Kingfisher’s Derek Patterson commits to Tulsa
It’s good to see good things happen to good people. I wasn’t sure if Kingfisher’s Derek Patterson was going to be able to find a home in college football.
He’s such a great athlete in several different ways, but I wasn’t sure if there was one way that he would actually stand out. A top-notch quarterback. Solid in the secondary. Anchors the basketball team at point guard. A leader on the baseball team.
But Patterson has found a home at Tulsa. Patterson had a meeting with Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship on Saturday and committed to the Golden Hurricane to play football.
“I’ve known a bunch of coaches here, and it’s a natural fit,” Patterson said. “I was playing basketball last night. And me and my dad drove up here and got to Tulsa like at 12:45 in the morning. It’s been a crazy 24 hours.”
Patterson said he is being recruited as an athlete. I could see him as a defensive back or wide receiver. He’s a natural leader so he’ll find a home somewhere.
Patterson accounted for more than 3,000 total yards of offense, throwing for 20 touchdowns and rushing for 16 more. He also had four interceptions on defense.
Patterson said he was also considering Southern Nazarene and Northeastern State but admits he was getting a little nervous having not committed anywhere this close to signing day.
Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers told Patterson that Tulsa planned on getting in touch with Patterson this week so Patterson was waiting and waiting. Call came Thursday night. Scott Wright and myself put Patterson at punter on the Little All-City team just because we were trying to get him on there someway. He’s earned it, that’s for sure.
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Bishop McGuinness girls earn Chesapeake title…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The Irish girls were dominant in winning the Chesapeake Challenge
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 64, Cascia Hall 41 (championship)
OKC Storm 56, Holland Hall 46 (third place)
Heritage Hall 46, Weatherford 24 (consolation championship)
Kingfisher 43, OKC Knights 40 (seventh place)
Girls
McGuinness 52, Weatherford 22 (championship)
OKC Knights 41, Kingfisher 30 (third place)
Cascia Hall 34, Heritage Hall 33 (consolation championship)
OKC Storm 59, Sunrise Academy 44 (seventh place)
Chesapeake Challenge: Day 2 results…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Friday
Boys
Championship: Cascia Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 4 p.m.
Third place: OKC Storm vs. Holland Hall, 12:40
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Weatherford, 4 p.m.
Seventh place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 12:40
Girls
Championship: McGuinness vs. Weatherford, 2:20
Third place: Kingfisher vs. OKC Knights, 11 a.m.
Fifth place: Heritage Hall vs. Cascia Hall, 2:20
Seventh place: Sunrise Academy vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
Thursday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 52, Holland Hall 42
Weatherford 56, OKC Knights 50
Cascia Hall 54, OKC Storm 50
Heritage Hall 42, Kingfisher 37
Girls
Weatherford 42, OKC Knights 40
Cascia Hall 56, OKC Storm 49
McGuinness 53, Kingfisher 19
Heritage Hall 55, Sunrise Academy 44
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56
Chesapeake Challenge: Day 1 results…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Thursday
Boys
Holland Hall vs. Sunrise Academy, 12:40
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 12:40
OKC Storm vs. Cascia Hall, 4 p.m.
Heritage Hall vs. Kingfisher, 4 p.m.
Girls
OKC Knights vs. Weatherford, 11 a.m.
Cascia Hall vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
McGuinness vs. Kingfisher 2:20
Sunrise Academy vs. Heritage Hall, 2:20
Wednesday
Boys
Sunrise Academy 51, Weatherford 33
Cascia Hall 53, Kingfisher 44
Holland Hall 65, OKC Knights 39
OKC Storm 46, Heritage Hall 34
Girls
Weatherford 59, OKC Storm 39
McGuinness 69, Sunrise Academy 31
Kingfisher 48, Heritage Hall 40
OKC Knights 61, Cascia Hall 56
Chesapeake Challenge at Heritage Hall schedule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I’m going for the food … and I guess I’ll stay for the basketball. I’ll be floating around Heritage Hall the next three days for the Chesapeake Challenge.
Here’s the schedule. The Chargers have two gyms so games will be going on at the same time.
Chesapeake Challenge
At Heritage Hall
Wednesday
Girls
Bishop McGuinness vs. Sunrise Academy (Kan.), 11 a.m.
Weatherford vs. OKC Storm, 11 a.m.
Heritage Hall vs. Kingfisher, 2:20
Cascia Hall vs. OKC Knights, 2:20
Boys
Kingfisher vs. Cascia Hall, 12:40
Weatherford vs. Sunrise Academy (Kan.), 12:40
Heritage Hall vs. OKC Storm, 4 p.m.
OKC Knights vs. Holland Hall, 4 p.m.
Will update after each day with the pairings for the following day.
All-Best of the Rest football team…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours from the Varsity staff. I’ma go back to being Uncle Bob to my niece and nephew here in Kansas.
