District 5A-1 awards…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
2010 District 5A-1 All-District Team
Player of the Year—Kentrell Brothers – Guthrie
Offensive Player of the Year—Alex Christensen – Deer Creek
Defensive Player of the Year—Quincy Johnson – Carl Albert
Lineman of the Year—Kyle Croak – Carl Albert
Coach of the Year—Rafe Watkins – Guthrie
Offense
First Team Second Team
QB-Kenneth Mayfield – W Hts QB-Ridge Gargasz – ER
RB-Kenton Whittington – Carl Albert RB-Derrik Kelly – Guthrie
RB-Devonte Moore – ER RB-Anthony Frazier – SE
WR-Dwight Dobbins – Carl Albert WR-Christian Johnson-Ada
WR-Deonte McCully – Guthrie WR-Gage Anderson-Noble
TE-Austen Roselius-Carl Albert TE-Payton Patton-Ada
OL-Colin Walker-Carl Albert OL-Pat Elliott-Carl Albert
OL-Bryce Sullivan-Guthrie OL-Andrew Scribner-Ada
C-Anthony Frazier-Carl Albert C-Braden Young-ER
OL-Ross Stracke-Deer Creek OL-Jacob Cardenas-Noble
OL-Caleb Clary-Ada OL-Paul Kim-Deer Creek
Defense
First Team Second Team
DL-Randy Armstrong-Ada DL-Shawn Hudson-SE
DL-Feliz Scott-Guthrie DL-Ryan Vick-Ada
DL-Brent Bozarth-ER DL-Tanner Dyer-Ada
DL-Cale Russell-Ada DL-Ryan Thomas-Noble
LB-Isaiah Byrd-Deer Creek LB-Trey Jones-Noble
LB-Tavin Deloney-SE LB-Evan Elder-Deer Creek
DB-Marcus Ware-Guthrie DB-Nick Anderson-Ada DB-A.J.Wilson-Carl Albert DBEric Mahoney-Deer Creek
DB-Ronald Lucas-Ada DB-Nelson Williams-SE
DB-Jay Gogue-SE DB-Diontee Albert-Ada
DB-Michael Coleman-Deer Creek DB-Dylan Abner-ER
DB-Travis Brown-
K-Shawn McLaws-Deer Creek
P-Brady Bowers-Ada
Deer Creek vs. El Reno Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Deer Creek (3-2) vs. El Reno (2-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: El Reno
Deer Creek (W – Piedmont, L – Shawnee, W – Tecumseh, L – Guthrie, W – Southeast)
Why the Antlers can win: Because all of last year’s injuries gave coach Grant Gower time to adapt to any issues this year. He’s done a great job of filling in the gaps with Colten Sander out. New kids are stepping up and Gower is pushing all the right buttons.
Quote:
I’ve seen a lot of positives in the last six quarters. The guys have really come together since halftime of the Guthrie game.” – coach Grant Gower
El Reno
Why the Indians can win: Because can’t underestimate the home field advantage. Tom Cobble’s kids are gradually getting things back on course. Not good enough to beat teams like Carl Albert and Guthrie, but these are wins that would bring great confidence to a club.
Key matchup: Deer Creek running game vs. El Reno defense. It doesn’t get much more simple than that. Alex Christensen, Michael Coleman and Brennan Miyake are going to test the Indians defense. El Reno stops ‘em, it wins. If it doesn’t, Antlers earn big road win.
The pick: Deer Creek 30, El Reno 20. Antlers offense is feeling good after a 69-point outing and continues the ride. Running game is too much for El Reno to handle.
El Reno vs. Carl Albert Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
El Reno (2-2, 1-0) at Carl Albert (3-1, 1-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Jim Harris Stadium, CA
El Reno
Why the Indians can win: This is a pretty big chore to ask of Tom Cobble’s team. The biggest thing that could lead to success if flustering Titans quarterback Taylor Hawkins early and forcing him into mistakes. From there, the underdog’s confidence could grow.
