Courtney Walker, left, and Edmond Santa Fe are the best girls' basketball team in the state. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Here is my first girls’ basketball power poll. This one just covers the large schools (6A and 5A). Tomorrow, I’ll have one for 2A-3A-4A.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

1. Edmond Santa Fe (6A, 21-0)
No brainer at No. 1. Texas A&M signee Courtney Walker and company are the clear favorites to win their second straight 6A title. The Wolves’ smallest margin of victory is 15. The biggest question mark surrounding this team is its strength of schedule. The Wolves haven’t really been tested this season.
Record vs. this poll: 2-0

2. Shawnee (5A, 21-0)
The Wolves lost Tulsa signee Caitlyn Ramirez to an ACL tear before the season, but it hasn’t seemed to affect them much at all. Move-ins Taylor and McKenzie Cooper obviously helped ease the blow, and guard Kelsee Grovey, another Tulsa signee, has shown herself to be one of the best players in the state.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0

3. Midwest City (6A, 21-0)
Two and three were tough to choose, because I think Midwest City has a terrific team and, I think, is the only team right now in 6A with a legitimate shot at beating Santa Fe. I watched the Bombers and Shawnee scrimmage in the preseason and it was a good matchup. After watching both teams play, I like the Wolves just a little better right now.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0

4. Tulsa East Central (5A, 21-3)
Shawnee’s chief competition in Class 5A. Two of the Cardinals’ losses were to out-of-state teams in a season-opening tourney in Tennessee, and the other came to Jenks on Jan. 20. But East Central has also beaten Jenks this season.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1

5. Edmond Memorial (6A, 16-5)
The Bulldogs five losses are: Twice to Santa Fe, twice to Midwest City and once to Shawnee. Memorial and Midwest City are lined up for a possible third game in areas.
Record vs. this poll: 1-5

6. Jenks (6A, 18-4)
Jessica Washington has returned from an injury but isn’t 100 percent. The Trojans lost in overtime to Muskogee on Tuesday.
Record vs. this poll: 2-3

7. Deer Creek (5A, 19-3)
Since a one-point loss to 4A Piedmont on Jan. 13, the Antlers have reeled off nine straight wins, including a big win at Carl Albert. Deer Creek is peaking at the right time and seems poised for a run at state.
Record vs. this poll: 2-1

8. Carl Albert (5A, 17-5)
The Titans go through rough shooting stretches, which cost them in recent home losses to Deer Creek and Shawnee. CA got a break in their playoff position and should be considered a lock for the state tournament.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2

9. Muskogee (6A, 16-6)
Since losing to Stillwater in the finals of the John Nobles Tournament in Moore on Jan. 21, the Rougers have reeled off seven straight wins, including Tuesday’s overtime upset of Jenks. Muskogee also has impressive wins over Tulsa Union and Bixby, and has beaten Sapulpa twice.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1

10. Bishop McGuinness (5A, 18-5)
Irish got off to a rocky start to the season after losing several starters, and adjusting to a new head coach, Shawn Clark. But the team has been on a roll, losing just twice since Dec. 17. Both of those losses — three points to Cascia Hall and in overtime to PC North — came with top scorer and rebounder Elyse Hight hurt.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2

Edmond Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen is playing basketball after recovering from a groin injury. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Edmond Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen got his first college football scholarship offer from Missouri at the school’s Junior Day last weekend, but he isn’t planning on making any decisions anytime soon at all.

The Missouri offer is likely the first of dozens Hansen will receive.

As a sophomore and first-year starter in 2011, Hansen was a force through the air and on the ground as the Wolves went 10-2 and were district champions.

“I’ve got two years,” Hansen said. “I want to go through the ride and see what all happens.”

Hansen grew up an Oklahoma fan, and his dad Dusty was on the Sooners’ 1994 national championship baseball team. He said he dreamed of playing football at OU when he was younger, but now OU isn’t a team he is sitting around waiting for.

“OU isn’t really favored at all,” Hansen said. “I want to weigh all the options I get and go where I can excel the most.”

He said he’s received letters from several schools, but hasn’t had more contact than that with any program except Missouri.

MORE ON THE OFFER

Hansen wasn’t expecting anything more than a campus tour when he accepted an invitation to Missouri’s Junior Day.

But Pinkel made Missouri the first school to offer a scholarship to Hansen, who

“It was pretty crazy,” Hansen said. “I just figured I’d go up there and look around; I didn’t expect anything like that.”

Hansen said Pinkel had seen film of some of the Wolves’ games from last season. The sophomore quarterback added that he thinks the Tigers’ recruitment of defensive end Michael Onuoha, who signed with OU, helped him get noticed.

“I think because they had been breaking down film of Mike, they got interested,” he said.

After Pinkel made the offer, he took in the Tigers’ mens’ basketball game win over Baylor and met with current Missouri quarterback James Franklin.

“I talked to him for a while,” Hansen said. “He was a great guy.”

PLAYING THROUGH PAIN

Hansen admitted that he finished last season with a groin injury, and played through it “the last few weeks of the season.”

Weeks would start out painful on Mondays, and the groin would gradually get worked out throughout the week as he practiced.

Then, the process would start over.

“At first, they were thinking it was a hernia,” he said. “It was probably a pretty bad pull or a slight tear.”

Hansen missed the first part of basketball season because of the injury, but is now back at full strength.

“It’s another game you have to compete for,” Hansen said of playing hoops, adding that the constant running in basketball is helping him stay in shape.

He is pretty fired up, though, to return to the gridiron. The Wolves were 1-9 in 2010, but made a drastic turnaround in Hansen’s first year under center.

“That was the funnest football season I’ve ever played in,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back in there, build on that and see what we can do this next year.”

Edmond Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen picked up a Missouri offer on Saturday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Edmond Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen picked up his first college football scholarship offer from Missouri during a visit there Saturday, he said in a text message to The Oklahoman.

Hansen was one of the state’s top sophomores in 2011 and was a key part of Edmond Santa Fe’s turnaround from 1-9 in 2010 to 10-2 this season.

As a sophomore and first-year starter, Hansen threw for 2,558 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also rushed for 529 yards and eight scores.

Hansen’s offer came during Missouri’s Junior Day, which he was invited to even though he is a sophomore.

Hansen is widely considered one of the state’s top prospects for the class of 2014.

“A couple people were looking at me like I had something on my face,” the Edmond Santa Fe senior said. “I was like, ‘Why are they staring at me?’”

Finally, one Missouri player spoke up.

“Hey dude, you look like Aldon Smith,” the player said.

Onuoha wasn’t exactly sure who Smith was, but looked him up. After deciding he looks nothing like him — “I think I look like Michael, not Aldon Smith” — he realized what they were talking about.

Smith came to Missouri in 2008 raw, fairly thin and with long arms after getting a late start in his high school football career because basketball was his first love. Just like Onuoha.

In 2011, as a rookie for the San Francisco 49ers, Smith recorded 37 tackles, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and 14 sacks

Onuoha (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) visited Oklahoma this weekend, and said he is “50-50″ on which offer he will sign on Wednesday’s National Signing Day.

“I’m from Oklahoma,” Onuoha said. “Everybody that i met down there said it’s a great place, and said I should stay in Oklahoma because I’m an Oklahoman.”

Onuoha burst onto the recruiting scene after a strong performance at Oklahoma’s summer camp. He didn’t play much his junior year because of an injury.

As a senior, Onuoha recorded 87 tackles and six sacks.

He got his first offer in early December from Missouri, then the Sooners offered just after the new year.

Missouri and Oklahoma each have two current defensive ends commitments in their classes of 2012

The 24 boys and girls selected to participate in the All-American Game will be announced at 4 p.m. Feb. 9 on ESPNU. This year’s games will be held March 28 in Chicago, with the girls game tipping off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 8:30.

Only Texas and Iowa had more nominations on the girls side than Oklahoma’s 26.

Boys
Nino Jackson, Ardmore
Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial
Austin Thrash, Cheyenne
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial

Girls
Kate Andrews, McGuinness
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Quira Demery, Millwood
I’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Mariah Gilliam, Tulsa Washington
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
LaShanda Green, McAlester
Kelsey Grovey, Shawnee
Elyse Hight, McGuinness
Sydney Hill, Edmond Memorial
Shelley Knight, Wayne
Deena Manning, Wayne
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
LaNesha Middleton, Stillwater
Bria Pitts, Tulsa East Central
Caitlyn Ramirez, Shawnee
Toni Smith, Del City
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Jordynn VanPelt, Snyder
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Adriana White, Midwest City

Carl Albert's Gioya Carter shoots over Harrah's Sydney Hessman during the Titans' win Tuesday. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness was dealt a tough blow Monday in practice.

Senior Elyse Hight, the Irish’s top scorer and rebounder, suffered a hip injury that will keep her sidelined for the indefinite future.

The defending state champion Irish, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, won its fifth straight game 43-36 over Stillwater on Tuesday.

Senior Kate Andrews, who led McGuinness with 16 points, said the team played for Hight.

“I think anytime you’re challenged with adversity, you have to come out and show you can play with just as much passion,” Andrews said. “We played in honor of her tonight. We really used this challenge to us to pick each other up and grow together.”

Andrews said replacing Hight is much more than making up for her points and rebounds.

“So many people just see the tons of boards and tons of points she puts up, but it was the little things,” Andrews said. “The blocks, steals, energy and leadership were missed.

“But where we lacked with her absence, everyone else really picked it up.”

Junior LaNesha Middleton led Stillwater with 17 points.

Jason’s take: I can’t emphasize enough how important it was for Bishop McGuinness to get this win in its first game without Elyse Hight. The Irish had just gotten a lot of their early-season kinks worked out, and losing a player of her caliber might have caused some teams to crumble. But the Irish got going quickly, shooting the ball well on its way to an 18-point first quarter and, ultimately, a fifth straight win. With Hight out for the foreseeable future,  it’s encouraging for Irish fans to see the team performing well and beating a solid Stillwater team without her.

CARL ALBERT WINS AT HARRAH

Junior Gioya Carter scored 16 points and Class 5A No. 4 Carl Albert won at Harrah 49-35 on Tuesday.

The Titans (7-3) jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and led 28-16 at halftime.

Junior Bailey Mack led Harrah (6-5) with 15 points. It was Harrah’s third straight loss.

Carl Albert plays next at Chickasha on Friday, while Harrah travels to Noble the same day.

Jason’s take: It was important for Carl Albert to win this one on the road after losing two of three games in the Westmoore tournament last weekend. For Harrah, it’s a third straight loss after a three-game winning streak. They should pick up a win over Noble, but then Class 5A No. 1 Shawnee looms on Jan. 17.

MASSEY SCORES 33 AS CHRISTIAN HERITAGE TOPS JONES

Junior Maclayn Massey scored 33 points as Christian Heritage held off Jones to win 66-65 at home on Tuesday.

Christian Heritage took a big lead after outscoring Jones 25-11 in the second quarter. But the Longhorns rallied, scoring 40 second-half points, including 24 in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Teddi Homan led the Longhorns with 22 points.

Jason’s take: An impressive performance by Massey, who was the Crusaders’ only returning starter from last year. Maybe the young Christian Heritage team is starting to gain some momentum with experience, and a win like this can only help the team going forward.

EDWARDS LEADS NORTHEAST PAST MILLWOOD

A run that started late in the third quarter gave Northeast enough cushion to hold off host Millwood 53-41.

Northeast’s T’ona Edwards sparked the run, scoring seven of her game-high 20 points in the third as the Vikings stretched a six-point advantage into a comfortable 20-point lead early in the fourth.

“(On Monday), we had practice without a basketball,” first-year Northeast coach Londaryl Perry said. “We had to have a reminder of who was in charge. I think it really brought us back together as a team instead of a bunch of individuals. I think that showed in how we played tonight.”

Shayla Williams scored 14 points and LaNesha Williams added 10 for Northeast. Millwood was led by Quira Demery with 14 points.

Jason’s take: Big thanks to Scott Wright for coverage of this game. Northeast got back on the right track after losing to Holland Hall in the finals of the Stroud Tournament. The Vikings are looking like they could be an awfully special team; their only other loss this year was a seven-point setback to Class 6A power Midwest City. Millwood lost its second straight after falling in the SNU/Bethany Classic finals to Norman North. The Falcons are still playing without junior starting guards Teanna Reid and Daneisha Threatt, who both have been injured all season.

TIP-INS

Senior Courtney Walker, a Texas A&M signee, scored 22 points and Class 6A No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe rolled past Putnam City West 83-30 at home. Santa Fe (12-0) plays at Yukon on Friday. … Class 5A’s top-ranked team, Shawnee, improved to 11-0 with a 55-24 home win over El Reno. Junior Micaela Yu led the Wolves with 18 points, and senior forward Taylor Cooper, an Oral Roberts signee, added 12. … Junior Kaitlyn Peterson scored 18 points and Edmond North (2-7) upset 6A No. 11 Putnam City North 40-37 on Tuesday. It was the Panthers third straight loss. … Senior Kenzie Solberg led Chandler with 28 points as it won 52-47 in overtime at Seminole.

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

EAST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Andrew Hearon, Metro Christian
Tony Kiefer, McAlester

Running backs
Dakota Biswell, Stroud
Caleb Muncrief, Madill
Cole Scheulen, Catoosa
Willie Zackery, Woodland

Wide receivers
Levi Copelin, Broken Arrow
Michael Fraley, Adair
Ty Miller, Caddo
Victor Williams, Muskogee

Tight ends
Matt Gallagher, Owasso
Zac Veatch, Broken Arrow

Linemen
John Connor, Tulsa Kelley
Jeremy Iron, Pawhuska
Lance Kloker, Owasso
Talon Miles-Satepauhoodle, Hominy
Montana Poorboy, Catoosa
Sam Sabin, Jenks
Chris Wallace, Sperry

Punter/kicker
Tom Carwile, Tulsa Washington

DEFENSE
Linemen
Hunter Hart, Cascia Hall
Orion Jones, Jenks
Gcory Rahmings, Broken Bow
Travis Sandlin, Vian
Max Simmons, Lincoln Christian
Gary Wilson, Sand Springs

Linebackers
Patrick Bartlett, Woodland
Jevonte Cross, Tulsa East Central
Aaron Dolan, Berryhill
Connor Sherwood, Cascia Hall
Blace Walser, Tulsa Union

Defensive backs
Kent Booze, Spiro
Adam Boyd, McAlester
Kevin Peterson, Wagoner
Dillon Proctor, Caddo
Jermy Reynolds, Wewoka
Jesse Vester, Stillwater

Coaches
Mike Mobra, Catoosa; Eddy Scott, Pawhuska; Kevin Harmon, McAlester; Darren Melton, Lincoln Christian.

WEST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Corben Jones, Yukon
Garrett Lorah, Elgin

Running backs
Casey Curtis, Putnam City
James Flanders, Midwest City
Josh Way, Wayne
Sheldon Wilson, Anadarko

Wide receivers
Gage Diffee, Bethany
Javis Flynn, Watonga
Tre Kelley, Edmond Santa Fe
Tylor Seabolt, Jones
Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall

Linemen
Blake Belcher, Guthrie
Daniel Burton, Putnam North
Brandon Dewitt, Lawton
Devin Dobbins, Millwood
Carrie Farmer, Minco
Adam Kelley, Wynnewood
Cole Parsons, Edmond North

DEFENSE
Linemen
Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
Patrick Diaz, Lawton
Kyle Factor, Westmoore
Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
Braylon Freeman, Lawton MacArthur
Ricky Rodriguez, Clinton

Linebackers
Landry Chappell, Guthrie
Zeke Lewis, Midwest City
Payton Marsh, Thomas
Brandon Nguyen, McGuinness
Wes Satoe, Anadarko
Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass

Defensive backs
Rashaad Copeland, El Reno
Jared Griffin, Duncan
Rico Hogan, Norman
Aaron Holden, Temple
Aaron McCandless, Shattuck
Ivan Moreno, Hennessey
Michael Thomas, Lawton MacArthur

Coaches
Bob Ward, Thomas; Curtis Lorah, Elgin; Tracy Scott, Blanchard; Jeremy Dombek, Edmond North.

Tulsa Union won the title even with a loss to Owasso. Broken Arrow’s only two losses were to Tulsa Union while Jenks’ losses were to Broken Arrow and Union (twice). Owasso had the most impressive wins of the year (Tulsa Union and in quadruple overtime vs. Midwest City) but lost to Broken Arrow (twice), Jenks and Stillwater. Midwest City’s only loss came to Owasso in the second round. The Bombers beat Edmond Santa Fe, whose only other loss was to Jenks in the playoffs.

District 6A-2 All-District
Awards
Coach of the Year: Lance Manning, Edmond Santa Fe
Player of the Year: Casey Curtis, Putnam City
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Trevor Thompson, Westmoore
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Jarion Tudman, Edmond North
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Factor, Westmoore
Linebacker of the Year: Brendon Pitzer, Edmond North
Co-Defensive Back of the Year: Conner Bays, Edmond Santa Fe
Co-Defensive Back of the Year: Archie Ocloolee, Westmoore
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Patrick Diaz, Lawton
Offensive Back of the Year: Jesse Mathews, Edmond North
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Brandon Dewitt, Lawton
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year: Cole Parsons, Edmond North
Co-Wide Receiver of the Year: Austin Bowling, Westmoore
Co-Wide Receiver of the Year: Tre Kelly, Edmond Santa Fe
Special Teams Player of the Year: Michael Ryan, Mustang

All-District team
Del City: Stephon Herd, WR; Josh McNaughton, DL; Jerel Jeten, DB; Larry Long, DB.

Edmond North: Jarion Tudman, RB; Jared Benway, RB; Cole Parsons, OL; Troy Davis, TE; Jesse Mathews, QB; Russell Sivard, DL; James Duncan, DL; Christian Contreass, DB; Regan Land, LB; Bryndan Pitzer, LB; Christian Peterson, DB.

Edmond Santa Fe: Tre Kelly, WR; Taylor Ashcraft, LB; Chris Carter, DL; Conner Bays, DB; Josh Crouch, DL; Zach Birts, DB; Michael Onuoha, DL; Brandon Roberts, OL; Chad Reitz, OL; Ryan Frazier, LB; Matt Freeman, K; Allston Hadley, OL.

Lawton: Brandon Bartlett, DeMarious Littles, Freddie Taito, Vincent Thomas, Corey Pilgrum, Adam Castro, Jacquan Beck, Dometreas Pyfer, Jordan Gouge.

Mustang: Arron Smith, OL; Derek Garvin, WR; A.J. Ashman, RB; Michael Ryan, K.

Putnam City: Casey Curtis, RB; Rontez Smith, TE; Anthony Hogg, DB; Damion Brown, DL; Elie Rushing, LB; Derrick Rovers, DL; Conner Nichols, TE; Jeff Tanner, DL.

U.S. Grant: Christian Nicholson, DE; Jacob Tavares, OL; Cory Hooks, RB; Derrick Young, DB.

Westmoore: Kyle Factor, DL; Trevor Thompson, QB; Austin Bowling, WR; Archie Ocloolee,. DB; Dalton Craig, WR; Preston Higgins, DL; Blake Martin, DB; Corey Lassiter, OL.

No rankings in the paper this week but I do a final ranking after the season ends. But I’ll update my top 10 in each class on the blog beginning with 6A:

Class 6A
1. Broken Arrow (2)#11-1
2. Tulsa Union (3)#11-1
3. Jenks (5)#10-2
4. Owasso (7)#9-3
5. Midwest City (1)#11-1
6. Edmond Santa Fe (4)#10-2
7. Lawton (6)#9-3
8. Edmond North (8)#9-3
9. Stillwater (9)#8-3
10. Westmoore (10)#7-4

Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 6-4, 1-0

Overall:
Ryan: 80-31, 10-1
Jason: 77, 32, 8-3
Scott: 73-36, 9-2

Ryan
Jenks 28, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Midwest City 21, Owasso 17
Guthrie 34, Tulsa East Central 30
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 28
Sallisaw 28, McGuinness 26
Anadarko 35, Kingfisher 20
Seminole 28, Verdigris 7
Davis 26, Millwood 20
Woodland 21, Wynnewood 19
Timberlake 35, Temple 32
Lock of the week: Lawton MacArthur over Tulsa Kelley. Kelley’s defense is good but they haven’t faced an offense near as potent as Lawton MacArthur yet this season. Darius Graham and company pass the test to advance to the semifinals yet again.

Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 31, Jenks 23
Midwest City 31, Owasso 28
Guthrie 27, Tulsa East Central 17
Lawton MacArthur 38, Tulsa Kelley 24
McGuinness 28, Sallisaw 27
Anadarko 28, Kingfisher 21
Seminole 37, Verdigris 24
Davis 24, Millwood 14
Woodland 38, Wynnewood 34
Temple 35, Timberlake 31
Lock of the week: Anadarko over Kingfisher. This will be Anadarko’s first real test of the season, and I think they pass it. Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year, but he’ll still be too much for the Yellowjackets.

Scott
Edmond Santa Fe 28, Jenks 24
Midwest City 37, Owasso 31
Guthrie 28, Tulsa East Central 21
Lawton MacArthur 35, Tulsa Kelley 21
McGuinness 17, Sallisaw 14
Kingfisher 24, Anadarko 21
Seminole 30, Verdigris 20
Davis 31, Millwood 28
Woodland 28, Wynnewood 22
Timberlake 38, Temple 34
Lock of the week: Midwest City over Owasso. The Bombers are on a crash course with the title game, and their secondary is better than any Owasso has seen this year.

