All-State volleyball announced
The Oklahoma Coaches Association released its All-State volleyball roster on Thursday. The All-State game will be played Tuesday, July 24 at a venue to be determined. The small school game will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the large school game at 7:30 p.m. The coaches will be announced at a later date.
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
Edmond Open brackets…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
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
District 4A-1 awards…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
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
Class 4A state volleyball tournament, Day 1
9:25 p.m.: Last update of the night… Christian Heritage wins 3-1 over Cascia Hall, advancing to the semifinals against Lincoln Christian at 1:45 p.m. Should be a wild Saturday in Chickasha.
7:06: Boneman here. Arrived at Heritage Hall for football between Chargers and Newcastle to learn that the Heritage Hall volleyball team lost to Lincoln Christian in five games. Is it the start of a long night for Charger athletics?
5:51 p.m.: LC takes the third game to pull within 2-1. Fourth game coming up.
5:38 p.m.: Chargers up 2-0, but the third game is much tighter so far. HH leading 15-12.
5:15 p.m.: Heritage Hall is out to a commanding lead against Lincoln Christian. After winning the first game 25-12, the Chargers are on top 16-8 in the second.
4:16 p.m.: After falling behind 5-1 to start the fifth game, Cache rallies for the win. The Bulldogs will face OBA Saturday at noon in the semifinals… The Heritage Hall-Lincoln Christian match, originally scheduled for 3 p.m., will start at about 4:40 p.m.
4 p.m.: Another wild one as Victory Christian rallies to force a fifth game with Cache, which has led in all four games, including an eight-point lead in the second. The Bulldogs have had opportunities to close this one out, but Victory — winners of 27 straight matches coming in — won’t go away.
3 p.m.: Fun with numbers – During the between-games break I took a minute to do some math… Corn Bible Academy has an ADM of 58.0 in the 9th-12th grades, which means more than 25 percent of the high school’s enrollment is on the volleyball team (15 players). To have an equal ratio, Broken Arrow would need 1,192 players to come out for volleyball. That would require 2,384 knee pads.
2:44 p.m.: When I made the reference to Alyssa Wilson and Clinton from last season in my opening post, I did it without having seen Cache play. But the Bulldogs’ Madison Ward fits the mold. Big jumper, hard hitter, and she’s about 6-foot-2. Only a junior, but she’s getting recruited by several major programs around the country. Cache has a 1-0 lead on Victory Christian with the second game about to start.
1:59 p.m.: OBA pulls it out with a 15-7 win in the fifth game. Thriller all the way.
1:45 p.m.: We’re heading to a fifth game in our opening match between Corn Bible and Oklahoma Bible. It’s been tight all the way. The closest game was OBA’s 25-18 win in the second, after trailing 7-2 early.
Noon: We’re under way at the Class 4A state volleyball tournament, wtih Oklahoma Bible and Corn Bible on the court in the first game of the opening match at Chickasha High School.
This is my first visit to the Fightin’ Chicks’ gym since it was built, and it’s a great place for this event. Big enough to accomodate the crowd, but not too big that it feels empty. I’m betting Saturday’s semifinal and final matches will have this place shaking. It’s loud in here now and there isn’t the kind of crowd you’ll have on a Saturday.
And there’s no doubt this tournament is going to get rowdy. It’s an extremely balanced field, and I don’t know that there’s a team playing that would be a surprise if they’re holding the gold ball on Saturday evening.
Of the coaches I spoke with, Heritage Hall, OBA and Christian Heritage are battle-tested. Cascia Hall has been playing its best volleyball the last few weeks. Victory Christian has won 27 straight matches.
Cache and Lincoln Christian have some big hitters — and that plays a huge factor in this tournament… just ask Alyssa Wilson and Clinton last year. Corn Bible is the smallest volleyball-playing school in the state, but they can hang with anyone. And they’ve got a big crowd. For a school with an ADM of 58.00, half the high school must be in attendance here today.
I’ll update the happenings throughout the day. Here’s Friday’s first-round schedule
Game 1: Oklahoma Bible 3, Corn Bible 2 (22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 15-7)
Game 2: Cache 3, Victory Christian 2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9)
3 p.m.: Heritage Hall vs. Lincoln Christian
4:30 p.m.: Cascia Hall vs. Christian Heritage
Saturday’s schedule
Noon: Oklahoma Bible vs. Cache
1:45 p.m.: HH/LC winner vs. Cascia/Christian Heritage winner
3:45 p.m.: Semifinal winners
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Game preview: Cache at John Marshall
Cache (1-0) at John Marshall (1-0)
When: 7:30 tonight
Where: Taft Stadium
Why Cache could win: They might have pulled off the biggest surprises last week with their 15-14 win over Tuttle that wasn’t settled until Tuttle missed a field goal in the closing moments. QB Tanner Thompson is a playmaker who ignited the rally from 14-0 down against Tuttle with a 73-yard TD run.
Why John Marshall could win: The Bear defense was strong last week, and should give them a chance to be in just about every game. And there’s some talent on offense. I’d look for Kody Shields to break free for some good yardage tonight. Denzelle Johnson is a big guy who will impact both sides of the ball as well.
