Kendal Cudjoe will be the next head coach of the Douglass boys basketball team, four-time defending Class 4A state champions.

The Cudjoe family has a strong tradition at Douglass High School, and now Kendal Cudjoe has the opportunity to build on it.

On Thursday, he was named the new boys basketball coach for the Trojans, winners of the last four Class 4A state championships.

Kendal’s father, Lawrence Cudjoe, built the basketball program into a state power during his 18-year tenure that ended in 1974. He died in 1994 and the court at Douglass now bears his name. Here’s a story about Lawrence Cudjoe, a former Harlem Globetrotter and all-around fascinating man in his own right.

Kendal Cudjoe was a standout on the basketball court at Douglass in the mid-1970s, and quarterbacked the Trojans to the 1976 state football title. He graduated in 1978.

“When you get a chance to go back and coach where you played, I think that’s every coach’s dream to at least get to do it one time,” Kendal Cudjoe said. “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to do that. For the court to be named after my father, and the rich tradition of the school, this means a whole lot to me.”

Cudjoe replaces Anthony Andrews, who was not retained after one season at Douglass.

Cudjoe spent the last four seasons as a head coach at Northwest Classen, two years with the girls team and two with the boys team.

In addition, Douglass also hired Anthony Gardner, a longtime Star Spencer boys assistant, as its new girls basketball coach.

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

Douglass running back Chris High is the second Oklahoma running back to verbally commit to Navy this week.

Navy found the future of its backfield in Oklahoma this week.

Douglass running back Chris High joined Altus’ Diquon Woodhouse in verbally committing to the Naval Academy, according to Douglass coach Willis Alexander.

High, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, rushed for 1,722 yards and 15 touchdowns while splitting carries to preserve himself for defense. He carried the ball 132 times, averaging 13.0 yards per attempt. He also had 75 tackles and eight sacks as an outside linebacker for the Trojans.

High also had an offer from Morgan State in Baltimore, where teammate Terry Harris is committed.

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

That means Clark likely won’t be able to sign during the early period, which concludes next Wednesday for basketball players.

Clark, the state’s top recruit, is considering Oklahoma State, Baylor and UCLA, with Missouri still on the fringe as well.

“I just want to make sure I make the best decision for me and my family,” Clark said. “Every time we talk about it, everyone hasn’t been on the same page, so I haven’t made a decision yet. Until the family and everybody’s cool with it, I’ll be uncommitted until then.”

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

Douglass running back Chris High received a scholarship offer from Navy last week.

A bright spot in an otherwise frustrating week that saw his team’s season end, Douglass running back Chris High received his first scholarship offer from an FBS program.

Navy extended an offer last Thursday to the 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back, who surpassed the 1,600-yard mark in Friday’s 14-7 loss to Weatherford.

High averaged better than 12 yards per carry for the season, and was among the Trojans’ leading tacklers at linebacker, with more than 70 stops.

High’s first offer was from Morgan State, an FCS school in Baltimore. Teammate Terry Harris verbally committed to Morgan State last month.

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

Douglass senior Terry Harris has verbally committed to Morgan State University, an FCS program in Baltimore.

Douglass defensive back Terry Harris verbally committed to Morgan State, an FCS program in Baltimore. Harris received an offer from the school about a month ago and gave his commitment Wednesday.

Harris, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound safety, has long been a soft-spoken leader for the Trojans, playing a key role in the secondary when the Trojans won the Class 4A state title in 2010.

A three-year starter for the Trojans, he currently has 49 tackles and two interceptions, and also plays fullback.

Douglass running back/linebacker Chris High has also been offered by Morgan State.

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

Since losing its first two games, Douglass has slowly regained momentum during its seven-game win streak, anchored by the run game of Chris High and Chavez Wyatt, who each went over 100 yards last week.

The intriguing matchup Friday will be Douglass’ ability to limit the passing attack of quarterback Wyatt Robson, Ada’s all-time leading passer.

Robson has thrown for 1,559 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions this year, while completing 69.0 percent of his passes.

Douglass will count on defensive end Deondre Clark, who recorded his 20th sack of the year last week, and a secondary anchored by Anthony Williams with seven interceptions.

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

Douglass junior defensive end Deondre Clark will attend both the Oklahoma-Texas and Baylor-TCU games Saturday as part of a busy recruiting weekend. His older brother, Stephen, will be with him at Baylor as part of his basketball recruiting trip.

Douglass brothers Stephen and Deondre Clark will team up for a day full of recruiting trips on Saturday.

Deondre, a highly recruited 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior defensive end, will begin the day with the Oklahoma-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas along with several other Sooners recruits. OU was one of the first programs to offer Deondre Clark, whose offer list has reached double-digits now, including Oklahoma State, LSU, Missouri and Texas Tech.

Stephen and Deondre will both head to Waco, Texas, to visit Baylor for its football game against TCU at 6 p.m.

Deondre Clark doesn’t have a Baylor offer yet, but could be closing in on one.

“They said they’re close, so maybe when I’m down there,” Deondre said. “It’s gonna be a fun day. I’m looking forward to the OU-Texas game. I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that.”

The Baylor trip is the second of four scheduled official visits for Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard who is the state’s top senior basketball prospect.

Stephen Clark visited UCLA last weekend, and will make trips to OSU and Florida State later this month. He also attended OSU’s game against Texas on Sept. 29. He plans to make a college decision in time to sign during the November signing period.

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

The suit is in regard to Ingersoll accepting an offer to become the basketball coach at Douglass High School in June, then having the offer rescinded less than a week later.

In paperwork filed Oct. 5 with the EEOC, Ingersoll, age 59, says he met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer in June to inquire about the reason for the offer being rescinded and Springer told him it was due to the “‘totality of our relationship,’ which he declined to elaborate on. No reason was given for hiring a younger, less experienced person for the job.”

Ingersoll told The Oklahoman Tuesday that “my attorney and I did not feel that was an adequate explanation.”

Anthony Andrews, 49, was hired in July as the Douglass coach. Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he coached travel teams on the summer circuit. He most recently had worked as an assistant coach at Newcastle.

“As of (Tuesday), the Oklahoma City Public School District administration has not been served with a lawsuit from Phil Ingersoll alleging discrimination,” Springer said.

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

All right, so here’s the weekly rankings explanation/discussion. Class 6A was once again the toughest, although there were plenty of other interesting choices along the way.

CLASS 6A
1. Tulsa Union (3)#4-2
2. Jenks (5)#4-2
3. Broken Arrow (4)#3-3
4. Edmond North (2)#6-0
5. Owasso (6)#3-2
6. Edmond Santa Fe (7)#5-1
7. Sand Springs (9)#6-0
8. Southmoore (10)#5-1
9. Lawton (1)#5-1
10. Norman North (NR)#5-1

This is one I had to deconstruct completely yet again after the weekend’s results that included Southmoore’s win over Lawton, Putnam City’s win over Westmoore and Edmond North escaping against a now 1-5 Yukon team. I thought it would happen a few weeks ago and it has–Union is the best team in 6A again. The Redskins loss to Owasso looks like the bump in the road that it was last year as Union rolled to another title. Sand Springs gets a big test this week when it plays Union. Play the Redskins tight–even in a loss–and the Sandites move up next week. A win in that game and I’ll vault Sand Springs to No. 1.

CLASS 5A
1. Guthrie (1)#6-0
2. Tulsa East Central (2)#2-4
3. Deer Creek (3)#6-0
4. Bishop McGuinness (4)#6-0
5. Tulsa Kelley (5)#4-2
6. Claremore (6)#5-1
7. Coweta (7)#4-2
8. Del City (8)#4-2
9. Lawton MacArthur (9)#4-2
10. Tulsa Memorial (10)#6-0
*Tulsa East Central forfeited four wins.

This one wasn’t too difficult was Claremore’s 20-19 loss to Tulsa East Central was the only loss in the top 10. Claremore stays above Coweta and Del City because their game against East Central was closer. Claremore-Coweta, though, will get sorted out soon enough as the teams face off Oct. 26.

CLASS 4A
1. Wagoner (1)#5-1
2. Cascia Hall (3)#6-0
3. Anadarko (6)#6-0
4. Ada (4)#6-0
5. Clinton (2)#4-2
6. Douglass (5)#4-2
7. Sallisaw (7)#4-2
8. Fort Gibson (8)#6-0
9. Cleveland (9)#6-0
10. Catoosa (NR)#3-3

Anadarko’s big performance deserved to be noticed, and the Warriors move up three places to No. 3, ahead of Ada, Clinton and Douglass. The only other shuffle came in the final spot as Catoosa slips in ahead of Broken Bow and Poteau. Catoosa beat a ranked opponent (Tulsa McLain) and a few weeks ago nearly knocked off Fort Gibson. That puts Catoosa in even against teams with better records.

CLASS 3A
1. Kingfisher (1)#6-0
2. Tuttle (2)#6-0
3. Berryhill (3)#6-0
4. Seminole (4)#5-0
5. Blanchard (5)#6-0
6. Metro Christian (6)#5-1
7. Victory Christian (7)#6-0
8. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (8)#5-1
9. Verdigris (9)#5-1
10. Cushing (10)#5-1

Nice and easy yet again: Everyone wins.

CLASS 2A
1. Vian (2)#6-0
2. Davis (3)#6-0
3. Frederick (4)#6-0
4. OCS (7)#5-1
5. Millwood (1)#5-1
6. Hennessey (5)#4-2
7. Stroud (6)#5-1
8. Adair (9)#6-0
9. Lindsay (8)#4-2
10. Commerce (10)#5-1

The big mover on the positive side was OCS, who knocked off top-ranked Millwood. The Saints’ only loss so far is to Class 3A Jones. Millwood drops to No. 5, just behind OCS. I also flipped Adair and Lindsay after taking in the totality of their seasons to this point.

CLASS A
1. Wynnewood (1)#5-0
2. Wayne (2)#6-0
3. Thomas (3)#6-0
4. Ringling (4)#4-1
5. Texhoma (5)#5-0
6. Fairview (NR)#6-0
7. Cashion (6)#6-0
8. Crescent (7)#6-0
9. Kiefer (8)#6-0
10. Morrison (9)#5-1

None of the teams in the top 10 lost but I promised a reader I’d break down and reassess this class so I did. What I found, for the most part, is that I liked where I had teams. I feel comfortable in Ringling where they are with their one loss (to Davis) and Morrison with theirs (to Alva). I was OK leaving off Empire, Savanna, Talihina, Warner and Summit Christian even with undefeated records. But going over the rankings and results of the first six weeks, I couldn’t ignore what Fairview has done. Friday, they beat Hooker 71-18. So far, they’ve outscored opponents 303-56. Fairview played three opponents that other top 10 teams had played this year and the matchups were favorable for Fairview. It beat Pioneer 63-8 while Cashion beat Pioneer 52-20. It beat Okeene 49-6 while Cashion won 27-20 and Thomas won 26-6. And finally, it beat Hooker 71-18 on Friday, while Hollis won 45-21. I don’t always matchup scores like that because there are a number of factors that could skew things, but when you’re looking at that many games, I couldn’t ignore it. So Farview goes in at No. 10 while Hollis is the unlucky team to slip.

CLASS B
1. Laverne (1)#6-0
2. Wetumka (2)#6-0
3. Pond Creek-Hunter (3)#6-0
4. Fox (6)#6-0
5. Dewar (4)#5-1
6. Garber (5)#5-1
7. Davenport (7)#4-2
8. Rejoice Christian (8)#5-1
9. Covington-Douglas (9)#4-2
10. Alex (10)#5-1

Garber and Dewar both got beat, but they got beat by teams ranked above them. Fox leap-frogged the pair but everything else remains constant.

CLASS C
1. Tipton (1)#6-0
2. Cherokee (2)#6-0
3. Forgan (3)#5-0
4. Ryan (4)#6-0
5. Sharon-Mutual (5)#5-1
6. Thackerville (7)#4-1
7. Webbers Falls (8)#4-1
8. Maud (9)#4-1
9. Balko (10)#5-1
10. Temple (NR)#3-3

Things were just fine until Wesleyan Christian beat No. 6 Deer Creek-Lamont. The next four just move up one spot, but the No. 10 position gave me a bit of heartburn. Deer Creek-Lamont? It just lost to Wesleyan Christian by 22. Wesleyan Christian? It lost to Bluejacket by 36 just last week. Bluejacket? It lost to Deer Creek-Lamont by 16 a couple weeks ago. So welcome to the rankings Temple. Temple has three losses but they came to Class B No. 4 Fox, Class C No. 1 Tipton and No. 4 Ryan (30-20, Tipton’s closest game all season by 10 points).

A look at how Oklahoma high school alums fared in out-of-state college action over the weekend:

A week before Kansas State comes to Norman, a couple of former Oklahoma high school stars turned in big performances in the WIldcats’ 35-21 win over North Texas on Saturday night.

The Mean Green took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when former Tulsa Washington standout Tyler Lockett returned the kick 96 yards to tie the game up.

The next two Kansas State touchdowns were scored by former Jenks standout Tramaine Thompson–one from 38 yards out and the other from 21.

Thompson finished with five catches for 102 yards. Lockett added another 23-yard kick return and a six-yard catch.

Tulsa Washington’s Keenan Taylor started on the offensive line for Kansas State. Dante Barnett (Tulsa Washington), Andre McDonald (Choctaw) and Zach Trujillo (Deer Creek) played but didn’t record any stats in the win.

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This is becoming a weekly staple but once again the Oklahoma connection paid off for Ohio. Norman North’s Tyler Tettleton threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 35 yards, former Timberwolves standout Beau Blankenship ran for 102 yards and Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had three catches for 30 yards in the Bobcats’ 27-24 come-from-behind win over Marshall.

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Former Tulsa Washington standout Isaac Bennett had two rushes for eight yards and two catches for 14 yards in Pittsburgh’s 35-17 upset of Virginia Tech.

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Not much positive came out of Arkansas’ 52-0 blowout at the hands of Alabama.
Former McGuinness standout kicker Cameron Bryan came up with a nice play on special teams, sprinting down and downing a punt inside the 5 in the first half.

Bryan handled kickoff duties in eight games for Arkansas in 2009 but after Zach Hocker continued to solidify himself in the kicker roll just prior to the season, Brayn asked to be given a chance to play on kick coverage.

You can read more about him here: http://newsok.com/mcguinness-product-cameron-bryan-joins-arkansas-kickoff-coverage-team/article/3707537

Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett had six tackles, Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had one and Muskogee’s Robert Thomas had a pair of quarterback hurries.

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Former Tulsa Central standout Demarco Cobbs had four tackles and Millwood’s Josh Turner had three tackles in Texas’ 66-31 win at Ole Miss. Cobbs got the start at strongside linebacker.

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Former Carl Albert star David Oku ran for 44 yards and had 11 yards receiving in Arkansas State’s 42-13 loss to Nebraska.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had three tackles and Jenks’ Orion Jones had one in Toledo’s 27-15 win over Bowling Green.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had four tackles in Colorado School of Mines’ 42-19 win over Black Hills State. Hess also had a blocked pass.

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NCAA Division II No. 1 Pittsburg State beat Southwest Baptist 52-9 on Saturday with the help of a few Oklahomans.
Catoosa’s Joe Uzzel had three tackles and Israel Maselera and Dino Teague (Tulsa East Central) had two tackles. Teague had a sack. Darrack Harger (Sand Springs) was 2-for 3 with 18 yards passing and rushed for -6 yards.
Uzzel started at defensive end, while Collinsville’s Chance Riley started at tight end and Sand Springs’ Tyler Smith at left guard.

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Former Millwood star Davion Pierson continues to impress at Texas Christian. Pierson started and had five tackles–1.5 for loss (0.5 sacks)–in TCU’s 20-6 win over Kansas.
Tulsa Washington’s John Williams had three tackles for Kansas. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line for the Jayhawks.

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Timothy Flanders, a former Midwest City star, scored a touchdown late in the first half as Sam Houston State built a lead on Baylor. But the Bears came back to win 48-23. Flanders ran for 84 yards and had another 56 yards receiving in the loss. Former Norman North standout K.J. Williams played for SHSU as well.

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Lawton Sonny Puletasi usually starts for Wyoming at defensive end but made a mark on the other side Saturday, catching a two-point conversion pass in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ game against Cal Poly. It wasn’t enough, though, as Wyoming fell 24-22. Puletasi had three tackles, while Tulsa Washington’s T.J. Smith saw time for Wyoming as well.

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Cayman Bundage, a freshman out of Douglass, didn’t start but saw playing time in Arizona’s 56-0 blowout of South Carolina State. Owasso’s Trent Spurgeon played for the Wildcats as well.

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Brandon Swindall, a Millwood product, played for Utah State as the Aggies nearly pulled off a second consecutive upset, before falling to Wisconsin 16-14.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham ran for 23 yards and Putnam North’s Josh Booker ran for 9 in Weber State’s 35-21 loss to McNeese State. Parham also had 72 kickoff return yards on three chances. Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu led Weber State with nine tackles–all solo–in the loss. Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales had 6.5 tackles, Edmond Memorial’s David James had three, Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had two, and Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond, Jenks’ Devin Pugh and Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had one each.

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Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had three catches for 27 yards in Dartmouth’s season-opening 35-7 win over Butler. Muskogee freshman Victor Williams had a carry for three yards and two catches for five yards. Tulsa Union’s Corbin Stall had a sack. Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line.

