Catching up with former Norman High football coach Butch Peters
This story isn’t posted on the high school blog, so in case you missed it in print, here’s my report on catching up with former Norman High football coach Butch Peters:
NORMAN — Butch Peters resigned as Norman High School football coach following the 2007 season. It was the end of a 35-year tenure with the Tigers.
And yet, though nobody could have been more entrenched with the city’s athletic community given the length of time he spent coaching at Norman, since he’s been gone he may be even more up to speed on the local talent. In fact, he’s getting a good idea about the town’s top athletes a lot earlier than most.
“The way it’s worked out, I didn’t really get out of the loop, I just took a different direction,” Peters said.
Peters owns and operates Sooner Trophies and Awards in Norman. And because he’s the contact for team hardware, coaches from pee-wee soccer to both the high schools are in his shop on a regular basis.
“I’m working with a lot of little league coaches in pretty much all (youth league) sports and I get to see coaches from all four middles schools in town and both high schools. And I really enjoy talking to them.”
Parents, too. Peters’ trophy shop, which he runs with his wife and oldest daughter, gets the scoop on the young up-and-comers from all the moms and dads who come in to get more personalized awards for their kids’ teams.
“We make the trophies in the shop. You use component parts and we’re a custom shop that allows people to come in and choose what they want,” said the 61-year old Peters. “You start to recognize a lot of the names of the kids.
“And I’ve even had players I’ve coached come in because they’re coaching teams now, and that’s been pretty neat.”
The list of players Peters coached during his time as an assistant (23 seasons) and head coach (12) at Norman is long and distinguished. More than 35 players who were under his guidance went on the Division I-A careers, including current Oklahoma star receiver Ryan Broyles.
In his time at Norman, Peters also served as the volleyball coach from 1977-1990, winning four state championships, including a 50-0 season in 1990. Peters’ football squads went a combined 75-54 from 1996-2007.
Peters misses the relationship with the players and assistant coaches and, of course, the energy of high school football friday nights.
“After 35 years, that was a real change of pace,” Peters said. “That was the hardest thing for me to do — go sit down and watch a football game on Friday nights.
After keeping a little distance in his first season away from the job, Peters returned to Harve Collins Field for home games this year.
“I’ve made several of them,” he said of the Tigers’ games. “If I don’t go, I catch the high school TV games. I try to keep up with the kids that I still know, some of the younger kids from my last year. And there are four or five assistant coaches that I hired that are still there and it’s good to see those guys once a week.”
Peters is also a regular at Alcott Middle School football games, where his grandson Colton is a seventh-grade quarterback. His granddaughter, Ashton, is a second-grader who keeps Peters constantly traveling to Griffin Park for soccer and softball games.
“It’s been a big change,” Peters said. “Some of the things you miss, some it’s good to get away from. But I stay busy and I’m enjoying what I do.”
Know of a player signing?
With signing day coming up Wednesday, The Oklahoman is once again compiling a list of players across the state who have signed to play college athletics at any level.
If you have a signing to report, e-mail it to Ryan Aber at raber@opubco.com ro post it on the comments section here (on the main high school blog at http://blog.newsok.com/highschoolsports )
What are the most impressive streaks in state HS sports?
With Shattuck about to break Morrison’s record of 90 consecutive wins, I’m wondering what are the other streaks in the state that are most impressive?
Here’s a few I’ve come up with. Let me know, either through a comment here or an e-mail (raber@opubco.com), if you have any others.
I’m sure there are plenty more I’ve missed but here are a few:
- Morrison and Shattuck’s 90-game winning streaks in football
- Tulsa Union’s and Jenks’ stranglehold on the 6A football title
-Asher and Owasso baseball dominance
-McGuinness girls cross country
-Bethel girls basketball state tournament streak
-Bartlesville boys swimming
-El Reno wrestling
-McGuinness girls tennis
-Cascia Hall boys tennis
Not likely to find a bigger talent than Southmoore’s do-it-all Haywood
In Monday’s sports section, The Oklahoman sports writers weighed in on who they thought were the best high school football players in the state. Here’s a case for Southmoore’s do-it-all standout Austin Haywood.
By Justin Harper
jharper@opubco.com
If you’re looking for one eye-popping stat, Austin Haywood won’t qualify as the top player in the state. But look at the number of statistical categories Haywood contributes to and it’s easy to make a case.