Here’s the final installment with an all-best of the rest. Basically, teams in the OKC area that aren’t in one of the set zones.
Here ya go:
All-Best of the Rest
Offense
QB — Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek
RB — Devin Campbell, Bethany
RB — Blake Riojas, Newcastle
WR — Caden Locke, Bridge Creek
WR — Abraham Luna, Santa Fe South
WR — Travis Carroll, McLoud
OL — Landon Chappell, Newcastle
OL — Caleb Craig, Harrah
OL — Blake Belcher, Guthrie
OL — Dexton Robertson, Cashion
OL — Gonzalo Delatorre, Kingfisher
K — Nathan Lee, Jones
P — Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defense
DL — Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
DL — Darren Davenport, Bethany
DL — Micah Thompson, Jones
DL — Derrick Luetjen, Hennessey
LB — Kenny Dennison, Blanchard
LB — Landry Chappell, Guthrie
LB — Jeremy Seaton, Cashion
DB — Tanner Koons, Tuttle
DB — Tylor Seabolt, Jones
DB — Orlando Pina, Hennessey
DB — Mike Miller, Davenport
KR — Jeremy Smith, Kingfisher
Offensive Player of the Year: Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
Coach of the Year: Shannon Watford, Hennessey
Kinda get a glimpse into a lot of our Little All-City team with this list. I’ll have much more to say when the LAC team comes out Thursday, Dec. 30.
Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival schedule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The goal for teams in Class B-4A is to make it to the Big House in March. Teams from all over the state will get a taste of what State Fair Arena is like this weekend.
Several teams in Class A-4A will be competing at the Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival this weekend at State Fair Arena.
Six games will be played Friday and eight more Saturday. Teams competing in the boys and girls event are Luther, Jones, Comanche, Marlow, Snyder, Carnegie, Tuttle, Kingfisher, Perkins-Tryon, Wellston, Walters, Elmore City, Cashion and Frontier.
Admission is $5. Orton was the mother of former McGuinness star Daniel Orton and former OSU player Terrance Crawford. She died of lupus.
Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival
At State Fair Arena
Friday
Luther vs. Jones, 1 p.m. (girls)
Luther vs. Jones, 2:30 (boys)
Comanche vs. Marlow, 4 p.m. (girls)
Comanche vs. Marlow, 5:30 (boys)
Snyder vs. Carnegie, 7 p.m. (girls)
Snyder vs. Carnegie, 8:30 p.m. (boys)
Saturday
Walters vs. Elmore City, 10 a.m. (girls)
Walters vs. Elmore City, 11:30 a.m. (boys)
Wellston vs. Perkins-Tryon, 1 p.m. (girls)
Wellston vs. Perkins-Tryon, 2:30 p.m. (boys)
Tuttle vs. Kingfisher, 4 p.m. (girls)
Tuttle vs. Kingfisher, 5:30 p.m. (boys)
Cashion vs. Frontier, 7 p.m. (girls)
Cashion vs. Frontier, 8:30 p.m. (boys)
Playoff football recap…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
There were only three games last weekend yet there was still a lot of drama, a lot of fun and a lot of me scratching my head.
Record: 2-1 (Right: Heritage Hall over Kingfisher, Woodland over Stratford. Wrong: Davis over Hennessey).
Heritage Hall and Kingfisher went about the way I thought. Woodland over Stratford is so nuts when compared to Union and Jenks. The Redskins and Trojans combined for 97 points. The Cougars and Bulldogs netted six and needed overtime to do it. Ya just never know what you’re gonna get in the championships.
Speaking of which, cannot say enough about Hennessey’s defense. Now Cole Weber not being 100 percent played some role in things, but Hennessey was just a team possessed Saturday.
Week 5: 2-1
Week 4: 7-4
Week 3: 15-7
Week 2: 31-13
Week 1: 65-23
Overall record: 120-48.
Your champions:
6A – Union 50, Jenks 47
5A – Booker T. 32, East Central 3
4A – Douglass 20, Wagoner 13 – OT
3A – Heritage Hall 28, Kingfisher 21
2A – Hennessey 14, Davis 0
A – Woodland 6, Stratford 0 – OT
B – Cherokee 62, Wetumka 32
C – Deer Creek-Lamont 28, Shattuck 0
Best of the Rest honor: Hennessey defense…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
From watching Hennessey and hearing about the Eagles the last couple of weeks, how did this team lose three times? With that defense? Really?
It was an incredible display against another physical team like Davis where the defense almost held the Wolves under 100 yards of total offense in winning their first championship in a 14-0 victory.
The defense starts with Derrick Luetjen. He sticks out like a sore thumb when you’re watching Hennessey play. Who knows, perhaps he’ll be back at Boone Pickens Stadium as a member of Oklahoma State?
