Sheldon Wilson headlines impressive Northeastern Oklahoma A&M class
Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson is part of an impressive Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Class of 2012. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson isn’t used to competing for playing time.
After signing Wednesday with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, he’ll have to put in extra work as he fights for carries with other top backs the Norsemen signed.
“I’m gonna love that,” Wilson said. “I’ve never really had to compete for carries, so getting pushed and competing every day will make me better.”
Putnam City running back Casey Curtis, who rushed for 1,805 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior, signed with NEO on Wednesday, as did Edmond North’s Jared Benway and Broken Bow’s Eric Dockins.
Wilson rushed for 3,335 yards and set state records with 57 rushing and 64 total touchdowns as a senior on Anadarko’s first state championship football team.
After the season, he was named The Oklahoman’s 2011 All-State Offensive Player of the Year.
Dale Patterson first recruiting class in his second stint as NEO’s coach was impressive beyond running backs.
NEO signed three top Oklahoma high school quarterbacks in McAlester’s Tony Kiefer, Owasso’s Kason Key and Mustang’s Brandon Taylor.
Four Edmond North seniors — Benway, tight end Troy Davis and offensive linemen Trevor Barron and Will Wiedenmann — also signed with NEO.
Other city-area prospects who signed with the Norsemen include Midwest City defensive back Ronnie Davis, Oklahoma Christian School kicker Keegan Carter and Kingfisher offensive lineman Hunter Endres.
The amount of talent NEO signed has Wilson thinking title.
“Looking at these guys, we might be able to win a little championship up there,” Wilson said.
Wilson will be joined at NEO by two of his Anadarko teammates, offensive lineman Randy Martinez and linebacker Wes Satoe.
“That’s really cool to go up there with teammates I know,” Wilson said. “I don’t have to go up there and feel like I don’t know anybody.”
Jason Kersey
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The Oklahoman’s Class 3A All-State
Offense
QB: Andrew Hearon, Metro Christian
RB: Sheldon Wilson, Anadarko
RB: Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall
RB: Caleb Muncrief, Madill
WR: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall
WR: Drew Hillenburg, Metro Christian
OL: Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
OL: Geoffrey Schelb, Seminole
OL: Dalton Wilson, Purcell
OL: Shawn Moore, Pauls Valley
OL: Hunter Endres, Kingfisher
K: Erik Testa, Cascia Hall
KR: Zac Robinson, Sequoyah Tahlequah
Defense
DL: Quintaz Struble, Heritage Hall
DL: Hunter Hart, Cascia Hall
DL: Grant Hamilton, Idabel
DL: Brett Gilstrap, Bethany
LB: Connor Sherwood, Cascia Hall
LB: Wes Satoe, Anadarko
LB: Justin Tomlinson, Berryhill
DB: Kyle Bert, Anadarko
DB: Cade Shearwood, Stigler
DB: Tanner Dearman, Anadarko
DB: Adam Dolan, Berryhill
P: Jake Blair, Kingfisher
District 3A-3 postseason honors
Here are the coaches’ postseason awards for District 3A-3:
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
Picks: Second round of the playoffs
Ryan kept the three-game lead over Jason as both went 8-2 last week. Scott dropped two games, due to picking Yukon over Edmond Memorial and Ada over Duncan.
Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 6-4, 1-0
Overall:
Ryan: 80-31, 10-1
Jason: 77, 32, 8-3
Scott: 73-36, 9-2
Ryan
Jenks 28, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Midwest City 21, Owasso 17
Guthrie 34, Tulsa East Central 30
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 28
Sallisaw 28, McGuinness 26
Anadarko 35, Kingfisher 20
Seminole 28, Verdigris 7
Davis 26, Millwood 20
Woodland 21, Wynnewood 19
Timberlake 35, Temple 32
Lock of the week: Lawton MacArthur over Tulsa Kelley. Kelley’s defense is good but they haven’t faced an offense near as potent as Lawton MacArthur yet this season. Darius Graham and company pass the test to advance to the semifinals yet again.
Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 31, Jenks 23
Midwest City 31, Owasso 28
Guthrie 27, Tulsa East Central 17
Lawton MacArthur 38, Tulsa Kelley 24
McGuinness 28, Sallisaw 27
Anadarko 28, Kingfisher 21
Seminole 37, Verdigris 24
Davis 24, Millwood 14
Woodland 38, Wynnewood 34
Temple 35, Timberlake 31
Lock of the week: Anadarko over Kingfisher. This will be Anadarko’s first real test of the season, and I think they pass it. Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year, but he’ll still be too much for the Yellowjackets.
Scott
Edmond Santa Fe 28, Jenks 24
Midwest City 37, Owasso 31
Guthrie 28, Tulsa East Central 21
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 21
McGuinness 17, Sallisaw 14
Kingfisher 24, Anadarko 21
Seminole 30, Verdigris 20
Davis 31, Millwood 28
Woodland 28, Wynnewood 22
Timberlake 38, Temple 34
Lock of the week: Midwest City over Owasso. The Bombers are on a crash course with the title game, and their secondary is better than any Owasso has seen this year.
Picks: Week 10
With a chance to all but put the regular-season title away, Ryan flubbed it last week, going 6-4. Picking Edmond North and Wynnewood turned out to be the difference as both Scott and Jason came out on the right ride of those picks and pulled two games closer.
Last week:
Ryan: 6-4, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 8-2, 1-0
Overall:
Ryan: 65-26, 8-1
Jason: 63-28, 7-2
Scott: 60-31
Ryan
Heritage Hall 40, Kingfisher 14
Jenks 35, Norman 28
Tulsa Union 35, Stillwater 28
Lawton 26, Westmoore 21
Pryor 17, Tulsa Central 13
Deer Creek 34, Ada 7
Anadarko 42, Weatherford 7
Midwest City 42, Norman North 7
McAlester 35, Tulsa Washington 20
Blanchard 22, Bridge Creek 14
Lock of the week: McAlester over Tulsa Washington. The Buffaloes offense has been just too good this season and the Hornets have struggled at times offensively themselves. McAlester wins the district title and remains undefeated.
Jason
Heritage Hall 31, Kingfisher 17
Stillwater 42, Tulsa Union 38
Jenks 27, Norman 14
Westmoore 14, Lawton 10
Pryor 17, Tulsa Central 13
Ada 31, Deer Creek 28
Anadarko 45, Weatherford 14
Midwest City 42, Norman North 24
McAlester 24, Tulsa Washington 17
Blanchard 14, Bridge Creek 9
Lock of the week: Westmoore over Lawton. Westmoore’s defense has been
impressive all season - save for last week’s shootout with Mustang -
and I think the Jaguars can hold the Wolverines out of the endzone just
enough to come away with a win. A Westmoore win would likely throw the
2nd, 3rd and 4th playoff spots into a three-way tie between these teams
and Edmond North. All three teams are close in district points, so such
a scenario favors North, which ends its season with U.S. Grant.
Scott
Heritage Hall 31, Kingfisher 17
Tulsa Union 42, Stillwater 38
Jenks 28, Norman 24
Lawton 23, Westmoore 20
Pryor 28, Tulsa Central 22
Deer Creek 21, Ada 17
Anadarko 42, Weatherford 35
Midwest City 48, Norman North 21
McAlester 34, Tulsa Washington 28
Blanchard 12, Bridge Creek 8
Lock of the Week: Tulsa Union over Stillwater. Often, the loss of a key player at a key time — in this case, the suspension of RB Kendall Holmes, who was having a huge year – seems like it will be devastating for a team. And many times, it is. But many other cases, it becomes a unifying moment. This could have been the last poke the Redskins needed to wake up for a run to the state title.
Picks: Week 7
So somehow last week, Jason and I wound up picking 11 games since I apparently can’t count to 10. In the interest of padding the win total, we’ll let that stand and give Scott credit for the extra game (Wynnewood over Rush Springs, which Jason and I picked correctly). Scott needed the help after picking Putnam North and Putnam City to come out with wins. Everybody went with Tulsa Union and Lincoln Christian, leading to losses.
