Courtney Walker, left, and Edmond Santa Fe are the best girls' basketball team in the state. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Here is my first girls’ basketball power poll. This one just covers the large schools (6A and 5A). Tomorrow, I’ll have one for 2A-3A-4A.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

1. Edmond Santa Fe (6A, 21-0)
No brainer at No. 1. Texas A&M signee Courtney Walker and company are the clear favorites to win their second straight 6A title. The Wolves’ smallest margin of victory is 15. The biggest question mark surrounding this team is its strength of schedule. The Wolves haven’t really been tested this season.
Record vs. this poll: 2-0

2. Shawnee (5A, 21-0)
The Wolves lost Tulsa signee Caitlyn Ramirez to an ACL tear before the season, but it hasn’t seemed to affect them much at all. Move-ins Taylor and McKenzie Cooper obviously helped ease the blow, and guard Kelsee Grovey, another Tulsa signee, has shown herself to be one of the best players in the state.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0

3. Midwest City (6A, 21-0)
Two and three were tough to choose, because I think Midwest City has a terrific team and, I think, is the only team right now in 6A with a legitimate shot at beating Santa Fe. I watched the Bombers and Shawnee scrimmage in the preseason and it was a good matchup. After watching both teams play, I like the Wolves just a little better right now.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0

4. Tulsa East Central (5A, 21-3)
Shawnee’s chief competition in Class 5A. Two of the Cardinals’ losses were to out-of-state teams in a season-opening tourney in Tennessee, and the other came to Jenks on Jan. 20. But East Central has also beaten Jenks this season.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1

5. Edmond Memorial (6A, 16-5)
The Bulldogs five losses are: Twice to Santa Fe, twice to Midwest City and once to Shawnee. Memorial and Midwest City are lined up for a possible third game in areas.
Record vs. this poll: 1-5

6. Jenks (6A, 18-4)
Jessica Washington has returned from an injury but isn’t 100 percent. The Trojans lost in overtime to Muskogee on Tuesday.
Record vs. this poll: 2-3

7. Deer Creek (5A, 19-3)
Since a one-point loss to 4A Piedmont on Jan. 13, the Antlers have reeled off nine straight wins, including a big win at Carl Albert. Deer Creek is peaking at the right time and seems poised for a run at state.
Record vs. this poll: 2-1

8. Carl Albert (5A, 17-5)
The Titans go through rough shooting stretches, which cost them in recent home losses to Deer Creek and Shawnee. CA got a break in their playoff position and should be considered a lock for the state tournament.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2

9. Muskogee (6A, 16-6)
Since losing to Stillwater in the finals of the John Nobles Tournament in Moore on Jan. 21, the Rougers have reeled off seven straight wins, including Tuesday’s overtime upset of Jenks. Muskogee also has impressive wins over Tulsa Union and Bixby, and has beaten Sapulpa twice.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1

10. Bishop McGuinness (5A, 18-5)
Irish got off to a rocky start to the season after losing several starters, and adjusting to a new head coach, Shawn Clark. But the team has been on a roll, losing just twice since Dec. 17. Both of those losses — three points to Cascia Hall and in overtime to PC North — came with top scorer and rebounder Elyse Hight hurt.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2

McGuinness' Elyse Hight returned from a hip injury and scored 23 points Saturday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness senior Elyse Hight, who tore muscles in her hip in practice on Jan. 9, returned to action Saturday in the Irish’s 51-45 win over Tulsa Bishop Kelley and led all scorers with 23 points.

Hight, who missed 10 games with the injury, helped lead the Irish to the Class 5A championship last season as a junior.

This season, she was averaging over 20 points a game before the injury.

She was on crutches for about a week after injuring her hip, and then began an intense rehabilitation regimen.

The McGuinness girls, who are 16-5 and ranked No. 6 in 5A, went 8-2 in Hight’s absense and said they dedicated their performance to her.

“That pushed me to work so much harder to get back into it,” Hight said. “To hear them say they played for me when I was having a hard time was really uplifting.”

The 24 boys and girls selected to participate in the All-American Game will be announced at 4 p.m. Feb. 9 on ESPNU. This year’s games will be held March 28 in Chicago, with the girls game tipping off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 8:30.

Only Texas and Iowa had more nominations on the girls side than Oklahoma’s 26.

Boys
Nino Jackson, Ardmore
Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial
Austin Thrash, Cheyenne
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial

Girls
Kate Andrews, McGuinness
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Quira Demery, Millwood
I’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Mariah Gilliam, Tulsa Washington
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
LaShanda Green, McAlester
Kelsey Grovey, Shawnee
Elyse Hight, McGuinness
Sydney Hill, Edmond Memorial
Shelley Knight, Wayne
Deena Manning, Wayne
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
LaNesha Middleton, Stillwater
Bria Pitts, Tulsa East Central
Caitlyn Ramirez, Shawnee
Toni Smith, Del City
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Jordynn VanPelt, Snyder
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Adriana White, Midwest City

Carl Albert's Gioya Carter shoots over Harrah's Sydney Hessman during the Titans' win Tuesday. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness was dealt a tough blow Monday in practice.

Senior Elyse Hight, the Irish’s top scorer and rebounder, suffered a hip injury that will keep her sidelined for the indefinite future.

The defending state champion Irish, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, won its fifth straight game 43-36 over Stillwater on Tuesday.

Senior Kate Andrews, who led McGuinness with 16 points, said the team played for Hight.

“I think anytime you’re challenged with adversity, you have to come out and show you can play with just as much passion,” Andrews said. “We played in honor of her tonight. We really used this challenge to us to pick each other up and grow together.”

Andrews said replacing Hight is much more than making up for her points and rebounds.

“So many people just see the tons of boards and tons of points she puts up, but it was the little things,” Andrews said. “The blocks, steals, energy and leadership were missed.

“But where we lacked with her absence, everyone else really picked it up.”

Junior LaNesha Middleton led Stillwater with 17 points.

Jason’s take: I can’t emphasize enough how important it was for Bishop McGuinness to get this win in its first game without Elyse Hight. The Irish had just gotten a lot of their early-season kinks worked out, and losing a player of her caliber might have caused some teams to crumble. But the Irish got going quickly, shooting the ball well on its way to an 18-point first quarter and, ultimately, a fifth straight win. With Hight out for the foreseeable future,  it’s encouraging for Irish fans to see the team performing well and beating a solid Stillwater team without her.

CARL ALBERT WINS AT HARRAH

Junior Gioya Carter scored 16 points and Class 5A No. 4 Carl Albert won at Harrah 49-35 on Tuesday.

The Titans (7-3) jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and led 28-16 at halftime.

Junior Bailey Mack led Harrah (6-5) with 15 points. It was Harrah’s third straight loss.

Carl Albert plays next at Chickasha on Friday, while Harrah travels to Noble the same day.

Jason’s take: It was important for Carl Albert to win this one on the road after losing two of three games in the Westmoore tournament last weekend. For Harrah, it’s a third straight loss after a three-game winning streak. They should pick up a win over Noble, but then Class 5A No. 1 Shawnee looms on Jan. 17.

MASSEY SCORES 33 AS CHRISTIAN HERITAGE TOPS JONES

Junior Maclayn Massey scored 33 points as Christian Heritage held off Jones to win 66-65 at home on Tuesday.

Christian Heritage took a big lead after outscoring Jones 25-11 in the second quarter. But the Longhorns rallied, scoring 40 second-half points, including 24 in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Teddi Homan led the Longhorns with 22 points.

Jason’s take: An impressive performance by Massey, who was the Crusaders’ only returning starter from last year. Maybe the young Christian Heritage team is starting to gain some momentum with experience, and a win like this can only help the team going forward.

EDWARDS LEADS NORTHEAST PAST MILLWOOD

A run that started late in the third quarter gave Northeast enough cushion to hold off host Millwood 53-41.

Northeast’s T’ona Edwards sparked the run, scoring seven of her game-high 20 points in the third as the Vikings stretched a six-point advantage into a comfortable 20-point lead early in the fourth.

“(On Monday), we had practice without a basketball,” first-year Northeast coach Londaryl Perry said. “We had to have a reminder of who was in charge. I think it really brought us back together as a team instead of a bunch of individuals. I think that showed in how we played tonight.”

Shayla Williams scored 14 points and LaNesha Williams added 10 for Northeast. Millwood was led by Quira Demery with 14 points.

Jason’s take: Big thanks to Scott Wright for coverage of this game. Northeast got back on the right track after losing to Holland Hall in the finals of the Stroud Tournament. The Vikings are looking like they could be an awfully special team; their only other loss this year was a seven-point setback to Class 6A power Midwest City. Millwood lost its second straight after falling in the SNU/Bethany Classic finals to Norman North. The Falcons are still playing without junior starting guards Teanna Reid and Daneisha Threatt, who both have been injured all season.

TIP-INS

Senior Courtney Walker, a Texas A&M signee, scored 22 points and Class 6A No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe rolled past Putnam City West 83-30 at home. Santa Fe (12-0) plays at Yukon on Friday. … Class 5A’s top-ranked team, Shawnee, improved to 11-0 with a 55-24 home win over El Reno. Junior Micaela Yu led the Wolves with 18 points, and senior forward Taylor Cooper, an Oral Roberts signee, added 12. … Junior Kaitlyn Peterson scored 18 points and Edmond North (2-7) upset 6A No. 11 Putnam City North 40-37 on Tuesday. It was the Panthers third straight loss. … Senior Kenzie Solberg led Chandler with 28 points as it won 52-47 in overtime at Seminole.

EAST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Andrew Hearon, Metro Christian
Tony Kiefer, McAlester

Running backs
Dakota Biswell, Stroud
Caleb Muncrief, Madill
Cole Scheulen, Catoosa
Willie Zackery, Woodland

Wide receivers
Levi Copelin, Broken Arrow
Michael Fraley, Adair
Ty Miller, Caddo
Victor Williams, Muskogee

Tight ends
Matt Gallagher, Owasso
Zac Veatch, Broken Arrow

Linemen
John Connor, Tulsa Kelley
Jeremy Iron, Pawhuska
Lance Kloker, Owasso
Talon Miles-Satepauhoodle, Hominy
Montana Poorboy, Catoosa
Sam Sabin, Jenks
Chris Wallace, Sperry

Punter/kicker
Tom Carwile, Tulsa Washington

DEFENSE
Linemen
Hunter Hart, Cascia Hall
Orion Jones, Jenks
Gcory Rahmings, Broken Bow
Travis Sandlin, Vian
Max Simmons, Lincoln Christian
Gary Wilson, Sand Springs

Linebackers
Patrick Bartlett, Woodland
Jevonte Cross, Tulsa East Central
Aaron Dolan, Berryhill
Connor Sherwood, Cascia Hall
Blace Walser, Tulsa Union

Defensive backs
Kent Booze, Spiro
Adam Boyd, McAlester
Kevin Peterson, Wagoner
Dillon Proctor, Caddo
Jermy Reynolds, Wewoka
Jesse Vester, Stillwater

Coaches
Mike Mobra, Catoosa; Eddy Scott, Pawhuska; Kevin Harmon, McAlester; Darren Melton, Lincoln Christian.

WEST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Corben Jones, Yukon
Garrett Lorah, Elgin

Running backs
Casey Curtis, Putnam City
James Flanders, Midwest City
Josh Way, Wayne
Sheldon Wilson, Anadarko

Wide receivers
Gage Diffee, Bethany
Javis Flynn, Watonga
Tre Kelley, Edmond Santa Fe
Tylor Seabolt, Jones
Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall

Linemen
Blake Belcher, Guthrie
Daniel Burton, Putnam North
Brandon Dewitt, Lawton
Devin Dobbins, Millwood
Carrie Farmer, Minco
Adam Kelley, Wynnewood
Cole Parsons, Edmond North

DEFENSE
Linemen
Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
Patrick Diaz, Lawton
Kyle Factor, Westmoore
Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
Braylon Freeman, Lawton MacArthur
Ricky Rodriguez, Clinton

Linebackers
Landry Chappell, Guthrie
Zeke Lewis, Midwest City
Payton Marsh, Thomas
Brandon Nguyen, McGuinness
Wes Satoe, Anadarko
Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass

Defensive backs
Rashaad Copeland, El Reno
Jared Griffin, Duncan
Rico Hogan, Norman
Aaron Holden, Temple
Aaron McCandless, Shattuck
Ivan Moreno, Hennessey
Michael Thomas, Lawton MacArthur

Coaches
Bob Ward, Thomas; Curtis Lorah, Elgin; Tracy Scott, Blanchard; Jeremy Dombek, Edmond North.

Not much here at the top that needs explaining as the top 4 are pretty clear. Sallisaw was clearly the best team not to make the semifinals. Hilldale pushed Wagoner early in the season although Sallisaw and Clinton beat them comfortably. Glenpool came back from an 0-3 start to finish second in its district and is at No. 7. Harrah, the only first-round loser in the top eight, pushed McGuinness in the first round before falling 14-7. Their other losses came to Glenpool and defending champion Douglass. Woodward upset Douglass in the first round on a wild finish but their resume, with losses to Weatherford and Piedmont made it hard to put the Boomers in the top eight. Douglass looked championship-caliber at times this season but also had inexplicable losses to Cushing and Woodward. So even with wins over Glenpool and Harrah, Douglass is at No. 10.

All-District
Cache: Tanner Bartlett, Chris Cody, Alfred Fraser, John Valdez.
Clinton: Aaron Lantz, Trey McKinney, Austin Rennels, Payne Veazey.
Elgin: Kevin Brown, Keith Jones, Jared Owens.
Elk City: Aaron Cromer, Kyle Luke, Chris Mancuso, Marcus Wiseman
Guymon: Dakota Harris, McCully Kirby.
McGuinness: Austin Augustus, Duncan Branum, Chip Daniel, William Jewell, Chris Johnson, Tyler Konarik, Drew Neuberger, Jeffery Pozo, Sam Shadid.
Piedmont: Dylan Broyles, James Green, Jacob Harris, Hunter Kirton, Blake Robinson, Jared Slaveus.
Woodward: Nolan Kline, Colbey McEwann, Connor McEwann, Daniel Nelson, Ulises Polacio, Jace Snider, Alex Stewart.

Honorable mentions
Cache: Charles Baker, Camero Fenner, Jonathan Thode
Elgin: Carlos Dominguez, Mason Hulbert, Garrett Thomas, Jon Ware
Guymon: Genaro Barrera
Piedmont: Bubba Bailey, Austin Ray, Zach Tucker.
Woodward: Austin Cook, Corbin Kline

Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 6-4, 1-0

Overall:
Ryan: 80-31, 10-1
Jason: 77, 32, 8-3
Scott: 73-36, 9-2

Ryan
Jenks 28, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Midwest City 21, Owasso 17
Guthrie 34, Tulsa East Central 30
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 28
Sallisaw 28, McGuinness 26
Anadarko 35, Kingfisher 20
Seminole 28, Verdigris 7
Davis 26, Millwood 20
Woodland 21, Wynnewood 19
Timberlake 35, Temple 32
Lock of the week: Lawton MacArthur over Tulsa Kelley. Kelley’s defense is good but they haven’t faced an offense near as potent as Lawton MacArthur yet this season. Darius Graham and company pass the test to advance to the semifinals yet again.

Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 31, Jenks 23
Midwest City 31, Owasso 28
Guthrie 27, Tulsa East Central 17
Lawton MacArthur 38, Tulsa Kelley 24
McGuinness 28, Sallisaw 27
Anadarko 28, Kingfisher 21
Seminole 37, Verdigris 24
Davis 24, Millwood 14
Woodland 38, Wynnewood 34
Temple 35, Timberlake 31
Lock of the week: Anadarko over Kingfisher. This will be Anadarko’s first real test of the season, and I think they pass it. Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year, but he’ll still be too much for the Yellowjackets.

Scott
Edmond Santa Fe 28, Jenks 24
Midwest City 37, Owasso 31
Guthrie 28, Tulsa East Central 21
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 21
McGuinness 17, Sallisaw 14
Kingfisher 24, Anadarko 21
Seminole 30, Verdigris 20
Davis 31, Millwood 28
Woodland 28, Wynnewood 22
Timberlake 38, Temple 34
Lock of the week: Midwest City over Owasso. The Bombers are on a crash course with the title game, and their secondary is better than any Owasso has seen this year.

Last week:
Ryan: 7-3, 1-0
Scott: 7-3, 1-0
Jason: 6-4, 0-1

Overall:
Ryan: 72-29, 9-1
Jason: 69-32, 7-3
Scott: 67-34, 8-2

Ryan
Midwest City 35, Westmoore 21
Owasso 21, Norman 17
Edmond North 21, Yukon 19
Tulsa East Central 32, Tulsa Washington 20
Tulsa Kelley 28, Coweta 14
Duncan 14, Ada 7
Glenpool 35, Piedmont 27
Harrah 21, McGuinness 20
Sequoyah Tahlequah 28, Berryhill 27
Lawton 21, Norman North 14
Lock of the week: Tulsa East Central over Tulsa Washington. East Central won the regular-season matchup at they’ll win again here as their defense slows down the Hornets while their offense continues to roll.

Jason
Midwest City 31, Westmoore 24
Owasso 21, Norman 14
Edmond North 27, Yukon 14
Tulsa East Central 23, Tulsa Washington 14
Coweta 27, Tulsa Kelley 21
Duncan 24, Ada 14
Glenpool 31, Piedmont 17
McGuinness 17, Harrah 13
Sequoyah Tahlequah 35, Berryhill 24
Lawton 31, Norman North 17
Lock of the week: Edmond North over Yukon. Yes, Yukon is fired up because of the way last year’s game ended. But that won’t be enough to make up for the Huskies’ talent. Edmond North wins and moves to a showdown at Tulsa Union.

Scott
Midwest City 35, Westmoore 21
Owasso 28, Norman 17
Yukon 21, Edmond North 20
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 24
Tulsa Kelley 28, Coweta 24
Ada 28, Duncan 24
Glenpool 33, Piedmont 27
Harrah 21, McGuinness 17
Sequoyah Tahlequah 38, Berryhill 28
Lawton 28, Norman North 21
Lock of the Week: Owasso over Norman. Norman RB Donovan Roberts is a game-changer. If he’s able to play, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be at full speed after the ankle injury he suffered last week. And the Tigers need him to be effective to keep the offense balanced. Without that X-factor, Owasso should put this one away.

Here are some of the players who are expected to sign this week:
BASEBALL
Blake Estep, Jones (Penn St.)
Isaac Hellbusch, Deer Creek (Arkansas)
Taylor Hawkins, Carl Albert (OU)
Ty Hensley, Edmond Santa Fe (Ole Miss)
Chase Stephens, Deer Creek (UCO)
Jordan Watson, Edmond Santa Fe (OSU)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Aaron Anderson, Edmond Santa Fe (Fresno St.)
Blake Blanchard, Deer Creek (Southwestern)
Matt Christiansen, McGuinness (San Francisco)
Joe Edmonds, McGuinness (San Francisco)
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial (Tulsa)
D’Andre Wright, Lawton Eisenhower (Tulsa)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas (Missouri-Kansas City)
Ashley Clark, Midwest City (Tulsa)
Courtney Cowan, Kansas (Northeastern St.)
Ali Decker, Edmond Memorial (Wichita St.)
Toni Smith, Del City (Fresno St.)
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas A&M)

GOLF
Taylor Moore, Edmond Memorial (Arkansas)
Abby Thompson, Deer Creek (OCU)

GYMNASTICS
Keara Glover, Putnam North (Auburn)

SOFTBALL
Liz Broyles, Blanchard (Missouri-Kansas City)
Braxton Coil, Edmond North (Missouri St.)
Shalee Cordell, Newcastle (OBU)
Kaylin Hinshaw, Putnam North (Mid-America)
Leslie Miller, Blanchard (OU)
Kady Self, Edmond North (OU)
Caitlin Sill, Tuttle (Tulsa)
Bryana Wade, St. Mary (North Texas)
Brooke Zukerman, Lawton MacArthur (UCO)

TENNIS
Sarah Bowen, Heritage Hall (Hofstra)

VOLLEYBALL
Emily Belz, OCS (Henderson St.)
Sydney Fioretti, Edmond Santa Fe (OBU)
Hannah Holkum, Edmond Santa Fe (North Carolina St.)
Barbara Jackson, Edmond Santa Fe (OCU)

WRESTLING
Matt Manley, Perry (Missouri)

Large East
Sadie Schaffner, Bartlesville
Inky Ajanaku, Tulsa Kelley
Cat Roth, Tulsa Kelley
Sydney Eggers, Bixby
Cailyn Burd, Owasso
Aubrey Marsellis, Owasso
Alexa Knox, Tulsa Union
Kylie Johnson, Tulsa Union

Large West
Maddie Reddick, McGuinness
Skylar Conner, Edmond Memorial
Kristen Nashert, Edmond North
Heather Watson, Edmond North
Hannah Holkum, Edmond Santa Fe
Barbara Jackson, Edmond Santa Fe
Lexie Matthews, Norman North
Tori Thomas, Norman North

Small East
Kara Gleason, Lincoln Christian
Evette Allen, Lincoln Christian
Sunny Smarty, Oklahoma Union
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Aryn Dixon, Cascia Hall
Allie Murphy, Cascia Hall
Carolina Arnould, Victory Christian
Mayci Sparkman, Shawnee
Hannah McKenzie, Tulsa Wahsington
Morgan Allison, Catoosa

Small West
Dawnshate Blakes, Chickasha
Taylor Crismas, Oklahoma Bible
Bree Fritschow, Duncan
Danielle McGill, Big Pasture
Sydney Miles, Heritage Hall
Jessica Penner, Corn Bible
Jenny Pratt, Christian Heritage
Lindsey Smith, Big Pasture
Talie Stanley, Cache
Madison Ward, Cache

Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 5-5, 1-0
Scott: 4-6, 1-0

Overall:
Ryan: 52-19, 6-1
Jason: 49-22, 5-2
Scott: 46-25, 6-1

Ryan:
Wagoner 21, Catoosa 18
Douglass 20, Harrah 17
Deer Creek-Lamont 26, Timberlake 20
Pryor 20, Coweta 17
Weatherford 21, Tuttle 14
Broken Arrow 40, Norman 14
Lawton 21, Edmond North 20
Sallisaw 21, Hilldale 14
McGuinness 28, Piedmont 21
Putnam City 35, Westmoore 24
Lock of the week: Deer Creek-Lamont over Timberlake. DC-Lamont will finally get pushed but they come out on top in a possible state championship game preview.

