Woods, who has worked as an assistant at Star Spencer and Millwood over the last five seasons, is replacing Bruce Troxell, who stepped down after six years.

Woods, a former Millwood player, had a standout career at Oklahoma State. He was picked in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and spent parts of four seasons in the NFL and CFL before ending his professional career in 2008.

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

The struggles and triumphs of area public schools have been a frequent topic in The Oklahoman through the years. Here are a few of those stories: (Note: Some of the coaches, athletes administrators featured have moved on since the stories were originally written.)

Northwest Classen off to hot start

Sept. 2012  —  None of the players on this year’s team was alive the last time Northwest Classen was 2-0. That was 20 years ago, when the Knights opened with wins over Northeast and U.S. Grant before losing to Capitol Hill.

State Rep. Richard Morrissette brings in Joe Washington to motivate Capitol Hill football team

Oct. 2011  —  After watching Capitol Hill’s 52-0 loss to Ardmore on Oct. 13, Oklahoma State Rep. Richard Morrissette decided he’d had enough. He arranged for the team to tour the state capitol building on Thursday and got Oklahoma legend Joe Washington to speak to the players.
Putnam City West food pantry strives to help high school students battling hunger

Sept. 2011  —  Then-Putnam City West football coach John Jensen, along with fellow coaches, established a small pantry for athletes after noticing a problem of hunger and injuries among players.

U.S. Grant faces an uphill climb in Class 6A

Aug. 2011  —  U.S. Grant is the only Oklahoma City Public School (or Tulsa Public School) in Class 6A. A school with all the challenges of the inner city – large dropout rates, often lack of parental involvement, minimal community support – faces one well-established football program after another. Lawton High. Mustang. Edmond North. Westmoore. Putnam City.

High school coaches know instilling pride is key to turning around a program

Aug. 2011  —  Several of the city area’s struggling football programs have new coaches this season, with new enthusiasm for turning their team around. But most of them seem to know that coaching isn’t among their primary tasks in building a winning football team at places such as Western Heights, Northeast, Northwest Classen, Capitol Hill or U.S. Grant.

Star Spencer’s championship game win over Douglass a night of hoping and believing

Dec. 2009  —  Star Spencer beat Douglass 34-21 in the Class 4A state championship game Saturday night, giving Oklahoma City Public Schools its first football title in 14 years. In a class with perennial powers Weatherford, Bishop McGuinness and Glenpool, the gold trophy is going home with one of the forgottens. One of the schools with inferior facilities and little hope.

The Pride of OKC: Douglass and Star Spencer will meet in a state title game

Dec. 2009  —  In both the Douglass and Spencer communities, people are excited. Not only are the teams playing for the state title, but they’re playing against each other — which is the first time in state football playoff history that two Oklahoma City Public Schools’ teams have met in a championship game. Now, for the first time since John Marshall won the 1995 Class 5A title, the Oklahoma City Public Schools is guaranteed of having a state football champion.

The Future of Athletics for OKCPS

Aug. 2009  —  District athletic director Phil Ingersoll has a plan to make OKC schools more competitive in football.

Home disadvantage for OKCPS teams

Aug. 2009  —  As a football player in the Oklahoma City Public Schools, Ken Berry doesn’t envy the things that other teams have. That might surprise those outside the inner-city schools, but the district has increased its commitment to football and upgraded uniforms, equipment, even facilities in recent years. The locker room that Berry and his teammates use is only a couple years old, thanks to MAPS for Kids, while the No. 22 jersey that the standout linebacker will wear on Friday nights is only a year old. Berry wants for nothing. Except wins.

Coaches at Oklahoma City Public Schools face big hurdles

Aug. 2009  —  Terrell Love admits it won’t be an easy job. The new football coach at U.S. Grant understands the challenges that lie ahead if he’s to help turn the Generals around.

Coach of the Year: Andy Bogert, Heritage Hall
MVP: Sterling Shephard, Heritage Hall
Offensive Player of the Year: Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall
Defensive Player of the Year: Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
Back of the Year: Brett Gilstrap, Bethany
Co-Quarterback of the Year: Ryley Clayborn, Bethany
Co-Quarterback of the Year: Quinn Shanbour, Heritage Hall
Offensive Lineman: Hunter Endres, Kingfisher
Receiver of the Year: Cale Courtney, Heritage Hall
Defensive End of the Year: Quintaz Struble, Heritage Hall
Defensive Tackle of the Year: Willy Hanvold, Kingfisher
Outside Linebacker of the Year: Ross Clifton, Heritage Hall
Inside Linebacker of the Year: Colton Cheap, Kingfisher
Defensive Back of the Year: Grayson Haws, Bethany
Co-Kicker of the Year: Cole Rinke, Bethany
Co-Kicker of the Year: Ryan Ross, Newcastle
Special Teams Player of the Year: Gage Diffee, Bethany
Special Recognition: Mark Ryan, Centennial head coach
Injured Athlete Recognition: Brent Gaddis, Heritage Hall
Injured Athlete Recognition: Garrett McGrady, Bethany

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

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

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

But Bears coach Bruce Troxell is in no mood to hear any of his players complaining about the situation.

“No excuses,” he said. “You take what you’ve got and you go from there. We can get on the practice field. We can get on the baseball field.

“The kids are excited about what’s happening. There’s a buzz around the school, people asking all the time, ‘When’s it gonna be done?’”

The track has been laid, and the stripes were scheduled to be painted last week, but the heat caused a delay. The football field and stadium will be ready to open for the 2012 season.

I’ll be checking in on the Bears later this week to see how camp is going. I heard a lot of good things over the summer, so they could make things even tougher in an already brutal district.

– 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

Star Spencer junior Symon Smith made seven 3-pointers to lead the Bobcats to a playoff upset of John Marshall Thursday night.

I didn’t know what to expect from Star Spencer Thursday night. Based on the last time I had seen them play, I knew it could be bad, but you always expect to see a good battle between All-City Conference teams, especially in the playoffs.

Still, it was hard to shake the memory of that 104-26 loss to Douglass back in January the last time I saw the Bobcats.

But Symon Smith helped me put that memory behind me quickly. He came out gunning from 3-point range, and I don’t think he even hit the rim on the first four he made. He hit seven in all and finished with 28 points in the 66-63 upset of No. 13 John Marshall.

This was a huge win for Star. With the season they’ve battled through, these kids deserved something good to happen.

Gary Ford doesn’t have the size some of Star’s big men have had in the last couple years, but he’s long, and he works hard on the boards. He also has the offensive skill to go out on the perimeter, which makes him a tough matchup.

It’s easy to forget how good Star was last year, and the fact that all five starters went on to play college ball somewhere. Not only did they fill up the starting lineup, they ate a lot of minutes, so Smith and Ford were the only two guys who really got a lot of varsity action off the bench.

The most impressive thing Thursday night was that after grabbing the early lead — Star went up 21-9 in the first quarter — and seeing John Marshall slowly chip away at it, the Bobcats never caved in. The Bears’ Tyler Harrison started matching Smith swish for swish from long range, and JM eventually pulled within three points late in the third quarter.

But despite the fact that they had only won five games coming into Thursday night, the Bobcats stayed focused and held on for the win.

Ford finished with 14 points and Anthony Hardimon had 13. Sophomore Jaylen Mustin only scored two points, but his two clutch free throws with less than 20 seconds remaining iced the game for the Bobcats.

“We’re just happy to get this win,” Smith said. “We’re turning it around in the playoffs. It’s been a hard season.

“Everybody’s been counting us out, and that’s why this feels so good.”

The Bobcats will be back in action Saturday night at Harrah against a stout Piedmont team. The Wildcats will pose a tougher matchup, especially with a 6-foot-5 horse like Keith Vick creating a tough matchup. But Thursday’s win guarantees Star a spot in the area tournament next week in Chickasha.

John Marshall faces McLoud in an elimination game tonight at 8 in Harrah, needing two wins to get to area.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

And they topped themselves this year.

Seven of the teams are ranked in the top 20 of their class, and the only unranked squad is Lawton Eisenhower, which was a preseason top 10 team, but is playing without 6-foot-8 junior D’Andre Wright, out with a broken leg since the season opener.

Of the seven ranked teams, Tulsa Union and Putnam City West are the only ones outside of the top 10 in their class — and they both won in Thursday’s first round.

So, yeah, this tournament is pretty loaded. Here’s a look at Day 1, with Friday’s schedule out at PC West:

Thursday’s results
Putnam City 59, Lawton Eisenhower 49
Midwest City 69, John Marshall 45
Tulsa Union 65, Putnam City North 64
Putnam City West 65, Stillwater 60

Friday’s games
John Marshall vs. PC North, 2 p.m.
Lawton Eisenhower vs. Stillwater, 3:30 p.m.
Midwest City vs. Tulsa Union, 6:30 p.m.
Putnam City vs. PC West, 8 p.m.

A few things that stood out to me…

– A.D. Burtschi is playing a lot more young/inexperienced guys than you typically see from a Putnam City team. But after losing four players who were full- or at least part-time starters a year ago, that was to be expected. The talent is there, but the Pirates have some growing up to do. With Burtschi’s passion for fundamentals and doing things right, you know he’ll get the youthful kinks worked out by March. Dom Raney and Ron’Quis Lewis are big-time talents, so as long as the other guys come together around them, this team will be fine.

– PC West guard Kyndall Dudley is ready to become a star. He would put some good games together last season, but you always wondered if he would be able to do it without Tyler Neal and Amric Fields drawing all the defensive attention. The answer is yes, loud and clear. He hit a pair of big 3s and a couple very impressive short-range jumpers on his way to 27 on the night.

– PC North just can’t catch a break. Top scorer Armon Provo has played through flu-like symptoms in two games this season, including Thursday night. He missed another with an ankle sprain, and was hampered by the injury in another. On Thursday, the last-second loss to Union came when the Redskin point guard tried to drive the lane, but lost the ball, which bounced to Geb Osifeso for a winning 12-foot jumper. Joe Summers, who also played sick in a game earlier this year, made several big plays and scored 22 Thursday. Oh, and the Panthers are still without coach Rick Harris, who has not recovered from an emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding over the holidays. Assistant Brian Beale has done a fantastic job in his place, but best wishes for a quick recovery to Harris.

– Like I wrote in the paper earlier this week, Midwest City is still looking for the right mix in their starting five and rotation. Coach Dewayne Bradley made a good point when I spoke to him at Ardmore last week. A year ago, he had seniors Kendall Parks and Xavier McClish in the gym all year, and those were his two leaders on the floor. This year, the Colbert twins and Greg Austin are the leaders, but all three played football, so there’s a transition period, especially since the leadership role is a change from last year. I think the team is still trying to get comfortable without a clear point guard, like Parks was last year. But they have too much talent to not be tough night in and night out.

Friday should be fun, too, and I’ll be there for all of it.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Northwest Classen's Quinton Hardwick reaches for the ball over John Marshall's DeMontrey Mitchell Tuesday night.

They call him Big Baby, and at 6-foot-4, 220- pounds, Northwest Classen senior Quinton Hardwick is a good-sized high school forward. By Class 5A standards, he’s not huge, but here’s the key: he plays big.

He has long arms and broad shoulders, which help him position for rebounding and in blocking shots, two things he did well Tuesday night in the Knights’ 63-53 win over a tough John Marshall squad. He finished with 12 points, 14 boards and six blocks, eating up space in the paint all night long.

Coming off a tournament weekend, the Knights were a little sloppy at times and neither team could get shots to fall early on.

The big difference between this year’s NWC squad — which is ranked No. 4 in Class 5A this week — and last year’s is the depth of viable scoring options. Six players scored and all had at least six points.

Freshman Keandre Nelson, a 6-foot-1 wing, is an impressive young kid. He led the team with 16 points and made some very athletic plays. T’aries Taylor didn’t score the way he did over the weekend at the Edmond Open, but he’s clearly capable of putting up 25 any night.

Paco Jones gives them another big body. Terry Arnold provides another athletic guard who can come up with big plays when they need it.

Point guard Jamil Donovan is still the motor that makes the team go, but I don’t expect him to average near 20 points again this season as he did as a sophomore. That’s not a knock on him, it’s just the nature of the team this year. He’ll be asked to distribute the ball and run the show more than get to the rim and score like last season.

The Knights aren’t huge, but they’re very athletic and very active on defense, which is what will keep them around the top of the class as they try to get back to the state tournament and challenge defending champ Tulsa Washington for the title.

John Marshall has moved up to No. 8 in the 4A rankings this week, and they’ve got a good core of scoring options as well, led by Talmadge Lawrence. Demontrey Mitchell and DeQuantae Taylor are both scoring threats as well, and Chad Campbell always has his team coached up.

After losing so much scoring from last year, led by Tavion Fleeks, I didn’t know what to expect from the Bears, but they actually might be better as a team than a year ago, even if they don’t have that one guy who is a threat to go off for 30 a night.

Obviously, Class 4A is a fight for the chance to get your shot at Douglass, but the Bears will be hanging around in March.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

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

And when you look at the players of the year, you see just how impressive that group of teams was. So here they are, all the “… of the Year” honors for District 3A-3:

Coach of the Year: Andy Bogert, Heritage Hall

MVP: Derek Patterson, QB, Kingfisher

Offensive MVP: Blake Riojas, RB, Newcastle

Defensive MVP: Darren Daveport, DT, Bethany

Quarterback of the Year: Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall

Running back of the Year: Devin Campbell, Bethany

Wide receiver of the Year: Tyrone Jones, Centennial

Offensive lineman of the Year: Gonzalo Delatorre, Kingfisher

Tight end of the Year: Spencer Davis, Centennial

Defensive lineman of the Year: Landon Chapple, Newcastle

Defensive end of the Year: Kody Stamm, John Marshall

Linebacker of the Year: Denzelle Johnson, John Marshall

Defensive back of the Year: Jeremy McDade, Newcastle

Returner of the Year: Jeremy Smith, Kingfisher

Punter of the Year: Kevin Shoebinger, Newcastle

Co-Kickers of the Year: Preston Waltman, Kingfisher, and Irving Roa, John Marshall

Caddell had three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half as the Trojans built a 20-6 lead. He had three interceptions, all in Douglass territory and two in the red zone. And he returned a kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown.

Douglass QB Shon Bridges earns honorable mention for his big plays in the passing game, completing four throws for 108 yards and two scores. 

Other contenders

Kevonte Richardson, Mike Cole and Shevin Patton, Millwood: Richardson put on a show, throwing for 114 yards and three TDs, rushing for 71 yards and a score, and taking a kickoff 82 yards to the house. Cole caught four passes for 78 yards and two TDs. Patton rushed for 121 yards on six carries with a touchdown. And Brandon Swinall took another pick back for a score, making for seven on the year.

John Marshall Bears: The Bears needed a win and they got it with a crucial 21-20 victory over Weatherford, a good motivational boost for a team that has a chance to win again this week against SeeWorth Academy. That would get them to .500 for the season.

Looking good

Douglass (6-2, 5-0)
Remaining games: vs. Glenpool, vs. Cleveland
Prognosis: Win this week and it’s all over. Douglass will sew up the 4A-2 title with a win against Glenpool on Friday. That would put them against the No. 4 from 4A-1, where Woodward and McGuinness are currently tied.

Millwood (8-0, 4-0)
Remaining games: at Northeast, at Lexington
Prognosis: One more win is all it will take to assure the Falcons of a district title and a playoff opener against the No. 4 seed from 2A-1 (right now it would be OCS or Tonkawa). Of course, that’s not what they’re chasing. Their goals are focused in December.

Barely hanging on

Northwest Classen (1-7, 1-4)
Remaining games: at Durant, at Lawton MacArthur
Prognosis: Must win out and get some help. The Knights are sitting in seventh one game behind a three-way tie for the fourth spot.

Northeast (2-6, 1-3)
Remaining games: vs. Millwood, at Jones
Prognosis: The good news is the Vikings could win twice and potentially get in. The bad news is they have to play the two best teams in the district the final two weeks.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

John Marshall (3-3) at Heritage Hall (6-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Pop Murray Field, HH

John Marshall
Why the Bears can win: Bruce Troxell has done some house cleaning, to tidy up some bad attitudes, and he believes his Bears are making a turnaround. There’s certainly something positive to see in last week’s loss to Kingfisher. Based on the way things had been going, that probably should’ve been a 50-point loss. Denzelle Johnson had moved to left tackle to help out a lack of depth on the offensive line, but he’s too talented not to be touching the ball, so Troxell has him back out at the slot.

Heritage (W – Casady; W – Clinton; W – Davis; W – Centennial; W – Tulsa NOAH; W – Newcastle)
Why the Chargers can win: More than anything this team is incredibly fresh through six games. Their starters haven’t played much of a second half in four of the wins, and it has given a lot of younger guys a chance to get their feet wet as well.

Quote:

We have to build off last week. That was a great win, but we can’t have an emotional letdown.” coach Andy Bogert

Scott’s key matchup: Bears O-line vs. Chargers D-line. John Marshall has been hit hard by injuries up front, and HH has a lot of guys who can plug running lanes or get after the QB. The Bears better find a way to control the line of scrimmage if they’re going to have any offensive success.

Boneman’s key matchup: Heritage passing game vs. John Marshall secondary. If Barry J. Sanders can’t go, it’s going to be up to Cooper Cloud to provide some big plays through the air. The Chargers can do it that way, too, if they need to.

Scott’s pick: Heritage Hall 35, John Marshall 20. I think the Bears are getting things together, but there aren’t many easy games in this district.

Boneman’s pick: Heritage Hall 52, John Marshall 20. Chargers take big lead early, thanks to a good receiving night from Shaun Tkach and Cale Courtney and cruise to 7-0.

Boneman’s Heritage prediction record: 6-0.

Cobb tacked on three more touchdowns this week in a rout of Cushing, bringing his season total to 14, which isn’t quite as impressive as Cobb’s 11.6 yard-per-carry average. Barring something unforseen, Cobb will go past the 1,000-yard mark next week.

For the year, he has 954 yards on just 82 carries. With Diontay Washington, Ian Robinson and Shon Green adding some punch in that backfield as well, then guys like Marcus Caddell at receiver, the Douglass offense is dangerous. And that’s good news, considering Willis Alexander is a guy that lives on defense. And the Trojans are pretty solid over there, too.

Other contenders

Brandon Swindall and Josh Turner, Millwood: Ridiculous, simply ridiculous. The numbers these guys are putting up, the big plays they’re making — amazing. Turner had TD catches of 43 and 81 yards. Swindall scored from 8, 33 and 74 yards, the last two in the fourth quarter to close out Millwood’s rally for a 45-38 win. Swindall finished with 189 yards receiving and Turner had 158.

Kody Stamm and Dejon Brison, John Marshall: Bruce Troxell was pleased with the play of guys like Denzelle Johnson, Kody Shields and Delante Scroggins, but it was his senior linemen who really stood out. Stamm and Brison led the way as the Bears got back in the win column.

Stevo Henderson, Star Spencer: Henderson had a 68-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, the lone offensive bright spot for the Bobcats in a 35-8 loss.

Send OKC Player of the Week nominations to Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com

Christian Gorham, Northwest Classen: The Knight QB tossed a pair of TD passes in NWC’s loss to Duncan.

But Millwood’s Brandon Swindall put up those numbers as a defensive back. The 6-foot-4 senior intercepted four passes and returned three of them for touchdowns of 18, 77 and 87 yards in Friday’s 60-6 win over Luther.

For the season, Swindall has nine total touchdowns — five receiving and four interception returns. He’s among the state’s top receivers with 423 yards, and he’s been a big-play threat all season.

It’s just a matter of time before recruiting explodes for this kid. He’s taller and faster than a year ago, and once teams get a good look at his senior game tape, they’re going to be lining up for him.

Other contenders

Aliston Cobb, Douglass: The senior RB rushed for 187 yards and scored four times as Douglass won its second straight blowout.

Trevyone Willis and London Potts, Northeast: Willis scored three times from 51, 63 and 94 yards in a loss to Christian Heritage. Potts threw to him for the 63- and 94-yard scores. Potts also rushed in for a two-point conversion.

Josh Turner, Millwood: The Texas commit had three TDs and more than 100 yards rushing in the 60-6 win over Luther.

Kody Shields, John Marshall: Shields had a 48-yard TD run as the SeBears pounded out 215 yards on the ground, despite losing to a powerful Kingfisher squad.

– Send OKC Player of the Week nominations to Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com

Bethany breakdown: It was an impressive performance from the Bronchos in all facets of the game. They have a tough road ahead if they’re going to make a run at a home playoff berth in a district with Kingfisher, Heritage Hall and Newcastle. But there’s no doubting they’ve got some serious talent. And regardless of the opponent, three straight shutouts is impressive.

John Marshall isn’t a top 10 team right now, but they’re not a bad team, either. Bethany made them look like a bad football team Thursday night. The Bears had one rushing play that accounted for 42 yards by Kody Shields, and the rest of the night, they only gained 28 yards (including losses of 9 and 15 yards when shotgun snaps flew over QB Devion Smith’s head).

The Bethany defense has speed at every position, and the front four were disruptive all night, recording multiple tackles for loss. DE Brett Gilstrap made a great play snatching a screen pass out of the air and taking it back for a touchdown. The linebackers run to the ball well and the DBs aren’t afraid to come up and hit.

Offensively, Devin Campbell rushed 19 times for 164 yards and a touchdown, giving him 653 and nine TDs for the season. He’s a shifty runner with some power, too. And with Ryley Claborn throwing the ball around the way he did Thursday night, the Bronchos are dangerously balanced.

John Marshall breakdown: The Bears are hurting on the offensive line right now. The loss of center Tyler Stamm for the season has been tough on depth, forcing the move of Denzelle Johnson from slot receiver to left tackle. He’s 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, but he’s one of the team’s most athletic players. I. n the preseason, they were using him as a receiver and getting the ball to him on handoffs, too.

The O-line issues make it tough on a freshman QB in Devion Smith. He missed on a few of his throws and had some drops, too. The run game will be more helpful than it was on Thursday, because of the play of the Bethany defensive line. Prior to Thursday, the Bears offense had been better than their scores suggest. They moved the ball well, just couldn’t find their way into the end zone.

The defense had also been much better previously than it showed on Thursday. But they got hit quickly by a couple of big plays — Bethany returned the opening kickoff to the JM 40 and scored on the first snap — and were left staggering.

I think this team will bounce back, and I don’t think it’s out of line to think they could be on the fringe of a playoff berth, depending how the ball bounces down the stretch.

Up next: Bethany hosts SeeWorth Academy, then Tulsa NOAH (non-district). John Marshall gets a visit from Kingfisher before the rivalry game with Centennial.

Last week: Bethany routed Washington 37-0, the Bronchos’ second straight shutout. John Marshall edged Crooked Oak 15-6.

Why Bethany could win: Reagan Roof’s offense has typically been throw, throw, throw and run when you have to, but with Devin Campbell, Roof has let his talented running back go to work. The 5-foot-8 senior has 489 yards and eight touchdowns on 49 carries. And QB Ryley Claborn has thrown for 464 yards and five scores, giving the Bronchos a good amount of balance.

Why John Marshall could win: Defense has been the foundation of everything the Bears are built on, and that will keep them in most games. Denzelle Johnson anchors that defense at linebacker, with Dejon Brison up front and Alandis Bell on the back end. If they can hold up against Campbell and Claborn, the Bears will be in the game at the end.

Key matchup: Bethany’s Ryley Claborn vs. John Marshall secondary. Claborn is still a young QB, and the Bears are solid on the back end. If they can force Claborn into some bad throws or bad decisions, John Marshall could come away with some picks. If Claborn takes care of the ball, the Bronchos should be able to put some pressure on the John Marshall defense.

The pick: Bethany 21, John Marshall 18. The Bears should be able to keep it close with good defense, but the offense is still a work in progress with so many young players and new starters. Bethany’s experience and offensive weapons should give it enough of an edge to pull it out.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

So let’s take a look at what some of the OKC schools face as we get ready for the start of district play:

Millwood (3-0)

It’s going to be a while before the Falcons face a team as good as what they’ve seen the last two weeks in Douglass and McGuinness. Those are two of the best teams in 4A, and none of the competition in 2A-2 is going to exceed that.

Jones (Week 6) and Lexington (Week 10) are a couple of big games to look ahead to, but with easiejr competition, the key for the Falcons will be making sure not to let their guard down. They’ve got the talent to win every game they play. It’s just a matter of staying focused.

Week 4: The new seven-team districts in most of A-3A have led to some scheduling craziness. Millwood closes out the preseason portion of its schedule at Alva Friday night, then opens 2A-2 play at home against Luther the following week.

Douglass (1-2)

After finally getting into the win column, the Trojans are heading into district play on a high note. And in terms of west-side districts, 4A-2 is much more favorable than 4A-1, which has teams like McGuinness, Elgin, Elk City, Cache and Woodward. The Week 9 meeting with Glenpool (the two teams are 4 and 5 in the rankings this week) could be for the district title.

Though Douglass won last week, there was some difficulty, with coach Willis Alexander sending his starting QB, Shon Bridges, and RB, Aliston Cobb, to the bench at one point. But I’d expect Alexander to get everything sorted out.

Week 4: The Trojans open district play with a visit from Tecumseh, which lost 35-13 to Deer Creek last week. The Antlers hit some big plays with the run, so look for Douglass to try the same thing.

Star Spencer (0-3)

I paid a visit to Star Spencer practice on Monday, and there’s some sense of relief in the arrival of district play. After battling through a difficult preseason, the Bobcats are ready for a fresh start.

And district action gets off to a fast start, too. Friday’s game at home against Chandler pits the two teams who were viewed as the preseason favorites in 3A-4. Perkins is a team that has looked good in the first three weeks, and the Bobcats go there in Week 6.

Star gets its break from district action in Week 9 with a game against Victory Christian.

Week 4: As I said, it starts with Chandler this week. No one in the district is currently ranked in the 3A top 10, and these two teams would like to change that.

Southeast (3-0)

Michael Branch has his team off to a great start, but as we’ve discussed before, the Spartans are in possibly the toughest district around. Two top-three teams await in Guthrie and Carl Albert, as well as No. 7 Deer Creek. The move of Jay Gogue to running back seems to have inspired the running game, and the defense has been solid all year.

I won’t be surprised to see this team step up and upset someone at some point during the season.

