Edmond Santa Fe’s Khari Harding makes huge hit during practice Wednesday
EDMOND — Edmond Santa Fe senior-to-be defensive back Khari Harding made this huge hit on teammate Dale Jefferson during spring practice on Wednesday.
Harding has offers from eight NCAA Division I schools (Arkansas, Arkansas State, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Memphis and Wyoming).
Jefferson had to be helped off the field Wednesday but I’m told he’ll be fine.
Harding (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) recorded 71 tackles and three interceptions last season for the Wolves, which were 10-2 and district champions.
Douglass news: DE Deondre Clark offered by Texas Tech; MTV show on Trojans to air in June
Texas Tech offers DE Deondre Clark
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
Football: Tahlequah Sequoyah quarterback Brayden Scott earns offers from Arkansas State, Kansas
TAHLEQUAH — Tahlequah Sequoyah quarterback Brayden Scott picked up two more NCAA Division I offers — from Arkansas State and Kansas — Friday, when coaches from the schools visited.
Scott is No. 2 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list, which ranks the state’s top college football prospects. He has offers from more than a dozen schools.
Scott, rated a three-star prospect by Rivals, was receiving interest from Oklahoma, but after Colleyville, Texas, signal caller Cody Thomas committed earlier this week, it is highly unlikely the Sooners will offer the 6-foot-2, 195-pound quarterback.
Four state players nominated for U.S. Army All-American Bowl
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Four state players are among the nominees for the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Vian offensive lineman Rob Boyd, Sequoyah Tahlequah quarterback Brayden Scott, Tulsa East Central wide receiver/defensive back Stanvon Taylor and Lawton defensive end D.J. Ward are among the 400 nominees to play in the game.
The nominations were made the the game’s selection committee, consisting of regional coaches throughout the country and Rivals.com officials. Of the group, 90 will be selected to play in the game. The selections begin in September and run through early December.
The game will be played Jan. 5.
Taylor and Ward are both OU commits, with Taylor having made his decision public Friday. Boyd is committed to Tulsa. Scott has offers including Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Clemson, Missouri, Tennessee and Tulsa.
Football: Edmond Santa Fe hires Chris Rose as defensive coordinator
EDMOND — Filling the vacant defensive coordinator position was one of Edmond Santa Fe coach Lance Manning’s most important tasks this offseason.
The position has been filled; Manning said Monday he has hired former Midwest City defensive coordinator Chris Rose.
Rose was considered a top candidate to replace Steve Huff as the Bombers’ head coach, but the job ultimately went to former Tulsa Washington and Star Spencer coach Darrell Hall.
Rose replaces Kenny Young, who retired after one year as the Wolves’ defensive coordinator. Before that, he had a long, successful tenure as head coach at Bishop McGuinness.
Rose was formerly an assistant coach at Edmond Memorial, where he was also the boys’ soccer coach.
He inherits a defense that lost some of its best players from 2011, but is also bringing several good ones back.
The Wolves lost defensive ends Michael Onuoha, who signed with OU, and Josh Crouch, who combined for 162 tackles and 16 sacks a year ago.
Also gone is defensive back Conner Bays, who made 101 tackles and will play college ball at Southwestern Oklahoma State.
But returning for Santa Fe is cornerback Khari Harding, who boasts offers from several Division I schools and is one of the top college prospects in the state for the class of 2013.
Linebacker Jerremy Moore also returns after recording 102 tackles and seven sacks as a junior.
Manning is entering his second season as Edmond Santa Fe’s coach. In 2010, the Wolves were 1-9, but in Manning’s first season, the team went 10-2 and won its district.
Putnam City West promotes Rocky Martin to football coach
Putnam City West promoted linebackers coach Rocky Martin to head football coach on Friday.
Putnam City West didn’t look far to find its new head football coach.
The school promoted linebackers coach Rocky Martin to head coach on Friday to fill the void of John Jensen, who was removed from the position last month.
This will be the first head coaching job for Martin, who has an interesting resume.
His coaching career began at Cherry Creek (Colo.) High School, his alma mater, in 2002-03 then became an assistant at the University of Akron from 2004-07.
After that, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Irving Middle School in Norman before joining the PC West staff in 2010.
As a player for Colorado State, Martin went to four bowl games, starting on the 2000 squad that went to the Liberty Bowl and finished the season ranked 14th.
Like his predecessor, Martin plans to keep his players active in areas beyond the football field.
“We recognize that we are working with students first and athletes second. Our student-athletes will be held to the highest standards in the classroom and the community,” Martin said.
“I’m excited to start this new chapter in my life and excited to work in a new role with this great group of students. I’m ready to go.”
There will be an expectation of Martin to ultimately produce victories for the long-struggling football program. Jensen, who remains at the school as athletic director, was removed as head coach because principal Buster Meeks wanted the program to go “in a new direction,” despite a consistent growth in participation and support under Jensen. The Patriots have won three games in the last five seasons.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Boys track: Magnus Scott nearing college decision after weekend visit to Arkansas
Coyle athlete Magnus Scott will soon decide whether to run track at Arkansas or Kansas State.
Coyle athlete Magnus Scott is nearing a decision on where he’ll run track in college after a weekend visit to Arkansas.
Scott said Sunday that he will soon choose between Arkansas and Kansas State.
“It was good,” Scott said of his visit to Fayetteville. “They really want me. I’m going to go home, talk to my parents about it and go from there.”
Scott also has interest in playing football wherever he goes to college, and said Arkansas coaches were much more open to that than Kansas State’s were.
“He said if I really wanted to play, he didn’t mind,” Scott said, while adding that until Arkansas hires a football coach to replace Bobby Petrino, he won’t know for sure if it’s possible.
As a senior on the gridiron, Scott accounted for 35 total touchdowns as Coyle made the playoffs for the first time in school history. Scott rushed for 1,923 yards and averaged nearly 13 yards per carry.
Arkansas is a traditional power in track, and isn’t too far from Scott’s home. Both of those factors will play into his decision, he said.
Football: Stillwater’s Jesse Vester will likely begin college career at NEO
Stillwater's Jesse Vester will likely begin his college football career at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
STILLWATER — I ran into Jesse Vester at the Oklahoma State spring game Saturday. Vester, a standout receiver from Stillwater High School, double signed with OSU and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M on signing day back in February.
Vester was still working on getting qualified academically in February, and he told me Saturday that he hasn’t quite gotten there yet.
He said he’s close to qualifying, but will in all likelihood begin his college career at NEO, stay there a semester and join the Cowboys next spring.
Vester (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), the kick returner on The Oklahoman‘s All-State team, scored 15 touchdowns and had 1,125 receiving yards as a senior.
Oklahoma State offers Douglass DE Deondre Clark
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
Boys soccer: Edmond Memorial fighting on through rough season
EDMOND — Edmond Memorial’s boys soccer team has had a rough season so far.
Twenty minutes into its first game, senior leader Bryan Sanchez tore both of his ACLs.
“It was pretty tough on him,” said coach Jeff Lovett. “It was tough on the entire team. He was a senior, the captain and he had a great year for us last year.”
Sanchez’s injury was especially tough on him because his brother, junior Blake Sanchez, is the Bulldogs’ starting goalie.
“They were excited about playing together this year,” Lovett said.
Lovett said senior Jared Glenn has stepped up and provided leadership for the team. Glenn leads the team in goals.
Memorial is 2-4 this season entering Tuesday’s game at unbeaten U.S. Grant, but one loss was in a shootout, one was in overtime and another was by one goal in regulation.