Jason
Wagoner 31, Catoosa 21
Douglass 28, Harrah 21
Deer Creek-Lamont 42, Timberlake 30
Coweta 21, Pryor 14
Tuttle 17, Weatherford 10
Broken Arrow 42, Norman 28
Edmond North 24, Lawton 14
Hilldale 24, Sallisaw 20
McGuinness 31, Piedmont 28
Westmoore 27, Putnam City21
Lock of the week: Westmoore over Putnam City. The Pirates have faced one really strong defense all year, Edmond North, and were shut down offensively. Westmoore’s defense has shown itself to be tough all season, and I think they can keep Casey Curtis in check and come away with the win.

Scott
Wagoner 23, Catoosa 20
Douglass 21, Harrah 14
Deer Creek-Lamont 48, Timberlake 33
Pryor 20, Coweta 17
Tuttle 27, Weatherford 21
Broken Arrow 38, Norman 28
Edmond North 24, Lawton 21
Hilldale 28, Sallisaw 27
McGuinness 21, Piedmont 17
Putnam City 30, Westmoore 24
Lock of the Week: Wagoner over Catoosa. This should be one heck of a ballgame, but I think Wagoner has the leadership, the experience and the talent to get back to the title game this year, maybe win it all. Guys like Kevin Peterson and Jeremy Applegate, among others, have been around long enough to help keep the team composed in a big game — and this is a huge one.

Last week
Ryan: 7-4, 1-0
Scott: 5-6, 1-0
Jason: 7-4, 1-0

Overall
Ryan: 44-17, 5-1
Jason: 44-17, 4-2
Scott: 42-19, 5-1

Ryan
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 17
Kingfisher 14, Bethany 10
Owasso 41, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 17, Tulsa Kelley 14
Metro Chr. 28, Seq. Tahlequah 21
Hennessey 22, Oklahoma Chr. 14
Lawton MacArthur 40, Duncan 20
Weatherford 13, Blanchard 8
Lawton Eisenhower 28, Edmond Memorial 22
McGuinness 28, Elgin 13
Lock of the week: Hennessey over OCS. Hennessey took some lumps in the non-district schedule but is still among the top teams in 2A. Tonight is their chance to prove that against a solid OCS team.

Jason
Guthrie 24, Carl Albert 16
Bethany 21, Kingfisher 17
Owasso 38, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 24, Tulsa Kelley 17
Metro Christian 24, Seq. Tahlequah 10
Oklahoma Christian 24, Hennessey 23
Lawton Eisenhower 21, Edmond Memorial 13
Lawton MacArthur 31, Duncan 13
Bishop McGuinness 35, Elgin 14
Blanchard 16, Weatherford 9
Lock of the Week: Guthrie over Carl Albert. Both teams are fantastic, and both teams are legitimate Class 5A contenders. But at this point in the season, Guthrie’s defense is just too good for Carl Albert’s still-developing offense.

Scott
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 20
Bethany 35, Kingfisher 31
Owasso 45, Stillwater 42
Tulsa Washington 21, Tulsa Kelley 14
Sequoyah-Tahlequah 35, Metro Christian 28
Hennessey 30, Oklahoma Christian 21
Lawton MacArthur 48, Duncan 31
Blanchard 14, Weatherford 12
Edmond Memorial 20, Lawton Eisenhower 17
McGuinness 28, Elgin 21
Lock of the Week: Lawton MacArthur over Duncan. Ever since watching the Highlanders in the preseason scrimmage at Mustang, I’ve had a strong feeling that these guys could win it all in 5A. I needed to see some results in the regular season first to support my gut feeling, and they’ve done that — even while battling some nagging injuries. There are a lot of factors left to be determined regarding the gold ball, but I definitely think Mac wins this week.

Last week
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 8-2, 1-0
Ryan: 7-3, 0-1

Overall
Ryan: 37-13, 4-1
Scott: 37-13, 4-1
Jason: 37-13, 3-2

Ryan
Cascia Hall 14, Berryhill 7
Millwood 28, Jones 26
Norman North 28, Putnam North 24
Edmond North 35, Putnam City 34
Tulsa Union 38, Owasso 16
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 20
Lincoln Chr. 28, Vian 26
Comanche 26, Washington 20
Elk City 20, McGuinness 17
McAlester 38, Tulsa Kelley 20
Wynnewood 28, Rush Springs 14
Lock of the week: Wynnewood over Rush Springs. As things keep progressing in this district, I’m more and more convinced that the Wynnewood-Wayne matchup will determine the district champion.

Scott
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 14
Millwood 38, Jones 34
Putnam City North 24, Norman North 21
Putnam City 52, Edmond North 48
Tulsa Union 31, Owasso 21
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 24
Lincoln Christian 35, Vian 31
Comanche 27, Washington 24
Elk City 28, McGuinness 27
McAlester 24, Tulsa Kelley 14
Lock of the Week: Cascia Hall over Berryhill. Cascia looks like a team on a mission, still stinging from last year’s loss to Bethany in the playoffs. I think they move to 6-0 this week.

Jason
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 10
Millwood 31, Jones 24
Norman North 23, Putnam North 17
Edmond North 42, Putnam City 35
Tulsa Union 42, Owasso 24
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Central 21
Lincoln Chr. 31, Vian 28
Washington 20, Comanche 17
Bishop McGuinness 23, Elk City 20
McAlester 35, Tulsa Kelley 17
Wynnewood 24, Rush Springs 21
Lock of the week: Norman North over Putnam City North. Both of these proud programs are struggling this season, but I like the Timberwolves because of their running game. Norman North running back Bryan Payne has been good this season, and the Panthers’ run defense has been an Achilles’ heel.

Bishop McGuinness senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen wants another shot at Clinton.

Bishop McGuinness had a rough couple weeks.

In Week 3, the Irish lost on a last-second blocked field goal return for a touchdown to Millwood.

Then, Week 4 saw a devastating 42-7 loss at Clinton.

But last Friday, the Irish got back on track with a 32-6 home win over Woodward.

Irish senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen took a few minutes to chat with me about the most devastating loss in his career, how McGuinness is bouncing back and the rematch he hopes happens in the Class 4A playoffs.

Can you describe how you felt after the Millwood game?

“It was tough. I couldn’t believe what I saw. Our morale was so low; it really felt like being punched in the mouth.

“It’s probably the toughest loss I’ve had.”

Did that carry over into the Clinton game?

“No, I don’t think so. For Clinton, we had an amazing week of practice. We were feeling really good going into the game.

“I’m not sure what happened at Clinton. I guess we got psyched out. The last time we played them, they came to our home and beat us. We still had that in our mind.

“I think we beat ourselves that night. We didn’t play the game we wanted to play.”

Do you feel like your team is back on track after the Woodward game?

“Yeah definitely. That helped us get the ball rolling again.

“We got our confidence back. We’ve just gotta keep it rolling. We can’t have any more losses.”

Do you think you’ll get another shot at Clinton in the playoffs?

“I know I want another shot at Clinton. I’m 0-2 against them. The Irish defense doesn’t give up 42 points.”

A couple of times a year I throw out my rankings and start fresh, take an overall look at the season and don’t constrain myself with past rankings. This is one of those weeks and while their figures to be other classes that are more drastically affected, there is a bit of that here. The biggest questions in my mind were where to place Edmond Santa Fe (and Lawton) and what to do with Putnam City. I considered dropping Broken Arrow a spot but the Tigers still stand as the only team to really challenge Union this season and I’ll give them their small bump Friday. Edmond Santa Fe goes from just outside to No. 8 after their win at Lawton. The Wolverines drop to No. 10. Owasso stays in at No. 9 but has a tough test this week against Union.

Class 5A
1. Guthrie (2)#5-0
2. Lawton MacArthur (5)#5-0
3. Carl Albert (3)#5-0
4. Tulsa East Central (1)#5-0
5. McAlester (4)#5-0
6. Deer Creek (6)#4-1
7. Tulsa Washington (7)#2-3
8. Tulsa Kelley (8)#3-1
9. Ardmore (9)#2-3
10. Coweta (10)#2-3

There’s no shame in being any one of the top five teams here although there was some definite shaking up as I reevaluated from scratch. Guthrie has won every one of its game by 28 or more points, helping the Bluejays move to the top spot. Tulsa East Central falls to No. 4 after their close call against Coweta. Any of the five teams on top could come out with a gold ball but it was time to make some adjustments there. On the bottom half, it hurts that I can’t include Tulsa Central here but looking over their resumes, I’ve got to leave Ardmore and Coweta in ahead of them. Ardmore has played Carl Albert and McAlester tighter than anyone this season and their other loss was to Lawton MacArthur. Their schedule to start has been tough but they shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Coweta pushed Tulsa East Central and Tulsa Kelley to the brink and their other loss was a close one to 4A power Wagoner. Tulsa Central gets its chance for a statement this week when it faces East Central.

Class 4A
1. Douglass (1)#4-1
2. Wagoner (2)#5-0
3. Catoosa (3)#5-0
4. Clinton (4)#4-1
5. Harrah (5)#5-0
6. Elk City (7)#5-0
7. McGuinness (8)#3-2
8. Hilldale (10)#4-1
9. Sallisaw (9)#3-2
10. Broken Bow (6)#3-2

There wasn’t much shuffling here, save for Broken Bow and Hilldale. Catoosa and Wagoner are on a collision course toward what should be a very entertaining game Oct. 20. Elk City has been impressive but gets a tough test this week against No. 7 McGuinness. Douglass and Clinton’s losses don’t count against them because of the competition they came against. Hilldale got its statement win at Broken Bow but the Hornets win Week 1 against Pryor is looking better and better and their only loss came to No. 2 Wagoner.

Class 3A
1. Heritage Hall (1)#5-0
2. Anadarko (2)#5-0
3. Cascia Hall (3)#5-0
4. Bethany (4)#4-0
5. Metro Christian (5)#5-0
6. Tuttle (6)#5-0
7. Purcell (7)#5-0
8. Kingfisher (8)#5-0
9. Seminole (9)#5-0
10. Berryhill (10)#5-0

I did the same thing here as in other classes and came up with the same thing I had. I considered swapping Seminole and Berryhill on the bottom end and Kingfisher and Purcell one step above that but didn’t pull the trigger in the end. Berryhill’s win over Glenpool in the first week doesn’t look as strong as it did then (not that it’s not a big win still) and Seminole beat a pretty good Stigler team on the road. Berryhill plays at Cascia Hall this week in what should be one of the week’s best games.

Class 2A
1. Davis (1)#4-1
2. Millwood (2)#4-1
3. Lincoln Christian (3)#5-0
4. Stroud (5)#5-0
5. Jones (4)#5-0
6. Vian (7)#5-0
7. Hennessey (6)#3-2
8. Colcord (8)#5-0
9. Talihina (10)#5-0
10. Frederick (NR)#5-0

Made a mistake last week here dropping Frederick out in the first place. Their win over St. Mary was very similar to Washington’s and Washington has two losses, which pushed Frederick into the rankings. Vian moves up a spot while Hennessey drops while Stroud and Jones switch places. Stroud has still given up just seven points all season and shut out four of its opponents. There are still six undefeated team that remain unranked: Comanche, Talihina, Newkirk, Chelsea, Wyandotte and Adair. All are in districts with ranked teams, though, so they’ll get their chances.

Class A
1. Woodland (1)#4-0
2. Thomas (2)#5-0
3. Wynnewood (3)#5-0
4. Minco (5)#5-0
5. Wayne (7)#4-1
6. Morrison (6)#4-1
7. Mangum (9)#4-1
8. Okeene (10)#3-2
9. Elmore City (8)#4-1
10. Foyil (NR)#3-2

At the top, this class was relatively easy as I was pretty comfortable with the top three. After that, there was some switching around after No. 4 Afton fell to Foyil 33-8. First, I swapped Wayne and Morrison. Wayne’s overall resume is slightly better at this point. Mangum and Okeene move up two spots while Elmore drops one after its loss to Wynnewood. Foyil moves in after an impressive win over Afton, beating out Rush Springs for that final spot despite Rush’s 5-0 record. That was a tough choice but Foyil’s two losses came to a pair of still-undefeated Class 2A teams–Chelsea and Adair.

Class B
1. Caddo (1)#5-0
2. Davenport (2)#5-0
3. Kiefer (5)#4-1
4. Fox (6)#4-1
5. Dewar (7)#3-2
6. Gans (4)#4-1
7. Cherokee (8)#4-1
8. Seiling (9)#4-1
9. Wetumka (10)#4-1
10. Pond Creek-Hunter (NR)#4-1

It was tough to drop Laverne all the way out from No. 3 but looking schedule-by-schedule, it had to be done. Laverne beat Cherokee, 45-8, in Week 2, but fell to Pond Creek-Hunter on Friday night. Pond Creek-Hunter’s only loss came to Seiling, who lost to Cherokee by two on Friday. So Seiling pulls off the rare moving up by dropping a game feat by leapfrogging Laverne. Pond Creek-Hunter has to stay in ahead of Laverne so Laverne falls all the way out but still has Seiling remaining on its schedule. It’s tough to ignore what Welch is doing in B-4 but they’ve beaten just one team that is above .500 to this point. They play Kiefer on Oct. 20.

Class C
1. Deer Creek-Lamont (1)#5-0
2. Timberlake (3)#4-0
3. Temple (4)#5-0
4. Sharon-Mutual (10)#3-2
5. Shattuck (2)#4-1
6. Covington-Douglas (5)#4-1
7. Tipton (6)#4-1
8. Coyle (7)#4-1
9. Forgan (8)#4-1
10. Ryan (9)#3-2

The big change here came due to Sharon-Mutual’s 38-22 win at Shattuck. Sharon-Mutual jumped all the way from No. 10 to No. 4. Its only losses came to Seiling and Timberlake and they remain the only team to score on Timberlake this season (They scored 44 in the loss). Shattuck drops just below Sharon-Mutual while Covington-Douglas, Tipton, Coyle, Forgan and Ryan all drop a spot. Arkoma is the lone undefeated team remaining unranked but Keota is the only over .500 team they’ve beaten.

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

With Westmoore falling out from No. 8 after its loss to Edmond Santa Fe, there were two logical candidates to take the spot: Edmond Santa Fe, who was ranked before its loss to Midwest City the week before, and Stillwater. I chose the Pioneers based on their recent performances but just barely. Santa Fe gets a tough test next week at Lawton. A good performance there, win or lose, gives the Wolves a chance to move back in.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa East Central (1)#4-0
2. Guthrie (2)#4-0
3. Carl Albert (3)#4-0
4. McAlester (4)#4-0
5. Lawton MacArthur (5)#4-0
6. Deer Creek (6)#3-1
7. Tulsa Washington (7)#1-3
8. Tulsa Kelley (8)#2-1
9. Ardmore (9)#1-3
10. Coweta (10)#3-1

Ardmore and Tulsa Washington still in the rankings at 1-3? Absolutely. I’ve never understood why teams drop in rankings after they lose to a high ranked opponent (in most cases). While Tulsa Washington has plenty to work on, the Hornets are still very talented, especially on the defensive side. They lost to Carl Albert, Abilene, Texas, and Tulsa East Central. They’re going to be right there at the end, regardless of what their record now is. Ardmore is similar. They beat Ada to start the season before running into the murderer’s row of Carl Albert, McAlester and Lawton MacArthur the last few weeks. They shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Speaking of Lawton Mac, I think next week is the week I totally deconstruct my rankings in this class especially and build from scratch. I think the Highlanders might be the best team in the class right now, although I think all five of the top teams are very good. The team I hate to leave out is Tulsa Central, who is 4-0 going into next week’s game against Grove.

Class 4A
1. Douglass (1)#3-1
2. Wagoner (2)#4-0
3. Catoosa (3)#4-0
4. Clinton (5)#3-1
5. Harrah (6)#4-0
6. Broken Bow (7)#3-1
7. Elk City (8)#4-0
8. McGuinness (4)#2-2
9. Sallisaw (9)#2-2
10. Hilldale (NR)#3-1

McGuinness drops four spots after getting manhandled on the road at Clinton. They might be a better team than that but hard to tell right now as the only varsity team they’ve beaten to this point was Tulsa Kelley, another team I’m not sure what to think of through four weeks. I suspect McGuinness will climb up. Hilldale moves into the rankings after a big win over Poteau gave the Hornets back-to-back blowouts after playing Wagoner pretty tough in Week 2. Piedmont and Cleveland gave me pause in those spots, though. Piedmont because of its offense and Cleveland due to its defense. Cleveland has allowed just 33 points all season. Elgin dropped out after getting thumped by Piedmont

Class 3A
1. Heritage Hall (1)#4-0
2. Anadarko (2)#4-0
3. Cascia Hall (3)#3-0
4. Bethany (4)#4-0
5. Metro Christian (5)#4-0
6. Tuttle (6)#4-0
7. Purcell (7)#4-0
8. Kingfisher (8)#4-0
9. Seminole (10)#4-0
10. Berryhill (NR)#4-0

I’ve been looking to get Berryhill into the rankings for a few weeks but since no team in my top 10 had lost a game through three weeks, I couldn’t do it. Sequoyah Tahlequah finally broke that stretch this week with its loss to Verdigris. Everything else remains the same with Seminole moving up one slot. There are several other undefeated teams in the class right now as well.

Class 2A
1. Davis (1)#3-1
2. Millwood (2)#3-1
3. Lincoln Christian (3)#4-0
4. Jones (4)#4-0
5. Stroud (5)#4-0
6. Hennessey (6)#2-2
7. Vian (7)#4-0
8. Colcord (8)#4-0
9. Washington (9)#3-1
10. Talihina (10)#4-0

Nothing changes here as all of the top 10 teams won last week. Hennessey is ranked at No. 6 because their only losses came close against Jones and to 3A No. 8 Kingfisher.

Class A
1. Woodland (1)#3-0
2. Thomas (2)#4-0
3. Wynnewood (3)#4-0
4. Afton (4)#4-0
5. Minco (5)#4-0
6. Morrison (6)#3-1
7. Wayne (7)#3-1
8. Elmore City (8)#4-0
9. Mangum (9)#3-1
10. Okeene (10)#2-2

Nothing changes here either as all of the top 10 teams won.

Class B
1. Caddo (1)#4-0
2. Davenport (3)#4-0
3. Laverne (4)#4-0
4. Gans (NR)#4-0
5. Kiefer (5)#3-1
6. Fox (6)#3-1
7. Dewar (7)#2-2
8. Cherokee (8)#3-1
9. Seiling (9)#4-0
10. Wetumka (2)#3-1

It’s hard to figure out where to slot Wetumka in here after a previously unranked Gans team beat them 52-22 Friday. I slid Davenport and Laverne up a spot before slotting Gans at No. 4. As I kept going down, comparing schedules, I wound up with Wetumka holding on at No. 10. They might be a bit better than that but of the teams ahead of them, only Cherokee has had a blowout loss (at Laverne). Wetumka isn’t likely to be challenged until the final two weeks of the season when they get zcaddo and Dewar back-to-back.

Class C
1. Deer Creek-Lamont (1)#4-0
2. Shattuck (2)#4-0
3. Timberlake (3)#3-0
4. Temple (5)#4-0
5. Covington-Douglas (6)#4-0
6. Tipton (4)#3-1
7. Coyle (8)#4-0
8. Forgan (7)#2-2
9. Ryan (9)#2-2
10. Sharon-Mutual (NR)#2-2

Covington-Douglas moves up a spot after beating previously fourth-ranked Tipton. Tipton drops a couple of spots to six after the close loss. Coyle continues to move up the rankings to No. 7 but they’ll get a tough test this week with No. 1 Deer Creek-Lamont. Sharon-Mutual moves into the rankings, replacing Thackerville in the final spot.

By Ryan Aber

Last week:
Scott: 9-1, 1-0
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 0-1

Overall:
Ryan: 22-8, 3-0
Scott: 22-8, 2-1
Jason: 21-9, 1-2

Ryan
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 14
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 35, Sapulpa 30
Wagoner 27, Vinita 14
Ryan 22, Thackerville 18
Purcell 28, Sulphur 26
Seq. Tahlequah 20, Verdigris 13
Westmoore 21, Edmond Santa Fe 17
Seminole 14, Valliant 7
Midwest City 28, Yukon 9
Guthrie 34, Deer Creek 28
Lock of the week: Norman over Sapulpa. Sapulpa will score points on Norman but the Tigers defense has the potential for some big stops in this one that will prove to be the difference.

Scott
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 38, Sapulpa 28
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Thackerville 42, Ryan 35
Purcell 33, Sulphur 28
Seq. Tahlequah 49, Verdigris 31
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Westmoore 14
Seminole 35, Valliant 24
Midwest City 27, Yukon 24
Lock of the week: Guthrie over Deer Creek. Deer Creek has a lot of talent, and is close to breaking through as a great team. But Guthrie is already there. This will be a close one, but I’ll take the Bluejays’ big-game experience to win out.

