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

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

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

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

Coaches: Ken McQueen, OCS; Kory Williams, Piedmont

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

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

Coaches: Chad Trahan, Tecumseh; Travis Owen, Tuttle

Former Sequoyah-Tahlequah star Angel Goodrich helped Kansas pull off a pair of upsets to advance to the Sweet 16.

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Unfortunately all of the former state standouts were beat out in the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Tournament, with Butler’s Rotnei Clarke (Verdigris) and Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee (Stringtown) coming closest to advancing to the Sweet 16.

On the women’s side, though, three Oklahoma high school alums helped their teams advance to the Sweet 16.

None was bigger than former Sequoyah-Tahlequah star Angel Goodrich, who helped 12th-seeded Kansas pull off a pair of upsets.

Goodrich had 20 points and eight assists in a 75-69 win over South Carolina in the second round after posting 14 points and eight assists in an opening 67-52 win over Colorado.

In Kansas’ win over South Carolina, former Norman standout Ashley Bruner had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Gamecocks in the loss.

Goodrich’s Jayhawks play top-seeded Notre Dame at 11 a.m. Sunday in Norfolk, Va.

Former Star Spencer standout Sharane Campbell also had a big start to the tournament, averaging 17 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2 steals for Oklahoma in tournament wins over Central Michigan and UCLA.

The sixth-seeded Sooners play No. 2 Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in Oklahoma City.

Duke’s Richa Jackson, a former Midwest City standout, started for the Blue Devils in wins over Hampton and Oklahoma State, totaling five points, two steals and three rebounds.

The No. 2-seed Blue Devils play No. 6 Nebraska at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Norfolk.

Midwest City and Okemah won state powerlifting state titles last weekend at the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association’s state powerlifting meet at McLoud High School.

McAlester’s Caden Pratt earned the large class’ lightweight squatter, lightweight deadlifter and lightweight overall lifter titles. Wetumka’s Derrick Moore also earned a trio of individual honors in the small class, taking the heavyweight squatter, heavyweight bencher and overall heavyweight lifter titles.

The title was Midwest City’s sixth consecutive in the large-school class. The Bombers finished with 65 points, 22 more than second-place Blanchard. Morris, Prague and McAlester rounded out the top five.

In the small-school class, Okemah edge Mangum 68-66. Holdenville, Kiefer and Sharon-Mutual took the next three spots.

In the large school class, Pratt was joined by Westmoore’s Josh Morgan (heavyweight squatter, heavyweight overall lifter), Blanchard’s Braden Stringer (lightweight bencher), Bridge Creek’s Brett Morris (heavyweight bencher) and Durant’s Jacob Barnhart (heavyweight deadlifter)

The other outstanding lifters in the small school were Empire’s Stephen Price (lightweight squatter), Hartshorne’s Dallas Herring (lightweight bencher), Mangum’s Michael Gilmore (lightweight deadlifter) and Haskell’s Britt Williams (lightweight overall lifter).

Individual winners
Large school
123: Shane Delso, Morris
132: Caden Pratt, McAlester
145: Grant Neugin, Sequoyah-Tahlequah
157: Felix Depona, Edmond Santa Fe
168: Braden Stringer, Blanchard
181: Jesse Gregory, Tuttle
198: Jacob Barhart, Durant
220: Chase Mercer, Noble
242: Josh Morgan, Westmoore
275: Brett Morris, Bridge Creek
Heavyweight: Dalton Gillispie, Prague

Small school
123: Song Cha, Wyandotte
132: Samson Montalbo, Mangum
145: Zach McKimmy, Caddo
157: Michael Gilmore, Mangum
168: Carlos Herrera, Hollis
181: Britt Williams, Haskell
198: Derrick Moore, Wetumka
220: John Jones, Chouteau
242: Comanche Beaver, Okemah
275: John Custar, Sharon-Mutual
Heavyweight: Colton Pickett, Holdenville

Class 6A
BOYS
EAST
At Tulsa Rogers
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Owasso vs. Broken Arrow, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Stillwater vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Union vs. Jenks, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Tulsa Washington vs. Bartlesville, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Stillwater/Bixby winner vs. Owasso/Broken Arrow loser, 8 p.m.
Tulsa Washington/Bartlesville winner vs. Tulsa Union/Jenks loser, 6:30 p.m.

WEST
At Choctaw
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Midwest City vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Edmond North vs. Putnam City

At Norman North
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Memorial vs. Putnam City West, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Putnam City North vs. Lawton Eisenhower, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Norman North
Putnam City North/Lawton Eisenhower winner vs. Edmond Memorial/Putnam City West loser, 6:30 p.m.
Edmond North/Putnam City winner vs. Midwest City/Edmond Santa Fe loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Muskogee vs. Tulsa Washington, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Jenks vs. Tulsa Union

At Tulsa Rogers
Loser’s Bracket
Broken Arrow vs. Mustang, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Bartlesville vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Broken Arrow/Mustang winner vs. Bartlesville/Bixby loser, 1:30 p.m.
Jenks/Tulsa Union winner vs. Muskogee/Tulsa Washington loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Choctaw
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Putnam City, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Norman vs. Southmoore, 8 p.m.

At Harrah
Loser’s Bracket
Lawton Eisenhower vs. Choctaw, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Norman North vs. Edmond Memorial, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Harrah
Lawton Eisenhower/Choctaw winner vs. Norman North/Edmond Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Norman/Southmoore winner vs. Edmond Santa Fe/Putnam City loser, 3 p.m.

CLASS 5A
BOYS
EAST
Friday
At Bixby
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Memorial vs. Tulsa Kelley, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha vs. Guthrie, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Coweta vs. Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Skiatook vs. Noble, 8 p.m.

At Bixby
Saturday
Skiatook/Noble winner vs. Coweta/Tulsa Edison loser, 6:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Guthrie winner vs. Tulsa Memorial/Tulsa Kelley loser, 8 p.m.

WEST
Friday
At Edmond North
Winner’s Bracket
Bishop McGuinness vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Capitol Hill, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Winner’s Bracket
Carl Albert vs. Southeast, 6:30 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond Memorial
Western Heights/Piedmont winner vs. Carl Albert/Southeast loser, 6:30 p.m.
Del City/Capitol Hill winner vs. Bishop McGuinness/Lawton MacArthur loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Bixby
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha at Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa East Central at Collinsville, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Tahlequah vs. Tulsa Memorial, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Grove vs. Tulsa Kelley, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Sapulpa
Grove/Tulsa Kelley winner vs. Tahlequah/Tulsa Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Tulsa Edison winner vs. Tulsa East Central/Collinsville loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Edmond North
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Ardmore, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Shawnee vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Loser’s Bracket
El Reno vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Carl Albert vs. Deer Creek, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond North
El Reno/Lawton MacArthur winner vs. Carl Albert/Deer Creek loser, 1:30 p.m.
Del City/Ardmore winner vs. Shawnee/Piedmont loser, 3 p.m.

Midwest City’s boys basketball team has jumped out to a hot start.

The Bombers have won each of their first six games by 25 or more points and reached triple digits in their 101-72 win over Mustang in the Mid-Del Holiday Classic last week.

Now, Midwest City is earning national recognition. The Bombers moved into MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national basketball rankings at No. 21.

The Bombers resume play at Westmoore on Friday.

Friday night in Tulsa, Norman North made school history by earning its first-ever state championship game berth.

The Timberwolves also carry a burden greater than their own in the game. They carry the flag for all West-side teams. No West-side team has won the state title since Midwest City did it in 1995. That was also the last time a team other than Jenks or Union won the title.

Norman North is the first West-side team to make the 6A championship game since 2005 (Enid made it in 2006 but the Plainsmen are considered, at least by the OSSAA, to be East). Here’s a look at the other West-side teams that have made the title game during the streak and how the title games turned out:

2005: Tulsa Union 33, Mustang 7 at Owen Field, Norman
2003: Jenks 17, Edmond Santa Fe 10 at Owen Field, Norman
2001: Jenks 38, Putnam North 28 at Lewis Field, Stillwater
1997: Jenks 56, Yukon 8 at Lewis Field, Stillwater
1996: Jenks 28, Midwest City 17 at Lewis Field, Stillwater

Cashion’s Cayden Cochran ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 173 yards and a score in Valdosta State’s 58-10 win over Edward Waters.

Early in the second quarter, Cochran broke off a 59-yard run.

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Ohio kept its hopes of being a BCS buster alive with a 37-34 win over UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Former Norman North standout Beau Blankenship ran for a career-high 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win. Both of Blankenship’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. The first tied the game while the second put Ohio ahead by 10.

Blankenship tied a school records with 43 carries and his 269 yards is the third-highest in school history.

After missing last week’s game, Norman North’s Tyler Tettleton threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tettleton has not thrown an interception in 156 attempts dating back to last year.

Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had four catches for 55 yards.

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Sam Houston State didn’t need huge numbers out of Midwest City product Timothy Flanders in a 50-6 win over Texas Southern.

Flanders had 10 carries for 49 yards and caught two passes for six yards in the win.

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Millwood’s Josh Turner had seven tackles, four solo, in Texas’ 41-36 win over Oklahoma State.

Tulsa Central’s Demarco Cobbs had three tackles for the Longhorns, getting the start at SLB.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had two tackles and a pass breakup and Jenks’ Orion Jones had a tackle for a loss in Toledo’s 37-17 win over Western Michigan.

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Lawton’s Cornelius Douglas had  two interceptions and three tackles as Texas Tech’s surprising defense helped the Red Raiders to a 24-13 win over Iowa State.

Douglas returned his second interception 40 yards to the Iowa State 9 with the Red Raiders up by one. Two plays later, Texas Tech extended the lead.

Carl Albert’s Tre’ Porter had four tackles and a pass breakup

Owasso’s Jacques Washington led Iowa State with 12 tackles and had an interception.

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Millwood’s Davion Pierson, making the start at defensive tackle, had three tackles in TCU’s 24-16 win over SMU.

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Former Jenks quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen threw for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Northern Iowa’s 33-21 loss to North Dakota State.

Del City’s Tim Clark had a pair of tackles.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had three tackles and a 47-yard fumble return as New Mexico nearly pulled off an upset of Boise State before falling 32-29.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Stoner picked up the fumble and returned it to the Boise State 1. Two plays later, New Mexico scored to pull to within three. The fumble recovery was Stoner’s seventh of his career.

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Lawton’s Tyrequek Zimmerman had eight tackles, Oregon State’s 38-35 win over Arizona.

Tulsa Washington’s Michael Doctor added two tackles.

Douglass’ Cayman Bundage had a tackle for Arizona.

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Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson had a 44-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter of Princeton’s 33-6 win over Columbia.

Wilson had three catches for 73 yards.

Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes had a six-yard reception.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Brian Mills had two tackles.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott ran for 26 yards in Missouri State’s 17-7 loss to South Dakota State.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Tre Kelley had a five-yard reception.

Norman North’s Nick Canavan had five tackles while Star Spencer’s Jason Fitch added four. Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough had three and a fumble recovery.

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Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s Nathan Stanley threw for 187 yards and a touchdown in Southeastern Louisiana’s 31-21 win over Lamar.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose led Arkansas Tech with seven tackles in the Wonder Boys’ 41-20 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Zickefoose also had a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.

Claremore’s Greg Dicks also had one tackle, while Glenpool’s Tim Van Orsdol started on the offensive line.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had three tackles, one for a loss, in Missouri’s 21-16 win over Central Florida.

Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers had a special teams tackle as well.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa had an 11-yard touchdown reception for Drake in its 35-7 win over Campbell.

Rosa had seven catches for 92 yards to lead Drake in receiving.

Edmond North’s Cam Bohnert had a pair of punts for a 32.5-yard average.

Holland Hall’s Seth Hedman had four tackles.

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Ponca City’s Brent Wilson had eight carries for 20 yards and threw for 42 yards on four completions in Emporia State’s 37-26 win over Lincoln (Missouri).

Muskogee’s Shjuan Richardson had seven catches for 66 yards and Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had two catches for 36 yards. Richardson also had a pair of kickoff returns.

Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis returned a kick 27 yards.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had five tackles. Del City’s Jeff Richards had an interception, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Luther’s Justin Wilson had one tackle.

Norman North’s Lance Uhles and Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers started on the offensive line for Emporia State.

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Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had a pair of catches for 14 yards and Muskogee’s Victor Williams had an eight-yard reception in Dartmouth’s 28-21 loss to Penn.

Schoenthaler also returned three kicks for 72 yards.

Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line for Dartmouth.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had eight tackles in Bucknell’s 15-10 loss to Cornell.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had five tackles in Colorado School of Mines’ 54-28 loss to Western New Mexico.

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Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had six tackles and Muskogee’s Robert Thomas had one in Arkansas’ 58-10 loss to Texas A&M.

Broken Arrow’s Alvin Bailey started on the offensive line for the Razorbacks.

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Carl Albert’s David Oku ran for 79 yards and  had three catches for 27 yards in Arkansas State’s 26-13 loss to Western Kentucky.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham ran for 36 yards and had four catches for 25 yards in Weber State’s 37-13 loss to UC-Davis.

Parham also returned four kickoffs for 76 yards.

Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales led Weber State with 11 tackles, including one for a loss. Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu had eight tackles, Edmond Memorial’s David James added four, Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had three. Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had two tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Jenks’ Devin Pugh had a pair of tackles and an interception and Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond had one tackle.

Putnam North’s Josh Booker had one carry. Edmond Santa Fe’s Alex Land started at right guard for Weber State.

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Midwest City’s Ricky Reeves had three tackles and a pair of pass breakups in South Dakota’s 34-31 loss to Illinois State.

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Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the offensive line in Houston’s 35-14 win over Rice.

Houston had 608 yards of total offense.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started on the offensive line in Southeast Missouri State’s 31-16 win over Jacksonville State.

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Bixby’s Michael Nelson started at wide receiver but had no catches in Missouri Southern’s 35-10 loss to Central Missouri.

One-third of Ohio’s Oklahoma connection missed the Bobcats’ game against Norfolk State on Saturday.

Former Norman North quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who had thrown for 781 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception in Ohio’s first three games, was held out with an undisclosed injury.

USA Today reported that Tettleton’s injury was to his abdomen.

With Derrius Vick in Tettleton’s place, though, the Bobcats didn’t skip a beat.

Norman North product Beau Blankenship ran for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in Ohio’s 44-10 win over Norfolk State. Blankenship ran for 109 yards, topping 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game.

Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster caught five passes, tying a career high, for 69 yards and two touchdowns, including Ohio’s first less than three minutes into the game. Blankenship’s 24-yard touchdown catch came just three minutes later.

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Carl Albert’s David Oku ran for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Arkansas State’s 56-0 win over Alcorn State. Oku also had a five-yard reception.

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Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s Nathan Stanley hit freshman tight end Taylor Jenkins for a three-yard touchdown pass with 2:39 left to give Southeastern Louisiana a 25-24 upset win over FCS No. 17 McNeese State.