One thing Hennessey did a tremendous job of was tackling. Whenever Davis had open space and it turned into a 1-on-1 situation, the Eagles always made the stop. That’s how 3 and 4-yard runs don’t turn into 10, 15 and touchdown runs.
Coach Shannon Watford not only drew up a masterful game plan but coached the game of his life Saturday. Big call after big call turned out right. He would go for it on fourth down on the first drive to set the tone. It worked. He went for it inside his own 20. Right again.
In the second half, QB Trey Leu got the running game going and quarterback run late in the fourth quarter iced the game. A great effort by a gritty bunch of kids. Oh yea, Hennessey also won the academic achievement award, too.
Other contenders
Ivan Moreno, Hennessey: Needed a little offense to win that sucker, too. Moreno rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.
Kingfisher football: The seniors may have left Friday without the championship, but what they’ve done for Yellowjacket football has been incredible. Three final appearances and gave us everything they possible could in a classic battle with Heritage Hall.
Devante Moore, El Reno: Moore notched 30 points as the Indians held off Norman North 56-55 in the finals of the Western Heights Tournament.
SMQ: Second half comeback just in time for Heritage Hall…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Yes, it’s your Saturday Morning Quarterback on a Sunday afternoon. You’ll have to forgive me, it was a long (and great) weekend of football and basketball.
The weekend got started with a bang in a fantastic Class 3A championship played by Heritage Hall and Kingfisher. The Chargers needed a second half rally to claim their third state championship and second in three seasons.
Class 3A final – Heritage Hall 28, Kingfisher 21 – for my story, go here.
Boneman’s Breakdown
- First off, huge thanks to my fellow chum Scott Wright. With him taking stats from the press box, it allowed me to do what I love best and watch (and video) the game from the sidelines. Love getting a feel of the atmosphere from that perspective.
- What a game. I predicted 28-23 so 28-21 sounded about right to me. A lot of people said I was just trying to build up the hype for the game, not true. You had to watch Kingfisher the last couple of weeks. This was not a 28-point underdog or anything like that.
- I was at Heritage Hall practice and the team ran that first play of the game so much. Sterling Shepard runs wide, pulls up and throws it to Cooper Cloud…touchdown. First play vs. Yellowjackets, picked off by Derek Patterson. Oh yea, game on, baby!
- Kingfisher gave an incredibly gutty effort. Patterson did what he could through the air and on the ground. Freshman running back Landon Nault once again totally kept his poise on the big stage and scored two touchdowns himself.
- The Yellowjackets will be kicking themselves when they watch this film again. They forced four turnovers (3 INTs, 1 fumble) and only had a 14-0 lead. Tremendous scouting and preparation by the Kingfisher staff. When a defensive lineman (Cole Cameron) gets a pick, it can normally be attributed to coaching. Cameron was in the right spot and made the play. Jeremy Smith also had an interception.
- Give credit to coach Jeff Myers. Both of Kingfisher’s touchdowns in the first half came on fourth down runs. I love a coaching playing to win instead of playing the percentages. It was working as Patterson and Nault gave the team the 14-0 lead at halftime.
- Everybody knew the first drive of the second half was going to be pivotal. If Kingfisher drove and scored, turn out the lights on Heritage Hall. If the Chargers stopped the Yellowjackets and score, game on (again). Heritage forced a three-and-out and then let Shepard go to work.
- I’ve talked a lot about Shepard the last two seasons, but I don’t know what to say about his second half against Kingfisher. I think what stood out most to me was how calm he was after busting out big run after big run and touchdown after touchdown. So focused.
- The Heritage Hall offensive line accepted the challenge in the second half. Bogert trusted in Shepard, and the combo led to the desired results for Charger fans.
- Shepard scored from 38 yards out with less than eight minutes left in the third, and the Charger sideline was going bonkers, just a fantastic atmosphere.
- Shepard’s third score came early in the fourth quarter, and I thought Kingfisher had nothing left. It was a valiant effort but nothing was left in the gas tank…WRONG.
- Nault scored at the goal line to tie it 21-21 with less than four minutes left. You knew it was too soon and gave Heritage Hall too much time left. However, you also knew Kingfisher had to get that score. How much time was left could not be one of your top priorities.
- I chickened out on Shepard’s final touchdown, a 38-yarder with 1:12 left. He came right my way on the sideline, and I got scared so I didn’t exactly get the best video of that.
- Yellowjackets again made a charge to set up the final play. Patterson did a great job of escaping pressure and lofted it into the end zone, but it fell incomplete.
- Whew, what a game (that’s the kind of analysis you can’t get anywhere else 
- Special thanks to both teams for allowing us pregame access. For coach Myers’ pregame speech to his kids, go here.
- Heritage Hall ends the year at 15-0, while Kingfisher’s run concludes at 10-4.