Tuesday, at least two more Class 6A games were pushed up 30 minutes: Westmoore at Midwest City and Lawton Eisenhower at Edmond Santa Fe.

This isn’t a surprise as most 6A games on this side of the state start at 7 p.m. during the regular season.

Here are some of the players who are expected to sign this week:
BASEBALL
Blake Estep, Jones (Penn St.)
Isaac Hellbusch, Deer Creek (Arkansas)
Taylor Hawkins, Carl Albert (OU)
Ty Hensley, Edmond Santa Fe (Ole Miss)
Chase Stephens, Deer Creek (UCO)
Jordan Watson, Edmond Santa Fe (OSU)

BOYS BASKETBALL
Aaron Anderson, Edmond Santa Fe (Fresno St.)
Blake Blanchard, Deer Creek (Southwestern)
Matt Christiansen, McGuinness (San Francisco)
Joe Edmonds, McGuinness (San Francisco)
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial (Tulsa)
D’Andre Wright, Lawton Eisenhower (Tulsa)

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas (Missouri-Kansas City)
Ashley Clark, Midwest City (Tulsa)
Courtney Cowan, Kansas (Northeastern St.)
Ali Decker, Edmond Memorial (Wichita St.)
Toni Smith, Del City (Fresno St.)
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe (Texas A&M)

GOLF
Taylor Moore, Edmond Memorial (Arkansas)
Abby Thompson, Deer Creek (OCU)

GYMNASTICS
Keara Glover, Putnam North (Auburn)

SOFTBALL
Liz Broyles, Blanchard (Missouri-Kansas City)
Braxton Coil, Edmond North (Missouri St.)
Shalee Cordell, Newcastle (OBU)
Kaylin Hinshaw, Putnam North (Mid-America)
Leslie Miller, Blanchard (OU)
Kady Self, Edmond North (OU)
Caitlin Sill, Tuttle (Tulsa)
Bryana Wade, St. Mary (North Texas)
Brooke Zukerman, Lawton MacArthur (UCO)

TENNIS
Sarah Bowen, Heritage Hall (Hofstra)

VOLLEYBALL
Emily Belz, OCS (Henderson St.)
Sydney Fioretti, Edmond Santa Fe (OBU)
Hannah Holkum, Edmond Santa Fe (North Carolina St.)
Barbara Jackson, Edmond Santa Fe (OCU)

WRESTLING
Matt Manley, Perry (Missouri)

Edmond Santa Fe defensive end Michael Onuoha (81) takes a break from running sprints with teammates at practice on Monday.

EDMOND — I visited Edmond Santa Fe’s practice today, where the Wolves are prepping for a first-round showdown with Lawton Eisenhower at Wantland Stadium on Friday.

Edmond Santa Fe won District 6A-2, and Lawton Eisenhower finished fourth in 6A-1.

Although Eisenhower (4-6, 3-4 in District 6A-1) has struggled this season, coach Lance Manning said they are athletic and dangerous.

Quarterback Adrian McDonald, who has some NCAA Division I offers, is dangerous as a runner and a passer.

“They’re athetic; they run that gun option,” Manning said. “They’re scary. You’ve gotta be in position defensively or they will big-play you.”

Eisenhower is the first option team that Santa Fe has faced this year since Week 1, when the Wolves bested rival Edmond Memorial. But Eisenhower’s style of option is different; they run a veer option offense.

“It’s just a different thing to prepare for,” Manning said.

For his part, senior defensive end Michael Onuoha doesn’t seem too concerned.

“We’ve come across a lot of athletes, and we’ve been able to stop them,” Onuoha said.

It’s true. The Wolves’ schedule featured lots of fast, athletic teams like Putnam City, Edmond North and Lawton.

And Santa Fe (9-1, 7-0) is pretty athletic itself. The Wolves’ only loss this season is in nondistrict play to No. 1 Midwest City.

Sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen has been a dual threat, and with receivers Tre Kelley and Trevan Smith and running back Phillip Sumpter, the Wolves’ offense has been dynamic.

“It’s a good matchup,” Manning said. “It’s what makes the high school playoffs so special.”

NOT LOOKING PAST EISENHOWER

The Wolves insisted that they are focused on Lawton Eisenhower and aren’t looking past it to a potential second-round game against Jenks.

“I’m sure some people might have (Jenks) in the back of their minds,” Hansen said. “But the players that are focused are going to keep everyone focused.

“It’s the playoffs. You can’t overlook anybody because if you do, you get beat and you’re done.”

Anderson averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last year. The 6-foot-3 senior impressed college coaches over the summer with his defensive strength and improved decision-making with the ball.

He also had scholarship offers from Nevada and Oral Roberts. After a visit to Fresno in late October, Anderson cancelled his trip to ORU and made his decision official on Friday.

“I don’t know if there was one thing that sold him on Fresno State,” Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk said. “Aaron wanted to be at a place that was competitive, and he really liked what they’re doing there in a really good conference.

Anderson also has a friend in Fresno who he was able to communicate with about the area. Former Santa Fe player Rickey Vick is currently a senior on the basketball team at Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school.

It was important to Anderson to made a decision before the season began, learning from the difficulties faced by Santa Fe’s Josh Richardson last year. Richardson passed up early opportunities to sign, instead waiting until April. The situation ultimately worked out well for Richardson, who signed with Tennessee, but it was a scary and uncertain situation at times.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Large East
Sadie Schaffner, Bartlesville
Inky Ajanaku, Tulsa Kelley
Cat Roth, Tulsa Kelley
Sydney Eggers, Bixby
Cailyn Burd, Owasso
Aubrey Marsellis, Owasso
Alexa Knox, Tulsa Union
Kylie Johnson, Tulsa Union

Large West
Maddie Reddick, McGuinness
Skylar Conner, Edmond Memorial
Kristen Nashert, Edmond North
Heather Watson, Edmond North
Hannah Holkum, Edmond Santa Fe
Barbara Jackson, Edmond Santa Fe
Lexie Matthews, Norman North
Tori Thomas, Norman North

Small East
Kara Gleason, Lincoln Christian
Evette Allen, Lincoln Christian
Sunny Smarty, Oklahoma Union
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Aryn Dixon, Cascia Hall
Allie Murphy, Cascia Hall
Carolina Arnould, Victory Christian
Mayci Sparkman, Shawnee
Hannah McKenzie, Tulsa Wahsington
Morgan Allison, Catoosa

Small West
Dawnshate Blakes, Chickasha
Taylor Crismas, Oklahoma Bible
Bree Fritschow, Duncan
Danielle McGill, Big Pasture
Sydney Miles, Heritage Hall
Jessica Penner, Corn Bible
Jenny Pratt, Christian Heritage
Lindsey Smith, Big Pasture
Talie Stanley, Cache
Madison Ward, Cache

Edmond Santa Fe's Tre Kelley runs after a catch during his team's 31-21 win over Edmond North on Friday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — Admitting that I was wrong after an Edlam game that Edmond Santa Fe won. This seems familiar.

The craziest part is that, unknowingly, I predicted Santa Fe to lose both games by the same score (21-17).

In any case, the Wolves beat Edmond North 31-21 on Friday at Wantland Stadium to clinch the District 6A-2 championship, just one year after a 1-9 season.

The game really seemed to swing in Santa Fe’s favor after a few critical errors in the second and third quarters.

With the game tied at 3 late in the first half, Edmond North blocked a Santa Fe punt and had the ball on the Wolves’ 26-yard line. But after three plays, North faced a fourth-and-one on Santa Fe’s 17.

Huskies’ quarterback Jesse Mathews tried to sneak for the first down, but didn’t get it.

On the Wolves’ first play after taking over possession, quarterback Justice Hansen found Tre Kelley for an 82-yard gain. On the next play, Phillip Sumpter ran in a two-yard score to send the Wolves into halftime with a 10-3 lead.

Huskies’ kicker Ken Bingham hit a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter, leading me to believe that, given the opportunity, he would have made the 34-yard attempt.

I can’t say I understand the decision to go for it with the chance to have a halftime lead, especially after all the momentum you’ve gained with the blocked punt.

Edmond Santa Fe coach Lance Manning, though, said he would have done the same thing that his Edmond North counterpart did.

“I feel like, if we’re playing as well defensively as they were at the time, and we’re as big and physical, I can be a little more of a riverboat gambler,” Manning said. “That’s the same thing I would have done to be honest with you.”

The Wolves were able to extend their lead to 24-3 in the third quarter after three Edmond North fumbles. The Huskies were never able to get it back within 10 points.

Regardless, Edmond Santa Fe was clearly the better team and now has the chance for two home playoff games.

The Huskies, meanwhile, are now out of the home-playoff-game conversation. They should easily handle U.S. Grant in the regular-season finale, and will probably end up in third place in the district behind Santa Fe and Lawton.

Edmond North is still a dangerous team, and will still be a favorite in their first-round game, which looks like it will be at Yukon.

But this was a team that had a legitimate claim to Class 6A’s No. 1 ranking just two weeks ago.

The Wolves only loss is to No. 1 Midwest City, and that 27-6 setback was in Week 3. It would be interesting to see those two teams play again, because I felt that week like Santa Fe left a lot of points on the board.

Santa Fe, which ends the regular season at Putnam City, is looking towards a likely first-round tilt with Lawton Eisenhower.

Last week:
Ryan: 7-3, 1-0
Jason: 6-4, 1-0
Scott: 6-4, 0-1

Overall:
Ryan: 59-22, 7-1
Jason: 55-26, 6-2
Scott: 52-29, 6-2

Ryan:
Jenks 28, Broken Arrow 24
Edmond North 17, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Lawton 28, Putnam City 9
Norman 28, Muskogee 15
Tulsa Central 26, Coweta 17
Carl Albert 35, Deer Creek 26
Douglass 27, Glenpool 24
Anadarko 33, Tuttle 14
Heritage Hall 38, Bethany 14
Wynnewood 20, Wayne 14
Lock of the Week: Carl Albert over Deer Creek. The Titans offense has steadily improved throughout the season and they have both the secondary speed to hold the Antlers’ receivers down and the front seven to get pressure on Deer Creek’s quarterback.

Jason:
Broken Arrow 27, Jenks 24
Edmond North 21, Edmond Santa Fe 17
Lawton 31, Putnam City 7
Norman 26, Muskogee 17
Tulsa Central 24, Coweta 14
Carl Albert 41, Deer Creek 14
Douglass 17, Glenpool 14
Anadarko 31, Tuttle 14
Heritage Hall 35, Bethany 14
Wayne 13, Wynnewood 10
Lock of the Week: Anadarko over Tuttle. The Tigers are always a tough, well-coached team under Phil Koons. I expect that Sheldon Wilson won’t be able to run wild like he has all year against Tuttle. But the Warriors, at home, will be too tough,

Scott:
Jenks 30, Broken Arrow 28
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Edmond North 20
Lawton 28, Putnam City 21
Norman 34, Muskogee 28
Tulsa Central 28, Coweta 24
Carl Albert 42, Deer Creek 24
Douglass 28, Glenpool 21
Anadarko 34, Tuttle 28
Heritage Hall 38, Bethany 28
Wayne 27, Wynnewood 22
Lock of the Week: Norman over Muskogee. Norman is beyond motivated to finish this season strong after finding themselves facing potentially being left out of the playoffs. I’d look for a big day from Donovan Roberts, as well as the passing attack to give the Tigers momentum heading into the Week 10 battle with Jenks.

Going to do it a little different this week, breaking out at least Class 6A into a separate blog. Tell me why I’m right. Tell me why I’m wrong.

1. Midwest City (3)#8-0

If you don’t look at my rankings every week, this might be a little surprising. But it’s consistent with what I’ve done all along: re-evaluating things each week and not be afraid of looking back at the totality of the season with what we know now. I’ll explain Broken Arrow (and Jenks’) fall shortly but it’s as much about what Midwest City has done as about what those teams haven’t. The Bombers have absolutely put it to teams recently. Their “slip” game was a 26-point win against Moore. Their 21-point win over Edmond Santa Fe looks more impressive each week. Thy’ve held seven opponents to seven or fewer points. James Flanders continues to perform in their running game. They make plays on special teams. I’m not saying I’m picking them to win a state championship yet–I’ve made my feelings about that know with respect to Jenks and Union–but right now, they’re the top team.

2. Broken Arrow (1)#7-1

When I saw Broken Arrow put it to Southmoore two weeks ago, I felt pretty comfortable with the Tigers as my top team. But Broken Arrow struggled on the road against a Norman team that Southmoore throttled, needing a late field-goal block to come away with the win. I still really like Broken Arrow, and am leaning toward picking them against Jenks this week, but that’s the second game they’ve barely pulled out against an opponent they should’ve beaten soundly.

3. Jenks (2)#7-1

The Trojans haven’t been pushed much other than their 41-19 loss to Tulsa Union, but their main test is this week when they play at Broken Arrow. Losing Alex Ross really hurts Jenks. Although they’ve put up big offensive numbers in recent weeks, they haven’t played a defense that’s very good since that Union game in Week 2.

4. Edmond Santa Fe (4)#7-1

The Wolves might not be the top team in the state but they might be playing better than anyone right now. Lance Manning has turned around Santa Fe in a hurry. A win this week over Edmond North and Santa Fe goes from 1-9 to district champs in one year.

5. Tulsa Union (6)#7-1

Ask me to pick the state champion right now and I probably go with Union. I still have them here because they do have to prove that their offense has rebounded form the injuries that resulted in Owasso’s comeback. The Redskins probably jump back up steadily the next few weeks but right now, they’re No. 5.

6. Lawton (7)#6-2

Losing Ivan Thomas is a near-backbreaker for them but the Wolverines didn’t seem to hurt without him against a previously unbeaten Edmond North team.

7. Edmond North (4)#7-1

The Huskies have the size up front to compete with anyone. But speed on the edges on either side is going to be a thorn in North’s side. The problem: Santa Fe is another speedy team and could give North problems this week in a game that will go a long way toward deciding who wins that district.

8. Stillwater (8)#7-1

Their offense deserves to be higher than No. 8. The defense, though, probably wouldn’t be in the top 10. The Pioneers have given up 27 or more points five times already and they still have Union on the schedule in a game that will, one way or another, determine the district champion.

9. Owasso (9)#5-3

The Rams have the signature win in 6A this season, beating Union. But they followed that with a home loss to Stillwater. Like the Pioneers, offense isn’t a question. But the Rams have to be able to slow good teams down to make a run and they haven’t been able to do that much.

10. Westmoore (NR)#6-2

The Jaguars pushed Edmond North in Week 7 before the Huskies pulled away in the second half, then beat a one-loss Putnam City team this week to take the Pirates’ spot in the rankings. Their defense has been solid all year and their offense, especially the passing component, continues to come along, lifting Westmoore into the top 10.

Just outside: Norman (6-2)

Smith broke his leg in practice last Tuesday and then died Wednesday night. The cause of death is still unknown.

There will be collections taken at the Moore Stadium gate and at concession stands for Smith’s family to help with burial costs, Edmond North football booster club president Lisa Molinsky said.

Smith died Wednesday night, one day after suffering a broken leg during football practice.

You can also send a donation to the Ryan Smith Memorial Fund at:

Ryan Smith Memorial Fund
Citizen’s Bank
Attn: Coffee Creek Branch
P.O. Box 30
Edmond, OK 73083

Most weeks, I post my rankings here and try to explain my reasoning for who I ranked where in each class. I haven’t done that–yet–for this week, simply because I agonized over Class 6A. Every class gets careful consideration each week but most weeks in most classes there are clear reasoning for one team over another. Owasso’s 41-38 win over Tulsa Union last week threw that into a tailspin.

There are several teams that have legitimate arguments to the top spot. Here are their resumes, their arguments for being No. 1 and the opinions of Jason Kersey and Scott Wright. Disagree with one of us? Disagree with all of us? Feel free to chime in at the bottom.

Broken Arrow: This was my top pick. Broken Arrow’s only loss came 21-14 to then top-ranked Tulsa Union on Sept. 16 on the road. They’ve beaten Owasso (48-20), Odessa (Texas) Permian (68-26) and Sapulpa (52-19). The Tigers took a healthy Union team down to the wire and showed they could hang. The argument against them is: they’ve lost a game, which a couple other teams we’ll mention later haven’t, and they needed overtime to beat Muskogee, who is 1-5 this season.

Edmond North: The Huskies are undefeated, one of just two Class 6A teams without a loss. They’ve scored 40 or more points four times this season and next allowed more than 13. They beat Southmoore 42-10 to open the season and thrashed a previously unbeaten Putnam City team 35-0 last week. The downside for the Huskies is Southmoore was banged up when they met, Mustang isn’t what it once was and it’s still not clear how good Putnam City is. The Pirates’ hot start could’ve been indicative  of a weak schedule. These drawbacks aren’t the fault of the Huskies–they’ve taken care of business–and Edmond North will have plenty of chances to turn around those perceptions in the next three weeks with Westmoore, Lawton and Edmond Santa Fe on the schedule.

Jenks: The Trojans were No. 2 in my poll before last week but I reevaluated and bumped Broken Arrow ahead of the Trojans. Jenks also holds a win over Owasso (49-27) and has blown out every team it has faced other than Union. The argument against the Trojans is simple: they got beat 41-19 by Union. It’s hard to write off Jenks right now after their continued dominance.

Midwest City: Like Edmond North, the Bombers have topped the 40-point mark four times this season. Their closest game was a 21-point win over Edmond Santa Fe in Week 3. The Bombers defense, once again, is among the toughest around and their offense shows unusual balance for a Bombers team that has long relied on the run. James Flanders is giving the Bombers what they expected and more on the ground and junior quarterback Joel Davis is improving steadily and giving Midwest City a solid passing game. The argument against Midwest City is their schedule to this point. The Bombers’ opponents have won just 12 games this season, with five of those coming from Santa Fe. They play Norman North to end the season but the Bombers’ really don’t figure to be tested until at least the first round of the playoffs.

Owasso: To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and Owasso did that Friday night with a stunning upset of the Redskins. Owasso’s non-district schedule is as tough as any around and although Owasso went 1-2 in that stretch, they did manage to score 47 points combined in losses to Broken Arrow and Jenks. The Rams have probably the top QB/WR combo in the state with Kason Key and Keon Hatcher. The argument against the Rams is simple: their big losses in non-district should keep them out of the top spot.

Tulsa Union: Union? After that loss? Yes, there’s an argument to be made. The Redskins have win over Jenks and Broken Arrow and they led Owasso big before their quarterback and running back went down with injuries that kept them out of the second half against Owasso. If those two guys get back soon, Union could very well still be the top dog in 6A.

There are the arguments for and against each time. I weighed all of them (and more) before settling on Broken Arrow as the top team with Jenks, Midwest City and Edmond North not far behind. I’m going to continue to reevaluate things week by week but right here, right now, this is where I stand.

Here’s what Jason and Scott have to say about who should be No. 1.

Jason’s pick: Edmond North

I think — at this point — Edmond North is Class 6A’s best team.

The undefeated Huskies really have no weak spots on either side of the ball. Edmond North smacked previously unbeaten Putnam City 35-0 on Friday, holding star running back Casey Curtis to 65 yards on 20 carries.

The Huskies’ offensive dominance all starts up front. Edmond North’s offensive line is huge, which is what gets it noticed, but it’s about more than size. The line is also very strong and athletic.

The line opens up holes for the backfield duo of Jarion Tudman and Jared Benway, who give Edmond North a tough 1-2 punch of speed and strength.

And North couldn’t ask for a better field general. Senior Jesse Mathews, in his first year as a starter, has been nothing short of fantastic through six games. He has shown an ability to make plays with both his arms and legs.

Edmond North’s schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but the Huskies will be tested in their next three games, with Westmoore, Lawton and Edmond Santa Fe in consecutive weeks. If the Huskies emerge from that gauntlet unscathed, there might be no stopping them.

Scott’s pick: Midwest City
First of all, this pick comes with a caveat. I still think Jenks and Union are the top two favorites for the Class 6A gold ball. To quote the great prophet Ric Flair, if you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. But this question isn’t about state championship favorites, it’s about who should be No. 1 right now, in Week 7 of the football season — only the halfway point for those teams that will eventually play for the state title.

So I’m picking Midwest City, with Broken Arrow and Jenks close behind. For all the fancy, exciting spread offenses out there that put up crazy numbers and fly up and down the field, football is still won with defense and run game. And through six games, Midwest City has shown the capability to dominate good teams in those two facets of the game.

A lot of people are probably making the argument for the Bombers at No. 1 because they think they’re the best undefeated team, and an undefeated team should be ranked ahead of a team with one loss, like Union, Jenks, Broken Arrow or Owasso. But this isn’t college football, and basing your argument solely on records is drastically oversimplifying the process.

I’m picking the Bombers as my No. 1 team right now, because I’ve been impressed with what they’ve accomplished on the field, the consistency they’ve displayed, and the overall talent of the team. They have some question marks, like their offensive diversity, but there isn’t a team out there this season that doesn’t appear to have flaws, whether it’s talent-related, injury-related, or whatever. Right now, this week, Midwest City should be No. 1.

Friday
Field 4
Mustang/Broken Arrow winner vs. Moore/Tulsa Union winner, noon
Owasso/Edmond North winner vs. Jenks/Edmond Santa Fe winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday
Field 1
Championship, 4 p.m.

Class 5A
Field 1
Thursday
Carl Albert vs. Coweta, 11 a.m.
McAlester vs. Deer Creek, 1 p.m.
Tahlequah vs. Shawnee, 3 p.m.
Lawton MacArthur vs. Grove, 5 p.m.