Stanley, a transfer from Ole Miss, was 21 of 35 with 247 yards passing. Stanley also rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown and had a 42-yard punt.

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Millwood’s Davion Pierson, a redshirt freshman, had two tackles and a fumble recovery in TCU’s 27-7 win over Virginia.

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Tulsa Washington’s Michael Doctor had a team-high nine tackles–eight solo–in Oregon State’s 27-20 upset of then-No. 19 UCLA.

Doctor, starting at weakside linebacker, had one tackle for a loss.

Lawton’s Tyrequek Zimmerman, who started at strong safety, added four solo tackles in the upset.

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Midwest City’s Timothy Flanders kept up his big production for Sam Houston State against Central Arkansas.

Flanders ran for  125 yards and a pair of touchdowns and had one reception in the Bearkats’ 24-20 loss in Conway, Ark.

The 100-yard game was Flanders’ 17th of his career at Sam Houston State. He also moved to No. 5 in Southland Conference history in career rushing touchdowns with 39. The conference record is 52.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa caught a 16-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to put Drake ahead for good in its 28-25 win over Morehead State. Rosa finished with two catches for 22 yards and an eight-yard kick return.

Edmond North’s Cam Bohnert had three punts for a 34-yard average, including one inside the 20.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had four tackles, including a sack, and Jenks’ Orion Jones had three tackles in Toledo’s 38-28 win over Coastal Carolina.

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Muskogee’s Shjuan Richardson had an 11-yard touchdown catch with less than four minutes left to help seal Emporia State’s 30-20 win over Northeastern State. Richardson had three catches for 53 yards and a 23-yard kick return in the win.

Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had a three-yard reception, Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis had 44 return yards and Del City’s Jeff Richards had a 23-yard kick return.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had eight tackles, Alva’s Derek Lohmann, Gaddis and Richards had five each and Luther’s Justin Wilson had two as the Hornets improved to 4-0.

Piedmont’s Jordan McAdoo, Norman North’s Lance Uhles and Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers started on the offensive line, which helped Emporia State post 452 yards of total offense.

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A week after being part of Pittsburgh’s upset over Virginia Tech, the Panthers rolled to a 55-10 win over Gardner-Webb.

Tulsa Washington’s Isaac Bennett scored Pitt’s final two touchdowns in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Bennett ran for 52 yards.

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This one has been covered a bit but Tulsa Washington’s Tyler Lockett had four catches for 37 yards and Jenks’ Tramaine Thompson had three catches for 49 yards in Kansas State’s 24-19 upset at Oklahoma.

Thompson had a third-down reception for a first down on each of Kansas State’s final two drives.

Thompson and Lockett each had one rushing attempt as well as a kickoff return each.

Tulsa Washington’s Dante Barnett had one tackle, while fellow Hornet Keenan Taylor started on the offensive line.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had four tackles in New Mexico’s 27-14 win over rival New Mexico State. Stoner also recovered a fumble and had a pass break up. The recovery was the sixth of Stoner’s career.

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Glenpool’s Israel Maselera returned a punt for a touchdown to start Pittsburg State’s 59-17 win over Lincoln.

Sand Springs’ Darrack Harger ran for 12 yards and threw for 34 yards.

Sand Springs’ Tyler Smith started at left guard.

Defensively, Tulsa East Central’s Dino Teague had five tackles, Tulsa Washington’s Aries Herrion and Catoosa’s Joe Uzzel had two each. Sand Springs’ Matt Anderson and Maselera had one tackle.

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Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes had a 10-yard touchdown reception but Princeton fell 21-20 to Georgetown. The catch was Hayes’ only reception.

Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson had two catches for a team-high 62 yards.

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Heritage Hall’s Turner Petersen scored on a 30-yard run in the first quarter of Rice’s eventual 54-51 loss to Marshall in double overtime.

Petersen had 16 carries for 76 yards on the ground and caught a pair of passes for 20 yards.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham is a running back but his biggest play in Weber State’s 32-26 loss to Eastern Washington was a pass.

Parham threw a 33-yard completion in the second quarter. He finished with 31 yards rushing on three carries and had a pair of kick returns. Putnam North’s Josh Booker had a single four-yard carry.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher caught a late two-point conversion pass.

Defensively, Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales led the Wildcats with 16 tackles, three for loss. Another former Bulldogs standout, David James, added six tackles, as did Jenks’ Devin Pugh. Pletcher also had three tackles.

Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond, Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers and Edmond Santa Fe’s Alex Land had a tackle each.

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Lawton’s Sonny Puletasi had a pair of tackles, including a sack for 11 yards, in Wyoming’s 40-37 overtime win over Idaho.

Puletasi’s sack came in the closing seconds of the first half and he both forced and recovered a fumble on the play.

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Midwest City’s Ricky Reeves had a tackle in South Dakota’s 38-7 loss to Northwestern.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had seven tackles in Missouri’s 31-10 loss to South Carolina.

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Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line for Dartmouth in its 13-10 win over Holy Cross. Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had one two-yard reception in the win.

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Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had 12 tackles, one for a loss, in Arkansas’ 35-26 loss to Rutgers.

Muskogee’s Robert Thomas added four tackles and Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett three.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose had five tackles in Arkansas Tech’s 31-24 loss to Ouachita Baptist. Glenpool’s Tim Van Orsdol started on the offensive line for the Wonder Boys.

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Tonkawa’s Jake Love and Tulsa Washington’s John Williams had two tackles each in Kansas’ 30-23 loss to Northern Illinois. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott had 14 yards rushing and a reception in Missouri State’s 14-6 loss to Southern Illinois.

Norman North’s Nick Canavan had five tackles and Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough had four in the loss.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had four tackles–assisting on a sack–in Bucknell’s 20-14 loss to Lafayette.

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Idabel’s Kevin Rucker had a tackle in Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s 24-21 win over Alabama State.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had three tackles and a pass breakup in Colorado School of Mines’ 42-37 loss to New Mexico Highlands.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started on the offensive line for Southeast Missouri State in its 41-38 overtime win over Tennessee Tech.

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Mustang’s Kyle Webster had two pass attempts with no completions and had 16 yards rushing in Missouri Southern’s 16-13 loss to Southwest Baptist. Bixby’s Michael Nelson had one carry for a seven-yard loss.

A look at how Oklahoma high school alums fared in out-of-state college action over the weekend:

A week before Kansas State comes to Norman, a couple of former Oklahoma high school stars turned in big performances in the WIldcats’ 35-21 win over North Texas on Saturday night.

The Mean Green took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when former Tulsa Washington standout Tyler Lockett returned the kick 96 yards to tie the game up.

The next two Kansas State touchdowns were scored by former Jenks standout Tramaine Thompson–one from 38 yards out and the other from 21.

Thompson finished with five catches for 102 yards. Lockett added another 23-yard kick return and a six-yard catch.

Tulsa Washington’s Keenan Taylor started on the offensive line for Kansas State. Dante Barnett (Tulsa Washington), Andre McDonald (Choctaw) and Zach Trujillo (Deer Creek) played but didn’t record any stats in the win.

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This is becoming a weekly staple but once again the Oklahoma connection paid off for Ohio. Norman North’s Tyler Tettleton threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 35 yards, former Timberwolves standout Beau Blankenship ran for 102 yards and Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had three catches for 30 yards in the Bobcats’ 27-24 come-from-behind win over Marshall.

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Former Tulsa Washington standout Isaac Bennett had two rushes for eight yards and two catches for 14 yards in Pittsburgh’s 35-17 upset of Virginia Tech.

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Not much positive came out of Arkansas’ 52-0 blowout at the hands of Alabama.
Former McGuinness standout kicker Cameron Bryan came up with a nice play on special teams, sprinting down and downing a punt inside the 5 in the first half.

Bryan handled kickoff duties in eight games for Arkansas in 2009 but after Zach Hocker continued to solidify himself in the kicker roll just prior to the season, Brayn asked to be given a chance to play on kick coverage.

You can read more about him here: http://newsok.com/mcguinness-product-cameron-bryan-joins-arkansas-kickoff-coverage-team/article/3707537

Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett had six tackles, Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had one and Muskogee’s Robert Thomas had a pair of quarterback hurries.

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Former Tulsa Central standout Demarco Cobbs had four tackles and Millwood’s Josh Turner had three tackles in Texas’ 66-31 win at Ole Miss. Cobbs got the start at strongside linebacker.

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Former Carl Albert star David Oku ran for 44 yards and had 11 yards receiving in Arkansas State’s 42-13 loss to Nebraska.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had three tackles and Jenks’ Orion Jones had one in Toledo’s 27-15 win over Bowling Green.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had four tackles in Colorado School of Mines’ 42-19 win over Black Hills State. Hess also had a blocked pass.

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NCAA Division II No. 1 Pittsburg State beat Southwest Baptist 52-9 on Saturday with the help of a few Oklahomans.
Catoosa’s Joe Uzzel had three tackles and Israel Maselera and Dino Teague (Tulsa East Central) had two tackles. Teague had a sack. Darrack Harger (Sand Springs) was 2-for 3 with 18 yards passing and rushed for -6 yards.
Uzzel started at defensive end, while Collinsville’s Chance Riley started at tight end and Sand Springs’ Tyler Smith at left guard.

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Former Millwood star Davion Pierson continues to impress at Texas Christian. Pierson started and had five tackles–1.5 for loss (0.5 sacks)–in TCU’s 20-6 win over Kansas.
Tulsa Washington’s John Williams had three tackles for Kansas. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line for the Jayhawks.

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Timothy Flanders, a former Midwest City star, scored a touchdown late in the first half as Sam Houston State built a lead on Baylor. But the Bears came back to win 48-23. Flanders ran for 84 yards and had another 56 yards receiving in the loss. Former Norman North standout K.J. Williams played for SHSU as well.

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Lawton Sonny Puletasi usually starts for Wyoming at defensive end but made a mark on the other side Saturday, catching a two-point conversion pass in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ game against Cal Poly. It wasn’t enough, though, as Wyoming fell 24-22. Puletasi had three tackles, while Tulsa Washington’s T.J. Smith saw time for Wyoming as well.

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Cayman Bundage, a freshman out of Douglass, didn’t start but saw playing time in Arizona’s 56-0 blowout of South Carolina State. Owasso’s Trent Spurgeon played for the Wildcats as well.

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Brandon Swindall, a Millwood product, played for Utah State as the Aggies nearly pulled off a second consecutive upset, before falling to Wisconsin 16-14.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham ran for 23 yards and Putnam North’s Josh Booker ran for 9 in Weber State’s 35-21 loss to McNeese State. Parham also had 72 kickoff return yards on three chances. Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu led Weber State with nine tackles–all solo–in the loss. Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales had 6.5 tackles, Edmond Memorial’s David James had three, Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had two, and Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond, Jenks’ Devin Pugh and Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had one each.

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Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had three catches for 27 yards in Dartmouth’s season-opening 35-7 win over Butler. Muskogee freshman Victor Williams had a carry for three yards and two catches for five yards. Tulsa Union’s Corbin Stall had a sack. Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line.

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Former Muskogee standout Shjuan Richardson had seven catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Emporia State’s 42-14 win over UCO. Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had four catches for 48 yards and Ponca City’s Brent Wilson had two runs for eight yards in the win.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had three tackles and an interception, Alva’s Derek Lohmann and Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis each had five tackles and a forced fumble, Del City’s Jeff Richards had five tackles and Luther’s Justin Wilson had a pair of tackles. Norman North’s Lance Uhles, Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers and Piedmont’s Jordan McAdoo all started on the offensive line as Emporia State racked up 538 yards of total offense. Northwest’s Andre Maupin and Broken Arrow’s Josh Moses also played.

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Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson caught a two-point conversion pass with about five minutes left to lift Princeton to within three but Princeton fell to Lehigh 17-14. Wilson had four catches for 40 yards to lead Princeton in receiving and added a 23-yard catch. Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes started at tight end for Princeton while fellow Comet Michael Major saw action.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott ran for 46 yards and a touchdown, caught one pass and returned a kick in Missouri State’s 28-23 loss to Murray State. Norman North’s Nick Canavan had seven tackles and Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough added three in the loss. Jenks’ Ryan Boatright, Star Spencer’s Jason Fitch and Edmond Santa Fe’s Tre Kelley also saw time for Missouri State.

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Former Heritage Hall star Turner Petersen ran for 47 yards and had 13 yards receiving in the Owls’ 56-37 loss to Louisiana Tech.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had five tackles in New Mexico’s 49-14 loss to Texas Tech. Another former Titan, Tre’ Porter, played for Texas Tech but did not record any statistics.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had six tackles in Bucknell’s 19-3 loss to Delaware.

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Owasso’s Jacques Washington had a pair of tackles in Iowa State’s 37-3 win over Western Illinois. Washington started at free safety. Jenks’ Bob Graham also saw time on the offensive line.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had five tackles in the Missouri’s 24-20 win over Arizona State. Edmond North’s Xavier Smith had one. Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers also saw time.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass and finished with five catches for 60 yards in Drake’s 27-10 loss to Indiana State. Holland Hall’s Seth Hedman had five tackles.

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Bixby’s Michael Nelson had a nine-yard catch in Missouri Southern’s 21-14 win over Lincoln (Mo.). Norman North’s Riley Nolan also played in the win.

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Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the offensive line for Houston in the Cougars’ 37-6 loss to UCLA. Norman’s Zach Johnson also saw time.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started at left guard for Southeast Missouri in its 35-14 loss to Southern Illinois.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose, who started at linebacker, had a tackle in Arkansas Tech’s 73-34 loss to Henderson State. Glenpool’s Tim VanOrsdol started at left tackle.

Know someone I missed? Let me know in the comments or with an e-mail.

A look back at the weekend in college football involving Oklahoma athletes playing out of state:

Former Carl Albert and Tennessee running back David Oku found a new home at Arkansas State just before fall practices began. Once former Auburn standout Michael Dyer was denied a request for immediate eligibility, Oku immediately shot to the top of the Red Wolves’ depth chart.

Saturday in a 33-28 win over Justin Fuente-coached Memphis, Oku ran for 130 yards and a touchdowns–the game-winner.

Oku also had an 8-yard reception while former Oklahoma signee Josh Jarboe had 101 yards receiving for Gus Malzahn’s team.

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Former Midwest City standout Timothy Flanders became Sam Houston State’s career rushing leader, running for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 54-7 win over Incarnate Word. Flanders now has 2,709 yards for the Bearkats. He also extended his school record for rushing touchdowns to 37. Both of Flanders’ touchdowns came in the first quarter.

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Once again, Oklahoma high school products dominated a win by Ohio, this one a 51-24 win over New Mexico in the Bobcats’ home opener after they beat Penn State a week earlier.

Norman North grad Beau Blankenship rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns, fellow Timberwolves product Tyler Tettleton threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns and Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had a team-high five catches for 57 yards and a score.

