The Oklahoma City Area Baseball Coaches Association will play its annual all-star game at 6 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Field at Dolese Park.

An all-star team made up from these two rosters will play a Tulsa-area all-star team in a doubleheader at noon Saturday at Bishop McGuinness. OCS’ Ken McQueen and Tecumseh’s Chad Trahan will coach the Oklahoma City team.

NORTH
Starters
Pitchers: Brock Stuber, Piedmont; Parker Rigler, Edmond Memorial; Kyle Stephens, Edmond North
Catchers: Mike Hale, Putnam City North; Jon Denney, Yukon
First baseman: Cody Daylor, Edmond North
Second baseman: Daniel Costello, Edmond Santa Fe
Third baseman: Bryan Dutton, Guthrie
Shortstop: Dalen Edgar, Piedmont
Outfielders: Landon Eason, Yukon; Jack Hale, Edmond Memorial; Cole Lindley, Deer Creek
Utility: Austin Brooks, OCS
Desgnated hitter: Jacob Jerome, Edmond Santa Fe

Reserves: Chiante’ McKee, Star Spencer; Bradley Fitch, Bishop McGuinness; Reed Brooks, Putnam City; Jonathan Sergent, Classen

Coaches: Ken McQueen, OCS; Kory Williams, Piedmont

SOUTH
Starters
Pitchers: Alexander Svetgoff, Westmoore; Gage Trahan, Tecumseh; Nick Ward, Southmoore
Catchers: Lane Paul, Tuttle; Cameron Knight, Westmoore
First baseman: Dylan Mauk, Blanchard
Second baseman: Daniel Herron, Norman North
Third baseman: DJ Gasso, Norman North
Shortstop: Tre Edwards, Southmoore
Outfielders: Chevin Noone, Carl Albert; Hunter Heath, Bethel; Quade Nelson, Blanchard
Utility: Damion Orr, Midwest City
Designated hitter: Joel Davis, Midwest City

Reserves: Cooper Owens, Putnam City West; Colin Webb, Moore; Matt Foster, Norman; Casey Bowlan, Shawnee; Jovanny Hernandez, U.S. Grant; Zack Howry, Capitol Hill; Landon Vodka, Mustang.

Coaches: Chad Trahan, Tecumseh; Travis Owen, Tuttle

Oklahoma Christian School coach Derek Turner not only was impressed with his club in Friday night’s 55-32 Class 2A semifinal win over Frederick, he also was impressed with the support his team received.

Saints fans gave their football team a big sendoff Friday afternoon from the Edmond school and kept showing their enthusiasm all the way to Weatherford.

“We left and they had a procession of people for us all the way out to the bus through the campus. We went though every building,” Turner said.

“When we drove out, they had people at intersections from Oklahoma City all the way out here (Weatherford). About every 10 miles or so there would be fans on overpasses on I-40 with signs, holding them up and cheering for us.

“When we got off the highway there were probably 25 or 30 people with banners. And then they all came and had a giant cookout. Half of these people were (in Weatherford) at 3:30 (Friday) afternoon.”

Saints fans are planning a similar escort for the team Saturday on the drive to Stillwater for OCS’ state championship game against Davis.

“I-35 is a little too dangerous to do it, so they are going to do it on (SH) 51,” Turner said.

All right, so here’s the weekly rankings explanation/discussion. Class 6A was once again the toughest, although there were plenty of other interesting choices along the way.

CLASS 6A
1. Tulsa Union (3)#4-2
2. Jenks (5)#4-2
3. Broken Arrow (4)#3-3
4. Edmond North (2)#6-0
5. Owasso (6)#3-2
6. Edmond Santa Fe (7)#5-1
7. Sand Springs (9)#6-0
8. Southmoore (10)#5-1
9. Lawton (1)#5-1
10. Norman North (NR)#5-1

This is one I had to deconstruct completely yet again after the weekend’s results that included Southmoore’s win over Lawton, Putnam City’s win over Westmoore and Edmond North escaping against a now 1-5 Yukon team. I thought it would happen a few weeks ago and it has–Union is the best team in 6A again. The Redskins loss to Owasso looks like the bump in the road that it was last year as Union rolled to another title. Sand Springs gets a big test this week when it plays Union. Play the Redskins tight–even in a loss–and the Sandites move up next week. A win in that game and I’ll vault Sand Springs to No. 1.

CLASS 5A
1. Guthrie (1)#6-0
2. Tulsa East Central (2)#2-4
3. Deer Creek (3)#6-0
4. Bishop McGuinness (4)#6-0
5. Tulsa Kelley (5)#4-2
6. Claremore (6)#5-1
7. Coweta (7)#4-2
8. Del City (8)#4-2
9. Lawton MacArthur (9)#4-2
10. Tulsa Memorial (10)#6-0
*Tulsa East Central forfeited four wins.

This one wasn’t too difficult was Claremore’s 20-19 loss to Tulsa East Central was the only loss in the top 10. Claremore stays above Coweta and Del City because their game against East Central was closer. Claremore-Coweta, though, will get sorted out soon enough as the teams face off Oct. 26.

CLASS 4A
1. Wagoner (1)#5-1
2. Cascia Hall (3)#6-0
3. Anadarko (6)#6-0
4. Ada (4)#6-0
5. Clinton (2)#4-2
6. Douglass (5)#4-2
7. Sallisaw (7)#4-2
8. Fort Gibson (8)#6-0
9. Cleveland (9)#6-0
10. Catoosa (NR)#3-3

Anadarko’s big performance deserved to be noticed, and the Warriors move up three places to No. 3, ahead of Ada, Clinton and Douglass. The only other shuffle came in the final spot as Catoosa slips in ahead of Broken Bow and Poteau. Catoosa beat a ranked opponent (Tulsa McLain) and a few weeks ago nearly knocked off Fort Gibson. That puts Catoosa in even against teams with better records.

CLASS 3A
1. Kingfisher (1)#6-0
2. Tuttle (2)#6-0
3. Berryhill (3)#6-0
4. Seminole (4)#5-0
5. Blanchard (5)#6-0
6. Metro Christian (6)#5-1
7. Victory Christian (7)#6-0
8. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (8)#5-1
9. Verdigris (9)#5-1
10. Cushing (10)#5-1

Nice and easy yet again: Everyone wins.

CLASS 2A
1. Vian (2)#6-0
2. Davis (3)#6-0
3. Frederick (4)#6-0
4. OCS (7)#5-1
5. Millwood (1)#5-1
6. Hennessey (5)#4-2
7. Stroud (6)#5-1
8. Adair (9)#6-0
9. Lindsay (8)#4-2
10. Commerce (10)#5-1

The big mover on the positive side was OCS, who knocked off top-ranked Millwood. The Saints’ only loss so far is to Class 3A Jones. Millwood drops to No. 5, just behind OCS. I also flipped Adair and Lindsay after taking in the totality of their seasons to this point.

CLASS A
1. Wynnewood (1)#5-0
2. Wayne (2)#6-0
3. Thomas (3)#6-0
4. Ringling (4)#4-1
5. Texhoma (5)#5-0
6. Fairview (NR)#6-0
7. Cashion (6)#6-0
8. Crescent (7)#6-0
9. Kiefer (8)#6-0
10. Morrison (9)#5-1

None of the teams in the top 10 lost but I promised a reader I’d break down and reassess this class so I did. What I found, for the most part, is that I liked where I had teams. I feel comfortable in Ringling where they are with their one loss (to Davis) and Morrison with theirs (to Alva). I was OK leaving off Empire, Savanna, Talihina, Warner and Summit Christian even with undefeated records. But going over the rankings and results of the first six weeks, I couldn’t ignore what Fairview has done. Friday, they beat Hooker 71-18. So far, they’ve outscored opponents 303-56. Fairview played three opponents that other top 10 teams had played this year and the matchups were favorable for Fairview. It beat Pioneer 63-8 while Cashion beat Pioneer 52-20. It beat Okeene 49-6 while Cashion won 27-20 and Thomas won 26-6. And finally, it beat Hooker 71-18 on Friday, while Hollis won 45-21. I don’t always matchup scores like that because there are a number of factors that could skew things, but when you’re looking at that many games, I couldn’t ignore it. So Farview goes in at No. 10 while Hollis is the unlucky team to slip.

CLASS B
1. Laverne (1)#6-0
2. Wetumka (2)#6-0
3. Pond Creek-Hunter (3)#6-0
4. Fox (6)#6-0
5. Dewar (4)#5-1
6. Garber (5)#5-1
7. Davenport (7)#4-2
8. Rejoice Christian (8)#5-1
9. Covington-Douglas (9)#4-2
10. Alex (10)#5-1

Garber and Dewar both got beat, but they got beat by teams ranked above them. Fox leap-frogged the pair but everything else remains constant.

CLASS C
1. Tipton (1)#6-0
2. Cherokee (2)#6-0
3. Forgan (3)#5-0
4. Ryan (4)#6-0
5. Sharon-Mutual (5)#5-1
6. Thackerville (7)#4-1
7. Webbers Falls (8)#4-1
8. Maud (9)#4-1
9. Balko (10)#5-1
10. Temple (NR)#3-3

Things were just fine until Wesleyan Christian beat No. 6 Deer Creek-Lamont. The next four just move up one spot, but the No. 10 position gave me a bit of heartburn. Deer Creek-Lamont? It just lost to Wesleyan Christian by 22. Wesleyan Christian? It lost to Bluejacket by 36 just last week. Bluejacket? It lost to Deer Creek-Lamont by 16 a couple weeks ago. So welcome to the rankings Temple. Temple has three losses but they came to Class B No. 4 Fox, Class C No. 1 Tipton and No. 4 Ryan (30-20, Tipton’s closest game all season by 10 points).

OKLAHOMA TENNIS COACHES RANKING
CLASS 6A
Boys
1. Edmond North
2. Jenks
3. Tulsa Union
4. Edmond Memorial
5. Broken Arrow
6. Tulsa Kelley
7. McGuinness
8. Enid
9. Muskogee
10. Edmond Santa Fe

Girls
1. Jenks
2. Edmond North
3. Enid
4. Edmond Memorial
5. Tulsa Kelley
6. Broken Arrow
7. Tulsa Union
8. McGuinness
9. Bixby
10. Owasso

CLASS 5A
Boys
1. Metro Christian
2. Heritage Hall
3. Carl Albert
4. Oklahoma Christian
5. Cascia Hall
6. McAlester
7. Shawnee
8. Durant
9. Duncan
10. Ardmore

Girls
1. Duncan
2. Heritage Hall
3. Cascia Hall
4. Tulsa Washington
5. Tahlequah
6. Ardmore
7. Deer Creek
8. Carl Albert
9. Shawnee
10. Altus

CLASS 4A
Boys
1. Anadarko
2. Ada
3. Henryetta
4. Byng
5. Clinton
6. Elk City
7. Oologah
8. St. Mary
9. Seminole
10. Okmulgee

Girls
1. Ada
2. Metro Christian
3. Elk City
4. Perry
5. Midway  
6. Byng
7. Beaver
8. Seminole
9. Oklahoma Christian
10. Anadarko

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.”

Edmond Santa Fe sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen is the 2011 All-Edmond Offensive Player of the Year. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — I have planned on putting together an All-Edmond football team for some time, but, for a variety of reasons, am just now getting to publishing it on the blog.

This was an extremely difficult team to put together because so many teams in Edmond had such terrific seasons. Edmond Santa Fe is obviously the team that stole most of the headlines because of its amazing turnaround from 1-9 to 10-2 and District 6A-2 champion, but Edmond North made a quarterfinal run and almost knocked off eventual state champion Tulsa Union at its place.

Deer Creek put up impressive offensive numbers and had some defensive standouts as well. Oklahoma Christian School is also well represented on this team.

And even though Edmond Memorial had a down year and missed the playoffs, the Bulldogs still had players like linebacker Matt Hickman and lineman John Scheihing that deserved recognition.

I apologize for this coming out so much later than the rest of our football postseason stuff. But here it is:

All-Edmond team
Offense
QB — Justice Hansen, Edmond Santa Fe
RB — Brennan Miyake, Deer Creek
RB — Jarion Tudman, Edmond North
WR — Hunter Dinkines, Deer Creek
WR — Tre Kelley, Edmond Santa Fe
TE — Troy Davis, Edmond North
OL — Nick Lovelace, Oklahoma Christian School
OL — Heath Newland, Edmond North
OL — Cole Parsons, Edmond North
OL — Chad Reitz, Edmond Santa Fe
OL — John Scheihing, Edmond Memorial

Defense
DL — Nolan Boyd, Deer Creek
DL — Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
DL — Michael Onuoha, Edmond Santa Fe
LB — Matt Hickman, Edmond Memorial
LB — Clyde Jasper, Oklahoma Christian School
LB — Brynden Pitzer, Edmond North
LB — Kooper Ruminer, Deer Creek
DB — Conner Bays, Edmond Santa Fe
DB — Christian Contreras, Edmond North
DB — Khari Harding, Edmond Santa Fe
DB — Logan Magill, Oklahoma Christian School

Special teams
K — Keegan Carter, Oklahoma Christian School
P — Camden Bohnert, Edmond North
KR — Trevan Smith, Edmond Santa Fe

Offensive Player of the Year: Justice Hansen, Edmond Santa Fe
Defensive Player of the Year: Brynden Pitzer, Edmond North
Coach of the Year: Lance Manning, Edmond Santa Fe

Second team
Offense
QB — Joel Blumenthal, Deer Creek
RB — Zak Anderson, Oklahoma Christian School
RB — Jared Benway, Edmond North
RB — Phillip Sumpter, Edmond Santa Fe
WR — Dale Jefferson, Edmond Santa Fe
WR — Garrett Molinsky, Edmond North
OL — Allston Hadley, Edmond Santa Fe
OL — Taylor Myers, Oklahoma Christian School
OL — Brandon Roberts, Edmond Santa Fe
OL — Will Wiedenmann, Edmond North
OL — Mac Wilsey, Edmond Memorial

Defense
DL — Chris Carter, Edmond Santa Fe
DL — Clint Edgeman, Deer Creek
DL — Russell Sivard, Edmond North
DL — Ian Smith, Deer Creek
LB — Ragan Land, Edmond North
LB — Austin Loomis, Deer Creek
LB — Jerremy Moore, Edmond Santa Fe
DB — Zach Birts, Edmond Santa Fe
DB — Luke Frankfort, Oklahoma Christian School
DB — Christian Peterson, Edmond North
DB — Caden Sander, Deer Creek

Special teams
K — Ken Bingham, Edmond North
P — Matt Freeman, Edmond Santa Fe
KR — Ottugo Ananaba, Deer Creek

Hennessey and Jones are pretty clear 1-2. Stroud and Millwood are virtually interchangeable but Millwood’s wins are a bit more impressive with the Falcons beating former No. 1 Davis and Lincoln Christian in the playoffs. Davis drops to No. 5 with its only losses coming to Heritage Hall and Millwood. Vian, which lost to eventual state champ Hennessey, 18-7, on the road, drops two spots to No. 4 while Lincoln Christian holds at No. 7. Lindsay, a semifinalist, checks in at No. 8. Lindsay was flat blown out by Jones, 63-6, on a neutral field and had a favorable draw to reach the spot with much of the class’ powers concentrated on the top part of the bracket. Frederick and OCS, two teams Lindsay did beat, remain No. 9 and 10.

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.

Junior quarterback Austin Brooks and OCS will host Heritage Hall in a scrimmage tonight. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

A big scrimmage is tonight in Edmond, as Heritage Hall and all its star power travels to take on Class 2A’s Oklahoma Christian School, which was 4-7 last year but returns lots of younger, but experienced, talent.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: OCS
Coach Derek Turner’s Saints return 16 starters — including nine on defense — from last year’s squad.

Junior quarterback Austin Brooks (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) is a player to watch for the Saints. He started last year as a sophomore when senior quarterback Jack Warren went down injured and gained good experience.

The OCS receivers took it upon themselves to improve this summer after a dreadful 7-on-7 camp in early June, during which Turner said they “dropped every other pass.” But when the same group arrived for two-a-days, their hands were much improved after hard work all summer with Brooks.

Senior wideout Logan Magill (6-2, 185) had 416 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Turner has cited the offensive line as a key unit for his team in 2011. The line returns three starters: Seniors Taylor Myers (6-4, 220) and Nick Lovelace (6-0, 250), and junior Jason Goff (6-6, 285).

The Saints’ leading returning rusher is senior Zak Anderson (5-11, 160 pounds). He ran for 257 yards and two touchdowns in 2010.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: HERITAGE HALL

If you’re coming to the scrimmage and expect to see OU commit Sterling Shepard catching passes, think again.

Shepard will play quarterback again this week while starter Quinn Shanbour awaits eligibility.

Shanbour will man the second-team offense, like he did last week against Holland Hall.

Running back Barry J. Sanders is obviously a player to watch. The big-time recruit had a huge scrimmage last week — Shanbour said his “shortest” carry was for about 11 yards.

But also watch for senior TE/DT Quintaz Struble (6-3, 240). Struble is another D-1 recruit who had 104 tackles and 15 sacks last season. That OCS offensive line will be tested in a big way with Struble and senior Markus Wakefield (6-1, 280), another D-1 prospect who also had 15 sacks in 2010.

Back to the topic, the different format for the final day of the camp kinda makes doing scrimmage-by-scrimmage reports pointless. There were so many. If you saw me, I was basically anchored on the 50 yard line and kept my head on a swivel between the two fields.

Midwest City
Bombers had highlight of the day for me. In a hotly contested battle with Stillwater, the Bombers used some of that Bomber Magic on the final play.

Quarterback Ronnie Davis gave it to Cornell Neal, who chucked it into the end zone to Zeke Lewis for the scrimmage-winning score. What made the play, really, was the fact Midwest City got the snap off with 1 second left in the 10-minute scrimmage. But the snap did count.

If you ask me, Stillwater was the darling of this camp. Stillwater opened people’s eyes all three days. However, Midwest City also showed it’s still among the best. And though early indications are that Stillwater is going to be a player this season, the Bombers showed they’re not going away anytime soon, either.

Second highlight of the day: Ricky Reeves of Midwest City one-on-one against Stillwater’s Jesse Vester. How’s that for an early June battle between two of the best athletes in the state?

Stillwater
Like I said, no team impressed me more. Got a chance to talk with Jesse Vester and Jerame Littell during those first two days. Had a good chat with coach Tucker Barnard on this final day. I won’t spoil it because I’m writing a big Stillwater story for Monday’s paper. How’s that for a tease?

Bishop McGuinness
Irish were learning on the job in this camp, said coach Justin Jones. Not only are coach and players still trying to adjust to everything, but the Irish had maybe the least amount of practices coming into the event. Jones said because of dead week during finals, the Irish only had six practices. Or as he put it, ‘three offensive practices and three defensive practices.’ I’m not sold on the McGuinness offense yet, but ya gotta love that defense, especially those linebackers.

Deer Creek
Getting off the mat to finish the job. In a scrimmage against, ooh, I wanna say Stillwater, QB Joel Blumenthal tweaked his ankle on the final play. In the ensuing scrimmage against Bixby, Blumenthal found Hunter Dinkines for a touchdown on the final play. Came away really impressed with Brennan Miyake. He’s already a big boy. Deer Creek was missing some key linemen and had to battle 6A teams for those three days so not going to be too harsh. Coach Grant Gower was extremely pleased and that’s good enough for me.

Norman North
Enjoyed seeing Bryan Payne do his thing. He’s a little dude, but he’s got some game in him. Between him, Emilio Gatewood and Raymond Demby, that was a nice set of backs last year. Payne looks like he’ll have to be the man, but if he can endure the punishment, that’s OK. Coach Wade Standley said it was just Day 12 of the team and him together so like most coaches at this point, happy to get some good reps in.

Edmond North
I really like Luke Hoskins. I’m not sure how the X-and-Os battle is going between Jesse Mathews and Hoskins, but Hoskins has looked good. Also glad to see Jared Benway take some big shots and bounce back up. Really hope Benway can stay healthy. Jarion Tudman was also back in action Friday after being banged up Wednesday. This is another team that I’ll see a lot more of in the future so I didn’t critique the Huskies too much.

OCS
A lot of the names I’ve grown to love with the Saints are gone, but coach Derek Turner is extremely excited about this group. He admits they’re a young squad, but he said the talent in the freshman/sophomore class is some top notch stuff. Hope to see more of the Saints this summer.

- Edmond Santa Fe wasn’t there on the final day. That’s alright, know there will be plenty of other times I’ll catch up with Lance Manning and company…Little Axe coach Ted Dorrell is excited to be a head coach again, that’s for sure. The Indians took a big hit via graduation, but Dorrell has some real fire…McLoud coach Eric Cardin said his team is young, but a camp like this always helps out. Realistically, Redskins are one year away, but Cardin is pumped for the future…Didn’t get to meet with Tecumseh coach Greg George too long. He said he loved the camp, best camp his team goes to. Savages did OK from the action I saw.

- Some of these same teams are out at Boone Pickens on Saturday for the Red Bull Game Breakers. I won’t be there, but I have ‘correspondents’ who will fill me in.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Here is Wilson Holloway in 2006 posing for The Oklahoman's All-State football team. Holloway died Wednesday. He was 22.

A memorial candlelight service for Wilson Holloway will be at 6 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma Christian School.

Holloway died Wednesday afternoon after nearly a three-year battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 22.

Holloway was a football standout at OCS and at Tulsa. People are being asked to bring as many candles, pictures and flowers as possible to honor Holloway’s memory.

***

For more on Holloway, here is Ryan Aber’s story from Thursday’s paper. RIP Wilson, Just Keep Smiling!

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

And if that’s the case, then it’s back to the hardwood with a full slate of games. I’ll admit that on paper, this doesn’t look like the most intriguing night of ball ever, but it should be interesting.

Still waiting on word about Tuesday’s games. That was a loaded schedule on both the boys and girls sides. Like I said before, just gonna be real tough to find a way to schedule these so close to the stretch run.

Back to Friday, there are a couple of big games to keep tabs on, but overall I’ll be looking for that whole rust vs. rest concept.

A lot of coaches felt this delay couldn’t have happened at a better time as a lot of the kids were sick in the last week. Not many teams were at full strength. A week later everybody should be good to go.

But it’s also been a week of no playing at all. Numerous kids on Facebook were expressing that cabin fever. “I need a gym now.”

Here are some of the top girls games Friday:

Millwood at Star Spencer
Ah, always good to see the longtime rivals go at it. Millwood has been every bit as good as anticipated. Great balance in terms of guard play and post presence. Love watching Teanna Reid play. Star is more than Sharane Campbell, but the Oklahoma signee is another player worth the price of admission.

Shawnee at Carl Albert
Don’t know if anybody is paying attention to the Wolves, but all they do is win. In fact, one of those wins was against the Titans in a 25-19 struggle. Micaela Yu came up big in a road win at Harrah last week. CA, led by sophomore Gioya Carter, is on a bit of a slide. Perhaps that week off did the team some good.

Choctaw at Edmond Santa Fe
Can you prove you’re for real in a loss? I thought that’s what Choctaw did in losing a competitive battle against Edmond North last Friday. I’m thinking about checking this one out myself. Santa Fe is still undefeated but doesn’t always look like it’s clicking on all cylinders.

Mt. St. Mary’s at OCS
I’m interested in seeing what makes this MSM team so good. I don’t know if OCS is the right gauge, but I’ve seen the Saints enough and know that with Dani Childress and Jordan Gooch, they’re never an easy out. The Rockets only have two losses but also (according to OKRankings) don’t have a win against a top-20 team.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Boys
McGuinness JV 55, Star Spencer 54 – seventh place
OCS 74, Western Heights 72 – fifth place
Deer Creek 53, Enid 31 – third place
Mustang 72, Putnam North 64 – championship

Ahh, so that’s why Mustang is good. I said Sunday that neither myself nor Scott Wright had seen why the Mustang boys were getting so much respect.

Monday night I found out why. They do the little things. Especially Jacob Strassle and Zac Grismer – they do the dirty work necessary to earn the tough victories.

Any 50/50 ball last night went to the Broncos, no doubt about it. Putnam North made a nice run to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, but Mustang deserved this win.

I still don’t think Mustang has the greatest perimeter shooting team out there. But it doesn’t have to be if you execute in the other parts of the game, which is exactly what Alan Green’s boys do.

Another good game from PCN’s Armon Provo and Joe Summers. And with the Panthers going east, I could definitely see this team making the state tournament.

Mustang also made its free throws to get rid of any drama. David Glidden was 7 of 8 alone in the fourth quarter. Well played game.

Deer Creek 53, Enid 31

Nice statement by the Antlers here. A well-balanced effort sparked by the post players to earn this victory.

Josh Fields and Anthony Clark are both just juniors and the last two games they both looked good. This team has to be more than Garrett Hermanski, and it is so intrigued to see what happens against Piedmont and Carl Albert later this week.

After Alex Patterson went down, seemed like Enid was a little deflated.

OCS 74, Western Heights 72

Ah, the most fun game of the day. It was all Jack Warren of OCS and Alton Whittaker of Western Heights.

Then in the second half, it was all T.J. Holland of OCS and Western Heights’ Kenneth Mayfield. Warren and Holland – 51 points. Mayfield and Whittaker – 54 points.

Mayfield went nuts in the fourth quarter. He scored 23 points and shot the lights out. He made a three and Deer Creek’s Grant Gower was trying to announce it when the lights went out.

Almost a huge comeback by Western Heights who were down 65-51 midway through the fourth.

Warren had 27 with 19 in the first half. Holland had 24 with 18 in the second half.

OCS didn’t play McGuinness JV as I thought because no matter what, the Irish were going to play in losers’ games. They understood that and were fine with it. Even if McGuinness JV had beaten Mustang on Friday, Mustang would have advanced. For what it’s worth, the JV team went 2-1 and beat Star Spencer on Monday.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Girls
OCS 52, PC West 45 – seventh place
Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50 – fifth place
Enid 40, Star Spencer 30 – third place
Putnam North 44, McGuinness 42 – championship

There it is. Putnam North making me look stupid.