Carl Albert (L- BTW 12-10, W – Ardmore 34-6, W – Duncan 42-10, W – Western Heights 50-6)
Why the Titans can win: Too many weapons on offense. More specifically, too many rushing weapons. Take your pick of Kenton Whittington, Darvonta Knight, Tyre LeBlanc or Hawkins running behind what might be the best offensive line in the class.
Key matchup: El Reno offense vs. CA defense. Titans defense is no slouch, either. Indians don’t really have the offensive firepower that they’ve had in the last two years with Jakeil Everheart. CA hasn’t had a bad defensive outing yet this season.
The pick: Carl Albert 42, El Reno 17. Titans rush to big early lead and rest most of their starters late in the game and cruise to district victory.
Scrimmage roundup: Mustang Pigskin Preview
There was a ton of good action on the field at Bronco Stadium in Mustang Thursday night at the annual Pigskin Preview, with seven teams — including some of the best in 5A and 6A — on hand for the scrimmage and mini-games.
If you look at the scores, it might not sound too impressive. Lawton MacArthur’s 9-6 win over Mustang was the night’s high-scoring affair. But it was good, nonetheless, with too much good stuff to get all of it in the paper with all of our scrimmage coverage from Thursday. I’ve got some more items of note below, but first, for all the stuff that made it in the paper, here are the links to…
- As for everything else, I’d have to say the team that created the most buzz was Lawton MacArthur. QB Dylan Warner is a talented player with four D-I offers so far, either as a QB or safety. He was throwing the ball well on Thursday, and he has some weapons to work with, both at receiver and running back. There’s a lot of strong teams atop 5A, but look for the Highlanders to make some noise.
And on Thursday, they were without their top WR, Rashaud Foreman, who has a sprained ankle. He’s expected back in time for the opener, or at the latest, the Lawton High game in Weed 2.
- Norman North’s trio of running backs is a scary group, with Emilio Gatewood, Raymond Demby and Brian Payne. I haven’t seen enough of Payne, just a sophomore, to know, but Gatewood or Demby would make a strong featured back. However, both start on defense — Gatewood at corner and Demby at outside linebacker, so having the running back committee really benefits the team pretty well.
There was a close call on Norman North’s near-touchdown against Altus, when it was ruled that QB Brad Valentino’s knee hit the ground before he got in on a sneak on fourth-and-goal from the 1 yard line. I’ve got a video interview with Valentino that should be available for viewing soon.
- Mustang QB Brandon Taylor had a hot-and-cold night, but it wasn’t all his fault. His top WR, David Glidden, was sidelined with a sore knee, and his biggest and best offensive lineman, Caleb Schompert, was held out as well. And the Broncos’ No. 2 receiver, Jon Luckey, didn’t play any offense in the mini-games, which gave some other young receivers a chance to work.
Taylor was intercepted once and led two TD drives. He’s athletic enough to make some plays on the move, and the timing of the QB-WR relationship will improve with Glidden and Luckey in the mix. Still, some of the other guys made nice catches. Derek Garvin pulled down a TD catch on a fade route, barely getting his feet down inbounds. And just like last year, Taylor and Garvin were in tune on the short out routes along the boundary.
I mentioned buzz with Lawton Mac. Well, No. 2 on the buzz scale would have been Mustang linebacker Tucker Calmus. The nephew of former Jenks, OU and NFL player Rocky Calmus, Tucker is a beast of a sophomore who laid a few good hits on people Thursday night. I haven’t seen a roster, so I don’t know how big he is, but I’d guess about 6-foot-2 and at least 200 pounds or more.
- With some experienced players returning at running back and receiver, Lawton Eisenhower has the freedom to utilize running back Louis Durant in a number of ways. On Thursday, Durant got the ball on handoffs and caught passes both out of the backfield and as a slot receiver. He was one of the Eagles’ most productive players last year, rushing for 681 yards and eight touchdowns. He is back this year along with quarterback Adrian McDonald, now a junior.
