All-City Athletic Conference football honors
Here are the All-City Athletic Conference postseason honors for football, as chosen by the coaches:
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
OKC Player (Team) of the Week: Douglass football
No reason to nit-pick in trying to find one player who was more valuable to the Douglass Trojans winning the Class 4A state football championship with the 20-13 overtime victory against Wagoner Saturday night in Stillwater.
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
District 3A-3 honors
There’s no doubting District 3A-3 was the toughest in the class — just check the semifinals for verification.
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
OKC Player of the Week: Marcus Caddell, Douglass
In a game between two top-five teams, it’s going to take some big plays to win, and if you count up all the ones Douglass got in its 20-18 win over Glenpool, a lot of them have Marcus Caddell’s name on them.
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.
OKC playoff prognosis
A lot can happen in the last two weeks, but here’s a look at where some of the OKC teams stand in their playoff races:
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 vs. Heritage Hall Capsule…
By Robert Przybylo and Scott Wright
BPrzybylo@opubco.com; 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.
OKC Player of the Week: Aliston Cobb, Douglass
Aliston Cobb is slowly establishing himself as one of the state’s best running backs, running behind a pretty stout offensive line as well.
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.
OKC Player of the Week: Brandon Swindall, Millwood
More than 200 yards and three touchdowns sounds like a pretty good night for a high school running back, in some cases, even a quarterback.
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
FMQ: Bethany defense throws another shutout
Time for the Friday Morning Quarterback examination of Bethany’s 42-0 win over John Marshall. No need to wait around. Let’s get right too it:
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.
Game preview: Bethany at John Marshall
Bethany (2-1) at John Marshall (2-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Taft Stadium
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
