Midwest City-Del City games moved to Saturday
T.J. Noel, left, and Midwest City will play rival Del City on Saturday afternoon. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
The top-10 boys and girls basketball games between Del City and Midwest City will be played Saturday afternoon instead of Tuesday, as they were originally scheduled.
The girls will play at 1 p.m., and the boys will follow at Del City High School.
The last time these schools met in mid-January, the games were also moved to Saturday afternoon.
Del City girls coach Karri Sears said the rescheduling was made by district administrators and that it is a “safety issue.”
The rescheduling will mean a quick turnaround for both schools, which each have games Friday night.
Del City’s boys and girls host Moore on Friday, and Midwest City travels to Westmoore.
Despite the inconvenience of playing back-to-back games, coaches agree that it is good preparation for the playoffs.
“It’s one of those things where Del City is in the same situation,” said Midwest City girls coach Art Bode.
“And when it comes to the state tournament, you need to be ready for a quick turnaround.”
Sears said: “It’s gonna be tough on our kids, but it’ll prepare us for the playoffs.”
Midwest City’s girls (21-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, and have beaten Del City (14-7), No. 6 in 5A, both times they’ve played this season.
On the boys’ side, Del City (16-5) is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, and Midwest City (16-5) is No. 6 in 6A. The Bombers won the season’s first meeting at the Del City/Midwest City Holiday Invitational, and Del City won in the regular season at Midwest City.
When the Eagles won on Jan. 14, it was the first time they’d beaten Midwest City in more than a decade.
McDonald’s All-American nominees announced
The nominees for the 2012 McDonald’s All-American game were announced Wednesday.
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
Geary wrestling championship match results
Still trying to track down full results from the Geary Wrestling Tournament but here are the championship-match results.
106: Markus Simmons (Broken Arrow) defeated Blake Dauphin (Tuttle)
113: Gunnar Woodburn (Claremore) defeated Ladigo Williams (Rio Rancho, New Mexico)
120: Jake Goodwin (Bishop Lynch, Texas) defeated Gunner Laffoon (Tuttle)
126: Kyle Garcia (Choctaw) defeated Colby Powers (Lawton Mac)
132: Brian Crutchmer (Tulsa Union) defeated Clay Archer (Broken Arrow)
138: Chase Ferman (Broken Arrow) defeated Dakota Head (Tuttle)
145: Tanner Bailey (Broken Arrow) defeated Daniel Carrillo (Rio Rancho, NM)
152: Keilan Torres (Altus) defeated Kyle Ash (Tulsa Union)
160: Ricky McCarty (Lawton Mac) defeated Donaven Roberts (Randall, Texas)
170: Zachary Beard (Tuttle) defeated Drake Martel (Altus)
182: Kyle Crutchmer (Tulsa Union) defeated Joel Dixon (Edmond North)
195: Andrew Dixon (Edmond North) defeated Seth Calvert (Broken Arrow)
220: John Finn (Westmoore) defeated Josh McNaughton (Del City)
285: Kyle Factor (Westmoore) defeated Jose Chavez Del Real (Mustang)
Boys hoops: Del City takes down Edmond Memorial, and other thoughts
Del City's Jamal Moseley blocks the shot of Edmond Memorial's Jordan Thomas Tuesday night. Del City won the battle of No. 1s, 67-62.
Basketball season has started in a big way around the metro area and I got the chance to take in a No. 1 vs. No. 1 showdown at Del City, with Class 5A’s top team hosting 6A’s best, Edmond Memorial.
Here’s my roundup of some of Tuesday night’s top action, which will appear in Wednesday’s paper — along with some added analysis:
Del City takes down Edmond Memorial
The score hung on every wall of the Del City boys basketball locker room nearly all of last season — 69-29.
That’s how bad Edmond Memorial beat the Eagles on Dec. 14 of last year, and the score was posted as a reminder of how much better Del City needed to get.
Now, it can be viewed as a reference of how far the Eagles have come. Ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, Del City defeated Class 6A No. 1 Edmond Memorial 67-62 Tuesday night at John Smith Fieldhouse.
“We’ve matured,” senior guard A.J. Holland said. “We’re ready to play. We’re ready to go get a ring.”
Holland and Steffon Herd had 15 points apiece to lead the Eagles (6-0) to an important early season victory. Keith Glover scored 12 and Brett Cannon added 10 for Del City.