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Former Muskogee standout Shjuan Richardson had seven catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Emporia State’s 42-14 win over UCO. Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had four catches for 48 yards and Ponca City’s Brent Wilson had two runs for eight yards in the win.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had three tackles and an interception, Alva’s Derek Lohmann and Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis each had five tackles and a forced fumble, Del City’s Jeff Richards had five tackles and Luther’s Justin Wilson had a pair of tackles. Norman North’s Lance Uhles, Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers and Piedmont’s Jordan McAdoo all started on the offensive line as Emporia State racked up 538 yards of total offense. Northwest’s Andre Maupin and Broken Arrow’s Josh Moses also played.

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Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson caught a two-point conversion pass with about five minutes left to lift Princeton to within three but Princeton fell to Lehigh 17-14. Wilson had four catches for 40 yards to lead Princeton in receiving and added a 23-yard catch. Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes started at tight end for Princeton while fellow Comet Michael Major saw action.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott ran for 46 yards and a touchdown, caught one pass and returned a kick in Missouri State’s 28-23 loss to Murray State. Norman North’s Nick Canavan had seven tackles and Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough added three in the loss. Jenks’ Ryan Boatright, Star Spencer’s Jason Fitch and Edmond Santa Fe’s Tre Kelley also saw time for Missouri State.

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Former Heritage Hall star Turner Petersen ran for 47 yards and had 13 yards receiving in the Owls’ 56-37 loss to Louisiana Tech.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had five tackles in New Mexico’s 49-14 loss to Texas Tech. Another former Titan, Tre’ Porter, played for Texas Tech but did not record any statistics.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had six tackles in Bucknell’s 19-3 loss to Delaware.

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Owasso’s Jacques Washington had a pair of tackles in Iowa State’s 37-3 win over Western Illinois. Washington started at free safety. Jenks’ Bob Graham also saw time on the offensive line.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had five tackles in the Missouri’s 24-20 win over Arizona State. Edmond North’s Xavier Smith had one. Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers also saw time.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass and finished with five catches for 60 yards in Drake’s 27-10 loss to Indiana State. Holland Hall’s Seth Hedman had five tackles.

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Bixby’s Michael Nelson had a nine-yard catch in Missouri Southern’s 21-14 win over Lincoln (Mo.). Norman North’s Riley Nolan also played in the win.

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Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the offensive line for Houston in the Cougars’ 37-6 loss to UCLA. Norman’s Zach Johnson also saw time.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started at left guard for Southeast Missouri in its 35-14 loss to Southern Illinois.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose, who started at linebacker, had a tackle in Arkansas Tech’s 73-34 loss to Henderson State. Glenpool’s Tim VanOrsdol started at left tackle.

Know someone I missed? Let me know in the comments or with an e-mail.

Three Points

1. Trojan blocking. Douglass’ young offensive line got all it could handle from Tulsa Washington last week, but Millwood won’t be able to bring that kind of size in the front seven. However, Millwood might have a little more speed up there, so it will be a different kind of task for the Trojans. They need to establish the run game and protect freshman QB Patrick McKaufman when he tries to throw. They were inconsistent in those areas last week, and it slowed the offense.

2. Falcons in the air. With London Potts at QB, Millwood has a better passing attack this year, to go with a lot of athletic ability at receiver. But the Douglass secondary is one of its strongest areas. If Potts can hit a few big passes early, it will open up the run game for a talented group of RBs.

3. Soul-mentum. The thing that regularly makes the Soul Bowl so great is that neither team can gain enough momentum to get a big lead and put the game away. The opponent always has an answer. If either team should find the strength to do it today, it would surprise me.

The Pick

Douglass 35, Millwood 34: Both teams have more balanced offenses than a year ago, when this was a slugfest of running backs. Look for big plays both on the ground and in the air from each side, and once again, a Soul Bowl Thriller.

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

Now to the game.

Three Points

1. No Re-Ward. My prediction, based solely on my knowledge of OSSAA rules, not any type of inside information, is that D.J. Ward will be back at Douglass before the season ends, but he won’t be there with the team tonight. Willis Alexander isn’t the type of coach to look at something as a negative. He always finds the positive in a situation. So he isn’t worrying about Ward’s absence at defensive end and tight end. But it will make a difference. Johnny Jones likely moves back to DE, though he had impressed the team at linebacker in the preseason.

2. Highlighting Clark. Washington can pay a little closer attention to Deondre Clark at the other end now, without Ward, which will make life a little tougher for him. But he’s still an incredibly gifted player who had double-digit sacks without Ward last year. Of course, he didn’t have to face many Class 6A-level offensive lines. Clark moved to fullback on offense, but the team probably needs him more at tight end now to fill Ward’s void. But did the Trojans have enough time to make that shift in practice with just a couple days to work on it? Possibly. Clark knows the TE position, and Terry Harris was already playing a lot of fullback.

3. Blocking the Hornets. Douglass doesn’t have a senior on its offensive line. Washington has three seniors and a junior, at least two of whom will end up playing Division I football in some form. The Hornets have size in the middle and speed on the edge. Douglass needs its run game to get established, so a lot will be asked of that young Trojan O-line.

The Pick

Tulsa Washington 22, Douglass 14. Both of these teams have a lot of talented athletes on defense, and that will rule the day. Ultimately, I think Washington will be able to do a little more offensively than the Trojans.

Douglass standout Stephen Clark was the boys basketball (and best dressed) Player of the Year as a junior, but he'll spend his senior season at Quest Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

As it turns out, star point guard Stephen Clark won’t spend his senior season at Douglass after all.

According to his mother, Dorshell Clark, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound scoring machine flew out Saturday morning to Las Vegas, where he will attend Quest Preparatory Academy for his final year before entering college next summer, in a story originally reported by ESPN.com.

Stephen Clark had toyed with the idea of graduating early and enrolling in college this summer. While his academics were in order, he felt like he didn’t have enough time to make the proper decision. His options were limited as well, with only a few of the nearly 30 programs recruiting him having an open scholarship spot for the coming year.

The idea of leaving Douglass was prompted in May, when coach Terry Long, a lifelong friend of the Clark family, left the school to become the head coach at Mustang.

“I think Stephen still had his mind made up that he wanted to leave since Terry wasn’t going to be there,” Dorshell Clark said. “He told me he had nothing else to prove here. He didn’t want to win another title without Terry.”

Clark was the leading scorer the last three seasons for Douglass, which won the Class 4A state championship each season. Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists per game as a junior, earning The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year honor, among other notable awards.

He is being recruited by top programs in the state and across the country, from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, to Kentucky, UCLA and Connecticut. He believes Quest Prep gives him the opportunity to play against more and better competition on a national level to prepare himself for the college game.

“He told me he wants to go play against the best guys out there, and that wasn’t going to be there at Douglass,” Dorshell Clark said. “He deserves to get what he thinks he needs to get to the next level.”

Quest Prep is in its first year of existence. Stephen and Dorshell Clark visited the new campus two weeks ago.

“It’s a brand new place, and they painted a really pretty picture,” Dorshell Clark said. “They want Stephen to be the face of their program.

“He really likes the idea of being away from everybody back here. He feels he can go somewhere and focus on his game. No friends, no girls distracting him.”

Clark’s family will remain in Oklahoma City, including his younger brother, Deondre Clark, a highly recruited football player at Douglass.

Deondre Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior defensive end, already has at least a dozen offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU and Missouri.

Dorshell Clark said they have arranged it with Douglass so Stephen can return to graduate with his classmates in May. He had already passed the proper credits to qualify for graduation earlier this summer.

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

In the span of seven hours Tuesday, I visited three high school practices, where I witnessed pure excitement for a new season at Mustang, pure devastation all across the town of Luther, and pure domination that will be possible from what I rank as the most daunting high school defensive lines assembled in Oklahoma in recent memory.

For those who missed it, here’s what I wrote from Douglass.

And here’s my story and video from Luther.

Mustang, your story is still a day away. Sorry. However, I’m not exaggerating the excitement level at Bronco Stadium Tuesday morning. Offensively, the team is looking forward to a full season under QB Frankie Edwards, who got a few starts a year ago. For Mustang faithful, the offense will go back to looking similar to the Matt Edmonds/Kyle Webster teams in some ways, and different from anything you’ve seen in other ways, essentially in formations, diversity and creativity to get the ball to the best players.

Defensively, the excitement forms around new defensive coordinator Mark Ryan, who has been a head coach in the metro area, most recently at Centennial, where he battled a serious illness that kept him away from the game much of last year. He looks healthy, and he’s taking over a defensive unit with a lot of experience. Many of the current seniors were forced into action as sophomores.

At Douglass, I found myself intently watching non-contact, half-speed lineman drills against air. Typically, something like that would rank somewhere near the excitement level of fencing (either the Olympic sport or actually building a fence).

But I watched and tried to imagine exactly what this DE duo will be capable of. They combined for somewhere between 35 and 400 (exaggeration, not a typo) sacks last year separately. It will be a race to the QB on every third-and-long this season.

As for Luther, I won’t belittle what has happened — and is happening — there by trying to force it into a blog full of football analysis and weakly developed punch lines. To quote Luther coach Shawn Meek, “high school football takes a back seat to real life.” Click the link above to see the story and video, and that tells the story of what I saw in that courageous yet devastated town on Tuesday.

I’ll make the rounds again on Wednesday, including a few hours at the OSSAA for a board meeting, but I’ll be sure to hit a couple practices and share my thoughts once again.

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

Andrews’ hire was approved by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education on Monday night, officially filling the void of Terry Long, who left in May to become the head coach at Mustang.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Andrews, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Newcastle. “I don’t know what my biggest challenge will be, other than continuing the tradition. Terry Long built a great program, and I look forward to getting going at Douglass.”

Andrews takes over a Trojan squad led by senior-to-be Stephen Clark, The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year last season. Clark has led Douglass to state championships in each of his first three seasons.

Of course, state titles are a common expectation for Andrews. He won four as a player at Millwood under coach Varryl Franklin from 1978-81.

He started his college career at Central Oklahoma under coach Eddie Evans, the father of current UCO coach Terry Evans. But after Eddie Evans was let go, Andrews decided to leave as well, ultimately finishing his playing career with two seasons at Oklahoma State. There, he briefly teamed with older brother Lorenza Andrews.

Anthony Andrews turned down invitations to two NBA camps and went to work for Conoco, working in Billings, Mont., Houston and Chattanooga, Tenn.

He moved back to Oklahoma three years ago, and spent a year helping the basketball programs at Millwood and in the OKCPS district.

Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, and he coached travel teams on the AAU circuit as well.

Andrews also has a family connection to Douglass. Both of his parents attended the school, and his father was on the Trojans’ 1949 team that won a state championship prior to being admitted to the OSSAA.

“Douglass has a great tradition, and I want it to be a perennial power, not just in the state, but in this part of the country,” Andrews said. “Terry had already started that, traveling out of state, and that’s something we want to continue. I’d like to get this program on the national map and stay there.”

Andrews’ hire ends a long — and sometimes strange — coaching search at Douglass. Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who won three state titles at Douglass in the 1980s, had accepted an offer to return as the Trojans’ coach, but had the offer rescinded four days later. The two sides have since cleared the air over what could have been an ugly situation.

In addition, Clark toyed with the idea of graduating early and beginning his college career in the fall. But he chose instead to remain in high school for his senior season. Clark was one of two players who were part of the interview committee that selected Andrews.

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

Douglass sprinter Madison Reynolds will run track for Oral Roberts next year.

After helping to lead Douglass to back-to-back state track championships, Madison Reynolds was given yet another honor, being named Oklahoma’s Gatorade Girls Track Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

As a senior, Reynolds won the 200 meters in 25.72 seconds and the 400 in 56.30, earning The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Girls Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight season.

Reynolds plans to attend Oral Roberts University, where she’ll continue to focus on the 200 and 400 meters. Her strength is the 400, which she won three times at state in her career.

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

Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, seated center in the photo with his mother and brothers, will officially be staying at Douglass for his senior season, rather than graduating early to enter college in the fall.

The wild roller-coaster ride that the last month has been appears to finally be over for Douglass basketball standout Stephen Clark.

In a text message to The Oklahoman late Monday night, his mother, Dorshell Clark, confirmed that her son will remain at Douglass, rather than graduate early to enter college in the fall.

“Stephen advised me (Monday night) that he wants to stay in school and complete his senior season,” Dorshell Clark said. “He said he didn’t give himself enough time to make such a big decision.”

Stephen Clark had been looking into opportunities at a half-dozen or more colleges for the fall, but he’ll have four times as many possibilities by staying in the 2013 class. Harvard is the latest program to come on board in pursuit of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard, who has more than 25 scholarship offers.

Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive state championship. By staying, he’ll get one more season with his younger brother, Deondre, who plays basketball, but has developed into a highly targeted football prospect. He will be a junior in the fall, but already has seven major-college offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and LSU.

One piece of the Douglass basketball puzzle remains unsolved, however. The Trojans still don’t have a coach, following Terry Long’s departure to take the head job at Mustang.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who worked as the athletic director for Oklahoma City Public Schools until February 2011, had accepted the job, but had the offer rescinded last week. Yet that volatile situation has calmed, according to Ingersoll, who recently met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer.

“I got to meet with the superintendent and he took full responsibility for what we both saw as mistakes in the interview and job offer process,” Ingersoll said. “He said he could not recommend me to the Board of Directors because of the totality of our relationship.

“Now I can move on with my life, and I wish the Douglass program all the luck, and hopefully success, in the world.”

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

Reports surfaced on Friday that the Douglass High School basketball standout was not going to graduate early and would stay in high school for his senior year. But his mother, Dorshell Clark, told The Oklahoman on Saturday night that the decision “hasn’t been finalized.”

“He’s still going to go out to UCLA on Monday for a visit,” she said. “I talked to the coach at Virginia this weekend. We might be going to Stanford at some point. We haven’t said aye or nay on this right now.”

Part of the holdup continues to revolve around the vacant head coaching position at Douglass. Phil Ingersoll accepted an offer to take the job, but had the offer rescinded four days later. Now the school is once again looking for the person who will replace Terry Long, who left to take the head job at Mustang last month.

The whole situation seems to remain unsettled, and it’s unclear when that might change.

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

OKCPS district athletic director Keith Sinor could not be reached for comment prior to the story being published, but the school district responded on Wednesday with an email about the topic, noting that the administrators are limited in what they can say publicly about personnel matters within the district.

Here is the statement provided to The Oklahoman via email on Wednesday regarding Ingersoll and the head boys basketball coaching position at Douglass:

“Oklahoma City Public School District administration has decided to go in a different direction.” –Karl Springer, OKCPS Superintendent

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

The star point guard is in the process of completing the necessary courses to be able to graduate early, and he has scheduled visits to Oklahoma State and UCLA, though he is looking at other schools as well, should he decide to reclassify into the class of 2012. Connecticut, Missouri and Florida State have also been among colleges Clark has considered.

However, Wednesday’s news that former Douglass coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to coach the Trojans could play a part in the decision.

Ingersoll has occasionally visited Douglass practices and games over the years. He was the head coach for Terry Long, who led the Trojans to three straight 4A titles with Clark as his leading scorer. Long left to take the head coaching job at Mustang last month. Clark and Ingersoll also attend the same church.

“He coached my coaches,” Clark said. “I like the way my coaches are, so I’d probably like the way he coaches.”

Clark has said he hopes to make a decision by the end of June. Since the National Letter of Intent signing period has already passed, Clark would not be required to sign with a college. He would make his decision, then enroll in classes when he chooses to begin.

“I feel a lot closer to a decision, but I still want to get the opinion from the people who are close to me and I know have my best interest at heart,” he said. “Right now, I’m just working to finish these classes and go take some visits.”

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

Last basketball season was a special one for the Douglass Trojans in more ways than one.

Not only did they win their third straight Class 4A state championship, they were followed for parts of the season by an MTV camera crew working on a documentary called “Nothing But Net,” which goes inside the lives of players at Douglass and New York City’s Wadleigh High School in Harlem.

As part of the show, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant visited Douglass to mentor the students and discuss his path to the NBA.

“He let us know what we need to be doing and the choices we need to make to get where he is,” said Douglass point guard Stephen Clark. “He told us about eating right and going to bed at night.

“It was a great experience. Being part of what we got to do has really been a blessing, and that was a big part of it.”

Clark and his teammates were given some all-black Nike Kevin Durant shoes as well.

Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks served as a mentor at Wadleigh.

“Nothing but Net” will air as a two-part series at noon Sunday and June 17 on MTV2.

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

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement and return to Douglass as its new boys basketball coach.

A search committee set out to find Douglass’ new boys basketball coach, and found one of their old ones.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to take over the Trojans, assuming the search committee’s recommendation passes through all the formalities with the Oklahoma City Public Schools administration.

“There’s still some paperwork and things, but I don’t expect any hangups,” district athletic director Keith Sinor told The Oklahoman Wednesday morning.

Ingersoll won three state championships coaching Douglass in the 1980s, then won two at Northeast in 2002 and 2004 before walking away from coaching.

He will replace Terry Long, who left last month to become the head coach at Mustang after leading the Trojans to three consecutive Class 4A state titles. Long played for Ingersoll in the 1980s.

“This is good for the school,” said Douglass athletic director Willis Alexander, who also played for Ingersoll. “He understands Douglass High School. He helped build the program into what it is now. I’m happy for him, and I’m happy that the school gets a good coach, who really cares about the school, the kids and the community.”

In an unrelated change, Alexander will step down as the school’s athletic director, and serve only as the Trojans’ football coach next school year, a move that, in part, will allow him to spend more time with his young children.

Matt Peters, a former Douglass girls basketball coach, will fill the void as on-site athletic director.