Week 4: The district action begins with Ada coming to Southeast this Friday. This could be a more important game than it seems right now. These two teams could be battling for the final playoff spot in this district if things go well for Southeast.

John Marshall (2-1)

As expected, the Bears have been strong on defense so far this year. Even in their loss to Cache, they still only gave up 15 points. They’re stuck in a challenging district, with Heritage Hall, Kingfisher, Bethany, Newcastle and Centennial. So with opponents like that, a good defense will come in handy.

The question will be whether the young offense can come along and put up enough points to win some big games.

Week 4: The Bears open with Bethany Thursday night at Taft Stadium. It should be a good test for the JM defense. Bethany brings a balanced offensive attack with QB Ryley Claborn and RB Devin Campbell.

Centennial (2-1)

No sense in waiting around, and that’s the case for Centennial, which opens district play with one of the hottest teams in the state, No. 3 Heritage Hall.

It’s a tough district, and there are a couple of key games waiting in next few weeks, with games against Newcastle and John Marshall. Both of those games will go a long way toward separating the middle of the district. The Bison are one of the teams who got stuck with Week 10 as its district off week. They’ll close out the season against 2A Hennessey.

Week 4: The opener against Heritage Hall on Friday night will be a big test for the Bison defense, which struggled to slow down Anadarko — certainly no shame in losing to a team like the Warriors, but like Anadarko, Heritage Hall has a strong running game that few have been able to slow down.

Other OKC teams

US Grant opens district play Thursday night with the suddenly scary Putnam City Pirates, who are 3-0 and routed Choctaw last week… Capitol Hill begins district action against one of 5A’s best teams, Duncan, on Thursday… Northeast, also in 2A-2 with Millwood, will try to build on last week’s success in its district opener against a Lexington team that has earned its spot in the top 10… Altus visits Northwest Classen on Friday night for the 5A-2 opener.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

And though the numbers might not appear to make sense, I’m going with the Millwood defense as the Oklahoma City Players of the Week. Yes, the Falcon D gave up 41 points and 362 yards, but less than 100 of those yards came in the second half when Millwood needed their defense the most.

And the defense got takeaways on McGuinness’ first two possessions of the game — including the interception Clifford Lawrence took back 73 yards for a touchdown — to help the Falcons build a 20-0 lead.

Kevonte Richardson’s 200 passing yards and 144 rushing yards — including a 92-yard TD run — were ultra-impressive. Smae for Mike Cole’s three catches for three TDs. Brandon Swindall had multiple important catches and Shevin Patton averaged more than 10 yards per carry at running back.

And Millwood needed all of those contributions, but the top award goes to the defense, guys like Lawrence, Larry Seals, Josh Turner and Davion Pierson.

Seals was all over the place all night long, despite playing with a huge cast on one hand. Pierson battled dehydration throughout the night, but came up with two huge plays on McGuinness’ final offensive series, making a tackle in the backfield and sniffing out a screen pass to make another stop at the line of scrimmage.

That play came right before Swindall’s interception that sealed the victory.

Other contenders

Marcus Caddell and Diontay Washington, Douglass: Washington rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries, including two early TDs, and Caddell made the game’s biggest play, a 38-yard interception return for a score.

Jay Gogue, Southeast: Gogue led the Spartans to a third straight win, knocking off Capitol Hill. Gogue rushed for 165 yards and five TDs.

Brison Currin, Centennial: Coach Mark Ryan praised his quarterback for managing the offense well as the Bison head into Week 4 with a 2-1 record.

Aron Gaines and Migual Potts, Northeast: Each player had two TDs, with Gaines pulling in scoring receptions of 12 and 30 yards, and Potts rushing for scores of 48 and 54 yards as the Vikings defeated Riverside 38-6.

Send nominations for OKC Player of the Week to Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com

It was hard enough narrowing the field down to three guys, and that’s why Millwood quarterback Kevonte Richardson and receivers/defensive backs Brandon Swindall and Josh Turner must share the honor of Oklahoma City Player of the week.

Richardson threw for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 40 more yards and a score. Turner had five catches for 117 yards, including grabs of 32 and 27 yards on the final drive, the latter accounting for the game-winning touchdown. And Swindall had five receptions for 161 yards and three scores, with his shortest catch of the day going for 19 yards. Oh, and he had the game-saving tackle at the 1-yard line on the final play of the 36-31 victory.

So, yeah, they were kind of a big deal on Saturday.

A few other Millwood players who earned recognition Saturday: Nose guard Stanford Rice, linebacker Larry Seals and receiver Dametric Sanders, who had a 79-yard TD catch.

And Douglass had their share of playmakers, too. RB Aliston Cobb had 202 rushing yards and three TDs, and Diontay Washington running behind a powerful offensive line all day. DeVante McKinney was stirring up trouble at defensive end. Erik King and the linebackers were running to the ball well. QB Shon Bridges made his share of plays, though he wishes he could’ve picked up one more yard on that last play. And Marcus Caddell who made several plays, including a 90-yard kickoff return TD that kept the Trojans in the game in the third quarter.

Other POW contenders

Jay Gogue, QB/RB, and Micah Hunter, QB, Southeast football: The Spartans are 2-0 with Gogue leading the way. He has played quarterback and running back this season as coach Michael Branch looks for the best way to utilize his dangerous runner.  Hunter threw a TD pass in Thursday’sd 27-14 win over Star Spencer, helping keep the Spartans from becoming one-dimensional.

Christian Gorham and Terry Arnold, Northwest Classen football: Gorham threw five touchdown passes, hitting Arnold for three of them, on his way to a 279-yard performance on just 12-of-19 passing. Arnold pulled in scoring catches of 15, 23 and 21 yards, and also returned a kickoff 86 yards for a score as Northwest edged Northeast 40-34.

Trevyone Willis and Michael Thomas, Northeast football: Thomas threw a touchdown pass to Willis and caught another himself in the tough loss to NW Classen. Willis had the 22-yard TD catch and rushed for TDs of 20 and 37 yards.

Nico Durham and Tyrone Jones, Centennial football: Durham and Jones combined for all three Bison touchdowns in Friday’s loss to Anadarko.

GaVonte Bonds, US Grant football: Bonds rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries against Capitol Hill.

Irving Roa, John Marshall cross country: Roa won the John Marshall meet at Lake Hefner last Thursday, finishing the 4,800-meter course in 16:55.

– To nominate an OKC athlete for Player of the Week, e-mail Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com

Why Cache could win: They might have pulled off the biggest surprises last week with their 15-14 win over Tuttle that wasn’t settled until Tuttle missed a field goal in the closing moments. QB Tanner Thompson is a playmaker who ignited the rally from 14-0 down against Tuttle with a 73-yard TD run.

Why John Marshall could win: The Bear defense was strong last week, and should give them a chance to be in just about every game. And there’s some talent on offense. I’d look for Kody Shields to break free for some good yardage tonight. Denzelle Johnson is a big guy who will impact both sides of the ball as well.

Key matchup: Cache defense vs. John Marshall QB Davion Smith. Smith is a freshman, and will play like one at times. He can’t make too many mistakes against a good team, or it will be costly. But he has a lot of ability, and if he plays clean, the Bears can put up enough points to win.

The pick: Cache 10, John Marshall 7. It’s hard to know just how good Cache is after pulling the shocker last week, but it certainly makes you take notice. That said, I’m always concerned about the team making the long bus ride to or from Lawton. It can be an equalizer.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Troxell played college baseball against Cache coach Barry Foster. They have children the same age. They’re both in their 27th year of high school football coaching. When Troxell was coaching at Apache, Foster was an assistant at Rush Springs, and the two teams squared off regularly.

So they know each other a little bit, and with that, Troxell already knew Week 2 was going to be a tough one for his Bears. But the rest of the state learned a little bit about Cache with last week’s upset of No. 2 Tuttle.

Last week, there were some positives, especially on defense for the Bears.

A safety and a kickoff return touchdown were the only points John Marshall allowed in Friday’s 27-9 win over Northwest Classen, highlighting the expectation that defense will be the Bears’ backbone this season.

“Our defense pitched a shutout,” Troxell said. “Coming in, we felt the defense would be our strong suit. This was a good start.”

Freshman quarterback Davion Smith — one of three freshmen in the Bears’ starting lineup — rushed for a touchdown and threw for another in his first high school game. Led by Kody Shields, the Bears rushed for 289 yards behind an offensive line that lost starting center Tyler Stamm for a couple weeks when he injured his knee Thursday.

“We moved some kids around, and at times, we ran the ball well,” Troxell said. “Davion did some good things at quarterback. His athletic ability got him out of some trouble. He could make some better decisions, but when you’re 14 years old, those things happen.”

From what I saw in practice and a scrimmage, Smith a confident player for a freshman, and I think that was part of what won him the job in a tough battle with junior Dion Vickers. Smith has some maturing to do, but there’s no better way to learn than on the field.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The senior had 156 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries, and barely touched the field in the second half of a 42-0 win over Star Spencer Friday night.

Former Millwood running back Emilio Gatewood, now at Norman North, said Patton was the team’s most dangerous player with the ball in his hands, even last year, when Gatewood was busy rushing for more than 2,000 yards at Millwood as a junior.

Other contenders

Douglass defense and RB Aliston Cobb, football: It was the defense that truly gave Douglass a chance to win on Thursday, holding McGuinness to 150 yards in the 9-7 loss. And Cobb anchored a strong backfield that had 160 yards on 36 carries in all.

Davion Smith, John Marshall football: The freshman quarterback stepped into his first varsity football game and accounted for two TDs, one passing and one rushing (a 30-yarder) as the Bears topped Northwest Classen 27-9.

Clifford Lawrence and Brandon Swindall, Millwood football: Aside from his solid play at receiver, Swindall had a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown. Lawrence had three sacks in the win over Star.

Edgar Velasco, US Grant cross country: Velasco finished seventh, just more than a minute off the winning pace Friday at Edmond Santa Fe.

– To nominate an OKC player of the week in any of the fall sports, e-mail Scott Wright at swright@opubco.com.

Why NW Classen could win: The Knights are a team trying to make the turnaround after an 0-10 season last year, and there’s always a sense of unknown in the opening game. John Marshall is replacing some key players from last year, when it defeated Northwest 39-19, so expect the Knights to make this one more competitive.

Why John Marshall could win: Coach Bruce Troxell has been pleased with the way his new starters have come along, and the defensive front seven is a talented bunch. As long as the new quarterback doesn’t turn the ball over too much, the Bears should be able to put up enough points to come away with the ‘W’.

Key matchup: Northwest run game vs. John Marshall run-stoppers. Breaking through that JM front seven will be the biggest key for Northwest pulling this one off. Northwest has some playmakers with guys like Marvin Kerbo — who averaged more than nine yards per carry on 43 attempts and also caught 20 passes last season. But they’ll have to make a dent in that front seven to give themselves a chance to win it.

The pick: John Marshall 17, NW Classen 10. I don’t see this being a blowout, and I don’t see it being a big-time offensive slugfest. But in the end, I see the Bears’ defense containing the Knights.

There’s a lot of talent in the ACAC, and some good potential matchups all the way through. Here’s the schedule:

Thursday’s games
At Douglass
Game 1, 6 p.m.: US Grant vs. Northeast
Game 2, 6:45 p.m.: Millwood vs. Centennial
Game 3, 7:30 p.m.: Douglass vs. Grant/Northeast winner

At Taft
Game 4, 6 p.m.: Northwest Classen vs. Capitol Hill
Game 5, 6:45 p.m.: John Marshall vs. Southeast
Game 6, 7:30 p.m.: Star Spencer vs. Northwest/Capitol Hill winner

Friday’s games
Championship bracket at Douglass
Game 7, 6 p.m.: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 8, 6:45 p.m.: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
Game 9, 7:30 p.m.: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (Third-place game)
Game 10, 8:15 p.m.: Championship game, Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8

Consolation bracket at Taft
Game 11, 5 p.m.: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 12, 5:45 p.m.: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5
Game 13, 6:30 p.m.: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 11
Game 14, 7:15 p.m.: Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 12
Game 15, 8 p.m.: Consolation championship, Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

 As for the football, both teams looked better than I expected. I thought John Marshall would be in for some growing pains with 12 new starters in the lineup. Sure, they had their moments when they looked a little lost, and the coaches were working hard after every play teaching better technique, better positioning, better reading of the situations. But overall, the Bears were farther along than I thought they’d be.

And I thought Bridge Creek’s offensive timing would be a little off, because QB Ryan Spangler had so much going on in the summer between football and basketball camps, AAU tournaments and recruiting. But from the outsider view, he looked sharp. He was intercepted by Alandis Bell and Emmanuel Denson on two throws that were more bad decisions than bad execution.

But Spangler and WR Caden Locke kept hooking up all night, including the three big scoring plays. Spangler was also moving outside the pocket well. RB Blake Henderson is a hard runner who produced a few big gains, but overall, I think John Marshall should be pleased with its run containment.

Of course, that’s going to be the strength of the Bears defeense, with guys like Dejon Brison and Denzelle Johnson in the front seven. Johnson is a big, strong athlete who will help out the offense in some running and receiving situations as well.

Here’s the three-piece roundup from Friday’s paper: 

Big pass plays for Bears, Bobcats

All the four touchdowns scored by the first-team offenses in Thursday’s Bridge Creek-John Marshall scrimmage covered at least 30 yards, topped by a 65-yard hook-up between Bridge Creek quarterback Ryan Spangler and receiver Caden Locke.

Spangler and Locke connected for three TD passes for the Bobcats and John Marshall answered with one, but the Bears came away pleased with the performance in the first scrimmage of the season at Taft Stadium.

“I thought we competed well,” coach Bruce Troxell said.

A four-receiver spread offense like Bridge Creek runs requires some game-planning, but no one’s doing that right now.

“You can’t run your base defense against these guys,” Troxell said. “Once we saw what they were gonna do, I thought our defense picked it up and we were running to the ball well.”

For Bridge Creek coach Jerry Wallis, the early season mistakes stuck out more than the big pass plays by his veteran offense.

“I think we can play a lot better,” Wallis said. “We did a few good things, but we made some mistakes. With the seniors we have, we shouldn’t make those mistakes.

“I want to see some improvement in our offensive line play. We’ve got to run crisper routes and defensively, we had a few breakdowns. But we’ll get better.”

Blue Chip Report: Bridge Creek QB Ryan Spangler

The 6-foot-7 quarterback had a busy summer split between football and basketball, but he was in sync with his wideouts Thursday night.

He was intercepted twice, but connected with Caden Locke on a pair of 30-yard touchdowns, then when Locke got behind the defense, Spangler found him for a 65-yard score.

“(Spangler) is gonna throw for another 3,000 yards,” Troxell said. “If you give him time, he’ll find open receivers, and that’s what happened.”

Filling the Gaps

Having graduated a large senior class from last season’s 9-3 squad, John Marshall coaches are looking at a variety of holes to fill, whether it’s replacing linebacker Ken Berry, who had 172 tackles, or quarterback Brendon Jordan, who rushed and passed for 1,200 yards each.

The linebacker corps, led by senior Denzelle Johnson, was moving to the ball well most of the night.

At quarterback, junior Dion Vickers and freshman Davion Smith both had good and bad moments, highlighted by Smith’s well-placed 35-yard TD pass to Kody Shields.

Troxell was also pleased with the play of his two new starters at cornerback, one of whom is a freshman.

“At the spots where we had question marks on defense, I think the potential is there to really solidify the defense,” Troxell said.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

I got the chance to cruise through the Bears’ practice on Monday evening and just happened to catch an offensive period in which the two quarterbacks battling for the starting job were rotating in and running a variety of plays. Junior Dion Vickers and freshman Davion Smith are the two kids competing for the job.

I know both are young from an experience standpoint — and one from an age standpoint — but I was impressed with the both kids’ abilities. They seem to have plenty of skills and the job likely goes to the one who can translate those skills to the field on the most reliable basis and show some command of the offensive system and the team.

The defense is still expected to be the strong point of this team, and defensive lineman Dejon Brison says the Bears’ linebacker group is one of the best around. Here’s my chat with Brison about the team’s need for leadership from seniors like him — a fourth-year starter — and that strong defensive front seven:

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

But to kick off the opening of two-a-days on Tuesday, here are a few points of interest on some of the top teams in that group:

- Star Spencer has some rebuilding in a couple crucial areas, quarterback and offensive line, as Terrell Love tries to keep the Bobcats moving forward from last year’s state championship in Class 4A. Down to 3A, Star will hand the QB job to either a senior or a sophomore, with Carlos Hutson (the senior) and Darion Bogus (the sophomore) battling it out through the next few weeks.

The offensive and defensive schemes at Star will look basically the same as what former coach Darrell Hall ran. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Love said.

Of course, Love was his offensive coordinator two years ago before spending last season as the US Grant head man.

The Bobcats will get after it early, hitting the field for Midnight Madness Tuesday at 12:01 a.m.

- At Millwood, the time to talk is over, and the time to play has arrived. I remember watching the Falcons in the 7-on-7 Oklahoma Showdown in Edmond last month and one of the players claimed “We’re the best team in the state!” Then they lost to Class A Cashion in the quaterfinals.

More importantly for them, the Falcons have to develop on the offensive and defensive lines, which is where Kingfisher was able to overpower them.

- Douglass’ offense will be more based in the pass than last season and Shon Bridges showed during the summer that he’s ready to handle it. The expectations will be high again for the Trojans after last year’s runner-up finish and they have some holes to fill, especially in the trenches.

- At John Marshall, the defense will be solid, with six returning starters, so it will be up to them to keep the offense from getting in too many bad situations and let the new QB — either a junior (Dion Vickers) or a freshman (Davion Smith) — gradually work into the system.

The defense will be anchored by LB Denzel Johnson and DT Dejion Brison, a fourth-year starter.

Back out in Edmond on Thursday night for a near three-hour 7-on-7 practice between a bevy of teams. Santa Fe was the destination this time. And though Midwest City and Edmond North didn’t show up, still very much worth the time.

The format wasn’t like last weekend as there were no points or tournament or anything like that.  Offenses rotated every play while defenses alternated every four plays.

Thoughts and observations

- Douglass is going to be able to throw this year. I sent Ryan Aber and Scott Wright the same text message that this was the No. 1 thing I learned Thursday. Antyoun Smith was fantastic for the Trojans but throwing wasn’t his specialty. Shon Bridges was bringing the goods last night. Douglass was tough because the team wasn’t wearing jerseys but had a good talk with coach Willis Alexander.

- Felt cheated when it came to Guthrie. I got to see the Bluejays for bits and pieces. However, I planned to watch them intently in the final station, but Rafe Watkins’ boys were gone. Apparently they go out to eat on the final day…d’oh. Was good to see Kentrell Brothers in action again.

- Big couple of weeks for Northwest Classen. This was the first time the Knights have done something like this, and it will be intriguing to see what these four days meant to them. Coach Anthony Robinson was very pleased with the two weeks and NW certainly competed hard.

- Also spent a little more time watching smaller schools like Hennessey and John Marshall. Hennessey has some players, and I like their wide receivers. Orlando Pina is going to be able to stretch out defenses while Zach Griffin has great hands. Unfortunately, didn’t get to chat with Bruce Troxell about the Bears.

- Didn’t know the Irish were going to be there but good to see McGuinness again. Now’s the time for Jamaal Whitney to make that jump up. He definitely has all the tools to be a special one. Irish are itchin’ to get out there for real as I’m sure most teams are at this point.

- My first look at Putnam City North and gotta say, liked what I saw. This format won’t bring out the best in someone like Dre Holman but felt Jace James made some real nice throws as did Joe Summers. However, what I took from the Panthers was how solid WR Covin Conrady. Scott Wright told me to be on the lookout for Conrady, and he was certainly right about that.

- Edmond Santa Fe, Deer Creek and Southmoore were also there. I admit I didn’t spend as much time on these three schools after watching them all last weekend. I will say Tre Kelley is carrying himself differently (that’s a positive) for the Wolves. Alex Christensen is being used as a TE a lot more with Joel Blumenthal at QB for the Antlers though the two are still alternating snaps. And I could watch Kendal Thompson throw all day. Southmoore also has some sharp practice jerseys.

- By the time everything ended, it was too dark to shoot video with some of the players I wanted to. However, there should be a video of some action that I shot during the night on NewsOK shortly.

- We’re getting closer and closer to Aug. 10. I’ll have much more on certain teams in the upcoming days.

The Oklahoma City Player of the Week is shared by John Marshall’s Steven Bay, Keyair Bolden, Emmanuel Denson, Elijah Gill, James Green, Keene James and the other members of John Marshall’s boys relay teams.

Those athletes all won events at Saturday’s Rock Creek Invitational in Sulphur, helping the Bears dominate the event in beating second-place Tecumseh 217-82 in the overall standings.

Bay and Denson won multiple events. Bay won both the 3,200 and 1,600 meter runs, while Denson won both the 300 and 110 hurdles.

James won the 100-meter dash as the Bears swept the top three spots in the premier event, with Bolden coming in 0.05 seconds behind and John Marshall’s Delante Scroggins finishing third.

Bolden on the 200, Gill won the 400, Green won the 800 and the Bears won the 400, 1,600 and 3,200-meter relays.

Others:
Zekeria Chism, Temisha Shoals and Jordan Smith, John Marshall: The trio each won events in helping the Bears complete the sweep at Sulphur. Shoals win the 200, Chism the 400 and Smith the long jump.

Deandre Vick, Douglass: Vick won both the 110 (15.39) and 300 (41.30) hurdle events at last Tuesday’s meet at Shawnee’s Oklahoma Baptist. His wins played a big part in the Trojans winning the meet, beating out Millwood 117-107.

Wisby, Douglass: Wisby won both the 200 (25.16) and 400 (59.04) at last Tuesday’s meet at Shawnee’s Oklahoma Baptist.

Have a player of the week nomination for an Oklahoma City athlete? E-mail raber@opubco.com

One notable effect from the change to Saturday rather than Friday for the meet was a drop in fan attendance and athlete participation. In talking to some athletes and coaches, there were a lot of kids gone taking the ACT, and several schools held their prom on Saturday, so some kids chose that over track. I have absolutely no basis for this, only a gut feeling, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go back to Friday next spring.

Anyway, on to the performances. Some of the following has appeared in the newspaper, some if it hasn’t, but all of it was entertaining:

Southmoore blazes to relay, wins team title 

From a coach’s perspective, Southmoore’s boys 400-meter relay run was slowed by a bad start and two poor baton handoffs. On the clock, it was almost a state record.

The team of Julian Wilson, D’Vante Henry, Ethan Baker and Derek Serowski logged a time of 41.10 to win the event, only a fraction off the state record time of 40.96, which is held by Lawton MacArthur’s 1983 state championship relay team.

The SaberCats only earned gold in two other events — taking the top two spots in the 100-meter and 200-meter runs — but that was good enough for 76 team points and a one-point win over Edmond Memorial in the Division 1 boys competition at the John Jacobs High School Track Invitational Saturday at the University of Oklahoma.

John Marshall won less dramatically in Division 2 boys with 138 points, 63 points better than second-place Ada.

The Bears won gold in the 800 and 1,600 relays. Emmanuel Denson won the 300 hurdles and the Bears swept the top three spots in the 400, led by Elijah Gill’s winning time of 50.86.

Piedmont girls seeking repeat

With only seven girls who qualified for the Class 4A state meet last year, Piedmont still found a way to win. Five of those athletes are back this season, and Trinity Johnson’s team is looking for another title.

The 4A girls field is deep, with teams like Douglass, Seminole and last year’s runner-up, Madill. But the Lady Wildcats are off to a good start, winning Division 2 Saturday by 40 points, despite it being just their third meet of the year.

“A lot of things have to happen to win state, but with the girls we have, we should be in the hunt,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a good mixture of sprint and distance runners.”

And they got a boost from Madison Berryman, who won the Division 2 long jump Saturday at 17-0 ¾ in her first meet of the year. She missed the first two while participating with the tennis team. Sarah Peoples (200 meters), Megan Fuller (300 hurdles) and Jori Davis (1,600) all won events and Piedmont took gold in the 800 relay.

Tulsa Union dominated girls’ Division 1 with a 70-point victory, winning in five individual runs and three relays.

‘Eventful day’ for Guthrie’s Robinson

At a typical meet, Emmanuel Robinson would run a leg of the 400-meter relay, but none of the other three sprinters attended Saturday’s event. They were back in Guthrie preparing for prom Saturday night.

“I figured I’d come here, get a few races in, then go to prom,” Robinson said. “This is one of the meets where you see where everybody is, so I wanted to see where I stood.

“It’s an eventful day.”

And a successful one, too. Robinson clocked the best time of any runner in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.46 seconds and won the 100 in Division 2 (Class 5A and below) at 10.97. He didn’t run the 300 hurdles — usually his third individual race — but finished second in the 200, an event he generally doesn’t compete in.

“The 200 is really more like a good workout,” he said. “It helps me in the 100.” 

Battle developing in boys’ 400 meters

Just a sophomore, Edmond Memorial’s Isaiah Duke has won the 400 meters at national junior track meets, but he’s got a battle on his hands if he’s going to win it at state this year.

On Saturday, Duke ran a personal best time of 47.73 seconds, diving over the line just ahead of Southmoore’s Ethan Baker at 47.75.

Both times were better than anything that’s been recorded at a Class 6A meet this season.

“That was a great race,” Memorial coach Chris Lowrey said. “Those two guys will see each other a couple more times, at conference and probably at state.”

Depth carries John Marshall boys

John Marshall’s biggest advantage in Class 4A boys track isn’t just its talent, but the wealth of talent, particularly in the sprints.

Competing in Division 2 (Class 5A and below), the Bears won two of the three relays at the John Jacobs Invitational Saturday, which will be a key in their pursuit of a state title.

The Bears are led by Emmanuel Denson, Miles Jackson and Elijah Gill, all of whom contribute in sprints and relays.

“If you get the big points in the relays, that sets you up,” coach Marvin Dantzler said. “We’ve got some depth. We’re strong in the shot put, the hurdles and the relays. We feel pretty confident with our depth. Our concern right now is staying healthy.”

Helker wins again

Edmond North’s Hannah Helker continues to dominate the 800, winning it again to break up the gold-medal run of Tulsa Union, which won every open run except the 800 and all but one relay.