“Confidence-wise this is huge,” coach Tim Stogsdill said. “The kids believed they could do it, but until they saw that score — they see that the sky’s the limit as long as we come back from this, and stay focused and keep working.”
Memorial’s Jordan Woodard led all scorers with 21 points and James Woodard added 18 for the Bulldogs (6-1), who were coming off a championship at the Edmond Open on Saturday.
Scott’s thoughts: These two teams are No. 1 in their classes for a reason, and they’re going to be around until the end. Guard play is HUUUUGE in March, and they both have plenty. Very few times during the season will either of these teams face an opponent that has guards who are as good as theirs, but both faced that situation Tuesday night.
Del City won Tuesday’s battle, and if you like good guard play, I suggest taking in the rematch at Edmond Memorial Feb. 3.
With two-time defending 5A champion Tulsa Washington now in 6A, Del City is looking like the early favorite for the gold ball. They’re playing with a different level of confidence than they had last year — they expect to win games the way they did Tuesday night. That will pay off down the line.
Edmond Memorial was probably dealing with something of a hangover from a hard-fought championship at the Edmond Open over the weekend, and I don’t think this loss is a sign the Bulldogs are going to underachieve this season. They’re as good as advertised. But on this night, Del City was better.
Santa Fe holds off winless Choctaw
Edmond Santa Fe’s coach Shawn Schenk wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort Tuesday, but he’ll take the win.
The No. 3 Wolves beat winless Choctaw 55-42, but it took a big fourth-quarter effort to move past the pesky Yellowjackets, who led at halftime and only trailed by three after the third quarter.
“It was a good win,” Schenk said. “But not a great effort on our part.
“I hope we learn from this, because we aren’t good enough to play half way.”
Choctaw, meanwhile, still seeks its first win. Senior forward Carson Clay rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter. It was a big loss for Choctaw, which was trying to hold off the Wolves’ tough interior attack.
Santa Fe junior forward Shaquille Morris finished with 13 points.
Coach Doug Armstrong said that wasn’t why his team lost.
“We were playing well, but we just couldn’t come up with some loose balls late in the game,” Armstrong said. “We’re still young and inexperienced, but that isn’t an excuse anymore.”
Scott’s thoughts: Thanks to Jason Kersey for the coverage of this one. As Doug Armstrong said, the ‘Jackets are young, but they’ve got some talent. It might not click this year, but they will continue to improve.
As for Santa Fe, you get the feeling that ugly wins like this are going to be their specialty. They’ve had a few this year so far, and their team makeup lends to that. Good size all over the floor and a lot of good defenders. They will miss Josh Richardson’s pure scoring ability at all levels.
Shaq Morris is a blossoming star inside with solid post moves and good rebounding ability as a 6-foot-7 junior who is already drawing major college attention. And the Wolves have guards with a variety of skills. So they might not be blowing people out every night, but they’re always going to be in games, and they have the crunch-time experience to come out on top a lot.
PC North opens new gym with win
The newly remodeled gym at Putnam City North got quite a christening. Not only were Oklahoma football players Tony Jefferson, Kenny Stills and a few others on hand for the opener, the Panthers won, too.
PC North defeated Mustang 64-54 behind 15 points from Alex Clark on five 3-pointers. Joe Summers added 14 points and Rodney Teal had 10. Up next for the Panthers is a visit to No. 6 Putnam City West on Friday.
Scott’s thoughts: Can’t wait to see all the new gyms around the metro at PC North, Yukon and Westmoore. Based on Twitter talk, OU’s Cali Trio — actually I think they’re calling themselves the California Hot Boys now — enjoyed themselves in the Zoo with the PC North students. And they got to see Alex Clark heat it up. Coach Rick Harris says Clark is playing with a lot of confidence lately.
The coaches’ rankings have PC North at No. 15, and I think they’re better than that. Not sure if they can go win at PC West or not, but the Panthers are at worst a borderline top 10 team.
Mustang is replacing last year’s senior class that played a huge role in building that program under Alan Green, especially David Glidden, who was a four-year starter at point guard. The team has some talent, but not a lot of experience, so look for improvement from the Broncos as the season goes along.
Tip-ins
Behind 25 points from Stephen Clark, Douglass topped Centennial 73-59 in a battle of defending state champions… Guthrie got a put-back from Bailey Nichols — his only basket of the night — at the buzzer to defeat El Reno 43-41… Moore outscored Norman 23-9 in the fourth quarter for a 55-44 win… U.S. Grant’s Anthony Hartfield scored 27 points in a 63-38 win over the homeschool OKC Knights.