“He’s a solid running back,” coach Boone Copeland said. “We feel good. Offensively, we’ve done well. (McDonald) is an exciting player and our team has a lot of confidence in him.”
- Altus graduated more than 20 seniors off last year’s football team, but this year’s Bulldogs are hoping to fill the holes and keep moving forward.
“We have 17 returning seniors and a few new seniors that didn’t play last year,” senior receiver/cornerback Bob Laub said. “We’re still a young group. They’ve got to fill in the slots.
“Even though we lost a lot of starters, the defense and the offense are both holding together well. I have a pretty good feeling about our defense this year.”
Laub was a key piece in last year’s defense, grabbing eight interceptions, among the best in Class 5A.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Softball: Yukon looks like team to beat…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Tuesday is shaping up to be a pretty big day. On one hand, it’s the start of two-a-day football practices. But it’s pretty big elsewhere as the softball season gets officially underway.
Got ya covered with a softball guide in Tuesday’s paper, but here are some more thoughts I have going into this season:
- I don’t know how a team can beat Yukon this year. The loss of Dani Fox was killer last year, but the Millerettes return so many top stars.
Don’t believe me? You could easily argue that Amanda Madden, Kylie Lang, Madi Ellis and Caitlyn Halbert are four of the best players in the state. Madden and Lang are seniors and Madden was already good enough to make my first team All-City last year. Ellis and Mustang’s Kierra Miles might be the two best sophomores.
- Will this be a year of redemption for Purcell? Dragons were so close but got nipped in the championship. Still absolutely loaded with talent like Kayla Wyatt (my Little All-City Player of the Year), Bailey Goldsby, Logan Huey, etc. Nobody is going to be feeling sorry for coach Jamie Roberts anytime soon.
- Are Moore and Broken Arrow still the queens of the circle? I admit I don’t know much about BA but based on what they always do on a yearly basis, gotta think these two teams will be among the eight in October at ASA.
- Tuttle and Blanchard should be a great battle. Lions took out the Tigers in the championship last year. Leslie Miller and Liz Broyles (among others) return for Blanchard. Tuttle still has Caitlin Sill and if healthy, Nicole Workman is incredible. Amazingly, Miller and Sill are just juniors.
- Edmond North is so young, but I don’t think that’s going to matter. With girls like Kady Self and Jordan Dixon leading the charge, Huskies should be knocking on the door again.
- Caught up with Washington coach Bryan Howard at the coaches clinic. He is excited (rightfully so) about this year. Now that he’s in his second year, he’s a whole lot more comfortable. And if you had a pitcher like Lacey Paulk or a senior star like Jill Clemence, you’d want to get out there, too.
- Little Axe will intriguing to watch in all sports. How will the school respond after the devastating tornado in May? Indians got a couple of stars in senior Peyton Watson, a great leadoff hitter, and slugger Lacey Williams.
- And it will be good to see Chelsea Jones back pitching for El Reno. Family issues had her at Putnam City North last season, but she has returned to the Indians.
Got softball news and notes? Send ‘em this way.
Plenty of stars in Mustang for 7-on-7
I cruised out to Mustang High for their Tuesday night 7-on-7 competition, which had some talented players with Mustang, Bethany, Bridge Creek, El Reno and Santa Fe South participating.
The Mustang 7-on-7 is a very laid-back event, not real competitive. More like a practice than a game, nobody keeping score or wondering who won. Just a bunch of teams working on their fundamentals of pass offense and defense.
I came away from the event thinking I could put together a pretty good basketball team out there. You had some great big men, with Bridge Creek’s 6-foot-7 Ryan Spangler and Bethany’s Garrett McGrady, who must be close to 6-8. A speedy point guard in David Glidden of Mustang. I’m pretty sure I saw DeVante Moore of El Reno was out there, so he’d be a my starting two-guard. Just need another shooter/slasher on the wing and we’d be pretty solid.