Del City’s Johnson sweeps hurdles

He only gets to spend about two hours a week practicing on a track while Del City lays a new track surface, but Airick Johnson still found a way to succeed Saturday, winning both the 110 and 300 hurdles in the 6A division.

Because of his limited practice time, Johnson says he uses meets for extra practice to work on his technique, which is vitally important in the hurdles.

Yukon makes most of trip

Coming off two straight team victories at Putnam City and its own meet in Yukon, the Millers didn’t send a full squad to the John Jacobs, but they made their performances count.

Yukon’s Tanner Ramsey (14 feet) and Ethan Coughlan (13-6) took the top two spots in the pole vault. And junior Kollin Retter competed in the 110 and 300 hurdles, scoring points with a fifth-place finish in the 300.

Memorial’s Sammons comes through with big throws

The fact that Edmond Memorial’s Chase Sammons finished second in the discus was pretty shocking, considering his throw of 174 feet, 10 inches was 12 feet farther than any 6A boy had thrown all season. Devin Randall of Bartlesville edged him by 1 foot, 8 inches to win gold, but Sammons turned in a strong all-around performance, also finishing third in the shot put.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Tuesday
Baseball: Santa Fe South at John Marshall
Soccer: Capitol Hill at McGuinness
Soccer: Southeast vs. U.S. Grant at Speegle
Tennis: Capitol Hill at Millwood
Tennis: Centennial at Northwest
Tennis: Classen at Northeast
Tennis: John Marshall at Douglass
Tennis: Star Spencer at Southeast

Wednesday
Baseball: All-City Tournament at Dolese
Soccer: Classen vs. Harding at Taft Stadium

Thursday
Baseball: All-City Tournament at Dolese
Soccer: Capitol Hill at Edmond North
Tennis: Douglass at Classen
Tennis: John Marshall at Capitol Hill
Tennis: Northeast at Star Spencer
Tennis: Southeast at Northwest
Tennis: US. Grant at Centennial

Friday
Baseball: All-City Tournament at Dolese
Soccer: Capitol Hill boys at Kings of the South Tournament at Speegle Stadium

Saturday
Baseball: Northwest at Mustang
Soccer: Capitol Hill boys at Kings of the South Tournament at Speegle Stadium
Track: John Marshall at Tiger Track Classic at Stroud

After offseason surgery, Anderson has come back to become one of the favorites in Class 5A at 215 pounds.

In last week’s regionals, Anderson pinned Deer Creek’s Alex Christensen at 3:50 to win the region and earn the West’s No. 1 seed.

At the state tournament beginning Friday, Anderson (30-3) will start off his quest for a title against Grove’s Weston Culvey.

Anderson’s brother, Antwan, was a state champion wrestler for Capitol Hill.

Look after the jump for other Oklahoma City players who turned in impressive performances in the last week.

OTHERS

Jeremy Anderson, Capitol Hill: Anderson (23-4) qualified for the Class 5A state wrestling tournament at 140 pounds. He’ll begin the tournament against Claremore’s Nick Haugen.

Marquis Buxton-Hill, Douglass: Buxton-Hill led the Trojans with 17 in Friday’s 91-39 district win over Little Axe.

Darrius Bryson, Star Spencer: Bryson scored 22 points in the Bobcats’ 80-55 win over Bristow on Friday night.

Sharane Campbell and Dejrah Payton, Star Spencer: The pair teamed up to score 52 points in the Bobcats’ win over Bristow on Friday. Campbell scored 28 and Payton added 24.

Travis Carbajal, Southeast: Carbajal scored 25 to lead the Spartans to a 95-44 win over SeeWorth Academy on Tuesday. Carbajal and Southeast begin the Class 5A playoffs Friday night against Northwest.

Deangelo Davis, Star Spencer: Davis (24-4) qualified for the Class 4A state wrestling tournament at 215 pounds.

Quira Demery and Dayla Threatt, Millwood: The Falcons’ tandem combined for 25 points in Millwood’s 61-26 district win over Lindsay on Saturday night. Demery had 13 while Threatt added 12.

Jazer and Jemuel Duran, Southeast: The sophomore duo each qualified for the 5A state wrestling tournament. Jazer (24-6) qualified at 125 pounds and will start the tournament against Grove’s Zach Housley while Jemuel (24-2) qualified at 130 pounds and will begin the tourney against Tulsa East Central’s James Duncan.

Tavion Fleeks and DeAndre Prince, John Marshall: Fleeks (19) and Prince (25) combined for 44 points in the Bears’ 85-27 district win over Santa Fe South on Friday. The duo helped turn what was a close game through one period into a blowout as John Marshall outscored the Saints 26-2 in the second.

Darrius Gates, Millwood: Gates scored 21 points to lead Millwood in a 75-32 district win over Lindsay on Saturday night.

Breanna Giddens, John Marshall: Giddens scored 19 in the Bears’ 35-point win over Santa Fe South on Friday night.

Denzel Pugh, Northeast: Pugh scored 33 for the Vikings in a 112-69 win over ASTEC on Friday night. Pugh was one of five Northeast players in double figures in the win.

Phillip Schmidt, Northwest: The sophomore (25-10) qualified for the Class 5A state wrestling tournament at 112 pounds. He’ll begin the tournament Friday against Claremore’s Calib Freeman.

Antonio Simpson, Southeast: The senior (20-7) finished second in the Class 5A regional at 189 pounds, advancing to this weekend’s state tournament. He’ll begin the event against Skiatook’s Cody Salyer.

Te’era Williams, Douglass: Williams continued to shoulder the scoring load for Douglass’ girls, scoring 28 of the Trojans’ 62 points in a 12-point district win over Little Axe.

With the first round of playoffs out of the way in Classes 4A-2A, it’s time to look ahead at this weekend’s regional action:

CLASS 4A
Boys
Douglass at Byng, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Cache-Bethany winner at 8 p.m. Saturday in Elgin; Loser plays Lone Grove-Elgin winner at 8 p.m. Friday)

John Marshall at Anadarko, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Woodward-Elk City winner at 8 p.m. Saturday in Clinton; Loser plays Guymon-Clinton winner at 3 p.m. Friday)

Star Spencer vs. Mannford at Harrah, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Hilldale-Stilwell winner at Okmulgee at 8 p.m. Saturday; Loser plays Okmulgee-Checotah winner at 8 p.m. Friday)

Girls

Douglass at Byng, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Cache-Elgin winner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Elgin; Loser plays Dickson-Little Axe winner at 6:30 p.m. Friday)

John Marshall at Anadarko, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Guymon-Clinton winner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Clinton; Loser plays Woodward-Elk City winner at 1:30 p.m. Friday)

Star Spencer at Harrah, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Okmulgee-Stilwell winner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Okmulgee; loser plays Hilldale-Checotah winner at 6:30 p.m. Friday)

CLASS 3A
Boys
Centennial at Bethel, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Perry-OCS winner at 8 p.m. Saturday; Loser plays Chandler-Stroud winner at 3 p.m. Friday)

Millwood vs. Marlow at Lindsay, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Purcell-Bridge Creek winner at 8 p.m. Saturday at Purcell; Loser plays Riverside-Sulphur winner 3 p.m. Friday)

Northeast at Kingfisher, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays St. Mary-Prague winner at 8 p.m. Saturday; Loser plays Jones-Meeker winner at 8 p.m. Friday)

Girls
Centennial vs. SeeWorth Academy, 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Bethel (Winner plays Perry-Stroud loser at 6:30 p.m. Friday; Loser is eliminated)

Millwood vs. Marlow at Lindsay, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Riverside-Sulphur winner at 6:30 p.m. Friday; Loser plays Purcell-Bridge Creek winner at 1:30 p.m. Friday)

Northeast at Kingfisher, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays St. Mart-Prague winner at 6:30 p.m. Saturday; Loser plays Jones-Meeker winner at 6:30 p.m. Friday)

Also this weekend, playoffs in Class 6A and 5A begin. Here’s a look at the city schools involved in those classes:

CLASS 5A
Boys
Capitol Hill vs. Duncan at Western Heights, 6:30 p.m. Friday (Winner plays Durant-Western Heights winner at 7 p.m. Saturday)

Northwest vs. Southeast at Guthrie, 6:30 p.m. Friday (Winner plays Guthrie-Noble winner at 7 p.m. Saturday)

Girls
Capitol Hill at Carl Albert, 8 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Northwest-Lawton MacArthur winner at 1:30 p.m. Saturday)

Northwest vs. Lawton MacArthur at Carl Albert, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Carl Albert-Capitol Hill winner at 1:30 p.m. Saturday)

Southeast vs. Durant at Deer Creek, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Winner plays Deer Cree-Noble winner at 1:30 p.m. Saturday)

The Oklahoma City player of the week is Douglass’ Marquis Buxton-Hill.

Hill scored 22 and pulled down 12 rebounds in the Class 4A No. 1 Trojans’ 84-73 win over Star Spencer on Saturday night.

After the win, Buxton-Hill said he believed the Trojans were the best team in the state regardless of class and it’s hard not to agree with him right now.

The Trojans will enter the playoffs undefeated and Buxton-Hill is a huge reason why.

Others:

Adeshola Adebayo, Southeast: A perennial part of this list, Adebayo averaged 27 points per game for the Spartans in three wins last week. Adebayo scored 30 against John Marshall, 29 against the Wichita Defenders and “just” 22 in a win over Centennial on Tuesday.

Aubrey Brown, Classen SAS: Brown scored an average of 14 points in Classen’s three games last week, including a game-high 19 in Friday’s 52-13 win over Harding Arts.

Sharane Campbell, Star Spencer: Campbell scored 18 on Tuesday to lead the Bobcats to a 67-37 win over Northwest, then battled through shooting problems (and a physical defense) to score 16 in Star’s win at Douglass on Saturday.

Travis Carbajal, Southeast: Carbajal averaged 17 points per game in Southeast’s three games last week.

Tavion Fleeks, John Marshall: Fleeks averaged 18 points in John Marshall’s three games last week, including a game-high 24 in an overtime loss to Millwood.

Breanna Giddens, John Marshall: Giddens led the Bears in scoring in all three of their games last week, including a 19-point performance against Southeast.

Travon Grant, Capitol Hill: Hill scored a game-high 29 in Capitol Hill’s 65-59 win over Northwest on Friday. Earlier in the week in a win over Millwood, Grant also had a game-high, scoring 19.

Ramond Jenkins, Douglass: Jenkins scored a game-high 17 in a win over Northeast on Friday night, then added 15 the next night in Douglass’ win over Star Spencer.

Trai Jordan, Southeast: Jordan scored 18 in a Tuesday win over Centennial, added 8 in a Thursday loss to John Marshall, then bounced back by scoring a game-high 24 in Friday’s win over the Wichita Defenders.

Jordan Leggins, Northeast: Leggins averaged 20 points per game for the Vikings last week during a brutal stretch of schedule that included Class 4A No. 1 Douglass and Northwest. Leggins scored 29 in a win over U.S. Grant, 25 against Northwest, 12 against Douglass and 14 against Heritage Hall.

Kevin Parker, Northwest: Parker averaged more than 15 points per game in the Vikings’ four games last week.

DeAndre Prince, John Marshall: Prince scored game-highs in the Bears’ wins over Classen (25) and Southeast (24)last week, and added 14 in an overtime loss to Millwood on Friday night.

Delford Robinson, Millwood: Robinson led the Falcons with 19 in a 65-60 overtime win over John Marshall on Friday night.

Kendre Talley, Star Spencer: Another player who could get the award most every week. Last week, Talley scored 23 (13 in the second half and 8 in the fourth quarter) in the Bobcats’ 83-81 win over Northwest. On Saturday, Talley scored 25 in Star’s 84-73 loss to Douglass.

Taries Taylor, Northwest: Taylor averaged 20 points per games as the Knights played three games last week in a stretch that included Star Spencer on Tuesday, Northeast on Thursday and Capitol Hill on Friday. Taylor scored 25 against Star, 15 in the first half.

Te’era Williams, Douglass: Williams scored 24 of Douglass’ 33 points in Saturday’s loss to Star Spencer. The night before, Williams had 22 in a win over Northeast.

Midwest City’s Richa Jackson is the lone state player represented on the McDonald’s All-American Game roster released earlier this week.

Jackson, a Duke signee, averages more than 16 points and 8 rebounds per game for the Bombers.

The McDonald’s All-American Game will be played March 31 in Columbus, Ohio.

Here’s the list of state players who were nominated for the game:

BOYS
Luke Bryant, Cascia Hall
Derrick Bull, Altus
Cameron Downing, Tulsa Memorial
Cale Elam, Oktaha
Oren Faulk, Muskogee
Amric Fields, Putnam West
Chris Fitzpatrick, Enid
Tavion Fleeks, John Marshall
Mark Florie, Choctaw
Denzel Goudeau, Harding Charter Prep
Trevon Hartfield, Watonga
Austin Haywood, Southmoore
Carlos Henderson, Hugo
Cale Jackson, Bethel
Dylan Lemley, Roff
Xavier McClish, Midwest City
Kyle Morton, Choctaw
D.J. Taylor, Western Heights
Dane Thrash, Cheyenne
Hayden Vencl, Garber

GIRLS
Desiree Bradley, Carl Albert
Ali Brown, Chattanooga
Jenni Bryan, Coweta
Brenna Burnett, Dale
Kylie Castonguay, Lomega
Kaila Crawford, Beggs
Carissa Crutchfield, Fort Gibson
Carrington Fox, Tulsa Union
Jonna Gregory, Vici
Tiffany Harper, Weatherford
Meagan Henson, Christian Heritage
Autumn Huffman, Midwest City
Kyla Johnson, Okemah
Kortney Kendrick, Kansas
Kylie Mayes, Carl Albert
Britney Morgan, Pawnee
Tarrington Oakes, Midwest City
Justice Payne, Perkins-Tryon
Taylor Posey, Wayne
Katy Preaus, Metro Christian
Cara Pugh, McGuinness
Chelsea Stricklen, Adair
Kendra Suttles, Lawton
Paiten Taylor, Hulbert
Kayla Thomas, Harrah
Morgan Toben, Owasso
Alex Tucker, Crowder
Talor Ward, Beggs
Kaylee Wilkins, Dale

Millwood will host a Falcons vs. Cancer fundraiser tonight with proceeds going to the family of a Millwood student whose mother has been diagnosed with cancer.

The girls game against John Marshall starts at 6 p.m. with a presentation at halftime of the boys game.

Not only will the door proceeds go for the cause but workers and the referees will donate their usual pay as well.

Centennial’s Caitlin Copeland took over Friday night’s game against Northwest, scoring 37 of her team’s 55 points in a 55-50 double overtime win on the road.

No other Centennial player scored more than six points.

Centennial plays at Southeast tonight.

Others
Adeshola Adebayo. Southeast: In a 63-48 loss to Northeast on Friday, Adebayo scored half of her team’s points.

Markus Clark, John Marshall: Clark won the long jump at last weekend’s 4A-3A state indoor track championships in Enid with a jump of 19 feet, 7 inches.

Emmanuel Denson, John Marshall: Denson won the 55-meter hurdles at last weekend’s 4A-3A state indoor  track championships in Enid. Denson had a time of 7.90, beating out teammate Jonathan Barber, who finished second, by more than two tenths of a second.

Romond Jenkins, Douglass: Douglass continued to show why some consider them the best team in the state regardless of class, as Romond Jenkins scored 18 in an 87-63 win over Capitol Hill on Friday. Jenkins was one of six Trojans in double figures in the win.

Delford Robinson, Millwood: Robinson scored 18 in the Falcons’ 57-54 win over Star Spencer on Friday. Millwood trailed by 12 points at halftime and by five at the end of the third quarter but came back to win their 11th game in their last 13.

Bryan Steele, Trai Jordan and Travis Carbajal, Southeast: Steele scored 26, Jordan 25 and Carbajal 19 as the trio nearly outscored Northeast by themselves in an 87-77 win over the Vikings on Friday.

Jeffery Trailer, John Marshall: Trailer won the shot put with a throw of 50 feet 1.5 inches but had plenty of company on the leaderboard, with each of the top three spots going to Bears. Ken Berry (48-11.75) and A.J. Clark (48-6) rounded out the top three, helping John Marshall win the 4A-3A boys championship.

All Oklahoma City Public Schools athletic activities scheduled tonight have been postponed. As of right now, the games scheduled for tomorrow are still on as scheduled.

Star Spencer-Douglass, which was originally scheduled for two weeks ago, will be played Saturday at Northwest.

Ga,es scheduled for tonight included: OKC Storm at Douglass girls basketball and Southmoore at Southeast wrestling.

Tomorrow’s schedule:
BASKETBALL
Centennial at Southeast
John Marshall at Classen
Millwood at Capitol Hill
Northwest at Star Spencer
U.S. Grant at Northeast

WRESTLING
Northwest at Western Heights

Alumni Football USA is looking for former players from at least 30 local high schools to participate in full-contact alumni football games in May.

Cost for the game is $75 per player with equipment provided. The first 40 players to register from each school will be accepted.

Among the rivalry games open for registration are: Millwood-Douglass, Moore-Westmoore, Carl Albert-Guthrie, Casady-Heritage Hall, Del City-Midwest City, Putnam City-Putnam West, Southeast-Northeast, Norman-Norman North, Yukon-Mustang, Edmond Santa Fe-Edmond North, McGuinness-Tulsa Kelley, Edmond Memorial-Putnam North, John Marshall-Star Spencer, Little Axe-Washington and Tuttle-Blanchard.

Additional games may be added if there is interest.

There will also be a series of games featuring Tulsa area high school alumni, also in May.

To register or for more information, call 877-578-8576, e-mail tjcavender@sbcglobal.net or register online at AlumniFootballUSA.com.

FOOTBALL
Ken Berry, John Marshall (ECU)
Kenyad Blair, Northeast/NEO (Nichols State)
Irvin Caldwell, Star Spencer (NEO)
Arthola Clarke, John Marshall (NWOSU)
Kevin Forbes, Douglass (Langston)
Teontez Fortune, Douglass (Langston)
Rico Ivy, Douglass (Langston)
Miles Jackson, John Marshall (ECU)
Aaron James, Douglass (UCO)
Franky Jamison, Star Spencer (NEO)
Emmitt Jones, Star Spencer (NEO)
Brendon Jordan, John Marshall (NEO)
Lucas Miller, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Corey Mitchell, Douglass (Weber State)
Nic Nealy, Douglass (Grambling State)
Terence Olds, Star Spencer (NEO)
Andre Thompson, Douglass (Langston)
Raphael Watts, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Norris White, Douglass (Weber State)
James Williams, John Marshall (NEO)
Jeff Wright, Star Spencer (Langston)

TRACK AND FIELD
Antonio Taylor, Northwest (Okla. Christian)

FOOTBALL
Henry Alexander, Ardmore (SEOSU)
Jake Alexander, Jenks (Tulsa)
Jamaal Allen, Lawton (SNU)
Joe Alston, Berryhill (NSU)
Daryn Alves, Durant (NSU)
Gerard Anderson, Tulsa Central (NEO)
Matthew Anderson, Sand Springs (Pittsburg State)
Joe Aska, Edmond North (Garden City)
Brad Avery, Madill (SWOSU)
David Balenseifen, Mustang/NEO (SNU)
Tyler Barnes, Enid (SNU)
Calvin Barnett, Tulsa Washington (Arkansas)
Josh Barrett, Wayne (SNU)
Skylar Bartlett, Ringling (SNU)
Jason Bear, Stillwater (SNU)
Eric Bennett, Tulsa Washington (Arkansas)
Que’Shaun Bennett, Enid (NWOSU)
Matt Berrey, Purcell/NEO (ECU)
Ken Berry, John Marshall (ECU)
Ethan Biddy, Tuttle (Air Force)
Michael Billingsley, Southeast/NEO (Nichols State)
Qumain Black, Ada (NEO)
Kenyad Blair, Northeast/NEO (Nichols State)
Kenneth Blake, Davis (ECU)
Mason Blake, Lindsay (NWOSU)
Rhett Blundell, Kingfisher (NWOSU)
Brenton Bogar, Muskogee (Tulsa/NEO)
Hunter Bohannan, Yukon (Southwestern, Kan.)
Zach Boren, Southmoore (NEO)
Austin Brasher, Edmond North (BYU)*
Julian Brockington, Del City (NEO)
D’Juan Brooks, Edmond Memorial (NEO)
Brenden Brown, Norman North (ECU)
LaBron Brown, Southmoore (NEO)
Jon Bullock, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Jeremy Burton, Muskogee (La.-Monroe)
Justin Butterfield, Bartlesville (NSU)
Troy Buffington, Southmoore (SNU)
Tate Byers, Tulsa Kelley (Washington, St. Louis)
Colton Byford, Edmond North (UCO)
Irvin Caldwell, Star Spencer (NEO)
Chris Campbell, Enid (NWOSU)
Nick Canavan, Norman North (Missouri State)
Michael Cane, Okmulgee (ECU)
Chance Carey, McAlester (ECU)
Londre Carson, Muskogee (NEO)
Luke Chalfant, Hinton (SWOSU)
Mark Chestnut, Miami/NEO/OSU (Pittsburg State)
Keldin Choate, Shawnee (ECU)
Chris Clark, Moore (NWOSU)
Arthola Clarke, John Marshall (NWOSU)
Colton Cline, Norman North (Sam Houston State)
Alex Cochran, Broken Arrow (SWOSU)
Demarco Cobbs, Tulsa Central (Texas)
Aaron Colvin, Owasso (OU)
Tuswani Copeland, Lawton MacArthur (Baylor)
Jacoby Crowley, Lawton Eisenhower (SEOSU)
Nathan Crownover, Del City/NEO (SNU)
Dakota Crumbie, Tulsa Washington (ECU)
Clayton Cunningham, Ringwood (NWOSU)
Roper Cunningham, Waynoka (NWOSU)
Steven Daniels, Tulsa East Central (UCO)
Robert Dansby, Tulsa Memorial (McPherson)
Nolan Davenport, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Dakota Davis, Broken Arrow (SWOSU)
Dalton Davis, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Niko Davis, Millwood (NEO)
Ryan Day, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Johnny Deaton, Sand Springs (OSU)
Gregory DeLozier, Seq. Claremore (Pittsburg State)
Terrance Dixon, Sand Springs (NSU)
Colton Dost, Tulsa Union (Western Kentucky)
Joe Dowdell, Tulsa Kelley (Dartmouth)
Brandon Downing, Edmond North (Washburn)
Alex Dowty, Mustang (Washburn)
Dalton Duckett, Tulsa Union (NSU)
Stephen Eastham, Dewey (NEO)
Bryce Ebbs, Vinita (NEO)
Cole Eddy, Midwest City (UCO)
Jordan Edwards, Washington (NEO)
Brandon Elmore, Blanchard/Coffeyville (SWOSU)
Josh Engert, Nowata (NEO)
B.J. Evans, Tulsa Union (Garden City)
Ryan Feller, Altus (SWOSU)
Darryl Fields, Madill (SMU)
Aaron Fisher, Tulsa Central (Ga. Southern)
Drew Fischer, Timberlake (NWOSU)
Blake Fogle, Caney Valley (NWOSU)
Kevin Forbes, Douglass (Langston)
Adam Ford, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Teontez Fortune, Douglass (Langston)
Donnie Fuston, Enid (NEO)
Ruben Gaines, Muskogee (UCO)
Eric Gardner, Lone Grove (ECU)
Jake Garrett, Tuttle (SNU)
Courtney Gaston, Fort Gibson (Arkansas)
Blake Gatewood, Edmond North (UCO)
Kimes Gilbert, Southmoore (SWOSU)
Jaimon Gilstrap, Tulsa East Central (NSU)
Zakk Gipson, Pryor (NWOSU)
Cord Gothard, Velma-Alma (SWOSU)
Gimo Grace, Tulsa East Central (Emporia State)
Bob Graham, Jenks (Iowa State)
Cale Grauer, Lincoln Christian (Mo. Western)
Delans Griffin, Clinton (Texas Tech)
Logan Grinstead, Sulphur (UCO)
Colby Hager, Sayre (NWOSU)
Justin Harmon-Brewer, Edmond Santa Fe (SNU)
Rowdy Harper, Broken Arrow (Houston)
Demantre Harris, Del City (Garden City)
Devante Harris, Duncan (SEOSU)
Halston Harris, Marlow (SEOSU)
Michael Harris, Edmond Santa Fe (Washburn)
Austin Haywood, Southmoore (OU)
Haden Hedges, Pioneer (SNU)
Alec Henry, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Trayvon Henry, Millwood (Butler County)
Aries Herrion, Tulsa Washington (Pittsburg State)
Rylan Hess, Metro Christian (Colo. School of Mines)
Steven Hopper, Broken Arrow (Vian)
Brett Horn, Waynoka (NWOSU)
J.J. Hugine, Del City (New Mexico)
Caleb Hulva, Enid (SNU)
Chris Hummingbird, Seq. Tahlequah (NEO)
Dalton Hunter, Maysville (ECU)
Derrick Hurst, Millwood (NWOSU)
Taylor Inman, Seq. Claremore (SWOSU)
Bronson Irwin, Mustang (OU)
Royal Isokariari, Tulsa Memorial (McPherson)
Rico Ivy, Douglass (Langston)
Miles Jackson, John Marshall (ECU)
Aaron James, Douglass (UCO)
Ethan James, Gore (NSU)
Franky Jamison, Star Spencer (NEO)
Antonio Jenkins, Putnam North (NEO)
Dewitt Jennings, Bixby (Tulsa)
Kenny Johnson, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Jace Johnson, Bethel/ECU (SWOSU)
Tyler Johnson, Berryhill (NEO)
Willie Johnson, Tulsa Memorial (NEO)
Dominque Jones, Midwest City (Baylor)
Emmitt Jones, Star Spencer (NEO)
Gus Jones, Wagoner/OU (NSU)
Brendon Jordan, John Marshall (NEO)
Jordan Karriman, Grove/NEO (La.-Monroe)
Jacob Keller, Tulsa Union (La.-Monroe)
Jake Kelley, Beggs (Peru State)
Brandon Keplinger, Watonga (NWOSU)
Kyle Keplinger, Watonga (NWOSU)
Johnny Ketterman, Timberlake (NEO)
Drake Keys, Skiatook (SWOSU)
Chris King, Jenks (UCO)
Cecil Kirkendoll, Clinton (SWOSU)
Jarrett Lake, Jenks (Arkansas)
Alex Land, Edmond Santa Fe (Weber State)
Ricky Lawyer, Edmond North (NEO)
Justin Lepley, Seq. Tahlequah (NEO)
Chris Littlehead, Seq. Tahlequah (OSU)
David Lore, Jenks (Air Force)
Matt Luetjen, Hennessey (Army)
Randy Mack, Edmond Santa Fe (Washburn)
Tyler Mackey, Afton (NEO)
Dalton Mahoney, Alva (NWOSU)
Mike Major, Tulsa Kelley (Princeton)
George Mallett, Southmoore (SNU)
Beau Marsaln, Metro Christian (NEO)
Dominique Massengil, Lawton (ECU)
Mason Mathews, Yukon (Mid-America Nazarene)
Ty Matthews, Choctaw (SNU)
Chris McAlister, Del City (Central Arkansas)
Ryan McCaul, Moore/NEO (La.-Monroe)
Shawn McIntosh, Lawton MacArthur (SNU)
Nelson Medeiros, Edmond Memorial (Fort Hays State)
Ryan Merrill, Cordell (NWOSU)
Clifton Miller, Atoka (SEOSU)
Lucas Miller, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Brian Mills, Edmond Santa Fe (Princeton)
Corey Mitchell, Douglass (Weber State)
Deonte Morris, Tulsa Union (Tulsa/NEO)
Cory Mosely, Midwest City (Hutchinson)
Cole Mount, Deer Creek (Washburn)
Mason Myers, Southmoore (Colorado State)
Cody Nall, Ardmore (ECU)
Josh Napper, Lawton Eisenhower (SEOSU)
Carlos Nazario, Lawton (ECU)
Nic Nealy, Douglass (Grambling State)
Marco Nelson, Glenpool (Tulsa)
Chase Neuman, Dewey (SWOSU)
Jordan Newby, Southmoore (SNU)
Tanner Newby, Enid (NEO)
Justin Nole, Washington (SNU)
Alex Oden, Victory Christian (NEO)
Terence Olds, Star Spencer (NEO)
Cade Oller, Billings (NWOSU)
Tyler Ott, Jenks (Harvard)
Johnny Pack, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Dustin Parks, Waukomis (NWOSU)
Chris Patterson, McAlester (NEO)
Chris Peoples, Vian (SEOSU)
Richard Peoples, Norman North (ECU)
Gordon Perry, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Brandon Piercy, Muskogee (NEO)
Tre Porter, Carl Albert (Texas Tech)
Zac Powell, Garber (NWOSU)
Scott Powers, Sperry/NEO (Emporia State)
Ronnie Price, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Cody Pritchard, Stroud (NWOSU)
Sonny Puletasi, Lawton (Wyoming)
Chris Ramey, Wagoner (Arkansas Tech)
Sean Reed, Shawnee (ECU)
James Renfrow, Broken Arrow (NSU)
Joel Reser, Del City (NEO)
Sean Rigney, Shawnee (ECU)
James Roberson, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Thomas Roberson, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Kevin Roberts, Madill (SWOSU)
Brady Robinson, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Howard Roebuck, Tulsa Washington (Prairie View A&M)
Carl Salazar, Broken Arrow (Air Force)
Ian Sanders, CHA (SNU)
Kale Sawatzky, Weatherford (OU)*
Austin Schultz, Chisholm (SNU)
Taylor Schuyler, Bixby (Central Arkansas)
Tye Scott, Salina (NEO)
Derek Serowski, Southmoore (UCO)
Burgess Shaw, Sand Springs (ECU)
Tyler Shaw, Edmond Santa Fe (ECU)
Lamares Shields, Del City (ECU)
Denton Simek, Prague (Arkansas)
Ethan Simpson, Claremore (Pittsburg State)
D.J. Sims, Edmond Santa Fe (ECU)
Richard Sims, Edmond North (Dordt)
Kyler Skinner, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Ryan Smith, Muskogee (NEO)
Travis Smith, Durant (NEO)
Tyler Smith, Sand Springs (Pittsburg State)
Xavier Smith, Edmond North (Missouri)
Luke Snider, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Anthony Sparks, Stillwater (NEO)
Trent Spurgeon, Owasso (Arizona)
James Stephens, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Matt Stevenson, Edmond Memorial (Baker)
P.J. Stimson, Pryor (NWOSU)
Tyler Stitt, Mustang (NWOSU)
Ray Stovall, Tulsa Washington (La.-Monroe)
Jake Streck, Kremlin-Hillsdale (NWOSU)
Ricky Streck, Kremlin-Hillsdale (NWOSU)
Casey Strate, Dewey (NEO)
Clint Strate, Dewey (NEO)
Ryan Stringer, Clinton (SWOSU)
Caleb Sullivan, Seminole (Deer Creek)
Garrett Sullivan, Deer Creek (UCO)
Jon Swanfeld, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Nyko Symonds, Southmoore (OU)*
Kwame Tate, Elgin (UCO)
Dylan Taylor, Vian (NSU)
Matthew Tingle, Putnam North (NEO)
Robert Thomas, Sulphur/Cowley County (ECU)
Andre Thompson, Douglass (Langston)
Mike Thompson, Bartlesville (Pittsburg State)
Taylor Thurman, Seq. Claremore (Haskell)
Reuben Tiller, Ardmore (ECU)
Corey Todd, Hilldale (NWOSU)
Kobey Trower, Hominy (NEO)
Zach Trujillo, Deer Creek (Kansas State)**
Hayden Vencl, Garber (NWOSU)
Eddie Venters, Muskogee (NEO)
Markell Walker, Carl Albert (ECU)
Dillion Wallace, Tulsa East Central (NEO)
Patrick Wallace, Tulsa Central (NEO)
Nick Walters, Edmond Memorial/NEO (Arkansas)*
Davis Walton, Tulsa Kelley (NEO)
Raphael Watts, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Cole Way, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Clifford Weatherford, Muskogee (NEO)
Dane Weippert, Guymon (Panhandle State)
Stanley West, Westmoore (SNU)
Scott Whitaker, Norman North (Drake)
Norris White, Douglass (Weber State)
Jameel Whitney, McGuinness (ECU)
Ryland Widener, Southmoore (Northern Colorado)
Blair Williams, Beggs (NEO)
Kyle Williams, Broken Bow (SEOSU)
James Williams, John Marshall (NEO)
Terry Williamson, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Julian Wilson, Southmoore (OU)
Roman Wilson, Lincoln Christian (Princeton)
Ray Wolber, Tulsa Kelley (Drake)
Josiah Woodard, Stillwater (SEOSU)
Jordan Woods, Kingfisher (NWOSU)
Jeff Wright, Star Spencer (Langston)
Clayton Yancy, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Collin Yeary, Norman North (NEO)