Ingersoll has been involved with OKCPS on a coaching or administrative level for the better part of four decades. One of his first coaching jobs was as an assistant at Star Spencer, where he was part of three straight titles under coach Johnnie Johnson in the late 1970s.

He left coaching in 2004, and in 2007, he was hired as the athletic director at OKCPS, but announced his retirement in the spring of 2011.

At that time, he wanted to turn his focus to the trial of a man who had been accused of murdering Ingersoll’s 21-year-old son in a drive-by shooting. The man was found not guilty last November.

“For what he’s been through, this is healthy for him,” Alexander said. “When he was the district AD, I still called him ‘Coach,’ and I always will. This is a good situation. He’s a veteran coach who understands the dynamics of Oklahoma City Public Schools and Douglass High School.

“This is not a guy at his first rodeo.”

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

Oklahoma State was the first school to offer the defensive end a scholarship in April, and OU became the fifth with their offer on Sunday, while Clark was attending the Sooners’ prospect camp in Norman.

Missouri, Texas Tech and Mississippi State have also offered scholarships to Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pounder who also plays tight end.

Clark, the younger brother of Douglass basketball standout Stephen Clark, finished his sophomore season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

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

Texas Tech became the second Big 12 football program to offer Deondre Clark a scholarship, extending an offer on Wednesday, Douglass coach Willis Alexander said.

Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end, will be a junior in the fall. He has been playing significant minutes for the Trojans since his freshman year, starting at both defensive end and tight end as a sophomore.

He finished the season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He also has offers from Oklahoma State and Missouri.

MTV show featuring Stephen Clark and the Trojan basketball team to air in June

The constant lurking of video cameras never derailed Douglass’ charge for a third straight basketball state championship, and now, the players get to find out if it was all worth it to share their locker room and their lives with MTV.

The show, “Nothing but Net,” will air as a two-part series on June 10 and 17, each being televised at noon central time.

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

Douglass junior basketball standout Stephen Clark, front, is considering the idea of graduating a year early and enrolling in college this fall.

The shock of losing his head coach to another school has shaken Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark to the point that he is considering reclassification to graduate a year early and enter college this fall, his mother told The Oklahoman Friday.

Clark’s mother, Dorshell Clark, said her son has checked with the school to make sure he has the proper credits to graduate early, and the family has been working in accordance with NCAA Clearinghouse guidelines since early in his high school career, when it became clear he would be a Division I recruit. (Clark’s first scholarship offer came at the end of his freshman year.)

Clark is a strong student, and has been doing advanced work in some of his classes, long before this option presented itself.

Dorshell Clark said Stephen hasn’t made an official decision yet, but in addition to making sure his schoolwork is in order, they have contacted some of the more than two dozen college programs recruiting him to see if they would have an opening for him in the class of 2012, instead of 2013.

“We haven’t called all of them, but we’ve called some of them,” she said. “We haven’t been told ‘No’ yet.”

The idea was prompted with news early this week that long-time Douglass coach Terry Long — also a long-time friend of Dorshell Clark – was leaving to become the new head coach at Mustang.

It has been very important to Clark to graduate from Douglass, where his mother and two older brothers each graduated from, but he doesn’t want to play for another coach in his senior year.

“It really breaks my heart. I’m not ready for him to be finished with high school yet,” Dorshell Clark said. “But right now, he sees it as a possible option.”

Stephen Clark, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, was The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year after averaging 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive Class 4A state title. Clark has been the leading scorer on all three championship teams.

Considered a top-100 recruit in the 2013 class by virtually every national recruiting service, Clark has more than 25 scholarship offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida State, Marquette, Georgia and Memphis.

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

The Mustang Board of Education approved the move at its regular meeting late Monday night.

Long will fill the void created when Alan Green moved into a full-time role as the school’s compliance officer, which was announced last month.

Long was also considered a candidate for the head job at Edmond Santa Fe, which went to former Mount St. Mary coach Lenny Hatchett last month.

Mustang, which is the largest school on the west side of the state, was riddled by injuries last season and struggled to a .500 record. But in the 2010-11 season, the Broncos were a top-five team, despite falling one win short of the state tournament.

Over the last three seasons at Douglass, Long’s teams lost seven games — six of those to out-of-state competition. The Trojans were led by point guard Stephen Clark, a nationally recruited prospect who will be a senior next season.

Douglass will be a highly sought-after coaching position, along with current vacancies at Guthrie and Mount St. Mary.

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

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass girls’ basketball standout Te’era Williams has signed with Texas Southern, her mother said

Williams, who was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years, had signed with Grambling State, but was granted a release after coach Donnita Rogers was fired.

Williams averaged 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals as a senior.

Douglass sophomore Deondre Clark, back center, gives the family another sought-after recruiting prospect, this one on the football field.

The first official scholarship offer is on the table for Douglass sophomore defensive end Deondre Clark.

Oklahoma State extended an offer on Thursday, Douglass coach Willis Alexander said.

Clark played a significant amount as a freshman on Douglass’ Class 4A state championship team in 2010, and started at both defensive end and tight end as a sophomore.

He finished the season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

Clark has a busy summer planned, with stops at a variety of major-college camps and elite combines.

Clark, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, is the younger — but much bigger — brother of Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11 junior who has more than 20 scholarship offers, including OSU.

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

Douglass basketball standout Te'era Williams, left, and her mother, Lenora Love, right. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass’ Te’era Williams got a release from her Grambling State letter of intent after all.

Grambling State athletic director Percy Caldwell reversed the previous denial and informed Williams and her mother, Lenora Love, in an email Friday morning.

Last week, the Douglass basketball standout was denied the release she requested after coach Donnita Rogers was fired in March.

Williams signed with Grambling State in November. After her release was denied, Williams began visiting junior colleges. She wouldn’t have needed a release to play at the junior-college level.

But if she wanted to begin her NCAA Division I hoops career at any other school besides Grambling State in the fall, she needed the release she was granted Friday.

Now, Williams is left hoping that a Division I school still has a scholarship available for her. She said last month she was interested in Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Wichita State.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass senior basketball standout Te’era Williams was denied a release from her letter of intent by Grambling State, her mother said.

Williams, who signed with Grambling State in November, requested the release in March after coach Donnita Rogers was fired. Lenora Love, Williams’ mother, said they are appealing Grambling’s denial but are also looking at junior colleges as a backup plan, starting with a Tuesday visit to Carl Albert State College in Poteau.

Williams wouldn’t need a release from Grambling to play at a junior college, and could transfer anywhere after one year.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Large East
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
U’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Jodi Glover, Fort Gibson
Devaughn Gray, Tulsa Washington
Lashanda Green McAlester
Kelsee Grovey, Shawnee
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
Lanesha Middleton, Stillwater
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Miranda Taylor, Claremore
Coaches: Carl Treat, Stillwater; Matt Sweeney, Oologah

Large West
Kylie Boggess, Piedmont
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Toni Smith, Del City
Kati Sullivan, Anadarko
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Te’era Williams, Douglass
Coaches: Jeff Mahoney, Elgin; Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial

Small East
Courtney Backward, Salina
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Megan Brown, Howe
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Pete Douglas, Oktaha
Charitee Evans, Red Oak
Shanna Harrison, Adair
Kenzie Solberg, Chandler
Brooke Watkins, Prague
Coaches: Brandon Lindly, Wright City; Mike Buntin, Verdigris

Small West
Jamie Brown, Chattanooga
Lexie Brown, Hammon
Casi Cornell, Thomas
Kori Fast, Fairview
Jordan Garner, Amber-Pocasset
Bailey McBride, Chattanooga
Lacey Paulk, Washington
Katelyn Richardson, Calumet
Jordynn Van Pelt, Snyder
Shayla Williams, Northeast
Coaches: Cherie Myers, Okarche; Kirk Harris, Marlow

Douglass’ Stephen Clark’s game morphed this season when he was asked to take on more of the scoring load instead of distributing the ball as much.
Clark’s game flourished, helping the Trojans to a third consecutive Class 4A title.
Thursday, Clark was honored with the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard averaged 29 points 13 assists and five rebounds per game.
He scored 40 points in Douglass’ championship-game win over Anadarko.
Clark is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
The award also takes into consideration off-the-court activities. Clark mas maintained a 3.88 GPA and has volunteered for multiple groups as well.
Clark is the first junior to win the award in Oklahoma since Putnam City’s Xavier Henry did in the 2007-08 season. Henry followed it up with a second award as a senior.
Other recent state award winner include Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler, Putnam West’s Tyler Neal and Oklahoma Christian School’s Blake Griffin.

Clark will be playing for a US junior team that will compete in Mannheim, Germany, from April 3-14 in an event with teams from 15 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, China, Serbia and Spain.

Because it is not directly tied to the Olympic team or an Olympic-sanctioned event, the families must pay travel costs due to NCAA recruiting rules.

The fundraiser service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Voice of Praise Baptist Church at 2200 Culbertson Dr., in Oklahoma City. The church’s pastor, Rev. Tony F. Wise, will be joined by guest speaker Rev. Teron V. Gaddis, a pastor and teacher at Greater Bethel Baptist Church.

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

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark received a scholarship offer from Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger on Monday.

Add Oklahoma to the list of college basketball programs seeking the services of Douglass point guard Stephen Clark.

Clark was invited to the Sooners’ game against Missouri on Monday night, and head coach Lon Kruger offered the 5-foot-10 junior a scholarship, as first reported by ESPN.

“Coach Kruger told us he wanted Stephen as a Sooner,” said Dorshell Clark, Stephen’s mother. “So maybe we can begin building a relationship with him and the other coaches.”

Oklahoma joins more than a dozen other programs pursuing Clark, along with the likes of Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Connecticut, Missouri, Memphis and Marquette.

Clark is the third in-state player the Sooners have offered a scholarship, along with Edmond Memorial point guard Jordan Woodard and Tulsa Washington shooting guard Juwan Parker.

If you’re looking for some extra reading on Clark, here’s a quick look at his 65-point game in January.

Here’s a story from December about Clark’s transition to point guard.

And here’s Monday’s piece on Clark and the rest of the state’s star-studded 2013 recruiting class.

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

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark has been selected to compete for the Junior Olympic team in Germany later this year. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

A good season keeps getting better for Douglass junior Stephen Clark.

The Trojans’ point guard has been shooting the lights out virtually every time he steps on the floor, college scholarship offers are rolling in, and now, he has been selected to play for the USA junior team that will compete in Germany later this year.

The team will compete in Mannheim, Germany, from April 3-14 in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, an event with teams from 15 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, China, Serbia and Spain.

Because of NCAA recruiting rules, the players must pay the cost of the flight to and from Germany on their own.

Recruiting has remained steady for Clark as well. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger was up to see him at practice and in a game earlier this week, and according to Clark’s mother, Dorshell, a Baylor coach was in attendance on Friday night when he scored 18 points in a win over Capitol Hill.

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

Douglass PG Stephen Clark scored 65 points on Friday night.

There was some confusion right around the time of our print deadline on Friday night as to exactly how many points Douglass point guard Stephen Clark had scored, but the number was nailed down overnight.

Clark scored 65 points, including a perfect 27-of-27 at the free throw line and an 8-of-14 performance from 3-point range in Douglass’ 106-92 loss to Airline High School of Bossier City, La., in the Bossier Invitational.

“He did it all,” Douglass coach Terry Long said. “He defended, he scored, hit 3s, penetration, dishing the ball. He left everything on the floor.

“He played a key role in just about every possession we scored on. It was a phenomenal show. I took him out at the end, and the entire crowd gave him a standing ovation.”

Clark scored 52 of the 65 points in the second half.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Clark said. “I was just worried about trying to win the game. We had a couple guys get in foul trouble, so I had to be the scorer.

“I just wanted to win, though. That’s all I care about at the end of the day. This was probably good for us, because we can figure out what we need to do to become a better basketball team.”

The loss eliminated the Trojans from the tournament, dropping their record to 4-3 with all three losses coming to out-of-state competition. They will be back in action at Star Spencer on Tuesday.

Long said the performance recalled memories from when he was younger, watching Larry Bird.

“It was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen,” Long said. “It reminded me of one of those nights watching Larry Bird when he just couldn’t miss. It was phenomenal.”

Clark is only seven games into his junior season. Last week, I witnessed him score 34. Over Thanksgiving, he dropped 42 at a tournament in Texas, and now this. If you’re looking for a show, this might be the one to watch.

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

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.

“You can tell he’s a good coach from his record,” Bundage said. “Then when I met him, he’s a people person. We bonded real well and that was a plus. I think he’s gonna be good. We’re gonna have a productive season, I can tell.”

Bundage committed to Arizona in the summer and stayed committed after Mike Stoops was let go in October. But he was looking at other options until his trip to Tucson, Ariz., last weekend.

“There were some questions I had, and I got them answered,” said Bundage, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound interior lineman. “The O-line coach (Robert Anae) stayed on the staff, so I’ll still be playing for the same line coach.”

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

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.

Coach of the Year: Tony Henry, Millwood
Coach’s Special Recognition: Mark Ryan, Centennial
Player of the Year: Cayman Bundage, Douglass
Defensive Player of the Year: Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass
Offensive Player of the Year: Dametric Sanders, Millwood
Co-Special Teams Players of the Year: Quincy Rideau, Star Spencer; Juan Campos, Northwest Classen
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Bobby Wilkes, Millwood
Co-Linebackers of the Year: Marc Robinson, Millwood; Gumaro Murphy, Southeast
Defensive Back of the Year: O’Sha Clark, Douglass
Co-Offensive Linemen of the Year: Devin Dobbins, Millwood; Dale Burch, Star Spencer
Offensive Back of the Year: Luis Leyva, Capitol Hill
Receiver of the Year: Kameron Bryant, John Marshall

First Team Defense
Defensive Line: Christian Nicholson, U.S. Grant; Kevin Williams, John Marshall; Codie Nolan, Northwest Classen; Genaro Monter, Southeast; Justin Woody, Northeast
Linebackers: Derrick Ward, Star Spencer; Andrew Bailey, Douglass; Malcolm Scales, Millwood; Francis Taylor, Capitol Hill
Defensive Backs: TyLiq Braziell, Southeast; Brandon Morse, Capitol Hill; Derrick Young, U.S. Grant; Chris Compton, Douglass
Punter: Carlos Morales, U.S. Grant

First Team Offense
Quarterback: Christian Gorham, Northwest Classen; Michael Thomas, Northeast
Running Backs: Cory Hooks, U.S. Grant
Receivers: Trevon Willis, Northeast; Marvin Kerbo, Northwest Classen; Deonte Childs, Douglass
Offensive Line: Diamonte McClellan, Douglass; Charles Hayes, Star Spencer; Jacob Tavarez, U.S. Grant; Harvey Hightower, Millwood; Michael Holder, Southeast; David Johnson, John Marshall
Place Kicker: Antonio Cueto, Southeast

Honorable Mention
Capitol Hill: Maleke Dixon, Jerrad Fomin
Douglass: Davon Barber
Millwood: Marquise Kemp
Northeast: Savon Peevy, Demarkus Long
Northwest Classen: Marcus Ervin
Southeast: Nolan Payne, Michael McAnelly, Dominique Schweitzer, Nicholas Chamberlain
Star Spencer: Quintrae Kendrick
U.S. Grant: Eric Benevue, Javier Tarrazas

Player of the Year: Dawson Myers, Cushing
Offensive Player of the Year: Eddie Reynolds, Harrah
Defensive Player of the Year: Cayman Bundage, Douglass
Special Teams Player of the Year: Chris Compton, Douglass
Receiver of the Year: Abraham Luna, Santa Fe South; Eric Delay, Cleveland
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Diamonte McClellan, Douglass; Blaine Atchely, Tecumseh
Quarterback of the Year: Ivan Zavala, Santa Fe South
Offensive Back of the Year: Alton Adkins, Glenpool
Tight End of the Year: Richard Griffin, Harrah
Defensive End of the Year: Brock Hubble, Cushing; Travis Johnson, Harrah
Defensive Tackle of the Year: Josh Smith, Glenpool; Dustin Malloy, Cleveland
Inside Linebacker of the Year: Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass; Brandon McDonald, Harrah
Outside Linebacker of the Year: Drake Stevens, Glenpool; Kyle Knight, Cushing
Safety of the Year: Phillip Spess, Cleveland; Tanner Shepard, Tecumseh
Cornerback of the Year: Jake Queen, Harrah
Kicker of the Year: Ben Henley, Cleveland
Special Recognition: Blake Murray, Cushing
Coaches of the Year: Barrett Shupe, Cushing; Jerry Braziel, Santa Fe South

All-District by team
Cleveland: Frankie Mackey, Kolton Hansen, Matt Gayle, Josh Casebott
Cushing: Marshal Dilley, Ben Loftis
Douglass: Andrew Bailey, O’Sha Clark, Deonte Childs, Camron Dizer
Glenpool: Zach Parnell, Tyler Harrison, Connor Ferrell, Austin Wills, Matt Lafitte, Matt Meeks, Trent Cleveland, Hunter Green, Tyler Dunn, Taylor Howell, Jordan Bullock, Matt Lena, Cody Marshall
Harrah: Tyler Humphrey, Corey Beder, Houston Ward
Sante Fe South: Daniel Gardado, Abel Hererra, Aaron Johnson
Tecumseh: Jacob Bender, Jackson Ryan

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark averaged 32.5 points per game at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas.

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark would have preferred a victory, but he did everything he could to get one at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas.

Clark scored 42 points in a 90-80 loss to Dallas-Kimball on Saturday night at an event that included teams from Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina.

The Trojans went 0-2 on the weekend, falling in a tight game to Tulsa Washington on Friday. Tulsa Washington’s Juwan Parker and Phabian Glasco each scored 22 in the 68-59 win. Clark had a game-high 23.