Scott’s thoughts: I spoke with a national recruiting analyst about Clark on Tuesday afternoon, and I’ll be sharing some of that conversation in a few days. But get ready for a lot of nights like this from Clark, now that he’s the only experienced scoring option on the floor. His speed, ball-handling and ridiculous range make him one of the top prospects in the country for 2013. Go check him out if you haven’t seen him yet.
That Guthrie win is just the base line of what to expect from many of the Suburban Conference games this year. There’s not a ton of separation in a lot of those teams, so there will be plenty of battles to come.
Big win for Moore, which is trying to build its program back up. I really think Norman will be a top-10 team at the end of the year, so this win could be a sign of good things for Moore.
Hartfield’s numbers aren’t a fluke. This kid is a legitimate Division I prospect, and an interesting story. He moved from Minnesota in the middle of last season, and he’s been putting up big numbers for the Generals ever since. He averaged nearly 25 a game last year, and he’s on the way to more of the same so far this season.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
6A-2 All-District team
Here’s the 6A-2 All-District team. Have another districts awards? E-mail them to raber@opubco.com.
District 6A-2 All-District
Awards
Coach of the Year: Lance Manning, Edmond Santa Fe
Player of the Year: Casey Curtis, Putnam City
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Trevor Thompson, Westmoore
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Jarion Tudman, Edmond North
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Factor, Westmoore
Linebacker of the Year: Brendon Pitzer, Edmond North
Co-Defensive Back of the Year: Conner Bays, Edmond Santa Fe
Co-Defensive Back of the Year: Archie Ocloolee, Westmoore
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Patrick Diaz, Lawton
Offensive Back of the Year: Jesse Mathews, Edmond North
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Brandon Dewitt, Lawton
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Cole Parsons, Edmond North
Co-Wide Receiver of the Year: Austin Bowling, Westmoore
Co-Wide Receiver of the Year: Tre Kelly, Edmond Santa Fe
Special Teams Player of the Year: Michael Ryan, Mustang
All-District team
Del City: Stephon Herd, WR; Josh McNaughton, DL; Jerel Jeten, DB; Larry Long, DB.
Edmond North: Jarion Tudman, RB; Jared Benway, RB; Cole Parsons, OL; Troy Davis, TE; Jesse Mathews, QB; Russell Sivard, DL; James Duncan, DL; Christian Contreass, DB; Regan Land, LB; Bryndan Pitzer, LB; Christian Peterson, DB.
Edmond Santa Fe: Tre Kelly, WR; Taylor Ashcraft, LB; Chris Carter, DL; Conner Bays, DB; Josh Crouch, DL; Zach Birts, DB; Michael Onuoha, DL; Brandon Roberts, OL; Chad Reitz, OL; Ryan Frazier, LB; Matt Freeman, K; Allston Hadley, OL.
Lawton: Brandon Bartlett, DeMarious Littles, Freddie Taito, Vincent Thomas, Corey Pilgrum, Adam Castro, Jacquan Beck, Dometreas Pyfer, Jordan Gouge.
Mustang: Arron Smith, OL; Derek Garvin, WR; A.J. Ashman, RB; Michael Ryan, K.
Putnam City: Casey Curtis, RB; Rontez Smith, TE; Anthony Hogg, DB; Damion Brown, DL; Elie Rushing, LB; Derrick Rovers, DL; Conner Nichols, TE; Jeff Tanner, DL.
U.S. Grant: Christian Nicholson, DE; Jacob Tavares, OL; Cory Hooks, RB; Derrick Young, DB.
Westmoore: Kyle Factor, DL; Trevor Thompson, QB; Austin Bowling, WR; Archie Ocloolee,. DB; Dalton Craig, WR; Preston Higgins, DL; Blake Martin, DB; Corey Lassiter, OL.
Fall signing day coming Wednesday
This might be the opening week of high school football playoffs, but it also includes signing day Wednesday for sports other than football. Know of an athlete signing? E-mail me at raber@opubco.com or leave it as a comment here. Please include as much information as possible.
Scott’s Weekend Rewind: Putnam City, Clinton show strength; Del City, Piedmont show promise
Putnam City's Casey Curtis has rushed for 1,016 yards and 21 touchdowns during the Pirates' 5-0 start this season.