BASEBALL
Wade Ambrose, Tulsa Union (Northeast Texas CC)
Tyler Carter, Ada (NOC-Enid)
Caden Cleveland, Christian Heritage (Morehead State)
Braden Cook, Chickasha (Connors State)
Cale Coshow, Deer Creek (OU)
Casey Coyle, Putnam North (OU)
John Davenport, Jay (NOC)
Luis DeJesus, Collinsville (EOSC)
Cale Elam, Oktaha (Wichita State)
Brad Fisher, Jenks (ORU)
Jonathan Furlong, Bixby (Neosho)
Nick Goza, Collinsville (EOSC)
Jonathan Gray, Chandler (OU)
Josh Halbert, Choctaw (Wichita State)
Landon Hallam, Edmond Memorial (Seminole)
J.R. Head, Midwest City (NOC-Enid)
Mason Justice, Holland Hall (Kansas State)
Shane Kinnear, Tulsa Union (Harding)
Jordan Lopez, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas Tech)
Joe McGee, Tulsa Washington (Connors State)
Jose Olizagosti, Collinsville (Seminole)
Mitch Osburn, Broken Arrow (Seminole)
Dillon Overton, Weatherford (OU)
J.T. Realmuto, Carl Albert (OSU)
Jacob Rice, Tulsa Union (Arkansas)
Dillon Robinson, Broken Arrow (Fort Scott)
Brandon Ruiz, Yukon (NOC)
Garrett Schaede, Owasso (Neosho)
Taylor Schneeberger, Broken Arrow (Connors State)
Cayle Shambaugh, Jay (OU)
Andrew Smith, Tulsa NOAH (Coffeyville)
Tyler Smith, Kelleyville (NOC)
Logan Taylor, Jenks (Texas Tech)
Billy Waltrip, Fort Gibson (New Mexico State)
Ryan Wilson, Owasso (Seminole)
Kyle Wood, Owasso (Fort Scott)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Will Baysinger, Owasso (MIT)
Cameron Downing, Tulsa Memorial (Buffalo)
Amric Fields, Putnam West (TCU)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ashlie Baker, Tulsa East Central (Fort Scott)
Jimi Blagowsky, Edmond Santa Fe (Air Force)
Desiree Bradley, Carl Albert (USC)
Brenna Burnett, Dale (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Y’Cedria Devers, Bixby (Pittsburg State)
Lindsey Hammer, Seq. Tahlequah (Mercer)
Meagan Henson, CHA (TCU)
Whitney Hocutt, Claremore (NOC)
Aianne Hunter, Putnam North (Dartmouth)
Ebonie Jackson, Tulsa East Central (Friends)
Richa Jackson, Midwest City (Duke)
Kortni Kendrick, Kansas (John Brown)
Christian Key, Victory Christian (ORU)
Kalie Lucas, Harrah (Missouri Southern)
Sophia Mahmoodjanloo, Edmond Santa Fe (State Fair College)
Mylie Mayes, Carl Albert (UCO)
Jessica McCarville, Sulphur (Southwestern, Kan.)
Ashlee Pitts, Tulsa East Central (SW Baptist)
Cara Pugh, McGuinness (OCU)
Lacy Reinke, Lawton (Cameron)
Hannah Ritter, Jay (Fort Hays State)
Kendra Suttles, Lawton (OSU)
Morgan Toben, Owasso (New Mexico)
Talor Ward, Beggs (Okla. Christian)
Kala White, Claremore (Labette)

EQUESTRIAN
Kelly Bovaird, Tulsa Kelley (Kansas State)

FIELD HOCKEY
Amanda Adwon, Holland Hall (Michigan)
Maggie Brady, Holland Hall (Brown)
Lauren Hauge, Holland Hall (Michigan)
Natalie Hood, Holland Hall (St. Louis)

GOLF
Lindsey Bensch, Broken Arrow home school (UCO)
Tressa Brumley, Chouteau (UCO)
Ian Davis, Deer Creek (OSU)
Macy Douglas, Broken Arrow (SNU)
Talor Gooch, Carl Albert (OSU)
Brad Hager, Bartlesville (NSU)
Matt Helms, Edmond Santa Fe (Wichita State)
Lauren Michael, Jenks (Drury)
Taylor Neidy, Clinton (UCO)
Cody Reed, Edmond Santa Fe (NSU)
Jade Staggs, Westmoore (OSU)
Shelby Stavely, Sallisaw/Harding (NSU)
Zach Tucker, Putnam North (NSU)

GYMNASTICS
Brittany Harris, Tulsa Union (Oregon State)

ROWING
Courtaney Miller, Jenks (SMU)

SOCCER
Jennifer Abernathy, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Ashley Bechtold, Putnam North (Missouri Southern)
Bobby Behrens, Sand Springs (John Brown)
Ashlynn Betts, Jenks (William Penn)
Leah Bickers, Victory Christian (ORU)
Rochelle Bohuslavicky, Edmond Memorial (Troy)
Bailey Boulware, Mustang (OU)
Whitney Brannon, Victory Christian (ORU)
Matt Bray, Putnam North (Missouri State)
Devon Bullard, Sand Springs (Rogers State)
Corbin Campbell, Deer Creek (OBU)
Sara Chalmers, Tulsa Kelley (Abilene Christian)
Sherri Collins, Edmond North (UCO)
Madison Cook, Tulsa Union (SWOSU)
Kyle Craft, Tulsa Kelley (Notre Dame)
Natalie Crosslin, Bixby (SWOSU)
Jessica Dale, Wagoner (Neosho)
Sam Diacon, Tulsa Washington (Missouri S&T)
Sam Duininck, Summit Chr. (Liberty)
Krista Dyess, Broken Arrow (NSU)
Kelsey Godfrey, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Tyler Groh, Putnam North (Missouri State)
Austin Gross, Jenks (Memphis)
Ashley Haines, Jenks (NSU)
Drew Hall, Edmond Santa Fe (OCU)
Mary Kate Halsmer, Jenks (ORU)
Jordan Harris, Claremore (UMKC)
Hayley Harryman, Edmond North (OSU)
Garron Hayes, Tulsa Union (Rogers State)
Hailey Haynes, Seq. Claremore (Central Arkansas)
Madi Hillis, Edmond Memorial (Kansas)
Bradi Hinch, Jenks (Tulsa)
Tyrell Jackson, Tulsa Union (Rogers State)
Morgan Jones, Jenks (Mid. Tenn. St.)
Kristen Kelley, Tulsa Kelley (OSU)
Kelsey Killion, Broken Arrow (Tulsa)
Preston Langholz, Tulsa Washington (Stanford)
Logan Lax, Putnam North (OBU)
Loren LeForce, Coweta (Rogers State)
Lindsey Lofton, Skiatook (NSU)
Omar Mata, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Sally Matthews, Owasso (NSU)
Shelby Martin, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Meghan McMahon, Putnam North (OCU)
Tori Peters, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Amy Petrikin, Tulsa Kelley (OU)
Caitlin Phillips, Claremore (UCO)
Jessy Phillips, Bartlesville (NSU)
Kristin Pollard, Broken Arrow (Central Arkansas)
Brandon Reed, Owasso (Drury)
Stephanie Romera, Tulsa Kelley (Lipscomb)
Aubrey Roth, Tulsa Union (SWOSU)
Camille Sanders, Edmond North (OU)
Ryan Sanders, Broken Arrow (OCU)
Brianna Shamblin, Miami (Rogers State)
Jessica Sisney, Broken Arrow (Rogers State)
Dillon Stallings, Putnam North (OBU)
Alex Starrett, Tulsa Kelley (Arkansas)
Andrew Stone, Cascia Hall (St. Edward’s)
Jeremy Swift, Bixby (Rogers State)
Jenna Taylor, Bartlesville (Harding)
Alex Tiem, Broken Arrow (Rogers State)
Addie Tipton, Metro Christian (USAO)
Claire Walker, Tulsa Washington (Penn)
Carley Yates, Edmond North (OU)
Miranda Zoller, Jenks (Tulsa)

SOFTBALL
Kacey Acker, Guthrie (SNU)
Jessica Barnes, Pawhuska (Pittsburg State)
Shelby Blanton, Newcastle (Tulsa)
Kristin Blasingame, Carl Albert (Rogers State)
Page Boling, Hilldale (Connors State)
Sierra Bronkey, Edmond Santa Fe (Arkansas)
LaDarra Brown, Muskogee (Carl Albert)
Tiffany Brown, Catoosa (Pittsburg State)
Julie Brunk, Mustang (SNU)
Bailee Cartwright, Moss (Northwestern St., La.)
Tara Chatkehoodle, Tulsa Rogers (Haskell)
Jordan Clark, Muskogee (Carl Albert)
Kylee Cole, Collinsville (NEO)
Lacie Cook, Collinsville (Labette)
Aimee Creger, Mustang (Tulsa)
Morgan Deerinwater, Savanna (Carl Albert)
Kaiti Dutton, Tulsa Union (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Hannah Edmiston, Coweta (Independence)
Allison Edwards, Duncan (Oklahoma Wesleyan)
Katie Ellington, Tulsa Kelley (NOC)
Lindy Fluman, Cleveland (NEO)
Shelby Foreman, S. Coffeyville (Coffeyville)
Dani Fox, Yukon (Washburn)
Devon Frazier, Little Axe (St. Gregory’s)
Sydney Garcia, Moore (OCU)
Shaylee Griffin, McAlester (OCU)
Sutton Halferty, Harrah (St. Gregory’s)
Meagan Hardy Fry, Checotah (Haskell)
Ashley Harper, Drumright (Carl Albert)
Haley Henshaw, Catoosa (Tulsa)
Javen Henson, Red Oak (OU)
Paige Hightower, Chickasha (Washburn)
Whitney Hocutt, Claremore (NOC)
Jordan Jones, Skiatook (Connors State)
Hannah Justus, Catoosa (UCO)
Candace Kellar, Coweta (Rogers State)
Jamie King, Tulsa Union (NEO)
Miranda Kiser, Tulsa Union (NEO)
Kayce Long, Moss (Carl Albert)
Beth Manship, Harrah (Southeastern)
Mya Mahsetky, Little Axe (NOC)
Mary Kate McKay, Madill (Angelo State)
Alex Milligan, Moore (Cameron)
Taylor Mills, Fort Gibson (Austin Peay State)
Holly Mock, Drumright (Carl Albert)
Candace Monigold, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Shelby Morose, Seq. Claremore (Concordia)
Ashlee Nation, Tulsa Union (William Jewell)
Jeneva Nelson, Frontier (Lipscomb)
Shylar Nichols, Carl Albert (USAO)
Caitlin O’Hagan, Midwest City (St. Gregory’s)
Sam Oxford, Adair (Fort Scott)
Katie Parsons, Pryor (NWOSU)
Ashley Paxton, Mustang (Okla. Christian)
Sarah Peoples, Piedmont (Okla. Christian)
Allyson Pogue, Claremoer (NEO)
Lauren Poole, Putnam North (Seminole State)
Natalie Powers, Holland Hall (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Hillary Price, Moss (Carl Albert)
Sarah Raunikar, Coweta/Connors State (Central Baptist)
Shelbi Redfearn, Stillwater (Baylor)
Madison Reed, Muskogee (Missouri Southern)
Megan Robison, Catoosa (NEO)
Morgan Rockwell, Coweta (Rogers State)
Kylee Rounsaville, Mustang (OCU)
Meghan Russell, Bristow (Farleigh Dickinson)
Kenna Self, Madill (OBU)
Carly Skinner, Verden (UCO)
Megan Sullivan, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Cheyenne Thomas, Coweta (Labette)
Jessica Turner, Broken Arrow (Santa Clara)
Lauren Tyndall, Edmond Memorial (Northwestern, Ill.)
Tara Underhill, Henryetta (Central Arkansas)
Shelbie Wagnon, Beggs (NEO)
Brianna Walker, Rogers (Haskell)
Emily Wares, Morris (Connors State)
Hillary Weatherford, Carl Albert (Washburn)
Shelby Wheeler, Westmoore (St. Gregory’s)
Kala White, Claremore (Labette)
Hannah Wilkinson, Coweta (Rogers State)
Briana Williams, Midwest City (Western Illinois)

SWIMMING
Dakota Wheeler, Westmoore (South Dakota)

TENNIS
Brandon Champagne, Jenks (OSU)
Logon Collins, Tulsa Union (Marquette)
Ashley Coleman, Owasso (Seminole State)
Emily Conrad, McGuinness (Abilene Christian)
Casey Distaso, Edmond North (Georgetown)
Cale Hammond, Tulsa Kelley (Duke)
Mia Lancaster, McGuinness (OU)
Evan McElwain, Tulsa Washington (Cornell)
Whitney Ritchie, McGuinness (OU)
John Harry Warden, Tulsa Union (OU)
Danielle Whitehorn, Tahlequah (OU)

TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
Beau Brown, Edmond Santa Fe (Bethany)
Dewayne Golbek, Claremore (Arkansas)
Jenna Griffin, Pawhuska (Southwestern, Kan.)
Rozlyn Hamilton, Idabel (Okla. Christian)
Brock Hime, Woodland (Cowley County)
Hillarie Kessler, Deer Creek (WOSC)
Michelle Marcha, Altus (Okla. Christian)
Ryan Minkley, Ardmore (Tulsa)
Erin Patterson, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Rachel Roberts, Guthrie (Harding)
Darren Ross, Edmond Memorial (Okla. Christian)
Michael Spencer, Edmond Memorial (Okla. Christian)
Emma Steele, Holland Hall (Dartmouth)
Antonio Taylor, Northwest (Okla. Christian)
James Turner, Plainview (Okla. Christian)

VOLLEYBALL
Ashley Acklin, Carl Albert (Radford)
Tyler Cockrell, Tulsa Washington (Gardner-Webb)
Jordan Cook, Broken Arrow (NOC)
Sarah Groesbeck, Jenks (SNU)
Tate Hardaker, Edmond Santa Fe (UCO)
Julie Labarthe, Heritage Hall (Quinnipiac)
Sallie McLaurin, Carl Albert (OU)
Laura Taylor, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Alyssa Wilson, Clinton (Northern Colorado)

WRESTLING
Christian Bailey, Davis (OCU)
Ronnie Balfour, Tulsa Union (OU)
Justin DeAngelis, Jenks (OU)
Greg Delk, Skiatook (OCU)
Quincy Mondaine, Muskogee (OU)
Dax Perrier, Pawhuska (OU)
Jared Porter, Carl Albert (Central Michigan)
Dustin Reed, Choctaw (OU)
*Will walk on
**Graduated last year, currently enrolled at Kansas State

The Boston Celtics said guard J.R. Giddens has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

The team said the procedure Tuesday was a success, but no date has been set for the former John Marshall star’s return.

Giddens has played in 21 games for the Celtics this season. He scored a season-high six points and grabbed seven rebounds against the New Jersey Nets on Jan. 13.

He has averaged 18 points and 4.5 rebounds in four games on assignment for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

Earlier tonight, I talked to Star Spencer standout Sharane Campbell and one of the things I asked her about was the layoff that most teams around the city area have gone through over the past week.

“I’m ready to get back to playing,” Campbell said.

Campbell said since her team hasn’t been able to practice this week, she’s spent as much time as possible at a local gym, although not nearly as much as she’d like to.

Oklahoma City schools figure to be back in action Friday. Most of the games canceled last Friday will be made up Saturday with the exception of Star Spencer-Douglass. That game will be played Feb. 13 at Northwest. That’s not unusual for those teams to meet in the Knight’s gym. Last season’s second regularly scheduled game between the two was also played at Northwest.

Friday’s schedule:
Centennial at Northwest
Douglass at Capitol Hill
Northeast at Southeast
Star Spencer at Millwood
U.S. Grant at John Marshall

Here’s the schedule as it was, we’ll keep things updated if things change:

2 p.m.: Midwest City vs. Lawton Ike
3:30 p.m.: PC vs. Stillwater
6 p.m.: PC West vs. John Marshall
7:30 p.m.: PC North vs. Tulsa Union

Obviously, it helps when the three teams in your school district are ranked third, fourth and 11th in the state in Class 6A. But they didn’t mess around putting together the rest of the field, with No. 5 Tulsa Union, No. 10 Midwest City, No. 16 Lawton Ike, No. 20 Stillwater and Class 4A No. 6 John Marshall.

Here’s Thursday’s schedule:
2 p.m.: Midwest City vs. Lawton Ike
3:30 p.m.: PC vs. Stillwater
6 p.m.: PC West vs. John Marshall
7:30 p.m.: PC North vs. Tulsa Union

For those fans who might not be familiar with John Marshall, they’ll put on a good show. Chad Campbell’s squad is solid, led by Tavion Fleeks, who is one of the best 4A has to offer.

Stillwater and Lawton Ike could step up and surprise one of the others, and you know the other five teams will be playing to win it all. I won’t be camped out for all the games at PC North, but I’ll be zipping over to as many as I can, and I won’t miss the finals, which will be good, no matter who gets there.

Based on what I’ve seen the last few weeks (I’ve watched five of the eight teams this season), how teams are playing and who they’ve beaten, here’s how I’d rank the field:

1. Putnam City: Playing as well as anyone in the state.
2. PC West: Lost two straight, but with Tyler Neal and Amric Fields, they always have a chance.
3. Midwest City: No big guys like the two above, but they’ve got plenty of speed and talent at guard.
4. PC North: (See Midwest City)
5. Tulsa Union: Haven’t seen them in person, and the Bixby loss on Tuesday makes me hesitant to put them higher.
6. Lawton Ike: Another team I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard good things.
7. John Marshall: Fleeks will get a chance to prove himself against 6A defenders.
8. Stillwater: Relying on some young guys, trying to get things going.

Watching last night’s 89-68 Douglass win over John Marshall, a few days after Class 4A No. 1 Douglass beat  No. 2 Star Spencer in the All-City Shootout, it’s becoming more and more clear that Douglass is clearly the top team in the class right now.

No other team in the class can match the inside play of Marquis Buxton Hill and Romond Jenkins and no team has a big guy coming off the bench like Ramond Jenkins, who finished last night with 10 rebounds.

And last night, when John Marshall was banging around Douglass’ bigs, the Trojans hit their free throws. Buxton-Hill was especially effective at the line, hitting 9 of 10 free throws and scoring 17.

“They’re getting it,” Douglass coach Terry Long said. “Their attitudes are good. I feel good about how we’re playing right now. It’s going to be tough, definitely, but if we can stay healthy, I think we’re right there.”

John Marshall is good. Douglass is great. Their guards are playing better than expected, especially 5-foot-9 freshman Stephen Clark.

John Marshall didn’t play poorly, Douglass was just better. John Marshall is also going to be right there in the end, especially if Derrick Allen can return healthy.

Douglass plays Class 6A Moore to open the Chickasha Tournament at 2:15 p.m. today.