Team-wise, the weekends went very differently for Clark and Parker (the Hornets won twice), but both nationally known recruits took advantage of the big stage to show their skills. Each player has more than a dozen scholarship offers already, and both were impressive at Hoopfest.

In particular, Clark showed his ability to run his team from the point guard position, which he wasn’t asked to do for the Trojans the last two seasons.

“As he develops his feel for the position, Clark should expand his playmaking and he looks to be on his way to being a viable option at the point for high majors,” wrote Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Eric Bossi.

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

Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage will play in the Offense-Defense All-America Game on Dec. 30 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage has accepted an invitation to the Offense-Defense All-America Game, which will be played Dec. 30 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Bundage, an Arizona commit and a four-year starter for the Trojans, has been a key player on four straight playoff teams, including the Class 4A state champions in 2010.

The 6-foot-2, 275-pound Bundage had an offensive line grade of 92 percent this season, adding 98 tackles and eight quarterback sacks in his senior year.

“Bundage has room to add weight and could potentially play on either side of the ball at Arizona, giving them a versatile athlete who I feel has a lot of potential,” said Josh Buchanan, Director of Player Personnel for the Offense-Defense Game. “Arizona should be very excited to have a quality lineman who has been consistent and productive during his career.”

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

Douglass junior Stephen Clark and the two-time defending Class 4A state champion Trojans will be in action at the All-City Preview tournament, which begins on Tuesday night.

The All-City Preview, the preseason basketball tournament featuring the Oklahoma City Public Schools and Millwood, begins Tuesday evening at Northwest Classen and Capitol Hill. The tournaments will be concluded on Thursday with championship and third-place games, as well as loser’s bracket competition.

Each site will host seven games on Tuesday, between both boys and girls teams. All 11 schools from the All-City Athletic Conference will participate, including a pair defending champions, the Douglass and Centennial boys teams.

Here is the schedule for Tuesday’s games:
Girls
At Capitol Hill
5 p.m.: Star Spencer vs. Centennial
6 p.m.: Classen SAS vs. Capitol Hill
7 p.m.: Northeast vs. Star/Centennial winner
8 p.m.: Douglass vs. Classen/Capitol Hill winner
At Northwest Classen
5:30 p.m.: US Grant vs. John Marshall
6:30 p.m.: Northwest Classen vs. Southeast
7:30 p.m.: Millwood vs. US Grant/John Marshall winner

Boys
At Northwest Classen
5 p.m.: Southeast vs. US Grant
6 p.m.: Millwood vs. John Marshall
7 p.m.: Northwest Classen vs. Southeast/US Grant winner
8 p.m.: Centennial vs. Millwood/John Marshall winner
At Capitol Hill
5:30 p.m.: Star Spencer vs. Classen SAS
6:30 p.m.: Capitol Hill vs. Northeast
7:30 p.m.: Douglass vs. Star/Classen winner

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

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

Overall:
Ryan: 59-22, 7-1
Jason: 55-26, 6-2
Scott: 52-29, 6-2

Ryan:
Jenks 28, Broken Arrow 24
Edmond North 17, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Lawton 28, Putnam City 9
Norman 28, Muskogee 15
Tulsa Central 26, Coweta 17
Carl Albert 35, Deer Creek 26
Douglass 27, Glenpool 24
Anadarko 33, Tuttle 14
Heritage Hall 38, Bethany 14
Wynnewood 20, Wayne 14
Lock of the Week: Carl Albert over Deer Creek. The Titans offense has steadily improved throughout the season and they have both the secondary speed to hold the Antlers’ receivers down and the front seven to get pressure on Deer Creek’s quarterback.

Jason:
Broken Arrow 27, Jenks 24
Edmond North 21, Edmond Santa Fe 17
Lawton 31, Putnam City 7
Norman 26, Muskogee 17
Tulsa Central 24, Coweta 14
Carl Albert 41, Deer Creek 14
Douglass 17, Glenpool 14
Anadarko 31, Tuttle 14
Heritage Hall 35, Bethany 14
Wayne 13, Wynnewood 10
Lock of the Week: Anadarko over Tuttle. The Tigers are always a tough, well-coached team under Phil Koons. I expect that Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year against Tuttle. But the Warriors, at home, will be too tough,

Scott:
Jenks 30, Broken Arrow 28
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Edmond North 20
Lawton 28, Putnam City 21
Norman 34, Muskogee 28
Tulsa Central 28, Coweta 24
Carl Albert 42, Deer Creek 24
Douglass 28, Glenpool 21
Anadarko 34, Tuttle 28
Heritage Hall 38, Bethany 28
Wayne 27, Wynnewood 22
Lock of the Week: Norman over Muskogee. Norman is beyond motivated to finish this season strong after finding themselves facing potentially being left out of the playoffs. I’d look for a big day from Donovan Roberts, as well as the passing attack to give the Tigers momentum heading into the Week 10 battle with Jenks.

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.

Douglass offensive lineman Cayman Bundage remains committed to Arizona in the aftermath of coach Mike Stoops' firing on Monday.

The news about Mike Stoops’ firing as the head football coach at Arizona was a bit of a shock to Cayman Bundage’s family, but the Douglass offensive lineman remains committed to the Wildcats as of now.

“Right now, Cayman is still committed to Arizona,” said his father, Clyde Bundage. “We’ll have to see what goes on, or if the staff stays. You never know what kind of situation you’ll have with a new head coach. We’re looking forward to seeing what the status is.”

Cayman Bundage, 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, committed to Arizona in the summer, and took an unofficial visit to the campus in mid-September. He spoke with Arizona assistant Seth Littrell — Bundage’s primary recruiter — on Monday, prior to the news breaking about Stoops. But Bundage had not been in contact with anyone on the Arizona staff as of Tuesday night.

“Cayman’s commitment is to the University of Arizona,” Clyde Bundage said. “It’s a verbal commitment. But you always have to look at your options.”

Prior to committing to Arizona on June 22, Bundage had offers from Missouri, Arkansas, Tulsa and North Texas. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State had been looking at him as well.

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

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.

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

The opening of Yukon's new Miller Stadium was one of many events during a busy weekend of football.

I can already tell this is going to be a long week. Since Sept. 1, I haven’t gone more than two days without covering a high school football game. Friday can’t get here soon enough.

And after the three games I covered this weekend, it’s going to be hard for the next 13 weeks of football to live up to the standard.

On Thursday night, I watched Putnam City North knock off Mustang in double-overtime when sophomore kicker Richard Gallegos booted through a 17-yard field goal to clinch it. Friday brought the debut of Yukon’s new stadium, and a late rally by Edmond Santa Fe to spoil the opener at the Millers’ new home. Then we had the usual amount of drama on Saturday afternoon at the Soul Bowl.

Here’s a look back at what we learned about the teams in those three contests, starting with the double-OT thriller at PC Stadium.

What we learned about Mustang: The Mustang offensive line is getting better, but defenses are still finding ways to attack that young group of players. Fortunately, they can battle through their growing pains in the non-district, and hopefully be ready by Week 4 when district games begin.

Brandon Taylor is doing well throwing on the run and moving the pocket when he needs to, but the experienced PC North secondary was able to give him trouble, coming up with four picks on Thursday. At running back, I’ve been impressed with A.J. Ashman early this season. Obviously, the Broncos toss the ball around a lot, so he doesn’t get a ton of carries, but he takes advantage of his opportunities and is viable in the passing game, too.

Putnam City North senior Dre Holman rushed for 201 yards Thursday against Mustang.

What we learned about Putnam City North: The run game is vital to the Panthers’ offensive focus, but their ability to stay balanced is what kept them alive on Thursday. Dre Holman’s 201 yards were huge, but the fact that John Robert Simon was 8-of-10 passing in the second half and overtime — with two touchdowns — was the turning point of the game.

Defensively, it’s clear that the Panthers’ strength is in the secondary, so I’ll be curious to see if teams try to focus on running the ball against them more, especially in the early part of the season until the new players in the front seven develop.

After the ugly fourth quarter in the opening loss to Putnam City, finishing strong against Mustang was valuable to this team. Getting back to the playoffs is a definite possibility for this team, based on the district schedule, but giving away very many fourth-quarter leads won’t get you past Week 10.

What we learned about Edmond Santa Fe: This team has battled through several close losses in the last two years, but I don’t think anyone — on the outside, at least — saw this strong start coming. With so much talent on both sides of the ball, along with a good mix of experience and youth, the Wolves are clearly a team that’s going to make some noise in 6A this year, and Friday’s 38-28 win at Yukon was a breakout moment.

People are quickly becoming familiar with guys like Justice Hansen, Trevan Smith and Phillip Sumpter. But here’s another name to keep an eye on: Khari Harding. He’s a big, athletic defensive back who could very well land at a Division I program. He’s only a junior now, so the Wolves get to enjoy him terrorizing opponents for a couple seasons.

I had heard a lot about Michael Onuoha coming into the game, and he’s an athletic specimen with a lot of talent. But the Wolves’ defensive line overall was very impressive. They were getting a good push most of the game, and getting into the backfield to disrupt the Yukon offense. With the amount of talent at the skill spots, the Wolves can really be a dangerous team if the lines start playing in a dominant fashion.

On a sidenote, you couldn’t help but feel for Tre Kelley on Friday. He’s an impressive player who twice seemed to have given his team the big play just when they needed it. First, he took a screen pass and zipped through the Miller defense for a 76-yard TD. But it was called back. A couple plays later, he got behind the defense and went the distance for a 74-yard score. Also called back. Moments later, he was the target again, but Yukon’s Derek Deeds stepped in front for the pick in what seemed to be a huge turning point in the game. But the Wolves recovered to rally for the win.

What we learned about Yukon: Tackling in space was the one big issue that haunted the Millers on Friday night. From the opening kickoff, which Smith returned 94 yards for a score, the Millers’ ability to keep Santa Fe ball carriers coralled was a problem. The Wolves accounted for more than half of their total offense on four big plays, including a 73-yard scramble by Hansen.

Other than the tackling, Yukon really played pretty solid. They were slow out of the gate, which might have had something to do with all the hype around the opening of the new stadium. Anyone who saw the Millers against Mustang in the opener could tell they were a little out of sync early, maybe pressing a little, hoping to put on a good show.

The running back by committee idea looks to be Todd Wilson’s focus. Not counting QB Corben Jones, eight different players got at least one rushing attempt Friday. And of the three players who carried the ball in the first half, none of them touched it in the second half.

Douglass' Chris High is one of three talented running backs in the Trojan arsenal.

What we learned about Douglass: As closely as I’ve followed this team the last couple of weeks, it’s hard to say I learned very much new information about them at Saturday’s 21-14 Soul Bowl win. They had a couple of players held out because of injuries suffered Monday against DeSoto, but otherwise, Saturday was a strong bounce-back game.

Chris Compton was able to show that he can be a threat throwing the ball. The way things went against DeSoto, it was hard to tell just what kind of passer he was going to be, but his 8-of-11 performance — including a couple of big throws at crucial times — showed that he’ll be ready to handle it when the team needs to throw. Coach Willis Alexander always says that he wants his offense to be able to throw when they want to, and Saturday, that seemed to be the case.

The run game will still be the Trojans’ bread and butter. With Dion’Tay Washington, Chavez Wyatt and Chris High, they’ve got a group of backs who can do a little bit of everything.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for Deondre Clark. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore came through with some big plays on Saturday, including the go-ahead touchdown on a 15-yard reception. He had to go down low to pull it in, then regained his balance to finish off the run.

What we learned about Millwood: When they start lining up against 2A competition every week, the Falcons are going to be dishing out some pain. Running backs Marc Robinson and Larry Lambeth give Millwood a power run game that not many teams can match up against. Unfortunately, Douglass was one of those teams, with Cayman Bundage and Diamonte McClellan in the middle. But the run will be much stronger for Millwood against different competition.

QB Dametric Sanders threw the ball better than I expected him to. He hit some big passes in the first half, and had a couple of good throws dropped. He’s a very athletic QB, and he’s not going to put up the kind of numbers Kevonte Richardson did last year. But he can be effective both throwing and running the ball for Millwood this year. And backup QB London Potts can toss it around, too, if needed.

Defensively, Millwood has some good size up front, and the duo of Robinson and Lambeth are the perfect pair at inside linebacker. Stopping the run will be their strength. Even with all the talent Douglass has in the run game, Millwood made them work for their yards, finishing with 186 on 43 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per attempt. I’d be surprised if anybody holds Douglass to those kinds of numbers in the run game the rest of the season.

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

The Douglass Trojans will face DeSoto, Texas, High School Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Cowboys Stadium.

The day of the big game is finally here for the Douglass Trojans.

They had to sit around last Thursday and Friday, watching every other team in the state open the 2011 football season, and now it’s finally here.

Some players said it wasn’t easy watching all the other teams getting to play, and others felt it only hyped them up for their game even more.

The trip has been a lot of fun so far. How could you not have fun eating dinner at Dave and Buster’s with 75 high school kids?

I got the impression that coach Willis Alexander wasn’t too happy with the team’s focus at walk-through on Sunday afternoon, but I’d expect him to corral the kids’ attitudes before gametime.

You could sense the focus coming back around when the bus rolled into Cowboys Stadium on Sunday evening for the tour. Just seeing the turf brought a lot of excitement.

And camera phones were busy throughout the tour at places like the field and in the Cowboys’ locker room. But the tour almost came to a halt when it passed the doors of the Cowboys Cheerleaders locker room. Like I said… it’s 75 high school boys.

I was in San Diego with the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2008 during the lead-up to the Holiday Bowl, and Sunday’s events had a very similar feel. These kids are really enjoying the experience and trying to take it all in.

The team got together for breakfast at 8 a.m. today, with the pregame meal around 1 p.m. Then it’s off to Cowboys Stadium to get taped, and check out the atmosphere during the earlier games.

The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. and is televised on Fox Sports Oklahoma, Cox 37.

For the fans who aren’t at the game, or watching on television, the Dallas Morning News will be providing live stats and play-by-play online.

And I’ll be providing some updates on Twitter as well (@ScottWrightOK).

As for the game itself, here are a couple story lines I’ll be watching:

1. The Douglass linemen. I haven’t seen the DeSoto players in person, but based on the tape I saw, and what I’ve heard, they’re some big dudes. Douglass has a good group of linemen for a Class 4A team, but this could be a different kind of ballgame.

2. The Trojan backfield. Chris Compton is making his first start at quarterback on national TV in Cowboys Stadium. He’s a senior and he’s played before (on defense) but he’ll need to keep his composure in this setting. The running backs will be important in helping him along. I expect big things from Dion’Tay Washington this year, and Chavez Wyatt is a good complement to him as well.

3. The Douglass defense. Here’s the area where the Trojans need to be the equalizer. They have speed to compare with any school, no matter the size. Jas’Sen Stoner at middle linebacker, along with the guys in the secondary, need to avoid giving up the big plays. And the D-line will have to use its quickness as a weapon against a bigger O-line.

I’ve had my video camera with me the whole time, and I’ll provide a behind-the-scenes look at the trip and the game on Tuesday. There will be stories online and in the newspaper over the next couple of days as well. 

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

I’m currently on a charter bus riding with the Douglass High School football team to Arlington, Texas for their Monday afternoon game against DeSoto, Texas, HS at Cowboys Stadium. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Monday and will be televised by Fox Sports Oklahoma, Cox 37.

I’m planning lots of fun stuff from the trip, including some behind-the-scenes stories and videos. So keep an eye on Twitter (@ScottWrightOK), as well as here on the blog, on NewsOK.com and in The Oklahoman for all the coverage from the trip and the game.

The Trojans practice at Lamar HS in Arlington this evening, then get to visit Cowboys Stadium before heading to dinner — Dave and Buster’s, I’m told — then to the hotel.

This is a big game for Douglass in a number of ways. Not only is it a nationally televised game against one of Texas’ top teams, but it’s also their first game of the season as they begin their Class 4A state title defense.

I’ll have plenty more from the road, so keep checking back to see how the trip is going.

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

Quarterback Chris Compton and the Douglass Trojans will have a strong following at Cowboys Stadium Monday for their season-opener against DeSoto, Texas.

As part of their agreement to play in the Kirk Herbstreit Kickoff Classic at Cowboys Stadium next week, the Douglass Trojans were allotted 1,000 tickets to the event.

And now, coach Willis Alexander has requested more.

On Wednesday night, all of the football coaches from the OKC Public Schools system attended a dinner with a few media members, and Douglass’ ticket frenzy was among the most interesting items of the night — No. 2 being the chicken fajitas at 1492 New World Latin Cuisine (highly recommended).

So Trojan Pride is out in full force, as usual. There should be a large contingent of orange and black in Cowboys Stadium for the 4:30 p.m. game on Monday against DeSoto High School.

Winning won’t be easy. According to MaxPreps, DeSoto is ranked No. 3 in the state of Texas and No. 25 nationally. As I mentioned last week, their attendance numbers would put them as the fourth-largest school in the state, just behind Jenks, and larger than any school in the OKC metro area.

But I know the Trojans won’t be scared, and I believe the experience is more valuable, in the long run, than the result of the game. I look forward to providing something of a behind-the-scenes look at the trip and the game, so be on the lookout for that next week.

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

Douglass won the All-City Preview championship once again on Friday night, but just like last year, the discussion turned to a much more important trophy than the one the Trojans claimed Friday.