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A pair of former state standouts played big parts in Oregon State’s 10-7 upset over Wisconsin. Lawton’s Tyrequek Zimmerman had seven tackles, tied for a team high, while Tulsa Washington’s Michael Doctor had three tackles in the win. Both started on defense, Doctor at linebacker and Zimmerman at strong safety. Another Lawton product, Jabral Johnson, saw action for the Beavers.

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Former Tulsa Central star Demarco Cobbs had five tackles and former Millwood standout Josh Turner had two in Texas’ 45-0 win over New Mexico. Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had three tackles for New Mexico.

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Millwood product Brandon Swindall had a pair of catches for 16 yards in Utah State’s 27-20 win over rival Utah. Another former Falcons standout, Cameron Sanders, had a tackle in the win.

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Tulsa Washington’s Tyler Lockett continues to emerge as a star for Kansas State. Lockett had three catches for 59 yards in the WIldcats’ 52-13 win over Miami. He also had two rushes for 14 yards and returned two kicks for 54 yards. Deer Creek’s Zach Trujillo had a 58-yard catch late in the blowout while Jenks’ Tramaine Thompson had three catches for 57 yards and a 12-yard punt return. Choctaw’s Andre McDonald and Tulsa Washington’s Dante Barnett also saw time.

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Former Millwood standout Davion Pierson started at defensive tackle and had a tackle for a loss in TCU’s 56-0 win over Grambling State. Del City’s Jamelle Naff also saw action for the Horned Frogs. Both are redshirt freshmen.

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Owasso’s Jacques Washington, starting at free safety for Iowa State, had six tackles and a 26-yard interception return in the Cyclones’ 9-6 win over Iowa. Jenks’ Bob Graham also saw time for Iowa State.

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Former Heritage Hall standout Turner Petersen ran for 41 yards and a touchdown in the Owls’ 25-24 win over Kansas. Petersen also had a 14-yard reception. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line for Kansas, while Tonkawa’s Jake Love and Tulsa Washington’s John Williams also saw action.

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Carl Albert product Christian Smith had five tackles, including two for a loss (one sack) in Toledo’s 34-31 win over Wyoming. Jenks’ Orion Jones also saw action for Toledo. Lawton’s Sonny Puletasi started at defensive end for the Cowboys while Tulsa Washington’s T.J. Smith saw action.

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Missouri didn’t have much luck in its SEC opener, losing 41-20 to Georgia but Edmond Santa Fe product Randy Ponder had four tackles. Edmond North’s Xavier Smith and Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers also saw action.

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Houston lost again, this time 56-49 to Louisiana Tech but Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the Cougars’ offensive line that produced 693 yards of total offense.

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Weber State didn’t do much scoring in its 45-13 loss at BYU but both touchdowns came courtesy of Oklahoma products. Putnam City North’s Josh Booker and McGuinness’ Kris Parham each found the end zone on 1-yard runs. Booker finished with 64 yards rushing, while Parham had 15. Booker also had 17 yards receiving while Parham added a 9-yard catch. Parham also had 5 kick returns for 93 yards, including one for 34 yards. On defense, Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu had eight tackles, Jenks’ Devin Pugh had five, Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond had five, Edmond Memorial’s David James had three, Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales had two, Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had one and Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had a pass breakup. Edmond Santa Fe’s Alex Land also started on Weber State’s offensive line.

A day before his former team opened practices at Midwest City, former Bombers head coach Steve Huff took his new team–College Station, Texas–through its first practice.

After going undefeated in the regular season last year at Midwest City, Huff faces not a rebuilding project at College Station but a BUILDING project.

The school opens this year and Huff will have just freshmen and sophomores in his first season despite a schedule that features several varsity games.

“Your thought processes have to be a little bit different, because you are dealing with players who would normally be playing freshman and JV ball next year” Huff told the Bryan College Station Eagle.

Here’s the full article from the Eagle: http://www.brazossports.com/article/20120807/BS01/120809720/1043

The game will be played July 24 at Oral Roberts (Small school 4:30 p.m., large school 7 p.m.)

Large East

Pitchers: Gabe Coldwell (Stilwell), Jacob Evans (Broken Arrow), Alex Hackerott (Sand Springs)

First baseman: Derrick Haworth (Durant)

Infielders: Donovan Walton (Tulsa Kelley), Mason Mantle (Metro Christian), Brenton Washausen (Claremore), Carter Cumbie (McAlester)

Outfielders: Dylan Helms (Eufaula), Corey Hassel (Stillwater), Adam Boyd (McAlester), J.P. Seifried (Claremore)

Catchers: Kylar Robertson (Sand Springs), Josh Whisler (Owasso)

Large West

Pitchers: Ty Hensley (Edmond Santa Fe), Jordan Watson (Edmond Santa Fe), Carson McPherson (Ardmore)

First baseman: Michael Lowe (Jones)

Infielders: Alex Polston (Carl Albert), Colt Pickens (Yukon), Tanner Dearman (Anadarko), Joe Robinson (Edmond North)

Outfielders: Greg Bruno (Midwest City), Luke Davis (Guthrie), Christian Thaxton (Duncan), T.J. Turner (Lawton MacArthur)

Catchers: Taylor Hawkins (Carl Albert), Dakota Shadoan (Norman North)

Small East

Pitchers: Evan Sanders (Hartshorne), Jacob Lux (Wyandotte), Dillon Proctor (Caddo)

First baseman: Jonathon Samuels (Rattan)

Infielders: Dusty Henry (Afton), Kaleb Matthews (Wellston), Landon Coon (Dale), Ty Miller (Caddo)

Outfielders: Caleb Hill (Wister), Brennon Fuser (Afton), Asa Thomas Manship (Dale), Zach Burns (Tushka)

Catchers: Cash Miller (Coleman), Eddia Lomas (Roff)

Small West

Pitchers: Brett McNaughton (Pioneer), Austin Kretchmar (Okarche), Stetson Buller (Timberlake)

First baseman: Clayton Brewster (Cheyenne)

Infielders: Jason Johnson (Arnett), Brady Baugh (Hennessey), Kent Callison (Lookeba-Sickles), Cameron Nix (Carnegie)

Outfielders: Josh Jackson (Amber-Pocasset), Dillon Almaguer (Granite), Jeff Jackson (Amber-Pocasset), Aaron McCandless (Shattuck)

Catchers: Cody Hunter (Arnett), Landon Larue (Crescent)

Large East
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
U’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Jodi Glover, Fort Gibson
Devaughn Gray, Tulsa Washington
Lashanda Green McAlester
Kelsee Grovey, Shawnee
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
Lanesha Middleton, Stillwater
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Miranda Taylor, Claremore
Coaches: Carl Treat, Stillwater; Matt Sweeney, Oologah

Large West
Kylie Boggess, Piedmont
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Toni Smith, Del City
Kati Sullivan, Anadarko
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Te’era Williams, Douglass
Coaches: Jeff Mahoney, Elgin; Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial

Small East
Courtney Backward, Salina
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Megan Brown, Howe
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Pete Douglas, Oktaha
Charitee Evans, Red Oak
Shanna Harrison, Adair
Kenzie Solberg, Chandler
Brooke Watkins, Prague
Coaches: Brandon Lindly, Wright City; Mike Buntin, Verdigris

Small West
Jamie Brown, Chattanooga
Lexie Brown, Hammon
Casi Cornell, Thomas
Kori Fast, Fairview
Jordan Garner, Amber-Pocasset
Bailey McBride, Chattanooga
Lacey Paulk, Washington
Katelyn Richardson, Calumet
Jordynn Van Pelt, Snyder
Shayla Williams, Northeast
Coaches: Cherie Myers, Okarche; Kirk Harris, Marlow

All-Conference
First Team
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Carolee Dillard, Midwest City
Taylor Ely, Norman
Bri Kuestersteffen, Norman North
Toni Smith, Del City

Second Team
Brittany Alavinejad, Westmoore
Serithia Hawkins, Southmoore
Sydney Hill, Edmond Memorial
Mariah Jackson, Del City
Kayla Tucker, Southmoore

Third Team
Bethany Cox, Norman
Jami Hensley, Westmoore
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Amanda Patterson, Moore
Haley Woodard, Norman North

Honorable Mention
Dionna Collins (Del City), Piper Kalthoff (Del City), Jenny Roy (Edmond Memorial),
Alyssa Hand (Edmond Memorial), Jasmine Gaddis (Midwest City), Jasauen Beard (Midwest City), Adrianna White (Midwest City), Reagan Widener (Midwest City),
Tori Thomas (Norman North), Kabria Harkey (Westmoore),

Defensive Players of the Year: Jordan Thomas, Edmond Memorial, and Cornell Neal, Midwest City

Offensive Players of the Year: Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial, and Rico Hogan, Norman

Coach of the Year: Shane Cowherd, Edmond Memorial

Newcomer of the Year: Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial

First Team
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial
Jordan Woodard, Edmond Memorial
A.J. Holland, Del City
T.J. Noel, Midwest City
Rico Hogan, Norman
Cornell Neal, Midwest City

Second Team
Brett Cannon, Del City
Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial
Connor Madole, Norman
Jordan Thomas, Edmond Memorial
Tripp Fuller, Westmoore

Third Team
Dorian Gigger, Moore
Chris Hobgood, Moore
Steffon Herd, Del City
Trey Ayala, Westmoore
Jamal Mosely, Del City

Honorable Mention:
Sam Kaplan, Norman North
Jourdan Bean, Southmoore
Maurice Davenport, Moore
Kyle Lakin, Westmoore
Beau Palmer, Westmoore
George Kittle, Norman
Daniel Harper, Norman
Keith Glover, Del City
Deonte Long, Del City
Devin Bockhaus, Midwest City
Daryck Jones, Midwest City
Torey Noel, Midwest City
Kesean Brown, Midwest City
Reggie Sloan, Edmond Memorial
Aaron Young, Edmond Memorial

Sydney Hill, right, and Edmond Memorial qualified for the state tournament by upsetting No. 2 Midwest City. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE PHOTO

After Saturday’s final area games, the field is set for next week’s Class 6A girls’ basketball state tournament in Tulsa.

Here are the qualifiers:

No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe (23-0): Defending state champions are led by Texas A&M signee Courtney Walker and are the clear favorite.

No. 2 Midwest City (26-1): Bombers lost to Edmond Memorial in area final, but got back on track with win over Putnam City North for state berth.

No. 3 Jenks (21-6): Trojans earn first state tournament berth since 2007.

No. 4 Edmond Memorial (20-5): Bulldogs upset No. 2 Midwest City in area final for state berth. Five losses are twice to Santa Fe, twice to Midwest City and once to 5A No. 1 Shawnee.

No. 5 Sapulpa (19-7): Chieftains are in the state tournament for the first time since 2008.

No. 8 Muskogee (20-6): Roughers bring 11-game win streak into the state tournament.

No. 10 Tulsa Union (16-11): Redskins’ only playoff loss was 2-point setback to No. 5 Sapulpa in regional final. Union topped Bartlesville for state berth.

No. 11 Mustang (17-10): Nikki McCann’s first season as the Broncos’ coach will end in the state tournament. Mustang topped Choctaw on Saturday to earn berth.

Hall will replace Steve Huff, who left Midwest City in January to take a job at College Station (Texas) High School. Hall’s hiring still needs to be approved by the school board later this month. Hall was 17-7 in two seasons with the Hornets, winning a state championship in his first season in 2010. Prior to that, Hall spent seven seasons at Star Spencer, going 57-28 and winning the 2009 Class 4A title.

Under Huff, the Bombers were 60-12, making the playoffs in each of his six seasons. Four times, Midwest City was undefeated during the regular season.

Senior guard Kelsee Grovey and Shawnee look poised for a run at the Class 5A state championship. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

Here is the second edition of my large-school girls’ basketball power poll.

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

1. Edmond Santa Fe (6A, 22-0)
Edmond Santa Fe did nothing to deserve a drop in ranking. The defending 6A champion Wolves’ schedule hasn’t been very tough — their smallest margin of victory this season is 15 — so when they get challenged it will be interesting to see how they respond. But there is no reason to believe Santa Fe would have an off night, and it remains the odds-on favorite to bring home the gold ball again.
Record vs. this poll: 2-0
Last week: No. 1
Next up: Regionals vs. U.S. Grant, Thursday, 8 p.m.

2. Shawnee (5A, 23-0)
The Wolves wrapped up a perfect regular season and are Class 5A’s clear No. 1 team. Big wins this season over Edmond Memorial, Carl Albert and Deer Creek allow Shawnee to edge Midwest City again at No. 2 in this power poll.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0
Last week: No. 2
Next up: Regionals vs. Noble, Thursday, 8 p.m.

3. Midwest City (6A, 23-0)
Midwest City got impressive back-to-back wins over Westmoore and Del City last week. The Bombers are peaking at the right time and are Edmond Santa Fe’s chief competition in Class 6A. No reason at this point to expect anything other than a Santa Fe-Midwest City rematch in the Class 6A tournament championship game.
Record vs. this poll: 3-0
Last week: No. 3
Next up: Regionals vs. Moore, Thursday, 8 p.m.

4. Tulsa East Central (5A, 22-3)
The Cardinals wrapped up their season with an impressive 14-point win at Tulsa Washington. 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
Last week: No. 4
Next up: Regionals vs. Tulsa Central, Thursday, 8 p.m.

5. Edmond Memorial (6A, 17-5)
All five of Edmond Memorial’s losses are to teams ranked higher than it in this power poll (Twice to Santa Fe, twice to Midwest City, once to Shawnee). Memorial and Midwest City are lined up for a possible third game in areas.
Record vs. this poll: 1-5
Last week: No. 5
Next up: Regionals vs. Putnam City West, Thursday, 8 p.m.

6. Deer Creek (5A, 20-3)
The Antlers bring a 10-game winning streak into the playoffs. Deer Creek seems to be peaking at the right time and seems poised for a run at state.
Record vs. this poll: 2-1
Last week: No. 7
Next up: Regionals vs. Ardmore, Thursday, 8 p.m.

7. Muskogee (6A, 17-6)
The Roughers’ two-spot jump is the biggest of the week. Muskogee finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, including an overtime win over Jenks last week. Muskogee also has wins over Tulsa Union and Bixby, and has beaten Sapulpa twice.
Record vs. this poll: 1-1
Last week: No. 9
Next up: Regionals vs. Westmoore (at Bixby), Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

8. Carl Albert (5A, 18-5)
The Titans had to rally from a halftime deficit to beat Western Heights in their regular-season finale. Carl Albert often goes through shooting dry spells, which cost it in home losses to Deer Creek and Shawnee. The Titans got a break in their playoff position, though, and are still expected to be a state tournament team.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2
Last week: No. 8
Next up: Regionals vs. Capitol Hill, Thursday, 8 p.m.

9. Jenks (6A, 18-5)
The Trojans finished their regular-season with a dud — a 22-point loss at Broken Arrow. Jessica Washington still isn’t 100 percent healthy, and Jenks brings a two-game skid into its playoff opener. Record vs. this poll: 2-3
Last week: No. 6
Next up: Regionals vs. Sand Springs, Thursday, 8 p.m.

