All-City Preview basketball tournaments begin Tuesday
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
Picks: Week 6
Ryan lost a game to Jason and Scott last week with his pick of Commerce over Colcord. Everybody missed Broken Bow and Hilldale, but Ryan locked Broken Bow to lose his first lock of the week.
Last week
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 8-2, 1-0
Ryan: 7-3, 0-1
Overall
Ryan: 37-13, 4-1
Scott: 37-13, 4-1
Jason: 37-13, 3-2
Ryan
Cascia Hall 14, Berryhill 7
Millwood 28, Jones 26
Norman North 28, Putnam North 24
Edmond North 35, Putnam City 34
Tulsa Union 38, Owasso 16
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 20
Lincoln Chr. 28, Vian 26
Comanche 26, Washington 20
Elk City 20, McGuinness 17
McAlester 38, Tulsa Kelley 20
Wynnewood 28, Rush Springs 14
Lock of the week: Wynnewood over Rush Springs. As things keep progressing in this district, I’m more and more convinced that the Wynnewood-Wayne matchup will determine the district champion.
Scott
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 14
Millwood 38, Jones 34
Putnam City North 24, Norman North 21
Putnam City 52, Edmond North 48
Tulsa Union 31, Owasso 21
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 24
Lincoln Christian 35, Vian 31
Comanche 27, Washington 24
Elk City 28, McGuinness 27
McAlester 24, Tulsa Kelley 14
Lock of the Week: Cascia Hall over Berryhill. Cascia looks like a team on a mission, still stinging from last year’s loss to Bethany in the playoffs. I think they move to 6-0 this week.
Jason
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 10
Millwood 31, Jones 24
Norman North 23, Putnam North 17
Edmond North 42, Putnam City 35
Tulsa Union 42, Owasso 24
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Central 21
Lincoln Chr. 31, Vian 28
Washington 20, Comanche 17
Bishop McGuinness 23, Elk City 20
McAlester 35, Tulsa Kelley 17
Wynnewood 24, Rush Springs 21
Lock of the week: Norman North over Putnam City North. Both of these proud programs are struggling this season, but I like the Timberwolves because of their running game. Norman North running back Bryan Payne has been good this season, and the Panthers’ run defense has been an Achilles’ heel.
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.
Top 10 games of the week
Top 10
1. Class C No. 1 DC-Lamont (4-0) at No. 7 Coyle (4-0)
Eight-man showdown between the defending champions and a Coyle team looking to to earn its first playoff berth in its seventh season.
2. Class A No. 8 Elmore City (4-0) at No. 3 Wynnewood (4-0)
Two of the three undefeated teams in District A-5 go head-to-head.
3. Class C No. 3 Timberlake (3-0) at No. 5 Covington-Douglas (4-0)
A week after squeaking out a win over Tipton on the road, Covington-Douglass gets another big challenge.
4. Class 5A No. 1 Tulsa East Central (4-0) at No. 10 Coweta (2-2)
The Cardinals get another solid test in a rough schedule as the defending runners-up try to solidify their place in 5A-4. Coweta hasn’t won a game by more than six points or lost by more than four.
5. Class 3A No. 9 Seminole (4-0) at Stigler (4-0)
Seminole has scored 41 or more points in all four games thus far while Stigler has topped 42 in three out of four.
6. Class 4A No. 10 Hilldale (3-1) at No. 6 Broken Bow (3-1)
Big win over Poteau last week lifted Hilldale into the rankings while Broken Bow has shut out two opponents last season.
7. Edmond Santa Fe (3-1) at Class 6A No. 6 Lawton (3-1)
Both teams started district play with statement wins and this game will feature two of the best defensive ends in the state in Lawton’s D.J. Ward and Santa Fe’s Michael Onuoha.
8. Class B No. 6 Fox (3-1) at Paoli (4-0)
Fox has shutouts in each of its three wins while Paoli has topped 53 points three times and scored 42 in its other win.
9. Commerce (3-1) at Class 2A No. 8 Colcord (4-0)
Commerce has two shutouts and its only loss came to a Kansas school. Colcord has won games primarily with its offense (41-14 at Salina last week) and with its defense (8-0 vs. Haskell on Sept. 16).
10. Class 4A No. 4 Clinton (3-1) at Piedmont (2-2)
Clinton blew out McGuinness last week at home while Piedmont got a statement win over Elgin.
Other good bets:
Heritage Hall at Tulsa NOAH
Millwood at Luther
Mustang at Edmond North
Woodward at McGuinness
Yukon at Norman North
By Ryan Aber
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.
Millwood never quits in incredible win over Bishop McGuinness
Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during his team's 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness on Friday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
One of the first things Millwood coach Tony Henry said to me after his team’s incredible 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness was, “We were your lock of the week, right?”