Going into the championship, I thought the Irish were going to handle the Panthers. But by the end of the first quarter, knew differently.

Was a little worried for Putnam North after Joh’Vonna Mitchell picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, but Kelsey Abraham kept the team rolling in the first half and rightfully earned the MVP honors of the tournament.

Likewise, that was the best game I’ve seen from McGuinness’ Caroline Cameron, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the first half to keep the Irish within striking distance.

Rae Rae Brannon came up huge in the second half for PCN, scoring all 12 of her points after halftime.

Tremendous atmosphere in a game that pitted two non-hosting teams in a tournament final. Great battle down the stretch. And while last year Putnam North didn’t make that final basket, this year, yep, Mitchell did it.

Enid 40, Star Spencer 30

Seriously, Enid fans are lucky to get to watch Courtney Chelf every single game. She is something special. She had 13 of the team’s 15 points at halftime.

In the second half, more Pacers got involved and Enid really took control. Kept waiting for that Star Spencer run, just wasn’t in the cards this time around.

Enid’s a solid team, but solid won’t get the job done in 6A girls competition. Gonna be a dog fight in the next month for those state berths.

Deer Creek 53, Western Heights 50

The Antlers are coming around. You look at that lineup and see a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, but it’s coming together.

Sophomore Alexa Adair looks so much more confident than she did back in December. This team is learning to win the close games, and I think they’re right back in the hunt for a state berth.

Bayli Blanchard is doing a good job in the post, and it was a good battle between Blanchard and Western Heights’ star Dilan Webster.

The Jets made a big comeback in the fourth and took a 50-49 lead, but Adair hit four free throws in the final minute to earn the win.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Seventh place: McGuinness JV vs. Star Spencer, 11:30 a.m.
Fifth place: Western Heights vs. OCS, 2:30
Third place: Deer Creek vs. Enid, 5:30
Championship: Mustang vs. Putnam North, 8:30

I felt Deer Creek would have to play a near perfect game to beat Putnam North. The Antlers didn’t, and the Panthers cruised in the fourth quarter to a 69-53 victory.

I have never seen Garrett Hermanski bottled up like that. PCN’s Armon Provo, an explosive scorer in his own right, put the clamps on one of the best juniors in the state. Provo frustrated Hermanski, was extremely physical with him and never let Hermanski get into that groove.

Hermanski had five points at halftime and nine points total. Great job by Provo.

If it was Provo on defense, then it was the Joe Summers show on offense. He hit three 3s in the first half that really set the tone for his game. Antlers had to come out and guard him, and he’s too strong off the dribble.

It was interesting because Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett is a really talented player. However, the size of Summers was something he simply could not deal with it. Burnett still managed to have a really good game, but it was a clear difference of 5A and 6A in terms of the size there.

In contrast, the Panthers learned why the Deer Creek community goes ga-ga over sophomore Joel Blumenthal. He was trying to put the team on his back in the third quarter. He scored 11 points, including connecting on three 3s to pull the game within 41-38. However, all runs must come to an end, and Deer Creek couldn’t muster a response after JR Simon hit a three-point play and Provo drained a 3 at the end of the third to make it 50-42.

Mustang 46, Enid 38

Interesting Mustang team. First time I’ve gotten to see them. Do a lot of the gritty things, not afraid to go in there and mix it up. Not sure if the Broncos have the perimeter shooting for a long run.

Impressed with Ben Berry and David Glidden. Speaking of Glidden, he took a nasty shot to his shoulder in the third quarter but missed minimal time. After getting checked out, he was right back out there.

I see why Mustang is so highly regarded by opposing coaches, but neither myself nor Scott Wright has seen Mustang on its best day. Perhaps that will be Monday?

Looking ahead to Monday…

Rematch of last year’s final when Provo absolutely went off for 33 points and a PCN title. I don’t see this one being a blowout at all, but I stated earlier I thought Rick Harris’ boys would win it so I’ll stand by that.

Deer Creek coach Matt Bailey faces his former squad, Enid, in the third-place game. It’s not as simple as Hermanski vs. Alex Patterson and whoever has the better game, his team wins, but it’s close. They trigger so much on their respective teams when they’re playing well.

And OCS, who I almost left for dead after Thursday, has a chance to claim fifth place against a surprising McGuinness JV team. After losses to Heritage Hall and Deer Creek, big response by the Saints against Star Spencer.

Bruce Gray Invitational
Monday (I’ll be there)
At Deer Creek
Girls
Seventh place: OCS vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Fifth place: Deer Creek vs. Western Heights, 1 p.m.
Third place: Enid vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Championship: McGuinness vs. Putnam North, 7 p.m.

Somebody asked me Thursday to predict the winners in the Bruce Gray Invitational, and I said the McGuinness girls and the Putnam North boys. I was three minutes away from being wrong Saturday.

The Irish girls trailed Star Spencer 35-29 before going on a 13-2 run to win 42-37 and advance to Monday’s championship game.

I’ve never seen McGuinness look so lost as it did yesterday. Coach Jennifer Burch gave Star Spencer a lot of the credit as the 1-2-2 zone befuddled the normally efficient Irish.

Burch said when the offense is down, the defense can’t let up. It didn’t. Eventually it was the defense that spurred the run. The press was able to create turnovers and Elyse Hight came up big down the stretch as she has for basically the whole season.

Another great game by Sharane Campbell of Star Spencer. She’s a fighter, no doubt. Felt like Star had set up McGuinness for that knockout blow but simply never delivered it.

Putnam North 45, Enid 37

Another two years with Courtney Chelf, Enid fans are lucky. She’s a good one and her three-pointer at the end of the third made it 30-29 Enid going into the fourth.

However, this was a good statement made by the Panthers. I always look to Joh’Vonna Mitchell and Alexis Watson, but Kelsey Abraham was the star in this one. And give a lot of credit to Blaire Hall’s eight points off the bench.

Watson took a nasty fall midway through the third with PCN leading 27-23. She missed the rest of the third and start of the fourth before coming back in. She seemed OK, hope she is for Monday night.

Looking ahead to Monday…

I think Rae Rae Brannon is going to have to come up big for the Panthers. She’s tiny, but she has more quickness than what the Irish are used to dealing with. Mitchell cannot get in foul trouble against Hight and Alexa Lienhard (and vice versa on that one).

Third-place game should be a  good battle between Chelf and Campbell. I like Enid in a close one. Fifth-place game is intriguing in the grand scheme of things as Western Heights and Deer Creek might be still standing when it comes to the 5A state tournament. I like Dilan Webster to help the Jets prevail in that one.

Bruce Gray Invitational
At Deer Creek
Thursday
Boys
Mustang vs. McGuinness JV, 11:30 a.m.
Putnam City North vs. Star Spencer, 2:30
OCS vs. Deer Creek, 5:30
Enid vs. Western Heights, 8:30
Girls
McGuinness vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Putnam North vs. OCS, 1 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Enid, 7 p.m.

And that’s why there is no logic in comparative scoring even if you’ve seen it with your own eyes. I saw Oklahoma Christian School dominate at Casady in December. Last week I saw the Cyclones take it to Heritage Hall for four quarters.

So OCS at Heritage Hall, what are you to expect? Yeah, didn’t happen like that. And though Heritage was playing without Markus Wakefield and Quintaz Struble, um, you didn’t really notice.

Not with the way Tanner Tepe came out firing. He notched three 3s in the first quarter en route to 17 points and a rather convincing 52-38 victory against the Saints.

Eh, shows what I know.

Tepe and James Lima really got things going on the right foot, the opposite of what happened last week at Casady. Lima added another 15 points.

Heritage took a 27-20 lead into halftime, but a Jack Warren three made it 35-32. I thought here comes OCS. But it didn’t happen as the Chargers went on a 10-0 run after that point and never looked back.

T.J. Holland and Warren were up to snuff as usual. Holland had 17 points, while Warren had 13. The trouble, much like last year, is finding a consistent No. 3 option. Jackson Ogle has one of the best strokes I’ve seen, but it just wasn’t his night in this one.

Heritage Hall 56, OCS 49 (Girls)

Maybe I should have seen the boys result coming after the way Leslie Warner’s girls played. This was the best I’ve seen Heritage Hall play, and Warner admitted as much following the game.

Carter Cloud scored 10 of her 16 points in the second quarter as the Chargers found their rhythm in a 24-14 advantage in the second quarter.

Freshman Erika Wakefield continues to become a more complete player with each game I see from her. She notched another 15 and drove hard to the rim early, which opened up other things for her teammates.

However, the story of this game (I think) was the play of post players Corbyn Wheeler and Randi Booker. The only two seniors came off the bench for 17 combined points.

With Jordan Gooch and Alyssa Puckett in the post, thought the Saints would pound it in the post. And then that would lead to Dani Childress getting on a roll.

But it didn’t turn out that way. Childress had 16 points and Gooch had 14, but it was a little too late.

Heritage Hall is at Kingfisher for the Buckle of the Wheatbelt Tournament, while OCS begins play in the Bruce Gray Invitational on Thursday. I’ll be roaming both tournaments so I might see both teams again.

It’s not technically the second half of the season, but it’s close enough. After winter break, the games mean more and you start to see what teams are really made of.

Let’s start, shall we?

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Look out, 5A. With Joe Edmonds back, this team is going to do some damage in the next couple of months. Matt Morrissey and Miles Newcomb have come up big, and Matt Christiansen should only become even more of an impact player with Edmonds back in the saddle. Get to see the complete Irish team this weekend at the McGuinness Classic (gonna be a fun 3 days).

Girls: Umm, though not original, look out, 5A. The Irish have not played their best ball, said coach Jennifer Burch. However, their only loss is to Santa Fe and have wins over Cache and Edmond Memorial and Weatherford. Great balance, led by Alexa Lienhard and Elyse Hight. The development of Kate Andrews and Theresa Nash is going to be key.

Heritage Hall
Boys: With the football boys back in the saddle, first-year coach Chris Hamilton should be able to perk up. Quintaz Struble might actually be better in basketball than football, something I would not have said last year. And with Tanner Tepe becoming eligible, Chargers have a chance to surprise some people.

Girls: It’s one thing to be young, it’s another to look young. Leslie Warner’s girls are incredibly small but showed some signs last week. Ericka Wakefield is going to become a player, and I think sophomore Carter Cloud is really going to develop as long as she becomes more aggressive. She gets down on herself too easy. She’s good. Starting lineup is three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.

Casady
Boys: Coach Allen Dukes is loving his first year with the Cyclones, but the schedule is about to get infinitely tougher with Southwest Prep Conference play beginning this month. Preston Sullivan makes this team go, but it will be interesting to see how Matt Silver and Cecil Ray, among others, develop over the second half of the year.

Girls: I’ve heard it said that as a coach, Jen Warden might be the best coach in the Oklahoma City area. There is good improvement from last year in Warden’s second year, but it will be tough for the Cyclones. Shelby Cornelson should lead the charge.

OCS
Boys: Feel like I can repeat what I said from last year. You know what you’re getting with T.J. Holland and Jack Warren, but who will be that consistent third option? If Trent Toler finds one, Saints will be punching that state tournament ticket, I guarantee it.

Girls: Sometimes the ambitious boys schedule hurts the girls, but this is not a bad 3A team. From junior guard Dani Childress to post Jordan Gooch (stay healthy), the Saints have the pieces for a solid season.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Ohh, gotta admit I haven’t seen either team play yet (it’s on my list of things to do). I know Lenny Hatchett’s boys will be around come March. Not sure when I’ll see dem Rockets, but I’ll figure it out.

Back again. This time around we’re looking at the private schools in the Oklahoma City area. Plenty of good choices, couple of tough calls.

Here ya go:

All-Private schools
Offense
QB — Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall
RB — Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall
RB — LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness
WR — Skyler Sikes, OCS
WR — Jake Peace, Mt. St. Mary’s
WR — Charlie Cho, OCA
OL — Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
OL — Connor Morrison, Casady
OL — Bill Johnston, Heritage Hall
OL — Graham Bennett, Casady
OL — David Krenger, Bishop McGuinness

K — Keegan Carter, OCS
P — Kenny Wooldridge, CHA

Defense
DL — Zach Collums, Mt. St. Mary’s
DL — Nick Callaway, Bishop McGuinness
DL — Quintaz Struble, Heritage Hall
DL — Dakota Leftwich, Bishop McGuinness
LB — Garrison Lee, Casady
LB — Josh Blair, CHA
LB — Brandon Nguyen, Bishop McGuinness
LB — Graham Busby, Heritage Hall
DB — Mac Katigan, Casady
DB — Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall
DB — Tyler Konarik, Bishop McGuinness

KR — Jamaal Whitney, Bishop McGuinness

Offensive Player of the Year: LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness
Defensive Player of the Year: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall
Coach of the Year: Andy Bogert, Heritage Hall

Where to put Sterling Shepard became the biggest question. I had him at WR, KR and DB before deciding DB was where he could help this team the most. Bennett should be a DL, but he can be an OL, too, so we’ll be OK. No doubts on my three awards. If I switched and made Shepard offense, I would have gone with Lee of Casady as the defensive player.

I had a hunch heading into the McGuinness Festival. Just a hunch that the Deer Creek boys were going to walk in to Irish Country and pull off the upset.

Good hunch but not the right result. In a hard-fought game by both teams, McGuinness pulled out a fun 52-47 win in overtime Friday night.

Wasn’t exactly the most aesthetically pleasing game, but the effort was there 100 percent. Big players made big shots in a contest where neither team had a lead bigger than five points and there were five lead changes alone in the fourth quarter.

Deer Creek’s Jalen Burnett gave the Antlers a one-point lead in overtime, but then the Irish scored the next six to put some distance between the two teams.

It was all Matt Christiansen in the first half for the Irish. He scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half and was dominating the game. The Antlers had no answer for him inside.

Conversely, the Irish had their fair share of troubles with Garrett Hermanski. Much bigger since the last time I saw him on a basketball court, Hermanski didn’t fade down the stretch and led his club with 22 points.

McGuinness led 42-39 when Hermanski drained a 3-pointer to tie it with 15 seconds left. Miles Newcomb’s attempt at a game-winner was off and to OT we went.

However, it was a big fourth quarter and OT by Newcomb that spurred this effort. He scored 7 of his 12 points in the fourth and OT. Team just has to tread water until star Joe Edmonds comes back.

Get your licks in on McGuinness now because you won’t get a chance later in the season.

Very interesting to see how both teams come back Saturday. Deer Creek has Millwood at 12:30, while McGuinness welcomes the Jets of Western Heights at 3:30.

I could watch those two coaching staffs all day. Tondrell Durham and Andy Fisher at McGuinness and Matt Bailey and Michael Garbutt at Deer Creek. Fun to just observe those four doing what they do. Great atmosphere for a December game.

Back at ya Saturday night.

McGuinness 49, Deer Creek 23 (girls)

As a sophomore, McGuinness’ Elyse Hight showed what she can do off the bench. As a junior, she’s showing she is already one of the top players in the state.

Hight scored a game-high 23 points as the Irish rolled the Antlers.

The Irish defense paved the way as Deer Creek never scored more than nine points in any quarter, and McGuinness outscored the Antlers by at least five points in every quarter.

Caroline Cameron had nine points, while Alexa Lienhard pitched in with eight. Deer Creek was paced by Bayli Blanchard, who had six points.

Millwood 53, OCS 40 (boys)

Every time Oklahoma Christian had a run in it, Millwood’s Drelan Triplett had the answer.

Tripplett scored a game-high 19 points in leading the Falcons to the victory.

The Saints went on an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to trim the lead to 41-31. Tripplett re-entered the lineup and scored two straight buckets to the push the lead back to 14 to silence the run.

OCS’s T.J. Holland led the Saints with 16 points.

Millwood 73, OCS 38 (girls)

Millwood’s defense sparked an early first quarter lead and the Falcons never looked back in cruising to victory.

Shamyia Johnson scored 16 points and Dayla Threatt notched 15 as Millwood had five players in double figures.

OCS’ Dani Childress had a game-high 19 points.

It’s been a great start to the season for the Deer Creek boys basketball team. The Antlers are 3-0 and are averaging nearly 80 points per game, led by junior Garrett Hermanski.

However, coach Matt Bailey’s club will face its biggest challenges of the season this weekend at the McGuinness Festival at Bishop McGuinness.

Deer Creek plays the Irish on Friday night and comes right back to play Millwood on Saturday afternoon.

Other teams involved in the boys and girls event include Oklahoma Christian School and Western Heights. There will be four games on Friday and Saturday. I’ll be there for all eight games.

McGuinness Festival
Friday
Millwood vs. OCS, 3 p.m. (girls)
Millwood vs. OCS, 4:30 (boys)
McGuinness vs. Deer Creek, 6 p.m. (girls)
McGuinness vs. Deer Creek, 7:30 (boys)

Saturday
Millwood vs. Deer Creek, 11 a.m. (girls)
Millwood vs. Deer Creek, 12:30 p.m. (boys)
McGuinness vs. Western Heights, 2 p.m. (girls)
McGuinness vs. Western Heights, 3:30 p.m. (boys)

Granted full access by the Heritage Hall coaching staff for the 3A championship against Kingfisher allowed me to see the things I normally don’t.

One of those was the group of Charger seniors huddling together separate from the rest of the team for one last final speech about what they mean to each other and what this season meant to them.

I won’t reveal anything that was said as that moment was for those nine seniors. Coach Andy Bogert would always have the seniors stand up first after the postgame talks, and he did it one more time Friday night.

And though a lot of talent resides in that spectacular junior bunch, those kids were quick to point out the leadership of the senior class and how that made all the difference starting from last year’s loss to Pawhuska.

The nine seniors: Graham Busby, Cooper Cloud, Shaun Tkach, Coby Brownrigg, Sami Horani, Dru Bullard, Blaine Kennedy, Andrew Johnson and Bill Johnston.

Seniors were members of 14-1, 15-0, 8-5 and 15-0 seasons.

Other contenders

Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall: If you don’t know by now, Shepard scored all four of the Heritage Hall touchdowns and all in the second half of a classic 28-21 win over Kingfisher.

T.J. Holland, OCS, Basketball: He’s done it again. Man does he look sharp early on this season. Road win at Casady, followed by a tournament championship at Luther…not bad.

Alexa Lienhard, McGuinness, Basketball: In an incredibly brutal Edmond Open, the Irish beat Memorial and Cache with Lienhard doing significant damage.

Matt Silver, Casady, Basketball: I really like the potential of Silver this season. Cyclones were able to bounce back from OCS loss for consolation championship at Luther.

Was expecting a very intriguing basketball game at Casady on Tuesday night between the Cyclones and Oklahoma Christian School.

Guess OCS stars T.J. Holland and Jack Warren didn’t care what I was expecting. The Saints’ leaders combined with the defense for another impressive road win.

OCS 63, Casady 42

- Neither team got off to a great start. A lot of effort but not much execution. Jonathan Gibson scored the first five points of the game for OCS and never scored again. Just one of them games without any real rhythm.

- Eventually, Warren and Holland got on track. I was looking forward to a great battle between the Nos. 12, Holland and Casady’s Preston Sullivan. They both kinda neutralized each other. Holland ended up with 18 points. Sullivan had 15, but both really didn’t score on the other. Matt Silver also had a solid game for the Cyclones.

- I don’t wanna say Casady comes back and wins the game, but this game changed when Casady forward Cecil Ray picked up his second foul in the first half. Though Ray only finished with two points, he was cleaning up the backboard. OCS wasn’t getting many second chance opportunities. With Ray out, the lead was stretched out.

- OCS led 25-11 at halftime and was never really threatened in the second half. Casady got it down to 13 a couple of times and there was real good energy in the first home game for Allen Dukes and his boys. But anytime it looked like a run was happening, the Saints would stretch it out more.

- So back-to-back road wins to start the year for OCS…not bad. OCS still is not at home anytime soon as the Saints are a part of the Luther Tournament this weekend. Casady falls to 3-1.

- The girls game was canceled but look for a video with T.J. Holland on NewsOK on Wednesday.

One more week to perfection. A perfect season wasn’t the ultimate goal for Heritage Hall, but if the Chargers win Friday, it will happen.

Every game there seems to be another hero. Against a good Bethany team the second time around, it was lineman Markus Wakefield — just not the way I thought it would be.

I’ve said it more than enough at this point so I’ll keep it short. Wakefield threw a touchdown pass and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score in the semifinal win.

Look for a story on Wakefield and his lineman counterpart Quintaz Struble later this week.

Other contenders

Heritage Hall defense: In a game where both defenses stopped what the other teams are known for, the Chargers in the second half were incredible in limiting Bethany to 9 total yards in the second half.

Preston Sullivan, Casady: Cyclones started the season going 3-0 and Sullivan earned MVP honors of the Liberty Academy Tournament in Shawnee.

T.J. Holland, OCS: What a way to start the year for the Saints. OCS, behind Holland and Jack Warren, won at John Marshall 62-57.

Jake Peace, Mt. St. Mary’s: Not just a star on the football field, Peace led a balanced effort in a win against Heritage Hall.

Kate Andrews, Bishop McGuinness: So many weapons, what do you do? Andrews led a balanced effort in a three-win week.

There were some tense moments in the second half of Heritage Hall’s victory against Little Axe.

And if it wasn’t for Sterling Shepard’s early heroics, we could have really been talking about some anxious times.

Before Shepard left with a hip injury, he scored two touchdowns and started it with an interception return for a score in the 27-7 win vs. the Indians.

The health of Shepard and running back Barry J. Sanders are questions 1a. and 1b. heading into Friday’s game with Bridge Creek (I’ll be there).

Other contenders

LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness: Not the end he was hoping for, but Richardson notched two more touchdowns in the 26-23 loss at Glenpool.

Cooper Cloud and Cale Courtney, Heritage: Hooked up on a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the deal against Little Axe.

Nick Callaway, McGuinness: Wasn’t always a pretty thing was the Irish passing game this year, but Callaway came up with key grabs, including a touchdown Friday.

Austin Brooks, OCS: Overmatched against Millwood but was able to stay with it and ran for a score and threw for another in the 59-28 loss to Falcons.

Victoria Vaughn, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cheerleading: I know her from tennis, but she became the first MSM cheerleader to make the all-state team.

OCS (4-6) at Millwood (10-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: L.W. Good Stadium, MHS

OCS
Why the Saints can win: Gonna have to use the weather and get a down night from the Falcons to pull off the biggest upset of the season. Try to wear ‘em down with the running game of Chris Easterly and try to limit the big plays from the best big-play potential team in the state.

Millwood
Why the Falcons can win: This team has been waiting for the postseason to start since last December. They’ve won 10 straight games with only one 2A team playing them close, and now the intensity goes up a notch.

Key matchup: The start for OCS. The Saints haven’t seen anything like the skill and athleticism of Millwood. They cannot be in awe and cannot get in an early 21-0 hole before waking up. First quarter is going to go a long way to determine what happens in this one.

Boneman’s pick: Millwood 59, OCS 19. Falcons won’t slip up. Kevonte Richardson opens up the game early, and the rest of the team follows his lead to cruise to the first round win.

Scott’s pick: Millwood 38, OCS 12. Not sure what the weather will be like, but I’m betting on cold and wet. I would look for scoring to be slowed down because of it, but I don’t envision Millwood having too much trouble here.

Gonna keep this short because you can read much in Tuesday’s paper. I thought I had lost my chance to name LaRone Richardson the best player of the week.

Seriously, how do you top his five-score outing in a loss to Millwood? Um, well, he did. Richardson found the end zone six times in a dominating win against Piedmont.

Always one of my favorite kids to talk to, look for his story in Tuesday’s paper.

Other contenders

Garrison Lee, Casady: Found out the day before the game he would be playing defensive line, and he was one of the best players on the field in the loss to Bellaire Episcopal.

Chris Easterly, OCS: Playing running back just because the Saints have no one left. How’d he do? Five touchdowns in the OCS win against Northeast.

Josh Bivens, OCA: I was really pumped about this team until the Parker Randell injury. Bivens notched four touchdowns in the win against Macomb, the Eagles’ first of the year.

Ray Frazier, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cross Country: Frazier was impressive at the state meet, placing fourth overall as the Rockets earned seventh.

Maddy Hill, McGuinness, Cross Country: The Irish girls were dominant at the 5A regional, placing second, third, fourth and sixth in winning the event.

Note: No Heritage contenders because SeeWorth Academy forfeited the game last week.

There were a lot of heroes in the Mt. St. Mary’s softball team winning its first state softball championship. Morgan McCalmon was phenomenal in the circle. She gave up two runs in three games.

Freshman Sable Hankins came up huge in the championship with a couple of hits and RBIs to lead the Rockets past Washington.

But this team has an unquestioned leader. And the great news for MSM fans is that catcher Bryana Wade will be back for one more season.

Wade was incredible, hitting a home run in the semifinals and the championship. Definitely in the running for Little All-City Player of the Year (no, I haven’t decided that yet).

Other contenders

Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall, Football: Had more than 330 total yards and scored five touchdowns in a dominating win against Newcastle.

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall, Football: In limited time, rushed for 162 yards and two long touchdown carries in the first half.

Irish offensive line: A statement was made in a rout of Elk City. LaRone Richardson had another big game with the line leading the way to 364 rushing yards.

Mac Katigan, Casady, Football: In a rather surprising loss (to me, anyway), Katigan ran for a score and threw for another against Dallas St. Marks.

Skyler Sikes, OCS, Football: Still operating without Jack Warren, Sikes came up huge with three touchdowns in the win against Perry.

Jake Peace, MSM, Football: Did they break the scoreboard in Lindsay? In a 71-40 loss, Peace scored four touchdowns for the Rockets.

Heritage Hall and CHA volleyball: Both had tremendous seasons. Chargers were ousted in the quarterfinals while CHA was downed by Cache in the championship.

