Signing List 2010
It’s still a work in progress. Know a signing we missed? E-mail me at raber@opubco.com and we’ll get it added. We’ll run the signing list several times over the next few weeks:
Semifinal sites set
Here’s the semifinal times/dates:
Class 6A
Jenks vs. Southmoore, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Putnam City Stadium
Tulsa Union vs. Broken Arrow, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, University of Tulsa
Class 5A
El Reno vs. Carl Albert, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Putnam City Stadium
Bixby vs. Guthrie, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Stillwater High School
Class 4A
Weatherford vs. Douglass, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Yukon
Star Spencer vs. Sallisaw, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sapulpa
Class 3A
Seq. Claremore vs. Cascia Hall, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Collinsville
Berryhill vs. Dewey, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Skiatook
Class B
Garber vs. Laverne, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Woodward
Ryan vs. Canton, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Norman
Class C
DC-Lamont vs. Timberlake, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Enid
Seiling vs. Forgan, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Woodward
Know of a player signing?
With signing day coming up Wednesday, The Oklahoman is once again compiling a list of players across the state who have signed to play college athletics at any level.
If you have a signing to report, e-mail it to Ryan Aber at raber@opubco.com ro post it on the comments section here (on the main high school blog at http://blog.newsok.com/highschoolsports )
What are the most impressive streaks in state HS sports?
With Shattuck about to break Morrison’s record of 90 consecutive wins, I’m wondering what are the other streaks in the state that are most impressive?
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
Got a question for Ed Sheakley? Ask it here
I’m going to visit with Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association executive director Ed Sheakley early this week. Do you have a question for him? Leave it as a comment here or e-mail me at raber@opubco.com. I’ll pick a few to ask him and we’ll have his answers this week in The Oklahoman.
Rankings preview, week 2
Got the eight-man rankings added now. 6A, 4A and 2A could get shuffled a bit this afternoon depending on how the games come out.
Class 6A
1. Jenks (2)#2-0
2. Tulsa Union (1)#1-1
3. Broken Arrow (3)#1-1
4. Southmoore (6)#2-0
5. Owasso (4)#1-1
6. Del City (5)#2-0
7. Edmond North (7)#2-0
8. Mustang (8)#1-1
9. Norman North (10)#1-0
10. Midwest City (NR)#1-1
Obviously there could be some changes here by this afternoon depending on the outcome of Edmond North-Mustang but here’s an early look into Class 6A. Jenks and Union just switch spots. Close game, not any real thought to doing anything else. These clearly are the top teams in 6A. I jumped Southmoore ahead of 1-1 Owasso and 2-0 Del City. Gave a lot of thought to the order of those three. I think with Southmoore getting those players eligible this week, they vault into the not-quite-Jenks-or-Union group. Dropped Del City a spot not because of anything the Eagles did or didn’t do against Norman but more because of the Sabercats getting those guys this week. I moved Norman North up a spot since they were up 10-0 on Muskogee when that game was called. Yeah, who knows how it turned out but tonight’s results plus looking at Muskogee’s game last week against Owasso adds up to Midwest City in the rankings and Muskogee on the outside looking in. Lawton is simmering just outside the top 10 after an impressive win over Lawton Mac. PC North is there too. Could see Lawton moving into the top 10 if today’s game is a blowout either way.
Class 5A
1. Tulsa Washington (1)#2-0
2. Carl Albert (2)#1-1
3. El Reno (3)#2-0
4. Shawnee (8)#2-0
5. Tulsa East Central (7)#1-1
6. Lawton MacArthur (6)#1-1
7. Duncan (9)#2-0
8. Ada (10)#2-0
9. Bixby (5)#0-2
10. Tulsa Kelley (NR)#2-0
Very tough to figure out how to rank 5A this week after the top 3. Tulsa Washington beats Tulsa East Central handily after beating Carl Albert handily last week, Carl Albert takes care of Choctaw relatively easily, and El Reno hands Guthrie its first shutout in six years. Shawnee makes the big jump with its 46-19 win over Deer Creek. Tulsa East Central actually jumps up two spots with its loss because Lawton Mac lost to Lawton (I do think Lawton’s a near top 10 team in 6A but comparing East Central’s loss to BTW to Carl Albert’s left me thinking East Central is a top five team. Duncan and Ada move up a couple spots after moving to 2-0 with wins over Ardmore and Durant. Bixby is 0-2 but losing to Jenks and 4A No. 1 Glenpool isn’t anything to be down about. I contemplated leaving Guthrie in at No. 10 but the Bluejays lost to McGuinness last week, and then McGuinness got beat by Tulsa Kelley this week, so the Comets are in the top 10.