Last week
Ryan: 7-4, 1-0
Scott: 5-6, 1-0
Jason: 7-4, 1-0
Overall
Ryan: 44-17, 5-1
Jason: 44-17, 4-2
Scott: 42-19, 5-1
Ryan
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 17
Kingfisher 14, Bethany 10
Owasso 41, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 17, Tulsa Kelley 14
Metro Chr. 28, Seq. Tahlequah 21
Hennessey 22, Oklahoma Chr. 14
Lawton MacArthur 40, Duncan 20
Weatherford 13, Blanchard 8
Lawton Eisenhower 28, Edmond Memorial 22
McGuinness 28, Elgin 13
Lock of the week: Hennessey over OCS. Hennessey took some lumps in the non-district schedule but is still among the top teams in 2A. Tonight is their chance to prove that against a solid OCS team.
Jason
Guthrie 24, Carl Albert 16
Bethany 21, Kingfisher 17
Owasso 38, Stillwater 35
Tulsa Washington 24, Tulsa Kelley 17
Metro Christian 24, Seq. Tahlequah 10
Oklahoma Christian 24, Hennessey 23
Lawton Eisenhower 21, Edmond Memorial 13
Lawton MacArthur 31, Duncan 13
Bishop McGuinness 35, Elgin 14
Blanchard 16, Weatherford 9
Lock of the Week: Guthrie over Carl Albert. Both teams are fantastic, and both teams are legitimate Class 5A contenders. But at this point in the season, Guthrie’s defense is just too good for Carl Albert’s still-developing offense.
Scott
Guthrie 21, Carl Albert 20
Bethany 35, Kingfisher 31
Owasso 45, Stillwater 42
Tulsa Washington 21, Tulsa Kelley 14
Sequoyah-Tahlequah 35, Metro Christian 28
Hennessey 30, Oklahoma Christian 21
Lawton MacArthur 48, Duncan 31
Blanchard 14, Weatherford 12
Edmond Memorial 20, Lawton Eisenhower 17
McGuinness 28, Elgin 21
Lock of the Week: Lawton MacArthur over Duncan. Ever since watching the Highlanders in the preseason scrimmage at Mustang, I’ve had a strong feeling that these guys could win it all in 5A. I needed to see some results in the regular season first to support my gut feeling, and they’ve done that — even while battling some nagging injuries. There are a lot of factors left to be determined regarding the gold ball, but I definitely think Mac wins this week.
Rankings preview: Oct. 1
Class 6A
1. Tulsa Union (1)#5-0
2. Jenks (2)#4-1
3. Midwest City (3)#5-0
4. Broken Arrow (4)#4-1
5. Norman (5)#5-0
6. Edmond North (7)#5-0
7. Putnam City (9)#5-0
8. Edmond Santa Fe (NR)#4-1
9. Owasso (8)#3-2
10. Lawton (6)#3-2
A couple of times a year I throw out my rankings and start fresh, take an overall look at the season and don’t constrain myself with past rankings. This is one of those weeks and while their figures to be other classes that are more drastically affected, there is a bit of that here. The biggest questions in my mind were where to place Edmond Santa Fe (and Lawton) and what to do with Putnam City. I considered dropping Broken Arrow a spot but the Tigers still stand as the only team to really challenge Union this season and I’ll give them their small bump Friday. Edmond Santa Fe goes from just outside to No. 8 after their win at Lawton. The Wolverines drop to No. 10. Owasso stays in at No. 9 but has a tough test this week against Union.
Rankings preview: Sept. 24
Class 6A
1. Tulsa Union (1)#4-0
2. Jenks (2)#3-1
3. Midwest City (3)#4-0
4. Broken Arrow (4)#3-1
5. Norman (5)#4-0
6. Lawton (6)#3-1
7. Edmond North (7)#4-0
8. Owasso (9)#2-2
9. Putnam City (10)#4-0
10. Stillwater (NR)#3-1
With Westmoore falling out from No. 8 after its loss to Edmond Santa Fe, there were two logical candidates to take the spot: Edmond Santa Fe, who was ranked before its loss to Midwest City the week before, and Stillwater. I chose the Pioneers based on their recent performances but just barely. Santa Fe gets a tough test next week at Lawton. A good performance there, win or lose, gives the Wolves a chance to move back in.