It’s all about another state title for this team, which starts its season Sept. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, against DeSoto High School

It won’t be an easy game, and the Trojans know that. For the sake of comparison, DeSoto’s official enrollment is 2,750. Douglass’ is 495. If you moved DeSoto to Oklahoma, they’d be the fourth-largest school, right behind Jenks (2,843) and just ahead of Owasso (2,604).

I’ll get into the game a little more throughout the week, and I’ll be traveling down to Texas for the game as well.

Here are a few other thoughts from the semifinals and finals of the All-City Preview:

-Millwood still has a lot of talent, and even though they graduated so many Division I players from last year’s squad, I don’t expect to see a ton of drop-off. Dametric Sanders is a very athletic quarterback who is dangerous when he gets to the edge. Marc Robinson didn’t get to play in the scrimmage because of OSSAA rules as he completed his required one year of sitting out after transferring from Heritage Hall. He’ll be a big boost, especially on defense. He and Larry Lambeth will be one of the better linebacker pairs around.

-John Marshall is still young, even though some of those guys, like quarterback Devion Smith, got some good experience last year. Kameron Bryant is a tall, athletic receiver with good ball skills, and he could be in for a big breakout year. He’ll be a tough matchup for any cornerback in that district. Tyler Stamm provides a big, athletic tight end target as well, so look for the passing game to take a step forward this year. Defensively, the secondary is the strenght of the team, but the front seven seems to be coming together.

-Star Spencer coach James Harding always talks about making his players accountable, and he’s clearly going to be a man of his word. The Bobcats opened fall camp with 62 players but had fewer than 40 suited up Friday night. Players who missed practices or got in trouble at school were held out as Harding implements his value system in his new program. On the field, the Bobcats will rely on defense, especially with a couple of athletic, hard-hitting players in the front seven. Kenneth Davis and Derrick Ward are two good leaders and both — but Davis especially — can pop the pads.

Lastly, don’t forget that our state-wide, class-by-class season preview publication will be included in Sunday’s paper. Be sure to pick one up. We have everything from preseason rankings, all-state teams and feature stories on some of the best dynamic duos in the state. It’s a little different than in past years. Instead of having separate sections for OU, OSU and high schools, it’s all one big section together, so don’t miss it.

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

Chris Compton looked good in spring practice (pictured here) and summer workouts as he tries to take over the quarterback job for defending Class 4A state champion Douglass.

Back in the middle of the summer, I asked Douglass coach Willis Alexander if he ever worried that his team would relax, or lose its edge, after winning a state title. The year before, the Trojans had lost in the title game, and that loss seemed to be the driving force behind everything they did.

Once they won it all, would they still have that fire?

Alexander said he that was his biggest fear shortly after the victory last year. But then, his players lessened that fear.

“The kids wanted to get right back to work,” Alexander said then. “It wasn’t hard to motivate them and keep them motivated.”

Alexander was prepared. He had things to hold up in front of his players, particularly his seniors — like the chance to be the winningest class in school history over a four-year period. Then came the opportunity to play on national TV against DeSoto, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, which provided yet another motivating tool.

But most importantly, it was the players’ attitudes that kept the team grounded.

There’s no talk about last year’s state championship. This year’s team knows it can’t live off of last year’s successes.

“The kids haven’t been wearing their state championship rings,” Alexander said before Tuesday’s first practice of the season. “It’s just their attitude. That’s in the past. Now we need to go forward.”

The Trojans have some key returning players, like lineman Cayman Bundage, an Arizona commit, and linebacker Jas’Sen Stoner.

Chris Compton, a key player in the secondary last year, is likely to replace Shon Bridges at quarterback.

“Chris has waited his turn and bided his time,” Alexander said. “He has the opportunity now. He had a good spring and was good in 7-on-7 in the summer. Now he just needs to take another step in the maturation process.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The Kirk Herbstreit Kickoff Classic is trying to find the best fan base among the 16 schools competing in its football games in Ohio and Texas next month.

The contest is completely based on fan voting, and the winner will be announced on ESPN and Fox Sports during the event on Labor Day weekend.

Voting is now open on the event’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/HerbstreitFootball, and concludes Sept. 2. Fans can vote as many times as they wish.

Douglass compete in the Herbstreit Kickoff Classic against DeSoto (Texas) High School at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults, and can be purchased at www.herbstreitclassic.com. Tickets are good for entry to all four games at Cowboys Stadium that day.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The Wes Welker Foundation’s board of directors have approved $29,000 in grant money to four Oklahoma City-area schools, the organization announced Monday.
The grants were awarded to Star Spencer’s volleyball and athletic department, U.S. Grant’s football program, Putnam City West’s football and athletic department and Crooked Oak’s athletic department.

The foundation, founded by former Heritage Hall and current New England Patriots standout Wes Welker, was founded five years ago with the aim of helping underprivileged kids.

The foundation awards grants twice a year to schools and organizations in the Oklahoma City area. It also provides free sports camps for at-risk youth and a coach and leadership development program.

The foundation has given more than $192,000 in grant money in the past four years.

U.S. Grant is a two-time recipient.

Other organizations that have received the grants in the past have included Life Change Academy, Astec Charter School, Douglass High School, Memorial Park Boys and Girls Club and Western Village Academy.

Another Super 30 player ends the drama as Douglass' Cayman Bundage has committed to Arizona.

Douglass offensive lineman Cayman Bundage gave his verbal commitment to Arizona, coach Willis Alexander told The Oklahoman on Wednesday.

Bundage, 6-foot-2, 280 pounds, also had scholarship offers from Missouri, Arkansas, Tulsa, North Texas.

A tackle for the Trojans’ powerful rushing attack, Bundage is likely a guard or center in college. He started at center for Douglass as a freshman, but moved outside for his sophomore and junior seasons, because that’s where he was needed most.

During his three seasons, Douglass has been among the most dangerous run offenses in the state, reaching the Class 4A state championship game two straight years and winning it last fall.

Arizona has been looking hard for offensive linemen in Oklahoma, also extending offers to Guthrie’s Blake Belcher and Putnam City North’s Daniel Burton.

I’ll have an update later today after I get the chance to talk in detail with Bundage and Alexander about the decision.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Douglass and Jas'sen Stoner will have a national spotlight to showcase their skills Sept. 5 vs. DeSoto, Texas, on Fox Sports.

Douglass is the lone Oklahoma participant in the seventh annual Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic, and the Trojans will be taking on DeSoto (Texas) on Fox Sports.

The classic is a two-day event on Labor Day weekend with games in Ohio on Sept. 4-5 that will be broadcast on the ESPN networks. Sept. 5 games will also be played at Cowboys Stadium and all games will be broadcast on Fox Sports.

Douglass, the reigning Class 4A state champions, plays DeSoto at 4:30 and is the third of four games. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students 18 and under. Tickets are on sale through Douglass High.

Though Douglass, coached by Willis Alexander, lost some key parts from last year’s championship squad, the Trojans still have plenty of talented players including running back Diontay Washington and linebacker Jas’sen Stoner.

Teams from Ohio, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana and Florida will also be competing in the classic.

“We are thrilled to join Intersport in showcasing some of the best high school football in the country on national television,” Kirk Herbstreit said in a press release. “Each year, our event helps shine a light on the top young football talent throughout the country and provides a great way to kick off the season.”

Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
Sept. 4
St. Xavier (Cincinnati, Ohio) vs. Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) /Noon ET/ESPNU
Springfield (Springfield, Ohio) vs. Upper Arlington (Columbus, Ohio)/3:30 p.m. ET/ESPNU
Sept. 5
Camden County (Kingsland, Georgia) vs. Cleveland Glenville (Cleveland, Ohio)/Noon ET/ESPN
Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis) vs. Centerville (Dayton, Ohio)/4 p.m. ET/ESPNU

Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
Sept. 5
Edna Karr (New Orleans) vs. Arlington Bowie (Arlington, Texas)/10 a.m. CT/FSN
Cocoa (Cocoa, Fla.) vs. Skyline (Dallas)/1:15 p.m. CT/FSN
Frederick A. Douglass (Oklahoma City) vs. DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas)/4:30 p.m. CT/FSN
Cedar Hill (Cedar Hill, Texas) vs. Denton Guyer (Denton, Texas)/7:45 p.m. CT/FSN

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The Trojans have been invited to play in the Kirk Herbstreit Kickoff Classic, which will be held on Labor Day, Sept. 5, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The event will feature four games in all, with Douglass taking on DeSoto (Texas) High School in the third game of the day, set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37).

Tickets will be good for all four games and will be sold in advance at Douglass at a cost of $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets purchased at the event will be more expensive.

– Scott Wright, swright@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

Douglass football player Cayman Bundage received a scholarship offer from Arizona Tuesday morning.

After taking up-close looks at Missouri and Arkansas in the spring, Douglass offensive lineman Cayman Bundage continues to draw recruiting attention.

Arizona is the latest program to extend a scholarship offer to the 6-foot-2, 280-pound lineman.

The Wildcats’ offer on Tuesday morning brings his total to five, with Missouri, Arkansas, Tulsa and North Texas officially on board.

Bundage is rated No. 5 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 recruiting list. Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida State are among other programs continuing to show interest in Bundage, who has started since his freshman season as part of a powerful Douglass rushing attack.

Bundage, who will play center or guard in college, tends to really impress in camp settings as well as on highlight tape, so I’d expect his stock to continue rising throughout the summer. That said, I don’t expect him to overload his schedule on the camp circuit, either. He’ll do enough to keep his name out there, but he won’t wear himself out.

He has a good support system around him, both with his family and his coaches, and he’s a very grounded kid. I would expect them to maintain a very realistic view of the recruiting process and handle it properly.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Clark, Parker on sophomore All-America team

Two Oklahoma boys basketball players were selected to the MaxPreps Sophomore All-America team released Thursday.

Douglass guard Stephen Clark was a third-team selection after averaging 15.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in helping the Trojans to a second consecutive state championship. He shot 34.2 percent (89-of-260) from 3-point range on the season.

Tulsa Washington’s Juwan Parker was selected to the MaxPreps second team, averaging 16.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

Both players are being heavily recruited already. Parker has offers from Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Minnesota. Clark has an offer from Marquette, and has recently drawn strong interest from programs like Connecticut and Arkansas.

Both are playing summer ball with the local AAU team Athletes First. Check out the full MaxPreps Sophomore All-America team here.

PC North’s Provo picks Maryville

Putnam City North basketball standout Armon Provo has committed to play at Maryville University in St. Louis next season.

Provo, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 18.0 points per game as a senior, leading the Panthers within one game of the state tournament.

Maryville just completed its second season at the NCAA Division II level, playing in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Saints’ leading scorer last season averaged 11.4 points per game.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Twin brother Ramond and Romond Jenkins accomplished their D-I goal and fulfilled another goal of finding a college where they could play together. The 6-foot-6 twins had multiple D-I school showing interest, but Oral Roberts was one of the few programs that had room to take both of them together.

“All the time, I would have college coaches asking which one was better,” Douglass coach Terry Long said. “I would tell them, ‘They take turns.’ Both are tremendous athletes and I think they have tremendous up-side.

“One of the things we know about the twins is that they like to be together. Oral Roberts was the one from the beginning that said, ‘Hey, we’ll take you both.’ I think it’s a wise, wise choice.”

Although they’re twins, their game isn’t identical. At the college level, Ramond could be a better fit as an inside-outside guy, while Romond is at his best around the bucket.

Romond averaged 10.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in helping the Trojans to their second consecutive state championship, while Ramond averaged 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s D-I, NAIA — I played NAIA ball and you couldn’t tell me it isn’t as competitive as anything else,” Long said. “But the biggest thing is that you end up with a degree. You get that opportunity and it’s not gonna cost you a dollar.

“That’s the big thing, not just to our program, but to our community, to see two young men get the opportunity to further their education. Hopefully this will inspire others to continue to take care of business in the classroom as well as on the basketball court.”

I shot a video at the signing as well, so be sure to check back for that as soon as it’s ready to be posted.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The pair of 6-foot-6 forwards will sign with ORU on Thursday afternoon, just a month removed from helping the Trojans to their second straight Class 4A state championship.

Romond Jenkins averaged 10.3 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Trojans, while Ramond Jenkins averaged 7.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. The two are lauded for their tremendous athletic skills and long bodies.

The signing will be held at Douglass HS at 2 p.m. Thursday.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Here’s how the voting finished:
Obi Emegano, Edmond Memorial 2.51% (128 votes)
Stephen Clark, Douglass 9.54% (486 votes)
Dominique Raney, Putnam City 14.12% (719 votes)
Josh Richardson, Edmond Santa Fe 33.97% (1,730 votes)
Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek 39.85% (2,029 votes)

Spangler was also The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year. Here’s my Super 5 video interview with Spangler:

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The 6-foot-2 guard signed with the Bears in November and asked for his release last week after coach Cuonzo Martin left to become head coach at Tennessee. Williams said he has met with new Missouri State coach Paul Lusk.

“He came here to talk to me,” Williams said. “I just want to see if (Missouri State) is the best opportunity for me. It’s about my future and what will be best.”

Until he gets his full release, Williams cannot speak to coaches at other college programs, but Douglass coach Terry Long said schools, including Texas Tech and Clemson, have inquired about Williams’ status.

Williams averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals this season, and has been a key player on the Trojans’ back-to-back state championship teams. He averaged 21 points per game through the playoffs this year.

Tulsa East Central’s Drew Wilson was also released from his letter of intent with the Bears, but according to a report from the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader on Monday, Wilson has recommitted to Missouri State.

Williams said Wilson contacted him after he recommitted, but Williams does not expect that to impact his decision.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

First Team:
Dorrian Williams – Douglass, Stephen Clark- Douglass, Ramond Jenkins- Douglass, Romond Jenkins- Douglass, Tre Jordan- Southeast

Second Team:
Jamil Donovan- Northwest Classen, Marcus Johnson- Centennial, Marquis Buxton-Hill- Douglass, Nico Meadows- Capitol Hill, Dre’ Triplett- Millwood,

Third Team:
Korihon Jackson- Northeast, Dominique Manuel- Douglass, Craig Hackney- Centennial, DeSean Carolina- Centennial, DeMontrey Mitchell- John Marshall

Honorable Mention:
Capitol Hill-  Josh Thompson, Aaron Brown, Darrin Tucker
Classen- Cameron McClure, Anthony Bolar
Douglass- Darris Mitchell, DeAngelo Clark
U.S. Grant- Anthony Hartfield, G’vonte Bonds
John Marshall- Talmadge Lawrence, Tyler Harrison
Centennial- Darius Lacey, Austin Garner
Northeast- Eric Peabody, Gabe Houston,
NW Classen- Paco Jones, Anthony Hardrick
Southeast- William Brewer, Travis Morris, Jay Gogue
Star Spencer- Gary Ford, Symon Smith

Too early for 2013 class talk? Maybe, but Deer Creek's Joel Blumenthal is one to watch.

Before we get to the weekly news and notes on some of the top recruits, really think some recruiting experts are missing the boat on the class of 2012.

Heritage Hall’s Barry J. Sanders dominates the headlines and has for the last couple of years. And then when a program like Oklahoma offers players such as Jenks’ Alex Ross and Heritage Hall’s Sterling Shepard, that obviously makes people stand up and notice.

Those three again were recognized with Sanders at No. 51, Shepard at No. 85 and Ross at No. 89 of the Scout 300. And then that was it. Really?

No love for Norman RB Donovan Roberts or Douglass OL Cayman Bundage? Or an OL like Blake Belcher from Guthrie? And we might all be sleeping on just how good Ramsey Hamilton of Beggs after how well he has fared in workout/combine atmospheres.

I really like this class. Hey, maybe I’m overestimating how good this class is going to be, but I can tell you that I’m already excited for the fall. Heck, even spring practice.

With that said, more news and notes:

- Edmond Santa Fe has been off the radar lately, but that should change this year. Not only is Ty Hensley a top baseball/football prospect, defensive back Conner Bays performed extremely well at an Under Armour combine last weekend in Houston. It’s going to be a new looks Wolves team so it will be very interesting to see how this team gels together.

- When you start talking about the 2013 class, it starts in Lawton with D.J. Ward, but I’m wondering just how far up the ranks Deer Creek’s Joel Blumenthal is going to go. He performed well at a combine in Dallas in late March and has been invited to Tampa for a top camp in the summer. It is invite only with 25 quarterbacks from 15 different states.

- Mention Casady recruiting for 2011, and you go right to DL Graham Bennett and LB Garrison Lee. However, don’t forget about Mac Katigan. He’s going to Princeton’s Junior Day this weekend and has also been invited to the junior days at Yale and Dartmouth. Dartmouth seems like a natural fit considering his older brother, Austin, is a freshman on the football team.

- Incredibly busy time of year when it comes to combines. Casey Curtis of Putnam City is off to a couple more on this weekend. We won’t call Curtis ‘Scott Wright’s boy,’ but Scott is very high (rightfully so) on the ability of Curtis. With more info, read Scott’s blog.

- OKVarsity.rivals.com is going to have its in-state combines next month. The Oklahoma City area one is May 21 at Yukon, while the Tulsa area is May 28 at Broken Arrow. For much more info, here ya go. I definitely intend to attend both combines but have no idea if I’ll be able to. Justin Mitchell does a great job with the OKVarsity site, and it’s a very well-run exhibition.

- A couple of forgotten kids are starting to make some noise. Edmond North RB Jared Benway missed all of his junior season with a broken leg but is back and looking good. Same can be said for Heritage Hall quarterback Quinn Shanbour. Shanbour left Bishop McGuinness a day before the season opener. HH coach Andy Bogert said Shanbour played a vital role in helping the team practice against opposing QBs last year. Shanbour just returned from a visit to the University of Arizona.