10. Bishop McGuinness (5A, 18-5)
The Irish has lost just twice since Dec. 17 and finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak. The defending 5A champs got off to a rough start this season with several new starters and a new coach, but looks like a strong contender to return to the state tournament.
Record vs. this poll: 0-2
Last week: No. 10
Next up: Regionals vs. Guymon, Thursday, 8 p.m.

Del City point guard Brett Cannon broke his wrist after attempting a slam dunk in pregame warmups before Saturday's loss to Midwest City.

DEL CITY — Just minutes before Del City’s regular-season finale against rival Midwest City — and days before the team’s playoff opener — the Eagles lost their floor general.

Eagles’ starting point guard Brett Cannon, a sophomore, went up for a slam dunk during pregame warm-ups, missed and fell backward.

Cannon tried using his hands to break the fall, but broke his wrist on impact. He was taken to this hospital and didn’t play in the Eagles’ 68-55 loss to Midwest City.

Del City coach Tim Stogsdill said hours after the game that Cannon might need surgery, but that won’t be clear until the swelling goes down.

Ball handling duties were split between seniors A.J. Holland and Jamal Moseley, who aren’t used to playing point guard, and Del City found itself down 21-10 after the first quarter.

“It threw a little wrinkle in it,” Del City coach Tim Stogsdill said of his offense. “Especially when you’re playing a team like Midwest City that wants to pressure and trap. … With the way they play, they expose that. Brett does a good job handling the ball for us.”

Del City found its rhythm in the second quarter and was down by just four points at halftime.

But the Bombers came out with intensity to start the second half and retook control.

Sophomore Kesean Brown led Midwest City (18-5) with 18 points, and junior Cornell Neal added 16. Holland led Del City (17-6) with 16.

Midwest City hosts Norman North on Friday at 8 p.m. in a regional to open the Class 6A playoffs.

Bombers coach DeWayne Bradley said he’s happy his team won and, more importantly, didn’t suffer any injuries itself.

“Winning against your rival at their place is always big,” Bradley said. “But I’m really grateful we got out of here and everybody’s OK.”

Del City (17-6) wasn’t so fortunate. Stogsdill said point guard duties will continue to be split between Holland and Moseley as the No. 2 Eagles begin the Class 5A playoffs by hosting Durant in a regional on Friday at 8 p.m.

“The team is very confident we will make a run,” Stogsdill said. “Don’t count us out yet.”

Now, after Saturday’s 56-33 win over rival Del City, the Bombers (23-0) are looking towards another state tournament run.

Midwest City, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, opens regional play at home Thursday at 8 p.m. against Moore.

“You’ve got to play back to back in the state tournament, so this was a really good experience for us,” said Bombers coach Art Bode.

Midwest City won the state championship in 2010, and took an undefeated record into last season’s title game before losing to Edmond Santa Fe.

“At this rate, I think it’s very likely that we’ll go (to state),” said senior Ashley Clark, who led all scorers Saturday with 12 points.

“But we’ll have to continue to play well as a team and improve each game.”

Del City (15-8) opens Class 5A regionals Thursday at home against Southeast.

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

T.J. Noel, left, and Midwest City will play rival Del City on Saturday afternoon. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

The top-10 boys and girls basketball games between Del City and Midwest City will be played Saturday afternoon instead of Tuesday, as they were originally scheduled.

The girls will play at 1 p.m., and the boys will follow at Del City High School.

The last time these schools met in mid-January, the games were also moved to Saturday afternoon.

Del City girls coach Karri Sears said the rescheduling was made by district administrators and that it is a “safety issue.”

The rescheduling will mean a quick turnaround for both schools, which each have games Friday night.

Del City’s boys and girls host Moore on Friday, and Midwest City travels to Westmoore.

Despite the inconvenience of playing back-to-back games, coaches agree that it is good preparation for the playoffs.

“It’s one of those things where Del City is in the same situation,” said Midwest City girls coach Art Bode.

“And when it comes to the state tournament, you need to be ready for a quick turnaround.”

Sears said: “It’s gonna be tough on our kids, but it’ll prepare us for the playoffs.”

Midwest City’s girls (21-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, and have beaten Del City (14-7), No. 6 in 5A, both times they’ve played this season.

On the boys’ side, Del City (16-5) is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, and Midwest City (16-5) is No. 6 in 6A. The Bombers won the season’s first meeting at the Del City/Midwest City Holiday Invitational, and Del City won in the regular season at Midwest City.

When the Eagles won on Jan. 14, it was the first time they’d beaten Midwest City in more than a decade.

Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson is part of an impressive Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Class of 2012. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Anadarko running back Sheldon Wilson isn’t used to competing for playing time.

After signing Wednesday with Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, he’ll have to put in extra work as he fights for carries with other top backs the Norsemen signed.

“I’m gonna love that,” Wilson said. “I’ve never really had to compete for carries, so getting pushed and competing every day will make me better.”

Putnam City running back Casey Curtis, who rushed for 1,805 yards and 28 touchdowns as a senior, signed with NEO on Wednesday, as did Edmond North’s Jared Benway and Broken Bow’s Eric Dockins.

Wilson rushed for 3,335 yards and set state records with 57 rushing and 64 total touchdowns as a senior on Anadarko’s first state championship football team.

After the season, he was named The Oklahoman’s 2011 All-State Offensive Player of the Year.

Dale Patterson first recruiting class in his second stint as NEO’s coach was impressive beyond running backs.

NEO signed three top Oklahoma high school quarterbacks in McAlester’s Tony Kiefer, Owasso’s Kason Key and Mustang’s Brandon Taylor.

Four Edmond North seniors — Benway, tight end Troy Davis and offensive linemen Trevor Barron and Will Wiedenmann — also signed with NEO.

Other city-area prospects who signed with the Norsemen include Midwest City defensive back Ronnie Davis, Oklahoma Christian School kicker Keegan Carter and Kingfisher offensive lineman Hunter Endres.

The amount of talent NEO signed has Wilson thinking title.

“Looking at these guys, we might be able to win a little championship up there,” Wilson said.

Wilson will be joined at NEO by two of his Anadarko teammates, offensive lineman Randy Martinez and linebacker Wes Satoe.

“That’s really cool to go up there with teammates I know,” Wilson said. “I don’t have to go up there and feel like I don’t know anybody.”

Reeves took a visit to the school last weekend and made the decision to commit after the trip.

An Oklahoman All-State defensive back, Reeves (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) had 61 tackles and six interceptions as a senior and scored three rushing and a receiving touchdown on offense.

Linebacker Zeke Lewis is making a trip to the school this weekend. Lewis, also an all-stater, had a 6A-best 169 tackles and added six sacks and an interception.

Reeves joins James Flanders (Tulsa), Dakota Moran (Northeastern State), Devin Crisp (NSU) and C.J. Smith (Emporia State) as Midwest City players committed to play in college. Several others could decide between now and signing day, Feb. 1.

Moran was the anchor of the Bombers offensive line that helped Midwest City rush for nearly 3,500 yards this season. Midwest City was 11-1.

NSU was 7-5 last season, its last in the Lone Star Conference. NSU joins the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association next year.

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

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.

Timothy Flanders

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Former Midwest City star Timothy Flanders, a running back at Sam Houston State, was named to the American Football Coaches Association’s Football Championship Subdivision’s All-America team, announced Wednesday.
Flanders was one of just two sophomores named to the team. Indiana State running back Shakir Bell is the other.
Flanders, who was also named the Southland Conference’s player of the year, has 1,235 yards and 21 touchdowns rushing this season. He also has 404 yards and a pair of touchdowns receiving.
Sam Houston State, the top-ranked team in FCS, hosts Montana State at 11 a.m. Saturday in a quarterfinals matchup.

District 6A-1 All-District
Awards
Coach of the Year: Steve Huff, Midwest City
Most Valuable Player: James Flanders, Midwest City
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Corben Jones, Yukon
Co-Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian McDonald, Lawton Eisenhower
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Daniel Burton, Putnam North
Running Back of the Year: Dre Holman, Putnam North
Wide Receiver of the Year: Tae Douglas, Lawton Eisenhower
Defensive Player of the Year: Zeke Lewis, Midwest City
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Tyrone Beverly, Lawton Eisenhower
Linebacker of the Year: Taylor Lewis, Moore
Defensive Back of the Year: Derek Deeds, Yukon

All-District team
Choctaw: Luke Cotton, LB; Marcese Dickson, LB; Zac Reynolds, OL; Jared Nelson, OL; Jay Styers, WR.

Edmond Memorial: Matt Hickman, LB; Gavin Fouts, RB; Jon Scheihing, OL; Ry Huff, QB; Mac Wilsey, OL; Bryce Robinson, DB.

Lawton Eisenhower: Kacey Totte, LB; Kevin McClain, DB; Nick Shegog, DB; Grayden Gatlin, OL; Devante Baker, LB; Dee Simmons, DB; Dajon Reed, DL.

Midwest City: Ricky Reevs, DB; Zeke Lewis, LB; Ronnie Davis, DB; Austin Roberson, LB; James Flanders, RB; C.J. Smith, DL; Dakota Moran, OL; Chris Shannon, DL; Michael Wisby, WR; Devin Crisp, OL; Deonn McKay, LB; Antonio Martin, DB.

Moore: Brandon Eddins, LB; Grant Linstead, WR; Taylor Lewis, LB; Joe Haddox, LB; Jamal Carter, DL; Corey Reeves, QB; Dakota Gilbert, OL.

Norman North: Riley Nolan, C; Joe Toney, OL; Brad Birchfield, WR.

Putnam North: Daniel Burton, OL; Dre Holman, RB; Bray Humphreys, DL; Gaige Webster, WR; Vidale Grant, DB; Leigh Comfort, OL; J’mon Ratliff, OL.

Yukon: Corben Jones, QB; Derek Deeds, DB; Austin Bevill, WR; Tyrell Barker, DL; Lantz Parks, C; Sheldon Kearby, DL; Hunter Meyn, DB; Tyler Bush, OL; Will Paddock, OL; Zach Hazebaker, OL; Jansen Jarrett, LB.

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.

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

Overall:
Ryan: 72-29, 9-1
Jason: 69-32, 7-3
Scott: 67-34, 8-2

Ryan
Midwest City 35, Westmoore 21
Owasso 21, Norman 17
Edmond North 21, Yukon 19
Tulsa East Central 32, Tulsa Washington 20
Tulsa Kelley 28, Coweta 14
Duncan 14, Ada 7
Glenpool 35, Piedmont 27
Harrah 21, McGuinness 20
Sequoyah Tahlequah 28, Berryhill 27
Lawton 21, Norman North 14
Lock of the week: Tulsa East Central over Tulsa Washington. East Central won the regular-season matchup at they’ll win again here as their defense slows down the Hornets while their offense continues to roll.

Jason
Midwest City 31, Westmoore 24
Owasso 21, Norman 14
Edmond North 27, Yukon 14
Tulsa East Central 23, Tulsa Washington 14
Coweta 27, Tulsa Kelley 21
Duncan 24, Ada 14
Glenpool 31, Piedmont 17
McGuinness 17, Harrah 13
Sequoyah Tahlequah 35, Berryhill 24
Lawton 31, Norman North 17
Lock of the week: Edmond North over Yukon. Yes, Yukon is fired up because of the way last year’s game ended. But that won’t be enough to make up for the Huskies’ talent. Edmond North wins and moves to a showdown at Tulsa Union.

Scott
Midwest City 35, Westmoore 21
Owasso 28, Norman 17
Yukon 21, Edmond North 20
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 24
Tulsa Kelley 28, Coweta 24
Ada 28, Duncan 24
Glenpool 33, Piedmont 27
Harrah 21, McGuinness 17
Sequoyah Tahlequah 38, Berryhill 28
Lawton 28, Norman North 21
Lock of the Week: Owasso over Norman. Norman RB Donovan Roberts is a game-changer. If he’s able to play, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be at full speed after the ankle injury he suffered last week. And the Tigers need him to be effective to keep the offense balanced. Without that X-factor, Owasso should put this one away.

Former Midwest Cit standout Timothy Flanders, now a sophomore at Sam Houston State, was added to the watch list for the Walter Payton Award.

The award is given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Series, formerly know as Division I-AA.

“I have said all along I think he is the best running back in the FCS, and it is good everyone else is getting a chance to see what he can do,” Bearkat coach Willie Fritz said in a release.

Flanders leads the Bearkats in rushing (856 yards), receiving (343) and has played an integral role in Sam Houston State’s 9-0 start. The Bearkats are ranked third.

The award will be presented at the FCS national awards banquet Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas.

Flanders’ Bearkats play Northwestern State on Saturday.

In 2009, former Putnam City North standout Deji Karim finished third in the balloting for the award.

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)

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

Overall:
Ryan: 65-26, 8-1
Jason: 63-28, 7-2
Scott: 60-31

Ryan
Heritage Hall 40, Kingfisher 14
Jenks 35, Norman 28
Tulsa Union 35, Stillwater 28
Lawton 26, Westmoore 21
Pryor 17, Tulsa Central 13
Deer Creek 34, Ada 7
Anadarko 42, Weatherford 7
Midwest City 42, Norman North 7
McAlester 35, Tulsa Washington 20
Blanchard 22, Bridge Creek 14
Lock of the week: McAlester over Tulsa Washington. The Buffaloes offense has been just too good this season and the Hornets have struggled at times offensively themselves. McAlester wins the district title and remains undefeated.

Jason
Heritage Hall 31, Kingfisher 17
Stillwater 42, Tulsa Union 38
Jenks 27, Norman 14
Westmoore 14, Lawton 10
Pryor 17, Tulsa Central 13
Ada 31, Deer Creek 28
Anadarko 45, Weatherford 14
Midwest City 42, Norman North 24
McAlester 24, Tulsa Washington 17
Blanchard 14, Bridge Creek 9
Lock of the week: Westmoore over Lawton. Westmoore’s defense has been
impressive all season  -  save for last week’s shootout with Mustang -
and I think the Jaguars can hold the Wolverines out of the endzone just
enough to come away with a win. A Westmoore win would likely throw the
2nd, 3rd and 4th playoff spots into a three-way tie between these teams
and Edmond North. All three teams are close in district points, so such
a scenario favors North, which ends its season with U.S. Grant.

Scott
Heritage Hall 31, Kingfisher 17
Tulsa Union 42, Stillwater 38
Jenks 28, Norman 24
Lawton 23, Westmoore 20
Pryor 28, Tulsa Central 22
Deer Creek 21, Ada 17
Anadarko 42, Weatherford 35
Midwest City 48, Norman North 21
McAlester 34, Tulsa Washington 28
Blanchard 12, Bridge Creek 8
Lock of the Week: Tulsa Union over Stillwater. Often, the loss of a key player at a key time — in this case, the suspension of RB Kendall Holmes, who was having a huge year – seems like it will be devastating for a team. And many times, it is. But many other cases, it becomes a unifying moment. This could have been the last poke the Redskins needed to wake up for a run to the state title.