West
Offense
QB: Jakeil Everheart, El Reno; Jake Barrios, Weatherford
RB: Darwin Rideau, Star Spencer; Delans Griffin, Clinton
WR: Tuswani Copeland, Lawton MacArthur; Donavan Dan, Del City; Ethan Gilbert, Pauls Valley; Jordan Woods, Kingfisher
TE: Austin Haywood, Southmoore; A.J. Clark, John Marshall; Hayden Vencl, Garber
OL: Bronson Irwin, Mustang; Nic Nealy, Douglass; D.J. Brown, Lawton; Colton Cline, Norman North; Tanner Newby, Enid; Cord Gothard, Velma-Alma
K: Bobby Stonebreaker, Tuttle

Defense
DL: Jordan Edwards, Washington; Devon Harris, Lawton MacArthur; Jonathon Sturgeon, Oklahoma Bible; Stanley Johnson, Douglass; Devante Harris, Duncan; Dominque Jones, Midwest City; Sonny Puletasi, Lawton
LB: Emmanuel Maxwell, Midwest City; Kale Sawatzky, Weatherford; Jameel Whitney, McGuinness; Ethan Biddy, Tuttle; Jerico Rogers, Davis; Trevor Ross, Timberlake
DB: Matt Luetjen, Hennessey; Trevon Hartfield, Watonga; Dustin Bohanan, Guthrie; Dillon Schooley, Putnam North; Markell Walker, Carl Albert; Nelson Medeiros, Edmond Memorial

Coaches: Byron Cordell, Durant; Justin Norman, Beggs; Chris Rivenhoover, Stigler; Larry Newton, Skiatook.

East
Offense
QB: Chase Boyce, Tulsa Union; Matt Oberste, Sallisaw
RB: Darryl Fields, Madill; Marco Nelson, Glenpool; Terrance Dixon, Sand Springs; Tyler Phillips, Davenport
WR: Roman Wilson, Lincoln Christian; John Henry Parsons, Stigler; Blair Williams, Beggs; Saulyer Saxon, Shawnee; Mike Thompson, Bartlesville; Trey Wiley, Sallisaw
OL: Ethan James, Gore; Cohle Fowler, Verdigris; Austin Bradshaw, Hilldale; Kevin Duke, Shawnee; John Saint, Tulsa Kelley; Jake Alexander, Jenks; Jeremy Burton, Muskogee

Defense
DL: Calvin Barnett, Tulsa Washington; Spencer Kingfisher, Salina; Chase Neumann, Dewey; Kerry Burks, Tulsa McLain; Cody Chance, Coweta; David Lore, Jenks; Dylon Gray, Davenport
LB: Cody Pritchard, Stroud; Gage Delozier, Sequoyah Claremore; Jesse Patton, McAlester; Luke Snider, Tulsa Union; Jon Bullock, Broken Arrow
DB: Tyler Langston, Tonkawa; Garrett Walker, Cascia Hall; Justin Fogle, Tulsa Hale; Demarco Cobbs, Tulsa Central; DeWitt Jennings, Bixby; Eric Bennett, Tulsa Washington

Coaches: Kevin Foster, Pauls Valley; Mark Harmon, Garber; Leo Holmes, Lawton MacArthur; Bruce Troxell, John Marshall.

2009 Football Team

Coach of the Year: Darrell Hall, Star Spencer

Player of the Year: Darwin Rideau, Star Spencer

Defensive Player of the Year: Stanley Johnson, Douglass

Offensive Player of the Year: Quinton Neil, Douglass

Special Teams Player of the Year: Antoine Watson, Star Spencer

Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year: Norris White, Douglass, Joe Christian, Star Spencer

Co-Linebacker of the Year: Corey Mitchell, Douglass, Ken Berry, John Marshall

Co-Defensive Back of the Year: Keon Johnson, Star Spencer, Derrick Hurst, Millwood

Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Nicholas Nealy, Douglass, Emmitt Jones, Star Spencer

Co-Offensive Back of the Year: Terrance Olds, Star Spencer, Brendon Jordan, John Marshall

Receiver of the Year: Derrick Allen, John Marshall

All-City Athletic Conference 1st Team Defense

Defensive Line: Niko Davis, Millwood, Rafael Watts, Capitol Hill, Daryl King, Northeast, Marcus Alexander, Star Spencer, A.J. Clark, John Marshall

Linebackers: Aaron James, Douglass, Deon Sanders, Millwood, Antonio Evans, Centennial

Antonio Simpson, Southeast, Deontay Turner, U.S. Grant

Defensive Backs: Rico Ivy, Douglass, Michael Post, John Marshall, Charles Mitchell, Star Spencer; Terrance Johnson, Northwest Classen

Punter: Julian Manzo, Northeast

All-City Athletic Conference 1st Team Offense

Quarterback: Antyoun Smith, Douglass, Franky Jamerson, Star Spencer

Receivers: Deandre Vick, Douglass, Asjah Ferguson, Star Spencer, Dimitri Braggs, Millwood

Offensive Line: Kody Wood, U.S. Grant, Trevor Parks, Southeast, Andre Thompson, Douglass; Dorian Bacy, Douglass, Rickye Henderson, Centennial, James Williams, John Marshall; Helvin Christian, Star Spencer, Brian Hall, Northeast

Honorable Mention: Capitol Hill, Calvino Muse

Centennial, Tyrell Larkins, Earnest Lacour

Douglass, Teontez Fortune, Kevin Forbes,

John Marshall, Miles Jackson, Jeff Trailer

Northeast, Trevor Kelley

Northwest Classen, Michael Kressy

Southeast, Jose Lopez, Josh Capehart, Jacob Young, Justin Arnette

Star Spencer,  Cody Endacott, Irvin Caldwell

U.S. Grant, Enos Moaning

We’ll do the same with the Oklahoma City players, as several turned in clutch performances during last week’s second round:

Offense
It’s hard to separate Douglass running backs Kevin Forbs and Quinton Neil. The senior pair have each passed the 1,000 yard mark rushing. It’s hard to imagine now but Douglass’ running game looked even scarier before the season, until Cortez Threatt, who was considered a possible All-State candidate, was lost with a torn ACL.

But Forbes and Neil have filled in just fine. Douglass coach Willis Alexander likes to rotate backs to keep them fresh and he’s certainly done that with this pair.

In Friday night’s 14-0 win over Wagoner, Forbes ran for 103 yards on 21 carries while Neil had 107 yards on 20 carries. Each scored a fourth-quarter touchdown, earning OKC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Defensive
Star Spencer’s Charles Mitchell was a safety until this week, when cornerbacfk Keon Johnson was out and Mitchell moved over to corner. The move paid off for the Bobcats, as Mitchell intercepted three passes — his first interceptions of the season — and returned one 65 yards for a touchdown in Star Spencer’s 44-29 win over Oologah.

Others:
Kevonte Richardson, Millwood: Richardson threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the first half in Millwood’s 33-23 win over Washington. He also ran for 103 yards.

Emilio Gatewood, Millwood: Gatewood kept up his streak of impressive performances, rushing for 123 yards and three touchdowns in helping the Falcons advance to the third round.

Terence Olds, Star Spencer: Olds has become almost as much a fixture on this list as Gatewood. In the win over Oologah, Olds ran for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Darwin Rideau, Star Spencer: Late in the second quarter of the Bobcats’ win over Oologah, Rideau caught a pass from Star Spencer quarterback at the Oologah 40 and broke a handful of tackles in taking it into the end zone to give the Bobcats a 22-15 lead going into half. Rideau also scored on a 36-yard run earlier in the quarter.

Miles Jackson, John Marshall: Jackson had an 84-yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 7-7 tie against undefeated Davis in the third quarter in Davis’ eventual 20-13 win.

There might’ve been a state tournament feel to the finals of the All-City Athletic Conference basketball preview on Thursday night at Northwest and it’s not hard to see why.

In the boys championship game, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Star Spencer-Douglass could be a preview of the 4A title game in a few months.

It certainly looked like it could’ve been in the preview. Star Spencer, the defending 4A champions, won 25-24 over Douglass. While each team lost some key players, both teams returned some stars as well, led by Star Spencer PG Kendre Talley and Douglass’ big inside presence Marquis Buxton-Hill.

On the girls side, there was a bit of a surprise as Northeast outlasted Millwood in the title game 18-16.

If you’re a basketball fan and looking for a game fix this weekend, check out Northeast on Saturday night. Two teams that could be state contenders in their respective classes face off when Northeast hosts Metro Christian. The boys game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

BOYS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: Millwood 27, Centennial 18
Game 2: Northwest 21, Capitol Hill 20
Game 3: Douglass 31, Millwood 14
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: John Marshall 20, Classen SAS 11
Game 5: Northeast 33, U.S. Grant 13
Game 6: Southeast 28, John Marshall 20
Game 7: Star Spencer 39, Northeast 20

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: Millwood 27, Classen SAS 7
Game 9: John Marshall 49, U.S. Grant 14
Game 10: Northeast 30, Centennial 24
Game 11: John Marshall 35, Millwood 27
Game 12: Capitol Hill 36, Northeast 24
Game 13: John Marshall 37, Capitol Hill 30
at Northwest
Game 14: Douglass 40, Northwest 29
Game 15: Star Spencer 40, Southeast 21
Championship: Star Spencer 25, Douglass 24

GIRLS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: U.S. Grant 23, Northwest 18
Game 2: Douglass 17, Southeast 16
Game 3: Millwood 21, U.S. Grant 3
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: Centennial 36, Capitol Hill 6
Game 5: John Marshall 17, Classes SAS 13
Game 6: Northeast 19, Centennial 7
Game 7: Star Spencer 34, John Marshall 9

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: U.S. Grant 25, Capitol Hill 8
Game 9: Centennial 36, Classen SAS 6
Game 10: Northwest 27, John Marshall 15
Game 11: Centennial 32, U.S. Grant 10
Game 12: Southeast 14, Northwest 10
Game 13: Southeast 24, Centennial 23
at Northwest
Game 14: Millwood 16, Douglass 14
Game 15: Northeast 22, Star Spencer 15
Championship: Northeast 18, Millwood 16

John Marshall (9-2) vs. Davis (11-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Davis

John Marshall (9-2)
Why the Bears can win: Because since the win at Heritage Hall, almost feels as though the Bears realize they deserve to be on this stage. They’ve been dominant the last three weeks, and this is exactly when you want to play your best football. While Brendon Jordan has anchored the offense, Ken Berry and the defense take a backseat to absolutely nobody.

(Stats only updated through Week 9)

Quote:

We’re a part of something special right now. The whole school is excited, everyone is excited about John Marshall football again. We want to keep it going,” – senior Derrick Allen

Davis (11-0)
Why the Wolves can win: Because they stick to what they know. With the whole state, nation going ga-ga over the spread offense, Davis still employs the wishbone. And why not with the success they have? Davis is averaging more than 40 points per game and giving up less than 10 per contest.

(Could not find any Davis stats)

Key matchup: Davis running game vs. John Marshall front seven. Kinda ‘duh’ on this one. If Davis can’t run the ball, Jody Weber’s club will be in trouble. The Bears are a tough, stout group that has only allowed more than 20 points one time (against Kingfisher).

Boneman’s Last Word: I picked Davis to win the state title, so I won’t stray from that. I don’t see many points being scored in this game at all. I’m not sure how JMarshall is going to put up any numbers on this defense. Both teams know how physical and tough this game is going to be. No surprises here.

The pick: Davis 13, John Marshall 7. JMarshall’s dramatic turnaround season comes to an end while Davis keeps marching on.

Northwest will meet Douglass and Southeast will play Star Spencer in the semifinals and I’m thinking Douglass and Star will meet in the championship but it’s hard to count out teams coached by Walter Brewer (Southeast) and Leroy Combs (Northwest).

On the girls side, no real surprises there. It’ll be Douglass-Millwood and Northeast-Star Spencer for the championships. The guess here is Millwood-Star Spencer in the championship.

BOYS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: Millwood 27, Centennial 18
Game 2: Northwest 21, Capitol Hill 20
Game 3: Douglass 31, Millwood 14
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: John Marshall 20, Classen SAS 11
Game 5: Northeast 33, U.S. Grant 13
Game 6: Southeast 28, John Marshall 20
Game 7: Star Spencer 39, Northeast 20

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: Millwood vs. Classen SAS, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: U.S. Grant vs. John Marshall, 4:30 p.m.
Game 10: Centennial vs. Northeast, 5:30 p.m.
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 12: Game 2 loser vs. Game 10 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 8:30 p.m.
at Northwest
Game 14: Northwest vs. Douglass, 6 p.m.
Game 15: Southeast vs. Star Spencer, 7 p.m.
Championship: Game 14 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: U.S. Grant 23, Northwest 18
Game 2: Douglass 17, Southeast 16
Game 3: Millwood 21, U.S. Grant 3
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: Centennial 36, Capitol Hill 6
Game 5: John Marshall 17, Classes SAS 13
Game 6: Northeast 19, Centennial 7
Game 7: Star Spencer 34, John Marshall 9

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: Capitol Hill vs. U.S. Grant, 3 p.m.
Game 9: Classen SAS vs. Centennial, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Northwest vs. John Marshall, 5 p.m.
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 12: Southeast vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 8 p.m.
at Northwest
Game 14: Douglass vs. Millwood, 5:30 p.m.
Game 15: Northeast vs. Star Spencer, 6:30 p.m.
Championship: Game 14 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 7:30 p.m.

BOYS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: Centennial vs. Millwood, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Capitol Hill vs. Northwest, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Douglass vs. Game 1 winner, 8 p.m.
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: Classen vs. John Marshall, 6 p.m.
Game 5: Northeast vs. U.S. Grant, 7 p.m.
Game 6: Southeast vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m.
Game 7: Star Spenver vs. Game 5 winner, 9 p.m.

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 3:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 4:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 1 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 5:30 p.m.
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 12: Game 2 loser vs. Game 10 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 8:30 p.m.
at Northwest
Game 14: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 15: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m.
Championship: Game 14 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
Tuesday
at Northwest
Game 1: U.S. Grant vs. Northwest, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2: Southeast vs. Douglass, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Millwood, 7:30 p.m.
at Capitol Hill
Game 4: Capitol Hill vs. Centennial, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: John Marshall vs. Classen, 6:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Northeast, 7:30 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Star Spencer, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday
at Capitol Hill
Game 8: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Game 1 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 5 p.m.
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 12: Game 2 loser vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 8 p.m.
at Northwest
Game 14: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 15: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Championship: Game 14 winner vs. Game 15 winner, 7:30 p.m.

Records:
Ryan: 65-15 (6A, 6-2; 5A, 7-1; 4A, 8-0; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-2; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Scott: 64-16 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 6-2; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 14-1; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Bob: 63-17 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 7-1; 3A, 6-2; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-3; B, 8-0; C, 5-3)

Bob’s Best Call: I don’t have much to brag about, so I’m going with Douglass and its impressive performance at Glenpool. The way Glenpool was shell-shocked against Star Spencer had me believing the Warriors would have no answers for the Trojans. I have three 4A-1 teams in the semis (Weatherford vs. Douglass, McGuinness vs. Star Spencer).
Ryan’s Best Call: Guthrie over Duncan in 5A. I picked 26-22. The score ended up being a bit lower than that but the margin was relatively close and the Bluejays won. I knew Guthrie’s defense was close to the level of a top-tier 5A team and their offense had been consistently improving through disitrict play, minus the blowout at the hands of Carl Albert. I also correctly predicted road teams Douglass, Wagoner, Sequoyah Claremore, John Marshall, Kiefer, Covington-Douglas and Deer Creek-Lamont to win.
Scott’s Best Call: I’m somewhat proud of picking 6-4 Laverne over 8-2 Caddo in a game that pitted two top-10 teams against each other. But based on Laverne’s super-challenging district schedule, that one wasn’t as big a shocker as the records would indicate. So the pick I was most excited about would have to be Carnegie over Healdton. Yes, both teams were 8-2 and it seemed like a toss-up type of game. But I had already written Healdton on the line, then went back at the last second and changed it. I typically trust my first instinct, but it worked out for me this time.

Bob’s Bonehead Call: Easy one. Even worse than calling Madill the 3A champion (because that wasn’t that crazy) was keeping the belief that Oklahoma Christian was going to make it to the Class A finals. I just felt the Saints were going to always put it together when they needed to. I truly never thought OCS was in trouble this season. They had lost by one point to Watonga and two points to Cashion. But give credit to Oklahoma Bible for the 7-0 win. Honorable mention to Vian beating Valliant in the second round since neither won their first-round contest.
Ryan’s Bonehead Call: Temple 51, Waynoka 6. Actual score: Waynoka 48, Temple 14. I had close picks one way turn into blowouts the other and a couple (Vian-Pawhuska) that I picked as blowouts wind up blowouts the other way. But none as bad as this one. (Dis)Honorable mention: Plainview 42, Washington 6. I’m not going to lie, I looked at Washington’s 1-4 start and basically wrote them off. But the losses aren’t so bad looking back on it and even that lone win (8-7 over Jones) stands out as a pretty impresssive one. The Warriors proved that their five-game win streak to end the regular season was no fluke.
Scott’s Bonehead Call: There were three upsets I desperately wanted to pick, but backed off on all three for reasons I can’t explain. And all three — Guthrie, Washington and Covington-Douglas — won. All three of those teams came into the playoffs at 6-4, but all three programs have an understanding of how to play and win in the postseason, whether it be from recent or long-standing success.

Bob’s Biggest Surprise: Since myself and Ryan Aber already went through this in Sunday’s paper, I’m going to say something a little different. Hmm, let’s say that on paper, Clinton’s road to the title just got easier. 10-0 teams Madill and Metro Christian lost in the first round, leaving the Red Tornadoes side of the bracket WIDE open. It’s possible three teams from 3A-1 (Tuttle, Clinton, Blanchard) are alive in the semis.
Ryan’s Biggest Surprise: The emergence of 2A-7 and the disappearance of 2A-8. Vian has a long history of playoff advancement, while Sequoyah Tahlequah has been pretty good of late as well. I didn’t expect both of them to get bounced in the first round after their only loss was Vian’s to Sequoyah Tahlequah. But 2A-7 swept 2A-8 out, winning those games on the road with combined 14-6 teams beating 19-1 teams. We knew Lincoln Christian was good but it appears 2A-7 was even better than we thought.
Scott’s Biggest Surprise: I’m not surprised that Edmond Memorial won, but very surprised at how easily and by how much they won. Also shocked by the Glenpool loss to Douglass, simply because I picked Glenpool to bounce back from its loss to Star Spencer and win it all in 4A. Sequoyah-Tahlequah, Madill and Metro Christian both suffering their first defeats of the year would qualify for the surprise category, too.

EDIT: I’ve got to get this in above the jump: I messed up in my Class 2A rankings this week. I initially (and in Sunday’s paper) had Washington above Lindsay. Lindsay beat Washington comfortably during the regular season in a win that started the Leopards on a 7-1 run that has them going to Heritage Hall for a second-round playoff game.

Class 6A
1. Jenks (1)#11-0
2. Tulsa Union (2)#10-1
3. Broken Arrow (3)#9-2
4. Southmoore (4)#10-1
5. Midwest City (5)#9-2
6. Bartlesville (6)#9-2
7. Lawton (8)#9-2
8. Edmond Memorial (9)#8-3
9. Putnam North (10)#7-4
10. Mustang (7)#7-4

The top six teams here all win and remain the same. I seriously considered switching Southmoore and Midwest City and would’ve if the Bombers would’ve been more convincing in their win. Mustang drops from No. 7 to 10 after a 38-7 loss to Edmond Memorial. Lawton and Edmond Memorial each moved up a spot. Putnam North, despite the loss, moved up a spot to No. 9.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Kelley (1)#11-0
2. El Reno (2)#11-0
3. Shawnee (3)#11-0
4. Carl Albert (5)#9-2
5. Tulsa East Central (6)#10-1
6. McAlester (7)#10-1
7. Tulsa Washington (4)#5-5*
8. Bixby (9)#7-4
9. Tulsa Central (8)#8-3
10. Guthrie (NR)#7-4
*Three games forfeited.

I said last week that Tulsa Washington would’ve move up and after Carl Albert put it to Lawton MacArthur tonight, the Titans make the jump over the Hornets, as do Tulsa East Central and McAlester. I think that’s about as low as the Hornets are going to fall, though, unless Bixby or Guthrie goes on to win the title. Bixby moves up a spot while Tulsa Central falls one spot to No. 9. Guthrie makes its first appearance in the rankings since early in the season after a 20-12 win over Duncan. I still think Tulsa Central’s overall resume is a bit better than Guthrie’s, so for right now, the Braves stay ahead. But a strong performance next week could change that, even in a lott.

Class 4A
1. Weatherford (1)#11-0
2. McGuinness (2)#9-2
3. Douglass (3)#8-3
4. Star Spencer (4)#9-2
5. Sallisaw (6)#10-1
6. Glenpool (5)#9-2
7. Broken Bow (7)#8-3
8. Wagoner (8)#8-3
9. Oologah (10)#8-3
10. Poteau (9)#8-3

The top four star the same as the three 4A-1 teams at the top all win. Sallisaw leaps Glenpool, though I don’t drop the Warriors much after they lose a second consecutive game because they did hold Douglass to 14 points. The reasoning there is the same I used not to drop Star, Douglass and McGuinness much after their losses during the season. Poteau hangs onto a top 10 spot despite a 35-7 loss to Oologah. Considered moving Collinsville in after its loss to Sallisaw but Collinsville did lost five games.

Class 3A
1. Cascia Hall (1)#10-0
2. Tuttle (2)#11-0
3. Berryhill (5)#9-2
4. Clinton (6)#8-3
5. Sequoyah Claremore (7)#9-2
6. Purcell (9)#9-2
7. Blanchard (10)#8-3
8. Madill (3)#10-1
9. Metro Christian (4)#10-1
10. Dewey (NR)#7-4

Some shakeup here as Madill and Metro Christian were both upset. Both fall six spots, while Berryhill, Clinton and Sequoyah Claremore move up two each. Purcell and Blanchard jump three each while Dewey’s win over Metro puts it in the rankings for the first time. But Dewey’s four losses keep it behind Metro in the overall picture.

Class 2A
1. Lincoln Christian (1)#10-1
2. Davis (2)#11-0
3. Millwood (4)#10-1*
4. Kingfisher (6)#9-2
5. Bridge Creek (7)#10-1
6. John Marshall (8)#9-2
7. Heritage Hall (10)#7-4
8. Pawhuska (NR)#9-2
9. Lindsay (NR)#7-4**
10. Washington (NR)#7-4**

*Includes forfeit win over Jones
**Rankings changed after published in the paper. Lindsay and Washington switched.

A lot of shakeup here after Sequoyah Tahlequah’s perfect regular season ends and Vian and Plainview unexpectedly lose in the first round. Millwood jumps up a spot, Kingisher, Bridge Creek and John Marshall up two, Heritage Hall up three. Pawhuska, Washington and Lindsay all enter the rankings after impressive first-round wins.

Class A
1. Tonkawa (1)#11-0
2. Ringling (2)#10-0
3. Hennessey (3)#11-0
4. Stroud (4)#11-0
5. Talihina (5)#11-0
6. Cashion (6)#11-0
7. Oklahoma Bible (7)#10-1
8. Central Sallisaw (8)#10-1
9. Watonga (9)#9-2
10. Velma-Alma (NR)#9-2

Easy top nine here as they all won. OCS drops out after its 7-0 loss to Oklahoma Bible but it wasn’t an easy decision. In the Saints’ place got Velma-Alma, which won its sixth consecutive game with a 48-0 win over Hollis. That’s also six consecutive games of 46 points or more for the Comets.

Class B
1. Garber (1)#11-0
2. Canton (2)#10-1
3. Porter (3)#11-0
4. Ryan (4)#11-0
5. Davenport (5)#10-1
6. Depew (6)#9-2
7. Laverne (10)#7-4
8. Kiefer (NR)#9-2
9. Caddo (7)#8-3
10. Weleetka (9)#6-5

Laverne moves up three spots with a 50-48 win over Caddo. Kiefer moves back in with a bounceback 43-6 blowout win over Gans. Caddo falls two spots and Weleetka one with their losses.

Class C
1. Shattuck (1)#11-0
2. Timberlake (2)#11-0
3. Seiling (4)#10-1
4. Deer Creek-Lamont (6)#9-2
5. Tipton (7)#9-2
6. Waynoka (8)#8-2
7. Covington-Douglas (9)#7-4
8. Forgan (NR)#7-4
9. Temple (3)#9-2
10. Maud (5)#10-1

Some big shuffling here as Temple’s loss to Waynoka drops it way down while Maud also drops heavily after losing to Covington-Douglas. Forgan moves into the rankings after a win over Victory Life.

By Ryan Aber

John Marshall (8-2) at Little Axe (8-2)*
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Little Axe High

Winner plays: Davis-Hobart winner on the road next Friday.

John Marshall (W, Northwest; W, Centennial; W, Crooked Oak; L, Newkirk; W, Fairview; W, St. Mary; L, Kingfisher; W, Alva; W, Heritage Hall; W, Perry)
Why the Bears can win: They’ve been consistent all season, with their only losses coming in overtime to Newkirk and after allowing a late score to Kingfisher. The John Marshall defense has been one of the best, if not the best, around and that defense carries the Bears into the second round.

Little Axe (W, Santa Fe South; W, St. Mary; L, Bridge Creek; L, Millwood; W, Meeker; W, Jones; W, Bethel; W, Centennial; W, Lexington; W, SeeWorth)
Why the Indians can win: Because they’re pumped up. This is Little Axe’s first playoff appearance ever and after Jones was forced to forfeit its games last week, Little Axe moved to a home playoff spot. The matchup isn’t easy but Little Axe is going to need emotion to carry it into the second round.

Stat leaders
RUSHING
John Marshall
Brendon Jordan: 107 carries, 766 yards, 15 TDs
Miles Jackson: 66 carries, 479 yards, 4 TDs
Kody Shields: 78 carries, 368 yards, 3 TDs

Little Axe
Robby Dryden: 118 carries, 650 yards, 10 TDs
Daniel Leonard: 104 carries, 550 yards, 18 TDs

RECEIVING
John Marshall
Derrick Allen: 21 catches, 445 yards, 7 TDs
Brandon Bray: 7 catches, 227 yards, 3 TDs

Little Axe
Robby Dryden: 11 catches, 360 yards, 2 TDs
Jacob Bookout: 17 catches, 311 yards, 5 TDs

PASSING
John Marshall
Brendon Jordan: 62-134, 796 yards, 11 TDs, 6 INTs

Little Axe
Daniel Leonard: 50-120, 766 yards, 6 TDs, 10 INTs

TACKLES
John Marshall
Ken Berry: 107 tackles, 0 sacks
Derrick Allen: 63 tackles, 6 sacks

Little Axe
Robby Dryden: 130 tackles, 10 sacks
Brandon Miller: 130 tackles, 5 sacks
Daniel Leonard: 80 tackles, 4 sacks
Dustin Hawkins: 80 tackles, 6 sacks

Key matchup: John Marshall QB Brendon Jordan vs. the Little Axe front seven. Little Axe has had a lot of success getting to opposing quarterbacks (just look at their sack totals), but Jordan is one of the best they’ve faced this year. And Jordan might be the second-best running quarterback they’ve faced all season, next to Millwood’s Kevonte Richardson. If Little Axe can get some pressure on Jordan, they might have a chance in this one. If Jordan is able to run free and get time to throw, it’ll be a long night for the Indians.