Friday
Carl Albert/Coweta winner vs. Lawton MacArthur/Grove winner, 2 p.m.
McAlester/Deer Creek winner vs. Tahlequah/Shawnee winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday
Championship, 1:30 p.m.

Class 4A
Thursday
Field 4
Blanchard vs. Bethany, 11 a.m.
Oologah vs. Purcell, 1 p.m.
Fort Gibson vs. Tuttle, 3 p.m.
Berryhill vs. Harrah, 5 p.m.

Field 1
Friday
Blanchard/Bethany winner vs. Oologah/Purcell winner, noon
Berryhill/Harrah winner vs. Fort Gibson/Tuttle winner, 2 p.m.

Saturday
Championship, 11 a.m.

A couple of times a year I throw out my rankings and start fresh, take an overall look at the season and don’t constrain myself with past rankings. This is one of those weeks and while their figures to be other classes that are more drastically affected, there is a bit of that here. The biggest questions in my mind were where to place Edmond Santa Fe (and Lawton) and what to do with Putnam City. I considered dropping Broken Arrow a spot but the Tigers still stand as the only team to really challenge Union this season and I’ll give them their small bump Friday. Edmond Santa Fe goes from just outside to No. 8 after their win at Lawton. The Wolverines drop to No. 10. Owasso stays in at No. 9 but has a tough test this week against Union.

Class 5A
1. Guthrie (2)#5-0
2. Lawton MacArthur (5)#5-0
3. Carl Albert (3)#5-0
4. Tulsa East Central (1)#5-0
5. McAlester (4)#5-0
6. Deer Creek (6)#4-1
7. Tulsa Washington (7)#2-3
8. Tulsa Kelley (8)#3-1
9. Ardmore (9)#2-3
10. Coweta (10)#2-3

There’s no shame in being any one of the top five teams here although there was some definite shaking up as I reevaluated from scratch. Guthrie has won every one of its game by 28 or more points, helping the Bluejays move to the top spot. Tulsa East Central falls to No. 4 after their close call against Coweta. Any of the five teams on top could come out with a gold ball but it was time to make some adjustments there. On the bottom half, it hurts that I can’t include Tulsa Central here but looking over their resumes, I’ve got to leave Ardmore and Coweta in ahead of them. Ardmore has played Carl Albert and McAlester tighter than anyone this season and their other loss was to Lawton MacArthur. Their schedule to start has been tough but they shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Coweta pushed Tulsa East Central and Tulsa Kelley to the brink and their other loss was a close one to 4A power Wagoner. Tulsa Central gets its chance for a statement this week when it faces East Central.

Class 4A
1. Douglass (1)#4-1
2. Wagoner (2)#5-0
3. Catoosa (3)#5-0
4. Clinton (4)#4-1
5. Harrah (5)#5-0
6. Elk City (7)#5-0
7. McGuinness (8)#3-2
8. Hilldale (10)#4-1
9. Sallisaw (9)#3-2
10. Broken Bow (6)#3-2

There wasn’t much shuffling here, save for Broken Bow and Hilldale. Catoosa and Wagoner are on a collision course toward what should be a very entertaining game Oct. 20. Elk City has been impressive but gets a tough test this week against No. 7 McGuinness. Douglass and Clinton’s losses don’t count against them because of the competition they came against. Hilldale got its statement win at Broken Bow but the Hornets win Week 1 against Pryor is looking better and better and their only loss came to No. 2 Wagoner.

Class 3A
1. Heritage Hall (1)#5-0
2. Anadarko (2)#5-0
3. Cascia Hall (3)#5-0
4. Bethany (4)#4-0
5. Metro Christian (5)#5-0
6. Tuttle (6)#5-0
7. Purcell (7)#5-0
8. Kingfisher (8)#5-0
9. Seminole (9)#5-0
10. Berryhill (10)#5-0

I did the same thing here as in other classes and came up with the same thing I had. I considered swapping Seminole and Berryhill on the bottom end and Kingfisher and Purcell one step above that but didn’t pull the trigger in the end. Berryhill’s win over Glenpool in the first week doesn’t look as strong as it did then (not that it’s not a big win still) and Seminole beat a pretty good Stigler team on the road. Berryhill plays at Cascia Hall this week in what should be one of the week’s best games.

Class 2A
1. Davis (1)#4-1
2. Millwood (2)#4-1
3. Lincoln Christian (3)#5-0
4. Stroud (5)#5-0
5. Jones (4)#5-0
6. Vian (7)#5-0
7. Hennessey (6)#3-2
8. Colcord (8)#5-0
9. Talihina (10)#5-0
10. Frederick (NR)#5-0

Made a mistake last week here dropping Frederick out in the first place. Their win over St. Mary was very similar to Washington’s and Washington has two losses, which pushed Frederick into the rankings. Vian moves up a spot while Hennessey drops while Stroud and Jones switch places. Stroud has still given up just seven points all season and shut out four of its opponents. There are still six undefeated team that remain unranked: Comanche, Talihina, Newkirk, Chelsea, Wyandotte and Adair. All are in districts with ranked teams, though, so they’ll get their chances.

Class A
1. Woodland (1)#4-0
2. Thomas (2)#5-0
3. Wynnewood (3)#5-0
4. Minco (5)#5-0
5. Wayne (7)#4-1
6. Morrison (6)#4-1
7. Mangum (9)#4-1
8. Okeene (10)#3-2
9. Elmore City (8)#4-1
10. Foyil (NR)#3-2

At the top, this class was relatively easy as I was pretty comfortable with the top three. After that, there was some switching around after No. 4 Afton fell to Foyil 33-8. First, I swapped Wayne and Morrison. Wayne’s overall resume is slightly better at this point. Mangum and Okeene move up two spots while Elmore drops one after its loss to Wynnewood. Foyil moves in after an impressive win over Afton, beating out Rush Springs for that final spot despite Rush’s 5-0 record. That was a tough choice but Foyil’s two losses came to a pair of still-undefeated Class 2A teams–Chelsea and Adair.

Class B
1. Caddo (1)#5-0
2. Davenport (2)#5-0
3. Kiefer (5)#4-1
4. Fox (6)#4-1
5. Dewar (7)#3-2
6. Gans (4)#4-1
7. Cherokee (8)#4-1
8. Seiling (9)#4-1
9. Wetumka (10)#4-1
10. Pond Creek-Hunter (NR)#4-1

It was tough to drop Laverne all the way out from No. 3 but looking schedule-by-schedule, it had to be done. Laverne beat Cherokee, 45-8, in Week 2, but fell to Pond Creek-Hunter on Friday night. Pond Creek-Hunter’s only loss came to Seiling, who lost to Cherokee by two on Friday. So Seiling pulls off the rare moving up by dropping a game feat by leapfrogging Laverne. Pond Creek-Hunter has to stay in ahead of Laverne so Laverne falls all the way out but still has Seiling remaining on its schedule. It’s tough to ignore what Welch is doing in B-4 but they’ve beaten just one team that is above .500 to this point. They play Kiefer on Oct. 20.

Class C
1. Deer Creek-Lamont (1)#5-0
2. Timberlake (3)#4-0
3. Temple (4)#5-0
4. Sharon-Mutual (10)#3-2
5. Shattuck (2)#4-1
6. Covington-Douglas (5)#4-1
7. Tipton (6)#4-1
8. Coyle (7)#4-1
9. Forgan (8)#4-1
10. Ryan (9)#3-2

The big change here came due to Sharon-Mutual’s 38-22 win at Shattuck. Sharon-Mutual jumped all the way from No. 10 to No. 4. Its only losses came to Seiling and Timberlake and they remain the only team to score on Timberlake this season (They scored 44 in the loss). Shattuck drops just below Sharon-Mutual while Covington-Douglas, Tipton, Coyle, Forgan and Ryan all drop a spot. Arkoma is the lone undefeated team remaining unranked but Keota is the only over .500 team they’ve beaten.

Last week
Ryan: 8-2
Jason: 8-2
Scott: 7-3

Overall
Ryan: 30-10, 4-0
Scott: 29-11, 3-1
Jason: 29-11, 2-2

Ryan
DC-Lamont 35, Coyle 12
Wynnewood 20, Elmore City 7
Timberlake 36, Covington-Douglas 24
Tulsa East Central 27, Coweta 14
Seminole 24, Stigler 20
Broken Bow 24, Hilldale 14
Lawton 28, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Fox 32, Paoli 24
Commerce 21, Colcord 14
Clinton 34, Piedmont 14
Lock of the week: Broken Bow over Hilldale. Broken Bow is one of the toughest places to play on the road and Hilldale isn’t quite ready to go win a game like this on the road against one of the best teams in 4A.

Jason
DC-Lamont 35, Coyle 27
Wynnewood 31, Elmore City 21
Timberlake 52, Covington-Douglas 45
Tulsa East Central 42, Coweta 24
Seminole 41, Stigler 28
Broken Bow 35, Hilldale 27
Lawton 24, Edmond Santa Fe 21
Fox 45, Paoli 38
Colcord 24, Commerce 17
Clinton 35, Piedmont 20
Lock of the Week: DC-Lamont over Coyle. Coyle has made significant strides this season and will, in all likelihood, earn the first playoff berth in school history this year. But the defending Class C champion Eagles will be too much for the Bluejackets this week.

Scott
DC-Lamont 42, Coyle 35
Wynnewood 28, Elmore City 21
Timberlake 44, Covington-Douglas 36
Tulsa East Central 34, Coweta 24
Seminole 38, Stigler 27
Broken Bow 35, Hilldale 28
Lawton 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Paoli 42, Fox 38
Colcord 28, Commerce 21
Clinton 34, Piedmont 31
Lock of the week: Seminole over Stigler. Mike Snyder is in his 40th season on the Seminole coaching staff and his 32nd as the head coach. And he’s still going strong. Led by QB Garrett Clark, the Chieftains are talented enough to make a deep run in the 3A playoffs this season, and I think they’ll keep rolling this week.

Edmond Santa Fe senior Aaron Anderson has scholarship offers from Nevada, Oral Roberts and Fresno State.

An official visit to the University of Nevada produced a scholarship offer for Edmond Santa Fe senior combo guard Aaron Anderson over the weekend.

“Aaron really liked it out there, had a great time meeting the team,” Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk said. “As a coach and a player, that’s really important, because you want to see what the other players are like, and how they interact with each other. Aaron had a great time.”

The trip to Nevada was Anderson’s first official visit among the trio of schools that have offered him. Schenk said Anderson will visit Oral Roberts and Fresno State in October prior to the early signing period, which runs Nov. 9-16 for basketball.

“He wants to give a fair shot to all the schools that are recruiting him,” Schenk said. “I don’t know if he’ll sign early or not. I’ve told him if he knows, and he’s comfortable — if he wants them and they want him — then there’s no sense in waiting.”

The Wolves went through a sometimes-challenging recruiting experience with Josh Richardson last season.

Richardson passed up some offers during the early signing period, then saw several of the teams who were recruiting him lose their head coaches at the end of the season. Ultimately, it paid off for Richardson when he landed an offer from Tennessee, but it was a stressful month or more for everyone involved in the process.

Schenk was unsure if that experience would have an impact on Anderson’s plan to sign early or not.

Nevada received a commitment from a guard on last week, but the team contacted Schenk to let him know that the commitment had no bearing on Anderson’s recruitment.

Anderson averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last year. The 6-foot-2 senior impressed college coaches over the summer with his defensive strength and improved decision-making with the ball.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

2. Class A No. 8 Elmore City (4-0) at No. 3 Wynnewood (4-0)
Two of the three undefeated teams in District A-5 go head-to-head.

3. Class C No. 3 Timberlake (3-0) at No. 5 Covington-Douglas (4-0)
A week after squeaking out a win over Tipton on the road, Covington-Douglass gets another big challenge.

4. Class 5A No. 1 Tulsa East Central (4-0) at No. 10 Coweta (2-2)
The Cardinals get another solid test in a rough schedule as the defending runners-up try to solidify their place in 5A-4. Coweta hasn’t won a game by more than six points or lost by more than four.

5. Class 3A No. 9 Seminole (4-0) at Stigler (4-0)
Seminole has scored 41 or more points in all four games thus far while Stigler has topped 42 in three out of four.

6. Class 4A No. 10 Hilldale (3-1) at No. 6 Broken Bow (3-1)
Big win over Poteau last week lifted Hilldale into the rankings while Broken Bow has shut out two opponents last season.

7. Edmond Santa Fe (3-1) at Class 6A No. 6 Lawton (3-1)
Both teams started district play with statement wins and this game will feature two of the best defensive ends in the state in Lawton’s D.J. Ward and Santa Fe’s Michael Onuoha.

8. Class B No. 6 Fox (3-1) at Paoli (4-0)
Fox has shutouts in each of its three wins while Paoli has topped 53 points three times and scored 42 in its other win.

9. Commerce (3-1) at Class 2A No. 8 Colcord (4-0)
Commerce has two shutouts and its only loss came to a Kansas school. Colcord has won games primarily with its offense (41-14 at Salina last week) and with its defense (8-0 vs. Haskell on Sept. 16).

10. Class 4A No. 4 Clinton (3-1) at Piedmont (2-2)
Clinton blew out McGuinness last week at home while Piedmont got a statement win over Elgin.

Other good bets:
Heritage Hall at Tulsa NOAH
Millwood at Luther
Mustang at Edmond North
Woodward at McGuinness
Yukon at Norman North

By Ryan Aber

Last week:
Scott: 9-1, 1-0
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 0-1

Overall:
Ryan: 22-8, 3-0
Scott: 22-8, 2-1
Jason: 21-9, 1-2

Ryan
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 14
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 35, Sapulpa 30
Wagoner 27, Vinita 14
Ryan 22, Thackerville 18
Purcell 28, Sulphur 26
Seq. Tahlequah 20, Verdigris 13
Westmoore 21, Edmond Santa Fe 17
Seminole 14, Valliant 7
Midwest City 28, Yukon 9
Guthrie 34, Deer Creek 28
Lock of the week: Norman over Sapulpa. Sapulpa will score points on Norman but the Tigers defense has the potential for some big stops in this one that will prove to be the difference.

Scott
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 38, Sapulpa 28
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Thackerville 42, Ryan 35
Purcell 33, Sulphur 28
Seq. Tahlequah 49, Verdigris 31
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Westmoore 14
Seminole 35, Valliant 24
Midwest City 27, Yukon 24
Lock of the week: Guthrie over Deer Creek. Deer Creek has a lot of talent, and is close to breaking through as a great team. But Guthrie is already there. This will be a close one, but I’ll take the Bluejays’ big-game experience to win out.

Jason
McGuinness 21, Clinton 14
Norman 35, Sapulpa 27
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Ryan 35, Thackerville 31
Purcell 38, Sulphur 24
Seq. Tahlequah 31, Verdigris 21
Edmond Santa Fe 27, Westmoore 24
Seminole 34, Valliant 24
Midwest City 35, Yukon 17
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 17
Lock of the week: Edmond Santa Fe over Westmoore. 
I watched Edmond Santa Fe play Midwest City, and while they clearly weren’t better than the Bombers, they showed that they can play with almost anyone. I think the 2-1 Wolves get back on track by winning their district opener at home.

Edmond Santa Fe's Aaron Anderson will take an official visit to the University of Nevada this weekend.

Edmond Santa Fe basketball player Aaron Anderson will spend a lot of time out west in the coming weeks. The 6-foot-2 combo guard is taking an official visit to Nevada this weekend, and is expected to visit Fresno State as well, Wolves coach Shawn Schenk said Wednesday.

“He had a great summer,” Schenk said of Anderson, who also has a scholarship offer from Oral Roberts. “He made better decisions with the ball, and that was something college coaches wanted to see. His focus has been shooting the 3 better, and he’s in the gym all the time getting shots up.

“He’s going to have some good opportunities.”

Anderson averaged 8.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last year.

Schenk said he was unsure if Nevada had made an “official” scholarship offer, but the coaching staff made it very clear they were strongly interested in Anderson.

Nevada just received a commitment from a combo guard on Tuesday, but the team contacted Schenk to let him know that commitment had no bearing on Anderson’s recruitment.

“They said Aaron is still a guy they want,” Schenk said. “They were here the first day they could be out visiting players, and so was Oral Roberts.”

Anderson was also being recruited by Tulsa, but the Golden Hurricane recently got a commitment from Edmond Memorial guard James Woodard.

Anderson’s strength and long body, particularly in how he uses those two features on defense, are big selling points in the recruiting game.

“He’s long and athletic, and he can really defend,” Schenk said. “He’s one of the most competitive kids I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Edmond Santa Fe quarterback Justice Hansen throws during his team's loss to Midwest City on Thursday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — Most will look at the score of Thursday’s game at Wantland Stadium and think it was a blowout.

But it really wasn’t. It’s one of those games where you can point to clear moments that determined the outcome, and had those few moments gone the other way, we might be talking about a different result.

Midwest City beat Edmond Santa Fe 27-6, and the Bombers (3-0) were clearly the better team. There’s no doubt about that.

But the Wolves (2-1) did a pretty good job on defense and were able to move the ball with some success on the Bombers’ D.

Here is a look at some of the key moments that determined the way Thursday’s game went:

* With the game in a scoreless tie, Edmond Santa Fe was on an impressive drive as the first quarter ended. In fact, the last play of the quarter was a 40-yard completion from Justice Hansen to Trevan Smith that put the ball on the Midwest City 27-yard line. Running back Phillip Sumpter opened the second quarter with a 10-yard run, but on first-and-10 from the Bombers’ 17, Hansen was picked off by Ricky Reeves on the one-yard line.

* Later in the quarter, with the Bombers leading 6-0, the Wolves were stopped for a three-and-out. But Midwest City’s Antonio Martin blocked the Santa Fe punt, giving the Bombers the ball on the Wolves’ one-yard line. One play later, James Flanders scored his second touchdown and the score was 12-0.

* On Edmond Santa Fe’s very next drive, Hansen led the Wolves to Midwest City’s 24-yard line, but the sophomore quarterback threw two straight incomplete passes on third and fourth downs. The Bombers took over possession, marched down the field, scored with two seconds left and added the two-point conversion to take a 20-0 lead into halftime.

* On the first drive of the second half, the Wolves started on their own 23-yard line but got all the way to the Midwest City 33. But on fourth down, Hansen was intercepted by Flanders, whose 57-yard return put the ball on the Wolves’ 21. Seven plays later, Flanders scored his third touchdown on a five-yard run.

* Near the end of the third quarter, Midwest City was up 27-0 and punting on a fourth-and-eight from their own 42. But the long snapper sent the snap over the punter’s head. Edmond Santa Fe got no where near the ball or the punter, who had time to re-adjust and kick the ball away.

Now obviously all of the above plays went Midwest City’s way not because Edmond Santa Fe was unlucky, but because the Bombers were just the better team. I’m not trying to suggest that the better team lost.

But the Wolves’ talent was evident. And Hansen, just a sophomore, still played really well considering what he was up against.

Edmond Santa Fe had the ball inside Midwest City’s 35-yard line six times, and came away with just one scoring drive. That’s a mixture of the Bombers’ big-game experience, their talent and the Wolves’ inexperience.

The Wolves are going to win a lot of games this year. And with Hansen’s continued development, they are going to win a lot of games over the next couple of years.

ESF's Justice Hansen figures to be a key in tonight's game against Midwest City.

Class 6A No. 3 Midwest City (2-0) at No. 9 Edmond Santa Fe (2-0)
7 p.m. Thursday
Wantland Stadium, Edmond

When Midwest City has the ball: Midwest City is stacked with talented players on offense, starting with running back James Flanders, who has already rushed for 309 yards and five touchdowns through two games.

One matchup to watch is the lines. Midwest City’s offensive line returned just two starters from last season, while Edmond Santa Fe’s defensive front, led by Division I recruit Michael Onuoha, has been outstanding through two games. However, Edmond Santa Fe coach Lance Manning said that, just from watching film, you wouldn’t know about the Bombers’ inexperience up front because they’ve been so good.

When Edmond Santa Fe has the ball: The Wolves offense figured to be a project coming into this year when sophomore Justice Hansen earned the starting quarterback spot. But Hansen has shown plenty of poise and the talent that figures to make him one of the state’s top quarterback prospects among the class of 2014. Junior running back Phillip Sumpter has proven to be an effective runner while also giving Hansen a good target through the air.

The Wolves, in wins over Edmond Memorial and Yukon, haven’t seen the kind of physical defense they will in Midwest City, though. The Bombers have one of the state’s top secondaries, led by Ricky Reeves and Ronnie Davis, who have already combined for four interceptions. Hansen will need to maintain his composure against tough coverage looks and a strong front seven if the Wolves are to remain undefeated through their non-district schedule.

PREDICTION TIME
Jason: Midwest City has big-game experience and loads of talent. But Edmond Santa Fe is playing at home and has built up all kinds of momentum. I wouldn’t be surprised either way, but I’m picking Edmond Santa Fe 21, Midwest City 20.