Jason
McGuinness 21, Clinton 14
Norman 35, Sapulpa 27
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Ryan 35, Thackerville 31
Purcell 38, Sulphur 24
Seq. Tahlequah 31, Verdigris 21
Edmond Santa Fe 27, Westmoore 24
Seminole 34, Valliant 24
Midwest City 35, Yukon 17
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 17
Lock of the week: Edmond Santa Fe over Westmoore. 
I watched Edmond Santa Fe play Midwest City, and while they clearly weren’t better than the Bombers, they showed that they can play with almost anyone. I think the 2-1 Wolves get back on track by winning their district opener at home.

Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during his team's 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness on Friday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

One of the first things Millwood coach Tony Henry said to me after his team’s incredible 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness was, “We were your lock of the week, right?”

Yes, coach, you were. And I was wrong. It isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last.

(Side note: Good to know he reads the blog!)

Henry was good-natured about it, of course, and I’m not at all surprised that he was in a good mood after the win at Pribil Stadium.

The blocked field goal and subsequent return for a touchdown on the last play was unbelievable — one of the best finishes to a football game that I’ve ever seen.

This is the only football game I can think of that I saw in person that had as memorable an ending.

In my view, the Falcons were clearly the better team Friday. They were able to move the ball pretty effectively on McGuinness’ defense — especially in the second half — and the Millwood defense was very impressive against the Irish offense.

Yes, it took a blocked field goal on the last play for the Falcons to win, but if not for a couple of silly mistakes, I think Millwood would have won fairly comfortably.

All three of Bishop McGuinness’ touchdown drives were 10 yards or less, and they came came as a result of bad Millwood turnovers.

The first two were results of bad long snaps on punts. The last one, in the fourth quarter, happened after a Millwood fumble on a bad exchange.

But it felt like every time something bad happened to the Falcons, they answered. After the Irish’s first touchdown in the second quarter, Millwood’s Dametric Sanders returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

Down 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Sheldon Bulock Millwood went for it on fourth-and-one from near midfield. But after the McGuinness defense stuffed running back, the Irish took over possession with just under five minutes left in the game and appeared to have it under control.

But on the very next play, Irish quarterback Camden Tharp was picked off by Millwood’s Marc Robinson, who returned it all the way to the McGuinness 10 to set up a tying touchdown.

I don’t want to take anything away from Bishop McGuinness. They did play a very good game — especially defensively.

The Irish linebackers — senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Nick Jeffreys and Danny Krenger — did a remarkable job against an extremely tough Millwood rushing attack. Marc Robinson, Larry Lambeth and Bulock were pounding at the McGuinness defense all night, and the Irish held their ground for much of it.

Both of these teams are going to be forces in their respective classes. And both teams open district play next week (McGuinness is at Clinton; Millwood has Alva at home).

It was a fantastic game, and I’m glad to have been there to see it.

Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during last week's game against Douglass. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

I’ll be at tonight’s Millwood-Bishop McGuinness game at Pribil Stadium.

Should be a great matchup between two very good teams. When these two teams met last season, Millwood won 48-41. But these teams are both different in 2011, which should make for a different result.

When Millwood has the ball

Millwood has two powerful running backs — Marc Robinson and Larry Lambeth — that will create plenty of problems for opponents throughout the season. Dametric Sanders is a very athletic quarterback and is a dual threat. Bishop McGuinness has a strong defense, and its linebacking core is especially strong with senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffreys.

Millwood won’t face many teams going forward that will be able to slow its run game down, but Douglass last week and McGuinness this week are two teams that can.

“They’re two big, strong running backs,” Nguyen said.

“We have a couple adjustments for them, but the key this week is wrapping up and hitting the running backs low.”

When Bishop McGuinness has the ball

The Irish’s offense this season under new coach Justin Jones is much more spread out and pass-oriented than under former coach Kenny Young. So far, the change has worked out quite well. Quarterback Camden Tharp has several receivers that he can throw to, and the Irish scored 35 points on archrival Tulsa Bishop Kelley in a win last Friday.

Defensively, Millwood’s strong point is stopping the run with Robinson and Lambeth as linebackers. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Irish probably won’t try to run the ball much.

Prediction time

The matchups are in Bishop McGuinness’ favor this year. Last season, Millwood won a high-scoring shootout, but I’m expecting it to be more low-scoring this year. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17

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.

Norman's Tanner Satterthwaite, the defending Class 6A champion, is one of several top runners competing in Friday's OK Runner Classic in Norman. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

Over 100 cross country teams will descend upon Norman Friday for the sixth annual OK Runner Classic, which is hosted by Norman High School.

Several of the top runners in the state will compete in the event, including defending Class 6A boys champion Tanner Satterthwaite of Norman and last year’s 6A girls runner-up Emily Helms of Mustang.

High school races begin at 10:30 a.m. with the 2A-4A girls. The last varsity race, the 5A-6A boys, begins at 2:30 p.m.

Here is the full list of race times:
10:30: 2A/3A/4A girls
11:30: 2A/3A/4A boys
1:30: 5A/6A girls
2:30: 5A/6A boys
4:30: Junior high girls
5:00: Junior high boys

Bishop McGuinness will travel to face its rival, Tulsa Bishop Kelley, on Friday. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness, No. 5 in Class 4A, opened the season against Shawnee’s junior varsity squad after Douglass backed out of their scheduled Week 1 game to play DeSoto (Texas) at Cowboys Stadium.

The Irish beat Shawnee’s JV team 42-0, and the McGuinness players said it was a great way to start the season.

“It was a great morale booster for the beginning of the season,” senior lineman Charlie Evenson said. “Going out and shutting out a team is great, regardless of who they are.”

Senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen agreed, adding that it was good to have a season opener to get ready for this week’s game at Class 5A No. 10 Tulsa Bishop Kelley.

“We really just needed to figure out who we are, with a new coach (Justin Jones) and a new team,” Nguyen said. “We don’t have a ton of returning starters. We needed to show everyone in the state what kind of team we are.

“It’s a good thing that we had a game, so we didn’t have to go to Kelley and have no experience.”

McGuinness and Kelley are archrivals, and the schools play every year for a shillelagh, a wooden Irish fighting stick that serves as a traveling trophy in the rivalry.

“We have that right now hanging in coach Jones’ office,” Nguyen said. “It’s really important for us. You don’t ever want to go out and lose to Kelley your senior year.”

Bishop McGuinness senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen will play this week vs. Shawnee's JV team. PHOTO BY ZACH GRAY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness linebacker Brandon Nguyen (concussion) has been cleared to play this Thursday in the Irish’s season opener against Shawnee’s junior varsity team, coach Justin Jones told The Oklahoman.

Nguyen suffered the concussion on a helmet-to-helmet collision with Lawton MacArthur running back Darius Graham during the Irish’s first scrimmage on Aug. 18.

Nguyen had 117 tackles last season and is one of McGuinness’ top leaders on defense.

Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor will have X-rays Friday morning on his injured throwing shoulder.

At some point Friday morning, Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor will find out just how bad he hurt his left shoulder on Thursday night. It could be as minor as a bruise, or as major as a broken collarbone, but it will be important news either way for the Broncos.

There are a lot of new receivers and some young offensive linemen, so they need Taylor’s leadership and experience to hold the offense together. That’s not to say sophomore Frankie Edwards won’t be a good fill-in. He’s a talented young kid, but he doesn’t have the experience of Taylor.

I’ll have the news on Taylor’s shoulder as soon as I hear something.

As for Thursday’s scrimmages, Mustang had some tackling issues on defense, and the offensive line is still growing up. At receiver, Travis Mitchell showed some impressive skills, and could be valuable at receiver.

Here are some other thoughts from the Pigskin Preview:

-El Reno showed some promise, and looked a lot better on offense than when I saw them at team camp in Yukon back in June. Rashaad Copeland and Ray Little are two very dangerous athletes who each made some big plays. Copeland has been drawing some college attention from OSU, Kansas and North Texas.

-Norman North is still looking for some offensive continuity at quarterback. Bryan Payne is a talented running back, but the two QBs — senior Chad Ehrhart and junior Peyton Gavras — had some ups and downs Thursday. Defensively, the Timberwolves were strong against Altus, and they’ll need to hang their hat on that side of the ball while the offense comes along.

-Justin Jones’ first preseason at McGuinness has been a rough one. He had five starters sidelined Thursday, including most of his linebackers. No major injuries, but still, those guys are missing valuable time under a new coach. QB Camden Tharp has a good skillset, and I’d look for him to have a good year. The Irish got a good performance from the offensive line, and that will be important as they try to develop the run game.

-Lawton MacArthur looks good. Really good. I know Tulsa East Central has a lot of star power. I haven’t seen them or any of the other top teams in 5A, but Mac has a lot of athletes all over the place, not to mention the best kicker in the state, which is always a nice feature. RB Darius Graham is a big, strong runner, and Michael Thomas is a beast at cornerback. When he gets in press coverage, his WR isn’t getting off the line of scrimmage most of the time. Most of Mac’s linemen are playing both ways, so that’s always an issue with stamina, but they’re going to be a dangerous team.

-Lawton Eisenhower looks vastly different with Adrian McDonald on the field. The athletically gifted quarterback sat out Thursday night’s scrimmage after suffering a rib injury last week. Coach Boone Copeland said he didn’t know when McDonald would be back, but he’s hoping to have him next week for the opener.

-Altus is obviously battling through a transition, like a lot of teams, but the Bulldogs have a more positive attitude than just about any team I’ve been around this year. Diquon Woodhouse — who is in my top five favorite names in HS football this year — made some solid plays, including a pick-six for Altus’ only TD. He doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects from the sprained MCL in spring ball, even though he still wore a brace for protection.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Bishop McGuinness senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen suffered a concussion during last week's scrimmage against Lawton MacArthur. PHOTO BY ZACH GRAY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness linebacker Brandon Nguyen suffered a concussion during his team’s first scrimmage last Thursday against Lawton MacArthur and will sit out this week at least, he said Sunday.

Nguyen suffered the injury on a helmet-to-helmet collision with MacArthur running back Darius Graham near the goal line on the Irish’s first defensive series.

This Thursday, McGuinness will take part in the Pepsi Pigskin Preview at Mustang.

Nguyen, who made 117 tackles last season and is one of the Irish’s returning leaders on defense, said he hopes to be back and ready for McGuinness’ first game against Shawnee’s junior varsity squad on Thursday, Sept. 1.

Jason Kersey
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Lawton MacArthur's Michael Thomas has committed to Tulsa. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE LAWTON CONSTITUTION

Lawton MacArthur cornerback Michael Thomas (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) is No. 11 on The Oklahoman‘s Super 30 and has committed to play in college at Tulsa.

He was in Oklahoma City on Thursday for a scrimmage at Bishop McGuinness, but we didn’t see much of his coverage skill. The Irish didn’t throw his way much, but Thomas created plenty of his own action with his physicality.

Thomas knocked Irish receivers around, which is what Lawton MacArthur coach Brett Manning said Thomas is best at.

Most receivers can’t really handle him when it comes to blocking. It’s going to take a really special receiver that’s really physically mature to handle him.”

Jason Kersey
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Bishop McGuinness is working on picking up the pace on offense. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Under new coach Justin Jones, Bishop McGuinness is trying to pick up the pace on offense.

Thursday night’s scrimmage against Lawton MacArthur proved that it’s still a work in progress.

“They’ve gotta learn now what that game speed is,” Jones said of the young players on his team. “Our motors have gotta be running full tilt every time we’re on the field.”

Lawton MacArthur is known for its speed, and it was on fully display Thursday.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better opponent,” Jones said. “They’re very well coached. They get after it. That’s what you want from a scrimmage — you want to learn under fire, but you also want it to be a scrimmage situation where it doesn’t count.”

Senior offensive lineman Charlie Evenson said: “We’re getting the pace as the days go by. This team was a great scrimmage for us since we are working on our pace and they are such a fast-paced team.”

Jason Kersey
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Bishop McGuinness linebacker Brandon Nguyen, right, left Thursday's scrimmage against Lawton MacArthur after suffering a head injury early. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness senior linebacker Brandon Nguyen, the team’s top returning tackler and a leader on the Irish defense, suffered what appeared to be a concussion during the team’s scrimmage at home against Lawton MacArthur on Thursday.

Nguyen went helmet-to-helmet with MacArthur running back Darius Graham on the goal line, stopping him for a three-yard loss, but came off the field after the play and didn’t return.

“He made a great play down there on the goal line to save the touchdown, but got his bell rung a little bit,” Irish coach Justin Jones said.

“He’ll be out a couple weeks and we’ll reevaluate and try to get him back before the first game.”

Jones said Nguyen was showing signs of a concussion.

“Seeing someone like Brandon go down is the worst thing to see,” senior cornerback Duncan Branum. “Even though he’s concussed — he’s out right now — he’s still begging to stay on the field. I’ve played around him all four years, and he’s always that guy that never wants to come out.”

Nguyen had 117 tackles and an interception in 2010.

Bishop McGuinness varsity and freshmen players are practicing together. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Practices are a little more crowded at Bishop McGuinness this year under new coach Justin Jones.

Unlike in past years, Jones has freshmen practicing with the varsity team. Senior quarterback Camden Tharp likes having more guys on the practice field because it gives the team more scout team players.

“It just gives you more to work with,” Tharp said. “Last year, when it was just sophomores through seniors, it was kind of hard to always get every spot on the scout team filled.”

For most of the early practices, Jones said he has kept freshmen and varsity players separated for initial evaluations. But he isn’t ruling out a freshman getting playing time on Friday nights.

“When we get into scrimmages, we see what they do against their level,” Jones said. “If their head is above their level, or there is a need for us at the varsity level, we would certainly look at those guys. I think if a freshman is good enough, if he’s one of the best 11, he’ll play.”

The Irish’s first scrimmage is Thursday at home against Lawton MacArthur.

Bishop McGuinness quarterback Camden Tharp stands during football practice on Wednesday, August 10. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

It took a practice for McGuinness senior quarterback Camden Tharp to adjust to his new coaches’ style.

During early practices under new coach Justin Jones, the Irish is running a scripted team offense, meaning Tharp has to be on his game. Under former coach Kenny Young, the coach called the plays during practice, Tharp said.

“(Tuesday) was sluggish, a little bit, but that was on me” Tharp said. “It’s supposed to be 40 plays in 20 minutes. (Tuesday) we did about 32, but (Wednesday) we did about 45.”

Tharp said the Irish will run a no-huddle offense some of the time this season, so the quickly paced team offense is meant to, in part, prepare for that.

Quarterback Camden Tharp, right, and Bishop McGuinness will open the 2011 season against Shawnee's JV team on Thursday, September 1. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

When Douglass broke its contract with Bishop McGuinness to play in the Kirk Herbstreit Kickoff Classic at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it left the Irish in a bind.

McGuinness and Douglass were each other’s season openers, but the Trojans opted to play Sept. 5 against DeSoto (Texas) High School in a nationally-televised game.

First-year McGuinness coach Justin Jones tried desperately to fill the Week 1 void with teams from out of state, but had to settle for Shawnee’s junior varsity team. The Irish and the JV Wolves will play on Thursday night, September 1.

“I couldn’t find anyone to play,” Jones said. “We didn’t want to not have a Week 1 game.

“We just want to give our kids a chance to perform that first week. Shawnee is helping us out because we’re in a bind.”

Bishop McGuinness stars Matt Christiansen (pictured) and Joe Edmonds have committed to San Francisco.

The last couple of years it’s been hard to talk about Bishop McGuinness boys basketball without bringing up Joe Edmonds and Matt Christiansen.

The two have been the cornerstones for the Irish the last two years and are expected to lead McGuinness in the upcoming season.

But they don’t want it to end there. Edmonds and Christiansen have confirmed to The Oklahoman they have both committed to the University of San Francisco.

“Matt and I had always talked about being a package deal, and San Francisco gave us that opportunity,” Edmonds said. “It’s just a great place and program, and I can’t wait to get out there again.”

Edmonds said one of the biggest reasons they committed was because of the staff, led by head coach and former Kansas star Rex Walters.

Christiansen, 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds. Edmonds, 6-foot-5, averaged 14 points, five rebounds and shot 90 percent from the free throw line. Christiansen is a three-star prospect according to Rivals.com.

“It’s definitely a surprise to me because I didn’t think I would commit this early,” Christiansen said. “I had to weigh all my options, and I know this is a program on the rise.”

Christiansen had just come off a visit to Seton Hall and was supposed to visit Davidson and Butler but said he has canceled those visits.

“The coaching staffs across the nation have been great,” Christiansen said. “I enjoyed my time at all the schools, but I can tell how committed San Francisco is to having a winning program.”

Edmonds was also receiving interest from Davidson, Pennsylvania, Stanford and Army.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Back to the topic, the different format for the final day of the camp kinda makes doing scrimmage-by-scrimmage reports pointless. There were so many. If you saw me, I was basically anchored on the 50 yard line and kept my head on a swivel between the two fields.

Midwest City
Bombers had highlight of the day for me. In a hotly contested battle with Stillwater, the Bombers used some of that Bomber Magic on the final play.

Quarterback Ronnie Davis gave it to Cornell Neal, who chucked it into the end zone to Zeke Lewis for the scrimmage-winning score. What made the play, really, was the fact Midwest City got the snap off with 1 second left in the 10-minute scrimmage. But the snap did count.

If you ask me, Stillwater was the darling of this camp. Stillwater opened people’s eyes all three days. However, Midwest City also showed it’s still among the best. And though early indications are that Stillwater is going to be a player this season, the Bombers showed they’re not going away anytime soon, either.

Second highlight of the day: Ricky Reeves of Midwest City one-on-one against Stillwater’s Jesse Vester. How’s that for an early June battle between two of the best athletes in the state?

Stillwater
Like I said, no team impressed me more. Got a chance to talk with Jesse Vester and Jerame Littell during those first two days. Had a good chat with coach Tucker Barnard on this final day. I won’t spoil it because I’m writing a big Stillwater story for Monday’s paper. How’s that for a tease?

Bishop McGuinness
Irish were learning on the job in this camp, said coach Justin Jones. Not only are coach and players still trying to adjust to everything, but the Irish had maybe the least amount of practices coming into the event. Jones said because of dead week during finals, the Irish only had six practices. Or as he put it, ‘three offensive practices and three defensive practices.’ I’m not sold on the McGuinness offense yet, but ya gotta love that defense, especially those linebackers.

Deer Creek
Getting off the mat to finish the job. In a scrimmage against, ooh, I wanna say Stillwater, QB Joel Blumenthal tweaked his ankle on the final play. In the ensuing scrimmage against Bixby, Blumenthal found Hunter Dinkines for a touchdown on the final play. Came away really impressed with Brennan Miyake. He’s already a big boy. Deer Creek was missing some key linemen and had to battle 6A teams for those three days so not going to be too harsh. Coach Grant Gower was extremely pleased and that’s good enough for me.

Norman North
Enjoyed seeing Bryan Payne do his thing. He’s a little dude, but he’s got some game in him. Between him, Emilio Gatewood and Raymond Demby, that was a nice set of backs last year. Payne looks like he’ll have to be the man, but if he can endure the punishment, that’s OK. Coach Wade Standley said it was just Day 12 of the team and him together so like most coaches at this point, happy to get some good reps in.

Edmond North
I really like Luke Hoskins. I’m not sure how the X-and-Os battle is going between Jesse Mathews and Hoskins, but Hoskins has looked good. Also glad to see Jared Benway take some big shots and bounce back up. Really hope Benway can stay healthy. Jarion Tudman was also back in action Friday after being banged up Wednesday. This is another team that I’ll see a lot more of in the future so I didn’t critique the Huskies too much.

OCS
A lot of the names I’ve grown to love with the Saints are gone, but coach Derek Turner is extremely excited about this group. He admits they’re a young squad, but he said the talent in the freshman/sophomore class is some top notch stuff. Hope to see more of the Saints this summer.

- Edmond Santa Fe wasn’t there on the final day. That’s alright, know there will be plenty of other times I’ll catch up with Lance Manning and company…Little Axe coach Ted Dorrell is excited to be a head coach again, that’s for sure. The Indians took a big hit via graduation, but Dorrell has some real fire…McLoud coach Eric Cardin said his team is young, but a camp like this always helps out. Realistically, Redskins are one year away, but Cardin is pumped for the future…Didn’t get to meet with Tecumseh coach Greg George too long. He said he loved the camp, best camp his team goes to. Savages did OK from the action I saw.

- Some of these same teams are out at Boone Pickens on Saturday for the Red Bull Game Breakers. I won’t be there, but I have ‘correspondents’ who will fill me in.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

A couple in particular, Stillwater and Deer Creek, made goalline, last-second stands to preserve scrimmage victories. I guess if you wanna call them victories.

Stillwater vs. Edmond Santa Fe

Never had I anticipated a 20-minute scrimmage between two 1-9 teams more than what I did as the final scrimmage of the day. Santa Fe looked great against Bixby and Pioneers showed a lot against Midwest City.

This one was as good as I hoped. Midwest City and Edmond North was going on at the same time, but the intensity and battle was just a little bit better with the Wolves and Pioneers so that’s who I stuck with.

Big heart showed by Stillwater QB Jerame Littell. He took a nasty shot that led to an interception. On the next drive, aired it out to Jesse Vester for the touchdown.

Wolves bounced back. With big brother Reggie Smith watching, Trevan Smith showed his speed. Trevan is small, but he’s got a lot of wiggle to him and scored.

Littell led another touchdown drive to set the stage for the final minutes. Justice Hansen threw it in the end zone as time expired, and it was picked off. Big thing that Littell and coach Tucker Barnard stressed was the ability to finish.

When you’re 1-9, at least a few of those games are decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. You have to learn how to finish. That’s what the Pioneers are doing so far at Edmond North. Great physical battle.

Deer Creek vs. Bixby

The Antlers had already wrapped up the ‘scrimmage victory.’ Based on rules, Bixby shouldn’t have been allowed one more play. But Deer Creek coach Grant Gower told Bixby to go one more play. He wanted his kids to experience a fourth down-like atmosphere.

