In Focus: Class 3A semifinals…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
CLASS 3A
KINGFISHER YELLOWJACKETS
Record: 9-3
Ranking: Unranked
Coach: Jeff Myers, seventh season at Kingfisher
Previous state titles: 2003 (3A)
Road to 2010 semifinals: Beat Perkins-Tryon 55-21, beat Tuttle 14-8, beat Beggs 49-21
2009 record (playoffs): 12-3 (Beat Lexington 24-3, beat Bridge Creek 33-32, beat Sperry 35-14, beat Millwood 27-12, lost to Lincoln Christian 35-0)
Last week: After winning its first two playoff games on the road, the Yellowjackets hosted for the first time this postseason and quickly jumped up, as Landon Nault went 73 yards for a score on the game’s first snap. Nault finished with three touchdowns as Kingfisher blew past Beggs to send the Yellowjackets into the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season.
Player to watch: Derek Patterson, QB. The senior has more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,500 yards passing. In the win over Beggs, he accounted for four touchdowns and more than 300 total yards.
Notable: Jeremy Smith and Logan Nault are the Yellowjackets leading receivers with more than 500 yards each. … Dustin Isom and Jake Blair are Kingfisher’s leading tacklers. … Patterson also handles the punting duties. … The Yellowjackets have scored 32 or more points in all of their wins this season but one, the second-round win at Tuttle. … Two of Kingfisher’s three losses came to fellow Class 3A semifinalists Bethany (27-12 on Oct. 15) and Heritage Hall (42-14 on Nov. 5).
District 3A-3 honors
There’s no doubting District 3A-3 was the toughest in the class — just check the semifinals for verification.
And when you look at the players of the year, you see just how impressive that group of teams was. So here they are, all the “… of the Year” honors for District 3A-3:
Coach of the Year: Andy Bogert, Heritage Hall
MVP: Derek Patterson, QB, Kingfisher
Offensive MVP: Blake Riojas, RB, Newcastle
Defensive MVP: Darren Daveport, DT, Bethany
Quarterback of the Year: Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall
Running back of the Year: Devin Campbell, Bethany
Wide receiver of the Year: Tyrone Jones, Centennial
Offensive lineman of the Year: Gonzalo Delatorre, Kingfisher
Tight end of the Year: Spencer Davis, Centennial
Defensive lineman of the Year: Landon Chapple, Newcastle
Defensive end of the Year: Kody Stamm, John Marshall
Linebacker of the Year: Denzelle Johnson, John Marshall
Defensive back of the Year: Jeremy McDade, Newcastle
Returner of the Year: Jeremy Smith, Kingfisher
Punter of the Year: Kevin Shoebinger, Newcastle
Co-Kickers of the Year: Preston Waltman, Kingfisher, and Irving Roa, John Marshall
Scott’s Lock: Better buy into Bethany
In a lot of cases, Week 10 adopts a strong playoff atmosphere because there’s so much immediately at stake.
I think that will be the case for Bethany and Newcastle this week, with the winner getting a home playoff game next week — a reward that shouldn’t be undervalued.
It’s a tough call on this game, but I’m going with Bethany. For one, I think the Broncho defense has been overlooked a little this year. Bethany has developed a repuation as a powerful offensive team, but the defense has done some impressive things — four straight shutouts earlier this season, for starters.
The Bronchos allowed 14 points to Heritage Hall and 12 to Kingfisher, the other two playoff teams in the district.
Darren Davenport is a Division I prospect on the D-line and they’ve got speed everywhere, including linebacker, which will be a key position in their hopes to stop Newcastle running back Blake Riojas. He’s a game-changer, and has shown that he can put the Racers on his back and carry them to victory if needed.
Jimmy McDade and Colby Gibson lead a Newcastle defense which has been solid outside of allowing 98 total points in two straight games to Heritage Hall and Tulsa NOAH a few weeks ago.
Of course, the Bethany offense is still pretty good, too. RB Devin Campbell and QB Ryley Claborn present a run-pass threat to keep defenses off balance, and receivers Gage Diffee and Tanner Robinson have shown the ability to make big plays.