The pick: John Marshall 35, Little Axe 7. This isn’t an upset, with Little Axe having moved up a spot in the district pecking order with Jones’ forfeits. John Marshall is playing as well as anyone in Class 2A right now and that continues as the bears march on to what should be a heck of a game against Davis next week.

*Jones forfeited to Little Axe

Class 6A
1. Putnam City (8)
2. Putnam City West (7)
3. Muskogee (4)
4. Southmoore
5. Tulsa Union
6. Jenks
7. Edmond Santa Fe
8. Midwest City
9. Broken Arrow
10. Putnam City North
11. Owasso
12. Edmond Memorial
13. Lawton
14 Enid
15. Choctaw
15. Del City
17. Norman North
18. Edmond North
19. Lawton Eisenhower
20. Norman

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Edison (13)
2. Tulsa Memorial (8)
3. Tulsa Washington
4. Guthrie (1)
5. Carl Albert
6. Ardmore
7. Tulsa East Central
8. Tulsa Kelley
9. Capitol Hill
10. El Reno
11. Southeast
12. Northwest
13. Lawton Macarthur
14. Claremore
15. Tahlequah
16. Coweta
17. Tulsa Central
17. McAlester
19. Chickasha
20. Altus

Class 4A
1. Star Spencer (15)
2. Douglass (8)
3. Bishop McGuinness (2)
4. John Marshall
5. Fort Gibson
6. Vinita
7. Metro Christian (1)
8. Madill
9. Tulsa McLain
10. Bethany
11. Anadarko
12. Newcastle
13. Cache
14. Blanchard
15. Piedmont
15. Roland
17. Tecumseh
18. Weatherford
19. Glenpool
20. Heritage Hall

Class 3A
1. Sequoyah Tahlequah (11)
2. Cascia Hall (9)
3. Bethel (6)
4. Saint Mary
5. Northeast (6)
6. Millwood
7. Hugo (1)
8. Okemah
9. Oklahoma Christian School
10. Plainview
11. Kingfisher
12. Verdigris
13. Heavener
14. Prague
15. Bridge Creek
16. Beggs
17. Victory Christian
18. Sperry
19. Vian
20. Riverside

Class 2A
1. Pawnee (34)
2. Talihina (5)
3. Oktaha
4. Preston
5. Chisholm
6. Haworth
7. Lincoln Christian
8. Watonga
9. Washington
10. Latta
11. Dale
12. Tonkawa (1)
13. Christian Heritage
14. Fairview
15. Cordell
16. Pioneer
16. Oklahoma Bible Academy
18. Healdton
19. Walters
20. Gore

Class A
1. Garber (45)
2. Okarche (4)
3. Stratford (1)
4. Texhoma
5. Ripley
6. Fort Cobb-Broxton (1)
7. Stuart
8. Cheyenne (1)
9. Rock Creek
10. Okeene
11. Thomas
12. Porter
13. Chattanooga
14. Seiling
15. Welch
16. Turpin (1)
17. Fletcher
18. Calumet (1)
19. Howe
20. Caddo

Class B
1. Roff (49)
2. Red Oak (4)
3. Forgan (9)
4. Frontier
5. Coyle
6. Hammon
7. Medford
8. Big Pasture
9. Burlington
10. Lomega
11. Mason
12. Binger-Oney
13. Erick
14. Vici
15. Glencoe
16. Earlsboro
17. Fargo
18. Boynton
19. Stringtown
20. Corn Bible

Here are the ones I have so far:
BASEBALL
Cale Coshow, Deer Creek (OU)
Casey Coyle, Putnam North (OU)
Cale Elam, Oktaha (Wichita State)
Brad Fisher, Jenks (Oral Roberts)
Josh Halbert, Choctaw (Wichita State)
Mason Justice, Holland Hall (Kansas State)
Jordan Lopez, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas Tech)
J.T. Realmuto, Carl Albert (OSU)
Jacob Rice, Tulsa Union (Arkansas)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Cameron Downing, Tulsa Memorial (Buffalo)
Amric Fields, Putnam West (TCU)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Jimi Blagowsky, Edmond Santa Fe (Air Force)
Brenna Burnett, Dale (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Meagan Henson, CHA (TCU)
Kalie Lucas, Harrah (Missouri Southern)
Ashlee Pitts, Tulsa East Central (SW Baptist)
Cara Pugh, McGuinness (OCU)

GOLF
Tressa Brumley, Chouteau (UCO)
Ian Davis, Deer Creek (OSU)
Talor Gooch, Carl Albert (OSU)
Matt Helms, Edmond Santa Fe (Wichita State)
Lauren Michael, Jenks (Drury)
Cody Reed, Edmond Santa Fe (NSU)

SOCCER
Corbin Campbell, Deer Creek (OBU)

SOFTBALL
Shelby Blanton, Newcastle (Tulsa)
Sierra Bronkey, Edmond Santa Fe (Arkansas)
Tiffany Brown, Catoosa (Pittsburg State)
Bailee Cartwright, Moss (Northwestern State, La.)
Dani Fox, Yukon (Washburn)
Shaylee Griffin, McAlester (OCU)
Haley Henshaw, Catoosa (Tulsa)
Javen Henson, Red Oak (OU)
Hannah Justice, Catoosa (UCO)
Beth Manship, Harrah (Southeastern)
Mary Kate McKay, Madill (Angelo State)
Lauren Poole, Putnam North (Seminole State)
Natalie Powers, Holland Hall (Tenn.-Chatt.)
Shelbi Redfearn, Stillwater (Baylor)
Kylee Rounsaville, Mustang (OCU)
Kenna Self, Madill (OBU)
Lauren Tyndall, Edmond Memorial (Northwestern, Ill.)
Hillary Weatherford, Carl Albert (Washburn)
Briana Williams, Midwest City (OCU)

TENNIS
Logon Collins, Tulsa Union (Marquette)

VOLLEYBALL
Ashley Acklin, Carl Albert (Radford)
Tate Hardaker, Edmond Santa Fe (UCO)
Julie Labarthe, Heritage Hall (Quinnipiac)
Sallie McLaurin, Carl Albert (OU)
Alyssa Wilson, Clinton (Northern Colorado)

WRESTLING
Ronnie Balfour, Tulsa Union (OU)
Justin DeAngelis, Jenks (OU)
Greg Delk, Skiatook (OCU)
Quincy Mondaine, Muskogee (OU)
Jared Porter, Carl Albert (Central Michigan)
Dustin Reed, Choctaw (OU)

Olds missed the season’s first game after being involved in an altercation and being ejected from Star Spencer’s first scrimmage against El Reno. Then, he fought through injury problems for the rest of non-district play as the Bobcats started 1-2. Since then, however, Olds has been healthy and Star Spencer has been nothing less than dominant, outscoring opponents 299-43 in 4A-2 play.

Friday night’s game against Glenpool was thought of as more in the context of Glenpool’s Marco Nelson vs. Star’s Darwin Rideau as far as the running back battle, but Olds was the standout. That’s what makes Star’s offense so good right now, they’ve got 3-4 guys that can have huge games. It’s tough for defenses to prepare for when they have to account for that many explosive players.

Others:
Danny Jackson, Millwood: Jackson, filling in for Kevonte Richardson, was 8 of 10 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 42-6 win over Meeker on Friday night.

Emilio Gatewood, Millwood: Gatewood again turned in huge numb ersm running for 132 yards and three TDs on just 12 carries in Millwood’s win.

Josh Turner, Millwood: A broken record, but Turner continues to rake in big-time D-1 offers and make plays. Friday night, he returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown and had 3 catches for 100 yards and a score.

Brendon Jordan, John Marshall: Jordan ran for 152 on 15 carries, running for three touchdowns and throwing for two more as the Bears finished off an 8-2 regular season with a 42-8 win over Perry.

Antyoun Smith, Douglass: Smith ran for a touchdown, threw for two and threw for a 2-point conversion in DOuglass’ 54-14 win over Piedmont on Thursday night.

Class 6A
1. Jenks (1)#10-0
Why they’re not lower: Because the Trojans are the only team to go 10-0 in Class 6A.

2. Tulsa Union (2)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: Because the Redskins lost head-to-head to Jenks.
Why they’re not lower: Because their only loss is to Jenks (a two-point win) and they beat Broken Arrow — and everyone else — on their schedule.

3. Broken Arrow (3)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Because the Tigers only two losses came to Jenks and Tulsa Union.
Why they’re not lower: They beat everyone else, including Bartlesville last night. They also own wins over Owasso, Claremore and Tulsa Washington.

4. Southmoore (4)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: Because they’re the only team of these top four to lose to a lower-ranked team. The SaberCats have also found themselves in more close games than any of the top four.
Why they’re not lower: An impressive list of wins in non-district and 6A-1: Edmond Memorial and Midwest City in non-district and Del City, Lawton and Mustang in district play. Other than Jenks, Southmoore has the best list of wins.

5. Midwest City (5)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: The only thing keeping the Bombers this low is non-district losses to Del City and Southmoore and its hard to vault them over the SaberCats with their previously discussed credentials.
Why they’re not lower: They’ve gone through a relatively weak district and done exactly what a really good team should — destroy everyone. The Bombers closest district game was a 22-7 win over 6A-2 runner-up Edmond Memorial. None of the others were decided by less than 29 points.

6. Mustang (7)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: Losses to now-lower ranked Edmond North and Lawton.
Why they’re not lower: I originally had Mustang No. 7 before going back and doing a side-by-side comparison with Bartlesville. Mustang has wins over playoff teams Yukon and Putnam North and you’ve still got to consider their win over Del City as a good win. Since Daniel Farrow’s return, Mustang has been among the top teams in 6A, even considering last night’s close loss.

7. Bartlesville (6)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Because other than their two losses, Bartlesville played just two playoff teams (Claremore and Enid) and the Enid game was close, as was the Muskogee game (35-30).
Why they’re not lower: The Bruins played Jenks and Broken Arrow respectably in losses and have wins over Claremore and Enid. The schedule might not have been super-tough outside of the two losses by the Bruins did what they needed to do.

8. Lawton (9)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Back-to-back losses to Del City and Southmoore in the sixth and seventh weeks and, for better or worse, they beat Mustang before Daniel Farrow got going for the Broncos. The loss to the Wolverines came in Farrow’s first game back. That doesn’t change how I view Lawton and it was still a great win but it does change how I viewed the loss for Mustang, which affects the rankings as a whole.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over Mustang, Putnam North and Mustang (and 5A Lawton MacArthur, which has looked a lot more like the top-level 5A team they are recently). Finishing second in a brutal 6A-1 is enough to justify a top-eight ranking.

9. Edmond Memorial (10)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: A 1-3 start, with losses to Southmoore, Del City and Midwest City. The Bulldogs also haven’t shown the offensive explosion the teams ahead of them have, only scoring more than 28 points once — even with some teams on the schedule that should’ve turned into Memorial blowouts.
Why they’re not lower: Defense. Three shutouts, the only teams scoring 20 or more points against them were Southmoore and Midwest City and just some flat-out dominant defensive performances. Neither of those teams, though, scored more than 22. The Bulldogs will go as far as their defense takes them.

10. Putnam North (NR)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: The loss to Norman North, given the Timberwolves late-season struggles when they started playing the top part of 6A-1, holds the Panthers down.
Why they’re ranked: The Panthers turned right around from that loss to Norman North and pulled off the biggest upset of the season in 6A when they knocked off Southmoore 30-28. They also closed the season with a dominating performance in a 34-7 win over a Del City team that had been pretty good this season.

Others:
Owasso (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: They probably would’v’e been back in the rankings if not for a 7-3 loss to Stillwater last night.

Del City (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Back-to-back losses to end the season including a blowout loss to Putnam North to end the season. The Eagles are, far and away, the best team not going to the playoffs.

Enid (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: Losses to Owasso and Choctaw, with one win against playoff-bound teams (10-7 over Yukon) doesn’t make for a top-10 team.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Kelley (1)#10-0
Why they’re not lower: The Comets win over Tulsa Washington to begin district play was an eye-opener. That’s whne they vaulted to No. 1. But since, the Comets have kept things rolling, with wins over Bixby, Pryor and Tulsa Hale among their perfect record. And their 10-9 win over Class 4A McGuinness turned out to be a pretty good win as well.

2. El Reno (2)#10-0
Why they’re not higher: Hard to argue with El Reno’s resume. Kelley’s just wound up being a bit better with more wins over quality opponents. But the Indians did beat Guthrie (18-0), Lawton MacArthur (42-17) and Duncan (14-7 last night) so that does give me pause.
Why they’re not lower: 10-0. The blowout win over Lawton MacArthur turned out to be very impressive. El Reno’s defense is the toughest in 5A, having allowed no opponent to score more than 21 (and that was in a 47-21 win).

3. Shawnee (3)#10-0
Why they’re not higher: Part of it has to do with where Shawnee started the season ranked and that Tulsa Kelley turned in a signature win that vaulted them ahead of the Wolves. There’s certainly an argument to be made for Shawnee as No. 1 (and Tulsa Kelley and El Reno as well).
Why they’re not lower: Like El Reno, 10-0. With only one other Class 5A team with as many as nine wins, third is as low as you can justify the Wolves, especially with wins over Carl Albert and Guthrie on the resume.

4. Tulsa Washington (4)#5-5*
Why they’re not higher: Losses to Broken Arrow and Tulsa Kelley back-to-back earlier in the season. They then had to forfeit three more games that ended any playoff hopes.
Why they’re not lower: First of all, let’s address the forfeits. In each one of those games, Tulsa Washington would’ve won anyway. The player in question didn’t make the kind of difference that would’ve changed the outcome. That’s not to say the forfeits are unfair. They absolutely make sense and the rule as its written is the way to enforce it. To on-the-field performance, the Hornets started the season with a win over then-No. 2 Carl Albert and ended with a win over Bixby. They also handed Tulsa East Central its only loss of the season. The Hornets, even at 5-5, are deserving of a No. 4 ranking. They’re also deserving of the asterisk that goes along with the forfeits that are keeping them out of the playoffs.
*Record includes three forfeits of games won by Tulsa Washington.

5. Carl Albert (5)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Losses to Tulsa Washington and Shawnee, plain and simple. If you take only on-the-field performance into the equation, as I’ve said I was doing with Tulsa Washington, fifth is the highest you can make an argument for Carl Albert.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over Duncan (38-6), Guthrie (40-7) and Ardmore (47-14), all playoff teams and none particularly close. The Titans weren’t challenged in any of their eight wins during the regular season. Just as an argument can’t be made for Carl Albert to be higher when you take BTW’s on-the-field performance into the equation, an argument can’t be made for the Titans to be lower. They did get beat soundly by Washington but led Shawnee late.

6. Tulsa East Central (6)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: A 28-7 Week 2 loss to Tulsa Washington. If the Cardinals find a way to win that game and everything else is the same, its probably East Central who sits atop the rankings. They did, though, also have close calls against Tulsa Central (trailed into the second half before they wore the Braves down), Tulsa Edison (17-6 final) and Ada (24-21).
Why they’re not lower: Wins over playoff-bound Tulsa Hale, Wagoner, Tulsa Central, Ada and McAlester. The Cardinals are also one of only five 5A teams to register nine or more regular-season wins.

7. McAlester (7)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: A 22-6 loss to Tulsa East Central. That’s the only reason.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over 4A Broken Bow and 5A playoff-bound Ardmore in non-district play and wins over Tulsa Central and Ada in district play helped the Buffaloes cap an impressive regular season.

8. Tulsa Central (9)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: A pair of close losses to teams ranked ahead of them — Tulsa East Central and McAlester.
Why they’re not lower: The Braves stayed close in both of their losses and beat Ada to finish third in their district. They also have one of the state’s top playmakers in Demarco Cobbs.

9. Bixby (8)#6-4
Why they’re not higher: The Spartans 6-4 record is by far the worst on-the-field record of the ranked teams. Bixby lose to Jenks, Glenpool, Tulsa Kelley and Tulsa Washington. Not a bad loss among them but they still lost.
Why they’re not lower: They did beat Claremore, Pryor and Tulsa Hale and played both Kelley and Washington close. Bixby is still a top 10 team.

10. Duncan (10)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: In the end, the resumes of Bixby and Tulsa Central wound up being slightly better. They also didn’t blow out some teams that maybe they should’ve, beating Altus by just one and Deer Creek by three. Like it or not, style points matter sometimes.
Why they’re ranked: The Demons beat Lawton MacArthur 35-34 and stayed closes than anyone against El Reno last night. I considered dropping them out but in the end, Duncan deserves to be in the top 10.

Others:
Lawton MacArthur (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: The loss to Duncan wound up keeping the Highlanders out.

Guthrie (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: Just one win over a playoff-bound team (Ardmore). The Bluejays were only blown out once (a 40-7 loss to Carl Albert) but lost all their key games other than the Ardmore win.

Ada (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Lost three of their last five games, all to ranked teams. Like Guthrie, Ada’s lone win over a playoff-bound team came against Ardmore.

Class 4A
1. Weatherford (2)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: Easiest answer since Jenks. The Eagles are the lone undefeated team in 4A and won the district with the most serious title contenders in the state.

2. McGuinness (3)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Head-to-head loss to a Weatherford team that went undefeated.
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Irish beat Douglass head-to-head and had impressive wins over Guthrie and Millwood in non-district play. Even in the loss to Weatherford, McGuinness fell just one point short. The Irish’s only other loss was to 5A No. 1 Tulsa Kelley, also a one-point loss.

3. Douglass (4)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Head-to-head losses to Weatherford and McGuinness.
Why they’re not ranked lower: Their losses came 14-7 to the two top teams in 4A and by six to a Millwood team that then had Trayvon Henry, they beat Star Spencer 34-28 (which wound up being the tiebreaker for the third spot).

4. Star Spencer (6)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Non-district losses to Millwood and Douglass. That’s it. Since, the Bobcats have been nothing short of dominant.
Why they’re not ranked lower: 34-20 against Glenpool, ending the Warriors’ 23-game winning streak and scoring more than anyone had on Glenpool since 2006.

5. Glenpool (1)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked higher: See Star Spencer.
Why they’re not ranked lower: Wins over Bixby and Berryhill in non-district and an altogether dominating run through district play before running into Star Spencer.

6. Sallisaw (5)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked higher: A 35-16 loss to Wagoner in Week 9. Although Matt Oberste was injured early in the game, such a decisive win by Wagoner pushed Sallisaw way down.
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Black Diamonds did beat Poteau and Broken Bow to win another deep 4A district.

7. Broken Bow (7)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Three consecutive losses to McAlester, Metro Christian and Sallisaw early in the season. Can’t really make a an argument to go ahead of Sallisaw with the record disparity.
Why they’re not ranked lower: All of those losses were close (7 points in the first two and 13 to Sallisaw) and the Savages beat Wagoner in a close game and blew out Poteau.

8. Wagoner (8)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Losses to Tulsa East Central, Poteau and Broken Bow. The Poteau loss is what really pushed the Bulldogs down at the time.
Why they’re not ranked lower: They did hand Sallisaw its only loss, Matt Oberste injury or no. The losses, also, were all against good teams and the two district losses came by a combined four points.

9. Poteau (9)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Back-to-back blowout losses to Sallisaw and Broken Bow after the Pirates pulled off an impressive upset over Waoner.
Why they’re not ranked lower: 15-14 win over Wagoner. Its by far the Pirates’ signature win. Other than that, Poteau beat just one Oklahoma playoff bound team and that was 2A Spiro.

10. Oologah (10)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Oologah lost to eventual district-winner Jay 33-16. The other two losses were too damaging, as they lose to 6A playoff team Claremore and a pretty good 3A Sequoyah Claremore team.
Why they’re ranked: Wins over district rivals Collinsville, Catoosa and Grove. That and Jay’s shutout loss to Catoosa last week.

Others:
Jay (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Non-dsitrict losses to Gravette, Ark., and Pryor kept Jay out early and a 9-0 loss to Catoosa kept it from entering the rankings last week.

Tecumseh (8-2)
Why they’re not ranked: Tecumseh entered the rankinigs twice and prompty got throttled by a combined 89-6 by Glenpool and Star Spencer. No shame there but they did need overtime to beat Cleveland last night and played Noble, Harrah, McLoud and Seminole close. That’s way too many close calls to be ranked with the blowout losses.

Catoosa (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: An overtime loss to Tahlequah, blowout losses to Tulsa Kelley and Oologah. None too devastating but combined with close wins over Skiatook, Collinsville and Grove and Jay and Oologah are better candidates for rankings in a tight 4A-3.

Class 3A
1. Cascia Hall (1)#9-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: The defending champions have been stellar this season, with only a Week 9 win over Sequoyah Claremore being decided by loss than 18 points.

2. Tuttle (2)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: Perfect regular-season, including wins over Clinton, Elgin, Blanchard and Kingfisher.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Cascia Hall’s perfection.

3. Madill (3)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: Dominating 10-0 season. They Bethany game was Madill’s only close game (17-10). No other even came closer than 24 points. They Wildcats three primary offensive threats are as good of a trio as any in the state regardless of class.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Cascia Hall and Tuttle’s perfection.

4. Metro Christian (4)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: Metro beat Broken Bow, in non-district play, Checotah in district play and the two-point win over Roland doesn’t look as puzzling now as it did at the time. Hard to argue with 10-0.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Cascia Hall, Tuttle and Madill’s perfection.

5. Berryhill (5)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: Win over Sequoyah Claremore in Week 6. Its only losses came to then-5A No. 1 Glenpool and to 3A No. 1 Cascia Hall.

6. Clinton (6)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked lower: Two of the Red Tornadoes losses came to 4A No. 1 Weatherford and 3A No. 2 Tuttle (a one-point loss). The other was 32-24 to Anadarko without standout running back Delans Griffin. They did beat Elgin by 20 last week and blew out Chandler 28-0 in non-district play. Clinton now looks like a legitimate championship contender.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Even without Griffin, Clinton did lose to a non-playoff team. Only argument to be made would be Clinton over Berryhill but Berryhill’s win over Sequoyah Claremore was just more impressive than Clinton’s over Elgin.

7. Sequoyah Claremore (7)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: Only losses came to Berryhill and Cascia Hall. They beat Verdigris, Sperry and Oologah in non-district play and all relatively comfortably. There’s no mind-blowing wins in that list but they are all playoff teams in their classes.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Clinton’s 7-3 resume was a bit better than Sequoyah’s 8-2. They losses were close but Clinton played a slightly toughest schedule.

8. Elgin (9)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: They beat Plainview and Sulphur in non-district play and beat Blanchard 34-13 last night in a game that wound up being for a Top 10 spot. They also beat Anadarko by 19 midway through the season in what was at the time a high win in the district.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Their losses were slightly worse than Sequoyah Claremore’s. Elgin lost by 19 to Tuttle and 20 to Clinton. Sequoyah was at least close in its losses, which were against comparable quality teams.

9. Purcell (10#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: An impressive six-game winning streak to end the season, including wins over Bethany and Pauls Valley. The Lindsay and Washington wins to start the season also look pretty good now.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Back-to-back losses to Lexington and Madill early in the season where neither was particularly close. No shame in those losses, especially to Madill, but other than Clinton’s loss to Anadarko, no team ahead of Purcell had a loss to a now-unranked team in the class.

10. Blanchard (8)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked lower: Blanchard beat Bridge Creek and Lindsay in non-district games and Anadarko and Newcastle in district games. No knock-your-socks off wins but Blanchard did what it needed to do to stay in the top 10.
Why they’re not ranked higher: The Lions lost to all three other district playoff teams, with none being closer than 20 points.

Others
Checotah (8-2)
Why they’re not ranked:Back-to-back losses to Metro Christian and Roland. Both were close, by a combined five points. One was even in overtime, but if Roland isn’t ranked, Checotah won’t be either.

Roland (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: A 1-4 tough start that included losses to Muldrow, Westville and Idabel. Roland played really well after the Idabel loss but it’s hard to overlook that start.

Bethany (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Ended the season losing three of five, including last night’s 19-14 loss to Pauls Valley.

Class 2A
1. Lincoln Christian (1)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked lower: 413-59. That’s Lincoln Christian’s combined score against state competition this season. Their only loss was to Arkansas power Shiloh Christian in the season’s second week.

2. Davis (2)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: 10-0. Wins over Heritage Hall, Sulphur and Plainview. Their resume demands a top two ranking.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Loncoln Christian’s resume is just a bit better, with absolutely dominant performances. There’s certainly an argument for Davis at No. 1, though. It’s far from clear cut.

3. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (3)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: 10-0 is 10-0. Since a 20-10 win over 4A Fort Gibson to open the season, the Indians haven’t really been challenged.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Competition. Lincoln Christian decimated its schedule, including some pretty solid playoff teams. Davis was perfect with several wins over fellow ranked teams. Sequoyah’s signature win is against Vian, with no non-district wins against playoff teams.

4. Millwood (6)#9-1*
Why they’re not ranked lower: Millwood’s only loss as it stands is a loss to Class 4A No. 2 McGuinness. The Falcons did lose to Jones on the field (more on that a bit later) but have been dominant since the return of Emilio Gatewood after injury problems kept him down. They’ve beaten Star Spencer and Douglass, two other top 4A teams.
Why they’re not ranked higher: They did lose to McGuinness by 22 and needed a late comeback to beat Lexington. The Falcons are a title contender, and a case can even be made to be No. 3 at this point.

5. Vian (4)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked lower: 9-1 with the only loss coming to Sequoyah Tahlequah.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Tradition power but with no signature wins this season. They were hurt by the fact Eufaula was down this year.

6. Kingfisher (5)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Yellowjackets beat John Marshall and Newkirk in district play and Watonga in non-district play.
Why they’re not ranked higher: Shutout loss to Heritage Hall and 21-point loss to Tuttle. No shame in either of those resulta but does keep them down against the five teams ahead of them.