I had the chance to cover a couple of interesting games over the weekend — one that felt like a blowout, but turned out to be a decent game, and one that looked like a blowout but felt much closer.
The Del City offense kept the Eagles in the game against Putnam City, which went on to win 56-34, while Piedmont’s defense kept the Wildcats close until Clinton got the snowball rolling in the fourth quarter and put the game away, 41-10.
What We Learned: Putnam City-Del City
Well, if you didn’t already know Casey Curtis was really good, you’re behind the game. How many high school running backs would like to have this stat line right now: 616 yards and 12 touchdowns. That’s Curtis’ total for TWO of his five games this year. In all, he has 1,016 yards and 21 scores on just 105 carries.
But like I said, you should’ve already known Curtis could play. So here’s what I learned watching the Pirates on Thursday.
The offensive line isn’t big, but they do their jobs well. Teams are going to be loading the box against them all year, and the opponents just keep getting tougher. But the goal for the blockers is to keep their guy occupied long enough for Curtis to find a gap, then go look for somebody else. They don’t have to be overpowering, just technically sound.
Quarterback Devin White isn’t being asked to throw for 300 yards a night, and he runs the team well. He can run the ball, and throw when he needs to, which is the big key for taking a little pressure off Curtis, especially with the tougher schedule ahead.
Del City is more talented than its 0-5 record suggests, but some inconsistencies on both sides of the ball seemed to hinder them. They’d stop Curtis on four or five straight runs, then he’d break free untouched for 79 yards. The passing game would get going for a while, then a few throws would fall incomplete and take the momentum away.
But that type of stuff is typical of a young team, which Del City is. As they develop past those issues, the Eagles could be pretty good.
Piedmont's Cassius Calhoun gives the Wildcat offense a big-play threat in the backfield.
What We Learned: Clinton-Piedmont
Clinton is a complete team. Good balance on offense, with a rushing and passing attack that can hit big plays. The run game has both quickness and power. The defense has talent at all levels, with some good size up front and speed in the back.
How good can they be? Hard to say right now. I think Ryan Aber’s ranking of No. 4 in Class 4A is just about right, though they aren’t far off from what Douglass and Wagoner have shown.
Piedmont is one of the best teams around with only two wins right now. Christian Foster might be one of the best receivers you haven’t heard of, and keep an eye on Darius Burris.
Foster is only a junior, and made several big catches on Friday, including the Wildcats’ only TD. Burris is just a sophomore, and he’s probably a little undersized as a defensive lineman, but the kid just makes plays. He was all over the place making tackles on Friday. Very impressive.
When you add that talent to a solid offensive line, good running back with Division I potential in Cassius Clay, and a great leader at QB in Collin Bricker, you’ve got the makings of a playoff team. The district is tough, but this is a team that could make some noise. They’ll only keep getting better in coach Craig Church’s new system.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Del City’s Toni Smith commits to Fresno State
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Del City’s 6-foot Toni Smith committed to Fresno State recently after taking an official visit to the school.
“She had a tremendous summer,” Del City coach Karri Sears said. “She played a lot more 3-4 and handled the ball a little bit more. She’s excited about her commitment. It’s a great thing for her and a great thing for Del City.”
Smith, who averaged 11 points and nearly nine rebounds per game last year, is expected to sign in November.
The Eagles drop to 5A this year after making the 6A state tournament a year ago. Smith, who will be a senior, was part of Del City’s state title team as a freshman.
“She wants to bookend her career with titles,” Sears said.
Smith had been drawing interest from Arkansas-Little Rock, Henderson State and Texas A&M-Commerce before her breakout summer.
She’d also talked to Wichita State. Her brother, former Southeast standout Ben Smith, plays for the Shockers.
Mid-State Conference awards for boys basketball
Mid-State Conference Boys Basketball Honors:
Player of the Year: Obi Emegano (Edmond Memorial)
Defensive Player of the Year: Trez Colbert (Midwest City)
Offensive Player of the Year: Tilford Thornton (Southmoore)
Newcomer of the Year: Jordan Woodard (Edmond Memorial)
Coach of the Year: Shane Cowherd (Edmond Memorial)
1st Team
Obi Emegano (Edmond Memorial)
Tilford Thornton (Southmoore)
Brandon Lucas (Southmoore)
Trez Colbert (Midwest City)
Trael Colbert (Midwest City)
Patrick Schaefer (Norman North)
2nd Team
James Woodard (Edmond Memorial)
Dorian Gigger (Moore)
A.J. Holland (Del City)
Jared Jobe (Edmond Memorial)
Jordan Woodard (Edmond Memorial)
3rd Team
Conner Madole (Norman)
Greg Austin (Midwest City)
Matt Southard (Norman North)
Blake Pullium (Westmoore)
Drew Smith (Del City)
Honorable Mention
Brandon Southern (Norman)
Jacques Murray (Norman)
Jordan Thomas (Edmond Memorial)
Gabe Bonzie (Norman North)
T.J. Noel (Midwest City)
Kody English (Moore)
Beau Palmer (Westmoore)
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Edmond Memorial sweeps top-10 showdowns
With four top-10 teams in the house, a basketball fan has high expectations for a couple of close games.