Class 4A
1. Glenpool (1)#2-0
2. Sallisaw (3)#2-0
3. Douglass (4)#1-1
4. Broken Bow (2)#1-1
5. Wagoner (7)#2-0
6. Weatherford (8)#2-0
7. McGuinness (5)#1-1
8. Grove (6)#1-1
9. Star Spencer (9)#1-1
10. Poteau (NR)#2-0
Broken Bow drops a couple of places after losing to Class 5A McAlester. Sallisaw and Douglass (for now) are the beneficiaries, though depending on the outcome of Douglass-Millwood later today, that could change. Wagoner and Weatherford move up two spots each after big wins. Grove and McGuinness drop down after losses, though to good teams. Poteau climbs into the rankings after Hilldale knocked off No. 10 Collinsville.
Post Soul Bowl thoughts: Douglass stays where they are. The Trojans defense, despite the bust late, is extremely fast. They gave Kevonte Richardson fits all day. And Antyoun Smith had an excellent game at QB as well. Douglass is going to be all right.
Class 3A
1. Cascia Hall (1)#1-0
2. Tuttle (2)#2-0
3. Sequoyah-Claremore (3)#2-0
4. Clinton (4)#1-1
5. Purcell (5)#2-0
6. Madill (6)#2-0
7. Checotah (7)#2-0
8. Bethany (8)#2-0
9. Metro Christian (9)#2-0
10. Blanchard (10)#2-0
Not a change here as everybody won but No. 1 Cascia Hall and the Commandos didn’t play. Checotah did do a number on rival Eufaula, though, with a 40-0 blowout. No serious threats either, so no change to worry about here.
Class 2A
1. Lincoln Christian (1)#1-1
2. Millwood (2)#1-0
3. Kingfisher (3)#1-1
4. Davis (4)#2-0
5. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (7)#1-0
6. Vian (7)#2-0
7. Heritage Hall (6)#0-2
8. Lexington (9)#2-0
9. Sulphur (10)#1-1
10. Bridge Creek (NR)#1-1
Could be some change at the top here later today depending on what Millwood does. Lincoln lost to a very good Arkansas team so dropping isn’t a given, but if Millwood wins big, I could (well, I will) flip. Sequoyah-Tahlequah also plays tomorrow. Heritage Hall drops another spot after dropping to 0-2 with loss to Weatherford. The Chargers are still going to be good, I believe, but 0-2 is 0-2. They did at least show some offense against a pretty good Weatherford team last night. Chandler drops out. Bridge Creek is the beneficiary, moving into the No. 10 spot with a 70-6 win over Bethel.
Class A
1. Okeene (1)#2-0
2. Tonkawa (2)#2-0
3. Ringling (4)#1-0
4. Hennessey (5)#2-0
5. OCS (6)#2-0
6. Stroud (8)#2-0
7. Commerce (10)#2-0
8. Woodland (7)#0-2
9. Talihina (NR)#2-0
10. Apache (NR)#2-0
Who knows when the last time Morrison wasn’t in the rankings. And I know going from No. 3 to out was pretty harsh but they lost to Barnsdall. Barnsdall was winless last year and I had them ranked No. 76 of 78 in the preaseason. So Morrison’s time in the rankings this time was short. Woodland dropped to 0-2 but stayed second because of the teams they’ve lost to. Apache and Talihina move into the rankings after impressive starts.
Class B
1. Garber (1)#2-0
2. Laverne (2)#2-0
3. Canton (3)#2-0
4. Weleetka (5)#2-0
5. Porter (6)#2-0
6. Depew (7)#1-1
7. Fox (8)#2-0
8. Alex (9)#1-1 LOST to Temple
9. Watts (NR)#2-0
10. Copan (NR)#2-0
There was some shakeup here as No. 4 Davenport and and No. 10 Geary both lost to fall out of the rankings. Davenport’s loss to Kiefer, a team I had No. 19 in the preseason rankings, caused it to drop all the way out. Geary lost to Cherokee, knocking them down a spot from the ranked. The biggest beneficiary was the other ranked team to lose — Alex. Alex was beaten 24-17 to Class C No. 4 Temple. I didn’t hold a loss to another ranked eight-man team against them the way I did Geary and Davenport’s to unranked teams. Watts and Copan join the rankings this week, and Ryan continues to look strong.
