Heritage Hall (14-0), time for the championship battle with Kingfisher (10-3). Of course, the Chargers won 42-14 in Week 10, but that was a much much different Yellowjacket team.
Heritage Hall vs. Bethany Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo and Scott Wright
BPrzybylo@opubco.com; SWright@opubco.com
Bethany (10-3) vs. Heritage Hall (13-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Putnam City Stadium (Boneman will be there)
Bethany
Why the Bronchos can win: Defense. Coach Reagan Roof described the Broncho defense as “relentless” the last couple weeks. They’ve given up one touchdown in the last six quarters while pulling off a couple of tough wins — at Plainview and knocking off the three-time defending champs, Cascia Hall. The offense can’t be forgotten, either. RB Devin Campbell and QB Ryley Claborn give Bethany a good balance.
Heritage Hall
Why the Chargers can win: Because this team has learned how to win without RB Barry J. Sanders. There isn’t much this team hasn’t seen this season, and they’re ready for this moment. The offense has become a lot more balanced, and the defense has been stellar all year.
Quote:
We learned about ourselves as a team in the first meeting. It’s going to be tough, and we expect them to have a different plan. This is what you play for.” – quarterback Cooper Cloud
Scott’s key matchup: Sterling Shepard vs. the Bethany defense. Shepard is one of the most dynamic players around, and he hurt Bethany in the last meeting, scoring both TDs in the Chargers’ 14-7 win. The Bronchos have to keep tabs on him and keep him in check. As long as they do that, it should be another close one agian.
Boneman’s key matchup: Devin Campbell vs. Heritage defensive line. The line, anchored by Markus Wakefield and Quintaz Struble, has been dominating good foes on a weekly basis. Campbell needs to have success to give the Bronchos a chance.
Scott’s pick: Bethany 20, Heritage Hall 17. The offenses should have a little more success the second time around, but I look for some big plays from the Bethany defense to turn this one.
Boneman’s pick: Heritage Hall 28, Bethany 16. Definitely expect both teams to find more holes than in the first matchup, but it’s still Sterling Shepard that will emerge as the star, either on an INT return or punt return.
Boneman’s Bethany prediction record: 8-5.
Boneman’s Heritage prediction record: 13-0.
Boneman’s 3A-A semifinal picks…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Class 3A – Heritage Hall (13-0) vs. Bethany (10-3), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Putnam City Stadium
Score: Heritage Hall 28, Bethany 16
Breakdown: I expect more scoring than the 14-7 slugfest in Week 9. Just figure both teams have some new wrinkles they’re ready to throw out. Chargers find a way to get Sterling Shepard involved in one way or another and Quintaz Struble and Markus Wakefield dominate the show on defense vs. a good Bronchos squad.
Class 3A – Kingfisher (9-3) vs. Metro Christian (10-3), 1 p.m. Saturday, Putnam City Stadium
Score: Kingfisher 24, Metro Christian 20
Breakdown: Don’t listen to me, I had both of these teams gone before the quarterfinals. This is the toughest game for me to pick, and I’m going more on the strength of Jeff Myers and the Kingfisher coaching staff than anything else. How will the Yellowjackets stop Andrew Hearon and the MC passing attack? Not sure, but somehow and someway…they will.
Class 2A – Davis (11-1) vs. Colcord (11-2), 1 p.m. Saturday, Bixby
Score: Davis 21, Colcord 9
Breakdown: Only way I see this being a real competitive battle is if the Wolves are too busy overlooking Colcord (like I’ve been) and aren’t focused. Davis is the right blend of a fantastic defense to go with its always solid rushing attack and moves on to the championship.
Class 2A – Millwood (13-0) vs. Hennessey (10-3), 1 p.m. Saturday, Yukon’s Miller Pride Stadium
Score: Millwood 26, Hennessey 12
Breakdown: I got a feeling this is going to be tight until the fourth quarter. The Hennessey defense is motivated, and the team is pumped with the ‘nobody believes in us’ attitude. And with Derrick Luetjen and Orlando Pina, good reason for the defense to be stoked. Brandon Swindall makes the big play late to solidify just how great he really is.
Class A – Stratford (11-2) vs. Morrison (10-3), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Moore Stadium
Score: Morrison 23, Stratford 19
Breakdown: Really intrigued by this one and excited to get to see it. Morrison went life and death with Wayne in the second round, another District A-5 team. How do you bet against Stratford, a team that won all three of its playoff games on the road? I like Jake Walls to make that game-changing play.
Class A – Woodland (12-0) vs. Thomas (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Enid
Score: Woodland 29, Thomas 21
Breakdown: I’m not betting against the Cougars. Sorry, just won’t happen. Beat too many good teams in the regular season and made them look bad. Took out previously undefeated Velma-Alma last week. Great first year for Joe Sindelar. But Thomas has been so good in its own right. Thomas forced to play catch up and runs out of time.