- As always, you got info, drop me a line. You went to a camp? Let me know how it went.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Will Josh Richardson overtake Ryan Spangler for NewsOK.com Boys Player of the Year?

Voting ends Friday at 11:59 p.m. for the NewsOK.com Boys and Girls Basketball Player of the Year. So if you haven’t voted for your candidate enough, well, you got four more days to get to it.

As of 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, here are the numbers:

Girls
Sharane Campbell, Star Spencer – 583 votes, 30.9 percent
Ashley Clark, Midwest City – 458 votes, 24.3 percent
Elizabeth Donohoe, Edmond North – 260 votes, 13.8 percent
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe – 532 votes, 28.3 percent
Marisha Wallace, Midwest City – 49 votes, 2.6 percent

Boys
Stephen Clark, Douglass – 452 votes, 9.9 percent
Obi Emegano, Edmond Memorial – 117 votes, 2.5 percent
Dominique Raney, Putnam City – 716 votes, 15.6 percent
Josh Richardson, Edmond Santa Fe – 1,596 votes, 34.8 percent
Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek – 1,708 votes, 37.2 percent

Thanks for the more than 6,000 combined votes in the boys and girls polls. Once again, the voting closes Friday so you still have a chance.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

- College football coaches are getting real familiar about where Beggs is as star quarterback Ramsey Hamilton continues to get attention nationwide.

Hamilton, 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, has emerged as one of the top quarterback prospects for the class of 2012.

He will compete at an Elite 11 quarterback event April 9 at TCU. Oklahoma signees Kendal Thompson and Archie Bradley were both Elite 11 quarterbacks last year.

The next day Hamilton is going to head to SMU for a Nike quarterback camp where participants made it via invitation only.

In the last couple of weeks, coaches from Missouri and Virginia Tech have visited Beggs.

- As Scott Wright had in Tuesday’s paper, Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage has listed Arkansas as his favorite at this juncture. Bundage is No. 3 on the Super 30. His future is going to be at center at the next level.

I thought it was a little weird for him to come out and say that because I don’t think the interest in Bundage has reached its highest point yet. It will be interesting to see if Bundage commits anytime soon. I do feel schools are going to be busting down his door this summer, but we’ll see.

- A lot of attention for Norman goes to running back Donovan Roberts (No. 5 on the Super 30) but offensive lineman Foster Hare is really picking up some steam here in the last month.

Hare is listed at 6-3 and 300 pounds and is starting to get some interest from some Big 12 schools and smaller Division I schools. Another case where it will be interesting to see if Hare’s stock goes up in the next couple of months.

- Guthrie offensive lineman Blake Belcher is starting to get the attention figured was coming his way. He’s picked up offers from a couple of Pac-10 schools in Arizona and Oregon State. The Beavers, of course, have made some strong strides in Oklahoma with former Deer Creek star Dax Dilbeck, Booker T.’s Michael Doctor and the Lawton boys from last year, Jabral Johnson and Tyrequek Zimmerman.

- Casey Curtis was one of several local recruits to head to a Nike camp in Houston two weeks ago. Never too early to start hitting the camp circuit. Two years ago I would have said it doesn’t matter how many camps you go to because if you’re talented, you’ll be found.

Now? My advice (for whatever it’s worth) would be to go to as many as possible. Get people to know your name and show off the talents as much as possible.

- Quarterback Brent Wilson of Ponca City has also been busy making the rounds. His latest stop was at Kansas State, where he was one of only five quarterbacks in attendance.

Wilson is an interesting case because right now he could be a quarterback or athlete. And early signs are he is OK with being classified at either spot. He can definitely make some plays, though. He is right on the fringe of the Super 30, you could argue he deserves inclusion.

- McAlester athlete Adam Boyd sent me his highlight DVD from last year. I haven’t had an opportunity to watch it but definitely looking forward to it. Boyd is right on the edge and is another kid that I think has a good chance to move up the ranks.

- Any more news and info on the top kids? Let me know.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Saturday evening at the Big House was one of those for me. Simply seeing the State Fair Arena nearly full for the Douglass-Bridge Creek Class 4A boys title game was fantastic. Hearing the crowd screaming with every call, every shot, every rebound was a blast.

Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler simply tried to put his team on his back and carry them to a championship. He played point guard, wing and center. Handled the ball, drove to the basket, posted up, went to the boards, blocked shots, dished out assists.

He gave everything he could to will the Bobcats to the win. By the second quarter, he was exhausted. After halftime, he didn’t even bother warming up with his team. Just watched them from the bench, waiting for the third quarter to start.

But in the end, Douglass was just too much. Marquis Buxton-Hill and the Jenkins twins battled with Spangler all night. It was big-time basketball, and incredibly fun to watch.

Douglass sophomore Stephen Clark was cold from deep, but he kept at it, going to the bucket and doing other little things to help his team. DeVonte Smith showed why he’s one of the most underrated players around, getting to the rim with ease at times.

I still believe Douglass was the state’s best team in any class this season, though I’d love to see them play Tulsa Washington. And though there’s a debate to be had on the topic, I think Spangler might be the state’s best player.

It ultimately was a 12-point Douglass victory, but it was the most entertaining game I’ve watched in a long, long time.

Here’s our postgame video from the Douglass win:

Another great moment from the Big House Saturday night was the final game of the night, the Centennial boys winning the school’s first state title.

That was an fun one, too, with not only the students, but facutly members celebrating like 17-year-olds. One woman, who looked like an adminstrator, was clapping so hard that she broke one of the bracelets on her wrist, which broke into pieces and flew all over the court.

Here’s a link to my follow-up story on the Centennial victory, which also includes the postgame video.

Congrats to all the champions from the Big House the last two weekends. Lots of good basketball. Sad to see the season end.

Be on the lookout for our postseason awards, Super 5, Big and Little All-City, and all that good stuff in a few weeks.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage has received scholarship offers from Missouri and Arkansas.

It’s only the start, but Douglass offensive lineman Cayman Bundage has received his first two scholarship offers.

Missouri and Arkansas offered the 6-foot-2, 280-pound Bundage in recent days. Florida State, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Alabama have been among the other teams showing interest in the interior lineman.

A humble kid, Bundage has been a key piece of Douglass’ success since winning a starting job on the offensive line as a freshman three years ago. He was crucial on both sides of the ball in the Trojans’ run to the Class 4A state title.

“I told him about (the offers). He cracked a smile, then went back to class and back to work,” Douglass coach Willis Alexander said. “He’s always an even-keel kid. Everybody’s happy for him. He’s the inspiration and the tone-setter for our team. He’s the only one who’s been around playing for four years. Now he’s the big dog.”

Rated as the No. 3 prospect in the state in The Oklahoman’s Super 30 for 2012, Bundage played offensive tackle for the Trojans last fall, but was the starting center his first two seasons. He’s viewed as a center or guard at the next level.

Alexander said Tuesday that Bundage has slimmed down about 15 pounds to a “comfortable playing weight” of 280. Depending on what colleges want to do with him, that could change after next year, but with his strength and quickness, he could be scary good on both sides of the ball at the 4A level weighing 280.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

And I knocked off two things at once Saturday afternoon. One, I had never been to the Franklin-Spears Gym at Millwood. The placement of the doors on the baseline freaked me out at first.

Two, I had never seen the juggernaut that is the Douglass boys basketball team in action. The Falcons gave the Trojans everything they could have asked for and then some before eventually falling 66-64 on Saturday evening.

I don’t want to say it wasn’t competitive, but 66-64 is also a bit misleading. The Trojans missed a lot of free throws in the final two minutes and tip in at the buzzer by Michael Ervin for Millwood made it 66-64. However, that’s not to say Millwood shouldn’t be thumping its chest right now.

Scott Wright, who has seen the Douglass machine numerous times, said that was the worst first quarter he’s seen as Millwood led 11-8.

At one point, it was 15-10 in favor of Millwood, and then Stephen Clark and company got it going. So much so that at the beginning of the third quarter, it was now 35-22. I thought the rout was on.

No, Millwood hung tough, led by Delford Robinson. There aren’t too many people Robinson cannot take off the dribble. And there isn’t a shot that Clark has seen that he won’t take. He made his fair share of deep 3s before the post game really opened up with the Jenkins twins (Ramond and Romond) and Marquis Buxton-Hill.

Millwood was within striking distance in the fourth but never made that surge. But you add Brandon Swindall and Josh Turner (now focused on basketball) to go with the rest of those guys, hard to see a 2A team taking ‘em down.

As for Douglass, I know I didn’t see their best game, but I get why they’re so good. Look for a video with Clark on NewsOK this weekend.

If nothing else, it felt good to be out at gyms again instead of holed up in the apartment and calling players and coaches about delays.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

***

Millwood and Douglass to be played

Though most basketball games have been postponed or canceled from this week, the Oklahoma City Public Schools showdown between Douglass and Millwood is going to take place Saturday afternoon. The OKCPS announced Friday afternoon that the games will go on as scheduled.

The girls game is going to be played at 2:30, while the boys game will follow at 4 p.m. Saturday’s games between the OKC Storm and Star Spencer have been canceled.

The Douglass boys are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, while Millwood is ranked No. 1 in 2A.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Jordan Woodard and Edmond Memorial are up to No. 37 in this week's ESPN RISE Fab 50 boys basketball rankings.

Edmond Memorial made its debut in the ESPN RISE Fab 50 boys basketball rankings last week, and the Douglass Trojans have returned to the rankings again this week.

Douglass opened the season at No. 26 in the ESPN poll, but fell out after a November loss in Texas. At 11-4, the Trojans are back at No. 49.

After debuting in the top 50 at No. 42 last week, undefeated (as of this very moment, 25 minutes prior to tip against Edmond Santa Fe) Edmond Memorial is up to No. 37 in this week’s poll.

In the regional rankings, four state teams are in the Southwest Top 20, with Memorial at No. 9, Douglass at 13, Tulsa Washington at 16 and Midwest City at 18.

Here are links to the Fab 50 and regional rankings.

The carry-over from tournaments to Monday night has my week all jacked up, so I’ll get around to my usual Tuesday Power Poll on Wednesday this week. And it won’t hurt to see how that Memorial-Santa Fe game turns out first.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The list was put together by NCSA Director of Football Recruiting Randy Taylor, along with former college recruiting coordinator Bob Chmiel and three former NFL players, Othello Henderson, Marcus Price and Ryan Neufeld.

Bundage has been on the radar of several Division I programs after strong performances at camps last summer, including one in Dallas and another at Florida State. The Seminoles, along with Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Miami, North Carolina, Cal and a few others have stayed in contact with Bundage as he prepares for his senior season.

Bundage started at left tackle for the Trojans in their run to the Class 4A state title last fall, but his college future is at center or guard. He was Douglass’ starting center as a freshman and sophomore, before the need increased for him to be on the edge.

Here is the NCSA’s top 25 players from the combine:

1 Chance Allen WR 6-2 180 Elkins High School
2 Vince Biegel LB 6-3 210 Lincoln High School
3 Ray Buchanan Jr. DB 5-10 165 Peachtree Ridge High School
4 Cayman Bundage OG 6-2 255 Douglass High School
5 Jason Croom WR 6-5 215 Norcross High School
6 Jordan Diamond OT 6-5 265 Simeon High School
7 Stefon Diggs WR 6-0 165 Good Counsel High School
8 Khaliq Gatson DB 5-10 160 William Penn High School
9 Xavier Grindle RB 5-10 170 East Marion High School
10 Mark Harrell OT 6-5 250 Charlotte Catholic High School
11 Marcus Holliday RB 5-9 165 Fairley High School
12 Nick James DT 6-3 310 Long Beach High School
13 Brian Kimbrow RB 5-10 165 Memphis East High School
14 Byron Marshall RB 5-10 195 Valley Christian High School
15 Michael McHugh WR 6-2 185 Kirkwood High School
16 Vincent Miller WR/DB 5-11 170 Henry Clay High School
17 Trenton Norvell QB 6-4 215 Seabreeze High School
18 Dorian O’Daniels LB 6-1 180 Good Counsel High School
19 Ondre Pipkins DT 6-2 295 Park Hill High School
20 Deaysean Rippy LB 6-2 200 Sto-Rox High School
21 Patton Robinette QB 6-4 190 Maryville High School
22 Anthony Smith DT 6-1.5 260 Westfield High School
23 Caleb Smith TE 6-5.5 215 Kentridge High School
24 Spencer Stanley DE 6-4 250 Trinity Valley High School
25 DJ White DB 5-11 180 Union Grove High School

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Titan Classic
At Carl Albert
Thursday
Boys
Lawton MacArthur vs. Guthrie, 11:30 a.m.
Millwood vs. Wichita North, 2:30
Carl Albert vs. Harvest Life, 5:30
Del City vs. HCYA – Houston, 8:30
Girls
Del City vs. Mustang, 10 a.m.
Carl Albert vs. Putnam City, 1 p.m.
Millwood vs. Stillwater, 4 p.m.
Midwest City vs. Douglass, 7 p.m.

The Trojans were handed their fourth loss of the season — all against out-of-state competition — in an 87-62 loss to Oak Ridge Military Academy, out of North Carolina.

Oak Ridge got 29 points from guard Chris Jones, who is headed to Tennessee.

Douglass’ Dorrian Williams gave his future home fans a good show with a team-high 16 points. Williams has signed with Missouri State, which hosted the three-day tournament at their arena. DeVonte Smith scored 11 for the Trojans in their lowest scoring game of the season.

The Trojans (11-4) reached the finals with a 78-62 win over Nixa, Mo., Friday night. Stephen Clark scored 26 in the semifinal rout, with Ramond Jenkins and Dorrian Williams adding 14 apiece, and Dominique Manuel chipping in 12.

Douglass fans interested in catching the replay of Saturday’s title game, it will be televised at 8:30 p.m. Monday night by CBS College Sports, Cox Digital channel 249.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

DeVonte Smith scored a team-high 17 points, Romond Jenkins had 16 and Stephen Clark had 11. The Trojans got out to an early lead and maintained it all the way through.

Douglass had a busy night trying to contain GAC senior Malcolm Brogdon, a 6-foot-5 swingman who is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 102 prospect in the country. The Virginia commit had 27 points and 13 boards.

Douglass will be in action late tonight, with its semifinal tipoff against Nixa, Mo., set for 9:30 p.m. Branson, Mo., faces Chicago-based De La Salle in the other semifinal.

After getting a big ovation during introductions, Douglass senior and Missouri State signee Dorrian Williams had three points and three assists, playing in the gym he’ll call home starting next year. Coach Terry Long felt Williams was forcing things, hoping to put on a good show for his future fans.

“Dorrian was pressing to do too much because everyone wanted to see him play,” Long told the Springfield News-Leader.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Been making the rounds with some of the kids that participated in the US Army National Combine in San Antonio. Here are some of their thoughts and impressions on last weekend:

Cayman Bundage, OL, Douglass

Douglass junior offensive lineman Cayman Bundage doesn’t have any official offers, but he turned a lot of heads at the U.S. Army National Combine in San Antonio.

Bundage, 6-foot-2 and 293 pounds, was a reason why the Trojans won their first state football championship since 1976.

Recruiting experts said Bundage was light on his feet and had one of the best techniques in pass blocking.

Bundage became a name to watch last summer after a strong performance in a Florida State camp. The Seminoles have continued to show interest in him. Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama and several others have been in contact with Douglass coach Willis Alexander regarding Bundage.

“Cayman has been ready to play since he was in the ninth grade just because of his quickness, his footwork and his understanding of how to play the game,” Alexander said. “He’s getting a lot of interest from BCS conference schools. He’s a center or guard in college, even though we’re playing him at tackle.”

Sterling Shepard, WR, Heritage Hall

There is no question that Heritage Hall junior wide receiver Sterling Shepard showed this season he is among the best in the state.

But at the U.S. Army National Combine in San Antonio last weekend, Shepard said he learned he can compete with other elite athletes from across the nation.

“I was really happy with the way everything turned out,” Shepard said. “They taught me a few things when it came to technique.”

Shepard said interest has increased dramatically. Shepard picked up his first offer from Oklahoma State in December and said Missouri, Alabama and UCLA are also showing strong interest.

Shepard also said it appears most schools have him pegged as a wide receiver. Defensive back was once an option but not too many schools are looking at Shepard there anymore.

Derek Deeds, WR/DB, Yukon

Deeds said, much like Shepard, the combine really helped him realize he can compete with some of the other top talents in the nation.

Deeds is a veteran of these all-star competitions as it feels like he was at just about every one imaginable in the summer.

The Millers star said three schools have heavy interest in him: Oklahoma State, Missouri and Tulsa.

Hunter Dinkines, Deer Creek

Dinkines has a rather odd story. Somewhere along the way this season, Dinkines broke his pinky finger.

From his father, Bill: “The week of playoffs against Tulsa Washington, he shows it to me and he can not straighten it out.  We taken him to the doctor and they enlighten us that not only is it broken but it had already healed.”

Dinkines had to have surgery to re-break the finger so that it could be put back properly. However, he was cleared to participate at the combine.

Barry J. Sanders, RB, Heritage Hall

Still recovering from foot surgery, Sanders did not participate in the 2011 combine. However, he did announce he will be playing in the 2012 US Army game.

Sanders has listed Alabama, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Florida State as his four early favorites and said the next couple of months he will be focusing a lot more on his recruiting.

***

I sent feelers out to some of the top recruits I knew were there. If they respond, I’ll have a Part II update. If you’re one of them, hey, drop me a line.

Ramond Jenkins and his Douglass teammates used strong defense to set up plenty of layups in a 104-27 win over Star Spencer Tuesday night.