Week 3 Picks
Scott picked up a game on both Jason and me last week while all three of us were corrects on our locks of the week. Here are our overall records and picks for this week:
Last week:
Scott 7-3, 1-0
Ryan 6-4, 1-0
Jason 6-4, 1-0
Overall
Ryan: 14-6, 2-0
Jason: 13-7, 1-1
Scott: 13-7, 1-1
Ryan
Midwest City 21, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Jenks 28, Owasso 7
McAlester 35, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 10
McGuinness 21, Millwood 13
Heritage Hall 42, Davis 17
Bethany 28, Washington 13
Kingfisher 14, Hennessey 12
Ryan 22, Coyle 18
Tipton 33, Thackerville 22
Lock of the week: Kingfisher over Hennessey
This is a tough one for me because there was a lot I was impressed with last week when I watched Hennessey play Jones. But Kingfisher has the depth to wear down Hennessey a bit by the end of the game and the athleticism to not let Ivan Moreno and Levi Hill wear their defense down. The Eagles will be better for having played this game once district play begins but Kingfisher gets it done.
Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Midwest City 20
Jenks 45, Owasso 24
McAlester 27, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 24, Tulsa Washington 14
Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Heritage Hall 35, Davis 10
Bethany 31, Washington 17
Kingfisher 24, Hennessey 21
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 35, Thackerville 30
Lock of the week: Bishop McGuinness over Millwood
The Falcons have a tough power running game that will be tough for future opponents to slow down, but not the Irish. McGuinness’ defense — especially with their outstanding linebacking core of Brandon Nguyen, Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffries. Last season, Millwood won a shootout 48-41, but expect a more low-scoring game this time. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Scott
Midwest City 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Jenks 35, Owasso 24
McAlester 35, Ardmore 21
Tulsa East Central 30, Tulsa Washington 21
McGuinness 21, Millwood 20
Heritage Hall 41, Davis 17
Bethany 38, Washington 28
Kingfisher 21, Hennessey 20
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 28, Thackerville 27
Lock of the week: McAlester over Ardmore.
Sitting in a press box in El Reno two years ago during the Class 5A semifinals, I began to take note of a talented McAlester team. Then I noticed the amount of young players on the roster, and I realized this was a team that would only keep getting better. Now we’re seeing it come to fruition, and I think this week will be another sign of things to come for the Buffs.
Kingfisher’s Landon Nault ready for bigger role
Sophomore RB Landon Nault is going to be front-and-center this year for Kingfisher.
Poor Kingfisher football coach Jeff Myers. For the first time in what feels like forever he has to ‘actually’ make a quarterback decision.
I kid, but it is true. With Derek Patterson graduating and signing with Tulsa, the quarterback race is wide open. Myers said there are a couple of good candidates. And though I prodded him to let loose the names, he decided to not put any pressure on the two boys just yet.
One person there will be pressure on? Running back Landon Nault. Hey, he’s a victim of his own success. When you’re a freshman and run for 1,345 yards and 20 touchdowns, well, the cat’s out of the bag.
In my head I’m thinking Nault will play a bigger role, but defenses will be ready to key in on him and Nault should fall just a tad this year.
Myers doesn’t quite share that same sentiment. Biggest reason? He likes his offensive line.
“Our offensive line might be even better than last year,” Myers said. Hmm, that would explain the confidence.
I was very impressed with the maturity of Landon Nault last year. Went into the season expecting to write about Logan Nault all year. Logan was mentioned a lot, but Landon became a star on the rise.
That district didn’t get any easier, though, so it will be interesting to see if Yellowjackets can do it one more time and make another long playoff run.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