Ryan: A couple weeks ago, even after watching the Wolves in a scrimmage against Norman North, I would’ve picked the Bombers to win this game comfortably. The Wolves were going to be much improved but the way they’ve come together as quickly as they have under first-year coach Lance Manning has been remarkable. Midwest City still gets the job done tonight in a tight game but this is the kind of game that will benefit the Wolves down the road. Midwest City 21, Edmond Santa Fe 14

By Ryan Aber and Jason Kersey

Last week:
Scott 7-3, 1-0
Ryan 6-4, 1-0
Jason 6-4, 1-0

Overall
Ryan: 14-6, 2-0
Jason: 13-7, 1-1
Scott: 13-7, 1-1

Ryan
Midwest City 21, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Jenks 28, Owasso 7
McAlester 35, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 10
McGuinness 21, Millwood 13
Heritage Hall 42, Davis 17
Bethany 28, Washington 13
Kingfisher 14, Hennessey 12
Ryan 22, Coyle 18
Tipton 33, Thackerville 22

Lock of the week: Kingfisher over Hennessey
This is a tough one for me because there was a lot I was impressed with last week when I watched Hennessey play Jones. But Kingfisher has the depth to wear down Hennessey a bit by the end of the game and the athleticism to not let Ivan Moreno and Levi Hill wear their defense down. The Eagles will be better for having played this game once district play begins but Kingfisher gets it done.

Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Midwest City 20
Jenks 45, Owasso 24
McAlester 27, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 24, Tulsa Washington 14
Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Heritage Hall 35, Davis 10
Bethany 31, Washington 17
Kingfisher 24, Hennessey 21
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 35, Thackerville 30

Lock of the week: Bishop McGuinness over Millwood
The Falcons have a tough power running game that will be tough for future opponents to slow down, but not the Irish. McGuinness’ defense — especially with their outstanding linebacking core of Brandon Nguyen, Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffries. Last season, Millwood won a shootout 48-41, but expect a more low-scoring game this time. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17

Scott
Midwest City 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Jenks 35, Owasso 24
McAlester 35, Ardmore 21
Tulsa East Central 30, Tulsa Washington 21
McGuinness 21, Millwood 20
Heritage Hall 41, Davis 17
Bethany 38, Washington 28
Kingfisher 21, Hennessey 20
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 28, Thackerville 27

Lock of the week: McAlester over Ardmore.
Sitting in a press box in El Reno two years ago during the Class 5A semifinals, I began to take note of a talented McAlester team. Then I noticed the amount of young players on the roster, and I realized this was a team that would only keep getting better. Now we’re seeing it come to fruition, and I think this week will be another sign of things to come for the Buffs.

The opening of Yukon's new Miller Stadium was one of many events during a busy weekend of football.

I can already tell this is going to be a long week. Since Sept. 1, I haven’t gone more than two days without covering a high school football game. Friday can’t get here soon enough.

And after the three games I covered this weekend, it’s going to be hard for the next 13 weeks of football to live up to the standard.

On Thursday night, I watched Putnam City North knock off Mustang in double-overtime when sophomore kicker Richard Gallegos booted through a 17-yard field goal to clinch it. Friday brought the debut of Yukon’s new stadium, and a late rally by Edmond Santa Fe to spoil the opener at the Millers’ new home. Then we had the usual amount of drama on Saturday afternoon at the Soul Bowl.

Here’s a look back at what we learned about the teams in those three contests, starting with the double-OT thriller at PC Stadium.

What we learned about Mustang: The Mustang offensive line is getting better, but defenses are still finding ways to attack that young group of players. Fortunately, they can battle through their growing pains in the non-district, and hopefully be ready by Week 4 when district games begin.

Brandon Taylor is doing well throwing on the run and moving the pocket when he needs to, but the experienced PC North secondary was able to give him trouble, coming up with four picks on Thursday. At running back, I’ve been impressed with A.J. Ashman early this season. Obviously, the Broncos toss the ball around a lot, so he doesn’t get a ton of carries, but he takes advantage of his opportunities and is viable in the passing game, too.

Putnam City North senior Dre Holman rushed for 201 yards Thursday against Mustang.

What we learned about Putnam City North: The run game is vital to the Panthers’ offensive focus, but their ability to stay balanced is what kept them alive on Thursday. Dre Holman’s 201 yards were huge, but the fact that John Robert Simon was 8-of-10 passing in the second half and overtime — with two touchdowns — was the turning point of the game.

Defensively, it’s clear that the Panthers’ strength is in the secondary, so I’ll be curious to see if teams try to focus on running the ball against them more, especially in the early part of the season until the new players in the front seven develop.

After the ugly fourth quarter in the opening loss to Putnam City, finishing strong against Mustang was valuable to this team. Getting back to the playoffs is a definite possibility for this team, based on the district schedule, but giving away very many fourth-quarter leads won’t get you past Week 10.

What we learned about Edmond Santa Fe: This team has battled through several close losses in the last two years, but I don’t think anyone — on the outside, at least — saw this strong start coming. With so much talent on both sides of the ball, along with a good mix of experience and youth, the Wolves are clearly a team that’s going to make some noise in 6A this year, and Friday’s 38-28 win at Yukon was a breakout moment.

People are quickly becoming familiar with guys like Justice Hansen, Trevan Smith and Phillip Sumpter. But here’s another name to keep an eye on: Khari Harding. He’s a big, athletic defensive back who could very well land at a Division I program. He’s only a junior now, so the Wolves get to enjoy him terrorizing opponents for a couple seasons.

I had heard a lot about Michael Onuoha coming into the game, and he’s an athletic specimen with a lot of talent. But the Wolves’ defensive line overall was very impressive. They were getting a good push most of the game, and getting into the backfield to disrupt the Yukon offense. With the amount of talent at the skill spots, the Wolves can really be a dangerous team if the lines start playing in a dominant fashion.

On a sidenote, you couldn’t help but feel for Tre Kelley on Friday. He’s an impressive player who twice seemed to have given his team the big play just when they needed it. First, he took a screen pass and zipped through the Miller defense for a 76-yard TD. But it was called back. A couple plays later, he got behind the defense and went the distance for a 74-yard score. Also called back. Moments later, he was the target again, but Yukon’s Derek Deeds stepped in front for the pick in what seemed to be a huge turning point in the game. But the Wolves recovered to rally for the win.

What we learned about Yukon: Tackling in space was the one big issue that haunted the Millers on Friday night. From the opening kickoff, which Smith returned 94 yards for a score, the Millers’ ability to keep Santa Fe ball carriers coralled was a problem. The Wolves accounted for more than half of their total offense on four big plays, including a 73-yard scramble by Hansen.

Other than the tackling, Yukon really played pretty solid. They were slow out of the gate, which might have had something to do with all the hype around the opening of the new stadium. Anyone who saw the Millers against Mustang in the opener could tell they were a little out of sync early, maybe pressing a little, hoping to put on a good show.

The running back by committee idea looks to be Todd Wilson’s focus. Not counting QB Corben Jones, eight different players got at least one rushing attempt Friday. And of the three players who carried the ball in the first half, none of them touched it in the second half.

Douglass' Chris High is one of three talented running backs in the Trojan arsenal.

What we learned about Douglass: As closely as I’ve followed this team the last couple of weeks, it’s hard to say I learned very much new information about them at Saturday’s 21-14 Soul Bowl win. They had a couple of players held out because of injuries suffered Monday against DeSoto, but otherwise, Saturday was a strong bounce-back game.

Chris Compton was able to show that he can be a threat throwing the ball. The way things went against DeSoto, it was hard to tell just what kind of passer he was going to be, but his 8-of-11 performance — including a couple of big throws at crucial times — showed that he’ll be ready to handle it when the team needs to throw. Coach Willis Alexander always says that he wants his offense to be able to throw when they want to, and Saturday, that seemed to be the case.

The run game will still be the Trojans’ bread and butter. With Dion’Tay Washington, Chavez Wyatt and Chris High, they’ve got a group of backs who can do a little bit of everything.

I’m excited to see what the future holds for Deondre Clark. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound sophomore came through with some big plays on Saturday, including the go-ahead touchdown on a 15-yard reception. He had to go down low to pull it in, then regained his balance to finish off the run.

What we learned about Millwood: When they start lining up against 2A competition every week, the Falcons are going to be dishing out some pain. Running backs Marc Robinson and Larry Lambeth give Millwood a power run game that not many teams can match up against. Unfortunately, Douglass was one of those teams, with Cayman Bundage and Diamonte McClellan in the middle. But the run will be much stronger for Millwood against different competition.

QB Dametric Sanders threw the ball better than I expected him to. He hit some big passes in the first half, and had a couple of good throws dropped. He’s a very athletic QB, and he’s not going to put up the kind of numbers Kevonte Richardson did last year. But he can be effective both throwing and running the ball for Millwood this year. And backup QB London Potts can toss it around, too, if needed.

Defensively, Millwood has some good size up front, and the duo of Robinson and Lambeth are the perfect pair at inside linebacker. Stopping the run will be their strength. Even with all the talent Douglass has in the run game, Millwood made them work for their yards, finishing with 186 on 43 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per attempt. I’d be surprised if anybody holds Douglass to those kinds of numbers in the run game the rest of the season.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Norman's Tanner Satterthwaite, the defending Class 6A champion, is one of several top runners competing in Friday's OK Runner Classic in Norman. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN

Over 100 cross country teams will descend upon Norman Friday for the sixth annual OK Runner Classic, which is hosted by Norman High School.

Several of the top runners in the state will compete in the event, including defending Class 6A boys champion Tanner Satterthwaite of Norman and last year’s 6A girls runner-up Emily Helms of Mustang.

High school races begin at 10:30 a.m. with the 2A-4A girls. The last varsity race, the 5A-6A boys, begins at 2:30 p.m.

Here is the full list of race times:
10:30: 2A/3A/4A girls
11:30: 2A/3A/4A boys
1:30: 5A/6A girls
2:30: 5A/6A boys
4:30: Junior high girls
5:00: Junior high boys

Edmond Santa Fe cross country runner Arya Bahreini.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Arya Bahreini won the varsity boys 5K run at the seventh annual Wolf Run Cross Country Race, and is The Oklahoman’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week.

He ran the race in 16:07, 25 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Deer Creek’s Taler Buck. Bahreini was Edmond Santa Fe’s highest individual at last year’s Class 6A state meet.

Edmond Santa Fe's Taylor Ashcraft, left, Daniel Bly, center, and Conner Bays celebrate a touchdown during the Wolves' win Friday. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — I can admit when I’m wrong, and I was wrong big time about 2011’s first edition of Edlam.

Some of you Edmond Santa Fe Wolves have reminded me of just how wrong I was, to which I say: Yep, so go ahead and give it to me. I deserve it.

It was an electric atmosphere at Wantland Stadium on Friday night, and I had a blast covering the Wolves’ 31-6 win. The fans are what make covering sports so much fun, and it is that much more fun when the fans are as passionate as the Edmond Santa Fe fans clearly are.

And they certainly have a right to be fired up after Friday’s win. Sophomore QB Justice Hansen looks like a star in the making. The Wolves’ defensive line, led by NCAA Division I recruit Michael Onuoha, is dynamite.

The big Edlam win, which was the Wolves’ first win over either of their in-town rivals in two years, comes on the heels of last week’s 9-0 half-game scrimmage win over Jenks.

“It was the greatest feeling of all time,” junior receiver Dale Jefferson said of topping Edmond Memorial. “That and the Jenks scrimmage, that’s got us pumped up for this season.”

Next week’s game at Yukon will be big for the Wolves. If they can go in and beat quarterback Corben Jones and the Millers, who topped Mustang 44-31 on Friday, the sky’s the limit for this team.

And to think the Wolves were 1-9 last season. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

It is just one game, and one scrimmage. And the Wolves certainly weren’t perfect on Friday, as coach Lance Manning pointed out.

“It’s a good first win for us,” Manning said. “As a coach, you look at it and say, ‘I’m proud of the guys. We played hard.’

“But we made a lot of mistakes. We’ve got a lot to work on next week.”

In the meantime, enjoy the win, Wolves fans. And give me all the (hopefully good-natured) ribbing you want.

Ry Huff, Edmond Memorial quarterback. PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — Tonight, I get to experience Edlam for the first time.

And in all actuality, it’s been a pretty Edlam few days for me. Last night, I watched Edmond North’s dominant rushing attack rack up 377 yards against Southmoore in a 42-10 win.

But tonight, it’s Edmond Memorial vs. Edmond Santa Fe. In a way, it’s the dawning of new eras for both teams.

For Edmond Memorial, gone is quarterback Kameron Doolittle, a run-first signal caller who was a two-year starter. But it’s not like there will be a new face quarterbacking the Bulldogs.

Senior Ry Huff got lots of playing time last year when Doolittle went down with an injury, and this year the offense is unquestionably his. And because of that, Edmond Memorial will go to a more pass-oriented offense that suits Huff’s skills.

And at Edmond Santa Fe, Lance Manning makes his debut as the Wolves’ coach. Manning enjoyed years of success at Norman North and is now attempting to turn around a very talented team that went 1-9 last season.

Manning has already shown some success — the Wolves topped Jenks 9-0 in a half-game scrimmage last week.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: EDMOND MEMORIAL
A major key to success for the Bulldogs will be their offensive line. The unit returns just one starter off last year’s team — senior right guard John Scheihing — and will be up against the big, strong and fast defensive end Michael Onuoha of Edmond Santa Fe. Onuoha is receiving serious NCAA Division I interest.

Memorial coach Justin Merideth said they do their best to simulate Onuoha in practice, but you can’t really simulate his size and speed. If the inexperienced line can keep him away from Huff, that will go a long way towards a win.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: EDMOND SANTA FE
The Wolves have great team speed, but depth is a concern. At the skill positions, Edmond Santa Fe is very talented.

Sophomore quarterback Justice Hansen (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) has all the tools to be successful, and Manning has said that he is mature beyond his years. But it’s hard to know for sure until he gets in a game situation, so his performance will be key to the Wolves’ success.

He has talented targets in senior Tre Kelley and juniors Trevon Smith and Dale Jefferson.

Junior Phillip Sumpter is the team’s top running back. His promising sophomore campaign was cut short by a severe ankle injury, and his skills, added with the Wolves’ passing attack, make the offense two-dimensional.

PREDICTION TIME
Edmond Santa Fe will be much improved; there is no doubt about that. But Edmond Memorial is more experienced, more polished and will come out on top in a close one, 21-17.

Edmond Santa Fe football coach Lance Manning.

After struggling through a 1-9 season last year, Edmond Santa Fe couldn’t possibly have more momentum heading into Friday’s season opener against Edmond Memorial.

The Wolves beat perennial power Jenks, which has won nine of the last 15 Class 6A state championships, 9-0 at the Jenks Preview on Friday.

“Like I told (the players), let’s don’t pretend it is a full four quarters,” first-year Wolves coach Lance Manning said. “But you go to Jenks and play them 9-0, play physical and with a lot of emotion, and it sure gives you a lot of confidence going into Week 1. We’ve got a long ways to go, but if you’re going to draw it up, that’s the way you want it to go.”


Edmond Santa Fe right-hander Ty Hensley walked to the mound at Wrigley Field on Saturday, starting for the American team in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.

He got the first batter he faced to ground out, then worked out of a two-on, one-out situation with a double play to cap a scoreless inning.

“It was a blast,” Hensley said. “It was so much fun to be able to do that.”

Hensley hit 94 on the radar run during his performance.

After getting back from Chicago, Hensley made his college choice official when he committed to Ole Miss.

He chose the Rebels over Arizona State and Texas.

He said he had known he wanted to commit to Ole Miss for awhile but wanted to wait to make it official.

“I just wanted to make sure that it was for sure where I wanted to go,” he said. “I felt like it was a place where I could develop as both a pitcher and a hitter better than anyplace else.”

Edmond North High School's football field after the Wednesday morning storm.

I just talked to Edmond Public Schools athletic director Mike Nunley again, and after visiting other Edmond schools he has a rough estimate of $50,000 in damages to sports facilities in the district.

An estimated $30,000 of the damages are at Edmond North High School. Much of the damage is from wind screens, which Nunley called “super expensive,”  at the tennis courts being destroyed. Wind screens at Edmond North, Edmond Santa Fe High School and four of the five middle schools were destroyed.

Edmond Memorial High School appears to have sustained no damage to its sports facilities.

Senior Aaron Anderson, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, received a scholarship offer from Oral Roberts on Monday, according to his AAU team, the Oklahoma Wizards.

Anderson also has an offer from Arkansas-Little Rock. He averaged 8.4 points and 3.9 assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor as a junior.

The Wolves also have a pair of frontcourt prospects gaining college attention in 6-foot-7 senior Michael Onuoha and 6-foot-8 junior Shaquille Morris.

Onuoha is also beginning to draw interest as a football player after a strong showing at some summer camps.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Edmond Santa Fe graduate Gunnar Nixon was named the Gatorade National Boys Track Athlete of the Year on Thursday.

Thursday was quite a day for Edmond Santa Fe’s Gunnar Nixon.

He started by taking the lead in the decathlon through five events at the US Junior National Track Meet in Eugene, Ore., and he closed the night by being named the Gatorade National Boys Track Athlete of the Year.

Earlier in the day, it was announced that Nixon was the state award winner, but he received the national award as part of a surprise reception Thursday following the first day of events at the US Juniors.

“I don’t think we’ll see a high school decathlete like Gunnar Nixon come along for a long time,” said Ray Davis, one of Nixon’s private coaches and head coach of the Arizona Puma Track Club. “He’s not just an athlete excelling while doing decathlon. He’s a pure combined-events guy. I first saw him when he was 10 years old and you knew even then that he had a chance to be special.”

In May, Nixon became the first Class 6A athlete to win four individual gold medals at the state meet. He followed that up by setting the national high school decathlon points record at the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., when he scored 8,035 points for the runaway victory.

On Thursday, he scored 4,192 points to take a slim lead on Kevin Lazas (4,103), an Arkansas freshman who will be Nixon’s teammate with the Razorbacks next season. The US Junior decathlon concludes Friday afternoon.

Nixon is the second Oklahoma athlete to win one of the national Gatorade awards. Owasso’s Dylan Bundy was the player of the year in baseball.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Edmond Santa Fe's Clayton Blackburn and Conor Costello (not pictured) were drafted two picks within each other Tuesday.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Conor Costello had to interrupt his own celebration for another one. I guess that’s a pretty good reason, right?

Costello was excited about being selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the 505th pick (16th round) of the MLB Draft. By the time he could let it all sink in, another Santa Fe player was selected. Not two minutes later, pitching star Clayton Blackburn was picked by the San Francisco Giants at No. 507.

“This feels so awesome,” Costello said. “I’ve been playing with him the last five years so to get drafted right by him is really cool.”

Blackburn and Costello were two vital cogs of a crazy-talented group of Wolves that reached the 6A state semifinals.

Costello has signed with Arkansas and was a first-team Big All-City selection, while Blackburn was a first-team Big All-City selection and first-team All-State pick by yours truly. Blackburn is headed to Oklahoma.

Blackburn was also involved in one of my favorite moments of the year, an epic pitching duel won by Blackburn in a 1-0 win at Deer Creek against Michael Fulmer.

Fulmer, of course, could also be headed to Arkansas. He was selected with the 44th pick by the New York Mets. And another Antler, Brian Anderson, is gonna be a Hog, too. So it’s possible to have Blackburn, Fulmer and Costello all in the same lineup.

“If we end up all going there, it’s going to be awesome because we’re all supposed to be roommates,” Costello said. “It’s an exciting time.”

Costello, 6-4 and 200 pounds, hit .373 with five home runs and 33 RBIs. He also was 5-2 on the mound with 57 strikeouts in 44 innings. Blackburn, 6-4 and 22o pounds, was 10-1 with a 1.37 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 66 innings. He hit .375 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs.

UPDATE: Heh, didn’t take long. Anderson got drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 20th round (No. 628). Anderson is a phenomenal shortstop and hitter. Fulmer has given Anderson a lot of credit for Fulmer’s success as a hitter this season. Anderson was first-team All-State and Big All-City.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

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

Edmond Santa Fe's Gunnar Nixon set the national high school decathlon points record on Friday.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Gunnar Nixon went to Albuquerque, N.M., this week with the number 8,000 in his mind. That was his target point total in the decathlon at the Great Southwest Track Meet Thursday and Friday.

Nixon finished with 8,035, setting the national high school record for total points in a decathlon, surpassing the previous record of 7,909 held by Curtis Beach of New Mexico.

Nixon battled cramps during the final event, the 1,500-meter run, but pushed through to conclude his record-setting performance.

Nixon, who has signed with Arkansas, set or tied personal-best marks in five events. His distance of 24 feet 5 1/2 inches was one inch better than his winning long jump distance at the Class 6A state meet last month. He set a personal best with 14-11 in the pole vault and matched his best in the high jump at 7-0 1/2.

He clocked a time of 10.89 seconds in the 100 meters, 14.16 in the 110 hurdles, 49.66 in the 400 and 5:01.74 in the 1,500. He recorded distances of 49-11 in the shot put, 142-1 in the discus and 175-5 in the javelin.

Earlier this year, Nixon set the national points record for a high school decathlon using international implements with 7,524 points at the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational.

Sulphur’s Caleb Neal also competed in the Great Southwest decathlon and finished fifth with 5,773 points.

Several other Oklahoma athletes will compete in the single-event portion of the Great Southwest meet on Saturday.

Here’s a pretty cool link comparing Nixon’s performance this week to the performance by Beach when he set the previous record. Nixon posted better marks than Beach in eight of the 10 events.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

A couple in particular, Stillwater and Deer Creek, made goalline, last-second stands to preserve scrimmage victories. I guess if you wanna call them victories.

Stillwater vs. Edmond Santa Fe

Never had I anticipated a 20-minute scrimmage between two 1-9 teams more than what I did as the final scrimmage of the day. Santa Fe looked great against Bixby and Pioneers showed a lot against Midwest City.