Deer Creek stopped the Spartans short of the end zone in a 7-0 victory.

Antlers defense was the star in this one. To go with the last-second stop, Deer Creek stopped Bixby on a fourth-and-one earlier in the scrimmage.

Deer Creek scored on its second play from scrimmage as QB Joel Blumenthal found RB Brennan Miyake cutting across the middle and Miyake did the rest.

Miyake said it was a big boost to be going against Edmond North and Midwest City earlier in the day. It made the Antlers ready for a team like Bixby.

Midwest City vs. Edmond North

Caught glimpses of this. After Christian Peterson picked off a MWC pass, it seemed like the Bombers settled down after that. A lot of stops for losses for Midwest City against Edmond North. Bombers also found the end zone a couple of times. Wish that hadn’t gone head-to-head with Stillwater and Santa Fe.

Norman North vs. Shawnee

Another one that I didn’t get to fully see. A lot of woofin’ in this one. Teams had to separated a couple of times. T’Wolves’ fans, who is No. 3? I’m enjoying watching him work, that’s for sure. I didn’t see either team score in the 10-12 minutes I was able to watch.

Bishop McGuinness vs. Altus

I tried to watch, but what I was really thinking was why was Altus in full pads? Every other team was wearing shorts, but the Bulldogs were padded up. It makes a big difference. The Irish were still able to win, but that was a strange sight to see.

- Got a chance to briefly talk with Little Axe coach Ted Dorrell. I told him I can’t keep track of all 15 teams. He told me ‘try learning your players’ names in an environment like this.’ Dorrell was an assistant at Jones last season.

- Interesting talking with Santa Fe defensive coordinator Kenny Young when Irish were playing. He admits he’s still cheering for McGuinness and always will be. Ten years doesn’t just disappear with a change in jobs.

- Windy as heck out there. Don’t know if videos with Littell and Miyake will be deemed salvageable. If not, just look for some isolated plays from the scrimmages.

- Format change for Friday. Teams will start at 8:30 instead of 8 a.m. Also, more scrimmages. 10-minute scrimmages will begin at 9:40 and go to about 11:30-11:45. Either way, I’ll be out there. My format changes, too. I try to talk with players Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, I’ll be asking coaches what they learned in the three days so probably won’t be any videos.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The format was the same, too, thankfully. Teams go from station-to-station and then 20-minute scrimmages start at 11 a.m.

The first scrimmage I’m always going to be able to sorta give a better account. After that, it gets sketchy because I’m trying to track down players/coaches from the finished scrimmage and also watch the next set of teams.

Bishop McGuinness vs. Shawnee

Not the best start to this one for either team. In fact, that was kind of the general trend where teams started slow and then picked up the pace.

Irish turned the ball over first time in possession, and the Wolves capitalized. However, in final two possessions, Irish looked a lot better. The first was a sustained (well, as sustained as you can get going 40 yards) drive that ended in a Camden Tharp touchdown rush.

And then in the final minute, Tharp threw the ‘scrimmage-winning’ touchdown pass. He said it’s a lot different environment under coach Justin Jones as opposed to Kenny Young.

People are normally quick to say that’s bashing the former coach, but it’s not, if you ask me. Different doesn’t imply anything except that things are ‘different.’

Young was an in-your-face, no nonsense type of guy. Jones is a little more hands on, Tharp said. Tharp admitted it was tough initially in the scrimmage because the Irish were playing a lot of JV. To go from that to Shawnee is a leap, for sure. Gonna have to pick me up a Wolves roster for the next two days. Saying No. 2 and No. 12 had good days doesn’t amount to much, my fault.

Edmond Santa Fe vs. Bixby

This started the trend of things getting chippy. The Wolves are playing with a real chip on their shoulder, for the lack of a better term. The last two years have been tough to endure, and they’re looking to show things are going to be different right from the get go.

Leading that charge is wide receiver Tre Kelley. He was a-woofin’ and hollerin’ all scrimmage. He also backed it up. QB Justice Hansen looked good on a touchdown carry. Really excited to see what Phillip Sumpter and Trevan Smith can do in the open field.

But more than the offense, great day by the defense. Kenny Young has the team playing in a different tempo, swagger, and it showed in Day 1. I wanna say it was Santa Fe 14, Bixby 0 but don’t quote me on that one.

Midwest City vs. Stillwater

Ooh, pumped to see what is happening with the Pioneers right now. Cleaned house with the coaching staff, and the kids just look a little happier to go to work.

Obviously when you talk about Stillwater, it starts with QB Jerame Littell and WR Jesse Vester. Wednesday was no different as Vester made some outstanding plays, and Littell got to showcase his arm.

Stillwater made a nice late charge in this one. Not gonna judge the Midwest City offense too much because a lot of key players to replace. And this was a scrimmage that I was really scrambling to see. Hope to get a better look at the Bombers on Thursday or Friday.

Deer Creek vs. Altus

Deer Creek coach Grant Gower said he was really pleased with the team’s effort. Antlers scored on all three of their possessions.

When you’re talking about DC, Altus and the Irish, you’re looking at 5A teams that are going against 6A teams the entire time until this scrimmage portion. You get to see how much it helps to go against the speed of MWC, Edmond North, etc., when get back down to 5A.

- Look for videos with Tharp, Kelley and Vester on NewsOK. I’ll be keeping tabs on the health of Edmond North RB Jarion Tudman. He landed knee-first on the track on a tackle and had to ice his knee. Goal is to catch a better glimpse of Norman North, MWC, OCS and a couple of others on Day 2.

- And for the record, the 15 teams: Edmond North, Edmond Santa Fe, Midwest City, Bixby, Norman North, Stillwater, Deer Creek, McGuinness, Shawnee, Altus, OCS, Meeker, McLoud, Tecumseh, Little Axe.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Jordan Woodard is ranked No. 86 on the Rivals 100 for 2013.

They both got a taste of the gold ball in the spring, and they still have two more years left to make their mark at their respective program.

The honors keep coming for Edmond Memorial’s Jordan Woodard and Tulsa Washington’s Juwan Parker as each was named to the Rivals top 100 prospects for the class of 2013.

Woodard played a big role in helping the Bulldogs win the Class 6A state title, while Parker was instrumental in the Hornets winning their second consecutive 5A title.

Parker was named to The Oklahoman’s Super 5 boys basketball team. Both are rated as four-star prospects by Rivals.com. Parker is No. 62, while Woodard is No. 86.

***

Definitely thought I’d see Douglass’ Stephen Clark on the list. Still time, though, for Clark to work his way on there.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Clark has been a head coach in the past. He was the head coach at St. Mary when former coach Jennifer Burch was attending St. Mary.

“Shawn brings great continuity to the program and fits right in with the school,” Savely said. “He went through the interview process just like everybody else, but we like what we have here and want to keep this good thing going.”

Clark had been Burch’s assistant the last 10 years, said Savely. Burch decided to step down after 11 years last month to spend more time with her family. She led the girls to their first state championship last season.

***

I like this hire from the Irish perspective. McGuinness has a lot of good pieces coming back in Kate Andrews and Elyse Hight, etc., so there won’t be that awkward transition.

They won’t have to learn a new style of play and won’t have to try to understand the demeanor of their new coach. Obviously, there will be tweaks here and there, but Clark is very familiar to the girls and the girls have always seemed (from an outsider’s view) to respond well to his instructions.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

So you hope just maybe one time one match at a certain weight class or one match on the court  will determine a championship. It did on Wednesday in the Edmond Tournament.

In this corner, Ann Pepper of Edmond North against Bishop McGuinness’ Ashleigh Chiaf in the No. 1 singles championship. Teams were guaranteed a 1-2 finish, but it was this match that would determine how it went.

Both North assistant Bryan Duroy and Irish head coach Vicki Connelly were very pleased with the effort that saw Chiaf win 6-4, 6-3, to give the Irish the team title. Trinian O’Neil also helped out in the cause by winning the No. 2 singles title.

Maybe it wasn’t fair to write off the Irish after the Heritage Hall Tournament of Champions. This was a nice statement made by the Irish girls, and I believe between Chiaf, Pepper and Heritage Hall’s Sarah Bowen, you’re looking at the top three players in the Oklahoma City area.

Chiaf is a really a story worth telling (I will, don’t worry). Waiting in the wings since she was a freshman, the Missouri signee is showing that not only can she handle being the top player, she can also handle leading the team.

Hey, just a tough day to pick where you wanted to be. Deer Creek-Norman North baseball? Josh Richardson signing with Tennessee? Top-notch tennis tournament?

Enid won both doubles championships and gotta believe the Pacers are going to play a role in the team race next month.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

With Alie Decker returning and a great supporting cast, Edmond Memorial is the No. 1 vacant spot in girls basketball.

We had two big shakeups in the 5A-6A girls basketball landscape with the resignations of Jennifer Burch at Bishop McGuinness and Kevin Korstjens at Edmond North.

Add those to the departure of Matilda Mossman at Norman and Shane Coffey of Edmond Memorial, and it’s a very interesting time in girls basketball. Mossman is now the head coach at Tulsa, and she took Coffey with her to be one of her assistants.

Memorial and Norman are coming down the homestretch of their coaching searches, while North and the Irish are just beginning. In my opinion, here is how I would rank the four spots.

4. Edmond North (Last year: semifinals)
Despite the fact the Huskies have reached the semifinals the last two seasons, this is going to be a whole new group of girls at North.

The Huskies’ entire starting lineup is gone. Post stars Liz Donohoe and TaNita Dewberry? Gone. Anna Kimsey, the glue of the team? Yep, graduating. Guards Ella Voss and Kayla Anderson won’t even be around. In all, North has seven seniors that are graduating. This program didn’t have a lot of tradition before Korstjens, and it will be tough to keep it up.

3. Norman (Last year: quarterfinals)
Wow, some pretty big names to follow when talking about Sherri Coale and Mossman. You can either see that as intimidating or as a chance to stamp your own name. Tiger tradition is incredible.

Good set of players coming back, such as Jordan Franks and Bethany Cox. She was just a sophomore last year, but I think Cox is going to be a star in the next two years. The Norman administration is (understandably) taking its time and is going to find the right person.

2. Bishop McGuinness (Last year: state champion)
It was surprising to me when Burch called it a day, but I know how much this last year meant to her. And also realized that her life is going in another direction.

If the Irish stay in 5A, this is a good spot. The top part of 5A is incredibly good, but the class as a whole has not had the depth that you see in 4A. McGuinness was the last team by ADM in 5A this year.

When talking who is coming back, Kate Andrews and Stephanie Milligan are a nice supporting class. However, the coach that comes in is going to have a lot of fun watching Elyse Hight do what she does. She’ll be among the best players in the state next year.

1. Edmond Memorial (Last year: semifinals)
This is based purely on the girls that are coming back. Wow, this team is top 3 before the season starts. It’s still going to be tough to compete with Edmond Santa Fe and Midwest City, but Memorial is right there as Coffey had no problem telling me throughout the season.

It starts with Alie Decker. She became one of the more complete players in the state this season and should only get better. However, you throw in Sydney Hill and Alyssa Hand? Look out for the Bulldogs.

Also look for Kelsey Glover and Alison Roy to play bigger roles next season. Edmond AD Mike Nunley said he hopes to have the Memorial coach by the end of this week and then he’ll look at filling the North spot.

It’s a race. All four spots are great, no question, so it will be interesting to see who goes where.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Thursday
At Carl Albert
Duncan vs. Carl Albert, 11 a.m.
Clinton vs. Carl Albert, 1:30
Altus vs. Clinton, 4 p.m.
Altus vs. Weatherford, 6:30
At Shawnee
McGuinness vs. OKC Broncos, 11 a.m.
McGuinness vs. Ada, 1:30
Yukon vs. McAlester, 4 p.m.
Lawton Mac vs. McAlester, 6:30

Friday
At Carl Albert
Blanchard vs. Altus, 9:30 a.m.
Blanchard vs. Weatherford, noon (I’ll be there)
Duncan vs. Weatherford, 2:30
Duncan vs. Clinton, 5 p.m.
Carl Albert vs. Altus, 7:30
At Shawnee
McAlester vs. Ada, 9:30 a.m.
OKC Broncos vs. Ada, noon
OKC Broncos vs. Lawton Mac, 2:30
Lawton Mac vs. Shawnee, 5 p.m.
Shawnee vs. Yukon, 7:30

Saturday
Games at both sites at 11 a.m., 1:30 and 4 p.m. Championship game is at Carl Albert at 4 p.m.

Kevin Korstjens becomes the latest big-time girls basketball coach to resign. After five years at Edmond North, Korstjens has stepped down.

And another one.

***

Every year once the season is done, coaches and players will evaluate things and look to see how they can improve.

Edmond North girls basketball coach Kevin Korstjens would do the same thing regarding his status. Was it time for a change, or was he still content? Korstjens said this time he was ready for a change.

After five seasons of leading the Huskies, Korstjens has resigned as the head coach.

“It just seems like the right time right now,” Korstjens said. “After talking with my family, we felt this would be best.”

In his five seasons, Korstjens helped turn Edmond North into one of the top teams in the state. The Huskies qualified for the state tournament the last three years and reached the state semifinals the last two seasons.

Edmond North was 6-5 this season before winning 15 consecutive games, including being the only team to beat Edmond Santa Fe, the eventual state champion. The Wolves eliminated the Huskies in the semifinals.

Korstjens said he wouldn’t rule out coaching next season but that right now the plan is to stay at Edmond North and continue teaching.

“If the right opportunity arrived, I could see myself coaching,” Korstjens said. “But we’re happy where we are. We’re not going to move to the ends of the earth for a coaching job.”

Korstjens was 86-41 in his five years with the Huskies.

“The kids are what make this job fun, and the kids are what makes these decisions so difficult,” Korstjens. “You never want to leave the kids. They’ve meant so much to me.”

Korstjens becomes the fourth girls state qualifying coach from 6A or 5A teams to resign in the last month and the second girls coach of the three Edmond Public Schools.

Former Norman coach Matilda Mossman is now the Tulsa University head coach. Mossman named former Edmond Memorial coach Shane Coffey as one of her assistants.

And in 5A, former Bishop McGuinness coach Jennifer Burch resigned Monday after 11 years and winning the school’s first girls basketball state championship.

***

But I guess you could look at each decision of the four coaches and rationalize it.

- With Matilda Mossman, she’s been in the college game before. Her son, Matt, is graduating Norman so it was time for Mossman to try something different if it was there. Tulsa was there.

- Always a dream to coach at the next level, and Shane Coffey is no different. This is a tremendous opportunity for Coffey. He’s leaving the ‘best’ team of the four squads who are coming back. Next year’s Memorial squad is a top 3 team, no question.

- Burch is something of a ‘job well done.’ I’ve seen the transformation in her life this year and what married life has given her. It’s given her tremendous balance and a new perspective. She’s fought and clawed for 11 years, reached the top and now wants to spend time with her family.

- Korstjens, well, what a special group this senior class was for North. Seven seniors who helped turn around the program. I know how much this team meant to Korstjens. That scene after the semifinal loss to Santa Fe – you could see how much of his heart and soul he had put into it.

- Well, four top-notch spots are open. Let’s the madness begin (or continue).

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The Irish girls won the state championship and nobody knew that it would be Jennifer Burch's final game. She resigned Monday.

The hits keep coming in the Oklahoma City area for girls basketball coaches. Edmond Memorial and Norman are still on their quest and now Bishop McGuinness is going to join them:

***

It was never the intention of Bishop McGuinness girls basketball coach Jennifer Burch to leave after winning a championship, but that’s the way it has turned out.

After 11 seasons as the coach of the Irish, Burch resigned Monday, saying she wants to take some time off and focus on her family.

The last year has been the most exciting one in Burch’s life, she said, both professionally and personally.

It began last summer when Burch, then known as Jennifer Frakes, married Bethel baseball coach Robbie Burch.

The Burch family lives in Bethel, and though Jennifer Burch hasn’t minded making the drive to McGuinness every day, her priorities have changed.

“It’s not any one reason,” Burch said. “Things have drastically changed in my life. It’s just time to step away from basketball and recharge the batteries.”

Burch addressed the team Monday afternoon and said it was the most difficult decision she’s had to make in her life. Burch said the one thing she would not do was leave the Irish to coach another program.

“McGuinness was my family before I had my own family,” Burch said. “All the girls, all the relationships — that’s what I’ll remember.”

Burch helped put the Irish girls basketball program on the map and led McGuinness to its first girls state championship in March.

Coincidentally, Burch said it was something that former Irish football coach Kenny Young said that resonated with her.

“He said ‘when it’s time, it’s time,’” Burch said. “I’m making the right decision. I told the girls it’s tough because we’re all wrapped up in emotion, but it’s going to work out for everybody.”

Young resigned after 10 years of being the McGuinness football coach in February. And just as Young said he knows the Irish football program is in good hands with former Woodward coach Justin Jones taking over, Burch is not worried about the future of the girls program.

“We got the program to where we want it to be,” Burch said. “We went through a lot in the last 11 years, and I have no doubt the tradition is going to continue.”

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Chiaf earns title

It’s evident that the Bishop McGuinness girls tennis team won’t be the dominant force that it’s been in recent years.

But don’t think the Irish still won’t be in the hunt for another state championship. Senior Ashleigh Chiaf earned the No. 1 singles championship with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Heritage Hall’s Sarah Bowen on Friday afternoon at the Tournament of Champions at Heritage Hall.

It was the first time the girls had played against each other in two years when Bowen had defeated Chiaf at this same tournament.

“It was about ‘want to’ today,” Chiaf said. “I really wanted this win. We always play tough matches, but I was able to persevere in the tough points.”

It is the first year at singles for Chiaf after winning three state championships in doubles.

Bowen had a three-set battle with Piper Huey of Jenks in the semifinals, while Chiaf cruised to the final. Chiaf was really on her game in this tournament. You can tell that she is taking a lot of pride in being a senior and leading this team.

Bulldogs win team championship

If Friday’s competition was any indication of what the state tournament is going to be like, it’s an open field.

Four different teams won the individual championships with Edmond Memorial taking home the team title.

For the Bulldogs, it was about consistency. Every player won at least two matches and No. 2 singles player Megan Montgomery earned the championship with a win against Edmond North’s Annie Hayes.

The Huskies and Jenks tied for second, while McGuinness and Enid tied for fourth in the eight-team field.

Gonna be interesting to see the lineups being tinkered with. Definitely think Edmond North is going to be  fluctuating all season until coach Dee Ann Wallar makes up her mind. A lot of talent there, just about finding the right spot.

Kinda surprised that Edmond Memorial took home the crown but says a lot about what Randy Mays is doing there. You go 9-3 against a field like this, well, you have nothing to be ashamed about.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The former Woodward coach was named the head coach of the Irish on Wednesday.

“This is one of the most elite schools in Oklahoma,” Jones said. “I’ve competed against them for the last three years and know what this program is about. It was tough to tell those kids (at Woodward), but I’m anxious to get started with McGuinness.”

Jones has coached the Boomers the last three seasons and Woodward was in the same district as McGuinness all three years.

McGuinness athletic director Gary Savely said there were around 55 applicants for the job.

“We love his enthusiasm and his leadership and feel he is going to fit in great with the program,” Savely said.

Young resigned last month after 10 years as the coach. He led the team to two state championships.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Last year I thought the Bishop McGuinness girls basketball team was going to contend for the Class 4A state championship. For that reason, I was amazed when the girls didn’t make state.

Going into this year, once again I thought the Irish had the potential to become champions. But I wasn’t going to believe until I saw it.

And early in the third quarter against Shawnee, it appeared it would have to be another year of waiting for Jennifer Burch’s girls.

Somehow the team pulled off a great comeback in what I felt was the best game of the three days at the Mabee Center. McGuinness won 43-40 in overtime.

Against Tulsa East Central, I underestimated the quickness of the Irish. “We’re deceptively quick” said Burch after the game, a 44-36 victory in giving the girls their first championship.

Burch has been through a lot in her 11 years with the Irish. It was a great moment for the program, but it was an incredible moment for Burch that I was glad I got to see.

For my story on McGuinness’ championship, go here.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The metro area got a good look at the Oklahoma basketball recruiting class of 2012 Tuesday night at McGuinness.

There’s no argument that Ardmore’s Nino Jackson is the state’s top recruit for ’12, and McGuinness has a pair of guys who aren’t far behind. The 6-foot-8 Matt Christiansen is drawing a lot of interest for his powerful play in the paint. Joe Edmonds, a 6-foot-5 wing, hasn’t been popping up on the national recruiting rankings like Christiansen, but I think he’s an equally talented prospect.

Edmonds played a great game Tuesday on both ends of the floor, leading the Irish with 19 points and helping to bottle up Jackson for a good stretch of the game in the second and third quarters.

But Jackson pulled it out in the end, scoring his team’s final seven points of regulation, including the 3-pointer you see in the video above that forced overtime.

Jackson says Kansas, Oklahoma and Baylor are at the top of his list right now, and he’ll likely commit after the season. He also has offers from Oklahoma State and Texas.

He’s certainly worthy of the attention. He’s 6-foot-2, freakishly athletic. He can shoot or get to the rim to score or drive-and-dish. The college game will require more from him on the defensive end, but there aren’t many high school players who that statement isn’t true about.

It’s hard to get a good read on the 2012 class beyond those guys, though. Caleb Crayton at Northeast, a 6-foot-3 wing, has been getting some interest from some big programs like Missouri State and Arkansas. After that, it gets a little jumbled.

You have guys like C.J. Cole at Sperry, Joe Summers at Putnam City North, Jamil Donovan at Northwest Classen — guys who are in position to make the move to become big-time targets.

Of course, there’s still plenty to be sorted out with some solid prospects in the 2011 class and signing day a couple months away, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Oh yea, it’s not in football, though. Bishop McGuinness junior Elyse Hight has verbally committed to play soccer at Notre Dame.