7. Bridge Creek (7)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked lower: 9-1 is 9-1. And winning nine consecutive games to end the season, all scoring 30 or more points, is certainly a feat.
Why they’re not ranked higher. Strength of schedule wound up costing the Bobcats when compared against the six teams ahead of them.

8. John Marshall (10)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Bears upset Heritage Hall 12-7 last week and stuck with No. 6 Kingfisher before losing 21-14 three weeks ago.
Why they’re not ranked higher: An overtime loss against Newkirk kept the Bears from being ranked higher (probably just one spot higher, though, since they lost to Kingfisher).

9. Plainview (8)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked lower: In between season-opening and season-ending losses, Plainview went 8-0 with wins over Atoka and Sulphur.
Why they’re not ranked higher: They started the season with a loss to Elgin and ended with a loss to Davis.

10. Heritage Hall (NR)#6-4
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Chargers have a win over Kingfisher (17-0). Their three non-district losses came to 4A No. 1 Weatherford, 2A No. 2 Davis and a Casady team that started off strong before suffering some setbacks late in the season.
Why they’re not ranked higher: At 6-4, Heritage Hall has the most on-the-field losses of any ranked team (tied with several others, including Bixby and Laverne). The loss to John Marshall last week bumped them out although the Bears have looked more and more like a high-caliber team lately. They also were played close by Perry.

Others:
Pawhuska (8-2)
Why they’re not ranked: A 10-7 loss to Verdigris last week kept Pawhuska from the rankings.

Valliant (8-2)
Why they’re not ranked: Valliant lost to Stigler and Hugo and didn’t beat — well, didn’t play — a ranked team all season.

Jones (2-8)*
Why they’re not ranked: I know the question I’m going to hear: Why did Jones fall out of the rankings while Tulsa Washington’s status was unaffected? The player ruled ineligible for Jones made a huge difference for them. Would they have missed the playoffs without him? Probably not. But the Longhorns would certainly have not had the kind of season they wound up putting together. So, with that, Jones was dropped out while Millwood was elevated accordingly. That said, though, if — and that’s a big if — the decision to rule the player ineligible is overturned at Wednesday’s OSSAA board of directors, Jones will be reconsidered with the record they’ve earned on the field.

Class A
1. Tonkawa (1)#10-0
2. Ringling (2)#9-0
3. Hennessey (3)#10-0
4. Stroud (4)#10-0
5. Talihina (5)#10-0
6. Cashion (6)#10-0
7. Oklahoma Bible (7)#9-1
8. Central Sallisaw (8)#9-1
9. Watonga (9)#8-2
10. OCS (10)#8-2

Class B
1. Garber (1)#10-0
2. Canton (2)#9-1
3. Porter (3)#10-0
4. Ryan (4)#10-0
5. Davenport (5)#9-1
6. Depew (6)#8-2
7. Caddo (8)#8-2
8. Alex (10#7-3
9. Weleetka (9)#6-3
10. Laverne (NR)#6-4

Class C
1. Shattuck (1)#10-0
2. Timberlake (2)#10-0
3. Temple (3)#9-1
4. Seiling (4)#9-1
5. Maud (5)#10-0
6. Deer Creek-Lamont (6)#8-2
7. Tipton (8)#8-2
8. Waynoka (9)#7-2
9. Covington-Douglas (10)#6-4
10. Boise City (7)#7-3

DISTRICT 2A-1
Key Games: Heritage Hall at St. Mary, Newkirk at Kingfisher, Perry at John Marshall.
Heritage Hall: First with win. First with loss, Newkirk win and Perry win. First with loss, Newkirk win and John Marshall win where Heritage Hall loses 20 or less district points to John Marshall and 11 or less district points to Kingfisher. Second with loss, Newkirk win and John Marshall win where Heritage Hall loses 20 or less district points to John Marshall or 11 or less district points to Kingfisher. Second with loss, Kingfisher win and Perry win. Third with loss, Kingfisher win and John Marshall win. Third with loss, Newkirk win and John Marshall win where Heritage Hall loses 21 or more district points to John Marshall and 12 or more district points to Kingfisher.
Kingfisher: First with win and St. Mary win. First with loss, St. Mary win and John Marshall win where Kingfisher gains 12 or more district points on Heritage Hall and loses 10 or less district points to John Marshall. Second with loss, St. Mary win and John Marshall win where Kingfisher gains 12 or more district points on Heritage Hall or loses 10 or less district points to John Marshall. Second with win and Heritage Hall win. Third with loss and Heritage Hall win. Third with loss, St. Mary win and Perry win. Third with loss, St. Mary win and John Marshall win where Kingfisher gains 11 or less district points on Heritage Hall and loses 11 or more district points to John Marshall.
Newkirk: Second with win and Heritage Hall win. Second with win and Perry win. Third with loss and Perry win. Fourth with loss and John Marshall win. Fourth with win, St. Mary win and John Marshall win.
John Marshall: First with win, Newkirk win and St. Mary win where John Marshall gains 21 or more district points on Heritage Hall and 11 or more district points on Kingfisher. Second with win, Newkirk win and St. Mary win where John Marshall gains 21 or more district points on Heritage Hall or 11 or more district points on Kingfisher. Second with win, Kingfisher win and St. Mary win. Third with win, Kingfisher win and Heritage Hall win. Third with win, Newkirk win and St. Mary win where John Marshall gains 20 or less district points on Heritage Hall and 10 or less district points on Kingfisher. Fourth with win, Newkirk win and Heritage Hall win.
Perry: Fourth with win.

Class 6A
1. Jenks (1)#9-0
2. Tulsa Union (2)#8-1
3. Broken Arrow (3)#7-2
4. Southmoore (4)#8-1
5. Midwest City (6)#7-2
6. Bartlesville (7)#8-1
7. Mustang (9)#7-2
8. Del City (5)#7-2
9. Lawton (10)#7-2
10. Edmond Memorial (NR)#6-3

The main shift here came with Del City dropping three spots to No. 8. Midwest City and Bartlesville move up a spot each, while Mustang jumps up two spots. Edmond North drops out after losing for the second time in three games, and not looking particularly impressive in the one win during that stretch. Lawton moves up a spot to No. 9. Edmond Memorial makes its debut. I considered Owasso for that spot, and went back and forth but Memorial’s streak and the way the Bulldogs’ defense has played this season, even in losses, wins out over the Rams.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Kelley (1)#9-0
2. El Reno (2)#9-0
3. Shawnee (3)#9-0
4. Tulsa Washington (5)#5-4*
5. Carl Albert (6)#7-2
6. Tulsa East Central (7)#8-1
7. McAlester (4)#8-1
8. Bixby (8)#6-3
9. Tulsa Central (9)#7-2
10. Duncan (10)#8-1
*Two games forfeited.

Some shuffling here with Tulsa East Central’s win over previously undefeated McAlester. I also thought long and hard about what to do about Tulsa Washington after they were forced to forfeit two games for using an ineligible player. From what’s been confirmed right now, with just one player being mentioned, I’m keeping them ranked where they would be anyway. That player wouldn’t have made the difference in games against Pryor and Tulsa Hale. But, if more ineligible players are found to have played — and it appears very possible that could happen — I will reconsider. So Tulsa Washington, Carl Albert and East Central each move up one spot. McAlester drops to No. 7. The rest of the top 10 stays the same.

Class 4A
1. Glenpool (1)#9-0
2. Weatherford (3)#9-0
3. McGuinness (4)#7-2
4. Douglass (5)#6-3
5. Sallisaw (2)#8-1
6. Star Spencer (6)#7-2
7. Broken Bow (7)#6-3
8. Wagoner (9)#6-3
9. Poteau (NR)#7-2
10. Oologah (NR)#6-3

Sallisaw slips to No. 5 after getting beat 35-16 to Wagoner. The Black Diamonds lost quarterback Matt Oberste hurt his collarbone on the game’s first play. The three highly ranked 4A-1 teams — Weatherford, McGuinness and Douglass — all moved up a spot. Wagoner moved up one spot to No. 8, while Poteau and Oologah moved into the rankings. Jay (loss to Catoosa) and Tecumseh (To Glenpool) dropped out.

Class 3A
1. Cascia Hall (1)#8-0
2. Tuttle (2)#9-0
3. Madill (3)#9-0
4. Metro Christian (4)#9-0
5. Berryhill (5)#7-2
6. Clinton (6)#6-3
7. Sequoyah-Claremore (7)#7-2
8. Blanchard (8)#7-2
9. Elgin (9)#7-2
10. Purcell (10)#7-2

No movement here at all. The only loss among the top 10 was by No. 7 Sequoyah-Claremore and the Eagles stayed within seven of No. 1 Cascia Hall so a dropping isn’t warranted.

Class 2A
1. Lincoln Christian (1)#8-1
2. Davis (2)#9-0
3. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (3)#9-0
4. Vian (4)#8-1
5. Kingfisher (6)#7-2
6. Millwood (7)#7-2
7. Bridge Creek (8)#8-1
8. Plainview (9)#8-1
9. Jones (10)#7-2
10. John Marshall (NR)#7-2

Not much movement here with one big exception. Heritage Hall drops from No. 5 to out after losing to John Marshall while the Bears move into the rankings for the first time. It came down to those two for the last spot. Heritage Hall would’ve been the only four-loss team ranked in any class and John Marshall has been in every game its played this year and allowed more than 19 points just once (21 by Kingfisher). I’ll re-evaluate next week but this week at least John Marshall is more worthy of ranking than Heritage Hall.

Class A
1. Tonkawa (1)#9-0
2. Ringling (2)#8-0
3. Hennessey (3)#9-0
4. Stroud (4)#9-0
5. Talihina (5)#9-0
6. Cashion (6)#9-0
7. Oklahoma Bible (7)#8-1
8. Central Sallisaw (9)#8-1
9. Watonga (10)#7-2
10. OCS (NR)#6-2

The only top 10 team to lose this week was Salina, which was beaten by Foyil 28-20 for its first loss of the year. Even though it was only one, Salina falls out. It just didn’t have a marquee win. So OCS is back in, after beating Crescent 55-14 to improve to 6-2. The Saints have a big win, beating Sulphur in the season opener by 17, and their losses — by one to Watonga and two to Cashion — have been mitigated by the seasons those teams have turned in. Pawnee and Okeene are the first teams out here.

Class B
1. Garber (1)#9-0
2. Canton (2)#8-1
3. Porter (3)#9-0
4. Ryan (4)#9-0
5. Davenport (5)#8-1
6. Depew (6)#7-2
7. Kiefer (7)#8-1
8. Caddo (8)#7-2
9. Weleetka (9)#6-3
10. Alex (10)#6-3

I wanted to make changes here, I really did. But I just couldn’t justify it in my mind. I still think Canton is the second-best team in Class B and believe the playoffs will bear that out, so Canton stays in the second spot. I like Porter and Ryan but they’re not quite at that level yet. Nos. 3-8 stay the same as all win. Then we come to the final two spots. Both Weleetka and Alex lost. So I went through and picked Fox and Laverne as the two likely replacements. That’s where the problems came in. Fox’s losses came to Ryan and Alex. Ryan hasn’t lost while Alex’s only losses came to Ryan, No. 8 Caddo and Class C No. 3 Temple. So hard to jump Fox over them when Alex hasn’t slipped up against a team they should’ve beaten. Weleetka’s losses have come to Depew, Davenport and Kiefer, so they also haven’t lost to anyone they flat out should’ve beaten. Laverne, on the other hand, slipped up a couple weeks ago against Geary. So the status quo remains in the final two spots.
Fox
Laverne

Class C
1. Shattuck (1)#9-0
2. Timberlake (2)#9-0
3. Temple (3)#8-1
4. Seiling (4)#8-1
5. Maud (5)#9-0
6. Deer Creek-Lamont (6)#8-1
7. Boise City (7)#7-2
8. Tipton (10)#7-2
9. Waynoka (NR)#6-2
10. Covington-Douglas (NR)#5-4

I said a few weeks ago that I thought Covingon-Douglas still might be a top 10 team and they’ve played like it the last two weeks. Still will interesting to see how it all plays out but they’re in the last spot for now. The top seven all stay the same. Waynoka also makes an appearance in the poll after beating Wesleyan Christian. Sasakwa and Thackerville dropped out.

John Marshall (6-2, 3-2) vs. Heritage Hall (5-3, 5-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Pop Murray Memorial Field

John Marshall (W, Northwest; W, Centennial; W, Crooked Oak; L, Newkirk; W, Fairview; W, St. Mary; L, Kingfisher; W, Alva)
Why the Bears can win: Defense. The Bears defense has been outstanding this season, never giving up more than 21 points.  They’ve continually gotten better on that side of the ball and the offense has some dangerous weapons as well.

Quote:

This is a big ballgame for us. You aways want measuring sticks of where your team is and this is one for us. We’re going against one of the best teams in the state. – John Marshall coach Bruce Troxell

 Heritage (L, Casady; L, Weatherford; L, Davis; W, Alva; W, Kingfisher; W, Perry; W, Fairview; W, Newkirk)
Why the Chargers can win: Because all the pieces are coming together. The defense has been solid all season, and now Heritage is adding a passing game to go with the vaunted running game.

Quote:

We just had to start executing. We’ve been growing up and maturing, and we’re really coming together as a team.” – sophomore Barry Sanders

Boneman’s key matchup: Heritage defense vs. Brendon Jordan. John Marshall’s do-everything threat has been huge in some of the Bears wins. I don’t want to say he’s doing it all by himself, but his stock has gone up big time during this season.

Ryan’s key matchup: I’ll go the other way and say Sanders vs. John Marshall’s defense.  Whichever of those guys (Sanders and Jordan) has a better game wins. John Marshall has to tackle solidly and swarm Sanders to have a chance at pulling off this upset.

Ryan’s pick: Heritage 35, John Marshall 7. There’s no question the Bears are much improved. But at this point in the season, they aren’t going to jump out and surprise anybody either. If this meeting was earlier in the season, I would’ve given the Bears more of a chance but I think Heritage Hall comes out focused in this game and wins comfortably.

Boneman’s pick: Heritage 24, John Marshall 9. Chargers clinch the district after an 0-3 start. Look for Tanner France to make something happen. Interested to see what Quintaz Struble does in his first game.

It’ll be a tough task this week when the Bears face Heritage Hall.

“You always wonder how you stack up against the state’s best teams and we’ll find out Friday night,” John Marshall coach Bruce Troxell said.

A big key to John Marshall’s success so far this season is the defense. The Bears have not given up more than 21 points in any game this year and have two shutouts.

“We’re giving up some of the short passing game but we’re a bend-but-don’t-break defensem” Troxell said. “We’re getting some turnovers and making things happen defensively.”

The Bears have gotten better in recent weeks after the return of Ken Berry. Berry was injured early in the season, missed some time and hasn’t been 100 percent since his return. But he’s getting better every week.

“He’s back getting 18-19 tackles per game,” Troxell said. “And he’s making the other players better.”

For Millwoood, it hasn’t been easy. They were banged up early in the season, especially at running back, where Emilio Gatewood missed significant time early in the season. Then they lost linebacker Trayvon Henry, who might’ve been the best defensive player in the state, to suspension.

But Gatewood has reemerged as a capable threat on the ground and Millwood’s offense has taken off. scoring a combined 97 points the last two weeks.

Millwood (6-2, 4-1) has Centennial (3-5, 1-4) and Meeker (4-4, 2-3) on the schedule to close the season and it doesn’t figure the Falcons will slip to either of those teams and even if they did, wins over Little Axe and Lexington would five them any tiebreaker unless they slipped in both. District leader Jones has SeeWorth and Bethel remaining so they don’t figure to lose either, so Millwood appears basically locked in to the second spot in 2A-2.

And that’s a big difference in finishhing there and third, although there’s also a big difference in finishing first and second. Millwood will host a first-round playoff game and it appears (barring some upset this week) that it will feature the loser of the week 10 matchup between Kingfisher and Newkirk. Both stand 4-1 in district play this week and 6-2 overall. While Millwood figures to be favored against either of those teams, especially at home, it isn’t the easiest road. Jones figures to play either John Marshall or Perry in the first round. While those teams are good, they aren’t quite th elevel of the top of the district where Heritage Hall sits atop and Kingfisher and Newkirk are just a cut below.

Here’s a few I’ve come up with. Let me know, either through a comment here or an e-mail (raber@opubco.com), if you have any others.

I’m sure there are plenty more I’ve missed but here are a few:

- Morrison and Shattuck’s 90-game winning streaks in football
- Tulsa Union’s and Jenks’ stranglehold on the 6A football title
-Asher and Owasso baseball dominance
-McGuinness girls cross country
-Bethel girls basketball state tournament streak
-Bartlesville boys swimming
-El Reno wrestling
-McGuinness girls tennis
-Cascia Hall boys tennis

Others:
Jay Gogue, Southeast: Gogue ran for two touchdowns, including one for 90 yards, in Southeast’s 49-20 loss to Piedmont.

Brenden Jordan, John Marshall: Jordan ran for 195 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another two as the Bears improved to 6-2 with a 28-13 win over Alva.

Douglass’ defense: Despite a 14-7 loss to Weatherford, there was still plenty of good for the Trojans on defense. They bottled up the Eagles’ powerful running game for the majority of the night and kept the team in the game despite a rash of turnovers on offense. Linebacker Aaron James played well a week after aggravating a separated shoulder and Corey Mitchell, another linebacker, came back after suffering an injury of his own and still performed admirably in a close game.

Others
Keon Johnson, Star Spencer: Johnson played a big role in the Bobcats pulling off a fourth consecutive shutout, beating Seminole 22-0. Johnson had a big tackle on fourth and goal, intercepted a pass in the end zone and broke up two more passes near the goalline. 

Terrance Olds, Star Spencer: Olds had 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63-yarder on the game’s first play.

Darwin Rideau, Star Spencer: However he decides to spell his name, Rideau is a force for the Bobcats. Thursday night against Seminole, Rideau had 192 yards on just 11 carries, including a 96-yard touchdown run.

CROSS COUNTRY
Ricardo Trejo, U.S. Grant: Trejo took first in the Capitol Hill meet last Monday, finishing with a  time of 16.59. 

Others
Enrique Benetiz, Southeast: Benitez finished second to Trejo at Capitol Hill. 

Laurence Kirhendell, Millwood and Anthony Lofton, Centennial: Both qualified for state, with Kirhendell finishing 9th and Lofton 19th at the 3A regional at Chisholm.

Jennifer Nunez, Capitol Hill: Nunez finished sixth on the girls side of the Capitol Hill meet with a 12.53.

VOLLEYBALL
Victory Kappel, Southeast senior outside hitter: The team’s most reliable and best all-around player all season, and the biggest reason Southeast was able to get to the state tournament.

Others
Emilio Gatewood, Millwood: Gatewood is bouncing back well from an injury that limited his effectiveness early in the season. In Friday night’s 26-24 win over Lexington, Gatewood ran for 124 and a touchdown, the eventual game-winner. 

Brendon Jordon, John Marshall: Jordan had a touchdown run, ran for two two-point conversions and returned a fumble 64 yards for a touchdown as the Beats improved to 5-1 with a 21-0 win over St. Mary.

Quinton Neil, Douglass: Neil ran for a pair of touchdowns, including a 70-yarder, as Douglass beat Guymon 48-6. Neil was one of four Trojans to score on the ground.

Trevyone Willis, Northeast: Willis returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of Northeast’s 32-7 loss to Marlow.

Volleyball
The Oklahoma City volleyball players of the week are Victoria Kappel and Shola Adebayo of Southeast. Kappel, a senior, and Adebayo, a junior, lifted the No. 10 Spartans to a pair of upset victories in the Class 5A regional that sent Southeast to the state tournament for the first time in 15 years.

Centennial (3-2, 1-1): The Bison were expected to be a playoff contender and, while that remains a possibility, a loss to Bethel to open district play puts a big crimp on those aspirations. Centennial must win the next three weeks, or at least two of three, to have a shot at making their postseason debut. With Millwood and Lexington looming in the season’s final two weeks, the time for Centennial to make a run is now.

Douglass (4-1, 2-0): The only blemish on the Trojans record is their Soul Bowl loss to Millwood in the second week. With the exception of a close win over Star Spencer, the rest of Douglass’ wins have been comfortable. They should have another this week with Guymon but after that, the next two weeks will determine the Trojans’ playoff spot. Douglass play at McGuinness and then hosts Weatherford. A sweep and the Trojans figure to win the district title. 1-1 give them a home playoff game. 0-2 and the Trojans seem destined to go on the road during the playoffs. Douglass’ offense has been explosive but it’s hard to fully judge the Trojans with their two key games still ahead.

John Marshall (4-1, 1-1): The Bears are off to their best start in years, with the only blemish coming in a 19-13 overtime loss to Newkirk two weeks ago. This week figures to be a win for the Bears but things get tougher down the stretch with Heritage Hall and Kingfisher. If John Marshall can win their other games, though, and they figure to have pretty good shots against Alva and Perry, the Bears can make the playoffs for the first time sicne dropping to Class 2A from 5A.

Millwood (3-2, 1-1): The Falcons got off to a rocking start with wins over Douglass and Star Spencer, two teams expected to contend for a title in 4A. Since, though, things have been rocky. Trayvon Henry’s suspension from the team and a rash of injuries has hurt Millwood’s district title hopes, especially after last week’s loss to Jones. Jones wasn’t even expected to be Millwood’s biggest competition in the district. That was Lexington, the team the Falcons host this week. They have the best true wide receiver in the state in any class in Josh Turner and one of the best quarterbacks in Kevonte Richardson but they’ve got to establish a running game to be a serious contender. So a lot of Millwood’s future rests in either the return of a healthy Emilio Gatewood or the emergence of another runnign threat.

Northeast (1-4, 0-2): It was expected to be another tough season for the Vikings but they’ve already improved on last season with a win, a 37-13 win over U.S. Grant in week 3. It’ll be tough for Northeast to get another victory this year but they’ve at least shown improvement on last season’s winless year.

Northwest (0-5, 0-2): The Knights were another team that expected a rough season after losing a lot of experienced players from last year’s 3-win squad. That’s certainly held up as Northwest has been beaten by 20 or more points in each game. The most winnable game on the schedule appears to be the season finale against Western Heights.

Southeast (2-3, 0-2): The Spartans were expected to be another of the All-City schools that had a legitimate chance to contend for a playoff spot. A 2-1 non-district start appeared to signal good things but an unexpected loss to Guymon in the district opener put a damper on those playoff hopes. Weatherford and McGuinness still loom on the Spartans schedule and they figure to have to pull off an upset in one of those games to have a chance, or have some help from other teams.

Star Spencer (3-2, 2-0): The Bobcats have had an up and down season, losing to Millwood and Douglass in non-district play, dealing with several players having to sit out the season opener after a fight broke out during their scrimmage at El Reno, and dealing with the injury to Terrance Olds. Now, Olds is back, giving the Bobcats one of the best 1-2 running punches aroudn with him and Darren (or Darwin) Rideau. It would be an upset if Star Spencer lost any of the next four games. If they’re able to get through those, a season-ending matchup at No. 1 Glenpool looms. Star Spencer needs to show more consistency to be able to hang with the Warriors but if they can stay healthy, the Bobcats certainly still have a shot.

U.S. Grant (1-4, 0-2): Things are never easy for U.S. Grant as long as they’re in 6A. They’ve been shutout in the first two district games by teams not considered among the top teams in the district. So things only get tougher as they’ll face Owasso, Enid, Stillwater and Tulsa Union (plus Ponca City) down the stretch. Another win doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Terrell Love’s squad.

FOOTBALL

The Oklahoma City player of the week is Brendon Jordan, Jordan scored three touchdowns, threw for two and kicked a pair of extra points in John Marshall’s 39-14 win over Fairview. The Bears are 4-1 and look to have a shot at making the playoffs for the first time since dropping down from 5A to 2A. If they do, no doubt Jordan will be a big part of that. He’s a versatile threat for John Marshall.

Others

Kevin Forbes, Douglass: Forbes ran for three touchdowns, including a 57-yarder, in the Trojans’ 55-6 win over Southeast.

Terrance Olds, Star Spencer: Olds ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns in Star Spencer’s 40-0 win over previously unbeaten Tecumseh.

Kevonte Richardson, Millwood: Richardson ran for a touchdown and threw for two in Millwood’s 35-28 loss to Jones.

Darren Rideau, Star Spencer: Rideau ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns in Star Spencer’s 40-0 win over Tecumseh.

CROSS COUNTRY

Ricardo Trejo, U.S. Grant: Trejo ran a 17:49 in last week’s All-City Conference Championships to win the individual title and help the Generals win the team title.

Others

Jennifer Nunez, Capitol Hill: Nunez ran a 13:24, nearly 40 seconds ahead of the second place finisher, to win the girls individual title at the All-City meet.

Douglass
David Smith, Jr., LB, Langston: Smith had 3 tackles, one for a loss, in Langston’s 17-14 win over Incarnate Word.
Da’Sor Horton, Jr., LB, NEO: Horton returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in NEO’s 41-29 win over Arkansas Baptist.

John Marshall
Nate Cotton, Jr., DB, SNU: Cotton had 6 tackles and 3 pass breakups in SNU’s 56-35 loss to Olivet.
Clarence McDonald, So., K, Langston: McDonald had six punts for a 38.3 yard average and hit three of his punts inside the 20 in Langston’s 17-14 win over Incarnate Word.

Millwood
Adryan Adams, Sr., DB, North Texas: Adams had five tackles, one for a loss, and two pass breakups in North Texas’ 37-21 loss to Middle Tennessee State.
Gerald Jones, Jr., WR, Tennessee: Jones had 1 catch for 4 yards in Tennessee’s 34-23 win over Ohio.
Prentice Muse, Sr., DB, UCO: Muse had 9 tackles in UCO’s 27-23 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce
Tramain Swindall, So., WR, Texas Tech: Swindall had 3 catches for 38 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown, in the Red Raiders’ 29-28 loss to Houston.

Northeast
Kenyad Blair, So., WR, NEO: Blair had a 62-yard reception for a touchdown in NEO’s 41-29 win over Arkansas Baptist.
Ishmael Underdown, So., DB, Missouri Southern: Underdown had 2 tackles in Mo. Southern’s 44-36 loss to Nebraska-Omaha.