This one was as good as I hoped. Midwest City and Edmond North was going on at the same time, but the intensity and battle was just a little bit better with the Wolves and Pioneers so that’s who I stuck with.

Big heart showed by Stillwater QB Jerame Littell. He took a nasty shot that led to an interception. On the next drive, aired it out to Jesse Vester for the touchdown.

Wolves bounced back. With big brother Reggie Smith watching, Trevan Smith showed his speed. Trevan is small, but he’s got a lot of wiggle to him and scored.

Littell led another touchdown drive to set the stage for the final minutes. Justice Hansen threw it in the end zone as time expired, and it was picked off. Big thing that Littell and coach Tucker Barnard stressed was the ability to finish.

When you’re 1-9, at least a few of those games are decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. You have to learn how to finish. That’s what the Pioneers are doing so far at Edmond North. Great physical battle.

Deer Creek vs. Bixby

The Antlers had already wrapped up the ‘scrimmage victory.’ Based on rules, Bixby shouldn’t have been allowed one more play. But Deer Creek coach Grant Gower told Bixby to go one more play. He wanted his kids to experience a fourth down-like atmosphere.

Deer Creek stopped the Spartans short of the end zone in a 7-0 victory.

Antlers defense was the star in this one. To go with the last-second stop, Deer Creek stopped Bixby on a fourth-and-one earlier in the scrimmage.

Deer Creek scored on its second play from scrimmage as QB Joel Blumenthal found RB Brennan Miyake cutting across the middle and Miyake did the rest.

Miyake said it was a big boost to be going against Edmond North and Midwest City earlier in the day. It made the Antlers ready for a team like Bixby.

Midwest City vs. Edmond North

Caught glimpses of this. After Christian Peterson picked off a MWC pass, it seemed like the Bombers settled down after that. A lot of stops for losses for Midwest City against Edmond North. Bombers also found the end zone a couple of times. Wish that hadn’t gone head-to-head with Stillwater and Santa Fe.

Norman North vs. Shawnee

Another one that I didn’t get to fully see. A lot of woofin’ in this one. Teams had to separated a couple of times. T’Wolves’ fans, who is No. 3? I’m enjoying watching him work, that’s for sure. I didn’t see either team score in the 10-12 minutes I was able to watch.

Bishop McGuinness vs. Altus

I tried to watch, but what I was really thinking was why was Altus in full pads? Every other team was wearing shorts, but the Bulldogs were padded up. It makes a big difference. The Irish were still able to win, but that was a strange sight to see.

- Got a chance to briefly talk with Little Axe coach Ted Dorrell. I told him I can’t keep track of all 15 teams. He told me ‘try learning your players’ names in an environment like this.’ Dorrell was an assistant at Jones last season.

- Interesting talking with Santa Fe defensive coordinator Kenny Young when Irish were playing. He admits he’s still cheering for McGuinness and always will be. Ten years doesn’t just disappear with a change in jobs.

- Windy as heck out there. Don’t know if videos with Littell and Miyake will be deemed salvageable. If not, just look for some isolated plays from the scrimmages.

- Format change for Friday. Teams will start at 8:30 instead of 8 a.m. Also, more scrimmages. 10-minute scrimmages will begin at 9:40 and go to about 11:30-11:45. Either way, I’ll be out there. My format changes, too. I try to talk with players Wednesday and Thursday. Friday, I’ll be asking coaches what they learned in the three days so probably won’t be any videos.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

The format was the same, too, thankfully. Teams go from station-to-station and then 20-minute scrimmages start at 11 a.m.

The first scrimmage I’m always going to be able to sorta give a better account. After that, it gets sketchy because I’m trying to track down players/coaches from the finished scrimmage and also watch the next set of teams.

Bishop McGuinness vs. Shawnee

Not the best start to this one for either team. In fact, that was kind of the general trend where teams started slow and then picked up the pace.

Irish turned the ball over first time in possession, and the Wolves capitalized. However, in final two possessions, Irish looked a lot better. The first was a sustained (well, as sustained as you can get going 40 yards) drive that ended in a Camden Tharp touchdown rush.

And then in the final minute, Tharp threw the ‘scrimmage-winning’ touchdown pass. He said it’s a lot different environment under coach Justin Jones as opposed to Kenny Young.

People are normally quick to say that’s bashing the former coach, but it’s not, if you ask me. Different doesn’t imply anything except that things are ‘different.’

Young was an in-your-face, no nonsense type of guy. Jones is a little more hands on, Tharp said. Tharp admitted it was tough initially in the scrimmage because the Irish were playing a lot of JV. To go from that to Shawnee is a leap, for sure. Gonna have to pick me up a Wolves roster for the next two days. Saying No. 2 and No. 12 had good days doesn’t amount to much, my fault.

Edmond Santa Fe vs. Bixby

This started the trend of things getting chippy. The Wolves are playing with a real chip on their shoulder, for the lack of a better term. The last two years have been tough to endure, and they’re looking to show things are going to be different right from the get go.

Leading that charge is wide receiver Tre Kelley. He was a-woofin’ and hollerin’ all scrimmage. He also backed it up. QB Justice Hansen looked good on a touchdown carry. Really excited to see what Phillip Sumpter and Trevan Smith can do in the open field.

But more than the offense, great day by the defense. Kenny Young has the team playing in a different tempo, swagger, and it showed in Day 1. I wanna say it was Santa Fe 14, Bixby 0 but don’t quote me on that one.

Midwest City vs. Stillwater

Ooh, pumped to see what is happening with the Pioneers right now. Cleaned house with the coaching staff, and the kids just look a little happier to go to work.

Obviously when you talk about Stillwater, it starts with QB Jerame Littell and WR Jesse Vester. Wednesday was no different as Vester made some outstanding plays, and Littell got to showcase his arm.

Stillwater made a nice late charge in this one. Not gonna judge the Midwest City offense too much because a lot of key players to replace. And this was a scrimmage that I was really scrambling to see. Hope to get a better look at the Bombers on Thursday or Friday.

Deer Creek vs. Altus

Deer Creek coach Grant Gower said he was really pleased with the team’s effort. Antlers scored on all three of their possessions.

When you’re talking about DC, Altus and the Irish, you’re looking at 5A teams that are going against 6A teams the entire time until this scrimmage portion. You get to see how much it helps to go against the speed of MWC, Edmond North, etc., when get back down to 5A.

- Look for videos with Tharp, Kelley and Vester on NewsOK. I’ll be keeping tabs on the health of Edmond North RB Jarion Tudman. He landed knee-first on the track on a tackle and had to ice his knee. Goal is to catch a better glimpse of Norman North, MWC, OCS and a couple of others on Day 2.

- And for the record, the 15 teams: Edmond North, Edmond Santa Fe, Midwest City, Bixby, Norman North, Stillwater, Deer Creek, McGuinness, Shawnee, Altus, OCS, Meeker, McLoud, Tecumseh, Little Axe.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Camp for girls in kindergarten through fourth grade will be from 9 a.m. to noon. Campers in fifth through eighth grade will attend the 1 to 4 p.m. session.

T-shirts will be provided to all campers and prizes will be distributed to winners of several fun skills activities. Attendees may bring money for the camp concession stand.

The camp is offered by Paul Bass, head coach of the Edmond Santa Fe Lady Wolves Basketball Team that won the 2011 6A Girls Basketball State Championship March. Prior to winning the championship, the Lady Wolves have been to the 6A State Tournament in 2005, 2006 (state runner up), 2007, 2009 and 2010 (final four).

Cost for the camp is $100.

Registration forms may be obtained at the school or by clicking on the “Athletics” link on the Edmond Santa Fe website at www.edmondschools.net/santafe.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Putnam City's Casey Curtis star was on full display with a 4.32 effort in the 40-yard dash Saturday.

Is he really that fast? Yep, Putnam City running back Casey Curtis really is that fast. After posting a sub 4.40 40-yard dash in his first attempt, people were wondering if it was faulty timing.

So the Pirates star lined up and did it again. Five different people were timing him, and bam, 4.32. Yep, 4.32 for Curtis in the 40-yard dash Saturday morning at the OkVarsity.com combine at Yukon’s Miller Pride Stadium.

Fellow chum Scott Wright has been high on Curtis for a long time. I haven’t doubted it, but it was great to see it with my own eyes. We have Curtis currently ranked No. 20 on our Super 30 recruits for the 2012 class. A new list will come out within the next month so it might change.

Curtis was actually a little disappointed with his shuttle run time, but all I had to do was remind him 4.32 and his smile came back.

The 40-yard dash was one component of multi-part combine presented by OkVarsity.com, the Oklahoma high school site of Rivals.com. Players also participated in the power ball toss, shuttle run, vertical leap and had the option of participating in the bench press.

Other thoughts and observations

- First time to see Ponca City quarterback Brent Wilson. This combine isn’t really a skills showcase, but Wilson fared well from what I saw. And like some others, just good to see who some of these kids are after reading so much about him. Wilson said he’s excited about this year because a lot of the Wildcats have grown up.

- This was in Yukon’s backyard so no shock to see plenty of Millers there. However, Valliant and Forgan? Huh? Valliant brought a good chunk of kids and coach Brett Jones was more than happy to make the trek for his kids to get some recognition and get tested.

- Santa Fe’s Trevan Smith had a really good 40 time as well. I wanna say 4.37 but don’t quote me. Wolves brought a good chunk of kids. Tellin’ ya, a lot of talent for Lance Manning and company to mold into a cohesive force.

- Power ball toss just sounds like a World’s Strongest Man competition. A lot of the kids had trouble with the first toss because either had never done it before or were too busy trying to get it high. The key to power ball toss is to chuck that thing forward and not so much about the height. Heritage Hall’s Markus Wakefield said it was weird, at first, because he’d never done anything like that before. I thought he fared well in both tosses.

- Piedmont’s Cassius Calhoun was on hand. The Wildcats running back is making the move from Casady to Piedmont. And Piedmont has a new coach in former Stillwater assistant Craig Church. Calhoun said he is ready to show what he can do. He’s a lot more comfortable and ready to be a leader for Piedmont.

- Missed out on Jared Benway from Edmond North. He was finishing up as I was still getting a grasp on the format of the day. Very excited to see a healthy Benway. The Huskies are one of my destinations for the second week of spring practice.

- Results, according to OkVarsity.com’s Justin Mitchell, will be available either Sunday or Monday. When I get ‘em, I’ll post them. Good camp, hope the kids took advantage of their opportunity. The Tulsa side is next Saturday at Broken Arrow. Also, look for plenty of videos on NewsOK.com in the upcoming day(s). Able to talk and meet with a lot of kids.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

'The Dream Team?' Lance Manning and Kenny Young are looking to turn around Santa Fe football.

‘Go score!’ If I heard it once, I heard it 100 times Wednesday afternoon at spring practice for Edmond Santa Fe. Anytime a player turned upfield, ‘go score.’

The Wolves feel like they’ve scored in getting Lance Manning as head coach and Kenny Young as the defensive coordinator. Manning is the former coach at Norman North, while Young has been leading Bishop McGuinness the last 10 years.

Now they’re back, a ‘superpower’ coaching staff. And reunited, too. Had no idea, but Young and Manning were assistants together at Putnam City West for four years in the late 1990s under Dennis Millican.

Manning went to Deer Creek and Young to the Irish, and the rest is history. Young was totally content to sit out this football season. He had received a few phone calls but nothing that had him re-thinking his situation.

However, when Manning approached him before spring break, he listened. They met during spring break, and bam, the Wolves had two of the more high profile coaches in the area under their banner.

There is a lot of talent at Santa Fe. You know I’ve harped on it before, but that team was just too dang young and inexperienced the last couple of years. The young pups have grown up.

Team took a big hit with QB Ty Hensley not coming back. Totally understandable and no hard feelings. Heck, Manning said Hensley is more than welcome to be on the sidelines for the games. Hensley has a lot on the line in terms of his pitching future, made sense.

Hensley and his family met with Manning and decided this was the best course of action. Manning has been pleased with the play of QB Justice Hansen so far. He’s a big kid, too. And with no competition in sight, Hansen should be able to relax and focus.

Phillip Sumpter has recovered from his ankle issues and looked good. And I’m telling ya, you want a Division I prospect? Look no further than WR Tre Kelley. He was banged up, too (common theme last year), but Kelley has all the tools to become a big-time player.

Gonna get to see a lot of Santa Fe this summer so it will be interesting to track their progress. It’s a new attitude under Manning. Time will tell if it’s a good one.

Shot video with Sumpter, but you cannot hear anything because of the wind. Have a feeling it will be the same way Thursday at Guthrie.

For more on the Wolves, check out Friday’s Oklahoman.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

* Pitchers Clayton Blackburn (11), Michael Fulmer (11) and Kyle Shaw (3) combined for 25 strikeouts out of a possible 42 outs.
* Nobody had more than one hit. Blackburn had lone RBI on sacrifice fly to score Lacy.
* The only Antler to not strike out was shortstop Brian Anderson (Arkansas signee). Anderson didn’t have one of the two hits, though. Three Wolves didn’t K (Conor Costello, Brady Newville and Zac Cobble). However, none of them figured in the only run.
* Blackburn’s no-hitter was broken up by a bunt single with two outs in the fifth by Hunter Dinkines. The single eventually led to the final out of the inning at home plate when DC tried scoring from second base on the bunt.
* Blackburn struck out seven consecutive batters at one point. Fulmer retired 10 of the last 11. Only person to reach had the courtesy runner caught stealing.
* The loss snaps Deer Creek’s 21-game winning streak and is first loss to in-state opponent.
* Santa Fe’s Lonny Cobble: “We’re as healthy as we’ve been all season today. Our arms are coming back, and we’re feeling really good.”
* Deer Creek’s Ron Moore: “Anybody who says a loss is a good thing before the playoffs – that’s a bunch of bull. You want to win every game. We let a couple of opportunities slip away. The competition level today was great and Michael threw the ball really well.”

5:54 – Kyle Shaw strikes out the side.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Final

5:46 – Fulmer closes the day by retiring 10 of his last 11. The only batter to reach had the courtesy runner picked off on a caught stealing. Fulmer goes 7 IP, 5 H, 11 K. Blackburn has reached his limit, too. Kyle Shaw in to close out the show.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Bot 7th

5:36 – Antlers try to play small ball again but to no avail. Blackburn gets Ross Stracke to pop out on a nice effort by Newville to retire the side.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 6th

5:30 – Fulmer picks up strikeout No. 10 and retires the side 1-2-3. He has now taken down the last eight batters. Blackburn will throw the sixth. Coach Lonny Cobble said he was going to try to limit Blackburn to 5 innings or 80 pitches. But when you’re throwing as good as Clayton is, hmm, tough to do, no?

5:24 – Ooh, a heads up play by Ty Hensley keeps it 1-0. After making a throwing error to start the inning, Hensley triggers the rundown to end the inning. Hunter Dinkines picked up the Antlers’ first hit on a bunt with Chase Stephens at second base. Instead of throwing to first, Hensley kept the ball, which enabled the Wolves to gun down Stephens at the plate (attempting to score from 2nd on the bunt). Blackburn with two more Ks to give him 10.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 5th

5:15 – We were so close to having a half inning without a strikeout. But Fulmer struck out the final batter of a 1-2-3 inning. He’s got 9 for the day.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Bot 5th

5:08 – A great defensive play at short by Brady Newville, add in another strikeout and the Antlers are retired in order. Blackburn has 8 Ks through four, too.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 4th

5:02 – Fulmer works around a couple of singles, strikes out two to give the Arkansas signee eight through four frames.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Bot 4th

4:52 – Wow, it’s reached a point where if the ball is hit, that’s cause for celebration. Blackburn punches out two more before Brian Anderson ends the streak at seven on a ground out. Thirteen Ks between Blackburn and Fulmer.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 3rd

4:47 – Everything you would expect from these two. Fulmer gives up a one-out single to Zac Cobble and strikes out the next two to give him six so far.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek – Bot 3rd

4:38 – Blackburn is on fire. The OU signee has now struck out five consecutive batters in fanning the side in the bottom of the second.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 2nd

4:32 – Fulmer brings it in this frame. Retires the side 1-2-3 and strikes out the final two batters looking. He’s got four Ks through two.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Bot 2nd

4:25 – Blackburn works out of it. Two uncharacteristic errors by the Wolves, but Blackburn strikes out the final two batters to escape out of the jam. Not sure how crowd is looking on TV, but it’s packed here at John Hundley Memorial Field and the ‘blue out’ by Deer Creek is certainly adding to it.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – End 1st

4:12 – Edmond Santa Fe gets on the board first. Kyle Lacy jacked a triple and was brought in via sacrifice fly by Clayton Blackburn. Lacy was down 0-2 and took a tough pitch. A lot of people (yours truly included) thought it was strike three. Given new life, Lacy hit a towering drive to left-center. Michael Fulmer had two Ks.
Edmond Santa Fe 1, Deer Creek 0 – Bot 1st

3:32 – Arrived at John Hundley Memorial Field for the battle between Deer Creek and Edmond Santa Fe. Great crowd for the game still being 30 minutes away. Will post inning-by-inning updates. Can’t make it out here, game is also being televised LIVE on Cox.

Kyle Lacy and Jackson Matthews have played big roles in helping Edmond Santa Fe this season.

There should be a ‘Boneman’ championship trophy given to the winner of Saturday’s Edmond Santa Fe and Deer Creek baseball game. Somebody get on that and design the trophy. We only have a day to get it done.

I haven’t gotten to see Broken Arrow or Owasso this season (and we know how awesome both of those teams are), but when you talk about the west side, it’s been the Wolves and the Antlers.

There’s not much more either team can do to stand out at this point. They’ve both made their mark on this season and both know it won’t matter unless they can claim that championship in two weeks. Regardless, it should be a whole lotta fun at John Hundley Memorial Field at Deer Creek.

Coaches Lonny Cobble and Ron Moore have said they’re going to throw their aces – Michael Fulmer for the Antlers and Clayton Blackburn for the Wolves. Fulmer, of course, has signed with Arkansas, while Blackburn is going to be a Sooner.

No idea how long either will throw. I can’t imagine them going more than 4-5 innings. It might be where they reach a certain pitch count limit and then are taken out. For however long they’re both on the mound, it will be a showcase of two of the best. And again, for the west side, the version of Archie Bradley vs. Dylan Bundy.

Deer Creek started the season 6-0 before going 0-4 in a tournament in Alabama. It fueled the team, initially, and the Antlers haven’t let up yet. Brian Anderson is one of the best players around and has also signed with Arkansas. Every time I see him I’m more impressed. Fulmer is also a solid hitter, and I like what Ross Stracke brings to the table. And Isaac Hellbusch, well, his stock has gone up so much since the beginning of the season.

The "Arkansas boys" as Michael Fulmer and Brian Anderson have led Deer Creek to another great season.

The Antlers have won 21 consecutive games and have not lost to an in-state component this season. Notable wins include at Carl Albert, Norman North, Westmoore, Stillwater, Chickasha, Guthrie (twice), Bishop McGuinness (twice).

Santa Fe has been every bit as good as expected. This season also marked coach Cobble’s 500th win with the Wolves but that didn’t serve as a distraction.

Between Conor Costello (Arkansas) and Ty Hensley and Blackburn, that’s a scary trio either on the mound or at the plate. Easton Mitchell has surprised me all season as a pitcher, and the ‘Kyles’ Lacy and Shaw can both bring it.

The Wolves’ biggest win was last Saturday at Broken Arrow. Under next year’s single elimination format, that would spell the end of the Tigers. I think that’s part of the reason the coaches weren’t in favor of that. Show you can do it again. That’s another argument for another time.

Santa Fe has had the target on its back and has been up to the challenge. Two wins against Yukon, Putnam City North. Wins against Norman North, Westmoore, among others.

The game was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. However, Santa Fe has Prom on Saturday so the game has been moved (yay) to 4 p.m. and will also be on Cox.

So as I asked in the title, No. 3 Edmond Santa Fe (6A) vs. No. 1 Deer Creek (5A)…what more do you want?

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Max McGreevy certainly helped the cause on Monday. He fired a two-round total of 136 at Broadmoore Golf Course in Moore to claim the Metro Conference individual title.

He was two strokes ahead of Edmond North freshmen Nick Heinen at 138 and Sam Humphreys at 139. Edmond North also held the next three spots, with Austen Fuller and Caleb Meyers tied for fourth at 140 and Alec Heinen — Nick’s older brother — in sixth at 142.

Obviously, Edmond North ran away with the team competition at 552, with Choctaw second at 596 and Santa Fe third at 599.

Edmond Memorial’s Taylor Moore won the Mid-State Conference Tournament, firing an 8-under-par 132 (69-63) for the title, just three strokes ahead of Norman North’s Jett Johnson at Belmar Country Club on Monday. Memorial’s team total of 547 was good for a four-shot win over Norman North as well.

It’ll be interesting to follow things in 6A boys golf the next couple of weeks with regionals and state coming up.

All the Edmond schools plus Norman North will go head-to-head in regionals at Oak Tree East, which should make for some thrilling competition. And state is at Cedar Ridge Country Club, which is the home course for a couple of Jenks players, and the Trojans are among a small group of teams that could end Edmond North’s state title run — Memorial and Norman North are probably the only other two who have a real shot.

From the individual perspective, Moore has been strong all year as he tries to repeat, but Colton Staggs at Jenks looks pretty impressive. Johnson, Fuller and Alec Heinen are right there, too, and who knows what some of the young guys like McGreevy, Jenks’ Brendon Jelley and the Edmond North freshmen could do on the big stage.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Let that sink in for a moment. Wow, gotta say that’s pretty cool. Owasso, led by uber-star pitcher Dylan Bundy, went from No. 4 in the last rankings to the top slot.

Broken Arrow went from No. 5 to No. 8. Of course with OKRankings.com rankings completed last week, yes, you can say Owasso is No. 1 in the nation and not even No. 1 in the state. That’s not a bash on anybody, but it is certainly weird to say.

The Rams are 26-1 and have been simply dominant all season. And like Deer Creek (No. 1 in 5A), Owasso has not lost to an in-state opponent. That was true of Broken Arrow until third-ranked Edmond Santa Fe won at BA on Saturday night.

The Baseball America rankings are released every other week, and it just happened to be at the right time for Owasso and its supporters.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

From the girls winning the state basketball championship to Gunnar Nixon’s continued ‘wow’  success to Josh Richardson signing with Tennessee to now this: Santa Fe baseball winning at top-ranked Broken Arrow on Saturday night.

After seeing a 4-0 lead evaporate, it was Kyle Lacy who got to play hero. Lacy hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh off Broken Arrow stud Archie Bradley to give the third-ranked Wolves a 6-5 win. And though I might be speaking out of turn, also the biggest win of the season.

In the bottom of the seventh, it was Kyle Shaw closing the door by striking out the side. Between Clayton Blackburn, Lacy and Shaw, the Wolves struck out 15 BA batters.

For Lacy, it was a little redemption as it was Lacy who let a 5-2 lead slip away in the bottom of the sixth. In baseball, you always get that second chance. Always a shot to go from goat to hero and give credit to Lacy for mentally staying in the game.

I really wanted to be there or at the Deer Creek Classic final (won 5-1 by DC over Westmoore). However, my day was spent in Ardmore for Justin Blackmon Day. And my night was spent at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville watching Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski earn a nice first-round knockout.

But don’t cry for me. I’ve got Saturday all penciled in for the Antlers and Wolves. In my opinion, they’re the two best teams on the west side, and I love that they’ve decided to play each other a week before regionals.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

In the video, you can see a clip of Nixon running the 110-meter hurdles Friday in the meet at Edmond North, where he nearly set a state record. Nixon ran it in 14.01 seconds, just .09 off the record of 13.92 held by Nathaniel Winfrey of Stillwater, which he set at the 2009 state meet.

Seriously, the video is worth watching just to see the race. In 110 meters, you’re not supposed to win this easily, that’s all I’m sayin’.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

After giving up football last year, former Guthrie phenom Kye Staley is back with OSU.

It was a different scene for yours truly Saturday. Initially had plans to cover the finals of the Bill Tipton VII baseball tournament at Carl Albert, I was asked instead to help cover the Oklahoma State spring football game.

And I gotta say, it was great to see former Guthrie star Kye Staley back out there. He looked great in his 11 carries for 55 yards. The Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten had a great line about Staley: ‘he should be wearing green pants.’

Quarterback Brandon Weeden was wearing a green jersey to identify that he wasn’t to be hit. Well, with all the problems Staley has had with his knee, the green pants sounded appropriate.

Staley didn’t wear green pants, however. He took some big shots to the knee. But he bounced right back up. Staley is a big boy now. He’s more fullback than running back at this point. He’s about 215 pounds, and you can see that his desire and love of the game is back.

It was tremendous to see and you can also tell how happy his teammates are for him and for the team that Staley is back.

After giving up the sport before last season, Staley’s confidence is back. And that is a good thing for the Cowboys. For my story on Staley, here ya go.

Other spring game thoughts

- They’re all wearing the orange and black of OSU, but to me, they’ll all be known as ‘former (high school) star’ when it comes to the in-state products.

- Former Carl Albert star Daytawion Lowe made a couple of nice plays. He was also beat on a touchdown by Tracy Moore, but Lowe had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown and had a couple of nice hits.

- Speaking of Moore, the former Tulsa Union star has become a much better college player than I thought he’d be. He is definitely among the top four receivers for the Cowboys. Moore got open a couple of times and had four grabs for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

- Like Moore, former Redskins star Jeremy Smith continues to impress me. I loved watching him play in high school and that hasn’t gone away in college. He had a great touchdown run on a spin move and also caught a touchdown pass. He said his biggest improvement this spring was in the passing game.

- Lo and behold, was that Joe Aska Jr.? Yep, the former Edmond North star running back had a couple of attempts and scored a touchdown. With that loaded backfield, cannot imagine Aska seeing too much time, but it was great to see him land on his feet.

- OK, I do admit Brandon Weeden (Santa Fe), Justin Blackmon (Plainview) and Josh Cooper (Mustang) are known more as Cowboys at this point. They’ve earned it.

- But by far, the biggest change was not having to keep my own stats. I was lost. I still did, but then I was handed a packet of everything you could ask for. And it was nice to be working with fellow chum Brandon Chatmon (@BChatmon on Twitter) again. All ‘n all, a fun way to spend a Saturday.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Richardson, a first-team selection on The Oklahoman’s Super 5, said his long-standing relationship with new Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin played a major factor in his decision. Martin began recruiting Richardson during his sophomore season, when Martin was the Missouri State head coach.

“That was a huge part of it,” Richardson said. “I just felt more comfortable with him than anyone else.”

Martin was one of the first to offer Richardson a scholarship at Missouri State, and extended an offer shortly after he was named coach at Tennessee as well.

A 6-foot-5 combo guard and strong defender, Richardson averaged 16.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a senior with the Wolves.

He also was considering offers from TCU, Georgia Tech and Penn State.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Richardson, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, will visit Tennessee on Friday, then head to Penn State for Saturday and Sunday. Both programs have offered Richardson a scholarship, along with TCU and Georgia Tech, two campuses he has already visited.

Oklahoma coaches met with Richardson last week, but did not extend an offer. It appears that the new Sooner coaching staff of head coach Lon Kruger has other needs it must focus its recruiting attention on, primarily point guards and big men.

Prior to becoming Tennessee’s new head coach last month, Cuonzo Martin had been recruiting Richardson hard at Missouri State, first showing interest in him when Richardson was only a sophomore. After taking the Tennessee job, he was quick to extend an offer to the Edmond Santa Fe senior.

Richardson is the top-rated recruit in the state in the 2011 class according to Rivals.com. He ranks No. 121 among prospects nationally and No. 37 among shooting guards.

The spring signing period for basketball opens Wednesday and runs through May 18.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Here’s how the voting finished:
Obi Emegano, Edmond Memorial 2.51% (128 votes)
Stephen Clark, Douglass 9.54% (486 votes)
Dominique Raney, Putnam City 14.12% (719 votes)
Josh Richardson, Edmond Santa Fe 33.97% (1,730 votes)
Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek 39.85% (2,029 votes)

Spangler was also The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year. Here’s my Super 5 video interview with Spangler:

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

I did it Monday and saw Putnam City North lose to Yukon. Did it Saturday and saw Norman North lose to Edmond Santa Fe 15-10 in the Edmond Classic championship at Edmond North. Though to be truthful, one streak had to end in the Edmond Classic.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Memorial, but conflicts (ACTs, Prom, etc) made everybody shuffle things around. So I apologize about saying the game was at Memorial, hopefully that didn’t force anybody to miss some action.

Because in the first two innings, boy, was there a lot of it. How about 16 runs on 12 hits in the first inning? How about a 13-10 Santa Fe lead after the second frame?

But I’m not going to rip Santa Fe pitcher Conor Costello or Norman North’s Paul Reed. We all know they’re much better pitchers than what they threw Saturday. Hey, it was the seventh game in six days for both teams. More about guts than skill at that point.

And both teams had plenty of it. Santa Fe notched 10 in the top of the first, but the TWolves responded with a six-spot of their own.

So when does a three-hour game feel like a short one? When the first two innings took 90 minutes. Everything looks short in comparison. We can all thank Santa Fe’s Easton Mitchell and Norman North’s Caleb Simpson for getting us out of there at a decent hour.

Mitchell threw 4 1/3 innings and struck out six, while allowing just three singles. Clayton Blackburn, who pitched four innings Friday, struck out the side in the seventh. Hey, it was all about guts in this one.

To Simpson’s credit, there wasn’t much he didn’t do wrong. He tired a bit in the seventh, but who could blame him? He threw five innings, giving up two runs and striking out seven.

The loss snapped Norman North’s 12-game winning streak. The Timberwolves ran the table last week and this week until this one. Santa Fe is now in the midst of its own 12-game winning streak.

Kyle Lacy was 3-5 with a triple and 5 RBIs for Santa Fe. Garrett Crain added two hits and drove in three runs. Blackburn had an RBI double among his three hits.

Norman North’s Conner Kohlscheen had four singles. Simpson had a two-run double, while Dakota Shadoan had three hits, including a triple. TWolves also had two homers as Colin Jones hit one out in the bottom of the first and D.J. Gasson had a three-run bomb later in the frame.

And I would be a fool to not comment on the wind. This was insane. If things weren’t bolted down or heavy, they were flying everywhere. It caused a lot of problems for fielders in this one.

Santa Fe is trying to cement itself as the top team on the west side. Pretty good case in the last two weeks. Wolves have a home-and-home with Putnam West this week. Norman North has the same with Moore, beginning Monday.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Edmond Santa Fe's Gunnar Nixon won the decathlon at the Arcadia Invitational for the second year in a row.

It’s almost as if Edmond Santa Fe’s Gunnar Nixon was trying to challenge himself. Like he was saying what can I do to make the Arcadia Invitational even more difficult than what it already is?

He found a way and still came back and won. Despite fouling in all three attempts in the shot put, Nixon won his second consecutive decathlon title at the event Friday night.

Nixon finished with 7,036 points, more than 100 points better than the rest of the field.

“I just had to put that (shot put) out of my head and move on,” Nixon said. “I’ve never fouled three times in a row like that ever.”

Nixon set personal records in the 100-meter dash, 400 run and long jump but found himself in fourth place after day one because of the shot put result.

Day two Nixon was able to get himself back on track. In the pole vault, Nixon had to use smaller poles than what he is used to because his poles didn’t come in, but he was still able to put up a respectable number and cruise to the high school title.

However, that’s not all Nixon was shooting for. He came looking to set the national record for high school with international implements and that’s exactly what he did.

The international implements has three major changes in that the shot and discus are heavier and the hurdles are higher. The hurdles, which are three inches higher in the international setup, didn’t affect Nixon at all. He ran a 14.35 in the 110 hurdles for high school and then 14.60 with the 42-inch hurdles for international implements.

Though he faltered in the high school shot, with the 16-pound shot, he threw it 39 feet and 10 inches.

Nixon surpasses the mark set by Curtis Beach in 2009. Beach had 7,466, while Nixon’s mark is 7,577. Nixon needed to run a 4:57 in the 1,500 to pass Beach. Nixon posted a 4:39.64.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Ty Hensley embraces coach Lonny Cobble, following 12-1 win that is Cobble's 500th win at Santa Fe.

The Edmond Santa Fe baseball community did all it could to keep it a secret. They were so close before a parent congratulated coach Lonny Cobble before Friday’s game against Moore.

“Congratulations for what?” Cobble asked. Uh oh, cat out of the bag. Cobble earned his 500th win as the head coach of Santa Fe in a 12-1 win against Moore at Edmond North as part of the Edmond Classic.

Cobble’s wife, Terri, has been working on making the occasion special, and it still was a nice scene at North. T-shirts and cupcakes were given out. Edmond athletic director Mike Nunley distracted Cobble long enough for the team to dump the Gatorade bucket on Cobble.

Cobble really had no idea, he told me after the game. He said he remember getting his 400-win plaque but that he hadn’t really thought about No. 500 at all.

Cobble is definitely one of the good guys in high school sports (we have a lot of them). He was there when Santa Fe opened, and he doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

He said he’s not normally nervous before any game, but when he was alerted about the 500-win plateau, he actually was nervous Friday.

But when you have players like Conor Costello, you can always relax just a little bit. The Arkansas signee came up huge in helping relieve the tension early. He made a great catch against the right field wall that he turned into a double play in the top of the first. Then in the bottom of the first, he notched a two-run triple.

After Moore got one across, the Wolves notched eight in the second to put distance between the teams. The Lions committed four errors and Gaston Hart had a two-run double.

Clayton Blackburn, an OU signee, wasn’t at his best, but he settled down, too, after the first two frames. He pitched four innings.

A lot of the Cobble family was on hand for the occasion. His parents were there. Brother-in-law Travis Owen (McLoud baseball coach) was also in attendance. Opposing players, coaches were congratulating Cobble. He said he really appreciated just how many people came out for the game.

I’m doing a big piece on Cobble in Monday’s paper, and you can also check out more in Saturday’s paper. Shot video with Costello and Zac Cobble. You could tell how much this day meant to Zac, being able to be out on the field when his dad and coach reached the milestone.

And spoken like a true coach, Lonny said he hopes No. 501 comes Friday night against Edmond North. A win there would put the Wolves in the final of the Edmond Classic. That game is 5 p.m. Saturday at Edmond Memorial.

Congratulations to Cobble on the achievement.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Too early for 2013 class talk? Maybe, but Deer Creek's Joel Blumenthal is one to watch.

Before we get to the weekly news and notes on some of the top recruits, really think some recruiting experts are missing the boat on the class of 2012.

Heritage Hall’s Barry J. Sanders dominates the headlines and has for the last couple of years. And then when a program like Oklahoma offers players such as Jenks’ Alex Ross and Heritage Hall’s Sterling Shepard, that obviously makes people stand up and notice.

Those three again were recognized with Sanders at No. 51, Shepard at No. 85 and Ross at No. 89 of the Scout 300. And then that was it. Really?

No love for Norman RB Donovan Roberts or Douglass OL Cayman Bundage? Or an OL like Blake Belcher from Guthrie? And we might all be sleeping on just how good Ramsey Hamilton of Beggs after how well he has fared in workout/combine atmospheres.

I really like this class. Hey, maybe I’m overestimating how good this class is going to be, but I can tell you that I’m already excited for the fall. Heck, even spring practice.

With that said, more news and notes:

- Edmond Santa Fe has been off the radar lately, but that should change this year. Not only is Ty Hensley a top baseball/football prospect, defensive back Conner Bays performed extremely well at an Under Armour combine last weekend in Houston. It’s going to be a new looks Wolves team so it will be very interesting to see how this team gels together.

- When you start talking about the 2013 class, it starts in Lawton with D.J. Ward, but I’m wondering just how far up the ranks Deer Creek’s Joel Blumenthal is going to go. He performed well at a combine in Dallas in late March and has been invited to Tampa for a top camp in the summer. It is invite only with 25 quarterbacks from 15 different states.

- Mention Casady recruiting for 2011, and you go right to DL Graham Bennett and LB Garrison Lee. However, don’t forget about Mac Katigan. He’s going to Princeton’s Junior Day this weekend and has also been invited to the junior days at Yale and Dartmouth. Dartmouth seems like a natural fit considering his older brother, Austin, is a freshman on the football team.

- Incredibly busy time of year when it comes to combines. Casey Curtis of Putnam City is off to a couple more on this weekend. We won’t call Curtis ‘Scott Wright’s boy,’ but Scott is very high (rightfully so) on the ability of Curtis. With more info, read Scott’s blog.

- OKVarsity.rivals.com is going to have its in-state combines next month. The Oklahoma City area one is May 21 at Yukon, while the Tulsa area is May 28 at Broken Arrow. For much more info, here ya go. I definitely intend to attend both combines but have no idea if I’ll be able to. Justin Mitchell does a great job with the OKVarsity site, and it’s a very well-run exhibition.

- A couple of forgotten kids are starting to make some noise. Edmond North RB Jared Benway missed all of his junior season with a broken leg but is back and looking good. Same can be said for Heritage Hall quarterback Quinn Shanbour. Shanbour left Bishop McGuinness a day before the season opener. HH coach Andy Bogert said Shanbour played a vital role in helping the team practice against opposing QBs last year. Shanbour just returned from a visit to the University of Arizona.

- As always, you got info, drop me a line. You went to a camp? Let me know how it went.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Wednesday
At Memorial
Choctaw 16, Checotah 2
Norman North 7, Choctaw 4
Edmond Memorial 5, Southmoore 3
Edmond Santa Fe 17, Latta 2
At North
Moore 13, Norman 5
Westmoore 5, Moore 2
Edmond North 8, Westmoore 5

Thursday
At Memorial
Checotah vs. Norman North, 2:30
Southmoore vs. Checotah, 5 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Choctaw, 7:30
At North
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Norman, noon
Norman vs. Edmond North, 2:30
Latta vs. Westmoore, 5 p.m.
Latta vs. Edmond North, 7:30

Friday
At Memorial
Southmoore vs. Norman North, noon
Edmond Memorial vs. Norman North, 2:30
Southmoore vs. Checotah, 5 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Checotah, 7:30
At North
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Moore, noon
Moore vs. Latta, 2:30
Norman vs. Westmoore, 5 p.m.
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Edmond North, 7:30

Saturday
At Memorial
A5 vs. B5, noon
A3 vs. B3, 2:30
A1 vs. B1, 5 p.m.
At North
A4 vs. B4, 2:30
A2 vs. B2, 5 p.m.

Wednesday
At Memorial
Choctaw vs. Checotah, noon
Choctaw vs. Norman North, 2:30
Edmond Memorial vs. Southmoore, 5 p.m.
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Latta, 7:30
At North
Norman vs. Moore, 2:30
Moore vs. Westmoore, 5 p.m.
Westmoore vs. Edmond North, 7:30

Thursday
At Memorial
Checotah vs. Norman North, 2:30
Southmoore vs. Checotah, 5 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Choctaw, 7:30
At North
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Norman, noon
Norman vs. Edmond North, 2:30
Latta vs. Westmoore, 5 p.m.
Latta vs. Edmond North, 7:30

Friday
At Memorial
Southmoore vs. Norman North, noon
Edmond Memorial vs. Norman North, 2:30
Southmoore vs. Checotah, 5 p.m.
Edmond Memorial vs. Checotah, 7:30
At North
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Moore, noon
Moore vs. Latta, 2:30
Norman vs. Westmoore, 5 p.m.
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Edmond North, 7:30

Saturday
At Memorial
A5 vs. B5, noon
A3 vs. B3, 2:30
A1 vs. B1, 5 p.m.
At North
A4 vs. B4, 2:30
A2 vs. B2, 5 p.m.

New Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin, who was recruiting Richardson to Missouri State before he left, extended an offer when he got the Vols job, and now the new Oklahoma coaching staff is showing interest in the 6-foot-5 guard.

Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk said assistant coach Steve Henson has been in contact with the folks at Santa Fe and plans to visit the school to meet Richardson in person on Friday. Schenk said he hadn’t been given any indication that an offer would be made, but said there is definite interest with the spring signing period set to open April 13.

Richardson had as many as six scholarship offers at one point, but the schools pursuing him were hit with coaching changes, leaving him with two offers that he knows for certain are still on the table — Tennessee and TCU.

Former OU coach Jeff Capel had shown interest in Richardson, arguably the state’s top recruit for 2011, and Richardson made multiple trips to the campus. But Capel’s recruiting focus shifted away from shooting guards in hopes of landing a point guard or a big man, so the pursuit of Richardson never materialized.

Richardson is a long, athletic player who is college-ready on the defensive end. His offensive game has been based on his athleticism, rebounding and the ability to get to the rim — though he did shoot 36 percent from 3-point range this year. He handles the ball well and he’s a heady player on both ends, so there’s no doubt he can find a way to contribute to a Big 12 program.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

The last two years, the Mayor’s Cup between the three Edmond and three Moore high schools has been a regular event at the ballpark now known as RedHawks Field at Bricktown.

This season the schedule of games at the park expands with 17 high school and one college game scheduled for the park during April.

The 2011 Mayor’s Cup will be played Saturday with Edmond North and Moore at 11 a.m., Edmond Santa Fe and Westmoore at 2:30 and Edmond Memorial and Southmoore at 6 p.m. (Boneman’s note: I will be at The Brick for the Saturday games).

Crowder and Stuart will play at 7 p.m. Friday to start the series.

World Baseball Outreach will hold a baseball equipment drive during the Mayor’s Cup. Fans are asked to bring new or gently used baseball and softball equipment to help the organization provide equipment to at-risk youth in the state.

Other than the Mayor’s Cup, the other games in the series are free to the public.

Schedule (gates open an hour before game time):

Friday: Crowder vs. Stuart, 7 p.m.

Saturday: Edmond North vs. Moore, 11 a.m.; Edmond Santa Fe vs. Westmoore, 2:30 p.m.; Edmond Memorial vs. Southmoore, 6 p.m.

Tuesday: UCO vs. USAO, 7 p.m.

Wednesday: Amber-Pocasset vs. Cashion, 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 7: Yukon vs. El Reno, 7 p.m.

Friday, April 8: Sterling vs. Elgin, 4 p.m.; Purcell vs. Sayre, 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 9: Kansas vs. Westville, 5 p.m.

April 23: Stroud vs. Wellston, 2 p.m.; Cushing vs. Lone Grove, 5 p.m.

April 26: Carnegie vs. Clinton, 4 p.m.; Holdenville vs. Konawa, 7 p.m.

April 27: Carl Albert vs. Shawnee, 7 p.m.

April 28: Jenks vs. Choctaw, 7 p.m.