I can’t remember exactly the last time I was at a game when a team scored 100. Pretty sure it would have been the 07-08 season when I was covering Jeff Capel’s boys — Blake Griffin among them.

Five minutes into the Star Spencer at Douglass game Tuesday night, the thought hit me that I might see triple-digits from the Trojans.

They pulled it off with a bucket from DeAngelo Clark with just under two minutes to play, finishing with a 104-27 win over Star Spencer.

It’s kind of tough seeing such a powerful rivalry be so one-sided, but that’s just the state of the two programs this season. It’s not that Star Spencer is as bad as the score might suggest, or that Douglass is 75 points better. It’s just that Star has some young and inexperienced players on the perimeter, and Douglass’ ball pressure was at its best Tuesday night.

Star is in the middle of a rebuilding year, after sending all five starters to college programs last season. And you know coach Patrick Cudjoe will have the Bobcats back to being postseason contenders in no time. Douglass is just a bad matchup for them right now.

The Trojans took advantage of the several turnovers it forced with fast-break buckets or open jumpers on the other end. The Trojans didn’t really shoot the ball incredibly well, but the size with the Jenkins twins and Marquis Buxton-Hill was another big advantage. All three big men finished with double-figure points and they were all over the glass.

Defense was the key, however. And after some lackluster defensive performances earlier in the year, the Douglass players feel like they’re getting things together on that end of the floor. It was a strong win to send Douglass into some tough competition in the Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., starting Thursday.

“Defense carries over to the next game,” DeVonte Smith said. “All we’ve been talking about in practice is defense. Defense wins games.”

Douglass opens with Greater Atlanta Christian, which finished fifth in the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., two weeks ago. Douglass finished fourth in the BBC, and both teams beat Rice (NY). Douglass knocked them off 87-63 in the quarterfinals and Greater Atlanta beat them 73-49 in the fifth-place game. The Trojans take on Greater Atlanta Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

The tournament will be the first of many games in Springfield for Douglass guard Dorrian Williams, who signed to play for Missouri State, which plays its home games at the same arena hosting the tournament. Here’s a story the Springfield paper wrote about Williams.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Varsity writer Robert Przybylo says Guthrie's Kentrell Brothers was the best player in the state

You’ve been on pins and needles, admit it. You’ve been wondering what my top 10 players in the state ballot would look like.

Well, wonder no more. We’ve named Aliston Cobb, Brandon Swindall, Donovan Roberts and Kentrell Brothers as Players of the Year in one form of another. David Glidden captured the NewsOK.com honor. Now here’s the even more ‘prestigious’ Boneman Award.

10. Alex Ross, RB, Jenks

Ooh, this was tough. Between Ross and QB Sawyer Kollmorgen, one of the Trojans was getting on this list. But after watching some Jenks’ games on Cox onDemand (hey, blatant plug), Kollmorgen had the consistency, but Ross had the wow factor. Where did this kid come from? Excited for his senior year.

9. Tyrequek Zimmerman, WR/DB, Lawton

For most of the year we didn’t really get to see what he could do. The Wolverines dominated the district. However, when the playoffs came around, Zimmerman was on full display on both sides of the ball. Zimmerman is headed to Oregon State (joined by teammate Jabral Johnson).

8. Donovan Roberts, RB, Norman

Take what I said about Ross and paste it here. Tremendous size, great speed, future is incredibly bright for the Tigers RB. Workhorse, doesn’t fumble, scores and gains yards against some of the toughest teams in the state. It may not be possible, but I think he might be even better next season.

7. Aliston Cobb, RB, Douglass

Not much more needs to be said about Cobb’s record season for the Trojans. All I point to is his two TDs against Wagoner. He gets hurt, team doesn’t get another first down. Now that’s an impact on a team.

6. Brandon Swindall, WR/DB, Millwood

Cannot believe schools aren’t busting his door down with offers. Some might say playing in 2A helps his numbers. I say if he was playing against bigger classes, he would have no problem adapting his game and have just as big an impact. All the great ones adjust.

5. Derrick Alexander, DL/LB, Booker T.

You could make a great argument that Alexander was the best defensive player in the state this season. The Hornets were loaded with incredible talent all over the place, but Alexander stood out. I mean you always knew where Alexander was on the field.

4. David Glidden, WR/DB/KR, Mustang

Always loved watching Glidden play. Week 2 against Edmond North last season — I was officially on the bandwagon. He was a little banged up at times this season so I don’t think we saw his full potential, but it does hurt when you’re trying to rank his season. We’ll see his full potential at Oklahoma State.

3. Christian Hood, WR/DB, Union

Now this is a kid I wish I could have seen on a weekly basis. Love the way he plays the game. And what can you say about his performance against Jenks in the championship? Another great prospect teams are sleeping on.

2. Sterling Shepard, QB/RB/WR/DB/KR, Heritage Hall

I won’t say too much here (haven’t I said enough at this point). When a play had to be made, Shepard did it — no matter what. Won’t forget that Kingfisher outing anytime soon.

1. Kentrell Brothers, RB/WR/DL, Guthrie

If I didn’t know Guthrie coach Rafe Watkins and his staff so well, I would venture to say they don’t know how to figure up stats. Those couldn’t be real numbers, right? Brothers is legit in every way, shape and form. He should make a fine transition to LB at Missouri, and I agree with Watkins who said in his All-State nomination form, “Kentrell is the best player in the state.” He was.

He jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Mustang’s David Glidden has always been a popular fella, and he proves it on these polls. He’s a likable kid who busts his butt off on the football field. Glidden easily won the first ever NewsOK.com Player of the Year, with Kentrell Brothers in second and Sterling Shepard right behind him.

Looking forward to great things from Glidden at Oklahoma State.

For Scott Wright’s All-State story on Glidden, here ya go.

Poll results for NewsOK.com Player of the Year:

1. David Glidden, Mustang – 597 votes, 32.7 percent
2. Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie – 480 votes, 26.3 percent
3. Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall – 466 votes, 25.5 percent
4. Aliston Cobb, Douglass – 164 votes, 9 percent
5. Brandon Swindall, Millwood – 117 votes, 6.4 percent

The Varsity staff would like to thank everybody for their participation. It was great discussion on the blogs, and 1,824 votes were tallied. I’ll be back Monday with my personal top 10 players of the year.

The Douglass sophomore has made 15 3-pointers through two games at the Beach Ball Classic at Myrtle Beach, S.C.,  carrying the Trojans to a pair of victories in the national tournament.

Douglass routed a local SC team, Socastee, 90-46 in the opener on Monday with Clark pouring in seven 3s in 20 attempts. Dorrian Williams hit three 3s and finished with 20 points and Romond Jenkins logged a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

In Wednesday’s second round, the Trojans got 27 from Clark, with an 8-of-12 mark from 3. Williams scored 20 points again, and Jenkins had 15 with eight boards. DeVonte Smith is running the show well, too, averaging 9.5 assists per game.

Douglass will be back in action Thursday at 6 p.m. OKC time against Miller Grove (Ga.), which is ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings and No. 7 in the ESPN RISE Fab 50. Miller Grove outscored Washington D.C.-based Gonzaga High 8-0 in overtime for a 67-59 win in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

You can follow the action — including a live webcast of each game — at this link.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Still a week left to vote for the first ever NewsOK.com Player of the Year. David Glidden of Mustang has a commanding lead over Kentrell Brothers of Guthrie as we come down the stretch.

Starting Monday, Scott Wright and myself will write about one candidate per day and why that player should win.

As of Sunday morning, the percentages are as follows:

David Glidden, Mustang — 552 votes, 35.4 percent
Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie — 446 votes, 28.6 percent
Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall — 236 votes, 20.9 percent
Aliston Cobb, Douglass — 133 votes, 8.5 percent
Brandon Swindall, Millwood — 102 votes, 6.5 percent

Voting is open until Friday.

In the Christmas spirit, we asked some of our All-State football players for their favorite Christmas memories.

Here’s what some of them had to say.

Derrick Alexander, Tulsa Washington

I received the gift of getting into Booker T. Washington. It was one of the best decisions of my life. It just made everything better.”

Dylan Dismuke, Duncan

A four-wheeler I got a couple of years ago. It’s been a way to go off and have fun away from sports all the time.”

Aliston Cobb, Douglass

A football when I was a little boy.”

Austin Beck, Nowata

My parents gave me some GI Joes when I was younger. GI Joes are my ultimate favorite toy.”

David Glidden, Mustang

It’s not just one, but every year in elementary school, I would buy everyone in my family at least one gift and the feeling of giving just made it better than receiving.”

Trevon Lewis, Midwest City

The best gift I received was a big wheel truck. I wanted one so bad when I was a kid, and I woke up one morning for Christmas, and it was sitting in my living room.”

Trent Martin, Jenks

Spider-Man web shooter. I was the biggest Spider-Man fan.”

Tyrequek Zimmerman, Lawton

A go-cart back in the younger days was the best present and also a BB gun.”

Devin Randall, Bartlesville

My favorite Christmas present was the first generation iPod that I received in fifth grade (Boneman’s note: That makes me feel old) This gift was the start of my love for music in my life.”

The Oklahoman’s All-State football team comes out Jan. 2 (Sunday), the same day when the NewsOK Player of the Year will be announced. The Big All-City team comes out Dec. 29 (Wednesday), with the Little All-City team Dec. 30 (Thursday). Voting for the NewsOK Player of the Year is open until Dec. 31.

Pretty big day for Douglass yesterday. From the football championship ceremony in the morning to the thrilling win in basketball at night…Are there any Trojans in the house???

For Scott Wright’s story, go here. And here is the championship video with coach Willis Alexander dancing.

The Millwood-Douglass thriller probably was the most exciting football game I saw all season. On Friday night, I walked out of a gym thinking I’ve just seen the best basketball game I’ll see all season, and we haven’t even made it to Christmas yet.

Douglass won with a last-second tip-in by Romond Jenkins, topping Grace Prep of Arlington, Texas, 68-67, Friday night in the Phil Ingersoll TASK Classic at Southern Nazarene University.

Was Jenkins’ tip before or after the buzzer? In real time, I couldn’t tell, and I haven’t had the benefit of a video replay — at least not yet. So I’ll have to go with the officials’ call. And the guys in the stripes said it was good.

But that was only a fraction of the whole story Friday night. The battle between 6-foot-9 Douglass center Marquis Buxton-Hill and Grace Prep’s 7-footer, Isaiah Austin, was fun to watch all night long. It started under the hoop, and by the fourth quarter, both had stepped outside for a few jumpers.

Austin knocked down a 3-pointer and Buxton-Hill drained a pair of 15-footers. But it was inside where Buxton-Hill got his biggest shot of the night. He went up strong and banked in a baby hook with less than 20 seconds left to put the Trojans up 66-65.

Grace Prep’s Jamal Branch took the inbound pass and went the length of the floor for a layup with eight seconds left, and Douglass’ DeVonte Smith drove back down the court for a last-shot layup. It bounced off the front of the rim and Jenkins tipped it in for the win.

The lead changed 12 times in the fourth quarter, including the final five baskets of the night after a 63-63 tie. And each team had at least a four-point lead at some point in the fourth. It was a wild, wild finish.

It’ll be hard for a game to top that drama, and it’ll be even harder for two teams to put that much D-I talent on the court together. Douglass has one player (Dorrian Williams) who has already signed with a D-I program and at least four others with D-I offers. Grace Prep has two who are committed to Big 12 programs, and at least one more who will be highly recruited as he gets older.

The underlying story of the night was the young talent each team has. Obviously, everyone around here knows about Stephen Clark, Douglass’ sharpshooting sophomore who led the Trojans in scoring as a freshman last season during their 29-0 run to the 4A title.

But we got a look at a standout freshman for Grace Prep, Emmanuel Mudiay. In fact, you needed a program to know that hte 6-foot-3 guard was only a ninth-grader. He didn’t look the part physically or in his game. Very confident, very controlled. He did all of his scoring by getting to the rim, finishing with 15 points.

Clark is capable of scoring in bunches, and he did it in a crucial stretch in the second quarter. Trailing 17-11, Clark went to work, hitting a pair of 3s, two more layups and a free throw for a quick 11 points. He added a 3 in the second half for his 14-point total.

This was a big performance for the Trojans, getting back to playing their type of basketball after a not-so-hot showing in Texas over Thanksgiving weekend. They lost their first game since March 2009 down there, and coach Terry Long was glad to see them get back to playing the way they’re capable of Friday night.

“At that time, we were not prepared, didn’t play very well,” Long said. “More than anything else, we were a little complacent. We weren’t as hungry. We took the ‘L’ and we figured out what that felt like again. And we hooked up and started playing better.

“We’re still not where we need to be, but it’s early in the season. But to get a win like this is great.”

On Saturday, Grace Prep and Bossier will open the action at SNU at 1 p.m., with Douglass vs. Chicago-Marshall in the finale of what has to be viewed as a successful inauguration for the Phil Ingersoll TASK Classic.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

A video will be up soon on NewsOK. Scott Wright will have a story in Saturday’s paper. But the sight of coach Willis Alexander dancing…well, that has to go up NOW!!

Great scene at Douglass this morning as the football team was honored for winning the school’s first state championship in 34 years.

Douglass coach Willis Alexander getting the crowd pumped at the championship pep rally.

And one more…the gold ball:

Scott Wright and myself have made our selections, but now we want to hear from you. Who did you feel was the best player in the state in the greater Oklahoma City area?

Your candidates are:

* Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall – Shepard did a little bit of everything for the Chargers. From passing to running to receiving to intercepting to returning kicks, he became THE MAN for Heritage Hall when Barry J. Sanders went down.

* David Glidden, Mustang – As said before, a lot of pressure on Glidden to produce after committing to Oklahoma State last winter. He delivered in every way possible on both sides of the ball. Named Gatorade Player of the Year.

* Brandon Swindall, Millwood – With all the talk of teammate Josh Turner, Swindall had one of the most eye-popping stat lines of the year. He had 17 interceptions and returned a national record eight of them back for TDs and was always a force at wide receiver.

* Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie – What didn’t the Missouri commit do for the Bluejays? He could take over a game at wide receiver where Bryan Dutton would just throw it up to Brothers and watch him work. Or he could dominate the game from the defensive line. Pick your poison.

* Aliston Cobb, Douglass – I expected big things from Cobb this year but not this big. He became the ultimate clutch performer in leading the Trojans to the state championship. Against Douglass’ toughest foes, Cobb was at his best, a true mark of a leader and great player.

The voting is open now and will be open until Dec. 31. The winner will be announced Jan. 2, here on the Varsity blog, the same day as when our All-State Football package will run in The Oklahoman.

2010 District 4A-2

Player of the Year
Marcus Caddell – Douglass

Offensive Player of the Year
Aliston Cobb – Douglass

Defensive Player of the Year
Nick Walters – Glenpool
DeVante McKinney – Douglass

Special Teams Player of the Year:
Lane Davenport – McLoud

Receiver of the Year
Travis Carroll – McLoud
Cy Stallard – Cleveland

Offensive Lineman of the Year
Caleb Craig – Harrah
Jason Rice – Glenpool

Quarterback of the Year
Jameson Ballinger – Santa Fe South
Kyle Fowler – Tecumseh

Offensive Back of the Year
Billy Danna – Harrah

Tight End of the Year
Jared Bass – Cushing

Defensive End of the Year
Ravi Riley – Douglass
Robert Lemoine – Glenpool

Defensive Tackle of the Year
Cole Craig – Harrah
Hunter Montgomery – Tecumseh

Inside Linebacker of the Year
Chance Tiffin -Tecumseh
Josh Covert – Santa Fe South

Outside Linebacker of the Year
Landon Ferguson – Cleveland
Layne Ferguson – Cleveland

Safety of the Year
Isaac Maselera – Glenpool
Chandler Martinez – Tecumseh

Cornerback of the Year
Riley Norton – Cleveland
Derek Baez – Harrah

Kicker of the Year
Nick Pugh – Harrah

Coach of The Year
Willis Alexander – Douglass
Greg Willis – Harrah

All District

Cleveland
Brandon Wrobbel – DE

Cushing
Michael Griffin – WR
Matt Cook – LB/FB
Kyle Johnson – FB
Regi Cook – DB

Douglass
Erik King – LB
Ian Robinson – LB
Donnell Ward – DB
Shon Bridges – QB

Glenpool
Victor Cervantes – LB
Cody Davis – DL
Brad Agee – DL
Ty Cleveland – OL
Julian Rose – OL
Cody McIntosh – TE

Harrah
Ryan Brashier – LB
Gary King – OL

McLoud
Tanner Johnson – OL
Robbie Gray – DB

Sante Fe South
David Olivas – DB
Sergio Cardiel – DB
Pedro Briones – OL

Tecumseh
Jordan Moery – OL
Francisco Hukill – WR
Josey Brown – WR

The Knights took third place in a loaded field at the Edmond Open over the weekend, with T’aries Taylor leading the team in scoring in two of the three games.

Taylor scored 26 in the opener against Tulsa Central and followed it up with 19 in the third place game against Lawton Mac to earn all-tournament honors at the Edmond Open.

With Taylor providing a reliable scoring option alongside point guard Jamil Donovan, the Knights will be a team to watch in Class 5A this season. At 5-1 on the season, NWC is up to No. 4 in this week’s rankings.

Other contenders

Talmadge Lawrence, John Marshall: Lawrence averaged 18.5 points in a pair of wins over Star Spencer and Bethany last week. DeMontrey Mitchell also scored 19 against Bethany.