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)

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.

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.

With Westmoore falling out from No. 8 after its loss to Edmond Santa Fe, there were two logical candidates to take the spot: Edmond Santa Fe, who was ranked before its loss to Midwest City the week before, and Stillwater. I chose the Pioneers based on their recent performances but just barely. Santa Fe gets a tough test next week at Lawton. A good performance there, win or lose, gives the Wolves a chance to move back in.

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

Ardmore and Tulsa Washington still in the rankings at 1-3? Absolutely. I’ve never understood why teams drop in rankings after they lose to a high ranked opponent (in most cases). While Tulsa Washington has plenty to work on, the Hornets are still very talented, especially on the defensive side. They lost to Carl Albert, Abilene, Texas, and Tulsa East Central. They’re going to be right there at the end, regardless of what their record now is. Ardmore is similar. They beat Ada to start the season before running into the murderer’s row of Carl Albert, McAlester and Lawton MacArthur the last few weeks. They shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Speaking of Lawton Mac, I think next week is the week I totally deconstruct my rankings in this class especially and build from scratch. I think the Highlanders might be the best team in the class right now, although I think all five of the top teams are very good. The team I hate to leave out is Tulsa Central, who is 4-0 going into next week’s game against Grove.

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

McGuinness drops four spots after getting manhandled on the road at Clinton. They might be a better team than that but hard to tell right now as the only varsity team they’ve beaten to this point was Tulsa Kelley, another team I’m not sure what to think of through four weeks. I suspect McGuinness will climb up. Hilldale moves into the rankings after a big win over Poteau gave the Hornets back-to-back blowouts after playing Wagoner pretty tough in Week 2. Piedmont and Cleveland gave me pause in those spots, though. Piedmont because of its offense and Cleveland due to its defense. Cleveland has allowed just 33 points all season. Elgin dropped out after getting thumped by Piedmont

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

I’ve been looking to get Berryhill into the rankings for a few weeks but since no team in my top 10 had lost a game through three weeks, I couldn’t do it. Sequoyah Tahlequah finally broke that stretch this week with its loss to Verdigris. Everything else remains the same with Seminole moving up one slot. There are several other undefeated teams in the class right now as well.

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

Nothing changes here as all of the top 10 teams won last week. Hennessey is ranked at No. 6 because their only losses came close against Jones and to 3A No. 8 Kingfisher.

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

Nothing changes here either as all of the top 10 teams won.

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

It’s hard to figure out where to slot Wetumka in here after a previously unranked Gans team beat them 52-22 Friday. I slid Davenport and Laverne up a spot before slotting Gans at No. 4. As I kept going down, comparing schedules, I wound up with Wetumka holding on at No. 10. They might be a bit better than that but of the teams ahead of them, only Cherokee has had a blowout loss (at Laverne). Wetumka isn’t likely to be challenged until the final two weeks of the season when they get zcaddo and Dewar back-to-back.

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

Covington-Douglas moves up a spot after beating previously fourth-ranked Tipton. Tipton drops a couple of spots to six after the close loss. Coyle continues to move up the rankings to No. 7 but they’ll get a tough test this week with No. 1 Deer Creek-Lamont. Sharon-Mutual moves into the rankings, replacing Thackerville in the final spot.

By Ryan Aber

Yukon is looking for its first win at the new Miller Stadium.

A year ago, Yukon started the season 8-1, and the only loss came at Midwest City, so you know the Millers have been looking forward to this game. If you’re going to win District 6A-1, you’re doing to have to beat the Bombers, so this is a big game for Yukon.

“We know they’re good, and we haven’t come through as a team the last couple weeks,” Yukon senior lineman Tyler Bush said. “We know that line play will be a key factor in the game, so we’ll have to be ready.”

Of course, Midwest City isn’t interested in giving up that district crown, and they have to believe Yukon is arguably the top challenger to the throne.

It’s only the first week of district play, but I’m expecting an all-out brawl between these two teams tonight in Yukon.

What to watch for: Midwest City

I’m excited to see the Bombers, because I haven’t seen them live since the first scrimmage of the preseason. And that night, I came away unimpressed. I knew the talent they had, and I knew coach Steve Huff would have them ready to go when the real games started — and he did.

I figured the Bombers would be the best of the west in 6A, and it looks that way so far. Keep an eye on RB James Flanders tonight. The last time I saw Yukon in action against Edmond Santa Fe, they had some difficulties tackling in space. If that is an issue tonight, Flanders will make them pay.

What to watch for: Yukon

With the 1-2 start, Yukon is reeling just a little bit, so the fresh start of district play is important. They could put all of that behind them with a win tonight, which would be the first one in the new house.

Yukon will need to get the run game going, because MWC has too much talent in the secondary to let them sit on the pass. You have to make them think you can run the ball.

There are a couple of Division I prospects in the MWC secondary, so seeing the battle between them and Yukon QB Corben Jones — a D-I prospect himself — will be a fun one to watch.

The Pick: Midwest City 27, Yukon 24. Though the 1-2 start has been frustrating for Yukon, I don’t take it as a sign that they’re significantly worse than last year’s team. They should be able to keep this one close, but the Bombers have just a little too much. Keep an eye on MWC linebacker Zeke Lewis. I think he could play a pivotal role in limiting Yukon’s run game.

– 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.

After his team beat Enid 63-20 on Friday, Midwest City coach Steve Huff felt much better about his defense than he did after a Week 1 win over Del City.

“The consistency wasn’t there last week,” Huff said. “I thought our defense tackled a lot better.”

That showed most in the linebacking corps.

Myles Hogg put up big tackling numbers in the win over Del City but the numbers were much more balanced against Enid.

Austin Roberson and Zeke Lewis had solid games on either side of Hogg.

“When you don’t tackle well, when you get in open spaces and don’t make plays, you get yourself in trouble,” Huff said. “We didn’t do near as much of that against Enid.”

Rose Field-Jim Darnell Stadium, Midwest City (Photo by Jim Beckel)

MIDWEST CITY—Here’s the second installment of our weekly series on the top 10 high school football stadiums in the Oklahoma City area.

The rankings were produced by Jason Kersey and I. We based our choices on facilities, uniqueness and home-field advantage.

We’ll unveil a new stadium every Tuesday, wrapping up with our pick as the top high school football stadium in the city area on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

No. 9 on the list is Midwest City’s Rose Field at Jim Darnell Stadium.

Why it’s on the list: Bomber Magic. Before the streak put together by Jenks and Tulsa Union over the last 15 seasons, Midwest City was the dominant program in the state’s top class. The Bombers have won five state titles, including the last two in 6A by a west-side team in 1994 and 1995. Over those two seasons, Midwest City won 28 consecutive games, becoming the first team to repeat in the state’s largest class in 20 years. Tradition is important for Midwest City and one of the most notable traditions for the Bombers has been the players painting their shoes gold during the playoffs.

The stadium is located in a neighborhood across SE 15th Street from Midwest City High School, giving it a unique neighborhood field. It’s also hard to escape the aviation theme there, as military planes routinely fly over the stadium, which is located on Lockheed Drive.

Named after: Oscar Rose and Jim Darnell. Rose was the first superintendent of the Mid-Del district. Rose State College is also named after Oscar Rose. Darnell coached Midwest City for 23 seasons, with a 184-51-11 record. He led the Bombers to the 1960 state title, four runner-up finishes and seven district titles. He never had a losing season and from 1964-75, the Bombers never lost more than two games a year. Darnell died in 2007 at age 78.

How to get there from downtown Oklahoma City: Take I-40 east to SE 15th Street. Take SE 15th Street east to Lockheed Drive. Turn right on Lockheed Drive. Continue on Lockheed Drive. Stadium is on right.

Midwest City’s 2011 remaining home schedule
Friday: Enid, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30: Putnam City North, 7 p.m.
Oct. 14: Choctaw, 7 p.m.
Oct. 28: Lawton Eisenhower, 7 p.m.
Nov. 4: Norman North, 7 p.m.

Midwest City's Ronnie Davis throws a pass during Thursday's scrimmage against Muskogee.

Unless you were a Tulsa Union fan, you probably didn’t come away feeling completely satisfied after the four-team scrimmage at Midwest City Thursday night.

The Redskins, owners of the last three Class 6A gold balls, looked solid across the board Thursday night, including junior starting quarterback Hunter Atyia (pronounced uh-TIE-uh). More on him later.

As for Mustang and Midwest City — two of the teams who will be battling this year for the title of Great West Hope — both had their bright moments, but both faced some struggles, especially on defense.

Union scored four touchdowns on the Broncos during the 30-minute scrimmage. Mustang started several sophomores last season, so they’re still young on that side of the ball. But they have a good amount of experience.

“No excuses right now, because a bunch of them played last year,” coach Ty Prestidge said. “I’m happy with them. I think Union will make a lot of people look like that, especially this time of year.”

Offensively, you knew Midwest City would be a little shaky at times, considering two quarterbacks — Ronnie Davis and Joel Davis (no relation) — are battling for the starting job. The two alternated series, and both had some good moments. Ronnie Davis had the big play of the night, though most of the work was done by receiver Zac Brannon.

Brannon caught a pass on a slip screen coming in from the right side of the field, cutting across the traffic and outrunning everyone to the end zone for a 70-yard TD. 

Here are some more news and notes from Thursday night:

Huff looking for more from defense

After a so-so showing from his defense — which is expected to be among the best in the state — Midwest City coach Steve Huff hopes his players will clean up their tackling.

“With as many returners as we have on defense, I think maybe we’ve been reading our clippings too much,” Huff said. “Right now, the main thing for that group is to tackle better. They did not tackle well, and they know it. They’ll watch film and they won’t like what they see, but they’ll go back to work.”

Mustang’s Taylor leading the charge

The Mustang quarterback is working with several new receivers and a few new offensive linemen, so he’s trying to get everyone on the same page in the Broncos’ fast-paced offense.

He was intercepted twice — once on a tipped pass — but overall, coach Ty Prestidge was pleased with his quarterback’s play against Tulsa Union.

“When he has time to throw, he’s good. And he’s like anybody else when he has people hanging on him,” Prestidge said. “We’re gonna get better on the offensive line, and I think our receivers are gonna come around.

“We were happy with Brandon’s performance. He’s gonna have a good year.”

Mustang looking for receivers

Mustang graduated its top five receivers from last year’s team, including All-State first-teamer David Glidden, so the pass-happy Broncos are looking for depth, playmakers and reliable hands.

Aside from a couple of drops, Mustangs receivers were solid, coming through with a few big plays. Derek Garvin and Dakota Warrington are among the leaders of the group, and sophomore Colton Hadlock is working his way into a bigger role.

“He’s a big target and he caught everything that was thrown at him tonight,” coach Ty Prestidge said. “I think he’s gonna come on and be a good one. He showed some promise tonight.”

Tulsa Union’s Atyia steps into starter’s role

Hunter Atyia got plenty of experience as a sophomore last season filling in when starting quarterback Kale Pearson got hurt, and Atyia looked solid moving the offense against Mustang Thursday night at Midwest City.

But the expectations will be a little heftier for Atyia this season.

“He’s really made for that position,” Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. “The experience is there, but as a sophomore, there weren’t a lot of expectations on him. This year, it’s a different game. It’s a lot easier to go in and play as a backup than it is to be the guy. But he’s getting there, and we’re excited about what he did tonight.”

Muskogee’s Williams in different role

Williams is in a new offensive role under first-year coach Josh Blankenship, shifting from quarterback to receiver. He’s being recruited primarily as a defensive back, but his offensive skills will be valuable for the Roughers this year.

“A lot of our offense is gonna have to be finding as many creative ways as possible to get the ball in his hands,” Blankenship said. “That’s why we put him in the receiver position. We want to get the ball to him out in space.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Here was Aber’s answer:

They will be very good once again. Is that enough to compete at the level of Jenks or Union? I don’t think they’re quite there. They’ve got a very good defense, especially in the secondary, and a great back in James Flanders but will need big-time play from whichever QB wins the job to be able to challenge for a spot in the title game.

Read the rest of Aber’s chat here. And check out his story on the Bombers’ quest to lighten James Flanders load here.

Midwest City's Marisha Wallace, left, will play in college at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Midwest City star forward Marisha Wallace will play in college at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid, she said after Wednesday’s large-school girls All-State basketball game.

Wallace had a fantastic high school career that was marred by two major knee injuries. Six games into her junior season at Midwest City, she tore her ACL, MCL and LCL. Then, 15 seconds into last season’s Class 6A semifinals against Edmond Memorial March, Wallace tore her meniscus.

She was part of two state championship teams — her freshman year at Millwood and her junior year at Midwest City.

Wednesday was her first time back on the court since the meniscus tear. She scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in the West’s 73-50 win over the East at the Mabee Center in Tulsa.

Wallace said the knee “felt good” Wednesday and that she’s been working hard to rehab as she prepares to head to Enid for college ball.

Wallace had offers from some smaller NCAA Division I schools, but decided to go to junior college after the menicus tear.

“Coming off two knee injuries, I decided to go to juco because I wanted more options,” Wallace said.

Doesn't that picture tell you all you need to know about Zac Veatch?

Back again for another installment of looking back at our latest Super 30 members. So let’s not waste any time, shall we?

21. Kason Key, QB, Owasso
The Rams were the ‘little team that could’ last year. Seriously expected not one thing from Bill Patterson’s group last year. So it was a huge shock to me to see Owasso in the state semifinals but maybe not to the team itself. One big reason for last year’s surge and this year’s expectations is obviously Key. He’s got great size and a great No. 1 target in Keon Hatcher.

For Anthony Slater’s story on Key, go here.

20. Ronnie Davis, CB, Midwest City
He’s going to be recruited as a cornerback, but I’m starting to be more and more impressed with his ability to throw the football. Got to watch him (and seven other teams) at Edmond Santa Fe on Tuesday, and it sure feels like Davis could be returning to his quarterback roots. Either way, I stand by my story that Davis is going to blow up this year, no matter where he plays.

For my story on Davis, go here.

19. Zac Veatch, TE, Broken Arrow
BA coaches got on me good in February when I didn’t have Veatch on the February list. Consider that corrected and consider that an error on my part in the first place. Veatch is a big boy, no doubt. Easily one of the best tight ends in the state. When I was talking to Norman’s George Kittle about Veatch, yep, that confirmed it. “Oh, he is tough to bring down.” Good enough for me.

For Tariq Lee’s story on Veatch, go here.

Now in the teens of the Super 30. Up next is one of the best linebackers not only of this year but of the last couple of years. Been a name to watch for a while now. Stay with us every day as we unveil the Super 30 for 2012, culminating with No. 1 on July 24.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Midwest City's Ronnie Davis has waited patiently to make his impact.