Class C
1. Shattuck (1)#2-0
2. Timberlake (2)#2-0
3. Seiling (3)#2-0
4. Temple (4)#1-1
5. Thackerville (7)#1-1 Beat Duke, lost to Fox
6. Covington-Douglas (6)#0-2 Lost to Seiling (12),lost to Garber
7. Deer Creek-Lamont (8)#2-0 Beat Braman, beat Waukomis
8. Corn Bible (9)#2-0 Beat Victory Life, Beat Merritt
9. Waynoka (10)#2-0 Beat Sharon-Mutual, Beat Braman
10. Forgan (NR)#1-1
The top four spots all remain the same as they all win, including Temple, who beat Class B ranked Alex after losing to Ryan last week. Thackerville jumps up a couple spots to five but more for what other teams didn’t do than for what they did. The blew out Duke, which is exactly what was expected of them. Covington-Douglas stays in the same spot despite dropping to 0-2. I still think they’re a No. 6 team, they’ve just had abrutal early schedule that includes Class B No. 1 Garber and Class C No. 3 Seiling. Deer Creek-Lamont, Corn Bible and Waynoka all move up a spot each. Forgan is new to the rankings this week after beating up on Balko. Again, this is more based on what other teams didn’t do. Specifically Buffalo. I didn’t penalize Buffalo last week for losing to Laverne but they took a hit this week with a 34-26 loss to Tyrone. Boise City was also given consideration but they lost to No. 1 Shattuck this week (Although losing to Shattuck 48-24 isn’t anything to be ashamed of).
District previews: Classes 6A-C
If you missed your school’s district football preview, here’s all the links for every district.
District previews: Classes 6A-C
Class 6A
District 6A-1: Lawton’s Sunny Puletasi learns quickly
District 6A-2: D’Juan Brooks stepping up for Edmond Memorial
District 6A-3: Jenks still strong without Jarrett Lake
District 6A-4: Choctaw trying to build tradition
Class 5A
District 5A-1: Coach Tom Cobble says it’s a good time to be in El Reno
District 5A-2: Carl Albert QB J.T. Realmuto could see time on defense
District 5A-3: Tulsa Washington unanimous No. 1
District 5A-4: McAlester poised to rebound; East Central wants more
Class 4A
District 4A-1: McGuinness’ offensive line a concern
District 4A-2: Tecumseh is strong up front
District 4A-3: Home playoff game is Collinsville’s goal
District 4A-4: Broken Bow coach high on Eric Dockins
Class 3A
District 3A-1: Tuttle battling lack of experience
District 3A-2: Madill trio has coach Kerry Roberts looking for big things
District 3A-3: Jody Iams’ Eagles rely on Wing-T
District 3A-4: Metro Christian gains valuable asset in QB Beau Marsaln
Class 2A
District 2A-1: Marc Robinson still growing for Heritage Hall
District 2A-2: Little Axe ready for breakthrough?
District 2A-3: Washington’s Chance Pistole moving to fullback; Bridge Creek rebuilding its line
District 2A-4: Atoka QB commands attention
District 2A-5: Chandler counting on Brandon Cummings
District 2A-6: Toughness key for Valliant
District 2A-7: Verdigris has 15 experienced seniors
District 2A-8: Colcord hoping to build on strong finish
Class A
District A-1: Hennessey avoids logjam at quarterback
District A-2: OCS’ Jack Warren hasn’t forgotten loss
District A-2 notes: Trio vying for QB job at CHA
District A-3: District loaded with talented teams
District A-4: Bray-Doyle deals with adversity
District A-5: Tough three weeks for Stroud
District A-6: Talihina a cut above the rest
District A-7: Morrison ready to reload
District A-7 notes: Barnsdall seniors looking for wins
District A-8: Commerce looks to preserve streak
Class B
District B-1: Could district dominance repeat?
District B-2: Paoli defense is a strength
District B-3: Weightlifting competition inspires OCA
District B-4: Copan’s secret is out
Class C
Shattuck closing in on record win streak
District C-1: Finding running back key for Forgan
District C-2: Aaron Vondrak to lead Thackerville
District C-3: Seiling to turn QB Zach McDonald loose
District C-4: Maud’s Jarrid Resler works way back
Manship a cut above the rest…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Another Saturday, another trio of all-state softball games. This time it was the slowpitch variety at the OU softball complex.
And once again, it was the Small East winning, followed by the Middle West and Large West coming out on top. Pretty conclusive where the power of the respective sides were at this season.
My No. 1 thought after watching all six games: Southeastern got the steal of the state in getting Ali Manship of Harrah.
She is ridiculously good. She showed it last Saturday with her pitching, hitting and base running.
Then two days ago, it was her fielding. She threw out two runners from her knees at shortstop, showing tremendous arm strength.
Her bat was as strong as ever, knocking in four runs on a two-run single and a pair of RBI singles in a 20-3 whipping of the Large East.
I talked to Harrah coach David Shannon around the time of All-City selections, and I’ll never forget what he said about her: “she’d cut your throat if it meant a win.”
Good stuff. The Manship family is not gone from Harrah as Ali’s younger sister, Beth, will be a senior next season. Shannon said Beth’s swing is more natural than Ali. That’s a scary thought.
I focused on Southmoore’s Brittany James because two things: 1. Thought it was interesting for her to leave Moore to go to the first-year school. 2. Wondered what her thoughts were about playing with those Moore and Westmoore girls again.
The MVP was probably Kayla McKinley of Westmoore. She drove in four runs but oddly enough, it was her pitching that raised my eyebrows.
She pitched six of the nine innings and only gave up one run. More importantly (well, to me), she threw so many strikes that the game flew right on by.
It was a Moore (and Westmoore) thing. Leslie Martini of Moore missed a HR by inches and had to settle for a two-run 3B. WM’s Taylir Ross had a two-run double.
Jay’s Samantha Robertson had the biggest blast of the game, a solo home run that was gone as soon as it hit the bat. It didn’t clear the bleachers, but it was pretty high up there.
In the middle contest, it was a Morrison thing as Adrian Henington, Meagan Wright and Megan Snowden drove in five of the 13 runs in a 13-9 win.
Henington had the big blast. Other than that, it was simply playing station to station as Washington’s Taylor Hancock and Caitlyn Marcum, Fletcher’s Lauren Whitefeather, Hobart’s Jamie Bingham, Wayne’s Amara Martin and Healdton’s Andrea Pemberton all had RBI singles.
Rachelle Reeve knocked one out of the park for the East.
The small version was just the opposite as the East put it on the West good, 14-7.
Cameron’s Kenetta Vickery had a home run while Red Oak’s Sarah Mauzey and Cayce Coleman each brought home a couple of runs. Tupelo’s Josie Soukup had two hits, including a triple.
Bethel athletic director and longtime softball coach Tommy Block was one of two coaches to be inducted into the Oklahoma Slowpitch Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as well.
Prague’s David Smith was also honored. He led Prague to a state championship in 1994 and was inducted into the hall of fame for fastpitch in 2002.
The OSSCA also named its coaches of the year. Moore’s Robert Wakefield received the large schools honor. He led Moore to the semifinals.
Paul Watts of Rattan earned the middle schools award while Bobby Sifers of Moss was named for the small schools.
Morrison looks good, but next year could be rough
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
MORRISON — Morrison could very well win the Class A championship, thus adding to an illustrious football history.
But next year could be a different story.
The Wildcats are graduating 12 seniors, which represents roughly 37 percent of its team. And Morrison only has two juniors on its roster this year — tight end Kyle Dotter and running back Elam Cronquist.
Cronquist got some carries late in Saturday’s 48-10 quarterfinal rout of Christian Heritage. He carried the ball 4 times and finished with minus-1 yards.
This team is senior dominated — both in numbers and talent. Quarterback Shawn Walls throws a beautiful ball, and running backs Cale James and Joey Quinata were impressive in the win over Christian Heritage.
Joey’s little brother, Dylon Quinata, could be the future of Morrison football. He is just a freshman, but in Saturday’s game, the RB/SS had 3 sacks, had a 42-yard run and caught a touchdown from Walls. Quinata took a few snaps late in the game, so it’s possible that he takes over under center for Walls next season.
The quarterback position will be the toughest one to fill for Morrison, so if Dylon Quinata can step in, that would be huge in the transition from these 12 seniors. There are no other quarterbacks listed on Morrison’s roster, so unless there is a stud 8th grader, Dylon or someone else will have to step up.
But, that is all in the future. What’s important right now is that Morrison looks very, very tough. The Wildcat defense gave up just 44 yards on the ground and swarmed Christian Heritage quarterback Grant Lindsey all game. It will be very interesting next week, when Morrison faces Hennessey and electric running back Auggey McCulley.
CHA at Morrison — Does homefield advantage matter?
By Jason Kersey
jkersey@opubco.com
Christian Heritage and Morrison play Saturday afternoon, continuing the teams’ epic series that (still) hasn’t taken a year off.
For more information on that, check out Ryan Aber’s column from Monday’s paper.
The game is at Morrison, which is a big advantage for the Wildcats. The current players have never lost a game at home.
“We’re excited we get to play this game at home,” Morrison coach Cory Bales said. “It’s big that we’re playing at a place that this group of seniors has never lost. Psychologically, that comes into play.”
Christian Heritage coach John Merrell said: “I would rather have it at home, but once the game starts that stuff isn’t even on the radar. I just concentrate on the game. Maybe to the players, it matters a little, but it doesn’t to me.”