Caleb Crayton, Northeast: Scored 20 in a close win over Centennial, then he and Gabe Houston each had 18 in a win over Chickasha at the Harrah tournament. Crayton had 17, behind 24 from Eric Peabody, on Saturday in a close loss to Choctaw.

Delford Robinson and Michael Ervin, Millwood: Robinson led the Falcons in scoring twice at the Millwood tournament, including 14 in the opener. Ervin had a team-high 12 in the third-place game, an 18-point win over Capitol Hill.

Nico Meadows, Capitol Hill: Meadows had 24 points against US Grant as the sophomore continues to make an early impact for the Redskins.

Tona Edwards and Brianna Pendleton, Northeast: Edwards had 25 against Centennial and Pendleton had 19 in a win over Putnam City. Edwards had 15 against PC and scored 22 of the team’s 35 against Carl Albert. Pendleton led the team with 17 in the championship loss to Del City.

Sharane Campbell and LaKeitha Watson, Star Spencer: Campbell, an OU signee, had 25 in a win over John Marshall and 17 to help Star take third at the Millwood Invitational. Watson had a team-high 20 in the third-place game.

Meshelle Parker, Northwest Classen: Scored 19 points in a win over Classen last Tuesday.

Dayla Threat, Millwood:  Averaged 17.5 points over four games last week, helping the Falcons to a runner-up finish at their own tournament.

Te’era Williams, Douglass: Had a team-high 21 against Chickasha on Friday.

All-City Athletic Conference Football Team
Coach of the Year – Michael Branch, Southeast
Player of the Year – Marcus Caddell, Douglass; Brandon Swindall, Millwood
Defensive Player of the Year – Devante McKinney, Douglass; Davion Pierson, Millwood
Offensive Player of the Year – Aliston Cobb, Douglass; Kevonte Richardson, Millwood
Special Teams Player of the Year – Josh Turner, Millwood; Carlos Hudson, Star Spencer
Defensive Lineman of the Year – Clifford Lawrence, Millwood
Tri-Linebacker of the Year – Erik King, Douglass; Larry Seals, Millwood; Denzelle Johnson, John Marshall
Defensive Back of the Year – Jay Gogue, Southeast; Brison Currin, Centennial
Offensive Lineman of the Year – Ravi Riley, Douglass
Offensive Back of the Year – Kody Shields, John Marshall
Receiver of the Year – Tyrone Jones, Centennial; Michael Cole, Millwood

All-City Athletic Conference 1st Team Defense
Defensive Line – Dejon Brison, John Marshall; Shawn Hudson, Southeast; Tyrele Pendleton, Centennial; Markus Jackson, Southeast
Linebackers – Ian Robinson, Douglass; Tre Jones, Northwest; Allen Starks, Millwood; Tavin Deloney, Southeast
Defensive Backs – Donnell Ward, Douglass; Stevo Henderson, Star Spencer; Robert Bui, Northeast
Punter – Irving Roa, John Marshall

All-City Athletic Conference 1st Team Offense
Quarterback – Shon Bridges, Douglass
Running Backs – Ontinneil Zavala, Capitol Hill; Anthony Frazier, Southeast
Receivers – Johnny Do, Capitol Hill, Aljone Stringer, Centennial
Offensive Line – Michael Blackmon, Douglass; Kody Stamm, John Marshall; Spencer Davis, Centennial; Ramon Miller, Star Spencer; Kyvonta Smith, Douglass
Place Kicker – Tony Zamarripa, Northwest Classen

Honorable Mention
Capitol Hill – Deantre Williams, Brandon Johnson, Zack Dixon
Centennial – Charles Sebree, Chad Hester
Douglass – Jason Holloway
Millwood – Michael Ervin, Shevin Patton,
Northeast – Alvin Scott, Josh Ray, Justin Moore
Northwest Classen – Larry Mathis, Berkeley Lopez, Tarig Ismil
Southeast – Jovan Ramos, Nelson Williams, Jose Cardoza
Star Spencer – Marcus Singleton, Lashan Penny

It could have been Aliston Cobb, with his 240 rushing yards and two TDs. Or Donnell Ward and Marcus Caddell for the passing connection on the winning TD, as well as their stout pass defense, including Ward’s two interceptions. Or Erik King for his interception in overtime to seal the victory. Or the offensive line for their run blocking. Or the defensive front for their seven sacks. Or…

OK, so you get it. A state championship is a team effort, and that was truly the case for the Trojans Saturday night. Everyone played well, and they all get the honor as the OKC Player of the Week… though I’m sure the gold ball is all the congratulations they needed.

Other contenders

Kevonte Richardson and Brandon Swindall, Millwood football: Richardson, the Falcon QB did all he could, overcoming two early interceptions to have a strong performance, despite the loss. Swindall had six grabs for 120 yards and a TD, as well as another interception — his state-leading 18th on the year.

Marquis Buxton-Hill, Douglass boys basketball: The 6-foot-9 senior poured in 27 in the Trojans’ rout of US Grant in the All-City Conference opener.

Eric Peabody, Northeast boys basketball: Peabody had 28 points as the Vikings pulled out a 70-67 win over Wichita Falls-Hirschi.

DeQuante Taylor, John Marshall boys basketball: Taylor scored 18 to lead the Bears to a season-opening win over Heritage Hall.

Nico Meadows, Capitol Hill boys basketball: Scored 23 and 18 points as the Redskins opened the season with a pair of wins.

Te’era Williams, Douglass girls basketball: Williams had 22 in the opener, a 42-point win over US Grant.

Tona Edwards and Brianna Pendleton, Northeast girls basketball: Scored 15 and 14 sports, respectively, in NE’s rout of Wichita Falls-Hirschi.

D’Carla Kirk and Kebrina Hartfield, Centennial girls basketball: Kirk had 16 and Hartfield 14 in the Bison victory over ASTEC.

– Send POW nominations to Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com

So I’ve had a blast following Douglass through the playoffs, because they reeled off the kind of numbers that make my job fun.

All last week, I pounded into you the line about not allowing a rushing play of more than six yards. That streak ended in the third quarter Saturday night, but how’s this: over the final three games — all against teams ranked in the top six and two with outstanding rushing attacks – Douglass allowed 1.1 yards per rushing attempt.

Then there’s the numbers Aliston Cobb put up. He averaged better than 200 yards per game and 2.5 touchdowns in the Trojans’ four playoff wins. His “worst” game of the four was a 15-carry, 138-yard performance against Oologah in which he scored two touchdowns.

To recap, Cobb had three 200-yard games by himself in the postseason, and Douglass opponents had one 200-yard game in total offense (Elk City, 218 yards).

I could go on all day, but instead, I’ll tell you how impressive it was to watch a team so fully motivated by one goal — a state championship — and to actually achieve it.

For the sake of comparison, here’s the first thing I wrote about Douglass this season, after visiting practice on the opening of two-a-days in August:

Douglass among 4A favorites again 

Falling short of the gold ball last year isn’t a forgotten feeling at Douglass, where the Trojans are among the top contenders in Class 4A once again.

With an improved passing game led by quarterback Shon Bridges and a defense anxious to prove itself, the Trojans took the field for Tuesday’s first practice with purpose.

“We’re working just as hard as the team we were last year, maybe even harder because we want it so bad since we fell short last year,” linebacker Erik King said. “We’re a brotherhood right now and we want to transfer that to the field. We’ve got to make it happen, make plays. We’re working toward getting that gold ball.”

And I’ll leave you with a sneak-peak at the story that will be in Monday’s paper:

One year ago, Douglass football coach Willis Alexander stood silently on the turf of Boone Pickens Stadium watching the Star Spencer Bobcats celebrate wildly as they accepted the Class 4A state championship trophy.

“That’s where we want to be,” Alexander said then.

Mission accomplished. The Trojans were the ones being given the gold ball Saturday night in Stillwater with a 20-13 overtime defeat of Wagoner.

Alexander and his players won with class.

“There were two championship teams on this field tonight,” the coach said. Then he halted his team’s celebration to applaud the Wagoner players as they exited the field.

In football terms, the Trojans won with defense.

Douglass committed 11 turnovers in the final three games of the year — at least three in each game — against teams ranked No. 6, No. 1 and No. 2.

You don’t beat good teams in the playoffs when you turn the ball over like that. Unless you play phenomenal defense.

Out of those 11 turnovers, only two resulted in points on the opponent’s next possession, a field goal by Oologah and a touchdown by Wagoner. And both scoring drives started inside the Douglass 30.

The Trojans held Wagoner to 181 yards of offense Saturday night, more than 200 yards short of their season average.

Bulldog quarterback Prince McJunkins was tackled for a loss nine times, at least seven of which would be quantified as true quarterback sacks in which he dropped to pass and got hit by Devante McKinney, Erik King, Jas’sen Stoner, Ravi Riley or another of the Trojans’ daunting front seven.

“They tried to attack us, but guys just stepped up and made big plays,” defensive back Marcus Caddell said.

Behind a powerful offensive line, running back Aliston Cobb certainly made his contributions. The senior tailback rushed for 827 yards and 10 touchdowns on 87 carries in the four playoff wins.

When he broke loose on a 57-yard TD run that made it 13-0 Saturday night, it looked like the Trojans were taking control of the game. But his pulled hamstring at the end of that run halted Douglass’ offensive momentum.

“What he has meant to this team is unbelievable,” Alexander said. “All of those kids. It’s just great for them.”

King, one of four seniors who has been on the team since Alexander took the job four years ago, came up with the biggest play at the biggest time, intercepting Wagoner’s reverse-pass in the end zone to seal the state title win and complete the rebirth of Trojan football.

“I just wanted to get the drive over with. I wanted the ‘W,’” King said. “The ball came my way and I just made the play. We sealed the deal. State champs.

“This hasn’t happened at Douglass for nearly 40 years, since 1976. For us to bring that back, my senior year — we did it for all the people in those stands cheering for us. We did it for them.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

How they got here: So far, neither of these teams has been truly tested in the playoffs. Wagoner has easy victories over Fort Gibson (55-7), Glenpool (46-0) and Catoosa (41-10). Douglass has blowout victories over Elk City (30-14), Oologah (41-3) and Broken Bow (38-0).

Why Douglass could win: Defense and run game. The two biggest keys in playoff football and Douglass does both well. They’re averaging 322 rushing yards per game and holding opponents to 61. It’s not fair to expect the Trojans to hold Wagoner without a touchdown, as they’ve done to their last two opponents, but the defense should pose a test like Wagoner hasn’t seen in a while. Wagoner has scored at least 29 points in every game and at least 41 in the last six.

Why Wagoner could win: Prince McJunkins. The Bulldog quarterback is a difference-maker on the field. He can throw and run, and he manages the offense well. He and RB Kevin Peterson are a dangerous backfield combo that will put pressure on the Douglass defense and test their speed. And the Wagoner ‘D’ can’t be forgotten, either. The Bulldogs have allowed 165 yards and nine points per game this year with four shutouts.

Quote: We can play on concrete if you want to. It’s just the game of football. We’re gonna play our game.” – Linebacker Erik King on the difference in playing on FieldTurf after playing on grass all season.

Key matchup: McJunkins vs. Douglass linebackers. I’ve discussed this matchup earlier in the week, and I think it’ll be the biggest turning point in the game. If King, Ian Robinson and Jas’sen Stoner play well, control the run game and don’t let McJunkins have his way, I think Douglass wins. If McJunkins plays his game the way he wants, it could be bad news for the Trojans.

The pick: Douglass 24, Wagoner 21. A thriller to the finish. These are clearly the two best teams in the class, so it’s only right that they meet here, and it’s going to be a classic, whichever way it ends up.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

In speed and talent, Wagoner is on a higher level than Oologah and Broken Bow, so it should be a fun battle of strength vs. strength. And the matchup of Douglass’ linebackers vs. Wagoner QB Prince McJunkins could make for quite a showdown.

McJunkins is probably a kid not a lot of people around the OKC metro know a ton about, but he’s quite an athlete, with scholarship offers from a few mid-level D-I programs, like UL-Monroe and New Mexico State.

McJunkins’ father, Prince McJunkins, was a quarterback at Wichita State, where he became the first NCAA player to rush for 2,000 yards and pass for 4,000 in a career.

The younger McJunkins has rushed for 680 yards this season, adding the perfect complement to speedy running back Kevin Peterson, who leads the team with 711 yards on just 86 carries.

Complicating matters, McJunkins has thrown for 1,966 yards with 32 touchdowns and only one interception while completing 73.8 percent of his passes.

“We have to make sure we execute the game plan and make plays,” Douglass linebacker Erik King said. “It’s got to be the whole defense. If the line is doing their job, then the linebackers will be able to do our job. And if we’re holding up, the DBs can cover, and hopefully they won’t have anywhere to go.”

The Trojans (11-2) face Wagoner (13-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

Class 6A – Jenks (13-0) vs. Tulsa Union (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Boone Pickens Stadium at Oklahoma State

Score: Jenks 39, Union 23

Breakdown: There is a good history of the winner of the regular season matchup losing in the championship, but I’m not seeing it here. Alex Ross might be the breakout star of the state (Sheldon Wilson and Sterling Shepard are up there, too) and has become an all-state-caliber RB for the Trojans. Not much is said about the defense, but when they’ve needed to step up, they have. I look for Tulsa commit Trent Martin to have one heck of a night as Jenks completes dominant undefeated season.

Class 5A – Booker T. Washington (12-1) vs. Tulsa East Central (12-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, Boone Pickens Stadium at OSU

Score: Booker T. 31, East Central 19

Breakdown: Another case of a championship being a rematch of an early-season matchup. Hornets looked so good last week against a great Guthrie team. If this is close, edge goes to the Cardinals with kicker Antonio Escobedo, but I think Jordy Albert, Tyler Lockett and Dante Barnett prove to be the difference. And if not, there is always running back Isaac Bennett. Darrell Hall gets his second championship in as many years with a different team.

Class 4A – Wagoner (13-0) vs. Douglass (11-2), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Boone Pickens Stadium at OSU

Score: Wagoner 25, Douglass 18

Breakdown: Ooh, I am torn about this one. The Bulldogs have been so dominant this year. Blowing out 4A teams like nothing. Beating two 5A playoff teams. But Douglass is playing as well as anybody right now. Eleven straight wins is nothing to sneeze at. The running game behind Aliston Cobb has been incredible and QB Shon Bridges gives enough balance to the offense. Ultimately, Prince McJunkins does it one more time for Dale Condict’s club.

Class B – Cherokee (13-0) vs. Wetumka (11-2), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Stillwater’s Pioneer Stadium

Score: Cherokee 36, Wetumka 16

Breakdown: Comparative scoring can get you in trouble, but Cherokee beat Dewar 46-12 in the semifinals. That same Dewar team 45-pointed Wetumka in Week 10. Does it mean anything? I don’t know. What I do know is that Cherokee defense was extremely impressive and that I’ve never seen an eight-man team have so many different weapons at running back like Chiefs have. Wetumka’s Derrick Moore is the wild card.

Class C – Deer Creek-Lamont (12-0) vs. Shattuck (11-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, Stillwater’s Pioneer Stadium

Score: DC-Lamont 26, Shattuck 20

Breakdown: DC-Lamont is another team that feels like it has been destined for this moment. The Eagles, of course, ended Shattuck’s winning streak last season. It’s a chance for Shattuck to end DCLA’s dream season and earn another title of its own. Just don’t see it happening. Every time I’ve doubted DCLA, the Eagles have made me look stupid. Simply put: lesson learned on my part.

Thursday: 3A-A semifinal games.

I picked Douglass to win it all from the start of the playoffs and I’m sticking with it, but in talking to people and looking at what I know about these two teams, I really think this is a toss-up — as it should be at this point in the season. Nobody wants a title game where one team is expected to win by 50.

The one thing that everyone points to in this game is speed. Both teams have it and lots of it. From the sound of it, they’re pretty equal in that department, and I think it’s been a while since Douglass has seen anyone who matches up with their speed — probably back to Week 2 vs. Millwood in the Soul Bowl.

I don’t see much more than entertainment in comparative scores, so just for fun, Wagoner and the Trojans each played Oologah and Glenpool. Wagoner thumped Glenpool 46-0 and edged Oologah 29-14 in its lowest scoring game of the season. Douglass topped Glenpool 20-18 and routed Oologah 41-3 in the quarterfinals. So there doesn’t seem to be a lot you can tell from that.

Wagoner QB Prince McJunkins is the big question mark in my mind. He’s the guy who can swing this game one way or the other. It’ll be up to the Douglass linebackers to keep him contained when he runs, but not give up on pass coverage when he looks to throw. But the Trojans’ trio of linebackers — Jas’sen Stoner, Erik King and Ian Robinson — are all solid players.

I’ve mentioned this stat a couple of times this week, but I’ll bring it out again, just because I think it’s that impressive: In the last two games against Oologah and Broken Bow – two teams that run the ball pretty well – Douglass has not allowed a rushing play to go for more than six yards. If they keep that streak intact, hand them the gold ball on Saturday night.

I was out at Douglass Tuesday when the players were getting out of class and heading in for film study, and there seems to be a sense of looseness around that team right now. I don’t think they’re overconfident, but I think they’re feeling comfortable here this year. I wasn’t around them last year, so I don’t know if that was the case before the Star game or not. But I think it’s a positive sign.

Last thing, I have a question for you, Douglass fans. What does it mean to you to have one of your own — Douglass grad Willis Alexander — coaching your team? There’s pride with every football team at every school in the state, but there’s something unique at Douglass, something special about being a Trojan. Tell me what it means to have a Trojan coaching your team. A little something to look forward to — I’ll be writing about that topic in the paper later this week.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com