I don’t think last week’s loss to Heritage Hall will produce a letdown this Friday, but rather make the Bronchos hungrier.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Heritage Hall vs. Bethany Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Heritage Hall (8-0) at Bethany (7-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: McFarland Park Stadium, SNU (NW 50th and Council)
Heritage (W – Casady; W – Clinton; W – Davis; W – Centennial; W- Tulsa NOAH; W – Newcastle; W – John Marshall; W – SeeWorth)
Why the Chargers can win: Because a lot has been said about the phenomenal skilled kids, but the lines on both sides have been just as dominant. There is a reason the holes are there. And if the offensive studs are not at full go (esp. Barry J. Sanders), the line will have to make up the difference.
Bethany
Why the Bronchos can win: Because this team has been waiting for this moment. It answered a lot of questions with the win against Kingfisher. Defense gives up less than 15 points per contest and there are a lot of playmakers on this team.
Key matchup: Heritage QBs vs. Bethany defense. Going with that road mentality. How will Cooper Cloud and Sterling Shepard fare on the road? Seriously, something to be said for not having gone on the road since Week 4. Not only that, but the last road challenge was Week 3 at Davis. Gonna have to show that composure that this year’s team has been known for.
The pick: Heritage Hall 31, Bethany 17. Biggest challenge of the year, but I think the Chargers gut out a tough win away from Pop Murray Field.
Boneman’s Heritage prediction record: 8-0.
Class 3A: Separation Friday?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I’m not good at clever names so Separation Friday is what you’re getting from me when it comes to Class 3A.
You may not agree with my rankings (that’s fine), but 3A has four games featuring ranked teams, IMO.
So who is going to separate itself from the rest of the pack? Or will the pack become even more jumbled than it was before?
No. 1 Cascia Hall (7-1) at No. 5 Sperry (7-0)
Those who have seen them say Sperry is the real deal. I think people are overlooking the whole ‘bye’ week thing that is going on in 3A.
While Cascia Hall was busy battling it out with Nowata, Sperry was licking its chops. Its coaches watching intently. The Pirates have had two weeks to come up with special/trick plays and getting to know all there is about Joe Medina’s club.
The pick: Cascia Hall 32, Sperry 29. I am on the fence here. I really want to believe in Sperry, but how do you argue against the Commandos? Well, you don’t.
No. 2 Heritage Hall (8-0) at No. 8 Bethany (7-1)
The Bronchos are three points away from being 8-0. As is, Bethany has won seven consecutive games, including a biggie against Kingfisher a couple of weeks ago.
A lot of talent on this team from RB Devin Campbell to DL Darren Davenport. X Factor might be WR Gage Diffee.
Heritage Hall has been the dominant team in the class. The Chargers haven’t faced a challenged since Week 3 at Davis. Tulsa NOAH and Newcastle were supposed to be big games, but Heritage made a statement early.
RB Barry J. Sanders won’t be 100 percent (if he does play), but Sterling Shepard and the offensive line should be enough.
The pick: Heritage Hall 31, Bethany 17. The Bronchos are going to be fired up for this one, but eventually the adrenaline will wear off and Chargers get the job done in first road game in five weeks.
No. 3 Anadarko (8-0) at No. 7 Tuttle (5-2)
Are the Warriors ready for that next step? Has Tuttle made enough adjustments to wipe out early losses to Cache and Bridge Creek?
Viewed Tuttle a lot like Cascia Hall. How do you bet against that tradition? No question Kent Jackson’s team is really good this year. Answered one big challenge after another.
I know Anadarko is more than just Sheldon Wilson. But I want to see that be proven. Think the Tigers are going to bottle him up after getting Week 7 off.
Also want to see how Anadarko responds in a close battle. Warrior fans will point out they won’t let it get that far. We’ll see.
The pick: Tuttle 23, Anadarko 21.
No. 10 Plainview (5-3) at No. 6 Madill (8-0)
Had some heat about the Indians being ranked. I don’t know, just couldn’t punish a team for losing to two Texas clubs and a four-point loss to Clinton (20-16).
Since then, Plainview has won five in a row. Madill answered the call against Purcell and Spencer Bond is still not getting enough attention (at least from my ilk).
Anyone at this game, sure would love some Twitter updates.
The pick: Madill 33, Plainview 21. This Madill team is still pretty fired up about last year’s disappointment. Good battle that Madill pulls out.
FMQ: Bethany defense throws another shutout
Time for the Friday Morning Quarterback examination of Bethany’s 42-0 win over John Marshall. No need to wait around. Let’s get right too it:
Bethany breakdown: It was an impressive performance from the Bronchos in all facets of the game. They have a tough road ahead if they’re going to make a run at a home playoff berth in a district with Kingfisher, Heritage Hall and Newcastle. But there’s no doubting they’ve got some serious talent. And regardless of the opponent, three straight shutouts is impressive.
John Marshall isn’t a top 10 team right now, but they’re not a bad team, either. Bethany made them look like a bad football team Thursday night. The Bears had one rushing play that accounted for 42 yards by Kody Shields, and the rest of the night, they only gained 28 yards (including losses of 9 and 15 yards when shotgun snaps flew over QB Devion Smith’s head).
The Bethany defense has speed at every position, and the front four were disruptive all night, recording multiple tackles for loss. DE Brett Gilstrap made a great play snatching a screen pass out of the air and taking it back for a touchdown. The linebackers run to the ball well and the DBs aren’t afraid to come up and hit.
Offensively, Devin Campbell rushed 19 times for 164 yards and a touchdown, giving him 653 and nine TDs for the season. He’s a shifty runner with some power, too. And with Ryley Claborn throwing the ball around the way he did Thursday night, the Bronchos are dangerously balanced.
John Marshall breakdown: The Bears are hurting on the offensive line right now. The loss of center Tyler Stamm for the season has been tough on depth, forcing the move of Denzelle Johnson from slot receiver to left tackle. He’s 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, but he’s one of the team’s most athletic players. I. n the preseason, they were using him as a receiver and getting the ball to him on handoffs, too.
The O-line issues make it tough on a freshman QB in Devion Smith. He missed on a few of his throws and had some drops, too. The run game will be more helpful than it was on Thursday, because of the play of the Bethany defensive line. Prior to Thursday, the Bears offense had been better than their scores suggest. They moved the ball well, just couldn’t find their way into the end zone.
The defense had also been much better previously than it showed on Thursday. But they got hit quickly by a couple of big plays — Bethany returned the opening kickoff to the JM 40 and scored on the first snap — and were left staggering.
I think this team will bounce back, and I don’t think it’s out of line to think they could be on the fringe of a playoff berth, depending how the ball bounces down the stretch.
Up next: Bethany hosts SeeWorth Academy, then Tulsa NOAH (non-district). John Marshall gets a visit from Kingfisher before the rivalry game with Centennial.
Game preview: Bethany at John Marshall
Bethany (2-1) at John Marshall (2-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Taft Stadium
Last week: Bethany routed Washington 37-0, the Bronchos’ second straight shutout. John Marshall edged Crooked Oak 15-6.
Why Bethany could win: Reagan Roof’s offense has typically been throw, throw, throw and run when you have to, but with Devin Campbell, Roof has let his talented running back go to work. The 5-foot-8 senior has 489 yards and eight touchdowns on 49 carries. And QB Ryley Claborn has thrown for 464 yards and five scores, giving the Bronchos a good amount of balance.
Why John Marshall could win: Defense has been the foundation of everything the Bears are built on, and that will keep them in most games. Denzelle Johnson anchors that defense at linebacker, with Dejon Brison up front and Alandis Bell on the back end. If they can hold up against Campbell and Claborn, the Bears will be in the game at the end.
Key matchup: Bethany’s Ryley Claborn vs. John Marshall secondary. Claborn is still a young QB, and the Bears are solid on the back end. If they can force Claborn into some bad throws or bad decisions, John Marshall could come away with some picks. If Claborn takes care of the ball, the Bronchos should be able to put some pressure on the John Marshall defense.
The pick: Bethany 21, John Marshall 18. The Bears should be able to keep it close with good defense, but the offense is still a work in progress with so many young players and new starters. Bethany’s experience and offensive weapons should give it enough of an edge to pull it out.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Star-studded turnout for Bethany tournament
I didn’t win a Heisman Trophy. I wasn’t the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. And I didn’t win the closest-to-the-hole contest in the Bethany Alumni Golf Tournament on Friday.
So that makes three things Sam Bradford has over me.
Bradford has been back in OKC this week for a variety of activities, one of which turned out to be playing a round of golf with his St. Louis Rams teammate Chris Chamberlain in the Bethany High School Celebrity Alumni Tournament Friday at Lake Hefner South.
Bradford knocked his tee shot inside of three feet on No. 17, which was good for the top prize, $100. He hasn’t signed a contract yet, so the hundred bucks could’ve come in handy but it was promptly donated back to the Bethany golf teams.
Obviously, Bradford graduated from PC North, so he isn’t a Bethany alum, but neither am I. My father, Keith, was a Broncho and we’ve been playing in the alumni tournament since the mid-1990s. In all those years, I’ve never seen a celebrity turnout like they had this year, with Bradford, Chamberlain and Grady Cross — the Cross of the Yukon-grown band Cross Canadian Ragweed.
Quite a day at the golf course. And to top it off, the tournament was won — rather easily and even more fittingly — by the family of the late John Griffis. Griffis was the Bethany golf coach who died last November after falling from his house while working on his roof. The team consisted of John’s two sons, Matthew and Isaac, his father, Jay, and his nephew, Jonathan Williams. Jay Griffis and Williams stepped in to take John’s position as Broncho golf coach last year.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Plenty of stars in Mustang for 7-on-7
I cruised out to Mustang High for their Tuesday night 7-on-7 competition, which had some talented players with Mustang, Bethany, Bridge Creek, El Reno and Santa Fe South participating.
The Mustang 7-on-7 is a very laid-back event, not real competitive. More like a practice than a game, nobody keeping score or wondering who won. Just a bunch of teams working on their fundamentals of pass offense and defense.
I came away from the event thinking I could put together a pretty good basketball team out there. You had some great big men, with Bridge Creek’s 6-foot-7 Ryan Spangler and Bethany’s Garrett McGrady, who must be close to 6-8. A speedy point guard in David Glidden of Mustang. I’m pretty sure I saw DeVante Moore of El Reno was out there, so he’d be a my starting two-guard. Just need another shooter/slasher on the wing and we’d be pretty solid.
Anyway, back to football… Here are a few bullet points that caught my eye during play:
- Glidden is back in action after a lingering shoulder injury kept him out of some team work in May and early June. He looked like his normal self and also said he took part in some team camp activities over the weekend which were more physically demanding than 7-on-7 and the shoulder held up fine.
- McGrady is a really good athlete at TE/DE for the Bronchos, and he just keeps growing. Probably close to four inches in the last year. He and Spangler were significantly taller than just about everyone else out there, and I think McGrady had the slight edge on the Bridge Creek QB. McGrady moves well and has decent hands. He’s likely to be a security blanket for new QB Ryan Claborn. The two are heading into their junior years and have been playing together for a few years now.
- El Reno must replace Jakeil Everheart at quarterback, and I didn’t get to discuss with coach Tom Cobble what direction they’ll go, but Ridge Gargasz, who played receiver last year, threw some nice passes.
- Santa Fe South WR Abraham Luna — and the SFS offense in general — showed the ability to be a serious deep threat. They went deep on a few different teams with good success, most often to Luna.
- Spangler is busy with both basketball — playing for Athletes First — and football, so he wasn’t as in sync as he’ll be in September, but he’s still got a strong arm and throws the ball well. He also has some talent to throw to at WR, led by Caden Locke, one of the top yardage producers in the state at receiver last year. Spangler said in the spring that basketball is his preference at the next level, and he has offers already from Oral Roberts, Wichita State, Lehigh and Liberty, with more sure to come. But he has shown some interest on the football side of things this summer.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Basketball: OBCA Hall of Fame…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Boy, the stories these men could tell. The newest members of the OBCA Hall of Fame. Photo provided.
How much basketball knowledge can you fit in one picture? Ya gotta be close to maxin’ out on something like that with the group in this one.
Here are the latest members of the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Starting in the back row:
Jim Kerwin (Stillwater, Seminole, Northern, assistant at OU, assistant at Kansas State, head coach Western Illinois).
Jim Walling (represented by his son; Asher and Earlsboro)
Front row:
Bill Robertson (Bethany, Putnam City North)
Gene Davis (Valliant, Broken Bow, Achille, Soper, USAO, among others)
CC Gillespie (Panola, Red Oak)
Congrats to all inductees.