Southeast
Gerald McCoy, Jr., DT, OU: The Sooners had a week off before traveling to play Miami this weekend.

Star Spencer
Terry Hardeman, Sr., LB, UCO: Hardeman started but recorded no statistics in UCO’s 27-23 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce.

(Here are some photos provided by the Allen family of the Allen household just days after the fire.)

A story like John Marshall’s Derrick Allen was needed after the week the Oklahoma high school sports scene went through.

Whether it was former OSSAA executive secretary Danny Rennels and all his trials and tribulations or the hazing incident in Holdenville, it was rough.

I chose Allen’s story because I really didn’t believe it at first. Almost like Allen couldn’t believe that his house was burned down, I couldn’t believe how casual he was about disclosing that type of information.

He was so cool and calm about it that it intrigued me even more. And after talking to coach Bruce Troxell following the Bears’ win against Centennial, it clinched it for me.

I met with Derrick and his mother, Glendora, last Monday night. Not all the goodies were able to fit into the story, so here are some extra nuggets:

- While Derrick was Mr. Cool, Glendora was showing the emotions I expected the entire time. She talked about how it was her home and all she had done to the home.

- The home wasn’t that great when she first bought it. The family moved from 95^th St. and Classen to the 114^th St. address. Glendora had put wood floors in the home and had done a whole lot of decorating to make it “her home.”

- The first floor wasn’t actually destroyed by the first but by the water damage. You could walk through the kitchen and the living room but the insurance company said to write it off as a total loss.

- When the Allen family arrived at the house, Glendora couldn’t remember anything in terms of her insurance company or anything. She was just in shock.

- Derrick has had a lot of care packages offered to him. But since insurance was really helping out the family, he hasn’t accepted them. “I’m only taking what I actually need. It’s meant a lot to know so many people have been willing to help.”

- The fire department was notified at 4:00:32 in the morning. They arrived at 4:02:34 and it was considered controlled at 4:05:17. Pretty amazing. The houses are real close together, so it surprised me that there were no other houses damaged.

- I brought up the idea about posing at the former house. I wasn’t sure if Derrick was up to it, but he was fine with it.

The Bears are 3-1 and Allen’s play has definitely been part of the reasons why. Would like to thank the Allen family and the John Marshall football team and staff for their cooperation.

Here’s a video I shot with Derrick, asking him how it felt to be back at the house.

This story could have gotten extremely sappy or overly sentimental. But I don’t think it did because of the personalities that were involved.

Went to John Marshall for this week’s edition of our Friday Night Lights series. Here’s just a little quote to whet the appetite.

He’s just been real calm through everything. I know if that was me, I would be real depressed. He’s been so strong that you wouldn’t know anything happened.” – senior RB Miles Jackson

Find out who, what and all that other good stuff I’m talking about in Friday’s Oklahoman.

Quinton Neil, Douglass

Neil ran for 229 yards and three touchdowns in Douglass’ win over Star Spencer on Friday. Neil has helped the Trojans move on after Cortez Threatt was lost for the year with an ACL tear before the season.

Others:

Jay Gogue, Southeast

Gogue ran for five touchdowns and 139 yards in Southeast’s 52-0 win over Capitol Hill. Gugue also threw for a two-point conversion.

Miles Jackson, John Marshall

Jackson ran for a touchdown and returned an interception 52 yards for a score in the Bears’ 48-8 win over Crooked Oak.

Darren Rideau, Star Spencer

Rideau ran for two touchdowns and had one score receiving in Star Spencer’s 34-28 loss to Douglass.

Kevonte Richardson, Millwood

Richardson just keeps on producing, throwing for 200-plus yards yet again in Millwood’s loss to McGuinness

Cross Country

Enrique Benitez, Southeast

Benitez won the Putnam City North meet last Tuesday, helping his team finish second.

Other: Madison Reynolds, Douglass

Reynolds finished seventh in the Edmond Dog Pack with a run of 13:32.86. Earlier in the week, she won the Putnam City North meet.

Douglass
David Smith, Jr., LB, Langston: Smith had 3 tackles, 1.5 for loss, in Langston’s 27-21 win over Panhandle State.
Da’Sor Horton, Jr., LB, Langston: Horton had 2 tacklesin Langston’s 27-21 win over Panhandle State. 

John Marshall
Nate Cotton, Jr., DB, SNU: Cotton had 2 tackles and returned a kick for 8 yards in SNU’s 21-19 win over Bethel.
Clarence McDonald, So., K, Langston: McDonald unted six times for a 43.3 yard average, a long of 55 and hit one inside the 20 in Langston’s 27-21 win over Panhandle State. 

Millwood
Adryan Adams, Sr., DB, North Texas: Adams was in on a total of 6 tackles in North Texas’ 53-7 loss to Alabama.
Gerald Jones, Jr., WR, Tennessee: Jones had two catches for 25 yards in Tennessee’s 23-13 loss to No. 1 Florida.
Prentice Muse, Sr., DB, UCO: Muse had 5 tackles in UCO’s 35-17 loss to Tarleton State.
Tramain Swindall, So., WR, Texas Tech: Swindall had 5 catches for 67 yards and a touchdown in Texas Tech’s 34-24 loss to Texas. 

Northeast
Ishmael Underdown, So., DB, Missouri Southern: Underdown had one tackles in Missouri Southern’s 34-13 win over Emporia State. 

Southeast
Gerald McCoy, Jr., DT, OU: McCoy had one tackle in OU’s 45-0 win over Tulsa. 

Star Spencer
Terry Hardenman, Sr., LB, UCO: Hardeman led the Bronchos with 12 tackles in UCO’s 35-17 loss to Tarleton State.

Douglass

David Smith, Jr., LB, Langston: Smith had 2.5 tackles, including assisting on one for a loss, in Langston’s 45-30 loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

John Marshall

Nate Cotton, Jr., DB, SNU: Cotton had five tackles and one pass breakup in SNU’s  42-7 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor

Clarence McDonald, So., K, Langston: McDonald punted five times for an average of 39.6 and a long of 61 in Langston’s 45-30 loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Millwood

Adryan Adams, Sr., DB, North Texas: Adams started at cornerback and had one tackle in North Texas’ 31-30 double overtime loss to Ohio.

Prentice Muse, Sr., DB, UCO: Muse led the Bronchos with 10 tackles in their 46-17 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Tramain Swindall, So., WR, Texas Tech: Swindall scored twice (on receptions of 30 and 26 yards) in the fourth quarter of Texas Tech’s 55-10 win over Rice. Swindall finished with six catches for 123 yards.

Northeast

Ishmael Underdown, So., DB, Missouri Southern: Underdown started but had no statistics in Missouri Southern’s 54-31 loss to Washburn

Southeast

Gerald McCoy, Jr., DT, OU: McCoy had two tackles, 1.5 for loss, a forced fumble and a sack in the Sooners’ 64-0 win over Idaho State.

Star Spencer

Terry Hardeman, Sr., LB, UCO: Hardeman had six tackles in UCO’s 46-17 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Millwood's Kevonte Richardson is this week's OKC Player of the Week

Kevonte Richardson, Millwood

Richardson, a junior, turned in the best game of his career with the Falcons, throwing for a career-high 265 yards and four touchdown in Millwood’s 40-6 win over Star Spencer.

Richardson has shown flashes of stardom since taking over for Gerald Jones as a freshman. Now, he seems ready to fully become the star on Millwood’s offense.

If Richardson can continue to be as successful throwing the ball as he was in the opener, the Falcons will be in an excellent position to win yet another state title.

Others of note

Devin Edwards, Northwest

Edwards ran back a fumble 73 yards in Northwest’s 39-19 loss to John Marshall.

Kevin Forbes, Douglass

Forbes ran for a touchdown, returned an interception for a score and ran in a two-point conversion in Douglass’ 54-0 win over Capitol Hill.

Emilio Gatewood, Millwood

Gatewood had 132 yards and two touchdowns and 12 carries, including a 53-yarder.

Brendon Jordan, John Marshall

Jordan ran for a touchdown, threw for two and kicked three extra points in the Bears’ 39-19 win over Northwest.

Darren Rideau, Star Spencer

Rideau ran for 131 yards in the Bobcats loss to Millwood.

Antyoun Smith, Douglass

Smith threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in the Trojans’ 54-0 win over Capitol Hill.

Brandon Swindall and Josh Turner, Millwood

The receivers are Richardson’s favorite targets in the Falcons big opening-week win.

Former Southeast standout Gerald McCoy

Here’s a look at how All-City Athletic Conference alumni did in this weekend’s college football action. Know someone I left off, let me know with a comment here or an e-mail to raber@opubco.com.

Douglass

Da’Sor Horton, So., RB, NEO: Horton had 23 carries for 57 yards in NEO’s 19-14 win over Arkansas Baptist.

David Smith, Jr., LB, Langston: Smith had five tackles in Langston’s 31-6 win over Lincoln.

John Marshall

Nate Cotton, Jr., DB, SNU: Cotton had 10 tackles (7 solo), 1 for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in SNU’s 42-28 win over St. Mary.

Clarence McDonald, So., K, Langston: McDonald had five punts for a 41-yard average (Long of 52) in Langston’s 31-6 win over Lincoln.

Millwood

Adryan Adams, Sr., DB, North Texas: Adams had four tackles and a pass break up in North Texas’ 20-10 win over Ball State.

Gerald Jones, Jr., WR, Tennessee: Jones missed Tennessee’s 63-7 win over Western Kentucky after suffering a high ankle sprain.

Prentice Muse, Sr., DB, UCO: Muse had an interception and five tackles in UCO’s 24-7 win over West Texas A&M

Northeast

Kenyad Blair, So., WR, NEO: Blair had 7 catches for 60 yards in NEO’s 19-14 win over Arkansas Baptist.

Ishmael Underdown, So., DB, Missouri Southern: Underdown had a tackle in Mo. Southern’s 17-15 loss to Harding on Aug. 29.

Antjuan Walker, So., DB, Langston: Walker had a tackle in Langston’s 31-6 win over Lincoln.

George West, Sr., WR, Notre Dame: West missed Notre Dame’s 35-0 win over Nevada with an injury.

Southeast

Gerald McCoy, Jr., DT, OU: McCoy had five tackles — four for loss —  and three quarterback hurries in the Sooners’ 14-13 loss to BYU.

Star Spencer

Terry Hardeman, Sr., LB, UCO: Hardeman had a team-leading 10 tackles (7 solo), three for loss, a sack and a pass breakup in UCO’s 24-7 win over West Texas A&M.

On the fact that this subject has overshadowed Southmoore players this preseason and how his son, Kendal, the Southmoore quarterback, shouldn’t be subjected to this distraction:

“This has been unfair to the kids on the team. It’s not right that my son has to deal with this. He’s out there to play quarterback. And that’s all anyone should be talking about. Being my son shouldn’t be a death penalty.”

On the fact that many high school coaches have had the same declaration that recruiting has been going on:

“All it is, in my opinion, is an attempt to bring down Southmoore by some coaches who haven’t done things the way Chris (Jensen) has. They see where this program is headed and they don’t like how fast it’s happening or that it’s being done in the right way. And maybe they haven’t done it the right way and maybe they aren’t having the success that Southmoore could have.”

On Southmoore player Austin Haywood, a move-in from Anadarko, whose eligibility is being reviewed:

“Austin Haywood moved in and started at Southmoore a long time ago. He played basketball there last year. All these coaches didn’t seem to care when he was dribbling a basketball around. But when they see him on the football field and see that this kid can be a heck of a player, then they want to come in and make it to where he can’t play.”

On the assertion that as many as eight to 10 Southmoore move-ins and/or transfers are players he coached in little league:

“Two. There are others on the team I coached, but they’ve always gone to Southmoore. Of the new guys that those coaches are trying to keep from playing, two played on one of my teams.”

On move-ins/transfers from other schools not getting the scrutiny that Southmoore is right now:

“Kids on other teams have moved from one place to another. Have they been persecuted like these (Southmoore kids) have? We just scrimmaged Broken Arrow and they have a starting quarterback who was the starting quarterback at Muskogee last year. But you don’t hear anything about that.”

If you missed it in print, here is the story on recruiting claims against Southmoore parent Charles Thompson

 ”I did not recruit anybody and nobody from my family recruited anybody. Anyone who says that  -  it’s all speculation and untrue.” — Charles Thompson

MOORE  -  It’s been the hot-button topic of the preseason: Charles Thompson has been accused of recruiting football players to Southmoore High School.

It’s a conversation that won’t die. So, Thompson wants his voice heard.

“I do,” said the former University of Oklahoma quarterback. “Because what’s being said is totally ridiculous. It’s completely incorrect.”

Here’s the short version of the flack that has enveloped local high school football for better than four months: Thompson’s son, Kendal, is a junior quarterback (and Division I-A recruit) for Southmoore’s second-year program. Southmoore was 2-8 in its initial season but is expected to be much better this year in part because of numerous move-ins and transfers.

Thompson, who has coached select little league football for over a decade, has drawn the ire of coaches and parents for what has been perceived as the recruitment of players he once coached to leave their high school and come to Southmoore.

“This is why that’s ridiculous,” said Thompson. “If you want to get technical about it, I’ve coached 12 years, so I’ve got kids at just about every school out there. You can go to just about every football team and find a kid I coached.”

The line between fact and fiction has been blurred considerably as rumors and misinformation have swirled unfettered. Nonetheless, this much is certain, the Moore school district and the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activity Association have looked into the allegations. Several coaches who had a player leave for Southmoore filed an official complaint with the OSSAA. And, more than one of those coaches have been asked to provide a written report.

With the season beginning today, Southmoore still has several move-in/transfer players whose eligibility is being reviewed and likely won’t be cleared to play by this evening when the SaberCats play Edmond Memorial at Wantland Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

However  -  and this is an important fact in all the attention the recruiting allegations have received  -  those individual eligibility cases have nothing to do with the recruiting charge. And, in fact, if a recruiting charge was proven (rule 9 in the OSSAA handbook) against a school, that would very likely not affect the eligibility of individual players. In most cases, a violation of that nature would draw a warning for the program. After a warning, a further violation would mean probation.

It should also be noted proving a case of recruiting is extremely difficult. Without something as substantial as video-taped proof, the OSSAA would be hard-pressed to make a definitive ruling.

Nonetheless, the point is moot, according to Thompson.

“That’s a deal that never took place,” he said. “I did not recruit anybody and nobody from my family recruited anybody. Anyone who says that  -  it’s all speculation and untrue.”

That speculation has been a source of frustration for many local high school football coaches. However, none of the coaches spoken with for this report would comment on the record.

Thompson said it’s he who should be angry.

“Oh, absolutely, this has been 100 percent frustrating,” he said. “The reality is, in my opinion, you have some irate coaches who have gotten upset because of the rise of what I believe to be a really good program, run by really good coaches and at a really good school.

“Although this program is still new and 2-8 and all, (Southmoore coach) Chris (Jensen) is trying to teach these kids how to be good, solid people and leaders in the community.”

Coaches would argue it is the influx of highly-touted move-ins and transfers that has created the problem, not program envy. Still, Thompson doubts the buzz would be as great if he weren’t a public figure.

“It’s been unfair accusations because I have a name,” he said. “It’s totally unfair. The issue I have is there are too many people out there making libelous, slanderous statements about me and I promise you, I will not stand back and have my name drug through the dirt.

“I’m going to pursue legal action on some of these people. Because I don’t think this is going to go away without the help of the Oklahoma court system. And I know parents who want this stopped, too, and they’re prepared to go the distance.”

After speaking on the topic for a while, Thompson arrived at a statement he believes should make all the rumors seem illogical.

“You’d think people would realize this,” he said. “The thought that people think I have the power to convince families to uproot and move to a new town and buy a new house and all the expenses that go with that  -  it’s totally absurd.”

Millwood's Trayvon Henry committed to Kansas on Tuesday

With Millwood linebacker Trayvon Henry picking Kansas on Tuesday, another state player has chosen to go to a Big 12 school other than OU or OSU.

There are now 12 in-state players committed to playing for Big 12 schools.

Kansas: Trayvon Henry, Millwood

Missouri: Xavier Smith, Edmond North

Oklahoma State: Calvin Barnett, Tulsa Washington; Johnny Deaton, Sand Springs; Chris Littlehead, Sequoyah-Tahlequah

OU: Aaron Colvin, Owasso; Bronson Irwin, Mustang; Jarrett Lake, Jenks; Julian Wilson, Southmoore

Texas Tech: Delans Griffin, Clinton; Tre Porter, Carl Albert; Denton Simek, Prague

With Henry’s commitment, that leaves just one top 10 player in the state (according to The Oklahoman Super 30) uncommitted. That is Tulsa Central’s Demarco Cobbs (No. 1). After that, though, there are far fewer committed players. The other uncommitted players on the 30 list include Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett, Fort Gibson’s Courtney Gaston, Midwest City’s Dominique Jones, Madill’s Darryl Fields, Midwest City’s Emmanuel Maxwell, Jenks’ Bob Graham, Lawton MacArthur’s Tuswani Copeland, Del City’s Chris McAlister, Southmoore’s Kyaunn Thompson, Muskogee’s Jeremy Burton, John Marshall’s Ken Berry, Star Spencer’s Darren Rideau and Glenpool’s Marco Nelson.

Here’s a week-by-week look at the best games in the ACAC:

Week 1: Millwood at Star Spencer. Both figure to be state title contenders in their respective classes and feature some of the best talent in the state, led my Millwood’s Trayvon Henry, Josh Turner, Kevonte Richardson and Star’s Darren Rideau.

Week 2: Douglass at Millwood (1 p.m. Saturday). Here’s the Falcons again, going against another 4A power in Douglass. The Trojans bring a different look than Star Spencer, led by their linebacking corps that features Corey Mitchell.

Other good bets: John Marshall at Centennial (Budding rivalry could heat up this season), Tulsa Central at Northeast (Central should win this game but features the top players in the state in Demarco Cobbs).

Week 3: Toss up: Millwood at McGuinness or Star Spencer at Douglass. Both are Friday night. Bob Przybylo and I were just talking about who was going to cover what that night and I can’t decide which of these games I want to see. McGuinness doesn’t have the star power they’ve had the last two years but still should be contenders. Star-Douglass will feature two of the best teams in 4A. I’m leaning toward Star-Douglass right now but could be swayed the next two weeks.

Week 4: Centennial at Bethel. Not a whole lot of intrigue going on this week but Centennial should be improved from last year and could make a push toward a playoff berth under Mark Ryan. This could be  abig game for them if they want to make the postseason.

Want to take a road trip? Star Spencer at McLoud or Douglass at Elk City.

Week 5: Douglass at Southeast. Douglass should win this game but Southeast is another of those team that could be right on the edge of the playoffs, one way or the other.

Week 6: Lexington at Millwood. If Millwood is to trip up anytime during district play, this figures to be the week for them to do it. They shouldn’t, but Lexington is about the only team in the district that can hang with the Falcons.

Others to watch: Cushing at Star Spencer, Southeast at Elk City.

Week 7: Douglass at McGuinness. Still stunned someone didn’t decide to televise this matchup. Last year’s battle at Douglass was epic, with the Irish winning on a late goal-line stand.

Road trip: Southeast at Weatherford

Week 8: Weatherford at Douglass. Watch two of the best linebackers in the state in Weatherford’s Kale Sawatzky and Douglass’ Corey Mitchell.

Week 9: Centennial at Millwood. Who knows how competitive this game will be but the schools are just a few miles apart. If Centennial gets competitive, this could be another budding rivalry for the Bison.

Week 10: Star Spencer at Glenpool. Maybe the game of the year in 4A. Whoever wins this figures to win the district title and enter the playoffs as the favorite (maybe minus Douglass) in the Class. See Star’s talented backfield tandem matchup with Glenpool running back Marco Nelson.

Tim Thomas took over Northeast last year the day two-a-days started, with a limited number of players and concerns over whether the Vikings would even have a season. The Vikings went winless last year, but just fielding a team for a full season was an accomplishment for a school that suffered massive defections after talks the school would close.

Montana Lyons is in a similar, though not quite as dire, situation at Capitol Hill. He took over the Redskins after they had one year under Darrell Peterson (who replaced three-year coach Pascal Jones just before last season). If nothing else, Lyons is an impressive speaker, as I found out at Tuesday’s coaches luncheon. Lyons is passionate about improving the environment for football players at Capitol Hill and having that not only translate into better performances on the field but in better high school experiences for the players in general.

And there’s reason to believe there will be better on-the-field performance. In last week’s scrimmage, Capitol Hill’s defense had a strong showing against Deer Creek, not exactly known as a pushover.

I also want to hang around to watch Millwood-Centennial over at Miller. Everyone knows just how good Millwood is, with Trayvon Henry, Kevonte Richardson and Josh Turner among their numerous stars. Centennial is an interesting team to me for a couple reasons: 1.) I really believe in Mark Ryan. He did a fantastic job at Western Heights two years ago, then made a decision to leave there that bettered his situation (He wasn’t happy with the direction the Jets programs were taking, and he lived East of the city). So he took a job as an assistant coach under Willis Alexander at Douglass. He’s back in a head coaching job and has an intriguing team that has a chance, should things fall together, to make the playoffs this year. The Bison weren’t too far away last year and have some real talent.

After the Millwood-Centennial game, or at least close to the end, I”m going to head over to Taft. The last game at Douglass is Douglass against the Capitol Hill-Northeast winner and I don’t anticipate Douglass having too much trouble there.

John Marshall-U.S. Grant starts out things at Taft. I could see Grant pulling something off here but John Marshall has a lot of returning starters and one of the top players in OKCPS in Ken Berry. I think the Bears advance to play Star Spencer later in the night. The second game there is Northwest-Southeast. This one should go to the Spartans, as Northwest does have a lot of starters to replace after making significant strides last year. The game of the night, to me, though is that Star-John Marshall game if it happens. Star has some great skill position guys back and John Marshalll has some stars and nearly everyboyd back onm both sides. I think Star winds up being too much in the end but it’ll be interesting to see how tonight plays out.

All-City Preview Schedule
Thursday
At Douglass
Game 1: Capitol Hill vs. Northeast, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Millwood vs. Centennial, 6:45 p.m.
Game 3: Douglass vs. Winner Game 1, 7:30 p.m.
At Taft Stadium
Game 4: John Marshall vs. U.S. Grant, 6 p.m.
Game 5: Northwest vs. Southeast, 6:45 p.m.
Game 6: Star Spencer vs. Winner Game 4, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Winner’s bracket
At Douglass
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 6:45 p.m.
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8:15 p.m. (Championship)
Consolation bracket
Game 11: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 12: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 5:45 p.m.
Game 13: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 11, 6:30 p.m.
Game 14: Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 12, 7:15 p.m.
Game 15: Winnner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14, 8 p.m.

The highlight at day one, if things play out how they’re expected to, figures to be John Marshall vs. Star Spencer at Taft Stadium. It’ll be interesting to see how Star Spencer’s offense fares against John Marshall’s defense, which returns 10 starters.

The second day figures to feature a preview of September’s Soul Bowl between Douglass and Millwood. This is one of the most heated rivalries in the state so it should be entertaining to watch. I’ve never covered the All-City Preview, so definitely looking forward to checking it out on Thursday.

Douglass
NEO: Alfred Carter; Da’Sor Horton, So.; Rayvon Johnson, Fr., DL; O’Paul Mitchell, Fr., OL
Emporia State: Sheldon Smith, So., QB
Langston: David Smith, Jr., LB
SNU: Chavez Wilson, RFr., OL
Tulsa: Destin Stewart, Fr., DB

John Marshall
Langston: Clarence McDonald, So., K
SNU: Nate Cotton, Jr., DB

Millwood
Bacone: Jarrel Morton, Fr., DB
NEO: Kevin Coulter, Fr., WR; Thomas Darrington
North Texas: Adryan Adams, Sr., DB
SWOSU: Antuanya Debose, Fr., DL
Tennessee: Gerald Jones, Jr., WR
Texas Tech: Tramain Swindall, So., IR
UCO: Prentice Muse, Sr., DB
Utah State: Cameron Sanders, Fr.

Northeast
Iowa State: Houston Jones, Sr., WR
Langston: Antjuan Walker, So., WR
Missouri Southern: Ishmael Underdown, So., DB
NEO: Kenyad Blair, So.
Notre Dame: George West, Sr., WR
NSU: Kenny Cox, RFr., RB

Northwest
NEO: James Bilbury, Fr., DB; Devon Fuller, Fr., WR

Southeast
OU: Gerald McCoy, Jr., DT

Star Spencer
NEO: Money Davis, Fr., LB; Montrel Robinson, Fr., DL
UCO: Terry Hardemon, Sr., LB; Jeremy Harris, Fr., DB

The district will have just two new basketball coaches and both of those will be at the same school. U.S. Grant has new basketball coaches on both the boys and girls front.

It was thought long-time Star Spencer coach Janith Johnson would retire after last year but she’s coming back for at least one more year.

Ingersoll also said he was still trying to work out a series of games for OKCPS teams against big-time programs from aroung the country. He wants to bring some of the nation’s top talent here to OKC to play against the top teams from the district. Ingersoll said this was still a year or two away.

There has seemed to be an accepting attitude of the struggles around OKCPS football in the past. No more.

OKCPS athletic director Phil Ingersoll has brought with him a new attitude to the office since he took over in 2007. He worked on getting control of the school’s fields (as crazy as it sounds now, the fields were, until last year, run individually, with at least some district schools being forced to pay rent just to play). He also has ensured that each class will have new jerseys at some point in their high school careers.

Perhaps the biggest thing, though, has been the hiring he’s done withing the district, trying to make sure the coaches fit into what the district is trying to accomplish.

In researching this story, the coaches were, across the board, VERY complimentary of the work Ingersoll has done.

“Our schools get everything they need,” Ingersoll said Friday night when I saw him at the Douglass-Clinton-Choctaw scrimmage. “I’m really happy with how things are going in the district.”

It’ll be a busy week for volleyball in the All-City Athletic Conference with an almost full slate of games on Wednesday and Friday as well.

Wednesday:

Centennial at John Marshall

U.S. Grant at Northeast

Star Spencer at Capitol Hill

Friday:

Classes SAS at Southeast

Northeast at Douglass

Millwood at Northwest