Key matchup: Cache defense vs. John Marshall QB Davion Smith. Smith is a freshman, and will play like one at times. He can’t make too many mistakes against a good team, or it will be costly. But he has a lot of ability, and if he plays clean, the Bears can put up enough points to win.
The pick: Cache 10, John Marshall 7. It’s hard to know just how good Cache is after pulling the shocker last week, but it certainly makes you take notice. That said, I’m always concerned about the team making the long bus ride to or from Lawton. It can be an equalizer.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Bigger-than-expected game for John Marshall
John Marshall coach Bruce Troxell knows his next coaching counterpart pretty well. It almost seems the two have been on the same life path in some respects.
Troxell played college baseball against Cache coach Barry Foster. They have children the same age. They’re both in their 27th year of high school football coaching. When Troxell was coaching at Apache, Foster was an assistant at Rush Springs, and the two teams squared off regularly.
So they know each other a little bit, and with that, Troxell already knew Week 2 was going to be a tough one for his Bears. But the rest of the state learned a little bit about Cache with last week’s upset of No. 2 Tuttle.
Last week, there were some positives, especially on defense for the Bears.
A safety and a kickoff return touchdown were the only points John Marshall allowed in Friday’s 27-9 win over Northwest Classen, highlighting the expectation that defense will be the Bears’ backbone this season.
“Our defense pitched a shutout,” Troxell said. “Coming in, we felt the defense would be our strong suit. This was a good start.”
Freshman quarterback Davion Smith — one of three freshmen in the Bears’ starting lineup — rushed for a touchdown and threw for another in his first high school game. Led by Kody Shields, the Bears rushed for 289 yards behind an offensive line that lost starting center Tyler Stamm for a couple weeks when he injured his knee Thursday.
“We moved some kids around, and at times, we ran the ball well,” Troxell said. “Davion did some good things at quarterback. His athletic ability got him out of some trouble. He could make some better decisions, but when you’re 14 years old, those things happen.”
From what I saw in practice and a scrimmage, Smith a confident player for a freshman, and I think that was part of what won him the job in a tough battle with junior Dion Vickers. Smith has some maturing to do, but there’s no better way to learn than on the field.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Defending 5A champion wins Irish Easter Classic
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Altus’ Megan Blonein had been in the situation before.
Edmond North’s Carly Yates had not.
Blonein, who won the 5A state title last year as a freshman, parred the first hole of a playoff to beat Yates and win the Fifth Annual Irish Easter Invitational at Quail Creek on Monday.
For Blonein, it was her third playoff. Yates had not been in a playoff in high school.
Blonein’s drive on the playoff hole went left on the par 4 No. 1. But she safely punched her second shot out of the trees to just in front of the green and finished off the tournment win after Yates’ second shot sailed over the green, then wound up a bunker with her third shot.
Yates posted her round of 78 about three hours before the playoff, while Blonein finished not long before the playoff.
Blonein got off to a rough start, shooting a 42 on the back nine where she started. But she quickly bounced back on the front side, with back-to-back birdies on holes three and four to get back in the tournament.
“I’m a late starter,” Blonein said. “It takes me awhile to get started.”
The tournament featured many of the state’s top golfers, playing on a longer course than most the girls play on during the season.
Mustang won the team title, 13 strokes ahead of second-place Altus.
Here are the top 10 individuals:
Irish girls golf hosts tourney Monday
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
McGuinness’ girls golf team will host the Irish Easter Invitational on Monday at Quail Creek.
The tournament will feature most of the area’s top high school golfers, including the defending Class 3A champion, Kingfisher’s Bethany Darrough.
The Irish, playing in their fourth event of the season, feature Caitlin Farris and Hannah Tubbs at the top of their lineup.
Farris, a freshman, has finished third in two of McGuinness’ three tournaments so far, including the tournament in Granbury. Texas.
Tubbs, a senior, has finished in the top five at state each of the past two years.
Monday’s tournament also features plenty of 6A talent as well, including Mustang, last year’s 6A runner-up, all three Edmond schools and Westmoore.
Signing List 2010
It’s still a work in progress. Know a signing we missed? E-mail me at raber@opubco.com and we’ll get it added. We’ll run the signing list several times over the next few weeks:
Semifinal sites set
Here’s the semifinal times/dates:
Class 6A
Jenks vs. Southmoore, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Putnam City Stadium
Tulsa Union vs. Broken Arrow, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, University of Tulsa
Class 5A
El Reno vs. Carl Albert, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Putnam City Stadium
Bixby vs. Guthrie, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Stillwater High School
Class 4A
Weatherford vs. Douglass, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Yukon
Star Spencer vs. Sallisaw, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sapulpa
Class 3A
Seq. Claremore vs. Cascia Hall, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Collinsville
Berryhill vs. Dewey, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Skiatook
Class B
Garber vs. Laverne, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Woodward
Ryan vs. Canton, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Norman
Class C
DC-Lamont vs. Timberlake, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Enid
Seiling vs. Forgan, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Woodward