I know Hight as the dominant post presence for the Irish girls basketball team, but she made her name first as the goalkeeper. She was being recruited by various schools at both sports but decided she wanted to stay ‘Irish.’

“I’m excited about joining the Irish in the future,” Hight said. “It’s a great opportunity to play for Notre Dame’s soccer team and attend the university.”

If going to ND wasn’t enough, the soccer program has never been hotter. The Irish won the national championship last year, defeating top-ranked Stanford in the title game. That path to the championship was paved on the road with five wins away from South Bend, Ind.

Hight attended Notre Dame’s soccer camp last summer and fared well, being named to the camp’s All-Star team. She was already one of the state’s best goalkeepers as a sophomore and that shouldn’t change this year.

Coming off the heels of Signing Day, yep, we have to wait a long time before Hight can officially sign with Notre Dame.

Good call. One great atmosphere after another. I wrote about Cody Coyle in Saturday’s paper because he was the head-scratcher, but the Irish don’t come anywhere close to a 77-70 overtime win without Matt Christiansen.

With his running mate, Joe Edmonds, in foul trouble (had four in the third quarter) Christiansen did everything in his power to keep McGuinness in the game. He had 12 points in the first half, 17 in the second half and three in overtime for 32 points.

However, have to give credit to Connor Lamb of Stillwater. Every time it looked like the Irish faithful could relax, Lamb hit another huge three.

The first came with 1:05 left in the fourth to tie the game at 56-56. Then with 26 seconds left, it was 60-56 for the Irish and boom, Lamb hit another.

That set the stage for Austin Brinker to tie the game with about two seconds left at 61 to send us into overtime.

In OT, Christiansen had the place rockin’ with a dunk to make it 66-62. Was thinking game over at that point when Lamb hit another three-pointer. However, that’s when Coyle made his name.

Coyle, primarily a defensive stopper, was on the floor because of the injury to Miles Newcomb. The Irish were up 68-65 and just had a defensive stop. OK, slow it down, pass it around and wait for the foul. Or if you’re Coyle, bomb a three from the corner and send the place into a frenzy. Not sure what would have happened had he missed it, but he doesn’t have to worry.

McGuinness hit its free throws to earn a big win. Coach Tondrell Durham was a little more excited than I thought he’d be for this one, the win meant a lot to him.

Lamb finished with 21 points, while Alex Budke had 16 for Stillwater. Edmonds had 14 for the Irish. Look for a video with Coyle on NewsOK this weekend.

McGuinness 53, Stillwater 31 (Girls)

Did not see this one coming. McGuinness’ defense was stifling all night, limiting a good Stillwater team to 17 points through the first three quarters.

Coach Jennifer Burch said it was all about defense. Against Putnam North on Monday (lost at the buzzer), the defensive breakdowns led to the Panthers getting back in it.

Not the case in blowout wins against Ponca City and the Pioneers. One big thing, too, was having Kate Andrews back against Stillwater. In the first game (a narrow 50-46 win at Stillwater), Andrews did not play. Though she only scored seven points, she made a huge difference on defense.

An 11-0 run in the first quarter got the Irish rolling and Stillwater never mounted a run. It was a comfortable margin the rest of the way.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Boys
McGuinness JV 55, Star Spencer 54 – seventh place
OCS 74, Western Heights 72 – fifth place
Deer Creek 53, Enid 31 – third place
Mustang 72, Putnam North 64 – championship

Ahh, so that’s why Mustang is good. I said Sunday that neither myself nor Scott Wright had seen why the Mustang boys were getting so much respect.

Monday night I found out why. They do the little things. Especially Jacob Strassle and Zac Grismer – they do the dirty work necessary to earn the tough victories.

Any 50/50 ball last night went to the Broncos, no doubt about it. Putnam North made a nice run to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, but Mustang deserved this win.

I still don’t think Mustang has the greatest perimeter shooting team out there. But it doesn’t have to be if you execute in the other parts of the game, which is exactly what Alan Green’s boys do.

Another good game from PCN’s Armon Provo and Joe Summers. And with the Panthers going east, I could definitely see this team making the state tournament.

Mustang also made its free throws to get rid of any drama. David Glidden was 7 of 8 alone in the fourth quarter. Well played game.

Deer Creek 53, Enid 31

Nice statement by the Antlers here. A well-balanced effort sparked by the post players to earn this victory.

Josh Fields and Anthony Clark are both just juniors and the last two games they both looked good. This team has to be more than Garrett Hermanski, and it is so intrigued to see what happens against Piedmont and Carl Albert later this week.

After Alex Patterson went down, seemed like Enid was a little deflated.

OCS 74, Western Heights 72

Ah, the most fun game of the day. It was all Jack Warren of OCS and Alton Whittaker of Western Heights.

Then in the second half, it was all T.J. Holland of OCS and Western Heights’ Kenneth Mayfield. Warren and Holland – 51 points. Mayfield and Whittaker – 54 points.

Mayfield went nuts in the fourth quarter. He scored 23 points and shot the lights out. He made a three and Deer Creek’s Grant Gower was trying to announce it when the lights went out.

Almost a huge comeback by Western Heights who were down 65-51 midway through the fourth.

Warren had 27 with 19 in the first half. Holland had 24 with 18 in the second half.

OCS didn’t play McGuinness JV as I thought because no matter what, the Irish were going to play in losers’ games. They understood that and were fine with it. Even if McGuinness JV had beaten Mustang on Friday, Mustang would have advanced. For what it’s worth, the JV team went 2-1 and beat Star Spencer on Monday.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Girls
OCS 52, PC West 45 – seventh place
Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50 – fifth place
Enid 40, Star Spencer 30 – third place
Putnam North 44, McGuinness 42 – championship

There it is. Putnam North making me look stupid.

Going into the championship, I thought the Irish were going to handle the Panthers. But by the end of the first quarter, knew differently.

Was a little worried for Putnam North after Joh’Vonna Mitchell picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, but Kelsey Abraham kept the team rolling in the first half and rightfully earned the MVP honors of the tournament.

Likewise, that was the best game I’ve seen from McGuinness’ Caroline Cameron, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half to keep the Irish within striking distance.

Rae Rae Brannon came up huge in the second half for PCN, scoring all 12 of her points after halftime.

Tremendous atmosphere in a game that pitted two non-hosting teams in a tournament final. Great battle down the stretch. And while last year Putnam North didn’t make that final basket, this year, yep, Mitchell did it.

Enid 40, Star Spencer 30

Seriously, Enid fans are lucky to get to watch Courtney Chelf every single game. She is something special. She had 13 of the team’s 15 points at halftime.

In the second half, more Pacers got involved and Enid really took control. Kept waiting for that Star Spencer run, just wasn’t in the cards this time around.

Enid’s a solid team, but solid won’t get the job done in 6A girls competition. Gonna be a dog fight in the next month for those state berths.

Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50

The Antlers are coming around. You look at that lineup and see a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, but it’s coming together.

Sophomore Alexa Adair looks so much more confident than she did back in December. This team is learning to win the close games, and I think they’re right back in the hunt for a state berth.

Bayli Blanchard is doing a good job in the post, and it was a good battle between Blanchard and Western Heights’ star Dilan Webster.

The Jets made a big comeback in the fourth and took a 50-49 lead, but Adair hit four free throws in the final minute to earn the win.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Seventh place: McGuinness JV vs. Star Spencer, 11:30 a.m.
Fifth place: Western Heights vs. OCS, 2:30
Third place: Deer Creek vs. Enid, 5:30
Championship: Mustang vs. Putnam North, 8:30

I felt Deer Creek would have to play a near perfect game to beat Putnam North. The Antlers didn’t, and the Panthers cruised in the fourth quarter to a 69-53 victory.

I have never seen Garrett Hermanski bottled up like that. PCN’s Armon Provo, an explosive scorer in his own right, put the clamps on one of the best juniors in the state. Provo frustrated Hermanski, was extremely physical with him and never let Hermanski get into that groove.

Hermanski had five points at halftime and nine points total. Great job by Provo.

If it was Provo on defense, then it was the Joe Summers show on offense. He hit three 3s in the first half that really set the tone for his game. Antlers had to come out and guard him, and he’s too strong off the dribble.

It was interesting because Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett is a really talented player. However, the size of Summers was something he simply could not deal with it. Burnett still managed to have a really good game, but it was a clear difference of 5A and 6A in terms of the size there.

In contrast, the Panthers learned why the Deer Creek community goes ga-ga over sophomore Joel Blumenthal. He was trying to put the team on his back in the third quarter. He scored 11 points, including connecting on three 3s to pull the game within 41-38. However, all runs must come to an end, and Deer Creek couldn’t muster a response after JR Simon hit a three-point play and Provo drained a 3 at the end of the third to make it 50-42.

Mustang 46, Enid 38

Interesting Mustang team. First time I’ve gotten to see them. Do a lot of the gritty things, not afraid to go in there and mix it up. Not sure if the Broncos have the perimeter shooting for a long run.

Impressed with Ben Berry and David Glidden. Speaking of Glidden, he took a nasty shot to his shoulder in the third quarter but missed minimal time. After getting checked out, he was right back out there.

I see why Mustang is so highly regarded by opposing coaches, but neither myself nor Scott Wright has seen Mustang on its best day. Perhaps that will be Monday?

Looking ahead to Monday…

Rematch of last year’s final when Provo absolutely went off for 33 points and a PCN title. I don’t see this one being a blowout at all, but I stated earlier I thought Rick Harris’ boys would win it so I’ll stand by that.

Deer Creek coach Matt Bailey faces his former squad, Enid, in the third-place game. It’s not as simple as Hermanski vs. Alex Patterson and whoever has the better game, his team wins, but it’s close. They trigger so much on their respective teams when they’re playing well.

And OCS, who I almost left for dead after Thursday, has a chance to claim fifth place against a surprising McGuinness JV team. After losses to Heritage Hall and Deer Creek, big response by the Saints against Star Spencer.

Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Girls
Seventh place: OCS vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Fifth place: Deer Creek vs. Western Heights, 1 p.m.
Third place: Enid vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Championship: McGuinness vs. Putnam North, 7 p.m.

Somebody asked me Thursday to predict the winners in the Bruce Gray Invitational, and I said the McGuinness girls and the Putnam North boys. I was three minutes away from being wrong Saturday.

The Irish girls trailed Star Spencer 35-29 before going on a 13-2 run to win 42-37 and advance to Monday’s championship game.

I’ve never seen McGuinness look so lost as it did yesterday. Coach Jennifer Burch gave Star Spencer a lot of the credit as the 1-2-2 zone befuddled the normally efficient Irish.

Burch said when the offense is down, the defense can’t let up. It didn’t. Eventually it was the defense that spurred the run. The press was able to create turnovers and Elyse Hight came up big down the stretch as she has for basically the whole season.

Another great game by Sharane Campbell of Star Spencer. She’s a fighter, no doubt. Felt like Star had set up McGuinness for that knockout blow but simply never delivered it.

Putnam North 45, Enid 37

Another two years with Courtney Chelf, Enid fans are lucky. She’s a good one and her three-pointer at the end of the third made it 30-29 Enid going into the fourth.

However, this was a good statement made by the Panthers. I always look to Joh’Vonna Mitchell and Alexis Watson, but Kelsey Abraham was the star in this one. And give a lot of credit to Blaire Hall’s eight points off the bench.

Watson took a nasty fall midway through the third with PCN leading 27-23. She missed the rest of the third and start of the fourth before coming back in. She seemed OK, hope she is for Monday night.

Looking ahead to Monday…

I think Rae Rae Brannon is going to have to come up big for the Panthers. She’s tiny, but she has more quickness than what the Irish are used to dealing with. Mitchell cannot get in foul trouble against Hight and Alexa Lienhard (and vice versa on that one).

Third-place game should be a  good battle between Chelf and Campbell. I like Enid in a close one. Fifth-place game is intriguing in the grand scheme of things as Western Heights and Deer Creek might be still standing when it comes to the 5A state tournament. I like Dilan Webster to help the Jets prevail in that one.

Bruce Gray Invitational
At Deer Creek
Thursday
Boys
Mustang vs. McGuinness JV, 11:30 a.m.
Putnam City North vs. Star Spencer, 2:30
OCS vs. Deer Creek, 5:30
Enid vs. Western Heights, 8:30
Girls
McGuinness vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Putnam North vs. OCS, 1 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Enid, 7 p.m.

Toward the end of the first half against NW Classen, McGuinness junior Matt Christiansen brought the house down with a dunk.

Watching it live, I didn’t think Christiansen had given himself a chance to finish. I thought he he jumped too soon. Add in the contact, and I thought he would just be shooting two free throws.

No, he put it down. And here is a taste of what that was like, courtesy of a photo from one of the McGuinness parents.

The Irish won 77-61 and Christiansen was named the tournament’s MVP.

Matt Christiansen brought the crowd to its feet with this dunk Saturday night.

For the second year in a row, McGuinness is king at its own tournament.

51st McGuinness Classic
Saturday
McGuinness 77, NW Classen 61 (championship)
Norman North 64, Deer Creek 58 (third place)
Norman 57, Edmond North 41 – consolation championship
Guthrie 49, Yukon 47 – OT – seventh place

McGuinness 77, NW Classen 61

Um, picked the right teams in the final, wrong winner. And I mean WAY off. Figured NW’s athleticism would cause problems for the Irish. However, when you shoot the way Tondrell Durham’s club did this night, not an issue.

It started in the second quarter after a crisp first eight minutes by both clubs. The second quarter was all McGuinness.

And though Matt Christiansen was clearly leading the way, this was a team effort, no doubt. Everybody was playing a part. Matt Morrissey and Miles Newcomb were draining 3s. Joe Edmonds was taking it to the hole. The defense was stellar. Best all-around performance by the Irish I’ve seen in five games this year.

And the dunk Christiansen had at the end of the first half was incredible. That got everyone up. Strong move and the finish and the foul. Shouldof had my camera working.

At one point it was actually 54-23 in the third quarter. That won’t happen again, believe me. NW is too dang good. Jamil Donovan had a big night as did Keandra Nelson but slow start doomed this one from the beginning.

Christiansen was named MVP. Quinton Hardwick lost a tooth in the fourth quarter on a drive by Edmonds but should be just fine.

Norman North 64, Deer Creek 58

Really liked this game. Two pure scorers in NNorth’s Patrick Schaefer and Deer Creek’s Garrett Hermanski. And did they ever put on a show.

However, Schaefer also had big-time assistance from Matt Southard in the post. Add it up and TWolves walk out with third.

Coach Butch Roberts was very pleased with this weekend. “If you can’t win the championship, you wanna be able to say you went 2-1. We did.”

Just an off night for the Antlers. Managed to hang around and keep it close but didn’t see the comeback coming in this one. Just took too long for Jalen Burnett and Joel Blumenthal to get in a rhythm.

Norman 57, Edmond North 41

That first half was a clinic on passing, I tells ya. Norman isn’t flashy but this team executes well and plays hard under first-year coach Jeff McCullough.

The Tigers were up 15-1 after the first quarter and kept that margin the rest of the way. Interesting team because nobody jumps out at you. Connor Madole is a solid player. Like what George Kittle brings to the table. Brandon Southern is steady.

North’s bad start was just too much to overcome. Coach Jeff Tanner is seeing some good things, especially from the likes of Ed Baker and Brandon Rolfes-Lopez. Unfortunately, it won’t get any easier with Santa Fe coming to the Siberian Gym on Tuesday.

Guthrie 49, Yukon 47 – OT

A game not worthy of a seventh-place battle. Both teams gave tremendous effort in a tight game throughout. This was finally the day where I got to see what makes D’Anthony Perkins such a threat for the Millers. He was rolling with 24 points. He’s going to be quicker than just about everybody else out there.

However, this was also the day why I believe Guthrie is still a legit state tournament-worthy club. There is too much talent for this team to not put it together.

If you have a five of Kentrell and Richard Brothers, Kai Callins, Tim Zupo and Codee Gross – you should win some games.

Balance will be key for this team, and coach Pete Papahronis said shot selection will go a long way in determining what happens with his team. On this day, Kentrell, Gross and Callins (just a freshman) all scored 11 points. That’s what you want.

All-Tournament Team: MVP – Matt Christiansen, Irish. Team – Mikey Wilson and Joe Edmonds, Irish; Jamil Donovan and Quinton Hardwick, NW Classen; Patrick Schaefer, NNorth; Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek; Connor Madole, Norman; Brandon Rolfes-Lopez, Edmond North; Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie; D’Anthony Perkins, Yukon.

Boneman’s Super 5: Matt Christiansen, Irish; Patrick Schaefer, Norman North; Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek; Jamil Donovan, NW Classen; Joe Edmonds, Irish.

With Heritage Hall junior running back Barry J. Sanders and the rest of the top juniors in the area in San Antonio for a national combine, I sure didn’t expect Sanders to play a role in my coverage of the 51st McGuinness Classic.

However, he sure did. More on that in a minute. Here’s your basketball results.

51st McGuinness Classic
Friday
McGuinness 54, Norman North 50
NW Classen 67, Deer Creek 56
Edmond North 65, Guthrie 55
Norman 28, Yukon 22
Saturday
Seventh place: Yukon vs. Guthrie, 1:30
Consolation champ: Edmond North vs. Norman, 3 p.m.
Third place: Deer Creek vs. Norman North, 6 p.m.
Championship: NW Classen vs. McGuinness, 7:30

Well, when the brackets were released, I told anyone that would listen (who listens to me?) that the final would be NW Classen vs. McGuinness. And sure enough, it is. This should be a great one as the last three games between the two have been decided a grand total of five points.

NW Classen 67, Deer Creek 56

This was funny because even though the Antlers got off to a good start, their transition defense was a question mark. And the Knights took full advantage.

Garrett Hermanski had another dynamite game for Deer Creek. He scored 17 in the first half and 11 more in the second for a game-high 28 points. However, the team lost some steam in the third quarter.

NW coach Leroy Combs said, ‘our players realized we were going to have to play some defense to win this one. They did.’

Junior guard Jamil Donovan once again led the way with 13 points, and he made some really nice passes in tight quarters.

DC led 23-16 before being outscored 37-14 in the second and third quarters.

McGuinness 54, Norman North 50

He was 3-of-15 through three quarters. So what? That just doesn’t mean much when it comes to the potential of McGuinness forward Joe Edmonds.

Edmonds scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to stop Patrick Schaefer and the Timberwolves. This was a crisp game, went by extremely fast.

A lot of threes in this one. Schaefer was raining ‘em down. Miles Newcomb had four for the Irish, while Matt Morrissey added three more treys.

Schaefer was incredible on this night, really had his shooting eye on and finished with a game-high 24 points. However, Matt Christiansen won the battle against Matt Southard in the paint and the Irish did a good job of dictating play.

Norman 28, Yukon 22; Edmond North 65, Guthrie 55

Wish I could tell you something about these games, but I was working on my Barry Sanders/Nick Saban story during these two encounters. In fact, I got in touch with Sanders at halftime of DC/NWC and missed the third quarter of that one, too.

Was it a violation by Saban? Maybe, but I don’t think it was a big one. And it’s not something that will play a role (I don’t think) in the recruitment of Sanders. But it might be an eye-opener to us for about what’s to come as it pertains to Sanders in the next 12 months.

Sanders said he had a few people ask about Saban’s visit in San Antonio and teammates Sterling Shepard and Markus Wakefield were asked about it. All three had no idea this was going to become a big deal.

A lot of people point to the photo of Sanders and Saban with no sign of defensive coordinator Mark Adams. Sanders said Adams was right next to them and continued their conversation after Sanders and Saban said ‘hey.’

Ready to conclude the McGuinness Classic on Saturday. And for my story on the Sanders/Saban saga, here ya go.

51st McGuinness Classic
At Bishop McGuinness
Thursday
Deer Creek 57, Yukon 49
NW Classen 58, Norman 57
McGuinness 43, Edmond North 38
Norman North 48, Guthrie 38
Friday
Semifinals
Deer Creek vs. NW Classen, 6 p.m.
McGuinness vs. Norman North, 7:30
Losers’ Bracket
Yukon vs. Norman, 1:30
Edmond North vs. Guthrie, 3 p.m.

I got spoiled. The first set of games Thursday were a couple of good ones. I thought they’d all be like that. Didn’t quite happen like that, but a good start to the McGuinness Classic.

Deer Creek 57, Yukon 49

Scott Wright told me the Millers like to make/shoot 3s. Um, I didn’t realize what that actually meant until I saw it in person. Yukon had nine 3s through the first three quarters, but the Antlers were doing enough to stay tied.

Great call by Deer Creek assistant Michael Garbutt to go to a box-and-one on Yukon’s Matthew Burton. Burton is a threat as soon as he crosses half court. With him shut down, the Millers looked a little confused as to how to attack the Antlers defense.

Another strong game by Deer Creek’s Garrett Hermanski. If he is hitting early, he’s going to have a great night. He plays with a lot of confidence when he’s rolling (though who doesn’t?). Big contribution off the bench from Joel Blumenthal.

It feels like Blumenthal should start, but he’s in the perfect role of that sixth man who comes in and lights the spark.

Miller games I imagine don’t take too long. When you’re hoisting up threes, you’re not going to get to the foul line. I’m intrigued to see how Ralph Nigro’s team responds against Norman…

NW Classen 58, Norman 57

This was one of those weird games. Though Norman led nearly the entire way, you had that feeling the Knights were going to pull it out.

With players like Jamil Donovan and T’aries Taylor, I just cannot in good conscience count this team out, not even when it was 51-40 at the end of the third quarter.

Jeff McCullough is doing a great job of getting his kids to believe in his system and executing it. Tigers got a little tight in the fourth, and NW pushed the tempo. Paco Jones ended up scoring the game-winner with 15 seconds left.

