Sanders, who spent the past season at Siloam Springs, Ark., said he signed the contract Friday afternoon to replace former coach Theresa Johnston, but has yet to meet with next season’s team at Newcastle.

A major factor in Sanders deciding to return to Oklahoma is that he felt homesick.

“I got a great team coming back,” Sanders said. “I’ve got all of my starters coming back here at Siloam, but it’s just a deal where I want to get back home. It just didn’t feel right being away from all of my family.

“I’ve always liked the town of Newcastle, the surroundings, where it’s located and I hope that I can stay there. It’s not a place where I want to go and move away. I’m coming hoping I can get a program going and establish something.”

Sanders, 53, last coached at Cache, where he guided the Bulldogs to an undefeated season and Class 4A championship in 2010 and a runner-up finish in 2011. Before that, he coached at Anadarko where he guided the Warriors to a Class 4A title in 2005.

Now, he’s hoping he can bring that success to Newcastle, which lost to Elgin in the Class 4A area tournament.

“I want to win wherever I go — not that I can — but I hope that I do,” Sanders said.

“I want to win this year. I haven’t seen them play or nothing. I hope we can get things going right away.”

Sanders retired when he left Cache following the 2011 season. His wife, Robbin, will also be an assistant principal and counselor at Newcastle.

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

Newcastle's new fieldhouse at Racer Stadium.

NEWCASTLE — We are up to No. 3 in our rankings of Oklahoma City-area high school football stadiums, and this is a stadium I’m quite familiar with.

I’ve seen lots of games in Racer Stadium, and it is certainly a unique place to watch a high school football contest.

The checkered endzones. The pregame pageantry with the race car.

I covered Newcastle football for a season for the Newcastle Pacer before coming to The Oklahoman in 2006. But when I went back on September 9 for the Tuttle-Newcastle game, it was like I was at a different stadium.

Newcastle has added artificial turf and state-of-the-art facilities. I was lucky enough to get a tour of their new two-story fieldhouse before the game, and it was very impressive. A fantastic weight room, nice new offices and even a room that can be rented out for parties by the community.

The stadium itself may not be the fanciest around, but there sure is a lot that makes it unique. And there has been lots of great football placed on that field.

How to get there from downtown Oklahoma City: Take I-40 westbound to I-44. Take I-44 west and exit on Highway 62 towards Newcastle. Continue about three miles and Newcastle High School is on the right.

Remaining home schedule: The Racers’ only remaining home game in 2011 is Thursday against John Marshall. Newcastle wraps up its season at Bethany in Week 10.

Blake Woodard, Newcastle senior quarterback

NEWCASTLE — I’ll be at tonight’s Tuttle-Newcastle game, and I can’t wait.

The Racers’ and Tigers’ annual battle is one of the top rivalries in the Oklahoma City area, and it’s also a game I’m familiar with.

Before I came to work for The Oklahoman, I covered high school football for a season at the Newcastle Pacer. I came to know the passion that the tri-city area has for its high school sports, and the passion that Newcastle and Tuttle residents have for this rivalry.

A couple years ago, I wrote a series of blogs about the rivalry. I talked to several former players, including Jason White, who starred at Tuttle before going on to win the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma.

“It’s a lot like, on a different scale, OU-Texas,” White said. “Both Tuttle and Newcastle are really good teams, so there’s a lot at stake. There’s also the bragging rights factor; if you lose to Newcastle, you have to listen to it for a whole year before you get a chance to redeem yourself.”

Tuttle hasn’t had to listen to Newcastle talk about football for quite some time. The Tigers have won the past seven meetings, but this year the Racers have confidence that the streak can be broken.

“Tuttle has had our number for quite some time, but I think this year is the year that we can beat them,” Blake Woodard, the Racers’ senior quarterback, said before the season.

For its part, Tuttle is quite confident, too.

“It’s just something you want to win so you can have the bragging rights for the rest of the year,” senior running back D.J. Boles said. “Every year of my high school career, we’ve won. I don’t know what it’s like to lose to them, and I don’t want to know.”

Boles rushed for three touchdowns in the Tigers’ 46-0, Week 1 win over Cache, and Woodard and the Racers snuck by Pauls Valley 14-13.

PREDICTION TIME
This was a tough game to pick for me, because I could see it going either way. But in the end, I think Tuttle makes it eight in a row. Tuttle 24, Newcastle 14

“It was an awesome feeling,” Boles said.

But Boles and the Tigers can’t relish the win for long. They travel to face archrival Newcastle on Friday. The Tigers have beaten the Racers seven straight years.

“It’s just something you want to win so you can have the bragging rights for the rest of the year,” Boles said. “Every year of my high school career we’ve won. I don’t know what it’s like to lose to them, and I don’t want to know.”

The game is at Newcastle, and I’ll be there to cover it on Friday.