A good coach will get in your ear early about some of his top kids. Well, it’s tough to top the efforts of Midwest City assistant coach Jason Sexton.

He’ll take every opportunity he can to just let you know how things are going. But nine times out of 10, Sexton has been 100 percent. So with that type of track record, you start to not brush him off and start to really pay attention when he says something.

That means we’re blaming Sexton if Ronnie Davis doesn’t pan out. I kid (100 percent), but Davis could be one of the more scrutinized choices of the Super 30 at No. 20.

His numbers don’t place him anywhere near the list. But as I’ve stated and will continue to state to email complaints, this isn’t about who the best high school player is. This list is about how the kids are being perceived on the recruiting trail.

And right now, yea, Davis’ stock is rising. He’s got great size as a defensive back, but things might get more interesting if coach Steve Huff believes Davis would best represent the team at quarterback.

No matter where he’s at, Davis is simply grateful to finally getting that chance. And if he does play in the secondary with Ricky Reeves, all I’m going to say is look out. That might be the best corner duo in the state right there.

Davis was a QB his entire life until learning the CB spot last year. The recruiting floodgates opened at corner so definitely going to be keeping tabs on how things progress for Davis.

He has natural instincts, and he’s good at baiting opposing quarterbacks. But in 6A, you don’t play both ways at CB/QB. After waiting, though, one way or another, Davis’ time is now.

For my story on Davis, here ya go.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Midwest City's James Flanders committed to Tulsa on Wednesday night.

Another Flanders is heading up the turnpike. Midwest City running back James Flanders committed to Tulsa University, he confirmed to The Oklahoman on Wednesday night.

Flanders’ older brother, John, is a starting defensive back for the Golden Hurricane. Another Flanders, Timothy, originally committed to Tulsa before signing with Kansas State. Timothy Flanders is now at Sam Houston State.

One of the major reasons James Flanders committed to Tulsa was his position. While some schools were looking at Flanders as a defensive back, Tulsa recruited Flanders as a running back and that was something very important to Flanders, he told The Tulsa World.

After becoming a starter in his sophomore year, Flanders cemented himself as one of the top backs in the state last year. As a junior, Flanders rushed for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Flanders, 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, was also receiving interest from several Big 12 schools. He joins Lawton MacArthur teammates Daniel Schwarz (kicker) and Michael Thomas (safety) as in-state commits to Tulsa.

***

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

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

You can’t always determine a lot from an hour of watching practice, but it’s pretty clear the strength is going to be on the defensive side of the ball. Even though defense is usually ahead of offense, anyway, the gap is a little bit bigger than what it’s been in the past.

That’s not a knock on the Bomber offense, but that is simply just stating a fact of how good the defense is going to be. Heck, if you ask me, Midwest City has three of the top defenders in the state in defensive backs Ronnie Davis and Ricky Reeves and linebacker Zeke Lewis.

Davis is an interesting story because coach Steve Huff told me Davis is also being considered as the starting quarterback. That would certainly flip the script for me. Davis has been a QB for most of the time but couldn’t replace/surpass Greg Austin. Interesting dynamic if Davis is at QB.

Wasn’t watching too intently on James Flanders, who already has an offer from Tulsa. He was moving around fine and will no doubt be a stud in the fall.

I wasn’t the only one out there as Southwestern Oklahoma State coach Dan Cocannouer was enjoying the practice, too. Cocannouer is copying me (kidding) and has been making the rounds as well.  He said he was at Mustang and Yukon earlier in the day before heading to MWC.

The No. 1 thing I took from Tuesday’s practice was how hard the guys were going at it. Coaches have different philosophies about how to approach things, and Huff was going all-out. Big hits, good hits and coaches were in mid-season form, too.

Going to get to see more of the Bombers here in two weeks as they’ll be a part of the team camp at Edmond North that begins June 1.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Midwest City's Cortrez (pictured) and Cortrael Colbert have reasons to be happy. The twins are heading to Central Oklahoma to play basketball.

Midwest City guards Cortrez and Cortrael Colbert signed letters of intent this week to play basketball at Central Oklahoma.

The 6-foot-2 brothers each averaged better than 15 points per game and were key players in coach Dewayne Bradley’s intense defensive scheme that helped the Bombers to back-to-back appearances in the Class 6A state championship game.

Cortrez also had an offer from the University of Denver, but they wanted to stay together in college.

“That’s something they were hoping to be able to do,” Bradley said. “UCO is probably the best Division II program in the area, and it’s only 30 minutes from home, so everybody can still see them play. And UCO’s style of play is a great fit for both of them.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Quincy Johnson and T.J. Wright bring home more powerlifting gold.

There wasn’t a more dominant powerlifter this season than Carl Albert’s Quincy Johnson. Meet after meet, Johnson was racking up the honors.

He punctuated the season last weekend by winning the national championship in the 198-pound unequipped division at the National Athlete Strength Association championships.

Johnson set the world record in the squat (518 pounds), bench (320), deadlift (524) and total (1,362). Johnson was also named the Most Outstanding Heavyweight Lifter.

Other area winners included Southmoore’s T.J. Wright in the unequipped 168-pound division and Cajun Cox of Midwest City in the equipped 168-pound division.

Wright set world records in the deadlift (573 pounds) and total (1,267). Wright won Most Outstanding Lightweight Lifter.

Unequipped means no power suits or shirts were worn. Equipped means things such as wrist wraps, knee wraps, shirts and belts are allowed.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@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.

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

Player of the Year:  Obi Emegano (Edmond Memorial)

Defensive Player of the Year:  Trez Colbert (Midwest City)

Offensive Player of the Year: Tilford Thornton (Southmoore)

Newcomer of the Year: Jordan Woodard (Edmond Memorial)

Coach of the Year: Shane Cowherd (Edmond Memorial)

1st Team
Obi Emegano  (Edmond Memorial)
Tilford Thornton  (Southmoore)
Brandon Lucas  (Southmoore)
Trez Colbert  (Midwest City)
Trael Colbert  (Midwest City)
Patrick Schaefer  (Norman North)

2nd Team
James Woodard  (Edmond Memorial)
Dorian Gigger  (Moore)
A.J. Holland  (Del City)
Jared Jobe  (Edmond Memorial)
Jordan Woodard  (Edmond Memorial)

3rd Team
Conner Madole  (Norman)
Greg Austin  (Midwest City)
Matt Southard  (Norman North)
Blake Pullium  (Westmoore)
Drew Smith  (Del City)

Honorable Mention
Brandon Southern  (Norman)
Jacques Murray  (Norman)
Jordan Thomas  (Edmond Memorial)
Gabe Bonzie  (Norman North)
T.J. Noel  (Midwest City)
Kody English  (Moore)
Beau Palmer  (Westmoore)

***

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

Carl Albert's Quincy Johnson setting the state record in the deadlift.

Paced by three individual championships, the Midwest City powerlifting team cruised to its fourth state championship in a row last weekend at McLoud.

The Bombers finished with 101 points, with Southmoore a distant second with 54.

Midwest City’s Payton Richards at 132 pounds, Cajun Cox at 157 and Jesse Venzor at 242 all earned individual championships. The Bombers had seven lifters place in the event.

Carl Albert’s Quincy Johnson, who was dominant all season in powerlifting in the 198-pound division, saved his best performance for his final one. Johnson set the state record for the deadlift at 605 pounds. The previous mark was set in the 1970s.

His combined total between the deadlift, bench press and squat was 1,470 pounds, and he won Outstanding Heavyweight Lifter. He had 530 pounds in the squat and 335 for the bench.

Not recognized by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, powerlifting is run by the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association.

***

I got a chance to cover the powerlifting event in 2008 as for some reason it didn’t conflict with state basketball. I enjoyed it. Whenever somebody would attempt to set a record, all the lifters would gather around and cheer him on. Thought that was pretty cool.

Any other powerlifters wanna let me know how they did? Go ahead. Johnson and Midwest City always kept me up to date on how things were going, but just drop me a line.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

He did. The Golden Hurricane have become the first program to offer the Bombers star running back. Flanders was offered after Tulsa’s Junior Day and was one of many area juniors to attend the event.

“I’m just trying to get my weight up,” Flanders said. “I’m lifting a lot of weights and getting ready for track season.”

Flanders is receiving interest from several other Big 12 schools, including Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State. However, Flanders said he is not ready to list any favorites just yet.

Flanders rushed for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. His older brother, John, is a starting defensive back for Tulsa. James Flanders was listed at 170 pounds last season and said he is around 180 pounds right now.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

And really, because this game has been postponed by two weeks, it’s just added to the drama. The teams have been dominant and this about as big a high-profile regular season matchup as you’re going to find. For both the boys and girls.

So if you’re free Thursday night, head on down to Memorial. You know I’ll be there. It will be among my last games before state with swimming and wrestling hitting their championship weekends.

No. 2 Midwest City at No. 1 Edmond Memorial (Boys)

The stars will be out in this one. In this corner, you have the Bomber twins Trez and Trael Colbert. In the other corner, it’s the Woodward brothers (James and Jordan) of Memorial.

Oh yea, and you’ll also have Obi Emegano for Memorial, who has signed with Western Illinois. As for Midwest City, I really like how T.J. Noel and Cornell Neal have developed. Coach Dewayne Bradley is happy, too, mentioning his quest to find supporting players to the Colberts and Greg Austin is over.

“We don’t have one standout in the post, but as a collective group, I really like what we have,” Bradley said. “We’re definitely more than just those three.”

And so is Memorial. I’m thinkin’ this might be a good time for Jared Jobe to re-introduce himself to the basketball world. I really like Jobe’s game and think he is going to get some good looks.

The first showdown (Scott Wright was there) saw Memorial win at Midwest City in overtime. Jordan Woodard came up huge down the stretch. What is going to happen this time around?

No. 1 Midwest City at No. 3 Edmond Memorial (Girls)

Were the Bulldogs looking ahead to this one in a loss at Norman North on Tuesday? Are the Bombers THAT much better than everyone else in the field?

Midwest City has had the target on their backs all year and have risen to the challenge every single time. Seriously, there is no weakness on this team. Post stars Marisha Wallace and Kaylon Williams are among the best in the state. Ashley Clark has emerged as a great slasher and scorer. Reagan Widener guides the team without even having to attempt a shot. They’re scary good.

But Memorial at Memorial, well, that’s a fun environment. Alie Decker is an unquestioned star but this has been a big year for Brooklyn Bell and Sydney Hill. And they’ll need to come up huge against MWC, the only undefeated team in 6A.

Post play will be crucial so Margaret Butler is going to have to play big. Coach Shane Coffey said Butler is finally starting to trust herself enough to become more aggressive on the offensive end. If Butler gives the team 6-8 points, that’s a huge lift.

X-factor for Memorial is going to be Alyssa Hand. She takes it hard to the cup. If she can convert and/or get the Bombers in foul trouble, could be an intriguing contest.

Time for talking is over. Let’s do this already.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

So I wondered if these Bombers would be able to get back to the same level, despite having a ton of talent and a deep bench.

But coach Dewayne Bradley pointed out back in December that McClish and Parks were basketball-only kids, and they were in the gym all year. So when football ended, and the Colbert twins and Greg Austin joined the mix, the leadership was already established.

This year, it’s Cortrez and Cortrael Colbert, along with Austin, who are the leaders, so the team got a late start in working out the chemistry with its top players in the fold.

Watching the Bombers in Tuesday night’s 65-49 win over a red-hot Norman team, you could see that this team is getting everything in order.

The Big Three have meshed well with freshman Omega Harris, who looks like he’s going to be an assist machine. And a lot of players can fill the fifth spot or come off the bench and offer some production.

Defensively, the Bombers were racking up steals and turning them into easy layups all night long. And in the first half, they had the 3-point shots falling — 6-of-10 before halftime — so it was easy work.

Despite all the steals, the Bombers weren’t necessarily happy with their total defensive performance. When Norman got into its half-court game, it found ways to score, using a lot of different people to do it.

But you can tell that MWC is getting the pieces in place to try and make another run at the gold ball.

As for Norman, I can see why it has been able to make such a drastic turnaround after the 2-8 start. The Tigers are just a well-balanced team. Decent size, good guard play, multiple scoring options and a solid coach. Once the players got comfortable in Jeff McCullough’s new system, the turnaround was easy to make, because the talent is there.

Obviously, Midwest City’s ball pressure caused them some trouble, but there aren’t a lot of teams that defend the way MWC can. So even though the eight-game winning streak ended Tuesday, look for the Tigers to stay on the upswing. Of course, matchups become so important in the postseason, and we’ll get to find out Norman’s playoff destination on Thursday, weather-permitting.

Last week, the OSSAA had to back up the release of the 2A-4A playoff pairings because of the snow, but hopefully they were able to line everything out on Tuesday, and we’ll find out all the details of who’s going where Thursday afternoon.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

And yes, I hope they do. Here’s my top 7 girls games in the OKC area that need to be made up:

1. Midwest City at Edmond Memorial – Assume this is No. 1 for both the boys and girls. Bombers are still undefeated, while Memorial has shown the ability to play with the big dogs but not yet beat MWC or Edmond Santa Fe.

2. Del City at Norman – Tigers have been lurking. Some early season losses may have had people forgetting about them. Del City was one of those teams to get Matilda Mossman’s girls early. Big statement game for either team.

3. Choctaw at Putnam North – As I’ve written about a lot the last couple of weeks, the Yellowjackets are coming on strong. But so, too, are the Panthers. Both teams are playing their best ball. Hope that delay doesn’t hurt them.

4. Millwood at Star Spencer – One more go-around for the OKCPS rivals. Millwood looks like the early favorite in 2A for the crown, while Sharane Campbell you know wants to lead one last run for the Bobcats.

5. Bethel at Dale – Ye old stompin’ grounds. Back in Shawnee, this was one of the big ones. And you know what? In the state, it’s still one of the big ones. Wildcats have rightfully earned top spot in Class 3A.

6. Shawnee at Carl Albert – Gioya Carter vs. Kelsee Grovey would be a nice matchup/shootout. But really, Tim Price’s club needs this win after losing three of its last four games.

7. Western Heights at Piedmont - Oh, another big Suburban Conference showdown. Dilan Webster is extremely talented, but I think she’s too unselfish for the Jets. Kylie Boggess has been big for the Wildcats.

Will they all get made up? I don’t know. I hope so, but we’ll have to wait and see. If you know of any confirmed makeup dates, please send ‘em this way.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

Their first game was an overtime thriller won by the Edmond Memorial boys, but who knows when we’ll see the rematch between the Bulldogs and Midwest City? What I do know is that game WILL be played.

“It’s a conference game. We always, always play our conference games,” Memorial coach Shane Cowherd said. “If this was a non-conference game, it might be easier to let go.”

This game will have a huge impact on the rankings. As it stands, Memorial is No. 1 and Midwest City is No. 2. If the Bulldogs sweep the Bombers, tough seeing MWC ever leap-frogging Cowherd’s bunch.