Excited to see Donovan against Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett in the point guard battle Friday night.

McGuinness 43, Edmond North 38

Nice to see Joe Edmonds back. Still not 100 percent and cramping in the fourth quarter, Edmonds energized the Irish faithful with eight points in the second quarter.

I’ll be honest, thought the Irish were going to run away with this one in the third quarter. North coach Jeff Tanner did a good job of keeping his kids’ head in the game, and Matt Christiansen picking up his fourth foul in the third quarter for the Irish certainly helped the Huskies out.

Still, North was down 37-29 in the fourth before Ed Baker tied it up with a 3 at 38-38 with 40 seconds left. Dean Fitzpatrick scored on a nice feed and North was unable to take care of the ball.

Cameron Haley came alive in the fourth for North, but I was scratching my head about the first three quarters. He needs to be a big part. We’ll see what this team brings Friday.

Norman North 48, Guthrie 38

Oy. Not all wins are pretty. But at 24-20 at the end of the third quarter, it was tough to try to paint this into something positive.

Timberwolves’ guard Patrick Schaefer had a big night as did forward Matt Southard. Guthrie had no rhythm and too many times it was just Kentrell Brothers trying to force something in the paint.

Guarantee both teams will have a better showing Friday.

Boys

Deer Creek 57, Yukon 49

Northwest Classen 58, Norman 57

Deer Creek 57, Yukon 49

Deer Creek*15*11*17*14 — 57

Yukon*13*13*13*10 — 49

DC — Hermanski 23, Blumenthal 10, Burnett 8, Caudill 5, Blanchard 4, Clark 4, Wayant 3.

YHS — Burton 17, Perkins 11, Williams 10, Koontz 5, Craig 4, Nicholson 2.

Northwest Classen 58, Norman 57

Norman*13*16*22*6 — 57

Northwest*15*8*17*18 — 58

NHS — Madole 15, Southern 14, Saxon 10, Long 7, Kittle 5, Edington 4, Murray 2.

NWC — Donovan 16, Taylor 14, Hardwick 13, Jones 7, Arnold 4, Nelson 4.

McGuinness 43, Edmond North 38

Norman North 48, Guthrie 38

McGuinness 43, Edmond North 38

Edmond North*9*8*6*16 — 38

McGuinness*8*15*6*14 — 43

EN — Baker 11, Haley 8, Rolfes-Lopez 7, Peterson 4, Ruben 3, Carver 3, Sanders 2.

BM — Edmonds 11, Christiansen 9, Wilson 9, Fitzpatrick 6, Morrissey 5, Newcomb 3.

Norman North*3*11*10*24 — 48

Guthrie*4*8*8*18 — 38

NN — Schaefer 19, Southard 12, Roberts 11, Kaplan 6.

GHS — K. Brothers 14, Callins 7, Gross 7, R. Brothers 6, Zupo 2, McFadden 2.

It’s that time of year again. Last year’s Love’s Travel Stops McGuinness Classic final between Carl Albert and Bishop McGuinness was one of my favorite moments from last year.

Another stacked field, and I’ll be out there all three days for all 12 games.

McGuinness Classic
Thursday
Game 1: Yukon vs. Deer Creek, 1:30
Game 2: NW Classen vs. Norman, 3 p.m.
Game 3: McGuinness vs. Edmond North, 6 p.m.
Game 4: Guthrie vs. Norman North, 7:30
Friday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:30
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 3 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30
Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 1:30
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 3 p.m.
Game 11: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30

It’s not technically the second half of the season, but it’s close enough. After winter break, the games mean more and you start to see what teams are really made of.

Let’s start, shall we?

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Look out, 5A. With Joe Edmonds back, this team is going to do some damage in the next couple of months. Matt Morrissey and Miles Newcomb have come up big, and Matt Christiansen should only become even more of an impact player with Edmonds back in the saddle. Get to see the complete Irish team this weekend at the McGuinness Classic (gonna be a fun 3 days).

Girls: Umm, though not original, look out, 5A. The Irish have not played their best ball, said coach Jennifer Burch. However, their only loss is to Santa Fe and have wins over Cache and Edmond Memorial and Weatherford. Great balance, led by Alexa Lienhard and Elyse Hight. The development of Kate Andrews and Theresa Nash is going to be key.

Heritage Hall
Boys: With the football boys back in the saddle, first-year coach Chris Hamilton should be able to perk up. Quintaz Struble might actually be better in basketball than football, something I would not have said last year. And with Tanner Tepe becoming eligible, Chargers have a chance to surprise some people.

Girls: It’s one thing to be young, it’s another to look young. Leslie Warner’s girls are incredibly small but showed some signs last week. Ericka Wakefield is going to become a player, and I think sophomore Carter Cloud is really going to develop as long as she becomes more aggressive. She gets down on herself too easy. She’s good. Starting lineup is three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.

Casady
Boys: Coach Allen Dukes is loving his first year with the Cyclones, but the schedule is about to get infinitely tougher with Southwest Prep Conference play beginning this month. Preston Sullivan makes this team go, but it will be interesting to see how Matt Silver and Cecil Ray, among others, develop over the second half of the year.

Girls: I’ve heard it said that as a coach, Jen Warden might be the best coach in the Oklahoma City area. There is good improvement from last year in Warden’s second year, but it will be tough for the Cyclones. Shelby Cornelson should lead the charge.

OCS
Boys: Feel like I can repeat what I said from last year. You know what you’re getting with T.J. Holland and Jack Warren, but who will be that consistent third option? If Trent Toler finds one, Saints will be punching that state tournament ticket, I guarantee it.

Girls: Sometimes the ambitious boys schedule hurts the girls, but this is not a bad 3A team. From junior guard Dani Childress to post Jordan Gooch (stay healthy), the Saints have the pieces for a solid season.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Ohh, gotta admit I haven’t seen either team play yet (it’s on my list of things to do). I know Lenny Hatchett’s boys will be around come March. Not sure when I’ll see dem Rockets, but I’ll figure it out.

The Irish girls were dominant in winning the Chesapeake Challenge

Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 64, Cascia Hall 41 (championship)
OKC Storm 56, Holland Hall 46 (third place)
Heritage Hall 46, Weatherford 24 (consolation championship)
Kingfisher 43, OKC Knights 40 (seventh place)
Girls
McGuinness 52, Weatherford 22 (championship)
OKC Knights 41, Kingfisher 30 (third place)
Cascia Hall 34, Heritage Hall 33 (consolation championship)
OKC Storm 59, Sunrise Academy 44 (seventh place)

Boys
OKC Storm 56, Holland Hall 46
Holland Hall*16*6*18*6 — 46
OKC Storm*14*10*12*20 — 56
HH — Rogers 18, Tisdale 11, Elbert 9, Sexton 5, Miles 2, Lade 1.
Storm — Trier 27, Malone 17, Farmer 9, Roth 2, McGee 1.

Heritage Hall 46, Weatherford 24
Weatherford*10*9*3*2 — 24
Heritage Hall*16*9*10*11 — 46
WF — Kincannon 11, Stark 5, Hill 5, Boyd 3.
HH — Struble 17, Wakefield 7, Lima 5, Cloud 4, Mewbourne 3, Thompson 3, Chatay 3, Cassell 2, Price 2.

Kingfisher 43, OKC Knights 40
OKC Knights*6*14*10*10 — 40
Kingfisher*10*11*6*16 — 43
Knights — Maloy 17, Miller 6, Graham 5, Pineda 5, Duggan 3, Daniels 2, Capers 2.
KF — Patterson 24, Blair 6, Hyatt 3, Newton 3, Ulsaker 3, Buck 2, Cheap 2.

Girls
McGuinness 52, Weatherford 22
Weatherford*6*4*8*4 — 22
McGuinness*8*7*16*21 — 52
WF — Sawatzky 9, Whedbee 5, Roof 4, Brennforder 2, Davis 1, Martin 1.
BM — Hight 18, Andrews 8, Cameron 6, Pedulla 5, Nash 5, Oliphant 4, Lienhard 3, Conner 2, Winterstein 1.

OKC Knights 41, Kingfisher 30
OKC Knights*12*11*10*8 — 41
Kingfisher*12*0*13*5 — 30
Knights — Young 13, Daniels 8, Tunnell 7, Williams 6, Hadelberg 3, Davis 2, Dile 2.
KF — Layn 18, Kannady 5, McAdam 3, Prim 2, Meat 2.

Cascia Hall 34, Heritage Hall 33
Cascia Hall*10*0*10*14 — 34
Heritage Hall*4*10*7*12 — 33
CH — Rahilly 12, Spoerl 10, Wallace 7, Ward 3, Derr 2.
HH — Wakefield 13, Cloud 11, Garrett 7, Zerby 1, Miller 1.

OKC Storm 59, Sunrise Academy 44
OKC Storm*16*10*16*17 — 59
Sunrise*16*7*8*13 — 44
Storm — Haxton 27, Alford 18, Wolfley 7, Ward 4, McGee 2, Santelman 1.
SA — Adair 24, Calebrese 9, Kidd 4, Weiser 4, Cockrell 3.

Boneman’s Breakdown

- Since no OKC-area team was playing in the boys championship, I admit I didn’t watch much of Sunrise Academy predictably beating Cascia Hall. That team was just too dang good for this tournament.

- Did not see the Irish girls winning by 30 points today. Must say that is a good sign for Jennifer Burch’s club. Weatherford did a great job of slowing the game down as it was 15-10 after the first half. However, Elyse Hight scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half and the defense did the rest. I’m also in agreement with Burch’s assessment that her team has not even come close to playing their best game yet. Scary to think when they are clicking.

- Eighth-grader Allonzo Trier bounced back beautifully today against a good Holland Hall team. He scored 27 points and made his free throws down the stretch. Had a chance to spend some time with Trier after this one. Really humble and respectful. He was 1-on-1 with Holland Hall stud Kwame Sexton. Good battle…then you realize Trier is 14 years old.

- Heritage Hall’s Quintaz Struble is really putting it together in basketball. I’ve thought all along he’s a football prospect on defense. Um, he might not be. He’s got some real good basketball game and is a beast in the post.

- OKC Knights girls is a solid club. Enjoyed watching that team execute its plan. Not much size so they have to do the little things right. You know what? For the most part, they do.

- Boneman’s Super 5 for boys (that I saw is the big qualifier): Derek Patterson, Kingfisher; Quintaz Struble, Heritage Hall; Zach Rogers, Holland Hall; Thomas Cargile, Cascia Hall; Allonso Trier, OKC Storm.

- Boneman’s Super 5 for girls (that I saw): Alexa Lienhard, McGuinness; Elyse Hight, McGuinness; Kimmi Sawatzky, Weatherford; Elisabeth Daniels, OKC Knights; Shelby Jo Layn, Kingfisher.

- Look for videos with Trier and Hight on NewsOK sometime soon.

- Have a Happy New Year, Varsity readers.

Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Championship: Cascia Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 4 p.m.
Third place: OKC Storm vs. Holland Hall, 12:40
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Weatherford, 4 p.m.
Seventh place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 12:40
Girls
Championship: McGuinness vs. Weatherford, 2:20
Third place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 11 a.m.
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Cascia Hall, 2:20
Seventh place: Sunrise Academy vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.

Thursday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 52, Holland Hall 42
Weatherford 56, OKC Knights 50
Cascia Hall 54, OKC Storm 50
Heritage Hall 42, Kingfisher 37
Girls
Weatherford 42, OKC Knights 40
Cascia Hall 56, OKC Storm 49
McGuinness 53, Kingfisher 19
Heritage Hall 55, Sunrise Academy 44
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56

Boys
Cascia Hall 54, OKC Storm 50
Cascia Hall*18*12*6*18 — 54
OKC Storm15*13*13*9 — 50
CH — Cargile 16, Varner 8, Keeling 7, Frizzle 6, Moeller 5, Rouse 4, Sherwood 4, Wood 4.
Storm — Trier 21, Farmer 13, Malone 10, Adams 4, Rice 2.

Weatherford 56, OKC Knights 50
Weatherford*11*18*15*12 — 56
OKC Knights*10*10*16*14 — 50
WF — Stark 23, Tuggle 12, Hill 8, Lemay 4, Boyd 4, Kincannon 4, Caulkins 1.
Knights — Maloy 15, Graham 10, Miller 7, Pineda 6, Gehling 5, Daniels 4, McCullough 3.

Heritage Hall 42, Kingfisher 37
Heritage Hall*8*7*15*12 — 42
Kingfisher*8*8*5*16 — 37
HH — Struble 14, Mewbourne 9, Lima 5, Wakefield 4, Cassell 4, Cloud 3, Thompson 3.
KF — Patterson 13, Blair 10, Hyatt 6, Newton 4, Ulsaker 4.

Girls
Weatherford 42, OKC Knights 40
Weatherford*14*8*6*14 — 42
OKC Knights*7*11*9*13 — 40
WF — Brennforder 11, Sawatzky 8, Roof 8, Davis 6, Stark 5, Whedbee 4.
Knights — Daniels 11, Tunnell 8, Williams 7, Young 6, Davis 3, Hinckle 3, Heidberg 2.

McGuinness 53, Kingfisher 19
Kingfisher*5*8*5*1 — 19
McGuinness*14*8*13*18 — 53
KF — Layn 5, Meat 4, Kannady 3, Haffey 3, Endres 2, Prim 2.
BM — Lienhard 18, Hight 15, Cameron 6, Andrews 4, Winterstein 4, Nash 3, Pedulla 3.

Heritage Hall 55, Sunrise Academy 44
Heritage Hall*16*11*10*18 — 55
Sunrise*8*14*10*12 — 44
HH — Wakefield 22, Ma. Garrett 10, Mo. Garrett 8, Miller 7, Cloud 5, Wheeler 2, Zerby 1.
SA — Weiser 17, Adair 16, Cockrell 4, Calabrese 3, Cundiff 2, Kidd 2.

Cascia Hall 56, OKC Storm 49
OKC Storm*11*6*18*14 — 49
Cascia Hall*11*5*21*19 — 56
Storm — Haxton 22, Alford 11, Wolfley 6, McGee 6, Ferguson 4.
CH — Spoerl 17, Ward 12, Derr 10, Rahilly 7, Wallace 7, Stagg 2, Jordon 1.

Boneman’s Breakdown

- Real good day of basketball today. And of course, good food

- Alonzo Trier of the OKC Storm is the real deal as an eighth-grader. He didn’t convert on some free throws down the stretch, but he looked a lot more comfortable out there today. With Trier and Rex Farmer, that’s a scary combo.

- Great effort by Cascia Hall in the win against the Storm. Thought it was over at 41-32, but the Commandos kept coming back. Don’t like anybody’s chances against Sunrise Academy, though.

- Started with a good one between the Weatherford and OKC Knights girls. Both teams had a lot of foul trouble in the first half. Intriguing to see how each coach handled that situation. Weatherford substituted offense for defense the entire third quarter. In the end, it was two free throws by Chandler Roof with 1.9 seconds left to give the Eagles the win.

- And Weatherford is playing Bishop McGuinness. This should be a good one. Love Weatherford’s toughness. Love the versatility of the Irish.

- Finally, a tip of the hat to Shelby Jo Layn of Kingfisher. Her mother died after an eight-year battle with cancer Dec. 23. Layn hasn’t missed any time and has actually been the leading scorer the first two games. Extremely impressed with her character and composure during our interview. Look for a story on Layn in Friday’s paper.

Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Thursday
Boys
Holland Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 12:40
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 12:40
OKC Storm vs. Cascia Hall, 4 p.m.
Heritage Hall vs. Kingfisher, 4 p.m.
Girls
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 11 a.m.
Cascia Hall vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
McGuinness vs. Kingfisher 2:20
Sunrise Academy vs. Heritage Hall, 2:20
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56

Boys
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Cascia Hall*11*16*14*12 — 53
Kingfisher*9*13*14*8 — 44
CH — Cargile 11, Sherwood 9, Keeling 8, Wood 7, Mollers 7, Carter 4, Varner 4, Frizzell 3.
KF — Patterson 16, Newton 10, Blair 5, Nault 3, Hyatt 2, Ulsaker 2, Buck 2, Waltman 2, Cheap 2.

Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Knights*6*5*14*14 — 39
Holland Hall*11*17*15*22 — 65
Knights — Maloy 13, Miller 7, Graham 6, Pineda 5, Gehling 4, McCullough 3, Breedlove 1.
HH — Rogers 14, Ebert 13, Miles 13, Lade 7, Sexton 6, Sutton 2, McDonald 2, Tisdale 2, Bolivar 2, Bayliss 1.

OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
OKC Storm*12*7*15*12 — 46
Heritage Hall*6*7*10*11 — 34
Storm — Trier 17, Malone 14, Farmer 10, McGee 2, Rice 2, Roth 1.
HH — Struble 16, Mewbourne 6, Cloud 4, Price 2, Cassell 2, Lima 2, Wakefield 2.

Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
OKC Storm*11*13*11*4 — 39
Weatherford*17*12*18*12 — 59
Storm — Woofley 13, Haxton 9, Alford 7, Ferguson, McGee 3, Santelman 2.
WF — Roof 13, Brennforder 12, Sawatzky 10, Davis 9, Whedbee 9, Stark 4, Lockhart 2.

McGuinness 68, Sunrise Academy 31
Sunrise*10*2*11*8 — 31
McGuinness*20*26*11*11 — 68
SA — Adair 14, Calabrese 5, Cockrell 4, Kidd 4, Weiser 4.
BM — Hight 16, Andrews 12, Lienhard 11, Cameron 10, Milligan 6, Nash 5, Pedulla 4, Winterstein 4.

Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
Kingfisher*13*7*10*18 — 48
Heritage Hall*8*6*17*9 — 40
KF — Layn 22, Meat 9, Kannady 7, Haffey 4, Prim 3, Karns 3.
HH — Cloud 14, Zerby 11, Wakefield 7, Mo. Garrett 4, Miller 4.

OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56
Cascia Hall*17*15*9*15 — 56
OKC Knights*23*17*8*13 — 61
CH — Spoerl 17, Wallace 14, Ward 10, Derr 8, Rahilly 7.
Knights — Daniels 21, Young 20, Tunnell 11, Hadelberg 5, Hinkle 3, Davis 1.

I’m going for the food … and I guess I’ll stay for the basketball. I’ll be floating around Heritage Hall the next three days for the Chesapeake Challenge.

Here’s the schedule. The Chargers have two gyms so games will be going on at the same time.

Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Wednesday
Girls
Bishop McGuinness vs. Sunrise Academy (Kan.), 11 a.m.
Weatherford vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
Heritage Hall vs. Kingfisher, 2:20
Cascia Hall vs. OKC Knights, 2:20

Boys
Kingfisher vs. Cascia Hall, 12:40
Weatherford vs. Sunrise Academy (Kan.), 12:40
Heritage Hall vs. OKC Storm, 4 p.m.
OKC Knights vs. Holland Hall, 4 p.m.

Will update after each day with the pairings for the following day.

Back again. This time around we’re looking at the private schools in the Oklahoma City area. Plenty of good choices, couple of tough calls.

Here ya go:

All-Private schools
Offense
QB — Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall
RB — Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall
RB — LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness
WR — Skyler Sikes, OCS
WR — Jake Peace, Mt. St. Mary’s
WR — Charlie Cho, OCA
OL — Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
OL — Connor Morrison, Casady
OL — Bill Johnston, Heritage Hall
OL — Graham Bennett, Casady
OL — David Krenger, Bishop McGuinness

K — Keegan Carter, OCS
P — Kenny Wooldridge, CHA

Defense
DL — Zach Collums, Mt. St. Mary’s
DL — Nick Callaway, Bishop McGuinness
DL — Quintaz Struble, Heritage Hall
DL — Dakota Leftwich, Bishop McGuinness
LB — Garrison Lee, Casady
LB — Josh Blair, CHA
LB — Brandon Nguyen, Bishop McGuinness
LB — Graham Busby, Heritage Hall
DB — Mac Katigan, Casady
DB — Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall
DB — Tyler Konarik, Bishop McGuinness

KR — Jamaal Whitney, Bishop McGuinness

Offensive Player of the Year: LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness
Defensive Player of the Year: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall
Coach of the Year: Andy Bogert, Heritage Hall

Where to put Sterling Shepard became the biggest question. I had him at WR, KR and DB before deciding DB was where he could help this team the most. Bennett should be a DL, but he can be an OL, too, so we’ll be OK. No doubts on my three awards. If I switched and made Shepard offense, I would have gone with Lee of Casady as the defensive player.

A little more tired than I thought. Two long days of basketball at Bishop McGuinness. Here’s what you can read in Sunday’s paper:

Deer Creek boys basketball coach Matt Bailey doesn’t want to put too much importance into a win in mid-December, but Saturday gave him a taste of what his team is going to see the rest of the year.

On first glance, the Antlers are going to be OK. Facing the constant pressure of Millwood, Deer Creek stayed composed to earn a 61-38 victory at the McGuinness Festival.

“Our kids did a great job and that comes from the leadership of Jalen (Burnett) and Garrett (Hermanski),” Bailey said.

Deer Creek was coming off an emotional overtime loss to McGuinness and had to play only 15 hours after completing that contest.

Sophmore Joel Blumenthal bounced back after a poor shooting night against the Irish to lead the way with 17 points Saturday. Hermanski added 14.

Deer Creek trailed 9-8 after the first quarter but outscored Millwood by 10 in the second quarter and seized control.

Millwood’s Michael Ervin had 10 points, while Kevonte Richardson added nine.

McGuinness 58, Western Heights 39 (boys)

The Irish outscored Western Heights 32-14 in the second and third quarters to pull away from the visiting Jets and go 2-0 in the Festival.

Guard Miles Newcomb led the way with 22 points, including connecting on six three-pointers. Center Matt Christiansen added 17 points.

Western Heights made five three-pointers in the first quarter to take a 15-11 lead into the second, but the Irish scored the first 11 points of the second quarter to set the tone.