Anyway, back to football… Here are a few bullet points that caught my eye during play:
- Glidden is back in action after a lingering shoulder injury kept him out of some team work in May and early June. He looked like his normal self and also said he took part in some team camp activities over the weekend which were more physically demanding than 7-on-7 and the shoulder held up fine.
- McGrady is a really good athlete at TE/DE for the Bronchos, and he just keeps growing. Probably close to four inches in the last year. He and Spangler were significantly taller than just about everyone else out there, and I think McGrady had the slight edge on the Bridge Creek QB. McGrady moves well and has decent hands. He’s likely to be a security blanket for new QB Ryan Claborn. The two are heading into their junior years and have been playing together for a few years now.
- El Reno must replace Jakeil Everheart at quarterback, and I didn’t get to discuss with coach Tom Cobble what direction they’ll go, but Ridge Gargasz, who played receiver last year, threw some nice passes.
- Santa Fe South WR Abraham Luna — and the SFS offense in general — showed the ability to be a serious deep threat. They went deep on a few different teams with good success, most often to Luna.
- Spangler is busy with both basketball — playing for Athletes First — and football, so he wasn’t as in sync as he’ll be in September, but he’s still got a strong arm and throws the ball well. He also has some talent to throw to at WR, led by Caden Locke, one of the top yardage producers in the state at receiver last year. Spangler said in the spring that basketball is his preference at the next level, and he has offers already from Oral Roberts, Wichita State, Lehigh and Liberty, with more sure to come. But he has shown some interest on the football side of things this summer.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Top 15 moments of 2009-10 (Part II)…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Looked at moments 15-8 on Saturday, let’s finish the countdown. Like I said before, I had to witness these moments for them to be included.
No. 7 – Perry’s Ian Fisher and El Reno’s Cory Dauphin become four-time state champions
I always feel like Saturday night wrestling finals take forever, but they really don’t. Dauphin was absolutely incredible in his four years with the Indians while Fisher was so steady with almost like stoic presence. The two became No. 26 and No. 27 as Oklahoma four-time champions. Neither had any difficulty in achieving the feat.
No. 6 – Casady beats Heritage Hall 7-0 in 2OT
The term ‘Redeem Team’ wasn’t coined here, but this was the moment where you knew Casady was not going to be a pushover this season. This game was full of great defense. Heritage’s Cale Courtney almost scored on a long fourth down run before the Cyclones finally found the end zone on a TD pass from Cale Shivers to Travis Hibdon.
Star vs. Douglass was memorable for many reasons - one of them was Darwin Rideau's performance. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
No. 5 – Championship Monday: Boys Tennis
Even if they’re not, when events run longer than they’re supposed to, it gives that feeling of being special. And for me, the tennis nut, this was like a dream to just go back and forth from four courts to watch one championship after another. Putnam North’s Chris Haworth reclaim his title, Nate Roper of Edmond North show he’ll be a force in years to come and the Huskies finishing a crazy-good season.
No. 4 – All-OKCPS Class 4A football championship (Star Spencer beats Douglass)
Maybe Stillwater wasn’t the best site for the two schools, but it was still a magical night at Boone Pickens Stadium. I don’t know if we’ll ever see anything like that ever again. It was a track meet in the first half before Terence Olds and Darwin Rideau powered the Bobcats to the victory and the state championship. Truly a great night for Oklahoma City Public Schools.
No. 3 – Edmond Santa Fe girls basketball beats Memorial in OT (aka the Arielle Cooper game)
Not only was this one of the best moments of the year, it was easily the best basketball game I saw the entire year. This was phenomenal with both teams taking shots at each other. Memorial is more than Alie Decker and Santa Fe is more than Courtney Walker, but they were phenomenal. Cooper, a sophomore, banked in a 3 to send the game into OT where the Wolves pulled it out. Even Memorial coach Shane Coffey couldn’t say anything bad about this one.