Irish volleyball: Girls are one of the favorites to walk out with the 5A championship this weekend in Shawnee.

Irish cross country: Strong showing by both boys and girls in Edmond. Girls, led by Mary Kate Roy, placed third. Boys, led by Brett Scott, earned the 5A championship.

I’ll be keeping this one brief because you can read a whole lot more about this in Tuesday’s paper. But I thought it was a misprint to see Oklahoma Christian win and not see the name Jack Warren.

He’s the straw that stirs the drink for the Saints. But he wasn’t there last week, out with a concussion. So in came a sophomore who has never played quarterback. And all Austin Brooks did was a throw a couple of touchdowns and run for another in a shutout win against Chisholm.

For making the most out of a difficult situation and showing OCS fans the future is bright, Brooks is the Private Schools Player of the Week.

Other contenders

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage Hall, Football: Sanders added another four touchdowns, all in the first half, as the Chargers routed Centennial.

Cooper Cloud, Heritage, Football: He didn’t throw many passes, but the ones he did he sure made count. Cloud threw three touchdowns in the win.

LaRone Richardson, McGuinness, Football: Rushed for a touchdown and more than 100 yards in a 29-14 loss for the Irish to Clinton.

Garrison Lee, Casady, Football: With Cassius Calhoun taking over at RB, it’s allowed Lee to dominate on defense. He had 15 tackles in the Cyclones 10-7 win against Irving Cistercian.

Aimee Rischard, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cross Country: The freshman’s great year continued Saturday at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree, placing eighth in the 3A-A girls competition.

Gabby Marion, Casady, Cross Country: Marion was the highest finisher for the Cyclones who placed 15th in Stillwater.

The Bishop McGuinness boys cross country team: What more can be said about this group? They’ve been great all year and dominated at the Jamboree. How good were they? Larry Ressler (4th), Frank Frantz (5th) and Tom Frantz (6th) were all in the top 10. The girls, paced by Mary Kate Roy, took fifth.

A couple of teams couldn’t be happier that district play has arrived. A couple showed they’re the real deal during non-district action. Here’s your guide to the OKC-area private schools.

Heritage Hall (3-0)
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year the Chargers were 0-3. So far they’ve passed every single test that’s been put in front of them.

Beat a rival, won a physical battle and won on the road in a tough environment. RB Barry J. Sanders has been every bit as good as advertised. But he’s had some help.

Sterling Shepard and Cooper Cloud have shown how a two-QB system can work. Quintaz Struble and Markus Wakefield are even bigger than I remember. There are so many weapons on this team and are easily one of the best teams in 3A.

Week 4: at Centennial on Thursday.

Bishop McGuinness (2-1)
The Irish have played three of the most fun, stressful non-district games in the state. A two-point win vs. Douglass. A thrilling win with :17 left vs. Bishop Kelley. And coming up short in a game where 89 points were scored in a 48-41 loss to Millwood.

RB LaRone Richardson has been dynamite the last two games. Brandon Nguyen has really stepped up on defense. Joe Lewis is another name you’re going to hear a lot about.

McGuinness will have to get the passing game going and QB Camden Tharp shouldn’t have an issue with a target like Jamaal Whitney.

Week 4: vs. Clinton on Friday (I will be there).

Casady (1-3)
Yea, no district stuff here. However, the Cyclones are in the middle of their Southwest Prep Conference battles. Gotta think this team is one year away.

Graham Bennett – junior. Mac Katigan – junior. Garrison Lee – junior. Cassius Calhoun – junior. You get the picture when it comes to this team.

It might be a rough six weeks for Casady but have a feeling it won’t be that bad…it will just feel that way.

Week 5: vs. Dallas Cistercian on Friday.

Other private schools
OCS and Mt. St. Mary’s couldn’t be happier for district play to begin. Both shouldn’t be 0-3 but both are and have received a new beginning…OCA has had it rough without Parker Randell. Eagles have been competitive, but it hasn’t been enough so far…CHA will find out a lot about itself Friday against Jones. Crusaders are off to a nice 2-1 start.

I was all set for Garrison Lee to become the star running back for Casady this season. But when I talked to him, he mentioned a fella by the name of Cassius Calhoun.

Say wha? I know why now. Calhoun, a transfer from Richardson, Texas, brings the goods every game and had that bust out performance Friday in a win against OCS.

Calhoun scored three times as Casady earned its first win with an impressive showing against the Saints. He’s earned the Private Schools Player of the Week.

Just a junior, Calhoun is one of several crazy-talented 11th graders on this team. Oh, and Lee? Well, he’s become one of the unquestioned leaders on defense.

Other contenders

Nick Callaway, Bishop McGuinness, Football: I know him on defense, but he wrote his name in Irish lore with the TD reception with :17 left against rival Bishop Kelley.

Barry J. Sanders, Sterling Shepard and Cooper Cloud, Heritage Hall, Football: Each in one way or another accounted for two touchdowns in a win against Clinton.

Mac Katigan, Casady, Football: His numbers won’t blow you away, but Katigan is doing an effective job running and passing for the Cyclones.

Zach Peak, OCS, Football: In a losing effort, Peak scored both of the Saints’ touchdowns.

Meredith Zerby and Trevon Ivory, Heritage, Cross Country: The top girls and boys finishers for the Chargers at Deer Creek.

Larry Resler, Bishop McGuinness, Cross Country: In a field of top 6A teams, it was the Irish that won the OK Runner Classic event in Norman. The girls placed seventh.

Aimee Richard and Ray Frazier, Mt. St. Mary’s, Cross Country: Look out for the Rockets. Richard placed fourth and Frazier second at the OK Runner Classic.

Know any more nominations? Let me know.

Oklahoma Christian (0-1) at Casady (0-2)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Hoot Gibson Field

OCS (L – Metro Christian 19-17)
Why the Saints can win: OCS did a lot of great things in its loss. The Saints were able to move the ball down the field effectively but couldn’t punch it in. Senior quarterback Jack Warren is showing just how strong of a leader he really is.

Quote:

We’re really encouraged after what we saw. I was feeling pretty good before the game, but now, yea, we have a lot of confidence and know we’re going to have a good season.” – Warren

Casady (L – FWAll Saints 26-7, L – Heritage 35-16)
Why the Cyclones can win: Two losses but I love what I’m seeing from quarterback Mac Katigan and running back Cassius Calhoun. Calhoun is still getting comfortable after transferring from Texas and is going to provide a lot of great moments for the Cyclones.

Key matchup: OCS passing game vs. Casady defensive line. This game is more than Warren against Graham Bennett, but that individual encounter is going to go a long way to determine what’s going to happen in this one.

The pick: OCS 23, Casady 18. Warren has enough targets with Logan Magill and Skyler Sikes to find a way to earn a big road victory. Magill is a playmaker not getting enough attention.

Oklahoma Christian senior quarterback Jack Warren said he doesn’t believe in moral victories.

But if ever there was a team that was feeling good following a defeat, it’s the Saints. OCS was a two-point conversion away from tying the game at 19 against 3A’s Metro Christian. The Saints lost 19-17.

“It was really encouraging,” Warren said. “To be able to compete the way we did against a team like that gave us a lot of confidence.”

Warren said OCS was able to do a lot of good things in the passing game, but it will need to be able to run the ball more consistently.

Stopping the run is going to be challenge, too. After missing the 2-point conversion, there were five minutes left in the game. However, OCS never saw the ball again. Casady running back Cassius Calhoun is going to provide a strong test for the Saints defense.

The Saints (0-1) are at Casady (0-2) on Friday night.

When healthy, he’s one of the most passionate players you’re going to find in the state. The key is going to be staying on the field for Heritage Hall’s Sterling Shepard.

He showed what he can do when he is on the field in a 35-16 win against Casady. Pick a way to score and Shepard did it. He had three touchdowns – one receiving, one rushing and one INT return. He has earned the Private Schools Player of the Week.

The Chargers made a big statement against their rival, catapulting to No. 3 in the Class 3A rankings. It doesn’t slow down as Heritage welcomes Clinton to Pop Murray Field on Friday.

Other contenders

Brandon Nguyen, McGuinness, Football: Defense dominated the day in a 9-7 win against Douglass and Nguyen made several key plays.

Graham Bennett, Casady, Football: A sensational defensive performance in a loss. Had many tackles, a sack and ran down Barry J. Sanders in the open field.

Barry J. Sanders, Heritage, Football: Didn’t play most of the second half but still ended up with almost 300 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.

Jake Peace, Mt. St. Mary’s, Football: In a 30-28 losing effort against Crooked Oak, Peace was incredible with three receiving touchdowns.

Jack Warren and Logan Magill, OCS, Football: The two accounted for both touchdowns in a tough 19-17 loss to Metro Christian. Magill also had 14 tackles.

Caleb McGehee, CHA, Football: In a 33-0 win against Maysville, McGehee led the charge with three rushing touchdowns.

Bryana Wade, MSM, Softball: Wade is playing a huge role in why the Mount is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A and has a big showdown with Little Axe this week.

Jack Bickford, Casady, Cross Country: Was Cyclones best runner at Edmond Santa Fe meet and Casady placed 10th.

McGuinness volleyball: Irish picked up a big win against rival Heritage Hall last Tuesday.

Anyone else deserve recognition? Let me know.

It’s a new class, but it kinda isn’t for teams like Oklahoma Christian. The Saints are familiar with teams like Watonga and Hennessey, so the move up isn’t that big of a deal.

But with losses of such longtime stars like Jeff Levy, Jeff Smith and Jon Sikes, what is a big deal is the fact nobody seems to think OCS is going to do much when you combine the loss with the move up in class.

People outside of our program aren’t really talking about us. They don’t think we’re going to do anything, and we’re definitely using that for motivation.” – senior Skyler Sikes

I like what Derek Turner has done with that team, and it’s tough for me to think this team will drop too far. OCS lost in the first round last year, but it was 7-0 to Oklahoma Bible.

Sikes will have to become the unanimous No. 1 target for three-year starting quarterback Jack Warren. The two have tremendous chemistry and will need to in order to be successful.

Turner, Warren and Sikes have brought up the same things: ‘We’re young, but we have guys who can produce and the summer really helped in our development.’

OCS is scrimmaging at Mt. St. Mary’s on Friday.

The nearly three-hour drive back to Atoka in Southeast Oklahoma was a little easier for the Wampus Cats after the Class 3A team won the small school division of the 7-on-7 Oklahoma Showdown at Edmond North Saturday night.

“We came a long way for this,” Atoka receiver/defensive back Caon Brooks said. “Not a lot of people believe in us, but we want to show people that we can win a championship. That’s what we came here to do.”

After a so-so offensive performance on Friday, Atoka and quarterback L.T. Pfaff, who could break the state career passing record this fall, utilized a variety of talented receivers like Brooks, Jordan Harrison and Trey Stephens to pour on points all day Saturday, concluding with a 32-8 win over Class A Cashion in the title game.

Pfaff was awarded the Bull’s-eye Award as the top quarterback, Harrison received the Sticky Hands Award for the top receiver and Brooks got the Lockdown Award for the best defensive back.

“The offense was clicking a lot better (Saturday),” Pfaff said.

“I’m not gonna lie, the first day was horrible,” Brooks added. “We talked before the games (Saturday) about how we wanted to go out and show ‘em what we’ve got, and that’s what we did.”

Atoka and Cashion each entered tournament play as the No. 4 seed on its side of the bracket after going 3-2 in the round-robin. But both were on point offensively, running through competition to reach the title game.

Cashion, one of the smallest schools competing, earned victories over bigger schools Millwood and Sequoyah-Tahlequah in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Atoka reached the finals with two straight victories that came down to the final possession.

Pfaff hit Brooks for a 40-yard touchdown as the horn sounded to beat top-seeded Woodward in the quarterfinals, and the two connected again from five yards out in the second overtime to defeat Oklahoma Christian in the semifinals.

Saints building momentum in summer

With a good mix of experienced veterans and new players, this week’s 7-on-7 tournament provided some valuable experience for Oklahoma Christian.

Jack Warren quarterbacked the Saints to the semifinals before a double-overtime loss to Atoka, but he said every play is key for him and the team’s spread offense.

“It was frustrating to lose, but we had a successful day. We had a win over a good Bethany team,” Warren said. “We’re getting guys experience. This 7-on-7 is important for us, because right now, getting reps is a big deal. We need all we can get.”

Ballinger, Luna a dangerous combo

One of the top eye-catching prospects in the small-school division was Santa Fe South receiver Abraham Luna. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior repeatedly got open deep for easy scores in helping SFS to the quarterfinals.

And he was quick to credit 6-foot-2 senior quarterback Jamison Ballinger for helping him and his fellow receivers excel.

“He’s really good and we practice together really hard so that we know what each other is doing all the time,” Luna said. “If we run the right route, or even if we mess up, he finds us and puts it on the money, so we just have to finish the job and catch the ball.”

What am I going to get up at 8 in the morning for now? The team camp at Edmond North has come and gone, and it was a great experience for the 13 teams.

I decided to cut out some of the video interviews Friday so I could instead watch the scrimmages more intently.

For those that missed it, videos with Hennessey’s Derrick Luetjen, Cashion’s Jeremy Seaton and Norman North’s Brad Valentino are up on NewsOK now.

Thoughts and Observations

- MVP of the camp: Bixby. The Spartans are in 6A and let everyone know about it this week. Bixby concluded the camp by scoring two touchdowns against Norman North while also forcing a fumble and intercepting a pass in the final play of the scrimmage. It was an impressive display by Bixby. Up until that point, thought Norman North had the best camp as TWolves had some great moments, especially hard hits on D.

- In the next scrimmage, Bishop McGuinness was dominant over Deer Creek. Running back LaRone Richardson scored both touchdowns for the Irish as McGuinness also picked off a pass and stifled the Antlers’ offensive attack. The McGuinness kids were probably the most vocal of any group this week, they were really into it with each play.

- The final scrimmage I got to fully see was Midwest City and Edmond North, and the Bombers speed was on full display. It’s tough to grade the Huskies accurately as Jared Benway is going to mean a lot to that team. However, James Flanders did score for the Bombers, and it was also funny to see Trevon Lewis playing fullback, a spot he will play this year.

- Coach Eric Cardin has had McLoud in the playoff hunt on a regular basis, but the Redskins are going to be a-hurtin’ this year because of youth. Cardin did say he’s not worried about the long term future, and he’s glad to have WR Travis Carroll back after dislocating his kneecap last year.

- Really good camp for OCS, said head coach Derek Turner. Where some coaches used the three days as more of a feeling out process, the Saints were looking to find some answers. Turner believes they did so, especially on defense at linebacker.

- Woodward is going to be solid. The Boomers kinda get lost in the shuffle because of where they’re at, but the Boomers looked good this week. That run in basketball last year caught my attention, so I got my eye out for Woodward.

- Couldn’t find a coach/player that didn’t feel better about their respective team after these three days. If you were out there, you’d understand as the players brought it for this being the first week of June.

- And finally I’m giving a shout out to Meeker and MWC players and Deer Creek coaches for wearing BLACK in the hot sun. I was drippin’ in sweat today, it was a hot one. Why in the world would you wear black?

- Look for a video featuring some of the day’s top plays on NewsOK either later today or this weekend. Was hoping to catch up with MWC’s Lewis, but his voice is shot. I mean he can barely get a word out right now.

The rain delayed things a tad for Day 2 of the 13-team extravaganza at Edmond North so we also ended a little bit later than anticipated.

And once the rain was officially out of the way, wow, did it heat up in a hurry.

I felt today would be the best day of three-day camp because you get your feet wet that first day, and you’re dog-tired during that final day. But Day 2? Yeah, you bring the lumber.

In case you missed it, there are videos with Midwest City’s James Flanders, OCS’ Jack Warren and Bishop McGuinness’ LaRone Richardson on NewsOK and here on the blog.

Thoughts and Observations

- Gotta tell ya that right now drinking the Norman North Kool-Aid. Quarterback Brad Valentino really threaded the needle on a couple of the balls today. Raymond Demby looks fantastic, and what more can you say about Daniel Davis? Solid effort from Lance Manning’s kids, punctuated by a great effort by Davis to score on McGuinness during the final play of their scrimmage.

- Interesting year for the Spartans of Bixby. Moving up to 6A is one thing, introducing Loren Montgomery as the new coach is another. Montgomery has a great football mind, really happy to see him land on his feet with a great opportunity. The loss of Kevin Lamb and DeWitt Jennings is definitely being felt, but I think the more explosive offense might work for Bixby. QB T.J. Eckert seemed more poised today in the limited time I got to see them.

- Another solid day for the Antlers, said coach Grant Gower. Deer Creek is the lone 5A school in the camp, but Gower said playing the 6A big boys has helped immensely. Deer Creek closed out today with a scrimmage against Midwest City. TE Kyle Kanady is growing into a security blanket for Alex Christensen and Joel Blumenthal.

- Gotta hand it to the boys at Cashion. The Wildcats were here last year and are only a couple of years removed from playing eight-man. Lynn Shackelford does a phenomenal job of getting that team fired up, and Cashion has fought hard the first two days. QB Jeremy Seaton said there were no wide-eyed looks today, down to business.

- Hennessey is in that same mold as Shannon Watford continues to have that program in contention on a yearly basis here lately. I hope to watch more of the Eagles (among others) on Friday for the final day. Especially would like to see star recruit Derrick Luetjen more.

- Weirdest sight of the day goes to Flanders. Not sure why seeing a talented kid like him with an umbrella to block out the sun was so funny, but I sure thought it was.

- Lovin’ the intensity these teams are bringing. It dies down a little during the 7-on-7 portion but picks right back up in that final half hour.

- Just like Wednesday, look for more videos on NewsOK. Another sights and sounds from the day to accompany vids with Norman North QB Brad Valentino, Hennessey’s Derrick Luetjen and Cashion’s Jeremy Seaton.

- Back tomorrow as we wrap up the camp. Word on the street is Friday will be the hottest day of the three days…oy.

There’s that man again. It feels like Jack Warren has been leading OCS for years now. But we have finally come to his senior season.

The Saints lost a lot from last year’s team, but Warren should be able to hold the fort down until some of the younger players get more comfortable.

OCS was at this same team camp at Edmond North last year, but Warren said this year will be more rewarding because there is a good mix of the smaller schools and the larger schools.

Here’s a short video with Warren after the first day.

I’m not sure what to call it because there are a lot more teams than Edmond North at this ginormous 13-team camp the Huskies are hosting Wednesday through Friday. So ‘Big Team Camp’ will have to do.

Great first day, saw a lot of familiar faces and got acquainted with some new ones.

Your teams: Edmond North, Midwest City, Norman North, Bixby, Deer Creek, McGuinness, McLoud, OCS, Hennessey, Newkirk, Meeker, Cashion and Woodward.

My apologies to some of the teams as today was more of an intro day for me, and I didn’t get to see every team in an in-depth manner.

However, from what I saw, it was a fun day and actually a rather intense one.

Thoughts and observations

- No question the most intensity was between Bixby and Midwest City. The Spartans and Bombers don’t see each other too much, but there was some tension there, for sure. Good to catch a glimpse of MWC’s James Flanders as he enters his junior year and great to see MWC’s Trevon Lewis. In what little I saw (jumping back and forth all day), Lewis has really stepped up to be the leader.

- The most impressive person I saw was undoubtedly Norman North’s Daniel Davis. Whether it was running the ball or running through blockers, Davis looked like a beast out there today. Definitely going to catch up with Davis in the days to come.

- Edmond North’s Travis Townsend had some really good throws at quarterback. He might be a little small at this point, but his arm looks stronger, and he’s always been pretty accurate. With Jared Benway out with the high ankle sprain, Ryan Hammons stepped in and had some moments.

- Great to see Bishop McGuinness stud LaRone Richardson looking like himself again. That explosiveness is definitely back. He said it took him to around track season to finally start feeling good again. Irish are in good shape with either Camden Tharp or Quinn Shanbour but very interested in how that plays out.

- Ugliest sight of the day was Edmond North’s Brock Byford. The sophomore and younger brother of Colton had a bad turf burn that tore up his knee pretty good. I shot video of that so it will be on NewsOK shortly.

- Deer Creek coach Grant Gower was extremely pleased with how the first day went for the Antlers. Alex Christensen and Joel Blumenthal continued to share the reps at quarterback.

- Real nice format to the day as well. Some 7-on-7, some where the big teams played the small teams and closed out with 10 minutes of hard scrimmaging between teams that should be playing each other. Again, the most intense was Bixby and Midwest City.

- Look for videos with OCS quarterback Jack Warren, MWC’s Flanders and McGuinness’ Richardson on NewsOK.

- Back for Day 2 on Thursday where I’ll try to catch some more action from Hennessey, Cashion, McLoud, etc.

OCS’ Jackson Ogle has been dominant all season for the Saints, but he added another notch on his belt with his performance at the OJGT All-Star Classic.

After being tied for third following a first-round score of 70, Ogle was phenomenal in shooting a 67 to win the two-day event by one stroke over Edmond North’s Austen Fuller.

Ogle was a ridiculous -7 for the event.

Ogle won the Class 2A state championship and helped the Saints cruise to the state title.

Where have my young legs gone? After walking the John Conrad Golf Course in Midwest City all day Monday, I feel 36, not 26.

But I (as well as chum Scott Wright) saw some great golf. I mean THIS is what an All-Star Classic is supposed to be, one big shot after another.

In the end, it was Oklahoma Christan School’s Jackson Ogle edging Edmond North’s Austin Fuller by one stroke (Ogle – 137; Fuller – 138) for the boys title while Westmoore’s Jade Staggs was two shots better than Kingfisher’s Bethany Darrough.

Staggs’ drives are sights to see. You’d have three of the four girls bunched up, and then you’d go another 30 yards and find Staggs. Such power.

But Darrough battled the whole way. The girls started the day tied as both shot a 70 in the first round Sunday. However, through the front nine, Staggs had a three-shot advantage.

We (myself and Scott) missed holes 10-12 as we badly needed food and drink. Darrough made a great charge and got to as close as one stroke after 15 holes (I think).

But Staggs was steady and closed out the show as the only girl to shoot under par in both rounds, compiling a 141 in the two days.

For the boys, now that was fun. Red numbers were a-plenty in the afternoon. Nobody had a better round than Chickasha’s Taylor Williams. After a disappointing 74 on Sunday, he had a tournament-best 66 on Monday.

But the showdown for the title was between Ogle and Fuller with Putnam North’s Zach Tucker just a stroke behind.

Only got to watch the final four holes because of tracking the girls, but what a final four it was as the two were tied. Both just missed birdies on 15. Ogle had a tap-in birdie at 16 to give him the lead.

Then No. 17 was incredible. Thought Ogle wrapped it up with a near 30-foot birdie putt, but Fuller came right back and sank about a 15-footer for birdie as well.

And on No. 18, Fuller nearly holed out on his third shot, prob fell just inches from falling in. Ogle calmly made his par and claim the championship.

I can’t play golf worth a lick so it’s fun watching those that know how to put on a show.

Scott will have the write-ups in Tuesday’s paper. Look for videos on NewsOK with Staggs, Darrough and Ogle (couldn’t find Fuller or would have grabbed him, too).

Great stuff, glad the Oklahoma Junior Golf Tour put this on.

For full results, go here.

If you read my Edmond post earlier today, well, get ready for another copout. No Private Schools Player of the Week because we had championships and great outings left and right in this final week.

Who did you think deserved it?

I could have went with the Oklahoma Christian School boys golf team. The Saints were beyond dominant, winning by 66 strokes. Jackson Ogle was great, winning the individual championship. Rustin Purser had the hole-in-one on No. 5, what more could you want?

Well, Heritage Hall did all it could as the Chargers claimed the 3A championship. And Bogert’s boys held off Cascia Hall by 19 strokes.

Max Meyers was tied for fourth while Michael Helton was sixth and Bennett Beard was tied for eighth to lead Heritage, and it was the only class to go the full three rounds.

In soccer, the Irish girls had a dream season but fell short. McGuinness had beaten Bishop Kelley earlier in the season but the Comets earned a 3-1 win in the championship final.

Really good season for the girls, paced by Abbey Akin and Alexa Gonce as the primary goal-scorers with one of the better goalkeepers in the state in Elyse Hight.

To tennis we went where it was a great end of the season for the McGuinness doubles team of John Byrne and Jonathan Kraft.

The duo capped a great season with a state championship, beating Bishop Kelley in straight sets on a wild, delayed weekend.

Heritage had two runners-up and two third-place finishes to end up third as a team. Any other team would be thrilled with that, but the Chargers and Dick Villaflor always expect more. The Saints came out of nowhere to place fourth as well.

So really, who would you give it to? OCS boys golf? Heritage boys golf? McGuinness’ Byrne and Kraft? Not an easy answer. Kudos to all.

Oklahoma Christian School junior Jackson Ogle took all the fun out of the boys 2A state golf race at Sugar Creek Canyon in Hinton.

He was so possessed to claim the championship that everything else took a backseat – even a victory celebration.

When Ogle lost to Fairview’s Logan Herbst last year, he knew he would get another shot at it. And boy did he (and the team) make the most of it.

Ogle was so consistent that you might even say he was boring because that’s how steady he was in winning his first individual state championship.

He tied teammate Rustin Purser for the lowest round of the day (70), shooting 16 4s and two 3s in turning a one-stroke deficit after day 1 to a four-stroke victory against fellow teammate Alexander Hall.

The Saints dominated the field, shooting a 290 on the final day and winning by 66 (!) strokes for their second consecutive team title.

For much more on Ogle’s victory, go here.

And here is a video with Ogle:

Not to be outdone, Purser had the day of his high school career, shooting an ace on the par-3 No. 5 hole as part of his 70 en route to a third-place finish. Pretty good spot to pick for your first hole-in-one, no?

Here’s a video with Purser:

It’s the final week of Player of the Week honors that won’t involve state champions, so I wanted to give some kudos to people that may have been overlooked this year.

The obvious winner would have been Heritage pitcher Bob Kraft, but I think we’ve more than covered his great 20-strikeout outing against Casady. So went in another direction.

This week’s honor goes to Heritage Hall freshman Nikoli Jezdan, who had a big outing at the track and field regional at Watonga.

Jezdan placed fourth in the shot put and third in the discus throw for the Chargers. Sophomore Quintaz Struble placed fifth in the discus. The Chargers will compete at state in Ardmore this weekend.

Other contenders

Cale Shivers, Casady, Baseball: Been a vital part to the turnaround of the Cyclones in football and baseball. He was a gutsy quarterback that was never afraid to put himself out there. On the diamond, he’s the same way as a pitcher, unafraid to challenge the best of hitters.

Whitney Ritchie, Bishop McGuinness, Tennis: The way she has handled transition from No. 1 singles to No. 1 doubles has been admirable. Ritchie, now teaming with Trinian O’Neil, is now a part of the most dominant doubles team in the state and will be gunning for her fourth state title Saturday.

Cody Haines, OCS, Soccer: Haines came up with big save after big save as OCS eked out a tough 1-0 win against Mt. St. Mary’s in a first-round playoff matchup. It doesn’t get any easier at this point as the Saints play at OKC Dove Science on Tuesday night.

***

EDIT: Casady’s Graham Bennett had a huge weekend as well, winning the discus throw (147-4) at the SPC Championships. It is Casady’s first gold medal in track since 2005.

If all Bishop McGuinness girls soccer player Alexa Gonce did was score the game-winning goal against Deer Creek last week, she would have been in the conversation for Player of the Week.

But she had two goals in that one AND added two more in a 4-0 win against Metro Christian on Thursday. And she’s been solid all season and easily gets this week’s honor.

The Irish are in great shape heading into the playoffs (that begin next week), having defeated No. 1-ranked Bishop Kelley and No. 2-ranked Deer Creek.

Paced by Gonce and Abbey Akin and goaltender Elyse Hight, the Irish might have all the components necessary to make that run this year.

Other Contenders

Ryan Shelley, Casady, Baseball: Shelley came up huge against rival Holland Hall. He had a home run and three RBIs. Might he top it Monday vs. Heritage? (I’ll be there)

Kyle Ahmad, Irish, Baseball: Ahmad busted out of his slump at the Deer Creek Classic, getting multiple hits in games and using his speed to get things going.

Nathan Bowker, Heritage Hall, Baseball: The Chargers are still rolling at 20-2 and Bowker has added pitching depth to go with Bob Kraft.

Levi Fisher, Heritage, Track and Field: Fisher was dominant in winning the discus throw at the Route 66 Classic at Chandler.

Sam O’Brien and Caitlin Farris, Irish, Golf: O’Brien has been consistent all season for McGuinness while Farris placed second at the Altus Invitational last week.

Jackson Ogle, OCS, Golf: Won the Enid Tournament last week and has been involved in three scorecard playoff ties for championships this year.

Collin Groves, Heritage, Soccer: Chargers blanked Bethany last week as Groves added a goal and has been a strong scorer all season.

Emily Conrad, Irish, Tennis: After three years of being in doubles, Conrad, an Abilene Christian signee, has done well at No. 2 singles.

The Oklahoma Christian School boys golf team has not suffered a championship hangover at all this season.

The depth the Saints have give them a great shot at defending their title at the state tournament next month.

That depth was on display again in Enid as OCS won another team title at Pheasant Run this week.

Alexander Hall and Jackson Ogle tied for first, shooting an even-par 72. Hall earned the nod in a scorecard playoff.

The Saints also had a tie for fourth as Scotty Verplank and Preston Schaefer each shot 79 with Verplank earning the spot in the scorecard playoff.

Ogle has been the most consistent performer for the Saints as he has been in three scorecard playoff ties for first place. Ironically enough, all three have been with different teammates.

Now that girls’ guru Justin Harper has unveiled his all-city and Super 5 basketball teams, thought I’d chime in with my own picks in the private realm.

First Team
Meagan Henson, Sr., Christian Heritage: Led CHA to first state appearance, headed to TCU
Murphy Burns, Sr., Heritage Hall: A gritty player and natural scorer for the Chargers
Elyse Hight, So., Bishop McGuinness: Her best days are yet to come, strong finisher inside
Cara Pugh, Sr., Bishop McGuinness: The OCU signee was a tough matchup for teams in the post
Alexa Lienhard, Jr., Bishop McGuinness: The team’s most consistent performer, could dominate next year

Second Team
D Brown, Jr., Heritage Hall
Lissy Fuller, Sr., Bishop McGuinness
Dani Childress, So., OCS
Alyssa Puckett, Jr., OCS

Honorable mention
Bishop McGuinness: Kamber McMaster, Sr.; Casady: Shelby Cornelson; Sarah Roush. Heritage Hall: BreAuna Gaddis, So. Mt. St. Mary’s: Liana Garcia, Sr.; OCS: Mackenzie Barnes, Sr.

MVP: Henson
Proves the old adage that good things do come in small packages. Teams would try to key in on her, but she always found a way to make something special happen. Created huge excitement at the school with first state appearance. Good luck at TCU.

Coach of the Year: Jennifer Frakes, Irish
Yea, it was disappointing for the Irish to not make state but tough to discount what the team did this year. With such a solid nucleus coming back, the hunger should be there, and you know Frakes will have the team ready.

Now that Scott Wright has unveiled his Super 5 and All-City teams, would like to chime in with my own thoughts on the private school boys.

First Team
Dalton Newsome, Sr., Mt. St. Mary’s: When the Rockets needed a big bucket, Newsome got the call
Joe Edmonds, So., Bishop McGuinness: Incredible talent will make him one to watch in the future.
Jameel Whitney, Sr., Bishop McGuinness: Versatility at positions and sports is biggest asset
Ryan Shelley, Sr., Casady: Heart and soul of a team that left everything on the floor
Vincent Mason, Sr., Mt. St. Mary’s: A force in the post with double-double potential every night

Second Team
Kevin Caruthers, Sr., Bishop McGuinness
Jack Warren, Jr., OCS
T.J. Holland, So., OCS
Matt Christiansen, So., Bishop McGuinness
Hans Thun, Sr., OCA

Honorable mention
Bishop McGuinness: Zach Murphy. Casady: Preston Sullivan; Bentley Williams, Sr. Christian Heritage: Kenny Wooldridge. Heritage Hall: Collin Groves; Quintaz Struble; Sterling Shepard; Andrew Hudiburg. Mt. St. Mary’s: Christian Hill. OCS: Jake Cranfield.

MVP: Edmonds, Irish
Feels wrong to give it to a sophomore…until you watch him play. Edmonds is the total package, so who knows what’s going to happen and how much he’ll develop in the next two years? Edmonds and Christiansen give McGuinness a solid foundation for next year.

Coach of the Year: Tondrell Durham, Bishop McGuinness
Expectations were not as high for this team, but the Irish always came up big on the biggest stage. Losing to Douglass in the 4A final is nothing to be ashamed about, and the Irish continue to show discipline and execution under Durham’s guidance.

All three Edmond teams were there, along with teams from Carl Albert, Oklahoma Christian and a few other top programs.

I mentioned in Monday’s paper that Norman North would get another shot at Edmond North, as both are among the state’s top teams, but I found out shortly after arriving at the course Tuesday morning that the Timberwolves only took their junior varsity. So their next shot at the Huskies will be next Monday at a 36-hole event in Enid.

Carl Albert’s Talor Gooch shot a 1-over-par 71 Tuesday to win by a stroke over Edmond Memorial’s Taylor Moore and Casady’s John Ratliff. Gooch has played two tournaments this spring and the Oklahoma State signee has won them both.

Five other golfers had 75 or better on Tuesday, which was pretty impressive with the crazy wind blowing across the course, as well as the slick greens.

Edmond North edged Memorial by three shots for the team title, followed by Edmond Santa Fe.

Putnam City North and Yukon each had strong team outings, finishing at 315 and 316 respectively. Yukon won its first tournament of the year before spring break, and PC North had a little bit slower start, but both look to have some solid golfers.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

It seems like every sports season there is a name or two that might always be in the running for player of the week. You could have made a real argument for Xavier Smith of Edmond North and Kameron Doolittle of Edmond Memorial in football.

The same could have been said about Santa Fe’s Courtney Walker and North’s Elizabeth Donohoe in girls basketball.

Definitely have candidates in the spring, especially in track. I have a feeling I’ll be typing Isaiah Duke of Memorial and Gunnar Nixon of the Wolves over and over and over.

When I typed last week’s winners, I had no idea about what Nixon had done at the Nike Indoor event in Boston. So it’s a week late, but he still deserves the honor. And since there was such little action because of spring break, it’s a combined award for the Edmond and Private Schools Player of the Week.

Nixon was phenomenal at the Indoor meet in Boston last week, setting a junior meet record in the Pentathlon.

Nixon scored 4,141 points in the event, helped by a high jump of 7-feet, 0.5 inches — the best by a prep athlete indoors this year.

In addition to his high jump, Nixon won the 1,000-meter run, finished second in the 60 hurdles and fourth in both the long jump and the shot.

Going to be fun to ‘track’ (get it? I’m hilarious) all the success of the spring athletes here in the next couple of months. Excited for the seasons to really get going (despite the snow). I’ma try to make it out to as many events as I possibly can.

But I’m throwing it out to you guys as well. Spring is so busy that it’s tough to make sure everyone gets included that deserves a mention. So if you have suggestions, send ‘em this way whenever you can.

Other contenders

Michael Fulmer, Deer Creek, Baseball: The Antlers and Wolves headed out to Alabama last week, and Deer Creek went a perfect 4-0 on the trip. Fulmer was sensational on the mound in one of the big wins.

Jordan Lopez, Santa Fe, Baseball: Cody Rosecrans should probably get this nom, too, but Lopez had a great ‘Bama trip as well, proving to be the most consistent hitter and scored a bunch of runs.

Tyler Smith, Mt. St. Mary’s, Baseball: Another diamond hero as Smith was fantastic in a 9-1 win against Oklahoma Christian on Friday. Smith struck out 11 in a complete game victory.

This is about as obvious as it gets. This year’s sophomore class in the private school realm is going to be extremely special, and that’s not to say they’re not already. But in these next two years, yeah, there are going to be some unforgettable moments.

Bishop McGuinness
The Irish are going to be led by Matt Christiansen and Joe Edmonds. That alone should make them reach the state tournament. Edmonds should be one of the best all-around players in the state while Christiansen should become one of the best low post players in the state.

The loss of Jameel Whitney and Kevin Caruthers will be tough for Tondrell Durham’s boys. But knowing Durahm, he’ll find a way to make it all work.

Heritage Hall
The crazy-good sophomore class in football didn’t exactly translate to basketball success for Mike Walker. But I do believe it can.

Collin Groves and Andrew Hudiburg will leave a void, but I think the Chargers are going to be a better team next year. Quintaz Struble is only going to get bigger and stronger. Markus Wakefield is a very intelligent player and serves his role well while Sterling Shepard is still a freakish athlete.

You don’t want to rein in someone like Shepard, but his style of play is so Dwyane Wade-ish that afraid he’s going to be all banged up by the time he gets a chance to become the star he will be.

Mt. St. Mary’s is taking a real hit, losing the bulk of the kids that brought them to state. The Wagner boys are coming back, so that’s a plus. However, coach Lenny Hatchett will make the pieces work…OCS is going to be back next year. T.J. Holland and Jack Warren return, and you know that team is going to be real motivated after what happened this season…Casady will be depleted with the loss of that tremendous senior class, but Preston Sullivan should lead the way for the Cyclones.

The ending of the season in the private school realm was a little disappointing for the girls. And with stars like CHA’s Meagan Henson and Mt. St. Mary’s Liana Garcia (among others) leaving, it will be interesting to see what happens. OCS’ Dani Childress should really become a name to remember next year.

One of the bigger moments of the season will happen in July with the ADM. Heritage Hall would really benefit from moving down to 3A while the Irish might benefit to a move up to 5A.

Bishop McGuinness
This year’s disappointment should be a driving force all summer, fall and winter for Jennifer Frakes’ squad. It’s sad that girls like Cara Pugh and Lissy Fuller won’t get the opportunity to play for a state championship, but look at the talent that is coming back.

It’s going to start with a healthy Caroline Cameron. She was having a fantastic start to the season before tearing her ACL against Edmond North. In the post, Alexa Lienhard and Elyse Hight are going to give opponents’ fits just like they did this season.

The only question will be is how long will the mental hangover last? I wasn’t at Midwest City when the Irish were taken out by Clinton, but I’m sure it still stings right now.

Heritage Hall
The Chargers lose one of the best pure scorers I saw this season in Murphy Burns, but D Brown does return. Brown had to carry a lot of the load this season when the team was faced with pressure defenses.

However, Carter Cloud will be a year older and ready to do more and look for BreAuna Gaddis to absolutely explode next season for Leslie Warner’s club.

You never know sometimes about undefeated teams. Are they that good, or were they a product of their schedule? And after the Christian Heritage girls lost in regionals, hmm, became skeptical.

But they fought and fought and fought some more. The girls worked their way through the losers’ bracket, a thrilling OT battle with Central Sallisaw and qualified for the state tournament.

The biggest reason is the play of senior Meagan Henson, who has been phenomenal all season. The TCU signee just finds a way to make the big plays.

She was the leading scorer in all three games this week and just has that certain ‘it’ factor that can’t be described or put in a box score.

CHA’s reward for all the battling is a date with perennial power Washington on Thursday at 2 p.m. at State Fair Arena.

Other contenders

Kevin Caruthers, Bishop McGuinness, Basketball: The senior guard was HUGE in the OT win against Woodward. Sometimes he’s a little too unselfish, but he definitely makes this team go. Irish play Cache at 2 p.m. at Oklahoma Christian University.

Elyse Hight, Irish, Basketball: You could argue the girls squad is the best team not playing this, but Hight did everything she could. A 10-point loss to Anadarko and a three-point loss to Clinton ended their season.

Vincent Mason, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: A tough loss against Millwood put the Rockets up against a solid Bridge Creek club that had already beaten ‘em once. Led by Mason and Dalton Newsome, MSM won by 31 points. Rockets take on Hugo at 3:30 p.m. at Moore.

Boneman’s note: Because of all the basketball coverage (B-6A), I admit to not having much knowledge at all at how the first week of spring sports went. If you have someone you would like to nominate for a POW from the spring sports, send it along. Appreciate the assistance.

I guess I never actually elaborated on my point when I saw the same characteristics in the Bishop McGuinness boys and girls basketball teams.

The biggest thing they share is balance and the multiple options who can get the job done on any given night. For the boys, the dynamic quartet of Matt Christiansen, Jameel Whitney, Kevin Caruthers and Joe Edmonds can all score in bunches.

On the girls side, Lissy Fuller, Elyse Hight, Cara Pugh and Alexa Lienhard can all be the first name you see in a box score for Jennifer Frakes’ club.

This week I’m going with Lienhard as the Private schools Player of the Week. She was outstanding in the win at Heritage Hall as was the team. It just seems like this girls team is so focused on making state. It’s fun to see a team rise up to the occasion instead of becoming overwhelmed in the moment.

The Irish (both squads) need to win one game this week and both will punch their tickets to the state tournament.

Other contenders

The boys quartet, Irish, Basketball: Christiansen, Edmonds, Whitney and Caruthers were the top four scorers in both regional victories.

Murphy Burns and Collin Groves, Heritage Hall, Basketball: The Chargers’ seasons came to an end last weekend, but these seniors were sensational and made their mark at Heritage.

T.J. Holland and Jack Warren, OCS, Basketball: Warren was big one night, Holland the next, but the Saints are staying home. Absolute definition of an up-and-down season.

Christian Hill, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: Another team with good balance, Hill had 15 points in MSM’s huge road win at Kingfisher for regional title.

Liana Garcia, Mt. St. Mary’s and Mackenzie Barnes, OCS, Basketball: Overshadowed by the boys’ programs, these girls represented their schools well and were dang good on the court.

Meagan Henson, CHA, Basketball: Christian Heritage lost its first game of the season Saturday to another great team in Konawa, now we’re going to see how this team can bounce back under Henson’s leadership.

And here is a video of Lienhard that I shot after the Heritage game.

A somber day in the OKC-area private schools sector of the world. A couple of boys teams saw their season come to an end while CHA took it on the chin twice, but the Crusaders will be back.

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Irish def. Perkins (55-36) for the regional championship.
Girls: Irish def. Perkins (42-30) for the regional championship.

Heritage Hall
Boys: Chargers lost to Piedmont (58-44) in an elimination game. Chargers have the pieces to make a run in the future, but it’s tough way to go out for Collin Groves and Andrew Hudiburg (among others). Just like football, that sophomore class can bring it on the court, too.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Boys: Rockets def. Kingfisher (50-40) for regional championship. Huge win as the game was at Kingfisher. That’s the type of momentum you want heading into Area.

OCS
Boys: Saints lost to Centennial (47-46) in an elimination game. Really thought the Saints were going to find their way to the state tournament. That win vs. Bethel I thought was going to get this team on track. OCS played well late in the season but picked the wrong time for a bad weekend.

CHA
Boys: Crusaders lost to Haworth (63-37) in regional championship.
Girls: Crusaders lost to Konawa (67-60) in regional championship. Not a bad loss at all, but it would have been a HUGE win on the road.

Somebody was upset about losing to Perry. That somebody would be OCS’ Jack Warren, who absolutely went off for 36 points.

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Irish def. Piedmont (53-35). Play Perkins for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Cushing.
Girls: Irish def. Heritage Hall (78-39). Play Perkins for the regional championship at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Cushing.

Heritage Hall
Boys: Chargers def. Cleveland (54-49). Play in an elimination game Saturday against Piedmont at 3 p.m. at Cushing.
Girls: Chargers lost to Cushing (50-34). Chargers had a great one-two combo in Murphy Burns and D Brown and they delivered all season.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Boys: Rockets def. Prague (50-45). Play Kingfisher for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Kingfisher.
Girls: Rockets lost to Alva (49-38). A nice surge late in the season, but it was a rough schedule for MSM.

OCS
Boys: Saints def. Lexington (87-68). The Saints scored 53 points in the second half. Play Centennial in an elimination game Saturday at Bethel at 3 p.m.

CHA
Boys: Crusaders def. Davis (68-57). Play Haworth for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Konawa.
Girls: Crusaders def. Latta (54-44). Play Konawa for the regional championship at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Konawa.

Bishop McGuinness showed its dominance, Mt. St. Mary’s boys survived a good tussle and the Oklahoma Christian boys got upset by Perry. Eventful first day.

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Irish def. Piedmont (53-35). Play Perkins for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Cushing.
Girls: Irish def. Heritage Hall (78-39). Play Perkins for the regional championship at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Cushing.

Heritage Hall
Boys: Chargers def. Classen (54-26). Play Cleveland in an elimination game Friday at 8 p.m. at Cushing.
Girls: Chargers lost to McGuinness (78-39). Play Cushing in an elimination game Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Cushing.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Boys: Rockets def. Prague (50-45). Play Kingfisher for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Kingfisher.
Girls: Rockets lost to Prague (63-22). Play Alva in an elimination game Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Kingfisher.

OCS
Boys: Saints lost to Perry (38-35). Play Lexington in an elimination game Friday at 3 p.m. at Bethel.
Girls: Saints lost to Chandler (54-49). The Saints’ season is over. A tough schedule and injuries really kept this team from being able to realize its potential.

CHA
Boys: Crusaders def. Davis (68-57). Play Haworth for the regional championship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Konawa.
Girls: Crusaders def. Latta (54-44). Play Konawa for the regional championship at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Konawa.

I’ll be at wrestling all day Friday and Saturday but will try to post the nightly basketball results when I get home from everything.

Wondering where you should go Thursday? Well, if you’re an OKC-area private school follower, I got ya hook up. Some intriguing spots. I’ll be at Heritage Hall for a trio of Chargers and Bishop McGuinness games. All first games listed are Thursday contests.

Bishop McGuinness
Boys: Irish vs. Piedmont at Heritage, 8 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Cleveland/Perkins winner at Cushing on Saturday.
Girls: Irish vs. Heritage at Heritage, 6:30 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Cleveland/Perkins winner at Cushing on Saturday.

Heritage Hall
Boys: Chargers vs. Classen at Heritage, 3 p.m. (Losers’ Bracket). Winner plays Cleveland/Perkins loser at Cushing on Friday.
Girls: Chargers vs. Bishop McGuinness, 6:30 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Cleveland/Perkins winner at Cushing on Saturday.

Mt. St. Mary’s
Boys: Rockets vs. Prague at Prague, 8 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Kingfisher/Northeast winner at Kingfisher on Saturday.
Girls: Rockets vs. Prague at Prague, 6:30 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Kingfisher/Northeast winner at Kingfisher on Saturday.

OCS
Boys: Saints vs. Perry at Chandler, 8 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Bethel/Centennial winner at Bethel on Saturday.
Girls: Saints vs. Chandler, 1:30 p.m. (Losers’ Bracket). Winner plays Bethel/Lexington loser at Bethel on Friday.

CHA
Boys: Crusaders vs. Davis at Wewoka, 8 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winner plays Konawa/Haworth winner at Konawa on Saturday.
Girls: Crusaders vs. Latta at Wewoka, 6:30 p.m. (Winners’ Bracket). Winners plays Haworth/Konawa winner at Konawa on Saturday.

This is the first class I feel like I’ve watched grow up. I remember watching Lizzy Whitbeck as a sophomore at the state tournament.

As good as she was, she was only the third best swimmer in her normal practice group as her sister, Katie, and Edmond Memorial star Samantha Woodward had her beat.

Flash forward to this year, and I don’t think there is a better girls swimmer in the state. She just carries herself around with so much confidence because she knows her abilities.

And while I’m giving the Private schools Player of the Week to Lizzy Whitbeck, it could really go to the entire Irish girls swimming team.

Seniors Danielle and Amee Pena and Erin Gaffney all played big roles in giving the team its second straight Class 5A state championship.

Whitbeck plans to walk-on at Arkansas, where Katie is at. I think she’ll be just fine. Lizzy won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke and was also named the Swimmer of the Year by the coaches.

Spoiler alert: she has one more award coming to her from this writer as well.

The senior quartet also won two relays, the 200 Medley and the 400 Free. In other words, they started the show with a title and closed it out with one.

Other contenders

Narayan Naik, Heritage Hall, Swimming: Concluded a great career for the Chargers with wins in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke and was also named the Swimmer of the Year by the coaches. Chargers placed a solid third.

Naresh Naik, John Byford and Matt Veneklasen, Heritage, Swimming: Combined with Narayan to pull off an upset and win the 200 Free Relay at state. Chargers placed third as a team overall.

Ryan Bass, Pat Carver, Clint Edgeman, Bishop McGuinness, Wrestling: These boys will represent the Irish at the state tournament this weekend (I’ll be there).

Liana Garcia, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: It’s been a rough season for the Rockets, but came up with a huge upset of Jones, led by Garcia’s 14 points Saturday.

Christian Hill, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: The Rockets have great depth, and Hill is just one of many options for Lenny Hatchett’s club. He led the way in a win vs. Jones.

Elaine Cooper, Irish, Basketball: McGuinness easily won 73-8 against Classen with Cooper and others gaining some valuable playing time. Cooper had 12 points.

Matt Christiansen and Jameel Whitney, Irish, Basketball: Christiansen was big in a win vs. Ardmore and Whitney led balanced attack in victory against Classen.

Jack Warren, OCS, Basketball: In a gritty battle against Stroud, Warren had 20 points for the Saints in the road victory.

Murphy Burns, Heritage Hall, Basketball: The Chargers went to Piedmont and took out a solid Wildcats club in district action.

A little uneven week in the world of the OKC-area private schools. Only a couple of schools were able to survive the week without tasting a defeat.

One of those teams was a club I got to see for the first time this season, the Mt. St. Mary’s Rockets. And though MSM wasn’t clicking on all cylinders against Heritage, they found a way to win and they picked up two more Ws in the process.

It’s really more of a team award, but I’ll go ahead and give this week’s honor to Vincent Mason. I was impressed with all the little things he did against the Chargers, and he followed that with solid outings, especially against Christian Heritage.

This is a solid bunch that plays hard for each other and for coach Lenny Hatchett. Mason and Dalton Newsome make the team go, but there are so many key contributors for this team that it’s tough to single out anybody.

Christian Hill and Jake Peace come up big on defense while Jeremy Wagner provides a spark off the bench with his outside shooting.

Class 3A is wide open, and it’ll be fun to track the Rockets’ run to the gold ball.

Other contenders

Lissy Fuller, Bishop McGuinness, Basketball: Of all the talk of the post players, she’s the one running the show at point. She’s maybe a little too unselfish, but Fuller is as solid as they come. Good wins at Union and Lawton MacArthur for the Irish.

Ryan Shelley, Casady, Basketball: Cyclones fought hard in the Southwest Prep Conference tournament in Houston and showed that tremendous spirit that has epitomized this senior class.

Quintaz Struble and Collin Groves, Heritage Hall, Basketball: Tough week for Mike Walker’s club, but you get that when you play MSM, OCS and Northeast. Struble is starting to come around while Groves is most consistent scorer.

D Brown and Murphy Burns, Heritage, Basketball: Shocker here, huh? They make this team go, it’s all about the supporting cast for Leslie Warner’s club.

Hunter Hogan, OCS, Basketball: Friday’s win vs. Heritage was the best game I’ve seen from Hogan this season, and the Saints will need those type of outings in the playoffs.

Meagan Henson, CHA, Basketball: Christian Heritage remains undefeated, thanks in large part to Henson. Interesting to see how CHA fares heading into playoffs.

A little tired and want to rest up for the big day ahead with Super Saturday for the Suburban Conference, so a little shorter than normal.

Childress leads OCS to victory (Girls)

It hasn’t been an easy year for the Oklahoma Christian girls basketball team. Injuries and a brutal schedule have seen the Saints on the losing end of many close games.

But with the team trailing early against Heritage Hall, OCS fought back to pull out a 61-57 victory on Friday night.

Sophomore Dani Childress scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Saints.

“This was a huge win,” coach Elizabeth Clower said. “We’ve been in so many tight games this season that it’s great for these girls to get this kind of night.”

OCS led 58-49 with under two minutes left, but the Heritage combo of Murphy Burns and D Brown made it 58-57 with less than one minute left. OCS’ Mackenzie Barnes put the game away from the free throw line, knocking down three of her four attempts in the final 30 seconds.

Burns led Heritage with 20 points while Brown added 19.

***

Childress is going to be fun to watch in the next couple of seasons. When the year started, I thought Mackenzie Barnes would be the go-to player for OCS.

And it’s not like Barnes has slacked off, but Childress is taking over.

What is setting her apart from the rest of the field is her confidence with the ball. She doesn’t look overwhelmed by anything and makes real good and quick decisions.

She showed the whole game tonight. She was draining 3s, driving to the bucket, fighting for the tough points, great effort by the sophomore.

Childress has had other big games, but I think this one re-sets the bar for her. Have really enjoyed seeing her grow this season.

I’d be selling the team short if I didn’t credit the defense, though. Heritage was up big in the first quarter, but the Saints showed heart. Leading the way was sophomore Elizabeth Maher. Facing girls much bigger than her, she did a great job on the defensive end.

Seniors pace Saints (Boys)

The Oklahoma Christian boys basketball team has been led by underclassmen T.J. Holland and Jack Warren all season.

But it was fitting on senior night that it was the upperclassmen carrying the day in a 56-36 win against Heritage Hall on Friday.

Senior Hunter Hogan scored eight of his 10 points in the first half, and then senior Jake Cranfield notched 10 of his 14 in the second half for the Saints.

OCS led 28-24 at halftime but took control with a 14-4 advantage in the third quarter and never looked back.

Collin Groves led the Chargers with 11 points.

It was a battle between a couple of Bishop McGuinness standouts for this week’s honor, but I thought this sophomore made a bigger impression this week.

The Irish girls basketball team was in danger of not only blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter but doing it at home…on homecoming…against their rival.

But there would be no miracle comeback for Bishop Kelley because of Elyse Hight. Scoring more than half the team’s points and derailing the comeback attempt makes her the Private schools Player of the Week.

Hight scored 20 points in the 39-35 win. And the way she played in the second half opened my eyes. She’s had a couple of big games this season (most notably in a loss to Edmond North), but the way that she played Friday has to have Irish supporters a little bit giddy.

McGuinness is being powered by its post, and you thought that just meant Cara Pugh and Alexa Lienhard. But Hight is showing when she gets a chance, she’ll make the most out of it.

I said it Friday night, but it’s how strong she is with the ball that is setting her apart. She’s able to convert when she gets a hit, and there’s a big difference in always going for three-point plays vs. shooting two free throws.

If the Irish are going to make a run in an ultra-deep 4A, they’re going to need more big-time performances from places they don’t normally look.

Other contenders

Jameel Whitney, Basketball/Football, Irish: Big week for Whitney. Signed with East Central to play football Wednesday and scores game-high 15 points in win vs. Bishop Kelley on Friday.

Ryan Shelley, Basketball, Casady: Cyclones went 0-3 last week but not because of Shelley. Good week for the senior, who moved into sixth on the all-time scoring list.

Daniel Blackwood, Basketball, OCS: You know about Jack Warren and T.J. Holland, but Blackwood returned this last week as OCS pulled out two more Ws vs. Riverside and Christian Heritage.

Hans Thun, Basketball, OCA: This is more of a ‘season achievement’ award as Thun has been almost beyond sensational for the Eagles this season.

Note: Heritage Hall did not compete in basketball this week.

OK, he doesn’t need your support, but doesn’t a story like Wilson Holloway’s make you want to support him?

Holloway, now at Tulsa and a former star at Oklahoma Christian, is up for the 2010 Rare Disease Champion sponsored by Uplifting Athletes. This award is given to a leader in sports, an individual or an organization, who has realized their potential to make a positive and lasting impact on the rare disease community.

Holloway was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer two years ago and is truckin’ along and inspiring  just about anybody who meets him.

Voting is open until Feb. 27, with the winner announced Feb. 28. People are allowed to vote once a day.

To vote, go here.

For more information on what Holloway has been battling and the inspiration he’s been to Tulsa, go here. And here. Or here.

As of Saturday afternoon, Holloway is in second place at 34 percent. Clemson’s Stanley Hunter leads at 55 percent.

Trying to track down all the make up dates for basketball for ‘my boys’. A couple (PCNorth/Santa Fe and Memorial/Norman have already been made up). Here is what I know as of now:

Saturday
Deer Creek vs. Piedmont
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Choctaw (make up of ‘no refs’ game)

Monday
Edmond North vs. Mustang

Tuesday
Deer Creek vs. Western Heights

Thursday
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Yukon

Monday, Feb. 15
Southmoore vs. Edmond Memorial

OCS plays Mt. St. Mary’s and Heritage Hall later in the season, so the first meeting for each has just been thrown out, too tough to try to make up.

FOOTBALL
Henry Alexander, Ardmore (SEOSU)
Jake Alexander, Jenks (Tulsa)
Jamaal Allen, Lawton (SNU)
Joe Alston, Berryhill (NSU)
Daryn Alves, Durant (NSU)
Gerard Anderson, Tulsa Central (NEO)
Matthew Anderson, Sand Springs (Pittsburg State)
Joe Aska, Edmond North (Garden City)
Brad Avery, Madill (SWOSU)
David Balenseifen, Mustang/NEO (SNU)
Tyler Barnes, Enid (SNU)
Calvin Barnett, Tulsa Washington (Arkansas)
Josh Barrett, Wayne (SNU)
Skylar Bartlett, Ringling (SNU)
Jason Bear, Stillwater (SNU)
Eric Bennett, Tulsa Washington (Arkansas)
Que’Shaun Bennett, Enid (NWOSU)
Matt Berrey, Purcell/NEO (ECU)
Ken Berry, John Marshall (ECU)
Ethan Biddy, Tuttle (Air Force)
Michael Billingsley, Southeast/NEO (Nichols State)
Qumain Black, Ada (NEO)
Kenyad Blair, Northeast/NEO (Nichols State)
Kenneth Blake, Davis (ECU)
Mason Blake, Lindsay (NWOSU)
Rhett Blundell, Kingfisher (NWOSU)
Brenton Bogar, Muskogee (Tulsa/NEO)
Hunter Bohannan, Yukon (Southwestern, Kan.)
Zach Boren, Southmoore (NEO)
Austin Brasher, Edmond North (BYU)*
Julian Brockington, Del City (NEO)
D’Juan Brooks, Edmond Memorial (NEO)
Brenden Brown, Norman North (ECU)
LaBron Brown, Southmoore (NEO)
Jon Bullock, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Jeremy Burton, Muskogee (La.-Monroe)
Justin Butterfield, Bartlesville (NSU)
Troy Buffington, Southmoore (SNU)
Tate Byers, Tulsa Kelley (Washington, St. Louis)
Colton Byford, Edmond North (UCO)
Irvin Caldwell, Star Spencer (NEO)
Chris Campbell, Enid (NWOSU)
Nick Canavan, Norman North (Missouri State)
Michael Cane, Okmulgee (ECU)
Chance Carey, McAlester (ECU)
Londre Carson, Muskogee (NEO)
Luke Chalfant, Hinton (SWOSU)
Mark Chestnut, Miami/NEO/OSU (Pittsburg State)
Keldin Choate, Shawnee (ECU)
Chris Clark, Moore (NWOSU)
Arthola Clarke, John Marshall (NWOSU)
Colton Cline, Norman North (Sam Houston State)
Alex Cochran, Broken Arrow (SWOSU)
Demarco Cobbs, Tulsa Central (Texas)
Aaron Colvin, Owasso (OU)
Tuswani Copeland, Lawton MacArthur (Baylor)
Jacoby Crowley, Lawton Eisenhower (SEOSU)
Nathan Crownover, Del City/NEO (SNU)
Dakota Crumbie, Tulsa Washington (ECU)
Clayton Cunningham, Ringwood (NWOSU)
Roper Cunningham, Waynoka (NWOSU)
Steven Daniels, Tulsa East Central (UCO)
Robert Dansby, Tulsa Memorial (McPherson)
Nolan Davenport, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Dakota Davis, Broken Arrow (SWOSU)
Dalton Davis, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Niko Davis, Millwood (NEO)
Ryan Day, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Johnny Deaton, Sand Springs (OSU)
Gregory DeLozier, Seq. Claremore (Pittsburg State)
Terrance Dixon, Sand Springs (NSU)
Colton Dost, Tulsa Union (Western Kentucky)
Joe Dowdell, Tulsa Kelley (Dartmouth)
Brandon Downing, Edmond North (Washburn)
Alex Dowty, Mustang (Washburn)
Dalton Duckett, Tulsa Union (NSU)
Stephen Eastham, Dewey (NEO)
Bryce Ebbs, Vinita (NEO)
Cole Eddy, Midwest City (UCO)
Jordan Edwards, Washington (NEO)
Brandon Elmore, Blanchard/Coffeyville (SWOSU)
Josh Engert, Nowata (NEO)
B.J. Evans, Tulsa Union (Garden City)
Ryan Feller, Altus (SWOSU)
Darryl Fields, Madill (SMU)
Aaron Fisher, Tulsa Central (Ga. Southern)
Drew Fischer, Timberlake (NWOSU)
Blake Fogle, Caney Valley (NWOSU)
Kevin Forbes, Douglass (Langston)
Adam Ford, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Teontez Fortune, Douglass (Langston)
Donnie Fuston, Enid (NEO)
Ruben Gaines, Muskogee (UCO)
Eric Gardner, Lone Grove (ECU)
Jake Garrett, Tuttle (SNU)
Courtney Gaston, Fort Gibson (Arkansas)
Blake Gatewood, Edmond North (UCO)
Kimes Gilbert, Southmoore (SWOSU)
Jaimon Gilstrap, Tulsa East Central (NSU)
Zakk Gipson, Pryor (NWOSU)
Cord Gothard, Velma-Alma (SWOSU)
Gimo Grace, Tulsa East Central (Emporia State)
Bob Graham, Jenks (Iowa State)
Cale Grauer, Lincoln Christian (Mo. Western)
Delans Griffin, Clinton (Texas Tech)
Logan Grinstead, Sulphur (UCO)
Colby Hager, Sayre (NWOSU)
Justin Harmon-Brewer, Edmond Santa Fe (SNU)
Rowdy Harper, Broken Arrow (Houston)
Demantre Harris, Del City (Garden City)
Devante Harris, Duncan (SEOSU)
Halston Harris, Marlow (SEOSU)
Michael Harris, Edmond Santa Fe (Washburn)
Austin Haywood, Southmoore (OU)
Haden Hedges, Pioneer (SNU)
Alec Henry, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Trayvon Henry, Millwood (Butler County)
Aries Herrion, Tulsa Washington (Pittsburg State)
Rylan Hess, Metro Christian (Colo. School of Mines)
Steven Hopper, Broken Arrow (Vian)
Brett Horn, Waynoka (NWOSU)
J.J. Hugine, Del City (New Mexico)
Caleb Hulva, Enid (SNU)
Chris Hummingbird, Seq. Tahlequah (NEO)
Dalton Hunter, Maysville (ECU)
Derrick Hurst, Millwood (NWOSU)
Taylor Inman, Seq. Claremore (SWOSU)
Bronson Irwin, Mustang (OU)
Royal Isokariari, Tulsa Memorial (McPherson)
Rico Ivy, Douglass (Langston)
Miles Jackson, John Marshall (ECU)
Aaron James, Douglass (UCO)
Ethan James, Gore (NSU)
Franky Jamison, Star Spencer (NEO)
Antonio Jenkins, Putnam North (NEO)
Dewitt Jennings, Bixby (Tulsa)
Kenny Johnson, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Jace Johnson, Bethel/ECU (SWOSU)
Tyler Johnson, Berryhill (NEO)
Willie Johnson, Tulsa Memorial (NEO)
Dominque Jones, Midwest City (Baylor)
Emmitt Jones, Star Spencer (NEO)
Gus Jones, Wagoner/OU (NSU)
Brendon Jordan, John Marshall (NEO)
Jordan Karriman, Grove/NEO (La.-Monroe)
Jacob Keller, Tulsa Union (La.-Monroe)
Jake Kelley, Beggs (Peru State)
Brandon Keplinger, Watonga (NWOSU)
Kyle Keplinger, Watonga (NWOSU)
Johnny Ketterman, Timberlake (NEO)
Drake Keys, Skiatook (SWOSU)
Chris King, Jenks (UCO)
Cecil Kirkendoll, Clinton (SWOSU)
Jarrett Lake, Jenks (Arkansas)
Alex Land, Edmond Santa Fe (Weber State)
Ricky Lawyer, Edmond North (NEO)
Justin Lepley, Seq. Tahlequah (NEO)
Chris Littlehead, Seq. Tahlequah (OSU)
David Lore, Jenks (Air Force)
Matt Luetjen, Hennessey (Army)
Randy Mack, Edmond Santa Fe (Washburn)
Tyler Mackey, Afton (NEO)
Dalton Mahoney, Alva (NWOSU)
Mike Major, Tulsa Kelley (Princeton)
George Mallett, Southmoore (SNU)
Beau Marsaln, Metro Christian (NEO)
Dominique Massengil, Lawton (ECU)
Mason Mathews, Yukon (Mid-America Nazarene)
Ty Matthews, Choctaw (SNU)
Chris McAlister, Del City (Central Arkansas)
Ryan McCaul, Moore/NEO (La.-Monroe)
Shawn McIntosh, Lawton MacArthur (SNU)
Nelson Medeiros, Edmond Memorial (Fort Hays State)
Ryan Merrill, Cordell (NWOSU)
Clifton Miller, Atoka (SEOSU)
Lucas Miller, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Brian Mills, Edmond Santa Fe (Princeton)
Corey Mitchell, Douglass (Weber State)
Deonte Morris, Tulsa Union (Tulsa/NEO)
Cory Mosely, Midwest City (Hutchinson)
Cole Mount, Deer Creek (Washburn)
Mason Myers, Southmoore (Colorado State)
Cody Nall, Ardmore (ECU)
Josh Napper, Lawton Eisenhower (SEOSU)
Carlos Nazario, Lawton (ECU)
Nic Nealy, Douglass (Grambling State)
Marco Nelson, Glenpool (Tulsa)
Chase Neuman, Dewey (SWOSU)
Jordan Newby, Southmoore (SNU)
Tanner Newby, Enid (NEO)
Justin Nole, Washington (SNU)
Alex Oden, Victory Christian (NEO)
Terence Olds, Star Spencer (NEO)
Cade Oller, Billings (NWOSU)
Tyler Ott, Jenks (Harvard)
Johnny Pack, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Dustin Parks, Waukomis (NWOSU)
Chris Patterson, McAlester (NEO)
Chris Peoples, Vian (SEOSU)
Richard Peoples, Norman North (ECU)
Gordon Perry, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Brandon Piercy, Muskogee (NEO)
Tre Porter, Carl Albert (Texas Tech)
Zac Powell, Garber (NWOSU)
Scott Powers, Sperry/NEO (Emporia State)
Ronnie Price, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Cody Pritchard, Stroud (NWOSU)
Sonny Puletasi, Lawton (Wyoming)
Chris Ramey, Wagoner (Arkansas Tech)
Sean Reed, Shawnee (ECU)
James Renfrow, Broken Arrow (NSU)
Joel Reser, Del City (NEO)
Sean Rigney, Shawnee (ECU)
James Roberson, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Thomas Roberson, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Kevin Roberts, Madill (SWOSU)
Brady Robinson, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Howard Roebuck, Tulsa Washington (Prairie View A&M)
Carl Salazar, Broken Arrow (Air Force)
Ian Sanders, CHA (SNU)
Kale Sawatzky, Weatherford (OU)*
Austin Schultz, Chisholm (SNU)
Taylor Schuyler, Bixby (Central Arkansas)
Tye Scott, Salina (NEO)
Derek Serowski, Southmoore (UCO)
Burgess Shaw, Sand Springs (ECU)
Tyler Shaw, Edmond Santa Fe (ECU)
Lamares Shields, Del City (ECU)
Denton Simek, Prague (Arkansas)
Ethan Simpson, Claremore (Pittsburg State)
D.J. Sims, Edmond Santa Fe (ECU)
Richard Sims, Edmond North (Dordt)
Kyler Skinner, Weatherford (SWOSU)
Ryan Smith, Muskogee (NEO)
Travis Smith, Durant (NEO)
Tyler Smith, Sand Springs (Pittsburg State)
Xavier Smith, Edmond North (Missouri)
Luke Snider, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Anthony Sparks, Stillwater (NEO)
Trent Spurgeon, Owasso (Arizona)
James Stephens, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Matt Stevenson, Edmond Memorial (Baker)
P.J. Stimson, Pryor (NWOSU)
Tyler Stitt, Mustang (NWOSU)
Ray Stovall, Tulsa Washington (La.-Monroe)
Jake Streck, Kremlin-Hillsdale (NWOSU)
Ricky Streck, Kremlin-Hillsdale (NWOSU)
Casey Strate, Dewey (NEO)
Clint Strate, Dewey (NEO)
Ryan Stringer, Clinton (SWOSU)
Caleb Sullivan, Seminole (Deer Creek)
Garrett Sullivan, Deer Creek (UCO)
Jon Swanfeld, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Nyko Symonds, Southmoore (OU)*
Kwame Tate, Elgin (UCO)
Dylan Taylor, Vian (NSU)
Matthew Tingle, Putnam North (NEO)
Robert Thomas, Sulphur/Cowley County (ECU)
Andre Thompson, Douglass (Langston)
Mike Thompson, Bartlesville (Pittsburg State)
Taylor Thurman, Seq. Claremore (Haskell)
Reuben Tiller, Ardmore (ECU)
Corey Todd, Hilldale (NWOSU)
Kobey Trower, Hominy (NEO)
Zach Trujillo, Deer Creek (Kansas State)**
Hayden Vencl, Garber (NWOSU)
Eddie Venters, Muskogee (NEO)
Markell Walker, Carl Albert (ECU)
Dillion Wallace, Tulsa East Central (NEO)
Patrick Wallace, Tulsa Central (NEO)
Nick Walters, Edmond Memorial/NEO (Arkansas)*
Davis Walton, Tulsa Kelley (NEO)
Raphael Watts, Capitol Hill (NEO)
Cole Way, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Clifford Weatherford, Muskogee (NEO)
Dane Weippert, Guymon (Panhandle State)
Stanley West, Westmoore (SNU)
Scott Whitaker, Norman North (Drake)
Norris White, Douglass (Weber State)
Jameel Whitney, McGuinness (ECU)
Ryland Widener, Southmoore (Northern Colorado)
Blair Williams, Beggs (NEO)
Kyle Williams, Broken Bow (SEOSU)
James Williams, John Marshall (NEO)
Terry Williamson, Broken Arrow (UCO)
Julian Wilson, Southmoore (OU)
Roman Wilson, Lincoln Christian (Princeton)
Ray Wolber, Tulsa Kelley (Drake)
Josiah Woodard, Stillwater (SEOSU)
Jordan Woods, Kingfisher (NWOSU)
Jeff Wright, Star Spencer (Langston)
Clayton Yancy, Seminole (Southwestern, Kan.)
Collin Yeary, Norman North (NEO)

BASEBALL
Wade Ambrose, Tulsa Union (Northeast Texas CC)
Tyler Carter, Ada (NOC-Enid)
Caden Cleveland, Christian Heritage (Morehead State)
Braden Cook, Chickasha (Connors State)
Cale Coshow, Deer Creek (OU)
Casey Coyle, Putnam North (OU)
John Davenport, Jay (NOC)
Luis DeJesus, Collinsville (EOSC)
Cale Elam, Oktaha (Wichita State)
Brad Fisher, Jenks (ORU)
Jonathan Furlong, Bixby (Neosho)
Nick Goza, Collinsville (EOSC)
Jonathan Gray, Chandler (OU)
Josh Halbert, Choctaw (Wichita State)
Landon Hallam, Edmond Memorial (Seminole)
J.R. Head, Midwest City (NOC-Enid)
Mason Justice, Holland Hall (Kansas State)
Shane Kinnear, Tulsa Union (Harding)
Jordan Lopez, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas Tech)
Joe McGee, Tulsa Washington (Connors State)
Jose Olizagosti, Collinsville (Seminole)
Mitch Osburn, Broken Arrow (Seminole)
Dillon Overton, Weatherford (OU)
J.T. Realmuto, Carl Albert (OSU)
Jacob Rice, Tulsa Union (Arkansas)
Dillon Robinson, Broken Arrow (Fort Scott)
Brandon Ruiz, Yukon (NOC)
Garrett Schaede, Owasso (Neosho)
Taylor Schneeberger, Broken Arrow (Connors State)
Cayle Shambaugh, Jay (OU)
Andrew Smith, Tulsa NOAH (Coffeyville)
Tyler Smith, Kelleyville (NOC)
Logan Taylor, Jenks (Texas Tech)
Billy Waltrip, Fort Gibson (New Mexico State)
Ryan Wilson, Owasso (Seminole)
Kyle Wood, Owasso (Fort Scott)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Will Baysinger, Owasso (MIT)
Cameron Downing, Tulsa Memorial (Buffalo)
Amric Fields, Putnam West (TCU)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ashlie Baker, Tulsa East Central (Fort Scott)
Jimi Blagowsky, Edmond Santa Fe (Air Force)
Desiree Bradley, Carl Albert (USC)
Brenna Burnett, Dale (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Y’Cedria Devers, Bixby (Pittsburg State)
Lindsey Hammer, Seq. Tahlequah (Mercer)
Meagan Henson, CHA (TCU)
Whitney Hocutt, Claremore (NOC)
Aianne Hunter, Putnam North (Dartmouth)
Ebonie Jackson, Tulsa East Central (Friends)
Richa Jackson, Midwest City (Duke)
Kortni Kendrick, Kansas (John Brown)
Christian Key, Victory Christian (ORU)
Kalie Lucas, Harrah (Missouri Southern)
Sophia Mahmoodjanloo, Edmond Santa Fe (State Fair College)
Mylie Mayes, Carl Albert (UCO)
Jessica McCarville, Sulphur (Southwestern, Kan.)
Ashlee Pitts, Tulsa East Central (SW Baptist)
Cara Pugh, McGuinness (OCU)
Lacy Reinke, Lawton (Cameron)
Hannah Ritter, Jay (Fort Hays State)
Kendra Suttles, Lawton (OSU)
Morgan Toben, Owasso (New Mexico)
Talor Ward, Beggs (Okla. Christian)
Kala White, Claremore (Labette)

EQUESTRIAN
Kelly Bovaird, Tulsa Kelley (Kansas State)

FIELD HOCKEY
Amanda Adwon, Holland Hall (Michigan)
Maggie Brady, Holland Hall (Brown)
Lauren Hauge, Holland Hall (Michigan)
Natalie Hood, Holland Hall (St. Louis)

GOLF
Lindsey Bensch, Broken Arrow home school (UCO)
Tressa Brumley, Chouteau (UCO)
Ian Davis, Deer Creek (OSU)
Macy Douglas, Broken Arrow (SNU)
Talor Gooch, Carl Albert (OSU)
Brad Hager, Bartlesville (NSU)
Matt Helms, Edmond Santa Fe (Wichita State)
Lauren Michael, Jenks (Drury)
Taylor Neidy, Clinton (UCO)
Cody Reed, Edmond Santa Fe (NSU)
Jade Staggs, Westmoore (OSU)
Shelby Stavely, Sallisaw/Harding (NSU)
Zach Tucker, Putnam North (NSU)

GYMNASTICS
Brittany Harris, Tulsa Union (Oregon State)

ROWING
Courtaney Miller, Jenks (SMU)

SOCCER
Jennifer Abernathy, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Ashley Bechtold, Putnam North (Missouri Southern)
Bobby Behrens, Sand Springs (John Brown)
Ashlynn Betts, Jenks (William Penn)
Leah Bickers, Victory Christian (ORU)
Rochelle Bohuslavicky, Edmond Memorial (Troy)
Bailey Boulware, Mustang (OU)
Whitney Brannon, Victory Christian (ORU)
Matt Bray, Putnam North (Missouri State)
Devon Bullard, Sand Springs (Rogers State)
Corbin Campbell, Deer Creek (OBU)
Sara Chalmers, Tulsa Kelley (Abilene Christian)
Sherri Collins, Edmond North (UCO)
Madison Cook, Tulsa Union (SWOSU)
Kyle Craft, Tulsa Kelley (Notre Dame)
Natalie Crosslin, Bixby (SWOSU)
Jessica Dale, Wagoner (Neosho)
Sam Diacon, Tulsa Washington (Missouri S&T)
Sam Duininck, Summit Chr. (Liberty)
Krista Dyess, Broken Arrow (NSU)
Kelsey Godfrey, Tulsa Union (SNU)
Tyler Groh, Putnam North (Missouri State)
Austin Gross, Jenks (Memphis)
Ashley Haines, Jenks (NSU)
Drew Hall, Edmond Santa Fe (OCU)
Mary Kate Halsmer, Jenks (ORU)
Jordan Harris, Claremore (UMKC)
Hayley Harryman, Edmond North (OSU)
Garron Hayes, Tulsa Union (Rogers State)
Hailey Haynes, Seq. Claremore (Central Arkansas)
Madi Hillis, Edmond Memorial (Kansas)
Bradi Hinch, Jenks (Tulsa)
Tyrell Jackson, Tulsa Union (Rogers State)
Morgan Jones, Jenks (Mid. Tenn. St.)
Kristen Kelley, Tulsa Kelley (OSU)
Kelsey Killion, Broken Arrow (Tulsa)
Preston Langholz, Tulsa Washington (Stanford)
Logan Lax, Putnam North (OBU)
Loren LeForce, Coweta (Rogers State)
Lindsey Lofton, Skiatook (NSU)
Omar Mata, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Sally Matthews, Owasso (NSU)
Shelby Martin, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Meghan McMahon, Putnam North (OCU)
Tori Peters, Tulsa Union (Tulsa)
Amy Petrikin, Tulsa Kelley (OU)
Caitlin Phillips, Claremore (UCO)
Jessy Phillips, Bartlesville (NSU)
Kristin Pollard, Broken Arrow (Central Arkansas)
Brandon Reed, Owasso (Drury)
Stephanie Romera, Tulsa Kelley (Lipscomb)
Aubrey Roth, Tulsa Union (SWOSU)
Camille Sanders, Edmond North (OU)
Ryan Sanders, Broken Arrow (OCU)
Brianna Shamblin, Miami (Rogers State)
Jessica Sisney, Broken Arrow (Rogers State)
Dillon Stallings, Putnam North (OBU)
Alex Starrett, Tulsa Kelley (Arkansas)
Andrew Stone, Cascia Hall (St. Edward’s)
Jeremy Swift, Bixby (Rogers State)
Jenna Taylor, Bartlesville (Harding)
Alex Tiem, Broken Arrow (Rogers State)
Addie Tipton, Metro Christian (USAO)
Claire Walker, Tulsa Washington (Penn)
Carley Yates, Edmond North (OU)
Miranda Zoller, Jenks (Tulsa)

SOFTBALL
Kacey Acker, Guthrie (SNU)
Jessica Barnes, Pawhuska (Pittsburg State)
Shelby Blanton, Newcastle (Tulsa)
Kristin Blasingame, Carl Albert (Rogers State)
Page Boling, Hilldale (Connors State)
Sierra Bronkey, Edmond Santa Fe (Arkansas)
LaDarra Brown, Muskogee (Carl Albert)
Tiffany Brown, Catoosa (Pittsburg State)
Julie Brunk, Mustang (SNU)
Bailee Cartwright, Moss (Northwestern St., La.)
Tara Chatkehoodle, Tulsa Rogers (Haskell)
Jordan Clark, Muskogee (Carl Albert)
Kylee Cole, Collinsville (NEO)
Lacie Cook, Collinsville (Labette)
Aimee Creger, Mustang (Tulsa)
Morgan Deerinwater, Savanna (Carl Albert)
Kaiti Dutton, Tulsa Union (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Hannah Edmiston, Coweta (Independence)
Allison Edwards, Duncan (Oklahoma Wesleyan)
Katie Ellington, Tulsa Kelley (NOC)
Lindy Fluman, Cleveland (NEO)
Shelby Foreman, S. Coffeyville (Coffeyville)
Dani Fox, Yukon (Washburn)
Devon Frazier, Little Axe (St. Gregory’s)
Sydney Garcia, Moore (OCU)
Shaylee Griffin, McAlester (OCU)
Sutton Halferty, Harrah (St. Gregory’s)
Meagan Hardy Fry, Checotah (Haskell)
Ashley Harper, Drumright (Carl Albert)
Haley Henshaw, Catoosa (Tulsa)
Javen Henson, Red Oak (OU)
Paige Hightower, Chickasha (Washburn)
Whitney Hocutt, Claremore (NOC)
Jordan Jones, Skiatook (Connors State)
Hannah Justus, Catoosa (UCO)
Candace Kellar, Coweta (Rogers State)
Jamie King, Tulsa Union (NEO)
Miranda Kiser, Tulsa Union (NEO)
Kayce Long, Moss (Carl Albert)
Beth Manship, Harrah (Southeastern)
Mya Mahsetky, Little Axe (NOC)
Mary Kate McKay, Madill (Angelo State)
Alex Milligan, Moore (Cameron)
Taylor Mills, Fort Gibson (Austin Peay State)
Holly Mock, Drumright (Carl Albert)
Candace Monigold, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Shelby Morose, Seq. Claremore (Concordia)
Ashlee Nation, Tulsa Union (William Jewell)
Jeneva Nelson, Frontier (Lipscomb)
Shylar Nichols, Carl Albert (USAO)
Caitlin O’Hagan, Midwest City (St. Gregory’s)
Sam Oxford, Adair (Fort Scott)
Katie Parsons, Pryor (NWOSU)
Ashley Paxton, Mustang (Okla. Christian)
Sarah Peoples, Piedmont (Okla. Christian)
Allyson Pogue, Claremoer (NEO)
Lauren Poole, Putnam North (Seminole State)
Natalie Powers, Holland Hall (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Hillary Price, Moss (Carl Albert)
Sarah Raunikar, Coweta/Connors State (Central Baptist)
Shelbi Redfearn, Stillwater (Baylor)
Madison Reed, Muskogee (Missouri Southern)
Megan Robison, Catoosa (NEO)
Morgan Rockwell, Coweta (Rogers State)
Kylee Rounsaville, Mustang (OCU)
Meghan Russell, Bristow (Farleigh Dickinson)
Kenna Self, Madill (OBU)
Carly Skinner, Verden (UCO)
Megan Sullivan, Broken Arrow (NEO)
Cheyenne Thomas, Coweta (Labette)
Jessica Turner, Broken Arrow (Santa Clara)
Lauren Tyndall, Edmond Memorial (Northwestern, Ill.)
Tara Underhill, Henryetta (Central Arkansas)
Shelbie Wagnon, Beggs (NEO)
Brianna Walker, Rogers (Haskell)
Emily Wares, Morris (Connors State)
Hillary Weatherford, Carl Albert (Washburn)
Shelby Wheeler, Westmoore (St. Gregory’s)
Kala White, Claremore (Labette)
Hannah Wilkinson, Coweta (Rogers State)
Briana Williams, Midwest City (Western Illinois)

SWIMMING
Dakota Wheeler, Westmoore (South Dakota)

TENNIS
Brandon Champagne, Jenks (OSU)
Logon Collins, Tulsa Union (Marquette)
Ashley Coleman, Owasso (Seminole State)
Emily Conrad, McGuinness (Abilene Christian)
Casey Distaso, Edmond North (Georgetown)
Cale Hammond, Tulsa Kelley (Duke)
Mia Lancaster, McGuinness (OU)
Evan McElwain, Tulsa Washington (Cornell)
Whitney Ritchie, McGuinness (OU)
John Harry Warden, Tulsa Union (OU)
Danielle Whitehorn, Tahlequah (OU)

TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
Beau Brown, Edmond Santa Fe (Bethany)
Dewayne Golbek, Claremore (Arkansas)
Jenna Griffin, Pawhuska (Southwestern, Kan.)
Rozlyn Hamilton, Idabel (Okla. Christian)
Brock Hime, Woodland (Cowley County)
Hillarie Kessler, Deer Creek (WOSC)
Michelle Marcha, Altus (Okla. Christian)
Ryan Minkley, Ardmore (Tulsa)
Erin Patterson, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Rachel Roberts, Guthrie (Harding)
Darren Ross, Edmond Memorial (Okla. Christian)
Michael Spencer, Edmond Memorial (Okla. Christian)
Emma Steele, Holland Hall (Dartmouth)
Antonio Taylor, Northwest (Okla. Christian)
James Turner, Plainview (Okla. Christian)

VOLLEYBALL
Ashley Acklin, Carl Albert (Radford)
Tyler Cockrell, Tulsa Washington (Gardner-Webb)
Jordan Cook, Broken Arrow (NOC)
Sarah Groesbeck, Jenks (SNU)
Tate Hardaker, Edmond Santa Fe (UCO)
Julie Labarthe, Heritage Hall (Quinnipiac)
Sallie McLaurin, Carl Albert (OU)
Laura Taylor, Tulsa Union (ORU)
Alyssa Wilson, Clinton (Northern Colorado)

WRESTLING
Christian Bailey, Davis (OCU)
Ronnie Balfour, Tulsa Union (OU)
Justin DeAngelis, Jenks (OU)
Greg Delk, Skiatook (OCU)
Quincy Mondaine, Muskogee (OU)
Dax Perrier, Pawhuska (OU)
Jared Porter, Carl Albert (Central Michigan)
Dustin Reed, Choctaw (OU)
*Will walk on
**Graduated last year, currently enrolled at Kansas State

Note: Districts 3, 4, 7 and 8 play Friday, Feb. 19. Districts 1, 2, 5 and 6 play Saturday, Feb. 20. Girls play at 6:30 p.m., boys play at 8 p.m.

AREA I
Dist. 1: Kingfisher at Alva
Dist. 2: Jones at St. Mary
Dist. 3: Meeker at Prague
Dist. 4: ASTEC Charter at Northeast
Dist. 5: Purcell at Riverside
Dist. 6: Lindsay at Millwood
Dist. 7: Comanche at Marlow
Dist. 8: Bridge Creek at Sulphur

AREA II
Dist. 1: Chandler at Perry
Dist. 2: SeeWorth Aca. at Bethel
Dist. 3: Centennial at Lexington
Dist. 4: Oklahoma Christian at Stroud
Dist. 5: Henryetta at Okemah
Dist. 6: Plainview at Marietta
Dist. 7: Kingston at Tishomingo
Dist. 8: Holdenville at Coalgate

AREA III
Dist. 1: Caney Valley at Pawhuska
Dist. 2: Nowata at Verdigris
Dist. 3: Victory Christian at Salina
Dist. 4: Chelsea at Adair
Dist. 5: Sperry at Cascia Hall
Dist. 6: Haskell at Beggs
Dist. 7: Kellyville at Chouteau
Dist. 8: Morris at Hartshorne

AREA IV
Dist. 1: Vian at Kansas
Dist. 2: Wilburton at Valliant
Dist. 3: Antlers at Hugo
Dist. 4: Stigler at Eufaula
Dist. 5: Colcord at Seq. Tahlequah
Dist. 6: Pocola at Panama
Dist. 7: Spiro at Heavener
Dist. 8: Westville at Keys (Park Hill)

Since just about every team only had one opportunity to make an impression (some had none), thought I’d just combine the player of the week entry this week.

And any chance of hoping to see this week’s player of the week on Monday has gone out the window as Oklahoma Christian and Heritage Hall has once again been postponed.

But because of his game-high 23 points and leading the team to a victory against No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Bethel, OCS junior T.J. Holland is the combined Edmond/Private schools Player of the Week.

Holland has had to learn to be more aggressive. He admitted that it was tough early on, but he’s kinda getting the hang of it now.

Thinking this break may actually hurt the Saints team as they were just starting to put everything together and gel as a team. Will they be able to still build off that momentum a full week later?

I wrote a piece about the OCS boys team in Monday’s paper. For that, here ya go.

Other contenders

Courtney Walker and A.J. Anderson, Santa Fe, Basketball: Was sensational in that great OT win against Edmond Memorial, has most complete game in the state. Anderson made clutch shots in victory.

Paige Locke and Alie Decker and Obi Emegano, Memorial, Basketball: The Memorial leaders in that great battle with Santa Fe. Emegano was a beast in losing effort.

Daniel Emesiani and Elizabeth Donohoe, North, Basketball: Boys lost at the buzzer to Putnam North while Donohoe was sensational once again in a blowout win (11 pts, 16 rebs).

Deer Creek and North wrestling: In blowout wins, the teams combined for a 134-18 margin of victory. DC beat Clinton 71-9 while North took out Putnam West 63-9.

Kaitlin Kliewer, Memorial, Swimming: Went more in-depth on this last week, but Kliewer nabbed two titles as Memorial beat North in the Edmond City showdown.

Joe Edmonds and Cara Pugh, Bishop McGuinness, Basketball: Each led their respective squad to a good, solid win against Union.

Collin Groves, Heritage Hall, Basketball: Big revenge win for Chargers at Casady, leading the way with 12 points.

Ryan Shelley, Casady, Basketball: In loss to Heritage, Shelley led Cyclones with 14 points.

Dalton Newsome, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: No tournament hangover for Rockets in a road win at Jones.

Took a look at the Edmond schools, now let’s do the same with the private schools and where they’re at heading down the stretch.

Bishop McGuinness

Tough to make a dent into Douglass, but the Irish are a solid bunch. Love the senior leadership of Jameel Whitney and Kevin Caruthers while sophomores Joe Edmonds and Matt Christiansen are going to be players to watch in the future for Tondrell Durham.

Chances of making state: High. The theory is everyone is playing for second, but if you can there, all it takes is one game.

The girls might overshadow the boys this year as Jennifer Frakes has a great team, led by senior Cara Pugh. Big wins against Star Spencer and Union in last two games say a lot about the club. So much depth, and it’s been needed with all the injuries team has suffered.

Chances of making state: High. 4A is crazy-good this year, but the Irish should be one of the eight teams making it.

Heritage Hall

Excited to see this team Monday against OCS. Coach Mike Walker said it’s a different look than what I’ve seen earlier this season. Collin Groves is a stud, and it sounds like everyone else is finding their role.

Chances of making state: Low-Medium. Two weeks ago would have said low but want to see how this new approach does with my own eyes.

The girls have been paced by D Brown and Murphy Burns. Like what I see in glimpses of Carter Cloud and BreAuna Gaddis but not sure if it is going to be enough in the long run.

Chances of making state: Low. Not in this loaded 4A group, would have had a better chance in 3A.

Casady

The early season was dominated by Ryan Shelley, but the Cyclones are receiving big-time contributions (and consistent ones) from Bentley Williams and Preston Sullivan that is bringing balance to Josh Bottomly’s club.

It’s an uphill battle for the girls team, a big learning experience. But from the times I’ve seen ‘em, they don’t quit and keep pluggin’ away.

Mt. St. Mary’s

Ah, the only team I haven’t seen in person that I still really want to see. Want to see the stars like Dalton Newsome and Vincent Mason and want to see how Lenny Hatchett runs his ship. Not sure when, but I’ll see the Rockets sometime soon.

Chances of making state: High. Sounds like a fun team to watch that should be making a run.

The girls team lost eight of nine during one stretch but has now won four of its last six to improve to 6-10. Coach Rory Hamilton has the team playing better.

Chances of making state: Low. Team is improving, but it’s a little too much to ask.

OCS

Writing a big story on the Saints boys for Monday’s paper. Believe in this team. Juniors T.J. Holland Jack Warren are great scorers while Jake Cranfield and David Coury are playing bigger roles. Most of all, believe in coach Trent Toler.

Chances of making state: Medium. Next couple of weeks will be crucial in trying to see what the future holds for the Saints.

The girls team with Jordan Gooch is formidable, but it’s been rough without Gooch. Dani Childress can score and Mackenize Barnes is a strong leader for Elizabeth Clower’s squad.

Chances of making state: Low. Going to be a tough, tough road to get there and just don’t see it happening.

I was all set to head to OCS and Heritage Hall on Friday when Mother Nature intervened. However, I won’t have to wait long as the Saints and Chargers will meet Monday.

Looking forward to this one as Heritage is coming in on a big time roll. Coach Mike Walker and the boys struggled to find their identity early. Now they have it.

As for the Saints, upsetting No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Bethel was a heckuva way to start the week. Junior Jack Warren said that game was all about pride.

I’m doing a big piece on OCS for Monday’s paper, looking at their strange season so far.

There were two upsets I thought were going to happen Tuesday night in my neck of the woods. 1. Thought the Edmond Memorial girls were going to beat Santa Fe. Santa Fe prevailed in overtime.

2. Thought the OCS boys were going to upset undefeated and No. 1-ranked Bethel. Just had a hunch after that long team meeting the Saints had after the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek.

You either respond or you fold, and knowing the character of the Saints, knew a response was going to happen.

OCS jumped out early, Bethel showed heart and came back, but the Saints pulled out a 65-60 win.

It was the usual suspects, but that number is now three for OCS. You know T.J. Holland and Jack Warren are going to come up big. They have that type of ability.

However, it’s the improving play of Jake Cranfield that has me excited for OCS in the future. He is really stepping it up and had 11 points Tuesday.

Holland had a game-high 23 points while Warren added another 10.

Coach Trent Toler puts his team through a ridiculous schedule, but he knew the talent and potential was there for a win like this.

I seriously doubt we’ll be seeing any basketball Friday with the bad weather coming in. But if we do, I’ll be at Heritage Hall and OCS.

One shot, one moment can change the season. It remains to be seen if the game-winning 3 by Christian Hill of Mt. St. Mary’s leads the Rockets to bigger and better things.

For now, he’ll have to be content with being named the Private schools Player of the Week. Hill drained a 3 to give the Rockets an improbable win in the finals of the Heart of Purcell Tournament.

How improbable was it? Fellow chum Ryan Aber was there, and here is his story from Sunday.

Hill overshadows teammate Dalton Newsome, who had some late heroics of his own. On Thursday, he hit huge free throws for an overtime win against Byng, and he had the first crazy 3 in the final seconds against Anadarko.

Either way, it was a huge weekend for Lenny Hatchett’s boys. But the key, as I always stress out, is building off the big win.

Other contenders

Alexa Lienhard, Bishop McGuinness, Basketball: After an 11 percent shooting night in the semis, it was key for the Irish to make some shots. That’s what Lienhard did in leading the Irish to a third-place finish at the Bruce Gray Invitational.

Jake Cranfield, OCS, Basketball: Jack Warren and T.J. Holland were their normal selves, but I was impressed with how Cranfield has become a legit third option.

Collin Groves, Heritage Hall, Basketball: An exciting weekend for the Chargers. After a first-round loss to Bethany, Heritage won by two vs. Tuttle and two in OT vs. Perry. Groves led the team in scoring in two of the three games.

Dani Childress, OCS, Basketball: The Saints have had to weather the storm without Jordan Gooch, and they’re almost there. Childress has really become the No. 1 scoring option for Elizabeth Clower’s club.

Bentley Williams, Casady, Basketball: A couple of nail-biters for the Cyclones this week. An OT win and a one-point loss, but Williams was sensational in both.

D Brown and Murphy Burns, Heritage, Basketball: Can’t have one without the other as they feed off each other. Chargers placed fourth at Kingfisher.

Meagan Henson and Kenny Wooldridge, Christian Heritage, Basketball: Both were phenomenal at the Little Axe Tournament. Henson led the girls to a touranment championship while Wooldridge and the boys lost by two points in the championship.

After 24 games in three days, I admit to being basketball-ed out on this day. It was a great tournament at the Bruce Gray Invitational, and I learned a lot about a lot of teams/players.

Here are just some of my thoughts, observations on the three-day affair.

- The No. 1 thing I’m taking is how GREAT Enid’s Chris Fitzpatrick is. After the first day, I knew he could shoot from anwhere past half court. No longer wowed by him, I watched him more intently in the final two days.

He’s better than I thought.

He’s quicker than you think. He has good size. He can pass, and he’s, let’s say crafty. He knows how to get open as all the great scorers do.

Star Spencer coach Patrick Cudjoe couldn’t say enough about Fitzpatrick while Deer Creek coach Matt Bailey (who used to be at Enid) told me Fitzpatrick is something special. Yep, he is.

- Putnam North may very well be the third-best boys team in the PC triangle of terror. But that doesn’t mean Rick Harris’ club can’t compete or won’t make state. A lot of balance on this team between Armon Provo, Joe Summers and Devin Harris. Size could be an issue, though.

- Won’t spend too much time on Deer Creek girls as I’ve written a big piece on Totsy Manning’s girls for Monday’s paper.

- Can’t say a bad thing about Star Spencer and Mustang. That is two of the better 2-1 tournaments I’ve seen from teams. Mustang shocked a lot of people making it to the final while SS did it without Darrius Bryson. Glad to finally see Kendre’ Talley LIVE and in living color. I could watch Cudjoe coach/teach all day, one of the best around.

- The McGuinness girls showed strong character in taking out Star Spencer for third. Everyone involved wants to forget that Friday game vs. PC North. Limiting Star’s star Sharane Campbell and making some big shots is a good last impression. Big game with Union on Tuesday.

- Really enjoyed watching Western Heights play. Fellow chum Scott Wright is pretty high on Tyrone Nash’s team, and I get it. Came away the most impressed with Devin Aughenbaugh. Not a bad post scorer, but he is one of the best post defenders I’ve seen lately. He does a fantastic job of blocking shots and doing it CLEAN.

- The final day of boys games was good stuff. Deer Creek and OCS was quality stuff for seventh place. Star and Enid was tremendous, best game of the day. The Jets came up big to take third while PC North made another big statement. Never know what you’re going to get on the final day, and these teams brought everything they had.

- Best girls player I hadn’t seen: Jhonita Smith of PC North. I don’t know how she does it with her 5-4 size, but man, she gets the job done. Honorable mention to freshman Courtney Chelf of Enid. Yet another Chelf is ready to dominate the scene.

- OCS just has to learn how to finish. The Saints were tied at halftime against PC North and Deer Creek and up one after three quarters vs. Enid. Those final eight minutes are the toughest. Hope the Saints don’t view the eighth-place finish as something demoralizing.

- Special thanks to the Deer Creek officials and volunteers who made the weekend so enjoyable. Good food, great company, solid basketball = great weekend.

Up next: Edlam battle between Memorial and Santa Fe. How will the Wolves bounce back after losing their first game of the season and in double overtime?

I normally don’t do this, but I’m tired and I know the paper was short on space and most of this didn’t get in. So here are the bare bones (no pun intended) look at the Deer Creek Invitational.

But of course, here are the scores.

Girls
Thursday
Bishop McGuinness 47, Putnam West 30
Star Spencer 53, OCS 39
Putnam North 58, Western Heights 50
Deer Creek 56, Enid 42
Friday
Semifinals: Putnam North 32, McGuinness 25
Semifinals: Deer Creek 54, Star Spencer 52
Enid 50, OCS 36
Western Heights 63, Putnam West 51
Saturday
Finals: Deer Creek 46, Putnam North 45
Third Place: McGuinness 52, Star Spencer 44
Consolation championship: Enid 55, Western Heights 40
Seventh place: Putnam West 48, OCS 38
Boys
Mustang 74, Star Spencer 65
Capitol Hill 64, Enid 47
Putnam North 77, OCS 60
Deer Creek, Western Heights 46, Deer Creek 44
Friday
Semifinals: Putnam North 58, Capitol Hill 53 – OT
Semifinals: Mustang 67, Western Heights 54
Enid 56, OCS 48
Star Spencer 58, Deer Creek 51
Saturday
Finals: Putnam North 76, Mustang 50
Third place: Western Heights 46, Capitol Hill 37
Consolation championship: Star Spencer 74, Enid 65 – OT
Seventh place: Deer Creek 59, OCS 41

Boys

Panthers make it four in a row

The Bruce Gray Invitational may be at Deer Creek, but it’s been dominated by Putnam City North.

For the fourth year in a row, the Panthers are the champions as PC North took out Mustang 76-50 in the championship Saturday night.

“We feel like this is our home away from home,” tournament MVP Armon Provo said. “We knew it would be tough to bounce back after last night, but we play our best on that third day of the tournament.”

Mustang, the No. 8 seed, made the championship because of its great shooting from the perimeter, but the Broncos didn’t make their first three until third quarter.

The Broncos got to within 50-41 early in the fourth before the Panthers put it away.

Joe Summers scored 20 points while Devin Harris had 19 for PC North. Jacinto Biorato led Mustang with 13 points.

Jets take third

Western Heights went on a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter lead the Jets to a 46-37 win against Capitol Hill for third place in the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek.

D.J. Taylor scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter for Western Heights, who trailed by seven at halftime.

Capitol Hill’s Trevon Grant had 17 points while Alton Whittaker had a team-high 13 points for Western Heights.

Star downs Enid in shootout

It was a consolation championship game played at a championship level as Star Spencer defeated Enid 74-65 in overtime at the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek.

Star’s Deontae Thomas and Enid’s Chris Fitzpatrick each hit seven 3-pointers in the game. Fitzpatrick finished with 28 points while Thomas had 26. Kendre’ Talley poured in 24 points for the Bobcats.

Girls

Antlers claim first crown

Despite the proud tradition of Deer Creek girls basketball, the team had never won its own tournament.

That changed Saturday night.

Deer Creek’s Jasey Jackson hit the game-winning free throw with 24.6 seconds left to give the Antlers a 46-45 victory against Putnam City North in the championship of the Bruce Gray Invitational.

“We wanted to break the streak,” coach Totsy Manning said. “We’re excited because the girls have worked so hard for this.”

The Panthers had two shots for the win in the final 4.9 seconds but couldn’t convert.

Alexis Watson led PC North with 13 points while Jalyn Jackson had a game-high 17 points, including 14 in the first half.

Irish bounce back

McGuinness coach Jennifer Frakes challenged her team to stop Star Spencer star Sharane Campbell.

The Irish rose up to the challenge in a 52-44 win against the Bobcats to claim third place in the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek.

“We mixed it up on her (Campbell). We had guards on her and post players. Kamber McMaster and Mary Beth Canfield were on her almost the whole game and did a great job,” Frakes said.

Campbell finished with nine points after scoring 54 points in the first two games. McGuinness was also able to make some shots after shooting 6-for-53 on Friday night. Alexa Lienhard had a game-high 17 points for the Irish.

***

Much more coherent thoughts Sunday. Also shot video with Deer Creek’s Jasey Jackson and Putnam North’s Armon Provo, the tournament’s MVPs.

A miracle comeback falls just short, and the last game of the night once again provides fireworks are the highlights of Day 2 of the Bruce Gray Invitational at Deer Creek.

But first, your scores and schedule.

Girls
Thursday
Bishop McGuinness 47, Putnam West 30
Star Spencer 53, OCS 39
Putnam North 58, Western Heights 50
Deer Creek 56, Enid 42
Friday
Semifinals: Putnam North 32, McGuinness 25
Semifinals: Deer Creek 54, Star Spencer 52
Enid 50, OCS 36
Western Heights 63, Putnam West 51
Saturday
Finals: Deer Creek vs. Putnam North, 7 p.m.
Third Place: McGuinness vs. Star Spencer, 4 p.m.
Consolation championship: Enid vs. Western Heights, 1 p.m.
Seventh place: OCS vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Boys
Mustang 74, Star Spencer 65
Capitol Hill 64, Enid 47
Putnam North 77, OCS 60
Deer Creek, Western Heights 46, Deer Creek 44
Friday
Semifinals: Putnam North 58, Capitol Hill 53 – OT
Semifinals: Mustang 67, Western Heights 54
Enid 56, OCS 48
Star Spencer 58, Deer Creek 51
Saturday
Finals: Mustang vs. Putnam North, 8:30 p.m.
Third place: Western Heights vs. Capitol Hill, 5:30 p.m.
Consolation championship: Star Spencer vs. Enid, 2:30 p.m.
Seventh place: Deer Creek vs. OCS, 11:30 a.m.

Deer Creek 54, Star Spencer 52 (Girls)

This is your late comeback that was thwarted. Midway through the fourth quarter it was 51-35 Deer Creek. I, and probably 99 percent of the people in the gym, thought the game was over.

That’s how good Star’s Sharane Campbell is. She put the team on her back and said ‘c’mon, let’s go.’ Campbell was sensational, scoring 28 points.

She scored 21 in the second half and that was 21 of the team’s 27 points in the half. It was incredible. Thought I was witnessing another ‘holy cow’ moment.

Deer Creek’s A.J. Miller ended up scoring the game-winning bucket with around 10 seconds left and Star never got a shot off. There was a lot of contact and Campbell stumbled to the ground as the horn sounded.

Miller had 19 points for Deer Creek while Jasey Jackson came up huge with 14 points.

The Antlers will look to do what they’ve never done before: win their own tournament when they play the Panthers for the championship.

Putnam North 58, Capitol Hill 53 – OT (Boys)

I thought I had another winner in the video department when CH’s Trevon Grant went up for the potential game-winner. It was great out of bounds play that fell just short.

The Redskins seemed a little deflated after that and PC North executed well in the fourth quarter and overtime to walk away with the win.

CH simply didn’t have any legs left in OT as everything was coming up short. The Redskins also missed a lot of crucial free throws.

For the Panthers, a nice balanced effort with Devin Harris, Joe Summers and Armon Provo leading the way.

PC North plays upstart Mustang in the championship. On Tuesday, it was PCN 85 and Mustang 67. What will it be Saturday night?

Other observations

- The Bishop McGuinness girls didn’t improve their play and PC North took advantage. Arianne Hunter was huge on defense and Jhonita Smith was big down the stretch.

- Where did this Mustang team come from? Jacinto Biorato and David Glidden have been amazing in the first two days. Big starts have keyed things, but the Broncos have shown great composure.

- Star and Deer Creek boys had a pretty good one. All drama was taken away by Star’s Kendre’ Talley who was 14-for-16 from the free throw line. But yet another fun one with the Antlers.

- Weird to think it will be DC and OCS for seventh place. Both teams haven’t played poorly, but I guess that’s just the way it goes, huh?

- For those that don’t know, I’ve been tweeting with all final scores and any pertinent updates on Twitter.

- Pumped up for what should be good championships with PC North vs. Deer Creek (girls) and PC North vs. Mustang (boys).

All good things come to those who wait, right? Well, I arrived at Deer Creek at just past 9:30 a.m., and I got what I was looking for right around 10 p.m.

A great final game between Western Heights and Deer Creek highlights Day 1 of the Bruce Gray Invitational Tournament.

First, the scores.

Girls
Thursday
Bishop McGuinness 47, Putnam West 30
Star Spencer 53, OCS 39
Putnam North 58, Western Heights 50
Deer Creek 56, Enid 42
Friday
Semifinals: McGuinness vs. Putnam North, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Star Spencer vs. Deer Creek, 4 p.m.
OCS vs. Enid, 1 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Boys
Mustang 74, Star Spencer 65
Capitol Hill 64, Enid 47 (scoreboard said 62, but CH (and myself) think it was 64)
Putnam North 77, OCS 60
Western Heights 46, Deer Creek 44
Friday
Semifinals: Capitol Hill vs. Putnam North, 8:30 p.m.
Semifinals: Mustang vs. Western Heights, 5:30 p.m.
Enid vs. OCS, 11:30 a.m.
Deer Creek vs. Star Spencer, 2:30 p.m.

Western Heights 46, Deer Creek 44

If you weren’t there to see D.J. Taylor’s game-winning three with 1 second left, shame on you. I kid, but you can watch it on NewsOK as I was there and videoed the thing.

As soon as he let it go, I thought it was good. However, Deer Creek wasn’t done as Jurrell Calloway’s heave from half court hit off the back of the rim (that, too, is on NewsOK).

Whew, lemme catch my breath for a minute.

Deer Creek obviously isn’t the best team ever, but man, are they fun to watch? This is just another great Antler game I’ve seen this year.

Western Heights came out early and led 21-12, but the Antlers went on a 22-6 run and looked like they were in control.

However, the Jets had tremendous composure in the fourth quarter and rallied for the win. Taylor ended up with 13 points while Hayden Wagner had 15 points for Deer Creek.

Fun game.

Mustang 74, Star Spencer 65 (Boys)

No, don’t adjust your computer screen, the score is correct. It took a miracle 3 by Taylor to bump this from being the headline and newsmaker of the day.

The Broncos just came out firing. Jacinto Biorato put ‘em up 7-0 before you could even blink. When the Bobcats finally contained Biorato, David Glidden stepped up.

He’s just a freak of an athlete, and those types can do special things. He ended up with 24 points and said the win was huge to the team’s confidence because they learned how to finish a game off.

Star got it down to 63-61 and looked like it would pull off a big come-from-behind victory but not to be.

My first time seeing Kendre’ Talley, and yeah, he’s good (23 points). Really enjoyed watching him work and penetrate. Weird to think Star/Deer Creek (my predicted semifinal) is a losers’ bracket game. Dems the breaks, I guess.

Other observations

- The Bishop McGuinness girls will have to play much better if they plan on playing for the championship. Senior Lissy Fuller was enough on this day vs. Putnam West, but the Irish will need to pick it up.

- Who means more to their respective Star Spencer team, Talley or Sharane Campbell? She leads this team in just about every way possible and had 26 points.

- Enid’s Chris Fitzpatrick can shoot from ANYWHERE in the building, but it wasn’t enough as Capitol Hill was so sound and executed. But really, you should try to watch Fitzpatrick shoot.

- Putnam North girls showed heart in turning it around in the second half. I still think the Irish get ‘em, but the Panthers will be ready to fight.

- OCS and Putnam North’s first half was one of the best I’ve seen this year, tied at 33-33. But the Panthers have so many options and can hurt you in so many ways that they overpowered the Saints in this one. Junior Armon Provo (18 pts) is going to be one to watch.

- Freshman Ashley Gibson might not have to wait too much longer before she starts to become the ‘it’ player on the loaded Deer Creek girls squad. That’s a nasty group with Gibson, A.J. Miller and Kelsey Glover leading the way.

- And one more time, what an ending with the Jets and Antlers. How will Western Heights build off of this and can Deer Creek bounce back?

- Good food, good company, ready for Day 2. Thought I would head to Edmond Memorial and North on Friday, but looks like camping out at Deer Creek is what I’ll be doing. I could think of worse things to be doing.

While fellow chum Ryan Aber will continue his Tournament Tour all week, yours truly will pretty much be camped out at Deer Creek this weekend.

I’ll take a break Friday night to attend Edmond Memorial and North, but other than that, I’ll be livin’ it up with the Antlers.

Here are your girls and boys pairings.

Thursday
Girls
Bishop McGuinness vs. Putnam West, 10 a.m.
Putnam North vs. Western Heights, 4 p.m.
OCS vs. Star Spencer, 1 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Enid, 7 p.m.

Boys
Star Spencer vs. Mustang, 11:30 a.m.
Deer Creek vs. Western Heights, 8:30 p.m.
Enid vs. Capitol Hill, 2:30 p.m.
Putnam North vs. OCS, 5:30 p.m.

Not in chronological order because wanted to show that the winners of the pair of games will be the ones that play each other in the semifinals.

Boneman’s Prediction: I’m going to say the Deer Creek girls beat the McGuinness girls in the championship because of that strong home crowd advantage. And then the Star Spencer boys edge out Capitol Hill in the boys final. If you know my track record, I wouldn’t take too much stock in anything I say.

I’m sure if you’ve read my stuff this school year, you’ve learned there are certain things that impress me. Playing good against a rival earns high marks, but I put just as much stock into following up a big win as well.

That’s why I’m giving this week’s Private schools Player of the Week to Casady’s Preston Sullivan. I’ve documented how clutch he was in the win at rival Heritage Hall, hitting the game-winning free throws. And I loved how honest he was about being caught up in that moment and how special it really was.

But that win doesn’t mean as much without the followup performance Friday against Arlington Oakridge. Sullivan once again led the team in scoring as he had 17 points in a 48-42 win.

Early on in the season, it was Ryan Shelley doing the heavy lifting, but Bentley Williams is finding his basketball legs and Sullivan is turning out to be a stud, too. Coach Josh Bottomly is getting everything he can out of this team.

Casady did go on the road and lose to Dallas Episcopal on Saturday, however.

Other contenders

D Brown, Heritage Hall, Basketball: She just has a certain way about her. Fantastic point guard who is able to create her own shots and get her teammates involved.

Cara Pugh, Bishop McGuinness, Basketball: Pugh had 22 points in a blowout win vs. NW Classen. Irish weren’t challenged much last week but will be this week at the Deer Creek Tournament.

Jack Warren, OCS, Basketball: Gets predictable to see his name at the top for the Saints but his consistency has been outstanding. OCS is also at Deer Creek Tournament.

Vincent Mason and Dalton Newsome, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: Since loss to Purcell, Rockets have been rollin’ just fine. Sometimes it’s Mason, sometimes it’s Newsome, sometimes it’s both. Dynamic team.

The biggest internal debate I had all Saturday night was who was the McGuinness Classic MVP? For Bishop McGuinness, your contenders were Kevin Caruthers and Jameel Whitney. For Carl Albert, it was Markell Walker and Caleb Price.

Once the Irish won, it was down to two. Really, thought both deserved the honor. The award went to Whitney and while he may have been the best player on the floor, Caruthers was the most important.

In the semifinals, it was Caruthers who made sure the team kept it together when Whitney and Joe Edmonds both had four fouls midway through the third.

In the championship, it was Caruthers who nailed three 3s in the first quarter to get the Irish off to a hot start. In overtime, Caruthers made four free throws to help seal the deal.

Simply put, Caruthers did a little bit of everything out there and earns the Private schools Player of the Week.

Maybe this last weekend will let Caruthers know it’s OK for him to be aggressive. In fact, the team will shine even more if Caruthers can be as consistent as he was this weekend.

Either way, it was a big Classic championship for the Irish. Just when you thought Tondrell Durham’s team was a little down, here they come again.

Other contenders

Casady boys basketball team: Haven’t been able to get in touch with coach Josh Bottomly but shocked a lot of folks with a runner-up finish at the Crooked Oak Tournament. Cyclones beat Capitol Hill in semis and lost by four to Northeast. I’ll get to see the boys (and girls) up close Tuesday at Heritage Hall.

T.J. Holland and Jack Warren, OCS, Basketball: Saints placed third at the Wellston Tournament, beating Luther by 29 points after a disappointing effort against Tuttle.

Jameel Whitney, McGuinness, Basketball: That block he made in OT made such a thud, I tells ya. Whitney, like Durham said, has his basketball legs now. Named Classic MVP.

Dani Childress, OCS, Basketball: The Saints are going to have to find a way to score without Jordan Gooch (injured), but Childress will take this team as far as she can.

D Brown, Heritage Hall, Basketball: Back for the Chargers after being a little banged up, Brown is one of the best floor generals around.

Dalton Newsome, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: Rockets were shocked by Purcell on Friday night. Newsome led the way with 19 points.

This was a little tougher as not all coaches sent in their forms. Now to officially turn the page to the winter sports season.

All-Private Schools

Offense
QB: Jack Warren, OCS (all-around leader, excited for senior season)
RB: Barry Sanders, Heritage Hall (media buzz will only grow for super soph)
RB: LaRone Richardson, Bishop McGuinness (even with the injuries, a fun player to watch)
RB: Parker Randell, OCA (routinely put up the big numbers for the Eagles)
WR: Jon Sikes, OCS (one of the key components on an explosive team)
WR: Aaron Smith, Mt. St. Mary’s (good leader, big-play capability for MSM)
OL: Jeff Levy, OCS (better served on defense, but a dang-good HS OL, too)
OL: Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall (big improvement from freshman to sophomore year)
OL: Dakota Leftwich, Bishop McGuinness (prob belongs on defense, leader for Irish)
OL: Sam Hoffman, Casady (made smooth transition to O-Line for senior year)
OL: Tyler Holt, OCA (DL by trade and came up big for Eagles)
K: Ian Sanders, Christian Heritage (easily one of the best in the OKC area)
KR: Kyle Ahmad, Bishop McGuinness (explosive speed always made him fun to watch)

Defense
LB: Logan McGrath, Heritage Hall (stellar senior season capped great career)
DL: Ryan Shelley, Casady (Cyclone D was a beast early, Shelley was a big reason why)
DL: Jared Clark, Christian Heritage (coach John Merrell raved about his play all season)
LB: Jameel Whitney, Bishop McGuinness (after being ‘snubbed’ in the other ones, ha ha, gets his spot, you know I loved watching him)
LB: Marc Robinson, Heritage Hall (a great first two years, look for even more in the next two)
LB: Jay Lester, Bishop McGuinness (became more of a vocal leader this year)
DL: Graham Bennett, Casady (just wait until he grows into his body, already a beast)
DB: Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall (plays with such intensity, hits like a LB and plays QB)
DB: Cale Shivers, Casady (heart and soul of Cyclones…end of story)
DB: Dalton Newsome, Mt. St. Mary’s (best athlete and most exciting player for MSM)
DB: Tyler Minx, OCA (Eagles have come a long way, Minx has been in the thick of things)
P: Austin Katigan, Casady (another solid all-around talent, could play just about anywhere)

Offensive Player of the Year: Sanders, Heritage Hall
Defensive Player of the Year: Whitney, Bishop McGuinness
Coach of the Year: Kenny Young, Bishop McGuinness
Honorable mentions: Bishop McGuinness: Sam Crabtree, DB; Camden Tharp, QB; Will Blaik, FB; Nick Callaway, DL. Casady: Bentley Williams, RB; Mac Katigan, DB; Garrison Lee; David Driskell. CHA: Josh Blair, LB; Heritage Hall: Cale Courtney, WR; Tanner France, WR; Travis Harrison, LB. OCS: Mac McDaniel, P; Skyler Sikes, WR; Jeff Smith, RB.

OPOY: Sanders. This was an easy one. Where to start? Hmm, how about 1,707 rushing yards, 21 receptions, 6 interceptions, 30 total touchdowns and a 35-yard average on punts? He learned a lot this year and is becoming much more than just an athletic freak. He’s learning to play within the system without taking anything away from his jaw-dropping ability.

DPOY: Whitney. Didn’t get to see the Irish too much or as much as I would have liked but knew where Whitney was on just about every play. He was sensational and played his best in the biggest games (which has to count for something). Whitney scored five touchdowns and had 127 tackles with two sacks and two interceptions. Had to be accounted for on every single snap, no doubt about it.

COY: Young. Boys basketball coach Tondrell Durham is in the same spot as Young as both are seeing what they can do now that the ‘cornerstones’ of the programs have moved on. Expected to be a down year for the Irish, McGuinness was in every game. Despite injuries to key components (Quinn Shanbour, Sam Crabtree and LaRone Richardson immediately come to mind), kept the team together. Team’s three losses came by a combined eight points (10-9 at Bishop Kelley), 21-20 at Weatherford and 20-14 at Sallisaw).

(Boneman’s note: I’ve been switching Logan McGrath (HH) and Graham Bennett’s (Casady) positions all season for some unknown reason. The changes have been made.)

In a few short hours, I’ll be back home in Springboro, Ohio (between Dayton and Cincinnati), for a good 10 days for Christmas and my birthday (27th). Just want to wish all the readers in the Edmond and private school zones a safe and happy holidays.

I won’t be updating too much during my time off, but I do have a couple of gems for ya. To go with Little All-City (25th), Big All-City (26th) and All-State (27th), I’ve made a couple of other teams.

I spent a good chunk of last Tuesday creating my All-Edmond and All-OKC-area Private School team, so I’ll be releasing that this weekend as well.

Be back and ready to roll with basketball, swimming and wrestling. Have fun these two weeks.

Bishop McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham gave little indications before the season that he thought sophomore Joe Edmonds could develop into something special.

Well, we haven’t had to wait that long. No sir, not at all as Edmonds has been spectacular in the first eight games for the Irish.

Edmonds scored 31 points in two games in a pair of victories for McGuinness at the Deer Creek Festival, good enough to be named the Private Schools Player of the Week.

I don’t know if there is one thing that stands out about him, he’s just solid in just about every way possible. He’s got a nice little jump shot. He can move without the ball, but he’s not afraid to mix it up inside and get the big rebound.

Either way, the emergence of Edmonds and Matt Christiansen are two good reasons why Irish fans should be excited about what’s to come in 2010.

Other contenders

Cara Pugh, Irish, Basketball: With Caroline Cameron out for the season, Pugh is going to have to step up even more. She was good in her first test as the Irish won a pair of games at the Festival.

T.J. Holland, OCS, Basketball: Another kid with just all the tools to make something special happen. Holland and Jack Warren will have the Saints in position to make another run.

Jordan Gooch, OCS, Basketball: She was productive this weekend, but she’s on here more for her toughness and grit as it was a tough task for the OCS girls squad vs. the Irish and Deer Creek.

Irish girls swimming team: The defending 5A champions were able to beat Edmond Santa Fe in a meet last week and still look like the team to beat in 5A.

Ryan Shelley, Casady, Basketball: Another big-time outing by the senior, but the Cyclones haven’t been able to put together victories with ‘em. Shelley scored 28 in a loss to John Marshall.

Vincent Mason, Mt. St. Mary’s, Basketball: The Rockets outscored Christian Heritage 31-16 in the second half to cruise to a 21-point victory. Mason led the team with 14 points. MSM is now 5-0.

OCS Boys (2-3)

What can you say about this team? The 2-3 record shouldn’t bother OCS fans. The Saints are doing what they normally do, in terms of playing the best teams out there.

Coach Trent Toler was happy with the effort this weekend, but we both saw one common thread: the search for a consistent third scorer.

OCS can find a third scorer every now and then, but it’s going to need someone to always step up to help out Jack Warren and T.J. Holland.

I liked the confidence of OCS this weekend. Despite playing a great 4A team (Bishop McGuinness) and a very good 5A team (Deer Creek), never looked like there was a doubt the entire way.

The losses, of course, aren’t what Toler was hoping for, but it’s all about getting better with each game and coming together down the stretch.

OCS Girls (3-2)

You talk about a gritty bunch, this group personifies that. I don’t know how Elizabeth Clower’s girls are able to do it.

OCS has more cheerleaders than players (8). It’s going to be interesting if those girls can keep it up for an entire season.

I liked watching Mackenzie Barnes play. She’s definitely the one who gets this team going, and when Jordan Gooch is playing as good as she was Saturday, I see why this team can cause problems.

For as Gooch was, she actually missed some gimmes Saturday. But I loved how she would just put it behind her and keep fighting.

Sophomore Dani Childress is already a pretty good scorer, think she is going to be the key to this team’s potential success in 2010.

One big statement made, one lights out shooting performance would be the way I would describe what happened on Day 2 at the Festival.

Game 2 – Bishop McGuinness 52, Millwood 42

Irish coach Tondrell Durham still won’t get too carried away, but his team hasn’t missed a beat despite all the departures from last year.

It was the sophomores time to shine as both Joe Edmonds and Matt Christiansen had big-time games to propel McGuinness to the win.

Senior guard Kevin Caruthers also had a nice afternoon, scoring 11 points. Edmonds also scored 11 while Christiansen had 13 points.

Christiansen has some moves in his 6-8 frame. He’s not just a big boy expected to just get rebounds. He is going to be very productive for this club.

Millwood looked a little tired today. The Falcons were the final game Friday night, and a 1:30 tipoff sure didn’t do them any favors.

Walter Sledge led the team with 12 points while Delford Robinson added 11.

McGuinness led by as many as 15 points in the second half and Millwood never got closer than seven points in the fourth. Not worried as once their football stars get in basketball shape, look out, I says.

Game 4 – Deer Creek 64, OCS 60 (Boys)

If you didn’t know who Garrett Hermanski was before this weekend, you sure do now. He was incredible, scoring 32 points in the victory.

It was how he did it. His first 21 points were made on 7 3-pointers. But when the Antlers needed crucial free throws to be converted, he came up big there, too.

This was probably my favorite game of the Festival, seeing the two coaches go back and forth. These are two coaches (Matt Bailey, Deer Creek and Trent Toler, OCS) that are so in tune with their team. They know exactly what to tell them every time.

The loss took the shine off a 24-point outing by T.J. Holland. The ball just wouldn’t go in for Jack Warren on this day. He had so many good looks but couldn’t knock ‘em down.

This is classic OCS, right? Play teams WAY above their class, scratch and claw and get better for it. Results aren’t always the end-all, be-all when it comes to this.

Deer Creek showed it can put together back-to-back solid outings while the Saints showed they’re still going to be knocking on the door when March comes around.

Boneman’s All-Festival Team (if anybody cares)
F: T.J. Holland, OCS
F: Joe Edmonds, Bishop McGuinness
G/F: Jameel Whitney, McGuinness
G: Delford Robinson, Millwood
G: Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek (MVP)

Look for detailed team-by-team blogs Sunday afternoon. Special thanks to the Deer Creek administration for all its help and for a great hospitality room. Yea, I ate well this weekend.

Back from another long albeit fun day at Deer Creek to conclude the Festival. Couple of rather surprising results to close out the show.

Game 1 – Bishop McGuinness 65, Millwood 51 (Girls)

This was the biggest shock of the day for me. Not so much that the Irish won because this team is the best McGuinness team I’ve seen in my short time at The Oklahoman.

However, it was the way they executed and took Millwood out of its game. The game was really never in serious jeopardy the entire fourth quarter.

One big reason was the play of senior Cara Pugh. Though it seemed the Falcons were trying to muscle her around, Pugh stood tall, notching a team-high 23 points.

Another crucial aspect was the free throw shooting of McGuinness senior Lissy Fuller. She was 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter and denied Millwood a chance to come back. Fuller had 16 points.

Millwood’s Teanna Reid was taken out of her game and picked up her fourth foul in the third and fouled out in the fourth. But man did Dayla Threat attempt a one-woman comeback. She was sensational in scoring 23 of her own points.

A runner-up finish at the Edmond Open, followed by a 2-0 weekend at the Festival, solid way to head into the Christmas break.

One word comes to mind to describe the Irish on Saturday: discipline. On both sides of the court, McGuinness executed and never got out of its game plan.

Game 3 – Deer Creek 53, OCS 49 (Girls)

This game was much more competitive than I thought it would be. OCS only suits up eight girls, so I thought the fatigue was really going to hurt them.

Not so as the Saints gave it everything they had. In fact, OCS led 42-33 early in the fourth quarter, but Deer Creek found another level to go to. Changed up their defense and forced some turnovers.

It was the first game back for Deer Creek senior Christian Gilmore, and she was sensational off the bench. She scored 15 points, and you can see what she is going to bring to this team once she’s healthy.

A.J. Miller was phenomenal once again, scoring 17 points while OCS got a terrific outing from Jordan Gooch, who had 17 points and 12 rebounds (unofficially).

Boneman’s All-Festival Team (if anybody cares)
P: Cara Pugh, McGuinness (MVP)
P: Jordan Gooch, OCS
G/P: Dayla Threat, Millwood
G: Teanna Reid, Millwood
G: A.J. Miller, Deer Creek

Look for more detailed team-by-team blogs Sunday afternoon.

I admit part of the fun of Day 1 was talking with Deer Creek football coach Grant Gower for six hours as he does the PA announcing for the basketball games.

Gower won’t be there Saturday, but I’m still looking forward to what should be a couple of great games. Once again brief review as I’ll be back out there.

Game 4 – Deer Creek 45, Millwood 43 (Boys)

There was a nervous energy in the building all throughout the fourth quarter as a 40-28 lead quickly turned into a 42-41 advantage with less than a minute left.

But Deer Creek coach Matt Bailey said exactly what I was thinking. This team is growing and is now learning how to win these type of games.

Maybe last year the Antlers wouldn’t have pulled this game out. But Friday night, they did.

Garrett Hermanski dominated the game for three quarters, but once Kevonte Richardson was put on him more, Hermanski struggled in the fourth.

And Delford Robinson came alive. He was a huge spark for Millwood, scoring 19 points and hitting three from downtown.

This is a huge win for the Antlers. Also impressed with Jurrell Calloway. He only scored 8 points, but it was the way he carried himself on the court that stood out.

Hermanski, only a sophomore by the way, had 22 points. We’ll see how Deer Creek responds with a battle with OCS on Saturday to close out the Festival.

Game 2 – Bishop McGuinness 53, OCS 44 (Boys)

I’ve heard Irish coach Tondrell Durham talk about Joe Edmonds and how special the sophomore is. Hey, he’s right as Edmonds came up big time and time again in scoring 20 points.

Senior Jameel Whitney was also impressive, notching 16 points. It’s so hard for me to think of Whitney as anything other than a hard-hitting linebacker. Whitney has more athleticism than I thought. And for those that know me, I’ve always thought Whitney is something special.

OCS was in a hole early, and I was perplexed as to why T.J. Holland and Jack Warren both didn’t start the game. Warren, a junior, is such a treat to watch.

He can make just about any shot possible and finished with 19 points. Holland had 11, and you can see why OCS should once again be in the hunt.

It never felt like the Irish weren’t in control, but the Saints kept it close. There were several times in the fourth where if OCS could have hit a big 3, the deficit would have been down to four.

As is, OCS will have to bounce back against the Antlers while the Irish and the Falcons should be a heckuva battle early in the day.

I’m gonna be a little brief on this for two reasons. 1. Any great performance tonight might be negated by what happens Saturday. 2. In 12 hours, I’ll be back out at Deer Creek.

Game 3 – Millwood 46, Deer Creek 38 (Girls)

I have been introduced to Millwood freshman Teanna Reid. Wow, is she good. I’m still a little in awe. I can’t believe she is a freshman.

Her sister, Tijiasha Reid, could light it up from anywhere on the court, but Teanna is a floor general.

Interesting she chose No. 10 as graduate Shea Bowden was also the leader on the court and wore the jersey. What impressed me most was Teanna’s ability to go left. Unheard of at this level. She had four left-handed layups if I counted right.

This game certainly had some ebbs and flows. Millwood ran out to an early 15-7 lead. Deer Creek was up 29-21 early in the third quarter. And then the Falcons took over.

Millwood in transition is a thing of pure beauty to watch, good win for Arnelia Spears’ girls.

Conversely, another tough loss for Deer Creek. A.J. Miller was outstanding, but Millwood did a great job in containing Kelsey Glover to a mere 7 points.

Reid wasn’t the only great freshman on the floor as I was also impressed by Ashley Gibson for Deer Creek. She finished with nine points.

Game 1 – Bishop McGuinness 67, OCS 32 (Girls)

The Irish were sloppy early. You could see the team trying to figure out how it is going to adapt to life without Caroline Cameron.

Originally thought to not be that bad of an injury, Cameron tore her ACL last weekend in the loss to Edmond North.

After the first quarter it was 6-4 and midway through the second, it was 15-13. However, after that, the Irish turned it up.

Talking with coach Jennifer Frakes, the depth gives the team a new dimension. It feels like it’s someone new every night, and this night belonged to senior Whitney Ritchie.

Not only is she the best tennis player in the state, she’s a more than competent basketball player. She drained two threes and finished with a game-high 14 points.

The story in the second half was the Irish defense. They speed you up so bad and make you commit turnovers. I believe OCS went seven straight possessions without getting a shot off and turning it over.

Before you knew it, it was 54-21 and all but over.

I liked what I saw from Mackenzie Barnes of OCS. She had to deal with that pressure all game and really never was rattled. She led the Saints with 11 points.

Back with a Day 2 recap Saturday night. Day 2 sees Millwood taking on Bishop McGuinness and Deer Creek battling OCS.

Should be a fun and exciting couple of days at the Deer Creek Festival, beginning Friday. Here is the schedule for the two-day event.

First full week of the basketball season, and a couple of the private school teams really went after it Saturday night in a matchup between Oklahoma Christian and Mt. St. Mary’s.

Paced by Dalton Newsome, the Rockets got the best of the Saints 53-45 on the road. MSM also went on the road Friday night at Lexington and picked up a 75-61 victory.

It took a second half comeback by the Rockets to get past OCS. The Saints held a four-point lead at halftime, but MSM outscored ‘em 33-21 in the second half.

Newsome scored 17 while Vincent Mason added 14 in the win. Mason was also the game’s high scorer Friday at Lexingoton. Newsome’s big showing is enough to win the Private Schools Player of the Week.

Tough to go on the road to start the season, but Lenny Hatchett’s team has done that right now. Couple of big victories in someone else’s gym. Possible they could get another as MSM is at Heritage Hall on Tuesday.

Other contenders

Cara Pugh and Caroline Cameron, Bishop McGuinness: Pugh came up huge in a blowout win against Ardmore on Friday while Cameron duplicated the effort in an easy win against Northwest Classen on Saturday.

T.J. Holland and Jack Warren, OCS: Maybe the Saints were a little emotionally drained. The day before the battle with MSM, OCS took out one of 4A’s top teams, John Marshall. Down one point entering the fourth, OCS got the job done.

Collin Groves, Heritage Hall: It’s going to take a while to get rollin’ for the Chargers, but Groves played huge in a loss to Northeast. Groves had a game-high 27 points.

Ryan Shelley, Casady: The Cyclones picked up a big win against Tulsa NOAH, thanks in large part to Shelley. The senior had 29 points in the 57-48 victory.

With so many more games, it’s possible I’ve left out a name or two. If you feel someone deserves the honor, drop me a line. Appreciate it.

I give major kudos to teams that schedule the way OCS does. The Saints go against some of the best teams (regardless of class) and definitely take their licks.

However, think it makes them better for it when it comes time to taking care of business in their respective class.

OCS
Boys
Last year’s record: 18-7 (made state)
Outlook: It will be a typical year for Oklahoma Christian. They’re going to lose some but learn from everything. Trent Toler’s group only returns two starters in juniors T.J. Holland (6-6) and Jack Warren (6-0).

Toler is now in his third season and Warren was telling me that almost all the players on this year’s team only know Toler as coach, and they’ve bought into his system 100 percent.

Girls
Last year’s record: 14-11 (eliminated in area)
Outlook: Junior Jordan Gooch averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds as a sophomore and should only be better as a junior.

Senior guard Mackenzie Barnes is going to be expected to lead. Barnes (5-6) averaged 6 points per game last year. A lot of the players are sophomores and juniors, so it will be interesting to see how they grow under Elizabeth Clower.

Each Saints team earned a win Tuesday against Casady. OCS return to the hardwood Friday against John Marshall.

There are just so many weapons for Bishop McGuinness when all the boys are healthy. Camden Tharp is effective as both a runner and a passer. Jameel Whitney is the bruising back and anchor on defense. LaRone Richardson is your workhorse who can also bust a big one.

And then there’s Kyle Ahmad. He’s your game-breaker. A person that if you need one play to take it to the house, you call his number.

Ahmad wasn’t the only Irish player to score two touchdowns in the 49-0 win vs. Tecumseh, but seeing the team click like that was huge and earns him the Private Schools Player of the Week.

Ahmad scored on 31-yard run in the first quarter and and also on a 28-yard pass from Tharp as the Irish roll into a huge quarterfinal matchup at Sallisaw. His speed is lethal, my friends.

With all these weapons, it’s tough to contain them all. And if all the weapons are healthy (as they’re now on their way to being), well, look out for the Irish.

Other contenders

Barry Sanders, RB, Heritage Hall: Just another day at the office for the sophomore. He scored four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) as the Chargers blanked Meeker 35-0.

LaRone Richardson, RB, McGuinness: Made his return after missing the final two (almost 3) games with a high ankle sprain and scored twice.

Travis Harrison, Heritage: Provided a huge spark when he took a blocked punt 15 yards for a touchdown to help Chargers cruise.

Camden Tharp, QB, McGuinness: He has made a believer out of me. He’s no longer a question mark for the Irish. He threw two touchdowns and ran for another.

Irish and Charger defense: Neither squad gave up a point with Heritage giving up 144 yards and McGuinness allowing 183 yards of offense.

OCS defense: Saints didn’t lose to Oklahoma Bible because of their defense. In a tough battle, OBA blanked OCS 7-0, scoring in the second quarter.

The dynamic duo remains in the private school realm, and it looks like I might be following one of these teams as far as they can go.

Bishop McGuinness (9-2)
That is how you start the postseason. A dominating display on both sides of the ball in a 49-0 victory against Tecumseh. Everything was clicking. LaRone Richardson was back, scoring twice. Kyle Ahmad took it in twice.

The Irish never really got the passing game going because they didn’t need to. I haven’t checked in with coach Kenny Young yet, but I can’t think of him hoping for a better showing.

Now the road gets difficult as McGuinness heads east to play Sallisaw (10-1). It is real easy to overlook Sallisaw after a 31-28 last-second FG win against Collinsville. I’m not doing that. QB Matt Oberste is healthy again, said coach Craig Benson.

In Ryan’s rankings, this is the No. 2 team (Irish) taking on the No. 5 team (Sallisaw) in the quarterfinals. That is really saying something about how good this game can be.

I’m looking forward to this one. And you know what? I’m looking forward to this one so much that I’m making the trip Friday to Sallisaw for this one.

Heritage Hall (7-4)
Take what I just said about McGuinness and copy it for the Chargers. The first three times Barry Sanders touched the ball, he scored touchdowns en route to a 35-0 win against Meeker.

Not shocking that Heritage blanked the Bulldogs as you take out that fourth quarter vs. Weatherford, and this has been an outstanding defensive unit.

Cooper Cloud is doing his best to make me look stupid. Another solid outing. Not spectacular, but really, he’s never going to need to be the guy that throws for 300 yards and five touchdowns.

The Chargers welcome Lindsay to town on Friday.

OCS (8-3)
This one hurt. I picked the Saints to reach the Class A finals. Still don’t know how Oklahoma Bible shut ‘em out 7-0, but I’m not questioning OBA anymore. Great effort.

Thought this might be the season for a title for OCS, but fell a little short in the biggest moments. See what they have next year.

Records:
Ryan: 65-15 (6A, 6-2; 5A, 7-1; 4A, 8-0; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-2; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Scott: 64-16 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 6-2; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 14-1; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Bob: 63-17 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 7-1; 3A, 6-2; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-3; B, 8-0; C, 5-3)

Bob’s Best Call: I don’t have much to brag about, so I’m going with Douglass and its impressive performance at Glenpool. The way Glenpool was shell-shocked against Star Spencer had me believing the Warriors would have no answers for the Trojans. I have three 4A-1 teams in the semis (Weatherford vs. Douglass, McGuinness vs. Star Spencer).
Ryan’s Best Call: Guthrie over Duncan in 5A. I picked 26-22. The score ended up being a bit lower than that but the margin was relatively close and the Bluejays won. I knew Guthrie’s defense was close to the level of a top-tier 5A team and their offense had been consistently improving through disitrict play, minus the blowout at the hands of Carl Albert. I also correctly predicted road teams Douglass, Wagoner, Sequoyah Claremore, John Marshall, Kiefer, Covington-Douglas and Deer Creek-Lamont to win.
Scott’s Best Call: I’m somewhat proud of picking 6-4 Laverne over 8-2 Caddo in a game that pitted two top-10 teams against each other. But based on Laverne’s super-challenging district schedule, that one wasn’t as big a shocker as the records would indicate. So the pick I was most excited about would have to be Carnegie over Healdton. Yes, both teams were 8-2 and it seemed like a toss-up type of game. But I had already written Healdton on the line, then went back at the last second and changed it. I typically trust my first instinct, but it worked out for me this time.

Bob’s Bonehead Call: Easy one. Even worse than calling Madill the 3A champion (because that wasn’t that crazy) was keeping the belief that Oklahoma Christian was going to make it to the Class A finals. I just felt the Saints were going to always put it together when they needed to. I truly never thought OCS was in trouble this season. They had lost by one point to Watonga and two points to Cashion. But give credit to Oklahoma Bible for the 7-0 win. Honorable mention to Vian beating Valliant in the second round since neither won their first-round contest.
Ryan’s Bonehead Call: Temple 51, Waynoka 6. Actual score: Waynoka 48, Temple 14. I had close picks one way turn into blowouts the other and a couple (Vian-Pawhuska) that I picked as blowouts wind up blowouts the other way. But none as bad as this one. (Dis)Honorable mention: Plainview 42, Washington 6. I’m not going to lie, I looked at Washington’s 1-4 start and basically wrote them off. But the losses aren’t so bad looking back on it and even that lone win (8-7 over Jones) stands out as a pretty impresssive one. The Warriors proved that their five-game win streak to end the regular season was no fluke.
Scott’s Bonehead Call: There were three upsets I desperately wanted to pick, but backed off on all three for reasons I can’t explain. And all three — Guthrie, Washington and Covington-Douglas — won. All three of those teams came into the playoffs at 6-4, but all three programs have an understanding of how to play and win in the postseason, whether it be from recent or long-standing success.

Bob’s Biggest Surprise: Since myself and Ryan Aber already went through this in Sunday’s paper, I’m going to say something a little different. Hmm, let’s say that on paper, Clinton’s road to the title just got easier. 10-0 teams Madill and Metro Christian lost in the first round, leaving the Red Tornadoes side of the bracket WIDE open. It’s possible three teams from 3A-1 (Tuttle, Clinton, Blanchard) are alive in the semis.
Ryan’s Biggest Surprise: The emergence of 2A-7 and the disappearance of 2A-8. Vian has a long history of playoff advancement, while Sequoyah Tahlequah has been pretty good of late as well. I didn’t expect both of them to get bounced in the first round after their only loss was Vian’s to Sequoyah Tahlequah. But 2A-7 swept 2A-8 out, winning those games on the road with combined 14-6 teams beating 19-1 teams. We knew Lincoln Christian was good but it appears 2A-7 was even better than we thought.
Scott’s Biggest Surprise: I’m not surprised that Edmond Memorial won, but very surprised at how easily and by how much they won. Also shocked by the Glenpool loss to Douglass, simply because I picked Glenpool to bounce back from its loss to Star Spencer and win it all in 4A. Sequoyah-Tahlequah, Madill and Metro Christian both suffering their first defeats of the year would qualify for the surprise category, too.

Class 6A
1. Midwest City (18)
2. Tulsa Union (1)
3. Norman
4. Edmond North
5. Edmond Memorial
6. Edmond Santa Fe
7. Lawton
8. Del City (2)
9. Norman North
10. Putnam City North
11. Jenks
12. Broken Arrow
13. Sapulpa
14. Owasso
15. Ponca City
16. Yukon
17. Enid
18. Southmoore
19. Bixby
20. Choctaw

Class 5A
1. Carl Albert (10)
2. Tulsa Kelley (1)
3. Claremore
4. Coweta (1)
5.  Tulsa Washington (3)
6. Tulsa Edison (1)
7. Tulsa Memorial (4)
8. Deer Creek
9. Durant
9. McAlester
11. Ada
12. Altus
13. Tulsa East Central
14. Lawton Macarthur
15. El Reno
16. Skiatook
16. Southeast
18. Collinsville
19. Ardmore
20. Western Heights

Class 4A
1. Cache (12)
2. Anadarko (9)
3. Fort Gibson (4)
4. Vinita (4)
5. Harrah (2)
6. Bishop McGuinness (2)
7. Star Spencer (1)
8. Perkins-Tryon
9. Muldrow
10. Weatherford
11. Newcastle
12. Wagoner
13. Clinton
14. Heritage Hall
15. Metro Christian
16. Tuttle
17. Elgin
18. Piedmont
19. Roland
20. Sallisaw

Class 3A
1. Kansas (21)
2. Adair (8)
3. Millwood (5)
4. Sequoyah Tahlequah
5. Beggs (1)
6. Bethel (2)
7. Tishomingo
8. Verdigris
9. Kingfisher
10. Sulphur
11. Morris
12. Marietta
13. Heavener
14. Chelsea
15. Vian
16. Oklahoma Christian School
17. Riverside Indian
18. Stroud
19. Marlow
19. Cascia Hall

Class 2A
1. Pawnee (23)
2. Dale (11)
3. Apache (2)
4. Newkirk
5. Washington
6. Konawa
7. Oktaha
8. Savanna
9. Preston
10. Walters
11. Fairview
12. Healdton
13. Christian Heritage
14. Watonga
15. Cordell
16. Oklahoma Union
17. Crowder
18. Chisholm
19. Wellston
20. Latta

Class A
1. Chattanooga (33)
2. Okarche (2)
3. Calumet (3)
4. Seiling (6)
5. Thomas (1)
6. Cashion
7. Fort Cobb-Broxton
8. Wayne
9. Copan
10. Amber-Pocasset
11. Sasakwa
12. Howe (2)
13. Beaver
14. Merritt
15. Ninnekah
16. Ripley
17. Quinton
18. Afton (1)
19. Mooreland
20. Indianola

Class B
1. Cyril (40)
2. Moss (10)
3. Lomega (4)
4. Hammon
5. Vici (1)
6. Frontier (1)
7. Boynton
8. Forgan
9. Red Oak
10. Caney
11. New Lima
12. Kiowa
13. Binger-Oney
14 Leedey
15 Deer Creek-Lamont
16 Erick
17. McCurtain
18. Arnett
19. Big Pasture
20. Varnum (6)

Class 6A
1. Putnam City (8)
2. Putnam City West (7)
3. Muskogee (4)
4. Southmoore
5. Tulsa Union
6. Jenks
7. Edmond Santa Fe
8. Midwest City
9. Broken Arrow
10. Putnam City North
11. Owasso
12. Edmond Memorial
13. Lawton
14 Enid
15. Choctaw
15. Del City
17. Norman North
18. Edmond North
19. Lawton Eisenhower
20. Norman

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Edison (13)
2. Tulsa Memorial (8)
3. Tulsa Washington
4. Guthrie (1)
5. Carl Albert
6. Ardmore
7. Tulsa East Central
8. Tulsa Kelley
9. Capitol Hill
10. El Reno
11. Southeast
12. Northwest
13. Lawton Macarthur
14. Claremore
15. Tahlequah
16. Coweta
17. Tulsa Central
17. McAlester
19. Chickasha
20. Altus

Class 4A
1. Star Spencer (15)
2. Douglass (8)
3. Bishop McGuinness (2)
4. John Marshall
5. Fort Gibson
6. Vinita
7. Metro Christian (1)
8. Madill
9. Tulsa McLain
10. Bethany
11. Anadarko
12. Newcastle
13. Cache
14. Blanchard
15. Piedmont
15. Roland
17. Tecumseh
18. Weatherford
19. Glenpool
20. Heritage Hall

Class 3A
1. Sequoyah Tahlequah (11)
2. Cascia Hall (9)
3. Bethel (6)
4. Saint Mary
5. Northeast (6)
6. Millwood
7. Hugo (1)
8. Okemah
9. Oklahoma Christian School
10. Plainview
11. Kingfisher
12. Verdigris
13. Heavener
14. Prague
15. Bridge Creek
16. Beggs
17. Victory Christian
18. Sperry
19. Vian
20. Riverside

Class 2A
1. Pawnee (34)
2. Talihina (5)
3. Oktaha
4. Preston
5. Chisholm
6. Haworth
7. Lincoln Christian
8. Watonga
9. Washington
10. Latta
11. Dale
12. Tonkawa (1)
13. Christian Heritage
14. Fairview
15. Cordell
16. Pioneer
16. Oklahoma Bible Academy
18. Healdton
19. Walters
20. Gore

Class A
1. Garber (45)
2. Okarche (4)
3. Stratford (1)
4. Texhoma
5. Ripley
6. Fort Cobb-Broxton (1)
7. Stuart
8. Cheyenne (1)
9. Rock Creek
10. Okeene
11. Thomas
12. Porter
13. Chattanooga
14. Seiling
15. Welch
16. Turpin (1)
17. Fletcher
18. Calumet (1)
19. Howe
20. Caddo

Class B
1. Roff (49)
2. Red Oak (4)
3. Forgan (9)
4. Frontier
5. Coyle
6. Hammon
7. Medford
8. Big Pasture
9. Burlington
10. Lomega
11. Mason
12. Binger-Oney
13. Erick
14. Vici
15. Glencoe
16. Earlsboro
17. Fargo
18. Boynton
19. Stringtown
20. Corn Bible

Here are the ones I have so far:
BASEBALL
Cale Coshow, Deer Creek (OU)
Casey Coyle, Putnam North (OU)
Cale Elam, Oktaha (Wichita State)
Brad Fisher, Jenks (Oral Roberts)
Josh Halbert, Choctaw (Wichita State)
Mason Justice, Holland Hall (Kansas State)
Jordan Lopez, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas Tech)
J.T. Realmuto, Carl Albert (OSU)
Jacob Rice, Tulsa Union (Arkansas)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Cameron Downing, Tulsa Memorial (Buffalo)
Amric Fields, Putnam West (TCU)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Jimi Blagowsky, Edmond Santa Fe (Air Force)
Brenna Burnett, Dale (Palm Beach Atlantic)
Meagan Henson, CHA (TCU)
Kalie Lucas, Harrah (Missouri Southern)
Ashlee Pitts, Tulsa East Central (SW Baptist)
Cara Pugh, McGuinness (OCU)

GOLF
Tressa Brumley, Chouteau (UCO)
Ian Davis, Deer Creek (OSU)
Talor Gooch, Carl Albert (OSU)
Matt Helms, Edmond Santa Fe (Wichita State)
Lauren Michael, Jenks (Drury)
Cody Reed, Edmond Santa Fe (NSU)

SOCCER
Corbin Campbell, Deer Creek (OBU)

SOFTBALL
Shelby Blanton, Newcastle (Tulsa)
Sierra Bronkey, Edmond Santa Fe (Arkansas)
Tiffany Brown, Catoosa (Pittsburg State)
Bailee Cartwright, Moss (Northwestern State, La.)
Dani Fox, Yukon (Washburn)
Shaylee Griffin, McAlester (OCU)
Haley Henshaw, Catoosa (Tulsa)
Javen Henson, Red Oak (OU)
Hannah Justice, Catoosa (UCO)
Beth Manship, Harrah (Southeastern)
Mary Kate McKay, Madill (Angelo State)
Lauren Poole, Putnam North (Seminole State)
Natalie Powers, Holland Hall (Tenn.-Chatt.)
Shelbi Redfearn, Stillwater (Baylor)
Kylee Rounsaville, Mustang (OCU)
Kenna Self, Madill (OBU)
Lauren Tyndall, Edmond Memorial (Northwestern, Ill.)
Hillary Weatherford, Carl Albert (Washburn)
Briana Williams, Midwest City (OCU)

TENNIS
Logon Collins, Tulsa Union (Marquette)

VOLLEYBALL
Ashley Acklin, Carl Albert (Radford)
Tate Hardaker, Edmond Santa Fe (UCO)
Julie Labarthe, Heritage Hall (Quinnipiac)
Sallie McLaurin, Carl Albert (OU)
Alyssa Wilson, Clinton (Northern Colorado)

WRESTLING
Ronnie Balfour, Tulsa Union (OU)
Justin DeAngelis, Jenks (OU)
Greg Delk, Skiatook (OCU)
Quincy Mondaine, Muskogee (OU)
Jared Porter, Carl Albert (Central Michigan)
Dustin Reed, Choctaw (OU)

Mt. St. Mary’s was going to make sure somebody else beat ‘em besides sophomore running back Barry Sanders. MSM stacked the box and Sanders only had five carries, nursing a thigh bruise.

Luckily for Heritage Hall, somebody was up to the task. That somebody was senior Tanner France.

France scored a touchdown three different ways in leading the Chargers to a 37-19 victory and a District 2A-1 crown and has earned Private Schools Player of the Week.

He ran for one, caught another and intercepted one for a score. Guess you could say France is back to 100 percent.

France broke his thumb against Kingfisher and hasn’t been able to make as much impact as he would like.

But with quarterback Sterling Shepard hurt and the Rockets keying on Sanders, France stepped up in a big way.

If the Chargers are able to get more consistent outings from France, Heritage just became a major player in the 2A race once again.

Other contenders

The Whitney boys (Jameel and Jamal), Bishop McGuinness: Accounted for three touchdowns for the Irish in a 49-12 win against Elk City.

Mikey Mollman, MSM: It wasn’t the way the Rockets wanted to end things, but Mollman ran for all three touchdowns in the loss.

Parker Randell, Oklahoma Christian Academy: A fine ending to the year for the Eagles as Randell accounted for five scores (four rushing, one fumble return) in a 42-22 win against Bowlegs.

Jack Warren and Jeff Smith, Oklahoma Christian: Each played a role in the eight touchdowns the Saints scored. Warren threw five of them while Smith ran for the other three. Look out for OCS.

Three area private school teams remain. All three have real chances to make some big playoff runs.

Bishop McGuinness (8-2, 6-1)
The Irish were dominant at Elk City. McGuinness rolled up more than 430 yards in a 49-12 win.

The Whitney boys (Jameel and Jamal) played huge while Camden Tharp was once again solid.

Amazing to think this team is now ranked No. 2 by Ryan. I know I never saw this type of season coming.

That’s a credit to Kenny Young and his staff for putting the kids in the right spots to be successful.

Up next: Another 8-2 team in a first-round battle with Tecumseh. Irish get to play at Pribil Stadium for this one.

Heritage Hall (6-4, 6-1)
I heard Heritage had 64 rushing yards and Barry Sanders didn’t score. Wow. But senior Tanner France had a huge game for the Chargers in 37-19 win against Mt. St. Mary’s.

France ran for a score, caught another and had an interception return to clinch the district title.

Sounds like Cooper Cloud was efficient in his first start. This was big for the team’s confidence after the John Marshall loss.

Up next: Well, we think Meeker. Depending on the OSSAA ruling with Jones, it’s either Meeker or Lexington. Either way, someone is coming to Pop Murray Memorial Field on Friday to face Heritage.

Other private schools

Mt. St. Mary’s (3-7, 2-5): Stifling run defense but couldn’t keep up with Heritage. Mikey Mollman scored three touchdowns in the loss. Strong finish by Dal Nichols’ club.

Oklahoma Christian (8-2): I’m tellin’ ya now that this is a sleeper team. Jack Warren and Jeff Smith are rolling to go with Jon and Skyler Sikes and a better defense than most give ‘em credit for. Won 55-7 at Luther.

Christian Heritage (5-5): Rebounded from rough start to end up .500. Limited Mounds to 62 total yards in a 37-8 win on Friday. Kicker Ian Sanders is one of the best.

Oklahoma Christian Academy (3-7): Huge strides in second season in OSSAA. Parker Randell closed season out in style as OCA won 42-22 against Bowlegs. Randell had five touchdowns.