The Jets received 14 points from Kenneth Mayfield and 13 from Alton Whittaker.

McGuinness 71, Western Heights 36 (girls)

The Irish used their defense to turn a 14-11 game late in the first quarter into a blowout victory to go 2-0 at the McGuinness Festival.

Junior Elyse Hight scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half as McGuinness outscored Western Heights 25-4 in the third quarter.

Caroline Cameron added 13 points for the Irish, while Western Heights was paced by Antoninet Webster’s 10 points.

Millwood 50, Deer Creek 27 (girls)

Another big start paved the way to the Falcons going 2-0 at the McGuinness Festival. Millwood jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter to take control.

Deer Creek worked the margin down to 28-18 in the final minute of the third quarter, but the Falcons responded with a 14-3 run to close the third and start the fourth and put the game out of reach.

Millwood was led by Dayla Threatt’s 16 points, while Bayli Blanchard had eight points off the bench for Deer Creek.

I had a hunch heading into the McGuinness Festival. Just a hunch that the Deer Creek boys were going to walk in to Irish Country and pull off the upset.

Good hunch but not the right result. In a hard-fought game by both teams, McGuinness pulled out a fun 52-47 win in overtime Friday night.

Wasn’t exactly the most aesthetically pleasing game, but the effort was there 100 percent. Big players made big shots in a contest where neither team had a lead bigger than five points and there were five lead changes alone in the fourth quarter.

Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett gave the Antlers a one-point lead in overtime, but then the Irish scored the next six to put some distance between the two teams.

It was all Matt Christiansen in the first half for the Irish. He scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half and was dominating the game. The Antlers had no answer for him inside.

Conversely, the Irish had their fair share of troubles with Garrett Hermanski. Much bigger since the last time I saw him on a basketball court, Hermanski didn’t fade down the stretch and led his club with 22 points.

McGuinness led 42-39 when Hermanski drained a 3-pointer to tie it with 15 seconds left. Miles Newcomb’s attempt at a game-winner was off and to OT we went.

However, it was a big fourth quarter and OT by Newcomb that spurred this effort. He scored 7 of his 12 points in the fourth and OT. Team just has to tread water until star Joe Edmonds comes back.

Get your licks in on McGuinness now because you won’t get a chance later in the season.

Very interesting to see how both teams come back Saturday. Deer Creek has Millwood at 12:30, while McGuinness welcomes the Jets of Western Heights at 3:30.

I could watch those two coaching staffs all day. Tondrell Durham and Andy Fisher at McGuinness and Matt Bailey and Michael Garbutt at Deer Creek. Fun to just observe those four doing what they do. Great atmosphere for a December game.

Back at ya Saturday night.

McGuinness 49, Deer Creek 23 (girls)

As a sophomore, McGuinness’ Elyse Hight showed what she can do off the bench. As a junior, she’s showing she is already one of the top players in the state.

Hight scored a game-high 23 points as the Irish rolled the Antlers.

The Irish defense paved the way as Deer Creek never scored more than nine points in any quarter, and McGuinness outscored the Antlers by at least five points in every quarter.

Caroline Cameron had nine points, while Alexa Lienhard pitched in with eight. Deer Creek was paced by Bayli Blanchard, who had six points.

Millwood 53, OCS 40 (boys)

Every time Oklahoma Christian had a run in it, Millwood’s Drelan Triplett had the answer.

Tripplett scored a game-high 19 points in leading the Falcons to the victory.

The Saints went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 41-31. Tripplett re-entered the lineup and scored two straight buckets to the push the lead back to 14 to silence the run.

OCS’s T.J. Holland led the Saints with 16 points.

Millwood 73, OCS 38 (girls)

Millwood’s defense sparked an early first quarter lead and the Falcons never looked back in cruising to victory.

Shamyia Johnson scored 16 points and Dayla Threatt notched 15 as Millwood had five players in double figures.

OCS’ Dani Childress had a game-high 19 points.

It’s been a great start to the season for the Deer Creek boys basketball team. The Antlers are 3-0 and are averaging nearly 80 points per game, led by junior Garrett Hermanski.

However, coach Matt Bailey’s club will face its biggest challenges of the season this weekend at the McGuinness Festival at Bishop McGuinness.

Deer Creek plays the Irish on Friday night and comes right back to play Millwood on Saturday afternoon.

Other teams involved in the boys and girls event include Oklahoma Christian School and Western Heights. There will be four games on Friday and Saturday. I’ll be there for all eight games.

McGuinness Festival
Friday
Millwood vs. OCS, 3 p.m. (girls)
Millwood vs. OCS, 4:30 (boys)
McGuinness vs. Deer Creek, 6 p.m. (girls)
McGuinness vs. Deer Creek, 7:30 (boys)

Saturday
Millwood vs. Deer Creek, 11 a.m. (girls)
Millwood vs. Deer Creek, 12:30 p.m. (boys)
McGuinness vs. Western Heights, 2 p.m. (girls)
McGuinness vs. Western Heights, 3:30 p.m. (boys)

Granted full access by the Heritage Hall coaching staff for the 3A championship against Kingfisher allowed me to see the things I normally don’t.

One of those was the group of Charger seniors huddling together separate from the rest of the team for one last final speech about what they mean to each other and what this season meant to them.

I won’t reveal anything that was said as that moment was for those nine seniors. Coach Andy Bogert would always have the seniors stand up first after the postgame talks, and he did it one more time Friday night.

And though a lot of talent resides in that spectacular junior bunch, those kids were quick to point out the leadership of the senior class and how that made all the difference starting from last year’s loss to Pawhuska.

The nine seniors: Graham Busby, Cooper Cloud, Shaun Tkach, Coby Brownrigg, Sami Horani, Dru Bullard, Blaine Kennedy, Andrew Johnson and Bill Johnston.

Seniors were members of 14-1, 15-0, 8-5 and 15-0 seasons.

Other contenders

Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall: If you don’t know by now, Shepard scored all four of the Heritage Hall touchdowns and all in the second half of a classic 28-21 win over Kingfisher.

T.J. Holland, OCS, Basketball: He’s done it again. Man does he look sharp early on this season. Road win at Casady, followed by a tournament championship at Luther…not bad.

Alexa Lienhard, McGuinness, Basketball: In an incredibly brutal Edmond Open, the Irish beat Memorial and Cache with Lienhard doing significant damage.

Matt Silver, Casady, Basketball: I really like the potential of Silver this season. Cyclones were able to bounce back from OCS loss for consolation championship at Luther.

I HATE the Edmond Open…hate it. It’s always that dang week in December where it’s the final week of football, and I can never see the basketball.

It’s that way once again. Busy with football this weekend but hoping that somehow I can see the boys final at 8 p.m. Saturday at Memorial. The girls bracket is dynamite, the semis are going to be insane.

Boys (At Memorial)
Thursday
Game 1: Edmond Memorial vs. Santa Fe JV, 3:30
Game 2: Tulsa Central vs. NW Classen, 6:30
Game 3: Lawton Mac vs. Edmond North, 5 p.m.
Game 4: Tulsa Rogers vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 8 p.m.

Friday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 3:30
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 5 p.m.
Game 11: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6:30
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8 p.m.

Girls (At North)
Thursday
Game 1: Santa Fe vs. Tulsa Rogers, 3:30
Game 2: Bishop McGuinness vs. Edmond Memorial, 6:30
Game 3: Cache vs. Tulsa Central, 5 p.m.
Game 4: Edmond North vs. Southmoore, 8 p.m.

Friday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11 a.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12:30
Game 11: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 2 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30

One more week to perfection. A perfect season wasn’t the ultimate goal for Heritage Hall, but if the Chargers win Friday, it will happen.

Every game there seems to be another hero. Against a good Bethany team the second time around, it was lineman Markus Wakefield — just not the way I thought it would be.

I’ve said it more than enough at this point so I’ll keep it short. Wakefield threw a touchdown pass and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score in the semifinal win.

Look for a story on Wakefield and his lineman counterpart Quintaz Struble later this week.

Other contenders

Heritage Hall defense: In a game where both defenses stopped what the other teams are known for, the Chargers in the second half were incredible in limiting Bethany to 9 total yards in the second half.

Preston Sullivan, Casady: Cyclones started the season going 3-0 and Sullivan earned MVP honors of the Liberty Academy Tournament in Shawnee.

T.J. Holland, OCS: What a way to start the year for the Saints. OCS, behind Holland and Jack Warren, won at John Marshall 62-57.

Jake Peace, Mt. St. Mary’s: Not just a star on the football field, Peace led a balanced effort in a win against Heritage Hall.

Kate Andrews, Bishop McGuinness: So many weapons, what do you do? Andrews led a balanced effort in a three-win week.

District 4A-1 Awards

MVP- Will Davis, Elk City

Co-Offensive Players of the Year- LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness;
Saul Pina, Clinton

Defensive Player of the Year- Lane Kinney, Clinton

Co-Offensive Backs of the Year- Tanner Thompson, Cache; Dakota Pearson, Elgin

Co-Quarterbacks of the Year- Casey Cobalt, Woodward; Colten Headrick, Guymon

Tri-Receivers of the Year- Drake Smithton, Woodward
Cody Lake, Elk City, Tanner Jackson, Elgin

Lineman of the Year- James Twins, Clinton

Offensive Lineman of the Year- Dirick Hatfield, Elgin

Co-Defensive Linemen of the Year- Carl Devorce, Elk City
Jesse Huff, Woodward

Co-Inside Linebackers of the Year- Steven Ferguson, Elk City
Mason Semmel, Woodward

Co-Outside Linebackers of the Year- Jacob Lee, Clinton
Josh Glenn, Woodward

Co-Secondary Players of the Year- Jason Butler, Elgin
Chalmer Wyatt, Elgin

Co-Special Teams Players of the Year- Trey Todd, Piedmont
Devon Willcox, Cache

Coach of the Year- Mike Lee, Clinton

All-District
Bishop McGuinness-Jamaal Whitney, Dakota Leftwich, Nick Callaway, David Krenger

Cache- Terrell Evans, Ryan Burnett, Brad Bowen, Sam Houston, Shawn Roberto, Dante Irby, Grant Vaden, John Gabelmann

Clinton- Teontre Murphy, Cole Higbee, Dakota Sutton, Ruben Gutierrez

Elgin- Ryan Curtis, Dylan Deluca,Shane Neighbors, Trevor Dudark, Gabe Griego, Taylor Fort

Elk City- Michael Hufford, Jacob Leal, Rhett McAbee

Guymon- Jace Melton, Fernando Acosta, Dang Dang, T. J. Anderson, Kolten Renteria

Piedmont- Dustin Hand, Austin Cowan, D. J. Landry, Jordan McAdoo, Dalton Carney

Woodward- Tanner Ward, Jacob Troy, Shawn Taylor, Kale White

Honorable Mention
Bishop McGuinness- David Krahl, Collin Douglas, Blake Burgess

Cache-Byron Brewer, Allan Johnston, Landon Harper, Deon Butler

Elgin- Dayton Yarbrough, Delvin Thurman, Caleb Lagrone

Elk City- Justice Rheaume, Kade Coulter, Chance Cook, David Clinton, Cacy Connor

Woodward-Jacob Gilreath, Josh Crow

There were some tense moments in the second half of Heritage Hall’s victory against Little Axe.

And if it wasn’t for Sterling Shepard’s early heroics, we could have really been talking about some anxious times.

Before Shepard left with a hip injury, he scored two touchdowns and started it with an interception return for a score in the 27-7 win vs. the Indians.

The health of Shepard and running back Barry J. Sanders are questions 1a. and 1b. heading into Friday’s game with Bridge Creek (I’ll be there).

Other contenders

LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness: Not the end he was hoping for, but Richardson notched two more touchdowns in the 26-23 loss at Glenpool.

Cooper Cloud and Cale Courtney, Heritage: Hooked up on a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the deal against Little Axe.

Nick Callaway, McGuinness: Wasn’t always a pretty thing was the Irish passing game this year, but Callaway came up with key grabs, including a touchdown Friday.

Austin Brooks, OCS: Overmatched against Millwood but was able to stay with it and ran for a score and threw for another in the 59-28 loss to Falcons.

Victoria Vaughn, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cheerleading: I know her from tennis, but she became the first MSM cheerleader to make the all-state team.

Bishop McGuinness (7-3) at Glenpool (8-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Glenpool HS

McGuinness (W – Douglass; W – Kelley; L – Millwood; L – Clinton; W – Woodward; W – Elk City; L – Elgin; W – Piedmont; W – Cache; W – Guymon)
Why the Irish can win: Because they know what to expect with the Warriors. There won’t be anything fancy here. Welcome to the best game of the first round, and I think we’re all in for a treat. Irish are ready for the challenge.

Glenpool
Why the Warriors can win: The loss to Douglass showed they’re beatable, and it also showed they remain a force in 4A. Running back Alton Adkins is tremendous talent and this team isn’t afraid of the Irish mystique.

Key matchup: The lines. Let’s not kid ourselves. The teams will be lucky to throw for a combined 100 yards. This is going to be a power game to end all power games. It will be a miracle that nobody gets injured.

The pick: McGuinness 20, Glenpool 19. He’s done it all year, and he’ll do it one more time. McGuinness running back LaRone Richardson will come up with the big play to seal the deal late in the fourth quarter.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 8-2.

Bishop McGuinness senior Ashleigh Chiaf signs to play tennis for Missouri.

It’s like a tennis factory there at Bishop McGuinness. They take them from the assembly line, teach them and send them off to a Division I school.

OK, maybe that’s overstating it, but what the Irish girls program has done there is incredible. Twelve consecutive team championships and most of them haven’t even been close.

It will be weird to not see Mia Lancaster, Emily Conrad and Whitney Ritchie out there, but Ashleigh Chiaf still remains.

As a freshman, she never once corrected the spelling of her first name. I had it ‘Ashley’ the entire way. I don’t make that mistake anymore as many times as I’ve typed it.

She’s a three-time champ, gunning for No. 4 this spring.

That’s the kind of statement you wanted to make if you were McGuinness before the playoffs. The Irish were able to get the passing game going to go with that incredible rushing attack, and it led to a blowout win at Guymon.

Quarterback Camden Tharp hasn’t had the greatest season ever, but the last few weeks have been a step in the right direction. Against Guymon, he threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another.

If the Irish are balanced on offense, look out, could be a bad sign for the rest of the state. The running game added another 272 yards.

In the best first round matchup of the week, the Irish are at Glenpool on Friday night.

Other contenders

Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall: Nothing new to what he’s doing, but his consistency has been incredible. Added another four touchdowns in win vs. Kingfisher.

Josh Bivens, OCA: Oklahoma Christian Academy went out on top as Bivens notched three touchdowns in a 45-0 blowout against Sasakwa.

Colton Lindsey, CHA: Freshman quarterback is coming of age. Lindsey threw for four touchdowns and rushed for another in Crusaders victory over Crooked Oak.

Joseph Reis-Herron, Mt. St. Mary’s: Momentum for next year for Rockets? End year on two-game winning streak as Reis-Herron tallied five rushing touchdowns in cruising to win vs. Walters.

Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall: Not much said about passing game for Chargers, but Cloud notched three more touchdown passes and didn’t throw a pick.

Bishop McGuinness (6-3) at Guymon (2-7)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Guymon

McGuinness (W – Douglass; W – Bkelley; L – Millwood; L – Clinton; W – Woodward; W – Elk City; L – Elgin; W – Piedmont; W – Cache)
Why the Irish can win: Because they’re getting ready for the stretch drive. RB LaRone Richardson has been great, and the defense has been stellar in the last couple of weeks

Guymon
Why the Tigers can win: Because a trip to Guymon is always a challenge. But if the Irish recover from it, they should be OK.

The pick: McGuinness 45, Guymon 12. Hate to say it, but the intrigue will be in the Elk City-Elgin game for the Irish. Need some help from the Elks to secure second place in the district.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 7-2.

This was a good battle for the honor this week. In one corner, you had Sterling Shepard and Cooper Cloud leading a comeback win at Bethany.

In the other corner, you had Mt. St. Mary’s wide receiver Jake Peace, who caught the game-winning touchdown to give the Rockets their first victory of the season.

The winner? Peace…by that much. Coach Dal Nichols has raved about Peace all season. He said bluntly he feels if MSM was a better team, more colleges would be taking a look at Peace.

Peace caught the game-winning TD with 26 seconds left. Rockets added an INT return for a score and won 28-20 against Comanche.

Other contenders

Cooper Cloud and Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall, Football: Down at half, the duo connected for both touchdowns in a huge 14-7 road victory at Bethany.

LaRone Richardson, McGuinness, Football: Richardson notched another three touchdowns and turned a sluggish 7-3 halftime lead into a comfortable 27-3 victory against Cache.

Cassius Calhoun, Casady, Football: Look out for the Cyclones in 2011. All those juniors are going to be something special. Calhoun scored both touchdowns in the 35-14 loss to Holland Hall.

Christian Heritage returns: Crusaders had a pair of them. Kenny Wooldridge took an INT back for a touchdown. Bryant Hodge returned a punt for a score.

Irish cross country teams: Solid all season, the girls placed third and the boys finished fourth at the state meet at Mitch Park.

Marie Mason, Rhodes College (Casady), Field Hockey: Rhodes is 15-1 and has clinched the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. Mason was named the conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Cache (2-6) at Bishop McGuinness (5-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pribil Stadium

Cache
Why the Bulldogs can win: Gonna be an uphill battle. The problem for Barry Foster’s club has been the lack of offensive production. Cache is averaging less than 10 points per game, and you need to score to beat the Irish.

Bishop McGuinness (W – Douglass; W – Bkelley; L – Millwood; L – Clinton; W – Wooward; W – Elk City; L – Elgin; W – Piedmont)
Why the Irish can win: Because there isn’t anything this team hasn’t seen. For the most part, they’re healthy. Coach Kenny Young is back after his one-game suspension. Irish should enter playoffs with a lot of momentum.

Quote:

It was a big mental toll those first seven weeks. But our coaches kept us in it the whole way.” – running back LaRone Richardson

Key matchup: Irish passing game vs. Cache secondary. Again, one of those games where McGuinness should be able to work on some things. Getting the passing game rolling with Camden Tharp is crucial for November.

The pick: McGuinness 48, Cache 20. Irish get out to a big early lead before Cache scores some late touchdowns.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 6-2.

Bishop McGuinness running back LaRone Richardson said the mental preparation of the first seven weeks were incredibly tough. Playing teams from 2A-5A with all different types of styles.

Seriously, could you have two different teams than Bishop Kelley and Millwood? Or an aerial attack like Elk City? Or a punishing ground game like Clinton?

The Irish have seen it all at this point. Though they took their lumps, it’s making them stronger heading down this stretch run, Richardson said.

It showed last week against Piedmont. The focus was there and McGuinness cruised to a 42-0 win against the Wildcats. Kenny Young’s boys are hoping for the same kind of success Friday against Cache.

The biggest thing, IMO, has been the development of Camden Tharp at quarterback. He looks a lot more relaxed again, and it’s showing in his performances. He’s not being asked to carry the team, but he has to keep opposing teams honest of the passing game. Lately, he’s been doing that.

At 5-3, it doesn’t look like a good year. But like I said last week, just start watching the other four teams beat up on each other, and we’ll see (Elk City, Woodward, Elgin, Clinton).

Gonna keep this short because you can read much in Tuesday’s paper. I thought I had lost my chance to name LaRone Richardson the best player of the week.

Seriously, how do you top his five-score outing in a loss to Millwood? Um, well, he did. Richardson found the end zone six times in a dominating win against Piedmont.

Always one of my favorite kids to talk to, look for his story in Tuesday’s paper.

Other contenders

Garrison Lee, Casady: Found out the day before the game he would be playing defensive line, and he was one of the best players on the field in the loss to Bellaire Episcopal.

Chris Easterly, OCS: Playing running back just because the Saints have no one left. How’d he do? Five touchdowns in the OCS win against Northeast.

Josh Bivens, OCA: I was really pumped about this team until the Parker Randell injury. Bivens notched four touchdowns in the win against Macomb, the Eagles’ first of the year.

Ray Frazier, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cross Country: Frazier was impressive at the state meet, placing fourth overall as the Rockets earned seventh.

Maddy Hill, McGuinness, Cross Country: The Irish girls were dominant at the 5A regional, placing second, third, fourth and sixth in winning the event.

Note: No Heritage contenders because SeeWorth Academy forfeited the game last week.

Two games left. Where do the Irish, Chargers and Cyclones stand?

Heritage Hall (8-0, 4-0)
Games remaining: at Bethany, vs. Kingfisher
Prognosis: Not too shabby. A Chargers win against the Bronchos will clinch the district championship (I think). I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s right.

The biggest question is the healthy of Barry J. Sanders. He needs to get healthy here down the stretch run. Biggest plus for this team is they’re going be incredibly fresh.

Bishop McGuinness (5-3, 3-2)
Games remaining: vs. Cache, at Guymon
Prognosis: Pretty good. Can still earn a district title through some insane scenarios. Most likely looking at either a second or third-place finish.

Like I said last week the good thing for Irish fans is they went through the ringer early. Now they can watch the rest of the district beat itself up.

Casady (3-6)
Game remaining: vs. Holland Hall
Prognosis: N/A. Cyclones are playing for pride this week against one of their biggest rivals. It won’t mean much to this year’s three seniors, but next year’s Casady team is going to be very very good.

Bishop McGuinness (4-3) at Piedmont (1-6)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Piedmont HS

McGuinness (W- Douglass; W – BKelley; L – Millwood; L – Clinton; W – Woodward; W – Elk City; L – Elgin)
Why the Irish can win: Because like I said earlier this week, this should be a game where McGuinness can start to work out the kinks to get ready for the stretch run. It’s been a brutal stretch, but the Irish should get healthy in these final three games.