Though the final scores might not suggest it, I did get to see some good competition at Del City Monday night. The Edmond Memorial girls jumped to a 10-0 lead and stayed in control most of the night on the way to a 60-44 win, but the boys game was much more competitive than the 61-42 final in favor of the Bulldogs suggests.
Del City was within four points midway through the fourth quarter, but Memorial’s depth and aggressive offensive style turned out to be too much.
Let’s break down these two games, then jointly celebrate the end of regular-season basketball, shall we?
Girls
Like I said, Memorial jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. To Del City’s credit, it never cashed it in, and hung around throughout. But the Bulldogs had too many scoring options, with four girls going for double-figures, led by Alie Decker’s 15.
The biggest positive of the night was erasing the bad feelings of last week’s mediocre performance against Southmoore.
“Our game before this against Southmoore, we played very sloppy, just nonchalant in a lot of phases of the game,” Memorial coach Shane Coffey said. “I didn’t want to go into the playoffs with that taste in our mouths. We played team basketball, which I think is critical at this time of the year.
“Being able to get up on them early, it enabled us to gain some confidence playing on the road — this is a tough place to play — and be able to dictate how the game was going to be played. I think they had to do some things defensively that they wouldn’t normally do because we had a lead on them.”
Memorial hosts a regional, opening against Putnam City West, with Choctaw and Putnam City in the other half of the bracket. First-round games start Thursday night.
“It’s a brand new season,” Coffey said. “All three of those other teams have done some quality things over the course of the year. We’re just all eager to get this playoff run started. Hopefully we can put together our best basketball at the right time of the season.”
Boys
In the last three days, I’ve seen two games matching a pair of top-10 boys teams (Edmond Santa Fe-PC West on Saturday was the other one), each pitting a top-tier team against one of the teams that makes up the huge second tier. And all these two games did was prove what I and several coaches have been saying since December: there’s never been more parity in 6A boys basketball than there is this year.
Maybe that’s an outlandish statement, especially considering I can’t really speak to the parity that might have existed in 1964 or ’77 or ’83 or… whenever. But the point is, the equality of the 6A field is hard to comprehend.
Del City was down four in the fourth quarter Monday night. PC West led Edmond Santa Fe in the fourth on Saturday. The only thing separating the top four from the next 12 is a little bit of depth, maybe an extra playmaker here or there, some confidence/calmness in late-game situations, and in the case of Monday night’s game, free throws.
Del City was 3-of-9 at the line in the second half, while Memorial was 18-of-21. Yes, there’s a big difference in the number of times at the line, and yes, the officiating was spotty, but those numbers also are a result of Memorial’s fast, aggressive style of play.
After an ugly first half — the ‘Dogs were up 22-21 at the break — Memorial ran it more in the second half, and controlled the game better.
Jordan Thomas had a game-high 14, with James Woodard and Obi Emegano adding 13 apiece, and Jordan Woodard scored all nine of his points in the second half.
One of the toughest things about the last two weeks for Memorial has been keeping focus on the actual games, after they had already claimed the No. 1 seed in the west for the playoffs.
“The last couple weeks, it’s just been one game after another that didn’t necessarily mean a whole lot, except for pride,” coach Shane Cowherd said. “You want to play hard for your school and for your teammates. But you’re trying to keep your eye on the objective at hand, also knowing it’s just natural to start thinking ahead to the playoffs, and trying to get ready for that, physically and mentally.”
After holding the No. 1 spot most of the season, you can tell that the Bulldogs are glad to have the regular season behind them so they can focus on the task they’ve been waiting for.
“We’re very excited to start a new season. The first season’s over with,” Emegano said. “We’re going into the playoffs ready to win it.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