No. 2 – Booker T. boys basketball team wins state championship
Under Shea Seals, the Hornets had been so close in the last couple of years. Then this year, they clearly weren’t supposed to win against Tulsa Memorial. But Tharone Chilton and the rest of the BTW kids didn’t care about losing three times to the Chargers in the regular season. What sets this moment apart was the great celebration that included all the students there in the stands singing while the team had the gold ball. Really a special moment.
No. 1 – Edmond Memorial defeats Edmond North in biggest regular season Edlam game ever
OK, admit a little bias here. Being the Edmond writer, I admit to seeing the Bulldogs and Huskies (and Wolves) more than any other school. But this game had the feel of a big-time moment. North was 7-1 and off to its best start ever. Memorial was 5-3 and on a four-game winning streak. It was a battle for second in District 6A-2. And it was a defensive performance by the ‘Dawgs for the ages, culminating in Nelson Medeiros intercepting a pass in the fourth quarter and returning it for a touchdown in a 10-0 victory. It wasn’t a fluke as Memorial advanced to the quarterfinals and was tied with Jenks in the fourth quarter. And perhaps attending many practices and a pep rally for this game had my psyched as I remember saying this to one of my best friends: “I’m more pumped about Edlam than I was about OU-Texas. Is there something wrong with me?”
Now that we’ve looked back, time to look ahead to what should be a great 2010-11 high school sports year.
Class 5A baseball regional: Carl Albert
At Carl Albert
Wednesday
Game 1: Carl Albert vs. Northwest, 12 p.m.
Game 2: El Reno vs. Ardmore, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5:00 p.m.
Thursday
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 4:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 6:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Deer Creek East-West Classic: Day 3…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Game times moved up (hey, not complaining, gonna be home for Thunder now). Seventh-place game scrapped and McGuinness is looking good here early against Durant.
Deer Creek East-West Classic
Wednesday
Bishop McGuinness 15, Western Heights 3
Bishop McGuinness 15, El Reno 6
Guthrie 11, Newcastle 1
Deer Creek 5, Newcastle 3
Thursday
Guthrie 7, Bishop McGuinness 6
El Reno 15, Newcastle 13
Deer Creek 6, Durant 3
Miami 8, Western Heights 4
Friday
Durant 16, Guthrie 8
Durant 26, Western Heights 10
El Reno 12, Miami 9
Deer Creek 18, Miami 0
Saturday
Third Place: McGuinness 10, Durant 2
Championship: Deer Creek 10, Guthrie 4
Fifth Place: El Reno vs. Miami, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek East-West Classic: Day 2…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Very exciting day 2 at Deer Creek. I know I saw a good one between Guthrie and Bishop McGuinness but that El Reno-Newcastle game sure looks like it was fun, too.
Deer Creek and Guthrie are in great position, provided they can get the job done Friday.
Guthrie (2-0, +9 run differential); Deer Creek (2-0, +5); Miami (1-0, +4); Bishop McGuinness (2-1, +15); El Reno (1-1, -6); Durant (0-1, -3); Western Heights (0-2, -12); Newcastle (0-3, -12).
Deer Creek East-West Classic
Wednesday
Bishop McGuinness 15, Western Heights 3
Bishop McGuinness 15, El Reno 6
Guthrie 11, Newcastle 1
Deer Creek 5, Newcastle 3
Thursday
Guthrie 7, Bishop McGuinness 6
El Reno 15, Newcastle 13
Deer Creek 6, Durant 3
Miami 8, Western Heights 4
Friday
Guthrie vs. Durant, 11 a.m.
Western Heights vs. Durant, 1:30 p.m.
El Reno vs. Miami, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Miami, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
No. 8 vs. No. 7, 11 a.m.
No. 6 vs. No. 5, 1:30 p.m.
No. 4 vs. No. 3, 4 p.m.
No. 2 vs. No. 1, 6:30 p.m.