Piedmont
Why the Wildcats can win: Because running back Taylor Ashcraft is a dang good back that doesn’t get too much love. Piedmont is able to score points but has trouble stopping teams, too.

Key matchup: Irish running game vs. Piedmont defense. No need to get fancy. LaRone Richardson – put on your big boy pads and get ready to carry the load for McGuinness. Let the line do its thing and tally up the yards.

The pick: McGuinness 45, Piedmont 17. Irish get back in the win column with a good road outing and wait to see what happens with the rest of the district.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 5-2.

Now Bishop McGuinness can watch the rest of the district beat itself senseless. One week after another the Irish have had to be ‘up’ and ready for an intense battle.

I mean just look at the schedule: Douglass, Bishop Kelley, Millwood, Clinton, Woodward, Elk City and Elgin. Not a gimme on the board.

So maybe, just maybe, the 4-3 record and 2-2 in district is not that bad. Because now the Irish can watch Clinton, Elgin, Elk City and Woodward play each other.

If any team can survive this district undefeated, it’s Clinton, but I don’t know if it’s really possible. It’s just so hard to be up to the challenge every single week.

The Irish took a step backward in a loss to Elgin though running back LaRone Richardson continued his stellar season and eclipsed the 1000-yard mark.

McGuinness should be able to work on some things in the final three weeks and be ready to roll in the postseason. They’re battle tested, and now they’re ready to fix their issues and contend for the championship.

Well, you knew with Heritage Hall running back Barry J. Sanders sitting out with an ankle injury that somebody was going to have to join Sterling Shepard and step up.

And as much as I rave (and I do) about the junior class, the senior leadership is also readily apparent with this Chargers club. Heritage needed someone to pick up the slack and senior quarterback Cooper Cloud was more than willing to be the guy in a 42-12 win against John Marshall.

Of course, it helps to have an elusive target like Shepard to throw it to, but Cloud ended the night with four touchdown passes. Three of them went to Shepard while the other went to Cale Courtney.

That may have answered some critics about the lack of balance in the Heritage offense. The offensive line is vastly improved this season, which is making this magical year happen so far.

Other contenders

LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness, Football: It was a down week for the Irish in a loss at Elgin, but Richardson notched two more touchdowns.

Sterling Shepard, Heritage, Football: That’s nine touchdowns in two games. Also three INT returns for scores in the last two games. His stock continues to soar.

Irish volleyball: Gave it a great effort against a dominant Bishop Kelley team in the championship but ultimately lost in four games.

Dylan Murray, Mt. St. Mary’s, Football: Murray scored three touchdowns as the Rockets went down to Cordell.

Irish boys cross country: One of several state teams to make the trek to Arkansas. The Irish, led by Frank Frantz, placed 12th out of 54 teams in Fayetteville.

Bishop McGuinness (4-2) at Elgin (5-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Elgin

McGuinness (W- Douglass, W- TKelley, L- Millwood, L – Clinton, W- Woodward, W- Elk City)
Why the Irish can win: Because if there is one thing you can say about this team, it’s that it has certainly been tested. There hasn’t been a gimme on this schedule yet. Running back LaRone Richardson has been sensational this season and the defense has risen to the challenge in the last couple of weeks.

Elgin
Why the Owls can win: Because not sure if anyone is noticing, but Elgin’s only defeat was in double overtime at Tuttle. Quarterback Garrett Lorah has been outstanding and Elgin has earned a top-10 ranking.

Key matchup: Camden Tharp vs. Elgin defense. And this is both way for Tharp – running and passing. He’s finding that comfort zone again, but this environment might be the toughest one he’s seen this year.

The pick: Irish 20, Elgin 18. Think Kenny Young’s boys have it in them for one more big effort. Team is in dire need of a breather, but it won’t be in this one.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 5-1.

Two weeks ago I thought Bishop McGuinness was in severe trouble. I mean ‘not making the playoffs’ like trouble. After losing to Clinton, the Irish had games with Woodward, Elk City and Elgin in three consecutive weeks.

So what happened? It’s been something a little different every week. Jamaal Whitney sparked the team with a kickoff return for a touchdown against the Boomers.

Quarterback Camden Tharp isn’t putting up huge numbers, but the balance is starting to be there again for McGuinness. The balance that made last year’s team such a threat.

Tharp is a talented runner. And getting the passing game going is allowing Tharp to become that dangerous runner once again.

And this year (knock on wood), running back LaRone Richardson has been able to stay healthy. Tharp and Richardson is one scary one-two punch.

After surviving against Woodward, the Irish defense made a BIG statement in the 42-12 win against Elk City. One last battle remains at Elgin. This is a heckuva district. Clinton remains in the driver’s seat for now.

There were a lot of heroes in the Mt. St. Mary’s softball team winning its first state softball championship. Morgan McCalmon was phenomenal in the circle. She gave up two runs in three games.

Freshman Sable Hankins came up huge in the championship with a couple of hits and RBIs to lead the Rockets past Washington.

But this team has an unquestioned leader. And the great news for MSM fans is that catcher Bryana Wade will be back for one more season.

Wade was incredible, hitting a home run in the semifinals and the championship. Definitely in the running for Little All-City Player of the Year (no, I haven’t decided that yet).

Other contenders

Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall, Football: Had more than 330 total yards and scored five touchdowns in a dominating win against Newcastle.

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall, Football: In limited time, rushed for 162 yards and two long touchdown carries in the first half.

Irish offensive line: A statement was made in a rout of Elk City. LaRone Richardson had another big game with the line leading the way to 364 rushing yards.

Mac Katigan, Casady, Football: In a rather surprising loss (to me, anyway), Katigan ran for a score and threw for another against Dallas St. Marks.

Skyler Sikes, OCS, Football: Still operating without Jack Warren, Sikes came up huge with three touchdowns in the win against Perry.

Jake Peace, MSM, Football: Did they break the scoreboard in Lindsay? In a 71-40 loss, Peace scored four touchdowns for the Rockets.

Heritage Hall and CHA volleyball: Both had tremendous seasons. Chargers were ousted in the quarterfinals while CHA was downed by Cache in the championship.

Irish volleyball: Girls are one of the favorites to walk out with the 5A championship this weekend in Shawnee.

Irish cross country: Strong showing by both boys and girls in Edmond. Girls, led by Mary Kate Roy, placed third. Boys, led by Brett Scott, earned the 5A championship.

Elk City (5-0) vs. Bishop McGuinness (3-2)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pribil Stadium

Elk City
Why the Elks can win: Because McGuinness has faced a lot of in-your-face, physical teams with good running games. What is going to happen against an offense like Elk City’s? Quarterback Will Davis is one of the best that doesn’t get a lot of recognition. And this is the team that is 5-0.

McGuinness (W – Douglass, W – TKelley, L – Millwood, L – Clinton, W – Woodward)
Why the Irish can win: Because there are signs of life in the Irish offense besides running back LaRone Richardson. The key is to continue to find that balance in the run and pass (and special teams doesn’t hurt). Camden Tharp has to make some big plays.

Key matchup: Irish secondary vs. Davis. This game hinges on the Irish defense. Elk City is going to rack up some yards, but it’s important to not let it rack up the points. The ol’ bend but don’t break philosophy comes into play in this battle.

The pick: Irish 23, Elk City 20. Another tough one that I’ve been going back and forth on. Irish ride momentum from road win and Nick Callaway makes a big play late on defense to preserve victory.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 4-1.

If ever there was a must-win game, it was last week for McGuinness at Woodward. Seriously. Had the Irish lost that game, they would be 2-3 and o-2 in district.

Not only that, it would have been three consecutive losses heading into a showdown with one of 4A’s most potent offenses and a team with incredible confidence in Elk City at 5-0.

But the Irish were able to earn a tough 21-14 victory against the Boomers. Now a win against Elk City and dreams of a district championship once again become viable.

The Irish didn’t set the world on fire with their passing game, but it was enough for some balance. Eight completions for more than 130 yards isn’t great, but it sure beats some of the previous outings.

Camden Tharp was able to complete more than 50 percent of his passes and throw a touchdown pass to LaRone Richardson.

And the biggest thing was finally getting to see some of Jamaal Whitney’s talents on display. He’s a great player who hasn’t really gotten on track this year. However, he had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Will Davis is a heckuva quarterback for Elk City so the McGuinness defense is going to be pushed to its limit. But there shouldn’t be a sense of desperation but more a sense of confidence.

He’s set the bar so high for himself that’s it has become increasingly tough to be surprised at the skills of Heritage Hall junior Barry J. Sanders.

But what he did Friday night in a blowout of Tulsa NOAH had my jaw dropping again. Sanders rushed for 313 yards and five touchdowns as the Chargers continue to make a statement in Class 3A.

Sanders has routinely put two- or three-touchdown outings that I don’t bat an eye at those. However, this was the type of statement that sure silence some critics. And in the short term, it’s this performance that has earned him the Private Schools Player of the Week.

The Chargers have  another big test this week with Newcastle (I’ll be there).

Other contenders

Jamaal Whitney, McGuinness, Football: Whitney broke through for a big one with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in a 21-14 victory at Woodward.

Mac Katigan, Casady, Football: Gets better with every game. Katigan is proving to be a solid running option for the Cyclones, rushing for three touchdowns in the Dallas Greenhill thumping.

Cassius Calhoun, Casady, Football: The workhorse for the Cyclones was at it again with 160 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown.

Tom Frantz, Irish, Cross Country: Frantz placed eighth in leading McGuinness to a second-place finish at Holland Hall.

Mt. St. Mary’s softball: Back to the state tournament go the Rockets. Definitely a contender for the 3A championship.

McGuinness (2-2, 0-1) at Woodward (3-1, 1-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Woodward HS

McGuinness (W – Douglass 9-7, W – BKelley 14-7, L – Millwood 48-41, L – Clinton 29-14)
Why the Irish can win: Because running back LaRone Richardson has really been as good as he possibly can be through four games this season. Add that to a tough defense that didn’t play bad at all against the Red Tornadoes, and you always have a chance.

Woodward
Why the Boomers can win: Because perhaps I am overlooking this team. Their only loss is to Garden City, Kan., a much bigger school. They’re averaging more than 25 points per game and this might be some new blood being thrown into the 4A mix.

Key matchup: Woodward rushing game vs. Irish front seven. McGuinness has been gashed the last couple of weeks with big plays. The Irish are a wounded animal right now. Don’t want to say desperate or panic time yet, but this is a crucial district matchup for Kenny Young’s team.

The pick: McGuinness 16, Woodward 14. Whoo boy, think this is going to be one of the more physical games you’re going to find this week. Richardson better be ready to be a workhorse and take some hits in this one.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 3-1.

I’ll be keeping this one brief because you can read a whole lot more about this in Tuesday’s paper. But I thought it was a misprint to see Oklahoma Christian win and not see the name Jack Warren.

He’s the straw that stirs the drink for the Saints. But he wasn’t there last week, out with a concussion. So in came a sophomore who has never played quarterback. And all Austin Brooks did was a throw a couple of touchdowns and run for another in a shutout win against Chisholm.

For making the most out of a difficult situation and showing OCS fans the future is bright, Brooks is the Private Schools Player of the Week.

Other contenders

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall, Football: Sanders added another four touchdowns, all in the first half, as the Chargers routed Centennial.

Cooper Cloud, Heritage, Football: He didn’t throw many passes, but the ones he did he sure made count. Cloud threw three touchdowns in the win.

LaRone Richardson, McGuinness, Football: Rushed for a touchdown and more than 100 yards in a 29-14 loss for the Irish to Clinton.

Garrison Lee, Casady, Football: With Cassius Calhoun taking over at RB, it’s allowed Lee to dominate on defense. He had 15 tackles in the Cyclones 10-7 win against Irving Cistercian.

Aimee Rischard, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cross Country: The freshman’s great year continued Saturday at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree, placing eighth in the 3A-A girls competition.

Gabby Marion, Casady, Cross Country: Marion was the highest finisher for the Cyclones who placed 15th in Stillwater.

The Bishop McGuinness boys cross country team: What more can be said about this group? They’ve been great all year and dominated at the Jamboree. How good were they? Larry Ressler (4th), Frank Frantz (5th) and Tom Frantz (6th) were all in the top 10. The girls, paced by Mary Kate Roy, took fifth.

So who is the real Bishop McGuinness team? The one that played a memorable shootout against a great Millwood team? Or a team that looked lifeless from the second quarter on and got overpowered by Clinton?

I don’t know. But through four weeks of the season, I didn’t think I would have as many questions about the Irish as I do right now.

Clinton 29, Bishop McGuinness 14

The first quarter had me thinking we were going to have a fun one. Both teams had 13-play drives that ended in touchdowns and took nearly the entire first quarter.

It was fun watching great backs like Saul Pina and Jalee Rainge of Clinton and LaRone Richardson of the Irish for four quarters.

But this game was turned around by the play of a ‘big ugly’ James Twins. Listed at 6-4 and 285 pounds, Twins dominated the line of scrimmage from the second quarter until the end of the game. Got in the backfield and stopped Richardson. Batted down passes from Camden Tharp.

Clinton had two big plays that stole all momentum from the Irish. Pina had an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. Then Rainge iced the game with a 90-yard run down the sideline in the fourth quarter.

Rainge also had a pretty big interception in the first half that turned a 13-7 game into a 19-7 game and had McGuinness playing catch up the rest of the way.

Good, strong win by the Red Tornadoes in a tough place to pick up a win.

Boneman’s Breakdown

- Irish coach Kenny Young said he isn’t worried about it, but the lack of a passing game is worrisome. McGuinness has been unable to get a consistent aerial attack. In this game, McGuinness completed five passes for only 29 yards. Not enough balance.

- Loved what I saw from Rainge. I was expecting Pina to be the one I was saying ‘wow’ about. But man, Rainge is something else.

- The play of Lane Kinney cannot be applauded enough. In his first start, he completed three passes for 90 yards and also gashed the Irish on a few QB runs.

- Tharp also had some big runs himself. But the offense is going to have to find more ways to put points on the scoreboard if this team is going to have success late in the season.

Up next: McGuinness (2-2, 0-1) has a tough date at Woodward (3-1, 1-0). Boomers are a solid team with its only defeat at the hands of a much bigger Garden City, Kan., club. Clinton (3-1, 1-0) hosts Piedmont.

Clinton (2-1) at Bishop McGuinness (2-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pribil Stadium (I will be there)

Clinton
Why the Red Tornadoes can win: Because they survived against Plainview. That was big to not be coming to the Irish with back-to-back losses. And they showed a lot of heart in coming back against a good Indians team and should have a lot of confdience.

Bishop McGuinness (W – Douglass 9-7, W – BKelley 14-7, L – Millwood 48-41)
Why the Irish can win: Because the loss to Millwood may have hurt their pride, but it shouldn’t have a long-term impact on this team. Offense busted out of its shell after not scoring more than 14 points in either of the first two games with LaRone Richardson notching five touchdowns.

Key matchup: Irish passing game vs. Clinton defense. I’m going to beat this sucker into the ground because I feel it so much to be true. Camden Tharp can throw well (saw it last year), time to get these receivers involved and also let Richardson run wild out of the backfield. The balance makes this team a championship contender, I’m sure of it.

The pick: Irish 26, Clinton 22. Actually expect both teams to find some holes and make some big plays, be it Saul Pina or Jamaal Whitney or someone like that. But in the end, it’s a big defensive stand that gives the Irish a leg up in the quest for a district championship.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 3-0.

Don’t do this too often, but he certainly deserved it. It’s rare that a losing team gets the Player of the Week honor, but I’m not going to deny what Bishop McGuinness RB LaRone Richardson did against Millwood.

Last year it was six touchdowns. This time it was ‘only’ five. Richardson must wish he faced the Falcons every week as he just seems to be able to handle that team.

In a 48-41 loss, Richardson ran for three touchdowns, threw for another and caught another. Trailing 20-0 at one point, the Irish stormed back to make it one of the best games of the week.

Richardson has been healthy this season so far and that’s one big reason why the Irish are contenders for the 4A gold ball. Up next is a Friday district opener against Clinton (I will be there).

Other contenders

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall, Football: Added three more touchdowns to his total as the Chargers earned a tough 21-12 win at Davis.

CHA offensive line: Crusaders rushed for 342 yards, averaging nearly 10 yards a pop, in big 42-25 win against rival Oklahoma Christian.

Meredith Zerby, Heritage, Cross Country: Zerby was the leading runner for the Chargers, placing 12th at the Kingfisher meet.

Jack Bickford, Casady, Cross Country: Bickford finished 10th in the small schools run at the Edmond Dog Pack meet on Friday.

A couple of teams couldn’t be happier that district play has arrived. A couple showed they’re the real deal during non-district action. Here’s your guide to the OKC-area private schools.

Heritage Hall (3-0)
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year the Chargers were 0-3. So far they’ve passed every single test that’s been put in front of them.

Beat a rival, won a physical battle and won on the road in a tough environment. RB Barry J. Sanders has been every bit as good as advertised. But he’s had some help.

Sterling Shepard and Cooper Cloud have shown how a two-QB system can work. Quintaz Struble and Markus Wakefield are even bigger than I remember. There are so many weapons on this team and are easily one of the best teams in 3A.

Week 4: at Centennial on Thursday.

Bishop McGuinness (2-1)
The Irish have played three of the most fun, stressful non-district games in the state. A two-point win vs. Douglass. A thrilling win with :17 left vs. Bishop Kelley. And coming up short in a game where 89 points were scored in a 48-41 loss to Millwood.

RB LaRone Richardson has been dynamite the last two games. Brandon Nguyen has really stepped up on defense. Joe Lewis is another name you’re going to hear a lot about.

McGuinness will have to get the passing game going and QB Camden Tharp shouldn’t have an issue with a target like Jamaal Whitney.

Week 4: vs. Clinton on Friday (I will be there).

Casady (1-3)
Yea, no district stuff here. However, the Cyclones are in the middle of their Southwest Prep Conference battles. Gotta think this team is one year away.

Graham Bennett – junior. Mac Katigan – junior. Garrison Lee – junior. Cassius Calhoun – junior. You get the picture when it comes to this team.

It might be a rough six weeks for Casady but have a feeling it won’t be that bad…it will just feel that way.

Week 5: vs. Dallas Cistercian on Friday.

Other private schools
OCS and Mt. St. Mary’s couldn’t be happier for district play to begin. Both shouldn’t be 0-3 but both are and have received a new beginning…OCA has had it rough without Parker Randell. Eagles have been competitive, but it hasn’t been enough so far…CHA will find out a lot about itself Friday against Jones. Crusaders are off to a nice 2-1 start.

Bishop McGuinness (2-0) at Millwood (2-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: L.W. Good Stadium (Scott Wright will be there)

McGuinness (W – Douglass 9-7, W – Kelley 14-7)
Why the Irish can win: Because though the Falcons are mentally tough and incredibly fast, McGuinness should be physically tougher after battles with the Trojans and Comets. The Irish could wear the smaller Millwood club down with the balance of Camden Tharp and LaRone Richardson.

Millwood
Why the Falcons could win: There aren’t a lot of defenses that can slow down all the offensive weapons Millwood throws at you, and we’ve yet to see how McGuinness will handle a heavy passing attack. The Falcons will need to keep the run game going and they’ll need to get their kicking game worked out before it comes back to bite them. It nearly got them last week, when they scored six TDs and failed to convert an extra point or two-point conversion.

Scott’s key matchup: Irish RB LaRone Richardson vs. Millwood run-stoppers. Ball control could really swing this game. If Richardson and the Irish are able to run the ball, not only will it keep the ball away from Millwood, it will keep some of the Falcons’ offensive playmakers busy in defensive run support. McGuinness has the depth to wear down the Falcons, with most of their top players going both ways.

Boneman’s key matchup: Tharp vs. Millwood secondary. It’s incredibly tough to find a weakness in the Millwood secondary with Josh Turner and Micheal Cole. However, Tharp has to start keeping teams honest in the run-pass game. And we know from last year Tharp is not a bad QB. Maybe the offensive playbook will be more open this week.

Scott’s pick: Millwood 21, McGuinness 17. Ultimately, the Falcons have too much talent, and they know how to get them all involved.

Boneman’s pick: Millwood 30, Irish 26. I’m getting more and more hesitant with this pick. However, this is what ran in the paper, so I’ll go with it. Starting to think the Falcons are going to be too beat up.

Boneman’s Irish prediction record: 2-0.

One place to go Friday night, where would you head? A lot of people will be joining Scott Wright at L.W. Good Stadium for Millwood and Bishop McGuinness.

Scott Wright: It’s obvious the McGuinness defense is pretty stout, but they haven’t faced a team that throws the ball like the Falcons. How do you see the Irish secondary standing up to the test?

Robert Przybylo: Ding ding ding. That is the No. 1 question I have coming into this game. Brandon Swindall was so impressive last week. I don’t know if any teams have a secondary that can shut that down. The key will be for Nick Callaway, Brandon Nguyen, Dakota Leftwich and company to pressure QB Kevonte Richardson. Irish haven’t seen this type of passing attack in the first two weeks. Don’t give Richardson the time to find Swindall and Josh Turner.

Wright: How has quarterback Camden Tharp progressed since becoming the starter two weeks ago?

Przybylo: Tharp is not a question mark for this team. He was more than serviceable as a sophomore in this spot. If you remember, the Millwood game last year was Tharp’s first start. Tharp knows this offense. He is an effective runner, and he has the support of his teammates.

Wright: How important will it be for the Irish to get a strong performance from LaRone Richardson this week, in hopes that the run game could help keep Millwood’s offense off the field?

Przybylo: I don’t know if Millwood will allow Richardson to go off. He had six touchdowns in this game last year, and you don’t forget that. This has to be the game that Jamaal Whitney plays a big role for the Irish. The balance has to start to be there with the running and passing.