Haywood, a senior at Southmoore, has a steady stream of Division I-A recruiters courting him because of his immense athletic ability and his versatility. A 6-4, 250-pounder with speed, agility and strength, Haywood serves many roles for the SaberCats: tight end, defensive end, part-time quarterback and occasional running back.
“He’s the best player in the state in my eyes,” said Southmoore coach Chris Jensen. “And I don’t think I’d get any argument from anyone who has seen him play. He’s a tremendous athlete, who helps us in so many ways. He always has to be double-teamed. The kid is just dominant.”
And in a lot of ways.
As a defensive end, the position he figures to play in college, he racked up 39 tackles, two sacks, caused three fumbles, recovered two fumbles, had two interceptions and batted away seven passes — all in just his first four games. Both picks came when he plucked the ball out of the air at point-blank range on the line of scrimmage.
And Haywood doesn’t just come up with turnovers, he comes up with points. He returned one of the two interceptions back for a touchdown (17 yards) and one of the two fumbles for a score (76 yards).
On offense, the SaberCats’ spread the ball around to an array of talented receivers. One of those, Nyko Symonds, does have stats of the eye-popping variety — and he deserves to be somewhere in the conversation, too, whenever top players are discussed. The senior averages 27.8 yards per reception and has scored a touchdown on average every 3.6 times he touches the ball (five TDs in 18 grabs). He’s been beat over the top on passes occasionaly, but he has also picked off three passes, returning one for a touchdown. Symond’s also has shown a penchant for making big plays in the clutch and if he can show improvement in the blocking phase of the game, his college offers should grow.
Of course, quarterback Kendal Thompson is a star in the making and cornerback Julian Wilson has already committed to Oklahoma. Plus, receiver Derek Serowski is getting a strong look from Oklahoma State. While it’s obviously tough to be considered one of the top players in the state, just being considered the best player on the Southmoore roster is a feat in itself.
But Haywood is the complete package. He has five touchdown receptions in just 16 catches and averages nearly 15 yards per reception. He also lines up behind center in the wildcat formation and has run for three scores.
So, a little more than halfway through the season, Haywood has run for a touchdown, caught a touchdown, taken an interception back for a touchdown and taken a fumble back for a touchdown.
What, no touchdown passes?
“No,” said Jensen. “But give us time.”
More to the story: Former Bombers and Sooners star Brent DeQuasie
Former Midwest City and OU football linebacker Brent DeQuasie is the subject of a “Catching up with … ” feature story included in the “Page 2″ package of the Oct. 19 edition of The Oklahoman. In the short piece that appears in the paper, DeQuasie expounds on his life after football and his career among other things.
This is a longer version of the story with further insight and information from the 37-year old:
By Justin Harper
Staff Writer
jharper@opubco.com
CHOCTAW — Over the course of a sterling athletic career, Brent DeQuasie spent a lot of time dragging people to the ground. These days, he pulls them to safety.
Fourteen years after his playing days came to a close, DeQuasie is still making his mark on the community he grew up in, just in a much different way. Once a star outside linebacker for Midwest City High School and the University of Oklahoma, as well as a two-time state champion wrestler for the Bombers, DeQuasie now serves as a fire fighter at the Midwest City fire department.
“Being a fireman was always a dream of mine,” said DeQuaise. “So somewhere around 2001 or 2002, I decided to just go do it.”
Now 37, DeQuasie played for the Bombers from 1989-91, then became a three-year starter at OU under both Gary Gibbs and Howard Schnellenberger. When his career as a Sooner ended following the 1995 season, he went into business for himself in the automobile accessories field. DeQuaise helped open a Line X Protective Coating franchise in Norman and now owns his own branch in Shawnee.
But it’s his other career that speaks to the character of DeQuasie.
“It’s pretty neat to be able to go back and do something that helps people and to do it in the same place you grew up in,” said DeQuaise, who lives with his wife and three daughters (McCall, 11; McKaelyn, 8 and Abigail, 5) in Choctaw. “Doing this (fighting fires), gives you a great rush. Being a fireman, you’re there to help the community. That’s why the job fits me like a glove.”
Outside of the name Gundy, DeQuasie is probably the most recognized surname in Midwest City. One of his older brothers, Greg, was an All-State football player and wrestler for the Bombers (as a quarterback, his career was sandwiched between those of Mike and Cale Gundy) and he went on to have a stellar career as a strong safety at OU. However, for all the success the DeQuasie brothers enjoyed at MWC, Brent holds a distinction.