Now the problem becomes trying to find the right date. Cowherd and Edmond athletic director Mike Nunley said preliminary talks point toward a Monday showdown but that is far, far from being confirmed.

It’s not just trying to avoid any other activity conflicts, it’s also trying to make sure the gym is available. Between junior high and freshman basketball and other non-sports activities at the gym, it’s an absolute mess to try to find the right date.

Oh, the girls game should be dang good, too. Midwest City is undefeated and ranked No. 1, while Memorial bounced back with a win over Southmoore and stands pat at No. 3.

The Bombers routed the Bulldogs the first time around. But playing in Memorial, well, you just never know with that type of crowd.

Honestly, no rescheduling dates are really even being discussed because nobody is even sure when schools will be open. Good chance we might have a whole week wiped out. Who knows? Friday games don’t look too safe at this juncture, but we’ll all just have to wait and see.

One plus, said Cowherd, is maybe his team can get healthy. A couple of his players were really sick last week. I should know as I felt like all the sick HS kids gave their stuff to me over the weekend. Now? Might be ready to go again.

On a serious note, hope everyone is safe during this storm. When I know more on the basketball stuff, I’ll let ya know.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

11. Davion Pierson, Millwood (TCU) — The other local boy (not on Del City) going to Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs. Pierson’s dedication to his conditioning was key this year.

12. Daniel Davis, Norman North (Pennsylvana) — Went his separate ways with Stanford and has found a home in the Ivy League. Comfortable with decision.

13. Archie Bradley, Broken Arrow (Oklahoma) — Such a great baseball prospect that I would be shocked to see Bradley on OU’s campus in the fall though he said he really wants to be there.

14. Tyler Lockett, Tulsa Washington (Kansas State) — Played the role of recruiter himself in getting teammate Dante Barnett to join him in Manhattan.

15. Kameron Doolittle, Edmond Memorial (Northeastern Oklahoma) — Coaching changes proved crucial at Colorado and Tulsa. Still has a very upbeat attitude about his future.

16. Cody Miller, Lawton (East Central University) — A steal for the Ada-based program. Miller is about as solid as they come. ACL injury hurt his prospects.

17. Hunter Davis, Choctaw (Kansas State) — A late change from Tulsa to KSU, said he felt really comfortable in Manhattan.

18. Trevon Lewis, Midwest City (Texas State) — Midwest City assistant Jason Sexton said Lewis should be signing with Texas State, he’s another late sleeper if you ask me.

19. David Glidden, Mustang (Oklahoma State) — Proving again size doesn’t matter, Glidden could become a household name in a couple of years for the Cowboys.

20. Jake Love, Tonkawa (Kansas) — A solid senior season removed any doubts about Jayhawks taking a chance on Tonkawa product.

Wednesday: Nos. 10-1.

***

Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com

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.

Though it sure would appear things are going to be quite OK here in the Oklahoma City area for Friday tournament games, that’s not the case in Tulsa.

Tulsa Union and Jenks Public Schools are both going to be closed Friday and thus the Union-Jenks Invitational is canceled.

One of the contingency plans, said Midwest City boys coach Dewayne Bradley, was that if the schools were closed, the tournament would be canceled.

“I’ve never had this before,” Bradley said. “Never had a tournament just flat out canceled.”

Midwest City does not play until next Friday so it will be interesting to see if the team is at all rusty. Bradley said his team will practice this weekend. The Northeast boys were the other Oklahoma City area team involved in the boys/girls tournament.

***

Heard Union and Jenks were canceled so I called Bradley. He hadn’t heard anything yet. As we’re talking, Jenks’ Clay Martin texts Bradley to say the tournament is canceled. See, timing is everything even at 10:30 on a Thursday night.

Titan Classic
At Carl Albert
Thursday
Boys
Lawton MacArthur vs. Guthrie, 11:30 a.m.
Millwood vs. Wichita North, 2:30
Carl Albert vs. Harvest Life, 5:30
Del City vs. HCYA – Houston, 8:30
Girls
Del City vs. Mustang, 10 a.m.
Carl Albert vs. Putnam City, 1 p.m.
Millwood vs. Stillwater, 4 p.m.
Midwest City vs. Douglass, 7 p.m.

So Friday was the first time I got the chance to see the Midwest City girls team. I’ve been internally debating whether or not Paul Bass’ Santa Fe girls could stand a chance against the Bombers.

As of mid-January, I’m saying no. I just don’t see a weakness in Art Bode’s team…anywhere.

In the post, you have Kaylon Williams and Marisha Wallace. Williams, battling sickness, only had two points vs. Del City and the team still won by 21 points.

On the perimeter, Reagan Widener is anchoring the team, while Adrianna White and Ashley Clark are both capable of 12-15 points per contest.

The team that beats Midwest City (if there is one) is going to have to have a great shooting night. You need to bring those post players out of the paint so you have a chance to get rebounds. Gonna be a tough chore for anybody.

Not sure if this team is better than last year’s, but it is undefeated and playing great ball right now. In a loaded field at the Titan Classic coming up, the Bombers are separating themselves from the rest of the pack

Here’s a short video with Wallace after the Del City victory.

I just had a hunch that Midwest City and Del City was the game to go to Friday night. As much as it hurt to not see Santa Fe and Putnam City, trusted my gut.

But even I didn’t expect an overtime battle like we saw Friday night. If Drew Smith would have drained that 3-pointer as the clock expired, I would have finally had my first buzzer beater on video this season.

Alas, it fell short and Midwest City pulled out a 58-56 win. Heck, if T.J. Noel would have made the put back attempt at the end of regulation, I would have had my first buzzer beater.

Instead, I’ll have to be content in watching another chapter of the Mid-Del rivalry.

I did think it would be good, but I was a little concerned in the second quarter. The Bombers were pulling away slowly at 23-12, but Del City never panicked (even if I was).

Down four at halftime, the Eagles scored the first two baskets and then the teams were not separated by more than three points the rest of regulation.

Del City took its first lead of the game at 43-40 on the first basket of the fourth quarter. The Eagles actually never trailed in the fourth.

In overtime, the Bombers jumped up big as TJ Noel and Cornell Neal each had 3-point plays. It was 56-51 when Anthony Holland drained a 3-pointer.

Then we played the free throw game. Some were made, some were missed. And before you knew it, it was 58-56 with 6.6 seconds left. Smith drove down the right side of the court. Bombers did a great job of pressuring him and trapping him. Smith couldn’t pass and had to force it up. Not sure if it was online from my vantage point but knew it was short.

Heck of a battle.

Trael Colbert, after getting off to a slow start, finished with a game-high 16 points. Twin brother Trez added 11, while TJ Noel scored five of his nine points in overtime.

Del City was balanced all the way through. Brian Cannon had 11. Chris Stevenson pitched in with 10. Smith had 9.

Look for a video with Trael Colbert on NewsOK on Saturday (including the game’s final sequence).

Midwest City 54, Del City 33 (Girls)

I’ll keep this short and elaborate more on a later day. All I’m gonna say is when Reagan Widener and Kaylon Williams combine for five points and you STILL win by 21…uh oh.

Marisha Wallace was a force early, scoring 11 of her 20 points in the first quarter. It was just a gradual margin increase throughout.

Look for a video with Wallace on NewsOK on Saturday, too. When that video is posted, I’ll give my thoughts on Art Bode’s girls.

Closing out my Mid-Del weekend with a trip to the Titan Invitational wrestling tournament Saturday night.

Players from tournament finalists Yukon and Midwest City, as well as Stillwater, are part of the film that was made during the regional qualifier in Stillwater and the championship tournament at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The screening will be at 6 p.m. Monday at the Warren Theater in Moore. Admission is free and limited to the first 200 guests.

The final two games of the night were decided by two points or less, one with a (controversial) game-winner going in with 1.8 seconds left, and another with the potential game-winner bouncing off the rim just before the buzzer.

Here’s a look at Friday’s scores and Saturday’s schedule:

Friday’s results
Putnam City North 85, John Marshall 53
Stillwater 61, Lawton Eisenhower 48
Putnam City 58, PC West 56
Midwest City 44, Tulsa Union 43

Saturday’s games
John Marshall vs. Lawton Eisenhower, noon (seventh place)
Putnam City North vs. Stillwater, 1:30 p.m. (fifth place)
Putnam City West vs. Tulsa Union, 4:30 p.m. (third place)
Putnam City vs. Midwest City, 6 p.m. (championship)

First, let’s discuss the end of the PC-PC West game. If you were there, I know you have an opinion about it, and feel free to share in the comments section. For those who weren’t, PC’s Dominique Raney drove toward the top of the key, there was contact between he and PC West defender Dominique Carrasco, and Raney pulled up for an open 18-foot jumper that won the game.

Did he push off to create some separation? Certainly possible. Raney didn’t deny it after the game. “It was what it was. I’ll just say that,” he told me.

For a better visual, think back to June 1998, Michael Jordan’s last game as a Chicago Bull. Did he push off on Utah’s Bryon Russell for the winning jumper in Game 6? If you think so, you probably think Raney pushed off, too.

There are really three ways to look at the play:

1) The PC West view — definitely a push-off.

2) The PC view — maybe a little nudge, but not enough for a foul call.

3) The Bad News Bears view (Let them play!) — you’re the person who wants to see a game decided by the players, not the refs, in the final seconds.

Groups 2 and 3 left the gym feeling good Friday night. For Group 1, all I can offer is this: the rest of us should stop being surprised when your Patriots are beating/playing close with really good teams. Three wins over top 10 teams and nearly a fourth? OK, time to accept that these Pats can play. And it’s not a one-man show.

Kyndall Dudley wasn’t scoring like he had been of late, but Kevin House, Dante Lewis and Tavionne Pennon added plenty on the offensive end to keep the Pats in the game.

As for the Pirates, Raney admits that sometimes — like in the second quarter when PC fell behind by 10 — he tries to do too much on his own. The team is much better when he’s getting everyone involved, like he did in the second half. The Pirates have other capable scorers, and getting Raney off the ball helps him get open more often as well.

The biggest thing that came out of Midwest City’s win was another knock against the value of size in 6A this season. Union is a lot bigger than the Bombers, but Midwest City — like several 6A teams around the metro — are quick and can score, even against height.

Putnam City isn’t huge, and their bigs are inexperienced, so Saturday’s title game should be a thriller. Last year’s state final was great, and I think the teams are pretty evenly matched once again.

The third- and fifth-place games won’t be too shabby, either, with a top-10 matchup in the fifth-place game between Stillwater and PC North, followed by Union vs. PC West. This tournament has clearly lived up to the hype.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

And they topped themselves this year.

Seven of the teams are ranked in the top 20 of their class, and the only unranked squad is Lawton Eisenhower, which was a preseason top 10 team, but is playing without 6-foot-8 junior D’Andre Wright, out with a broken leg since the season opener.

Of the seven ranked teams, Tulsa Union and Putnam City West are the only ones outside of the top 10 in their class — and they both won in Thursday’s first round.

So, yeah, this tournament is pretty loaded. Here’s a look at Day 1, with Friday’s schedule out at PC West:

Thursday’s results
Putnam City 59, Lawton Eisenhower 49
Midwest City 69, John Marshall 45
Tulsa Union 65, Putnam City North 64
Putnam City West 65, Stillwater 60

Friday’s games
John Marshall vs. PC North, 2 p.m.
Lawton Eisenhower vs. Stillwater, 3:30 p.m.
Midwest City vs. Tulsa Union, 6:30 p.m.
Putnam City vs. PC West, 8 p.m.

A few things that stood out to me…

– A.D. Burtschi is playing a lot more young/inexperienced guys than you typically see from a Putnam City team. But after losing four players who were full- or at least part-time starters a year ago, that was to be expected. The talent is there, but the Pirates have some growing up to do. With Burtschi’s passion for fundamentals and doing things right, you know he’ll get the youthful kinks worked out by March. Dom Raney and Ron’Quis Lewis are big-time talents, so as long as the other guys come together around them, this team will be fine.

– PC West guard Kyndall Dudley is ready to become a star. He would put some good games together last season, but you always wondered if he would be able to do it without Tyler Neal and Amric Fields drawing all the defensive attention. The answer is yes, loud and clear. He hit a pair of big 3s and a couple very impressive short-range jumpers on his way to 27 on the night.

– PC North just can’t catch a break. Top scorer Armon Provo has played through flu-like symptoms in two games this season, including Thursday night. He missed another with an ankle sprain, and was hampered by the injury in another. On Thursday, the last-second loss to Union came when the Redskin point guard tried to drive the lane, but lost the ball, which bounced to Geb Osifeso for a winning 12-foot jumper. Joe Summers, who also played sick in a game earlier this year, made several big plays and scored 22 Thursday. Oh, and the Panthers are still without coach Rick Harris, who has not recovered from an emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding over the holidays. Assistant Brian Beale has done a fantastic job in his place, but best wishes for a quick recovery to Harris.

– Like I wrote in the paper earlier this week, Midwest City is still looking for the right mix in their starting five and rotation. Coach Dewayne Bradley made a good point when I spoke to him at Ardmore last week. A year ago, he had seniors Kendall Parks and Xavier McClish in the gym all year, and those were his two leaders on the floor. This year, the Colbert twins and Greg Austin are the leaders, but all three played football, so there’s a transition period, especially since the leadership role is a change from last year. I think the team is still trying to get comfortable without a clear point guard, like Parks was last year. But they have too much talent to not be tough night in and night out.

Friday should be fun, too, and I’ll be there for all of it.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com

Oh, Mid-Del, I won’t get to see as much of you guys. Since Scott Wright is the boys writer and Justin Harper is the girls writer, your three teams are normally one of the games they wanna see. But I’ll try to get out there.

Midwest City
Boys: Scott Wright tells me this team is still searching for those two other starting spots. We know about Greg Austin and the twins (Trael and Trez Colbert). However, the Bombers need No. 4 and No. 5 to come to the surface. Dewayne Bradley will get it all figured out, though.

Girls: The most complete girls team in the state? Coach Art Bode has another dynamite squad, paced by Kaylon Williams. But you can’t key in on her, no sir. Not when you have girls like Ashley Clark and Marisha Wallace. I’m amazed at how they can make what should be competitive battles into one-sided beatdowns. Guess I shouldn’t be shocked at this point. Is MWC-ESF the best potential matchup? I say yes…for now.

Del City
Boys: Solid showings in the early part of the year under first-year coach Tim Stogsdill. A second-place showing at Ardmore was a good way to close the first part of the year. I like Chris Stevenson, but Scott Wright told me to look out for Steffon Herd and Brett Cannon. Well, will do, then.

Girls: The surprise of the first part of the year. I didn’t think Karri Sears’ girls were going to become this good this quickly. In reading Sears’ assessment of her team, umm, she did. She knew what she had coming back, and the Eagles are clearly a top-7-ish team in 6A. Toni Smith is certainly a name to watch for the next two years.