April 30: Midwest City vs. Muskogee, 2 p.m.; Comanche vs. Velma-Alma, 5 p.m.

Heritage Hall junior running back Barry J. Sanders isn’t any closer to making a commitment, but he did earn another honor.

Sanders was named the 10^th best recruit for the class of 2012 by Tom Lemming as Lemming released his top 100 recruits Tuesday.

Lemming has spent more than 30 years evaluating recruits. Sanders was the only player from Oklahoma in the top 100. Dorial Beckham-Green, the Springfield, Mo., wide receiver, was ranked the top prospect.

I’ve admit that I’m bias toward the Oklahoma kids, but I was amazed that Alex Ross of Jenks, Cayman Bundage of Douglass, Sterling Shepard of Heritage Hall and Donovan Roberts of Norman didn’t sniff the list. Feel people are sleeping on this class still.

- Edmond Santa Fe junior Ty Hensley said he wants to keep his options open for football. Meanwhile, the baseball honors continue to roll in for the star pitcher.

Hensley has been invited to participate in the Under Armour All-America baseball game Aug. 13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Hensley is one of 36 players invited and is the lone Oklahoman on the roster. The game will be televised live on MLB Network (Cox 264). The players participating were chosen by a committee of Baseball Factory scouts.

The game will punctuate a four-day event for the players that will include a formal workout for MLB scouts, a home run derby and a meet-and-greet with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.

- Sand Springs quarterback Darrack Harger was among one of the top performers at the Under Armour combine in Dallas last weekend.

Harger, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, has added 15 pounds since the end of last season and was said to be the best quarterback in the bunch by Rivals.com

Harger doesn’t have any official offers but is receiving interest from several Big 12 schools, including Oklahoma State.

Top QB prospect is going to be a battle. The four early favorites: Harger, Kason Key of Owasso, Ramsey Hamilton of Beggs and Corben Jones of Yukon. It feels like every week that is something different to report on at least one of them.

- A name to watch is definitely Stillwater wide receiver Jesse Vester. He’s been just as busy as anybody else, attending Tulsa, OSU and KU Junior Days. His April is going to be pretty busy, too. And with new coach Tucker Barnard officially in Stillwater and QB Jerame Littell, Pioneers will definitely have a different look.

- Southmoore has produced one top talent after another in the last couple of years and don’t look for that to stop in this upcoming season. Running back Andrew Long is definitely the gem of the SaberCats, but linebacker Jackson Stallings is starting to come on the radar. Neither have any official offers, but coach Chris Jensen has done a great job of getting his kids noticed.

- Any news or notes you wanna contribute? Drop me a line, appreciate it.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Will Josh Richardson overtake Ryan Spangler for NewsOK.com Boys Player of the Year?

Voting ends Friday at 11:59 p.m. for the NewsOK.com Boys and Girls Basketball Player of the Year. So if you haven’t voted for your candidate enough, well, you got four more days to get to it.

As of 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, here are the numbers:

Girls
Sharane Campbell, Star Spencer – 583 votes, 30.9 percent
Ashley Clark, Midwest City – 458 votes, 24.3 percent
Elizabeth Donohoe, Edmond North – 260 votes, 13.8 percent
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe – 532 votes, 28.3 percent
Marisha Wallace, Midwest City – 49 votes, 2.6 percent

Boys
Stephen Clark, Douglass – 452 votes, 9.9 percent
Obi Emegano, Edmond Memorial – 117 votes, 2.5 percent
Dominique Raney, Putnam City – 716 votes, 15.6 percent
Josh Richardson, Edmond Santa Fe – 1,596 votes, 34.8 percent
Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek – 1,708 votes, 37.2 percent

Thanks for the more than 6,000 combined votes in the boys and girls polls. Once again, the voting closes Friday so you still have a chance.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Walking into the Edmond Santa Fe gym just after 1 p.m., knew it was going to be a special scene. The Wolves were about to have some fun recognizing their stars.

Sometimes I forget just how big Santa Fe is. Right before the pep rally started, I took some video of how jam-packed that gym was. The more people there are, the better the atmosphere (usually).

This was a fun 35-45 minutes as the school recognized all of its winter sport stars and saved the best for last – the girls basketball team.

It was such a brief moment, but I could not stop laughing at the wolf mascot bringing out the gold ball. And after the introduction of the players, the championship banner was presented. Athletic director Barry Blagowsky said it would be ready. Less than two weeks after the win, it was.

I was digging the spotlight the school put on for track star Gunnar Nixon and the girls basketball team. I admit it, I’m a fan of the glitz and glamour.

For my brief story on how it all went down, go here.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Guthrie star Kentrell Brothers completed one of the more intriguing recruiting stories in the last year. The Bluejays star, who has signed with Missouri to play football, wasn’t shy to take as many different recruiting trips possible.

One Brothers down and here comes another. Sophomore Richard Brothers will be joined by Deer Creek sophomore quarterback Joel Blumenthal at the Under Armour combine in Dallas this weekend.

Richard Brothers had 83 tackles last season. Blumenthal has been a name to watch for the Antlers since his freshman season. He saw spot duty at QB last year but should be the starting quarterback for Deer Creek in 2011.

- As already reported, Norman’s Donovan Roberts nabbed two more offers with Iowa State and Arizona joining Michigan and Indiana. He’s going to get overlooked because of Jenks’ Alex Ross and Heritage Hall’s Barry J. Sanders, but Roberts is the real deal. The offers are starting to roll in, and I don’t think they’re going to stop anytime soon.

- Fellow chum Matt Baker of The Tulsa World says Cascia Hall stud LB Conner Sherwood has earned his first offer as Tulsa has offered the Commando junior. I like Sherwood and definitely think the next couple of months will see him on more people’s radar.

- Jenks defensive tackle Ashton Henderson also made news with receiving an offer from Louisville. Looking at the measureables (is that a word?), you have to like Henderson. I’ve never seen the 320-pounder play so I can’t comment too much on him. I know DT is becoming more and more important in today’s game.

- Very intrigued what is going to happen with Edmond Santa Fe’s Ty Hensley. I think he’s a solid as they come when you’re talking about a baseball prospect. However, he is not letting go of football. Might he be in the same spot as Broken Arrow’s Archie Bradley? Is it something where he’s looking for football and baseball? Hensley is getting looks in both sports, but baseball remains the sport where there is more interest.

- Anadarko’s Sheldon Wilson continues to be bombarded by schools showing interest. No official offers, but he’s getting letters from schools all over the nation. Very intrigued to see how Anadarko (as a community) handles the attention. It’s going to be a wild ride for the Wilson and the Warriors in the next 6-9 months.

- As I always say, you got news, ship it this way.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Good to get back out there to cover baseball. I’m going to be all over the Oklahoma City area to cover as many different teams and games as I can in the next two months.

My first stop was Monday at Edmond Santa Fe for the Wolves and Yukon. Santa Fe won 4-1. Senior pitcher Easton Mitchell, in his first start this year, was brilliant. Not overpowering, but he had great command of his pitches and let his defense do the rest.

Oklahoma signee Clayton Blackburn added a solo homer and an RBI single to pace the offense. Yukon’s Kyle Gibson actually pitched pretty well, IMO. After a rough start, he battled through it and only gave up two hits and no runs in the final three innings.

For my story on the game, go here.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Coach of the Year: Alan Green – Mustang

Most Valuable Player: Josh Richardson – Santa Fe

Offensive Player of the Year: Dominique Raney – Putnam City

Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Berry – Mustang

Newcomer of the Year: Tavionne Pennon – Putnam City West

1^st Team
Dominique Raney – Putnam City
David Glidden – Mustang
Armon Provo – Putnam City North
Kyndall Dudley – Putnam City West
Ben Berry – Mustang
Aaron Anderson – Santa Fe

2^nd Team
RonQuis Lewis – Putnam City
Joe Summers – Putnam City North
Dante Lewis – Putnam City West
Michael Onuoha – Santa Fe
Matt Burton – Yukon

3^rd Team
D’Anthony Perkins – Yukon
Deonta Samilton – Choctaw
Terrell Savala – Santa Fe
Jacob Strassle – Mustang
Kevin House – Putnam City West

Honorable Mention
Trey Thomas – Putnam City, Zac Grismer – Mustang, Keipher Hotella – Choctaw, Ed Baker – Edmond North, Ricco Smith – Putnam City North, JR Simon – Putnam City North, Zac Brown – Choctaw

MVP- Elizabeth Donohoe- Edmond North­­­­­

Offensive- Courtney Walker- Edmond Santa Fe

Defensive- LaShawn Jones- Putnam City

Newcomer- Mallory Brothers- Mustang

Coach of the Year- Paul Bass- Edmond Santa Fe

1^st Team All Conference:
1.  Elizabeth Donohoe- Edmond North­­­­­
2.  Courtney Walker- Edmond Santa Fe
3.  LaShawn Jones- Putnam City
4.  Joh’vonna Mitchell- Putnam City North
5.  Layton Hurley- Choctaw

2^nd Team All Conference:
1.  TaNita Dewberry- Edmond North
2.  Mallory Brothers- Mustang
3.  Jade Hardy- Yukon
4.  Whitney Dunn- Mustang
5.  Anna Kimsey- Edmond North

Honorable Mention:
1.  Alexis Watson- Putnam City North
2.  Daisha Gonzaque- Edmond Santa Fe
3.  Sydney Wyatt- Choctaw
4.  Cameerah Graves- Edmond Santa Fe
5.  MacKenzie York- Yukon
6.  Sarah Magness- Putnam City West
7.  Allison Altman- Putnam City West
8.  Kelsey Abraham- Putnam City North
9.  Jamie Moore- Putnam City
10.  Jasmine Sievert- Choctaw
11.  Kiersten Deckard- Yukon
12.  Jamiece Nelson- Putnam City
13.  Amanda Biorato- Mustang

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Star Spencer's Sharane Campbell is one of the five finalists for the NewsOK.com Girls Player of the Year.

The response for the NewsOK.com Football Player of the Year was tremendous so we’re going to try it again. Like before, please try to keep it civil as there is a way to cheer for your nominee without bashing the others.

Here are the five nominees for the five best girls basketball players in the Oklahoma City area. Scott Wright is going to unveil his five boys choices Friday.

NewsOK.com Girls Basketball Player of the Year Candidates:

Sharane Campbell, Star Spencer: Put the team on her back and carried them to state. A marvelous career with the Bobcats and leaving in style with coach Janith Johnson. You can’t question Campbell’s toughness and want to and Star’s star (get it?) is headed to Oklahoma.

Ashley Clark, Midwest City: Wow, where did she come from? Clark is the unquestioned breakout star of the season, IMO. She won the Gatorade award as the state’s best player last week and added balance to the Bombers’ size in the post. A natural scorer who also has an all-around game.

Hard to argue with Edmond North's Elizabeth Donohoe as Player of the Year. She's one of the five finalists.

Elizabeth Donohoe, Edmond North: If there’s something to be said about consistency, then the award goes to Donohoe. What more can you say about the Huskies’ star? Averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds, unquestioned team leader, one of the toughest covers in the sport. Headed to Oklahoma State and established a winning tradition at North.

Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe: Lightning in a bottle. Can impact the game in so many different ways.  Improved her outside shot this season to make her even more versatile. Some of the best ball-handling skills I’ve seen from a high school player. Tremendous scorer and a beast on defense in terms of getting steals. Committed to Texas A&M. Helped Wolves to first championship.

Marisha Wallace, Midwest City: With all the talk about Kaylon Williams (OU signee), it was Wallace who became the unstoppable force in the post for the Bombers. Unfortunately missed the last two games with a knee injury and didn’t get a chance to try to lead MWC to another state championship.

Polls are open. And like I said, Scott will be back Friday for the boys.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

103 First Team: Cooper Finch (Yukon)
103 Honorable Mention: Nick Cosgrove (PC West) 

112 First Team: Lloyd Crownover (Yukon)
112 Honorable Mention: Jordan Armstrong (Ed North) 

119 First Team: Derek White (Ed North)
119 Honorable Mention: Brett Dunning (Santa Fe) 

125 First Team: Kyle Garcia (Choctaw)
125 Honorable Mention: Hunter Bright (Ed. North) 

130 First Team: Tanner Hamilton (Mustang)
130 Honorable Mention: Brandon Coleman (Putnam City) 

135 First Team: Connor Adams (PC North)
135 Honorable Mention: Jacob Armstrong (Ed North) 

140 First Team: Weston Slater (Mustang)
140 Honorable Mention: Bryce Hendricks (Ed North) 

145 First Team: Blake Lawson (Choctaw)
145 Honorable Mention: Chris Nelson (Ed North) 

152 First Team: Marshall Dickson (Choctaw)
152 Honorable Mention: Ted Baker (Putnam City) 

160 First Team: Lance Dixon (Ed North)
160 Honorable Mention: Logan Thomas (Yukon) 

171 First Team: Marcese Dickson (Choctaw)
171 Honorable Mention: Mitch Wilson (Putnam City)

189 First Team: Austin Schafer (Ed North)
189 Honorable Mention: Carson Mathews (Yukon) 

215 First Team: Andrew Dixon (Ed North)
215 Honorable Mention: Elie Rushing (Putnam City)

285 First Team: Hunter Davis (Choctaw)
285 Honorable Mention: Lantz Parks (Yukon)

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

All year Edmond Santa Fe girls basketball coach Paul Bass kept telling me he felt this was their year. Best start in school history, most wins in school history.

The loss to Midwest City in last year’s semifinals only served to motivate the girls, and it showed in the championship. The Bombers, without Marisha Wallace, had no answers to the tenacity of the Wolves’ guards in a 56-36 win for Santa Fe.

Junior Courtney Walker was her usual self in leading the way with 19 points and Cameerah Graves and Daisha Gonzaque came up big. Freshman Tamara Lee didn’t play scared in a big role. It was a great effort.

For my story on Santa Fe’s first girls basketball championship, here ya go.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

OK, maybe that’s a little strong, but you could tell how much Friday’s win at Edmond Santa Fe meant not only to the Edmond North girls but also to the Huskies coaching staff.

In another Edlam showdown that lived up to the hype, Edmond North somehow pulled out a victory despite scoring five points in the fourth quarter. But four of those came in essentially the final minute in a 51-48 win.

After a 17-0 start, it is the first loss of the season for the second-ranked Wolves. North, ranked fifth, is once again a legitimate title contender. Don’t let those early season losses fool ya, the Huskies are going to be around.

You can see why North gives Santa Fe trouble. The Huskies balance in the post is incredible and was on full display Friday. Between Anna Kimsey (14), Elizabeth Donohoe (13) and TaNita Dewberry (13), trio combined for 40 of the 51 points.

All that being said, we nearly had another memorable finish. Santa Fe took over with 27.1 seconds left. Daisha Gonzaque’s three was off the mark. North had it, but the pass was stolen by Courtney Walker. Walker’s 3 was just off target. Loose ball, Santa Fe comes up with it. Gonzaque, with a great pump fake, gets a good look but it wouldn’t go.

Wouldn’t go seems like was the theme of the night. Wolves had a lot of good looks, said coach Paul Bass, but couldn’t convert throughout the night.

North, meanwhile, looked about crisp as possible in the first quarter. That was key, said coach Kevin Korstjens. Edmond North was up 32-19  midway through the second quarter.

From that point, Santa Fe cut the margin to 34-29, but Kimsey hit two big 3s in the third to push the lead out to 42-31. It was 46-38 heading into the fourth.

And it was 46-42 for what felt like eternity. But that was OK, said Korstjens, because even though the Huskies couldn’t find the bucket, they weren’t letting Santa Fe go on one of those patented runs.

Edmond North scored its first point of the quarter with 2:13 left. Santa Fe had scored the first eight. But the Huskies took control late with their transition game. Kimsey and Dewberry both made layups out on the break in the final minute.

Kimsey did an incredible job of tracking Walker all night. Walker ended up with 17 points because you can’t fully stop her, but Kimsey and Peterson made Walker work. Cameerah Graves notched 11 for Santa Fe.

And then there was one. Midwest City is the only undefeated team left in 6A. North, after two previous losses to the Wolves, was able to get one back. “Sometimes you’re battling the jersey. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but Santa Fe has been good for a long time,” Korstjens said.

Don’t look now, coach, but so are your girls. Headed to third-ranked Memorial and fourth-ranked Norman on Saturday night. Told ya, great weekend for girls basketball.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

In Class 6A, there are three games featuring top 10 teams against each other.

No. 5 Edmond North at No. 2 Edmond Santa Fe (Friday)
This has my name written all over it. I missed Round 1 because I was at the Hennessey and Davis Class 2A football championship game. The Wolves won in the finals of the Edmond Open.

I missed round two because I hit another rivalry, this time being Heritage Hall and Casady. Santa Fe once again came out on top against North.

Round 3? Yep, not missing this one. Edmond North has really gotten into a groove. Sure the Huskies have five losses but not one of them is a bad loss. Excited to see Oklahoma State signee Elizabeth Donohoe again and really pumped for the atmosphere at Santa Fe.

No. 4 Norman at No. 3 Edmond Memorial (Saturday)
I was at Norman for the very first game of the season between these teams all the way back in November. Figured the Tigers would win, but Memorial played well in a hostile environment to open the year.

Norman, led by guard Kamra King, has won 11 of 13 games. The only two losses are to top-ranked Midwest City. Memorial, meanwhile, is 12-4 and has bounced back after suffering consecutive losses to Edlam rivals North and Santa Fe. Really feel like Alie Decker is starting to come into her own as one of the best in the state.

No. 10 Norman North at No. 7 Del City (Friday)
Intriguing matchup here as well. The Timberwolves are led by Tulsa signee Mariah Turner. However, as I’ve said before, they’re still searching for that signature win. Beating the Eagles would be a good start.

Del City, on the other hand, is coming off a solid road win at Southmoore. This is a team that I feel should be able to make it to the state tournament, especially being sent out East. Del City dominated Norman North at North in November.

***

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

Here’s a video with girls star Courtney Walker of Santa Fe. A Texas A&M commit, Walker scored a career-high 41 points in the 68-65 OT win:

And here is a video with Josh Richardson of Santa Fe. The Wolves gave top-ranked Memorial its first loss 69-66:

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Edmond Memorial came out smoking, leading 14-4 midway through the first. And then the Wolves woke up, particularly Josh Richardson.

Despite an incredibly slow start, Richardson scored 21 points as the Wolves went into Memorial and pulled out a 69-66 win to give the top-ranked ‘Dogs their first loss.

It was ‘game on’ from the second quarter on. Santa Fe went on a 17-2 run to start the second quarter and turned an 18-12 deficit into a 29-20 lead. That eventually led to a 33-28 halftime advantage.

The game had a huge momentum switch with 2:36 left in the third quarter. Richardson picked up foul No. 4 with Santa Fe leading 42-37. But the Wolves didn’t fold. Aaron Anderson made some big shots. Terrell Savala came up big as did Chad Johnson and Santa Fe took a 10-point lead to the fourth.

And then Obi Emegano woke up. Passive for most of the game, Emegano was a beast in the fourth quarter. He finished with a game-high 26 points. And before you knew it, 52-42 Santa Fe turned into 58-57 Memorial and Santa Fe coach Shawn Schenk dangerously close to getting a technical.

However, Richardson drained a three from the top of the key and Santa Fe never trailed again. Strange ebb and flows in this Edlam battle.

Jared Jobe did all he could, knocking down one big shot after another en route to 22 points of his own for the Bulldogs.

Loved the atmosphere and have a feeling this won’t be the last time these two teams see each other this season. Look for a video with Richardson on NewsOK on Wednesday.

This was the best game I’ve seen from Savala and Johnson. Michael Onuoha also battled foul trouble, but the nucleus of the Wolves is very impressive. It doesn’t get any easier at all for Santa Fe as Mustang comes to town Friday night. Ooh baby, should be good. Memorial will look to bounce back against Southmoore.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Or could it? I don’t know, but Tuesday night’s battle will be remembered by anybody that saw it. If you didn’t know who Courtney Walker was before (first, shame on you), you know now. The Wolves star scored 41 points in leading Santa Fe to a fun, drama-filled, crazy, electric 68-65 win in overtime.

And that’s without scoring in the first quarter. At one point in the second quarter, it was 27-11 in favor of Memorial. The Bulldogs hit their first eight shots of the game. It was insane.

However, Santa Fe weathered the storm. And eventually Paul Bass just let Walker do her thing. With Texas A&M reps in the house (Walker is an Aggie commit), she showed her whole variety of skills.

But what stood out to me most was the way she played Memorial star Alie Decker on defense in the fourth quarter. Decker is so good and much bigger than Walker, but Walker held her own.

In overtime, Walker scored 9 of the team’s 11 points to keep Santa Fe undefeated. However, those two free throws by Daisha Gonzaque were big time, too.

Some fun stats:

- Santa Fe erased a 16-point deficit to tie it up at 45-45. However, Sidney Hill drained a 3 on the next possession to give Memorial the lead back.

- Santa Fe took the lead 52-50 on a Walker 3-pointer.

- With the score 56-55 for Santa Fe, I thought Hill was going to the FT line to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead. Turned out – no basket, charging foul. Oh, couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anybody heard that call, it was so loud. Have no idea if it was the right call but have video of said play.

- Alyssa Hand of Memorial drilled two free throws with 3 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

- The Wolves never trailed in overtime. With 6.9 seconds left, Kelsey Glover’s attempt to send the game into double overtime fell short.

- Walker had 41 points. Gonazaque had 12 and Cameerah Graves had 10 for Santa Fe. Decker and Hill each 20 points, while Brooklyn Bell notched 11.

- Look for a video with Walker on NewsOK on Wednesday.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Wonder if Edmond athletic directors Tom Snider (North), Mike de la Garza (Memorial), Barry Blagowsky (Santa Fe) and Mike Nunley will get sick of each other.

The next two days they are going to be seeing each other a lot. I mean, really, a lot. The winter storm that hit the state affected basketball tournament, for sure. However, it is also forced the Edmond schools to reschedule the Three-Dog Night wrestling event.

What was Thursday got moved to Monday. Yep, Monday, the same night as when the three Edmond swimming teams compete against each other at Oklahoma Christian.

I got to cover the Edlam swimming event last year. It’s fun because of how unique it is. Coach Steve Riggs is totally hands off and just lets the boys and girls do their thing. He allows the captains of the respective teams to pick the lineups, and he sits back and announces.

I wish I could be there. And I wish I could be at Edmond North for the wrestling event. The Huskies have dominated the series lately, winning the last nine city championships. Andy Schneider has a dynamite club this year, and I would expect North to walk out with No. 10 in a row Monday.

But…all those weather delays will have me at Deer Creek to finish off the Bruce Gray Invitational. Can’t be in three places at once.

However, Tuesday, bam, I’ll be at Memorial when four of the best boys/girls basketball teams in the state go against each other.

Rivals Santa Fe and Memorial will be going at it. Memorial will look to give the Santa Fe girls their first loss of the season. Santa Fe boys will try to return the favor with the Bulldogs.

Not just the best teams, but you could make some all-star teams with talents like Courtney Walker of Santa Fe and Alie Decker of Memorial and Josh Richardson and Mike Onuoha of Santa Fe and Obi Emegano and Jared Jobe and James and Jordan Woodard of Memorial.

And this is all coming off an Edlam showdown Friday where the North girls dominated the Memorial team, and Memorial boys did the same to Jeff Tanner’s group.

All ‘n all, it should be a fun/crazy couple of days in Edmond, as if they aren’t that way already.

I was wondering if something like this might happen. Edmond Santa Fe was supposed to play in the Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville. Midwest City was a part of the Union-Jenks Invitational.

However, with both tournaments canceled in the Tulsa area, the Bombers and Wolves have adjusted. The No. 2-ranked Bombers will play at third-ranked Santa Fe on Saturday night at 7:30.

Midwest City coach Dewayne Bradley felt it was imperative to try to get a game in since his team will not play until next Friday night.

Now we’ll still be knee-deep in tournaments so won’t be able to make it out there, but I give credit to both teams for making a decision like this.

The hits keep coming in the Tulsa area. The Arvest Invitational at Bartlesville has been canceled. The boys-only tournament featured a good mix of top 5A and 6A teams, including Ardmore and Bishop Kelley in 5A and Putnam City West, Edmond Santa Fe, Broken Arrow and Bartlesville in 6A.

This one has driven me nuts today. It went from Friday, Saturday and Sunday to simply Friday and Saturday (with semis and championships being played Saturday) to now just outright canceled.

Very interesting to keep tabs on how these teams fare in their first games back after all these cancellations, playing against teams who aren’t nearly as rusty.

I would seriously like to relax at this point in the night, that too much to ask? See ya Friday for the Power Lunch chat and a whole day of tournament basketball.

In his first competition of 2011, Edmond Santa Fe’s Gunnar Nixon showed he has started right where he left off in 2010.

Nixon had an impressive showing at the Arkansas Invitational, bringing home two individual championships.

The Wolves star won the high jump by eight inches and also posted a personal best time of 7.99 in the 60-meter hurdles to claim the gold.

Edmond Memorial’s Chase Sammons won the shot put competition by more than eight feet.

In fact, it was a double championship for the Bulldogs in the shot put as Gloria Mosely of Memorial also took home the girls individual championship.

Memorial boys relay teams fared well, winning the 800 relay and placing second in the 3,200 relay. Santa Fe won the 3,200. Memorial also received a second-place finish from Isaiah Duke in the 400.

Guthrie’s Emmanuel Robinson was second in the 60-meter dash and third in the 60-meter hurdles. Memorial’s John Teeters placed third in the 60 dash though his prelim time of 7.00 is the ninth best in the nation. He was a tad off at 7.03 in the championship round.

So Lance Manning is going from a Timberwolf to just a Wolf, huh? If I was clever, I would have written something tying that all in. Hence, I’m not and never will be.

Just because Manning taking the Edmond Santa Fe job wasn’t shocking doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right move. Manning had applied for the Santa Fe job two years ago when it went to Bruce Gowen.

Obviously Manning had interest in the job. And frankly, it was the only other job Manning had shown some interest during his years at Norman North. Despite living in Edmond for more than 10 years at this point, Manning wasn’t quick to leave the Norman area.

But Edmond athletic director Mike Nunley was pretty pumped about getting Manning, and you see why. In talking to Nunley, a couple of big things he was looking for were ‘experience running a program’ and ‘character.’

And not that the 90 other applicants don’t have it, but you certainly get both things with Manning running the ship. Now I’m not saying all the sudden Santa Fe is going 11-2 or something like that, but he was the right hire at this time. Norman North had struggled in Manning’s last two years, posting a 4-5 record in 2009 and a 3-7 mark in 2010. So maybe it was just right for everybody to try something new.

Manning has the experience Nunley was looking for, coaching Norman North and Deer Creek. And though you can have several people vouch for someone’s character, the way Nunley described it was Manning’s kids reflected the type of character Manning has.

“It was reflected in how respectful his kids were. How tough those kids were. They would never stop fighting, and he was teaching them lessons that go beyond the football field.”

Manning was in a daze when I talked to him Monday night, but you can definitely sense the eagerness he has for this job. After all, he said it best:

“I’m an Edmond guy. This is the right situation for me.”

And if you’ve listened to me ramble enough this year, you know I expect things to turn around at Santa Fe. Those young kids that Gowen had to deal with are going to be all grown up now for Manning. Should be fun.

Update: I’ve heard from Manning. He’s pumped. He’s ready. You can read a lot more in Tuesday’s paper. And I’ll chime in with my thoughts Tuesday (if anybody cares).

Still waiting to hear from Manning:

***

EDMOND — There were so many applicants that Edmond athletic director Mike Nunley stopped counting.

But in the end, he feels Edmond Public Schools has found the right man. Lance Manning, who has coached Norman North the last six seasons, was approved to become the new Edmond Santa Fe football coach Monday night by the Edmond School Board.

“He has the experience and knowledge of how to run a football program,” Nunley said. “He has a tremendous work ethic, and he makes a strong impact in kids’ lives.”

And he won’t have to move. Manning lives in Edmond and now won’t have to travel to Norman.

Nunley said the choice was difficult because of all the quality candidates. He said there were around 90 applicants from seven different states.

“Lance met all our criteria, and we think is a great hire for Edmond Public Schools, and he’ll fit right in at Santa Fe,” Nunley said.

Manning is 56-52 in his 10 years as a head coach, and the Timberwolves were 3-7 last season.

Manning is replacing former coach Bruce Gowen, who resigned after this season. Gowen was 4-16 in his two years with the Wolves, including a 1-9 record in 2010.

I went into Tuesday’s Santa Fe and Putnam North game think it was going to be a tight one for all four quarters. But junior Michael Onuoha had other plans.

Fully recovered from early injuries, Onuoha was dominant in leading the Wolves to a 79-45 win against the Panthers at Santa Fe.

Onuoha had a game-high 22 points and one memorable dunk over Panthers star Armon Provo. I thought Onuoha had taken off from too far away to slam it home, but he found a way.

Star Josh Richardson added 18 points as the Wolves looked a lot different from the team I saw get trounced by Memorial in the finals of the Edmond Open.

PCNorth star Armon Provo was still hampered by an ankle injury and wasn’t his usual explosive self. Junior Joe Summers led the way with 10 points.

It was close in the first quarter with PCN holding a 12-8 lead late in the quarter. But with Provo not himself and Ricco Smith in foul trouble, the Wolves took off on a 20-2 run and cruised the rest of the way.

Santa Fe 42, Putnam North 39 (Girls)

What is it about the Panthers that give the Wolves fits? Paul Bass’ girls can look so good against some teams, but PCN right now has a good formula to keep these games tight.

This one was especially close as the Panthers had a 3-point attempt by Kelsey Abraham fall short as the buzzer sounded in what was a competitive battle throughout.

Santa Fe star Courtney Walker was sensational in the first half, scoring 13 points. But the Panthers did a great job of closing out on her when she shot from the outside and Rae Rae Brannon was able to hang with Walker’s speed.

Really liked what I saw from Panther freshman Sidney Carolina. Ooh, she is going to be a good one. You add her with Alexis Watson and Joh’Vonna Mitchell, and this team will be around in March.

Speaking of Mitchell, she came alive in the second half. She had zero points at half but finished with a team-high 12.

For Santa Fe, very impressed with the development of Arielle Cooper and Cameerah Graves since last year. Excited to see this team out there again.

Oh, it’s gonna be some fun times for Edmond basketball teams the next two months. Both boys and girls teams have some incredible talent. Don’t be too shocked if you see me always at an Edmond game down the stretch (sorry).

Memorial
Boys: Clearly the best 6A team in the state…right now. Love this team and hope they keep it together. We knew about Obi Emegano, James Woodard and Jared Jobe, but I think it’s going to be sophomore Jordan Woodard that might push this team. Competition is going to be fierce, though.

Girls: This is the year Alie Decker becomes a household name. She already is in the Edmond circles, but Decker is a top-tier player, for sure. You add in the shooting of Brooklyn Bell and the always-consistent coaching of Shane Coffey, Bulldogs are going to be right in the thick of things.

Santa Fe
Boys: The pieces are there, but they’re just not fitting yet. With Aaron Anderson and Josh Richardson, the Wolves have two incredibly talented players. Trying to find those leaders at the guard position is going to be crucial. I’ll see the Wolves on Tuesday vs. Putnam North.

Girls: Is this the best girls team in the state? I’ve believed for two years Courtney Walker is the best player in the state. The girls are still so young from Daisha Gonzaque to Arielle Cooper to Cameerah Graves, but this team gels well together.

North
Boys: Get my first taste of Husky boys basketball this weekend at the McGuinness Classic. Really want to see what first-year coach Jeff Tanner brings to the table. I know what he’s preaching, now I want to see it in action.

Girls: The loss to Stillwater notwithstanding, no reason for concerns for Kevin Korstjens’ girls. Elizabeth Donohoe remains one of the five best players in the state and TaNita Dewberry gives the team a solid second option.

Deer Creek
Boys: Is this team officially ‘my baby?’ I don’t know, I just love watching these boys play. You try watching coach Matt Bailey for one game and not come away more pumped up than what you were before. Garrett Hermanski and Jalen Burnett are anchoring this club. I’ll also see this team at the McGuinness Classic.

Girls: Rough start for Totsy Manning’s girls. A totally different team from last year’s incredibly talented club. The transfer of Kelsey Glover to Memorial hurt, too. I think this team will turn it around, especially when sophomore Ashley Gibson gets back.

This time we’re heading to Edmond. Very interesting dynamic here with a heavy North offense and a heavy Memorial defense.

Here ya go:

All-Edmond team
Offense
QB — Travis Townsend, North
RB — Alex Christensen, Deer Creek
RB — Jarion Tudman, North
RB — Kameron Doolittle, Memorial
WR — Garrett Molinsky, North
WR — Troy Davis, North
OL — Ross Stracke, Deer Creek
OL — Josh Crouch, Santa Fe
OL — Jacob Wright, Memorial
OL — Paul Kim, Deer Creek
OL — Lex Rosson, North

K — Camden Bohnert, North
P — Will Conant, Memorial

Defense
DL — Kyle Aschenbrenner, North
DL — Connor Myers, Memorial
DL — Jared Chambers, Memorial
LB — Ryan Adams, North
LB — Michael Coleman, Deer Creek
LB — Isaiah Byrd, Deer Creek
LB — Conner Bays, Santa Fe
DB — Jeff Balkenbush, Memorial
DB — Shawn McLaws, Deer Creek
DB — Trevan Smith, Santa Fe
DB — Gavin Fouts, Memorial

KR — Brandon Reece, Santa Fe

Offensive Player of the Year: Alex Christensen, Deer Creek
Defensive Player of the Year: Connor Myers, Memorial
Coach of the Year: Grant Gower, Deer Creek

Yes, I have three quarterbacks starting with Townsend actually playing the position and Christensen and Doolittle at RB. Eh, I think that team would work. Not a shock to see North featured heavily on offense and Memorial on defense. A lot of good players would have made this list but were injured (Phillip Sumpter of Santa Fe, Cale Olbert of Memorial, Colten Sander of Deer Creek, Jeremy Langston of Memorial). No doubts on my three awards, except defense could have been either Chambers of Myers. Knew it would be someone from Memorial. And how about the Edmond kickers? Bohnert, Conant and McLaws? Not too bad.

You could make a lot of arguments for the likes of Courtney Walker of Santa Fe and Elizabeth Donohoe of North, but I’m givin’ it to the youngster, Jordan Woodard of Memorial.

He came up huge in the win Tuesday at Midwest City and also played well in the Edmond Open championship victory against rival Santa Fe.

His upside is tremendous, and he’s only beginning to scratch the surface of what he can become. We’re definitely going to see what he has because the Bulldogs are going to get tested time and time again this season.

Great week for Memorial. The key is to not suffer that emotional letdown, interesting to see the maturity of this year’s group of kids for Shane Cowherd.

Other contenders

Courtney Walker, Santa Fe, Basketball: In a close game, took over with her quickness and defense to lead Wolves to the Edmond Open championship over North.

Elizabeth Donohoe, North, Basketball: There wasn’t much Donohoe didn’t do at the Open, scoring a tournament-high 68 points in the three games. Huskies snapped Cache’s 30-game winning streak Friday.

Obi Emegano, Memorial, Basketball: He missed some gimmes and still finished with 19 points in the championship and also made the Super 5 for the Edmond Open.

Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek, Basketball: Another good week for the junior. Get a good idea of where this team is at this weekend at the McGuinness Festival.

Andrew Dixon, North, Wrestling: Huskies placed fourth out of 30 teams with Dixon taking second place at 171 in the Mid-America Nationals Wrestling Tournament at Union.

Abbie Imes, North, Swimming: Continues to show she’s one of the best swimmers in the state, winning two individual titles at the Edmond/Norman meet last Friday.

Edmond Memorial boys won the Edmond Open championship Saturday with a 57-41 win vs. Santa Fe

The Edmond Memorial boys basketball team started the week with a statement win at Midwest City and closed it out with an Edmond Open championship.

Sparked by Obi Emegano and Jordan Woodard, the Bulldogs defeated rival Edmond Santa Fe in the championship 57-41 on Saturday night at Memorial.

Emegano and Woodward each had 19 points in the victory, while Josh Richardson and Aaron Anderson each had 12 points for the Wolves.

- Santa Fe is going to be good, but it needs a true point guard. There is no Drew Hall or Mahlon Jones on this team, but they’re going to have to find something that is like the equivalent.

- Hadn’t seen him a while and forgot what an athletic freak Josh Richardson is. He had a dunk that I can do no justice. Don’t know how he found the space to do it, but that’s Josh.

- For me, the story was Jordan Woodard. A sophomore who really got his first taste of varsity pressure this week. He admitted as much after the game, how crucial this week was for him personally. Now he knows he can compete on the big stage with the big boys.

- Emegano had another solid game. I would love to see a 1-on-1 battle with Emegano and Richardson (hey, I can dream, right?). Two players that have so much talent.

- Memorial took control in the second quarter, ending it on a 12-3 run to take a 15-point lead into halftime. After Santa Fe got it down to 33-23, Emegano and Woodard hit back-to-back buckets and the game never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

- James Woodard made a couple of big threes that really got the crowd going. It was an electric atmosphere to start. It tailed off a tad when it became evident the Wolves didn’t have a comeback in them. Definitely looking forward to the rematch.

- James Woodard, Richardson and Emegano all made the Open Super 5. Joining them were T’aires Taylor of third-place NW Classen and Lawton Mac’s Quinton Paras.

- Look for a video with Jordan Woodard on NewsOK this weekend. After two trips to Stillwater for football and this basketball game – consider me done. I’m out, tired, fellas.

No. 1 Edmond Memorial rallies from 13 down in the fourth quarter to knock off No. 3 Midwest City on its home floor, hitting four of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to avenge the overtime loss to the Bombers in the first round of the state tournament (well, sort of, though let’s not equate December wins to March wins).

Had to be the biggest drama of the night, right?

Wrong.

Three metro-area games go overtime, with Shawnee nipping Western Heights, Norman North taking down Southmoore and the big one — Putnam City West winning 55-51 at No. 4 Edmond Santa Fe.

That’s a huge win for the Patriots, simply to show themselves and the rest of Class 6A that just because Tyler Neal and Amric Fields are gone, the Pats aren’t going to be a doormat.

Guard Kyndall Dudley hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime to spark the win and Dante Lewis had 10 boards and three blocked shots as the pair of seniors carried PC West to the victory.

“All our kids stepped up and made big plays,” first-year PC West coach Lenny Bert said. “They left their heart on the floor. After the game in the locker room, it wasn’t some big celebration. It was like we were supposed to win. It’s good to get that feeling early, because it showed us we can beat a legitimate team and gives us the belief that we can be good if we do what we’re supposed to do.”

Mustang didn’t need overtime to take down No. 2 Putnam City at PC. David Glidden scored only six points in a loss last week, so I wondered if maybe the ankle he injured in the final football game was still an issue. Then he busts out for 20 against the Pirates. Robert Shaw added 14 and Zac Grismer had 13 in the win.

Back to Memorial-MWC… these are two really good teams who will be hanging around in March. Memorial’s Obi Emegano is a horse, but we all knew that. The Bulldogs play some tough defense, too.

Sophomore Jordan Woodard is a budding star who will only get better. For such a young kid to step to the free throw line with 6.1 seconds left and a one-point lead and be able to hit two free throws — he was 2-of-4 at the line before that — was very impressive. He and his brother, James, are both very athletic and will make it tough for teams to figure out how to defend the Bulldogs this year, especially with Emegano.

“It’s hard to guard (Emegano) one-on-one,” Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said. “And if you foul him, he’ll make you pay at the line.”

He certainly did Tuesday, hitting 14 of 16, including two with 12.9 seconds left.

The Bombers look about the same as last year. Not huge inside but very tough on defense to create easy offense, and they can get going on some serious 3-pointer streaks. They might even have a little better depth than last year, too.

There was plenty more drama around the metro area last night, and a few big performances as well. Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler had 46 points, 26 rebounds, seven assists and six blocked shots in a rout of Crooked Oak. Armon Provo had his second straight 30-point game, scoring 34 against Choctaw, and his night ended when the Panthers held a 33-point lead after three quarters. And Deer Creek’s Garrett Hermanski scored 38 in a win over Chickasha.

We’re only two weeks into the season. How much better can this year get?

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

I HATE the Edmond Open…hate it. It’s always that dang week in December where it’s the final week of football, and I can never see the basketball.

It’s that way once again. Busy with football this weekend but hoping that somehow I can see the boys final at 8 p.m. Saturday at Memorial. The girls bracket is dynamite, the semis are going to be insane.

Boys (At Memorial)
Thursday
Game 1: Edmond Memorial vs. Santa Fe JV, 3:30
Game 2: Tulsa Central vs. NW Classen, 6:30
Game 3: Lawton Mac vs. Edmond North, 5 p.m.
Game 4: Tulsa Rogers vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 8 p.m.

Friday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 3:30
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 5 p.m.
Game 11: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 6:30
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 8 p.m.

Girls (At North)
Thursday
Game 1: Santa Fe vs. Tulsa Rogers, 3:30
Game 2: Bishop McGuinness vs. Edmond Memorial, 6:30
Game 3: Cache vs. Tulsa Central, 5 p.m.
Game 4: Edmond North vs. Southmoore, 8 p.m.

Friday
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 3:30
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:30
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Saturday
Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 11 a.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12:30
Game 11: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 2 p.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30

We are fully entrenched in basketball for the Edmond schools. And frankly, that’s a good thing. There are so many good Edmond basketball teams this year — they’re all going to keep me on my toes.

To start the year no team had a tougher assignment that Shane Coffey’s Memorial girls at Norman. But junior Alie Decker has shown how much she has matured and how she is ready to be the team leader.

Decker scored 19 points in the road win against the Tigers and followed that with a 19-point win against an overmatched Moore team.

All Edmond teams are in for major battles this weekend at the Edmond Open. I hope to get a chance to be there. It will be tough, though, with football still left.

Other contenders

Brooklyn Bell, Memorial: It’s Decker leading the way, but Bell has been dynamite in the first week of the season with her fantastic shooting.

Obi Emegano, Memorial: He’s going to hear a lot of stuff from opposing fans, but he handled it well in Week 1 with impressive outings at Norman and vs. Moore.

Josh Richardson and Courtney Walker, Santa Fe: Did exactly what they’re supposed to do in victories against Stillwater and Mustang. Excited to see the Wolves again.

Jeff Tanner, North: Giving it to the new boys coach. That was the type of statement he was hoping to make, opening with a good win against a formidable Choctaw club.

Garrett Hermanski, Deer Creek: Maybe a game the Antlers lose last year? Hermanski scored 24 points in leading Deer Creek to a tough win against Harrah.