“I was the only one of us who won a state championship in wrestling,” he said with a mocking laugh. “Greg made it to the state final three years in a row, but never won it. Be sure to point that out, Greg will love it.”
A pinched nerve in his neck during his junior season at OU gave DeQuasie enough of a fright to begin thinking about life after football, so he was well-prepared for it when it came.
“I hit a guy and my arm went numb,” he said. “I couldn’t lift it over my head for a week. It scared me. My whole senior season I had to watch how I hit people because if my neck went back a certain way, it could pinch something up again.
“I’ve missed playing some because if you’re a competitor you always want to be out there. But there comes a time when your body can’t do it even if your mind says you can.”
He’s still around sports, though, coaching softball and basketball teams for his daughters. And he still attends OU games on occasion, but it doesn’t beat a weekend with his family at the lake.
He lived his dreams as a sports hero. Now he’s living his dream to be a fire fighter. What he sees himself doing next is simple: “Growing old,” he said. “Growing old with my family.”
Got a question for Ed Sheakley? Ask it here
I’m going to visit with Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association executive director Ed Sheakley early this week. Do you have a question for him? Leave it as a comment here or e-mail me at raber@opubco.com. I’ll pick a few to ask him and we’ll have his answers this week in The Oklahoman.
Players of the week: Norman Zone
Norman Zone players of the week:
Football
Donovan Roberts, RB, Norman
The sophomore was a workhorse in the Tigers’ loss to Del City, carrying the ball 27 times and gaining 83 yards.
Others:
Jamar Harrison, RB, Norman North
Only got in a quarter of play against Muskogee before lightning halted the game. Still, Harrison had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff.
Greg Offenburger, LB, Norman
The linebacker was all over the field, leading the team in tackles with 11 against Del City.
Cross country
Megan Johnson, Norman
The sophomore ran the fastest girls time of a field loaded with many of the state’s best runners at the OK Runner Classic. Despite heavy rain, Johnson turned in a time in the low-12s.
Others:
Danielle Riley, Norman North
Also performed well at the OK Runner Classic.
Kingfisher loses quarterback
Kingfisher (1-1) will be without starting quarterback Derek Patterson for at least the next few weeks as he recovers from a AC joint separation in his throwing shoulder, the same injury OU quarterback Sam Bradford has. Patterson suffered the injury in practice a week ago and missed Friday night’s loss to Tuttle. Logan Nault took his place in the starting lineup.
“Derek is our main cog on offense,” Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers said. “Logan is a great athlete and he made things happen at times but he’s not our quarterback. Now we’ve not only gotten weaker at quarterback but we’ve gotten weaker at receiver because we’ve had to move Logan to quarterback.”
His loss had a huge impact on Kingfisher’s offense, albeit against a pretty good defensive team in Tuttle. But how much this impacts the playoff race in their district remains to be seen. Nault has some wheels but clearly doesn’t have much feel for playing quarterback which is a huge adjustment for a kid to make on the fly in the middle of the season.
NHS boys set new standard in road race
Bob Byers had his Norman boys cross country team run in the annual Brookhaven Run road race on Saturday and the results were an impressive surprise. Three Tigers posted 5K times in the 16-minute range. Parker Bowles had a clocking of 16:30, Tanner Satterthwaite had a time of 16:55 and Al Maeder came in at 16:58. In the previous 5K race, none of the three posted a sub-17-minute time.
Cross country: Field loaded at OK Runner Classic
The OK Runner Classic held today in Norman will feature 32 teams and several of the state’s top runners. The meet, which is hosted by Norman High School, begins at 4 p.m. at the course located off of 24th Avenue behind Irving Middle School.
The competition will be divided up with Classes 2A, 3A and 4A in one group and 5A and 6A in the other.
“We’re hosting a regional here (in October), so everyone wants to come run the course before then,” said Norman girls cross country coach Suzi Rojas. “It’s going to be a great meet, so many runners.”
Two of the state’s best girl runners will be competing — Piedmont’s Jori Davis and Norman’s Megan Johnson — unfortunately, though, they’ll be in different divisions and won’t go head-to-head. It will make for an interesting time comparison, though.
Westmoore’s Toby Bothwell, Edmond Memorial’s Eric Talbert and Edmond North’s Adam Godwin are some of the runners highlighting the boys field.