Yes, coach, you were. And I was wrong. It isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last.
(Side note: Good to know he reads the blog!)
Henry was good-natured about it, of course, and I’m not at all surprised that he was in a good mood after the win at Pribil Stadium.
The blocked field goal and subsequent return for a touchdown on the last play was unbelievable — one of the best finishes to a football game that I’ve ever seen.
This is the only football game I can think of that I saw in person that had as memorable an ending.
In my view, the Falcons were clearly the better team Friday. They were able to move the ball pretty effectively on McGuinness’ defense — especially in the second half — and the Millwood defense was very impressive against the Irish offense.
Yes, it took a blocked field goal on the last play for the Falcons to win, but if not for a couple of silly mistakes, I think Millwood would have won fairly comfortably.
All three of Bishop McGuinness’ touchdown drives were 10 yards or less, and they came came as a result of bad Millwood turnovers.
The first two were results of bad long snaps on punts. The last one, in the fourth quarter, happened after a Millwood fumble on a bad exchange.
But it felt like every time something bad happened to the Falcons, they answered. After the Irish’s first touchdown in the second quarter, Millwood’s Dametric Sanders returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.
Down 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Sheldon Bulock Millwood went for it on fourth-and-one from near midfield. But after the McGuinness defense stuffed running back, the Irish took over possession with just under five minutes left in the game and appeared to have it under control.
But on the very next play, Irish quarterback Camden Tharp was picked off by Millwood’s Marc Robinson, who returned it all the way to the McGuinness 10 to set up a tying touchdown.
I don’t want to take anything away from Bishop McGuinness. They did play a very good game — especially defensively.
The Irish linebackers — senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Nick Jeffreys and Danny Krenger — did a remarkable job against an extremely tough Millwood rushing attack. Marc Robinson, Larry Lambeth and Bulock were pounding at the McGuinness defense all night, and the Irish held their ground for much of it.
Both of these teams are going to be forces in their respective classes. And both teams open district play next week (McGuinness is at Clinton; Millwood has Alva at home).
It was a fantastic game, and I’m glad to have been there to see it.
Jason Kerseyjkersey@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @jasonkersey
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Game preview: Millwood at Bishop McGuinness
Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during last week's game against Douglass. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN
I’ll be at tonight’s Millwood-Bishop McGuinness game at Pribil Stadium.
Should be a great matchup between two very good teams. When these two teams met last season, Millwood won 48-41. But these teams are both different in 2011, which should make for a different result.
When Millwood has the ball
Millwood has two powerful running backs — Marc Robinson and Larry Lambeth — that will create plenty of problems for opponents throughout the season. Dametric Sanders is a very athletic quarterback and is a dual threat. Bishop McGuinness has a strong defense, and its linebacking core is especially strong with senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffreys.
Millwood won’t face many teams going forward that will be able to slow its run game down, but Douglass last week and McGuinness this week are two teams that can.
“They’re two big, strong running backs,” Nguyen said.
“We have a couple adjustments for them, but the key this week is wrapping up and hitting the running backs low.”
When Bishop McGuinness has the ball
The Irish’s offense this season under new coach Justin Jones is much more spread out and pass-oriented than under former coach Kenny Young. So far, the change has worked out quite well. Quarterback Camden Tharp has several receivers that he can throw to, and the Irish scored 35 points on archrival Tulsa Bishop Kelley in a win last Friday.
Defensively, Millwood’s strong point is stopping the run with Robinson and Lambeth as linebackers. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Irish probably won’t try to run the ball much.
Prediction time
The matchups are in Bishop McGuinness’ favor this year. Last season, Millwood won a high-scoring shootout, but I’m expecting it to be more low-scoring this year. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Jason Kerseyjkersey@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @jasonkersey
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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.
Scott’s Weekend Rewind: PC North, Edmond Santa Fe, Douglass with big wins in Week 2
The opening of Yukon's new Miller Stadium was one of many events during a busy weekend of football.
I can already tell this is going to be a long week. Since Sept. 1, I haven’t gone more than two days without covering a high school football game. Friday can’t get here soon enough.
And after the three games I covered this weekend, it’s going to be hard for the next 13 weeks of football to live up to the standard.
On Thursday night, I watched Putnam City North knock off Mustang in double-overtime when sophomore kicker Richard Gallegos booted through a 17-yard field goal to clinch it. Friday brought the debut of Yukon’s new stadium, and a late rally by Edmond Santa Fe to spoil the opener at the Millers’ new home. Then we had the usual amount of drama on Saturday afternoon at the Soul Bowl.
Here’s a look back at what we learned about the teams in those three contests, starting with the double-OT thriller at PC Stadium.
Video: Douglass QB Chris Compton after All-City Preview
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