Carl Albert
Oy, not going to pretend I know much about these Titans yet (where did all the familiar names go). Unfortunately, haven’t had a chance to get a whiff of Jay Price’s boys or Tim Price’s girls. I know they’re both incredibly young, and I know the boys picked up some good early-season wins. CA is obviously on my list of teams to see as soon as it is feasible.

Thursday’s Results
Girls
Ardmore 58, Lawton 45, seventh place
Northwest Classen 64, Putnam City West 50, girls fifth place
Mustang 68, Southeast 50, third place
Fort Smith-Northside 54, Yukon 32, championship

Boys
Guthrie 45, Southeast 40, seventh place
Midwest City 62, Ardmore 58, fifth place
PC West 82, Carl Albert 67, third place
Del City vs. Yukon, 7 p.m., championship

4:05 p.m.: The Mustang girls have a 22-point lead on Southeast in the girls third-place game with just under two minutes left to play. More exciting, however, we’re running pretty well on time after a dreadfully long day yesterday that ended around midnight.

5:07 p.m.: After holding a 10-point halftime lead, Putnam City West has started the second half fast and leads 54-35 on Carl Albert midway through the third quarter in the boys third place game.

5:15 p.m.: One thing we’ve learned this week: PC West is for real. They didn’t get lucking in a couple big wins. This is a good basketball team. Kyndall Dudley has hit six 3-pointers. He and Dante Lewis could each go for 20 in this game. The Pats are up 21 as we near the end of the third quarter.

5:40 p.m.: PC West takes third in the boys tournament with an 82-67 win over Carl Albert. Dante Lewis finished with 28 and Kyndall Dudley had 25 for the Pats. The girls title game is a few minutes away.

6:07 p.m.: Northside leads Yukon 8-4 at the end of the first quarter.

6:24 p.m.: Impressive run by the Millerettes gets them a brief lead late in a wildly exciting, fast-paced second quarter, but Northside finishes strong for a 21-17 advantage at the break.

6:50 p.m.: Big third quarter from Northside for a 39-22 advantage heading into the fourth.

7:14 p.m.: Northside takes the girls title, 54-32, over Yukon. The boys title game between Yukon and Del City will get going in about seven minutes.

Here is your girls All-Tournament team: Whitney Dunn, Mustang; Mackenzie York, Yukon; Jade Hardy, Yukon; Mannasha Bell, Northside; Taylor Green, Northside; MVP: Chauntel Terry, Northside.

7:40 p.m.: The first quarter goes to Yukon with a 15-10 advantage on Del City. Yukon’s D’Anthony Perkins has shown he is as athletic as just about any guard in the city area.

7:55 p.m.: A late rally for the Millers gives them a 25-21 edge at halftime. Del City led 21-18 with under two minutes to play in the half.

8:16 p.m.: Del City keeps scoring, and Yukon keeps answering, particularly with 3-pointers — one apiece from Shon Willilams, D’Anthony Perkins and Matt Burton, while Jordan Brown added a three-point play inside. Yukon leads 43-33 after three quarters.

8:32 p.m.: Yukon pulled out to a 49-38 lead, but seven straight points from the Eagles has it down to a four-point game with just over three minutes left to play.

8:47 p.m.: It came down to free throws, and the Millers held on for a 55-52 win.

Boys All-Tournament Team: Kyndall Dudley, PC West; Steffon Herd, Del City; Brett Cannon, Del City; Shon Williams, Yukon; Jacob Koontz, Yukon; MVP: D’Anthony Perkins.

For the Millers, this will be their first time playing for a tournament championship since the current seniors were freshmen.

“It’s gonna be good,” said senior guard Shon Williams, who led the Millers with 16 points Wednesday. “We’ve been working hard, working together for the last four years. We think we can win this, so we’re gonna go out and try our hardest to play well and se if we can win it.”

Added coach Ralph Nigro: “I think it means a lot (to play for a title). We have seven seniors and they’ve been through some bad times. Last year, we won, what, five games? The year before, we won six. So it means a lot to them. I’m happy for them. I’m happy to see them smiling and winning. It’ll be a tough game tomorrow, though.”

Mike Nicholson had 13 points for Yukon, while D’Anthony Perkins and Matt Burton added 10 apiece and Jacob Koontz had nine. Kyndall Dudley led the Patriots with 15 points and Dante Lewis added 14. Kevin House had 11, hitting three of the Pats’ eight 3-pointers.

Here’s the Ardmore Holiday Classic schedule and results, with more game-by-game updates below:

Wednesday’s results
Girls
Northwest Classen 41, Lawton 38
PC West 49, Ardmore 41
Yukon 47, Southeast 28
Fort Smith-Northside 58, Mustang 39

Boys
Midwest City 63, Guthrie 41
Ardmore vs. Southeast, 3 p.m.
Del City 52, Carl Albert 46
Yukon 58, Putnam City West 48

Thursday’s games
Girls
Ardmore vs. Lawton, 11:30 a.m., seventh place (at middle school gym)
Northwest Classen vs. Putnam City West, 11:30 a.m., fifth place
Southeast vs. Mustang, 2:30 p.m., third place
Yukon vs. Fort Smith-Northside, 5:30 p.m., championship

Boys
Guthrie vs. Southeast, 1 p.m., seventh place (at middle school gym)
Midwest City vs. Ardmore, 1 p.m., fifth place
Carl Albert vs. PC West, 4 p.m., third place
Del City vs. Yukon, 7 p.m., championship

Updates below…

4:55 p.m.: Today’s winners so far are the Northwest Classen and Putnam City West girls, who will meet in the fifth-place game Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Midwest City’s boys rolled past Guthrie and Ardmore is up on Southeast 33-26 midway thorugh the third quarter.

5 p.m.: Ardmore standout Nino Jackson is sitting out again today. When I spoke to coach Mark Wilson after the game Tuesday night, he expected Jackson to play today, so I’ll see what the situation is after this game concludes. Ardmore leads 42-32 at the end of the third quarter.

5:15 p.m.: Southeast coach Walt Brewer already had one guard out with a broken foot and he lost another in Tuesday night’s game, so he has had to turn to 6-foot-5 forward Trai Jordan as one of his primary ball-handlers — and he’s doing well. It’s a tough situation for a team with a lot of talented pieces to work with. They’ve got good outside shooters, led by William Brewer, and (when he’s in the paint, not at the point) a strong post presence with Jordan. A floor general with handles is all this team really needs to make a significant jump.

5:57 p.m.: Word out of the Ardmore locker room was that Nino Jackson’s absence today was related to an illness that had him feeling pretty bad at morning shoot-around. Ardmore won by 15. Yukon has an eight-point lead on Southeast in girls winner’s bracket action right now.

6:35 p.m.: Yukon holds a 37-21 advantage on Southeast in the girls semifinals entering the fourth quarter. More stout defense today from Kelly Clarke’s Millerettes.

7:37 p.m.: Mustang trailing Fort Smith-Northside 25-16 late in the first half. We’ll need a Bronco rally if we’re going to get Canadian County Bedlam in the Ardmore final. Of course, the two teams play in Yukon next Tuesday anyway.

8:27 p.m.: FS-Northside up 16 with under a minute left to play, so it’ll be Northside vs. Yukon in the girls final Thursday night at 5:30. We should be underway with the 7 p.m. boys game between Del City and Carl Albert in 15 minutes or so.

8:56 p.m.: Del City grabs the early 13-7 lead on Carl Albert at the end of the first quarter. Six points for Anthony Holland for the Eagles.

9:19 p.m.: Carl Albert pulled back in it to give us a tight one at the break. Del City is clinging to a 25-23 lead. Dondre Brookins has three 3-pointers for the Titans and Holland has nine points for the Eagles as well.

9:50 p.m.: Del City extends its lead to 39-30 at the end of the third. Del City freshman Brett Cannon had a pair of big buckets in the third and has 11 points for the game.

10:05 p.m.: CA and DC all tied up with two minutes to play.

10:15 p.m.: The Eagles take the Mid-Del battle, 52-46. Anthony Holland finishes with 14 points to lead the way. Yukon and PC West are about to get started in our final game of the night.

10:54 p.m.: Yukon takes a 28-18 lead on PC West to halftime. Del City is waiting for the winner in the finals, set for Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Tuesday’s games
Girls
Southeast 34, Lawton 28
Yukon 45, Northwest Classen 36
Fort Smith (Ark.) Northside 69, Putnam City West 30
Mustang 66, Ardmore 27

Boys
Putnam City West 70, Midwest City 62
Yukon 41, Guthrie 34
Carl Albert 66, Ardmore 59
Del City 54, Southeast 35

Wednesday’s games
Girls
Loser’s bracket
Lawton vs. Northwest Classen, 11 a.m.
PC West vs. Ardmore, 12:20 p.m.
Winner’s bracket
Southeast vs. Yukon, 4:20 p.m.
Fort Smith-Northside vs. Mustang, 5:40 p.m.
Boys
Loser’s bracket
Guthrie vs. Midwest City, 1:40 p.m.
Ardmore vs. Southeast, 3 p.m.
Winner’s bracket
Carl Albert vs. Del City, 7 p.m.
Putnam City West vs. Yukon, 8:20 p.m.

Updates below…

2:30 p.m.: Shola Adebayo scored 20 of Southeast’s 34 points on the way to a win over Lawton. The Yukon girls played some good defense down the stretch to hold off a NWC rally. Jade Hardy led Yukon with 17 points. Meshelle Parker had 11 for the Knights and Alysia Whitaker added 10. We’re nearing halftime in the first boys game, where PC West is hanging with Midwest City, trailing 24-23. Cortrael Colbert already has 13 for the Bombers.

2:40 p.m.: PC West closes the first half with a 15-4 run to take a 27-24 lead at the half on Midwest City. Kyndall Dudley leading the Patriots with 12 points.

3:35 p.m.: PC West pulls off the upset, 70-62. Kyndall Dudley hit a pair of huge 3s down the stretch and finished with 24 points. Tavionne Pennon added 16, spoiling Cortrez Colbert’s 27-point outing for the Bombers.

4:12 p.m.: Speedy first half from Yukon and Guthrie. The Bluejays lead 13-10 at the break.

4:53 p.m.: The Millers pull away in the fourth for a 41-34 win. It’ll be Yukon and PC West at 8:20 Wednesday night in the boys semifinals.

5:20 p.m.: Not pretty in the third girls game of the day. Fort Smith-Northside leads PC West 20-2 after one quarter.

6:13 p.m.: Northside takes it 69-30 over PC West. The final girls game of the night, Ardmore vs. Mustang, is just a couple minutes away.

7:10 p.m.: Mustang girls out to a 50-20 lead midway through the third quarter. A win would put Mustang against Fort Smith-Northside Wednesday. Yukon faces Southeast in the first semifinal at 4:20 p.m.

8:20 p.m.: Ardmore and Carl Albert tied at the half, 33 apiece. Nino Jackson has not seen the floor for Ardmore so far.

8:45 p.m.: Carl Albert takes a 45-44 lead to the fourth quarter on top-ranked Ardmore.

9:32 p.m.: Sorry for the delayed update, but Carl Albert pulled off the upset of No. 1 Ardmore, 66-59. Ardmore standout Nino Jackson was held out of action by coach’s decision. He is expected to play in Wednesday’s loser’s bracket game against the Del City-Southeast loser.

9:55 p.m.: Del City boys out to a 30-14 lead on Southeast in the final game of the night.

10:38 p.m.: Del City finishes off the night with a 54-35 win over Southeast. We’ll do it all again tomorrow.

Now this list is done by me. So if you’re upset, yep, come to me on this one. I had fun doing the All-Edmond and All-Private schools team last year. This year I’ve added the Mid-Del and the Best of the Rest. One team per day.

Today, here is your All-Mid-Del football team:

All-Mid-Del team
Offense
QB — Greg Austin, Midwest City
RB — James Flanders, Midwest City
RB — Kenton Whittington, Carl Albert
RB/WR — Greg Johnson, Del City
WR — Marquis Walters, Del City
WR — Trez Colbert, Midwest City
OL — Jamelle Naff, Del City
OL — Kyle Croak, Carl Albert
OL — Anthony Frazier, Carl Albert
OL — Jesse Venzor, Midwest City
OL — Colin Walker, Carl Albert

K — Easton Ramsey, Carl Albert
P — Chazten Gonzales, Del City

Defense
DL — Trevon Lewis, Midwest City
DL — Quincy Johnson, Carl Albert
DL — Chris Stevenson, Del City
DL — Cameron Hishaw, Midwest City
LB — Zeke Lewis, Midwest City
LB — Kevin Jones, Carl Albert
LB — Quintrell Boykins, Del City
DB — Trael Colbert, Midwest City
DB — Alex Polston, Carl Albert
DB — Ricky Reeves, Midwest City
DB — Bryce Freeman, Del City
KR — Dwight Dobbins, Carl Albert

Offensive Player of the Year: James Flanders, Midwest City
Defensive Player of the Year: Trevon Lewis, Midwest City
Coach of the Year: Steve Huff, Midwest City

This felt like a breeze. The oddest choice was putting Gonzales at punter, but he did punt and it allowed Austin to make the team. Seeing this group of kids in a list like this really makes you realize how talented the Mid-Del football players were this season. No doubts on any of my three awards and strong feeling we could see the Offensive POY be a repeat potentially next year.

Thursday: All-Edmond
Friday: All-Private schools
Saturday: All-Best of the Rest

In the Christmas spirit, we asked some of our All-State football players for their favorite Christmas memories.

Here’s what some of them had to say.

Derrick Alexander, Tulsa Washington

I received the gift of getting into Booker T. Washington. It was one of the best decisions of my life. It just made everything better.”

Dylan Dismuke, Duncan

A four-wheeler I got a couple of years ago. It’s been a way to go off and have fun away from sports all the time.”

Aliston Cobb, Douglass

A football when I was a little boy.”

Austin Beck, Nowata

My parents gave me some GI Joes when I was younger. GI Joes are my ultimate favorite toy.”

David Glidden, Mustang

It’s not just one, but every year in elementary school, I would buy everyone in my family at least one gift and the feeling of giving just made it better than receiving.”

Trevon Lewis, Midwest City

The best gift I received was a big wheel truck. I wanted one so bad when I was a kid, and I woke up one morning for Christmas, and it was sitting in my living room.”

Trent Martin, Jenks

Spider-Man web shooter. I was the biggest Spider-Man fan.”

Tyrequek Zimmerman, Lawton

A go-cart back in the younger days was the best present and also a BB gun.”

Devin Randall, Bartlesville

My favorite Christmas present was the first generation iPod that I received in fifth grade (Boneman’s note: That makes me feel old) This gift was the start of my love for music in my life.”

The Oklahoman’s All-State football team comes out Jan. 2 (Sunday), the same day when the NewsOK Player of the Year will be announced. The Big All-City team comes out Dec. 29 (Wednesday), with the Little All-City team Dec. 30 (Thursday). