Private schools: Playoff Week 2 recap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I must admit I didn’t think I would be down to one team at this juncture. But alas, the Chargers are the last team standing.
Heritage Hall (8-4)
Sophomore Sterling Shepard got his clearance to play, and boy, did he ever make it count. Shepard caught one touchdown and threw for two more as the Chargers made a statement in a 48-8 win.
Fellow sophomore Barry Sanders continued his stellar season, running for three touchdowns and taking back an interception for a score.
Sanders won’t hit ya that much on defense, but he has great instincts as a corner and makes teams pay.
If Heritage is able to rush for 333 yards like it did Friday, it’s going to be a long night for the other team.
Up next: The Chargers head to Pawhuska (10-2) in a 2A quarterfinal Friday.
Bishop McGuinness (9-3)
Not too much to add than what I already said in the Saturday Morning Quarterback. On one hand, I felt the Irish just ran out of time in a 20-14 loss to Sallisaw.
But on the other, give a load of credit to the Black Diamond defense. After McGuinness scored on its first drive, didn’t score again until its final drive.
The Irish simply couldn’t get anything else going besides LaRone Richardson. Kyle Ahmad and Jamaal Whitney were stymied, and Sallisaw’s big start put ‘em in a hole early.
I’m still thoroughly impressed with Jameel Whitney and Jay Lester. And when Little All-City Defensive Player of the Year comes around, I’ll be banging the drum for Jameel. I’ll probably be out-voted, but Whitney is impressive.
Quarterback Camden Tharp will only grow from this. It’s possible we have a 3-man battle again next year with Quinn Shanbour, Tharp and David Krahl.
Like I said, with the lack of big-name talent, this is easily one of the better coaching jobs by Kenny Young and his staff.
The Boneman Curse…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I thought it was a myth, an urban legend. No, it’s real, my friends. If you want to win, don’t have me cover your playoff game right now.
With the zone strategy, we’ve basically been picking teams from our zones to cover for the playoffs and that’s led to bad news for Edmond and private school clubs when they see me in the parking lot.
I’ve driven a long ways in back-to-back weeks to basically write “team wrapup” stories.
First was Edmond North and the 90-mile trek to Lawton where the Wolverines wore down the Huskies in the second half of a 34-16 win.
But Friday takes the cake. Making my first trip to Sallisaw and driving 180 miles (or six hours roundtrip) to see Bishop McGuinness get off to a bad start and Sallisaw earn a huge 20-14 victory.
Who’s next on my hit list: Heritage Hall. Yep, I’m making the 140-mile trip to Pawhuska on Friday for that one. Beware, Charger fans, the Boneman is coming.
Lawton winning wasn’t a shock. Sallisaw fought for that one and definitely deserved it even though I LOCKed the Irish last week. But I tell ya, starting to wonder if this curse thing is legit. And for those wondering, headed to Douglass and Weatherford on Saturday at Yukon.
SMQ: Irish vs. Sallisaw…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
From talking to Matt Oberste following the game, the Collinsville last-second victory was almost as instrumental in beating Bishop McGuinness as anything else.
Sallisaw was battle-tested in a tough district and Oberste was hungry. Well, the whole team was hungry, but especially Oberste because of his late-season injury.
Sallisaw 20, Bishop McGuinness 14 – Final
The Black Diamonds got off to a fantastic start. Jeremy Davenport didn’t end up with that many yards, but he did find the end zone twice.
As much as I was impressed with Oberste (and I was), nobody impressed me more than Trey Wiley. Oberste is so good because he can just throw it up to Wiley, and Wiley will make a play.
Wiley had seven receptions for 102 yards and set the single-season school record in the process for yards in a single season. Wiley has the height (6-3), but he’s not very big (listed at 175). I tend to not care about that at all. If you pass the Boneman’s eye test, that’s good enough for me.
It was basically Wiley on one side against LaRone Richardson on the other. Wow. A huge game by the Irish junior RB. He was dominant. I had seen him against Weatherford where the Eagles just keyed in on him the entire game, so it was good to see just what Richardson is all about.
After looking like a track meet, it really settled down into a defensive struggle. The Irish made great second-half adjustments after being down 20-7. Sallisaw never gave Camden Tharp any time at all during the game to find an open receiver.
The big run by Oberste clinched the game or else we might have have seen another dramatic finish like last year’s battle.
Sallisaw takes on Star Spencer on Saturday at Sapulpa. Fellow chum Ryan Aber will be there.
Here’s a link to Saturday’s story on the game.
It was a weird season for McGuinness. In the early part, I was thinking it was going to be a 7-3, 6-4 season. But after stellar showings in all the top games, viewed them as favorites.
Injuries definitely hurt this team. The defense is going to take a big hit, but the offense should be even more explosive this next season.
The Irish finish 9-3 with a one-point loss at Bishop Kelley and Weatherford to go with the six-point loss Friday night.
Coach Kenny Young got the most out of his talent this season and this may have been his best coaching job yet. The talent wasn’t supposed to be there, but the Irish made it work.
Semifinal sites set
Here’s the semifinal times/dates:
Class 6A
Jenks vs. Southmoore, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Putnam City Stadium
Tulsa Union vs. Broken Arrow, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, University of Tulsa
Class 5A
El Reno vs. Carl Albert, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Putnam City Stadium
Bixby vs. Guthrie, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Stillwater High School
Class 4A
Weatherford vs. Douglass, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Yukon
Star Spencer vs. Sallisaw, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sapulpa
Class 3A
Seq. Claremore vs. Cascia Hall, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Collinsville
Berryhill vs. Dewey, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Skiatook
Class B
Garber vs. Laverne, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Woodward
Ryan vs. Canton, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Norman
Class C
DC-Lamont vs. Timberlake, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Enid
Seiling vs. Forgan, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Woodward
Bishop McGuinness vs. Sallisaw Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bishop McGuinness (9-2) vs. Sallisaw (10-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Sallisaw (I’ll be there)
McGuinness (9-2)
Why the Irish can win: Because like LaRone Richardson said during the week, McGuinness is loaded with players who can make big-time plays on each side of the ball. A healthy Richardson is huge, but so is the type of outings the Irish can get from Camden Tharp and Kyle Ahmad. And teams haven’t had much success penetrating this defense all season.
Irish key stats:
Passing: Tharp 52-90, 704 yds, 5 TDs, 5 INTs
Rushing: Tharp 758 yds, 6 TDs; Richardson 561 yds, 12 TDs; Will Blaik 483 yds, 3 TDs
Receiving: Ahmad 24 rec., 493 yds, 5 TDs
Defense: Jameel Whitney 112 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INTs; Jay Lester 109 tkls, 1 INT; Dakota Leftwich 4 sacks; Ahmad 5 INTs; Richardson 4 INTs
Quote:
Their quarterback is good. I mean real good. He’s going to be the biggest challenge we have. It’s not going to be easy.” – Richardson
Sallisaw (10-1)
Why the Black Diamonds can win: Because they’ve already fought through the playoff intensity in a 31-28 win against Collinsville. They’re ready for what it’s going to take in this one. And of course, as long as Matt Oberste is healthy, there is no counting out this team.
Sallisaw key stats:
Passing: Oberste 115-203, 1,758 yards, 16 TDs, 9 INTs
Rushing: Oberste 947 yds, 12 TDs; Jeremy Davenport 880 yds, 15 TDs
Receiving: Trey Wiley 66 rec., 788 yds, 6 TDs; Chase Hunt 16 rec., 231 yds, 2 TDs
Defense: Jake Fitzsimmons, 129 tackles, 7 sacks; Dakota Petree 75 tkls, 5 sacks, 2 INTs; Hayden Spencer 14 sacks; Trevor Fitzsimmons 13 sacks; Phillip Leffler 6 INTs.
Key matchup: Irish running game vs. Sallisaw front seven. Everything McGuinness does offensively is predicated off a successful running game. While Tharp has made strides all year as a passer, McGuinness does not want the game to be in his hands (at least throwing). Give it to Richardson and Jameel Whitney and run that clock out. Sallisaw gives up 127 yards per game on the ground. It’s going to have to do better than that.
Boneman’s Last Word: McGuinness has been cruisin’ since the big win at Douglass in Week 7. This game will bring ‘em back to some of those early battles. If the Irish respond well in the first quarter, think they won’t have any issues. Sallisaw is definitely ready, especially after last year. One big hit on Oberste might change things, you never know.
The pick: McGuinness 17, Sallisaw 12. Irish get up early before Oberste tries to lead the charge. Follow me on Twitter @BPrzybylo for all the updates.
Private schools: Playoff jabs, Pt. II…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Lindsay (7-4) vs. Heritage Hall (7-4)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pop Murray Memorial Field
The wait is absolutely killing sophomore Sterling Shepard right now. Coach Andy Bogert told me Shepard feels fine, but everybody feels fine until they get hit again.
I don’t know, what’s happened with the Philadelphia Eagles’ star RB Brian Westbrook has me a little leery of Shepard coming back too soon.
Lindsay last year was sparked by Tim Hamilton and Jordan Lukens as one of the most potent QB-WR combos in the state. Bogert said the Leopards will once again attempt to throw it all around the field. One thing Scott Hacker does is make as many mistakes as big plays. He has 15 TDs and 18 INTs.
Bishop McGuinness (9-2) vs. Sallisaw (10-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Sallisaw (I’ll be there)
Talking with McGuinness players, they really see Matt Oberste as the main obstacle to advancement. While I agree Oberste is a beast, the Black Diamonds have some other weapons.
I’m in every Saturday morning and Sallisaw is one of the more consistent teams to always call in with some Friday Night Heroes.
With that being said, Jeremy Davenport is going to be just as crucial for Sallisaw. Davenport has rushed for just under 900 yards and 15 touchdowns. And Trey Wiley is one of the better WRs and had a big game last week.
And here is a short video with myself and Ryan Aber breaking it all down.
Irish vs. Sallisaw (Last Year Rewind)…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bishop McGuinness (9-2) vs. Sallisaw (10-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Sallisaw (I’ll be there)
If this year’s game is half as good as last year’s second-round game between McGuinness and Sallisaw where the Irish won on a big TD reception by Gabe Ikard, I will be a content Boneman. Here’s to hoping I don’t get lost, but I probably will.
Irish: No lack of playmakers…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Bishop McGuinness (9-2) vs. Sallisaw (10-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Sallisaw (I’ll be there)
Every team gets hit by injuries, you know, it’s part of the game. But much like its private school counterpart Heritage Hall, Bishop McGuinness is starting to get all those injured players back at the right time.
It started last week with the return of junior RB LaRone Richardson from a high ankle sprain. Not too much can be gained because he told me he was only tackled once by the Tecumseh defense.
It gets better as Quinn Shanbour should be able to help the team this week. He’s getting more and more reps on defense, so he might be able to step up against a talented Sallisaw offense.
I asked Richardson if the injuries have been blessings in disguise because it’s led to other people (Camden Tharp, Kyle Ahmad, Jameel Whitney, etc.) stepping up and now people know the Irish are more than just Richardson.
Quote:
Not really. We knew coming in that we had a lot of good players coming back from last year. Most of them just hadn’t had the opportunity, but we weren’t really worried that we had a lack of playmakers on this team.” – Richardson
I think most 4A-1 teams can out-tough the other squads, except in 4A-4. It was fun watching the battles between Sallisaw, Broken Bow, Wagoner and Poteau.
Three big games matchup 4A-1 vs. 4A-4 teams this week as Douglass is at Wagoner and Broken Bow at Weatherford to go along with the Irish at Sallisaw.
McGuinness is a lot more physical than people give it credit for. I think the difference is most teams don’t have the speed to go with the physicality like the Irish.
Private schools POW: Kyle Ahmad, Bishop McGuinness
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
There are just so many weapons for Bishop McGuinness when all the boys are healthy. Camden Tharp is effective as both a runner and a passer. Jameel Whitney is the bruising back and anchor on defense. LaRone Richardson is your workhorse who can also bust a big one.
And then there’s Kyle Ahmad. He’s your game-breaker. A person that if you need one play to take it to the house, you call his number.
Ahmad wasn’t the only Irish player to score two touchdowns in the 49-0 win vs. Tecumseh, but seeing the team click like that was huge and earns him the Private Schools Player of the Week.
Ahmad scored on 31-yard run in the first quarter and and also on a 28-yard pass from Tharp as the Irish roll into a huge quarterfinal matchup at Sallisaw. His speed is lethal, my friends.
With all these weapons, it’s tough to contain them all. And if all the weapons are healthy (as they’re now on their way to being), well, look out for the Irish.
Other contenders
Barry Sanders, RB, Heritage Hall: Just another day at the office for the sophomore. He scored four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) as the Chargers blanked Meeker 35-0.
LaRone Richardson, RB, McGuinness: Made his return after missing the final two (almost 3) games with a high ankle sprain and scored twice.
Travis Harrison, Heritage: Provided a huge spark when he took a blocked punt 15 yards for a touchdown to help Chargers cruise.
Camden Tharp, QB, McGuinness: He has made a believer out of me. He’s no longer a question mark for the Irish. He threw two touchdowns and ran for another.
Irish and Charger defense: Neither squad gave up a point with Heritage giving up 144 yards and McGuinness allowing 183 yards of offense.
OCS defense: Saints didn’t lose to Oklahoma Bible because of their defense. In a tough battle, OBA blanked OCS 7-0, scoring in the second quarter.
Private schools: Playoff Week 1 recap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The dynamic duo remains in the private school realm, and it looks like I might be following one of these teams as far as they can go.
Bishop McGuinness (9-2)
That is how you start the postseason. A dominating display on both sides of the ball in a 49-0 victory against Tecumseh. Everything was clicking. LaRone Richardson was back, scoring twice. Kyle Ahmad took it in twice.
The Irish never really got the passing game going because they didn’t need to. I haven’t checked in with coach Kenny Young yet, but I can’t think of him hoping for a better showing.
Now the road gets difficult as McGuinness heads east to play Sallisaw (10-1). It is real easy to overlook Sallisaw after a 31-28 last-second FG win against Collinsville. I’m not doing that. QB Matt Oberste is healthy again, said coach Craig Benson.
In Ryan’s rankings, this is the No. 2 team (Irish) taking on the No. 5 team (Sallisaw) in the quarterfinals. That is really saying something about how good this game can be.
I’m looking forward to this one. And you know what? I’m looking forward to this one so much that I’m making the trip Friday to Sallisaw for this one.
Heritage Hall (7-4)
Take what I just said about McGuinness and copy it for the Chargers. The first three times Barry Sanders touched the ball, he scored touchdowns en route to a 35-0 win against Meeker.
Not shocking that Heritage blanked the Bulldogs as you take out that fourth quarter vs. Weatherford, and this has been an outstanding defensive unit.
Cooper Cloud is doing his best to make me look stupid. Another solid outing. Not spectacular, but really, he’s never going to need to be the guy that throws for 300 yards and five touchdowns.
The Chargers welcome Lindsay to town on Friday.
OCS (8-3)
This one hurt. I picked the Saints to reach the Class A finals. Still don’t know how Oklahoma Bible shut ‘em out 7-0, but I’m not questioning OBA anymore. Great effort.
Thought this might be the season for a title for OCS, but fell a little short in the biggest moments. See what they have next year.
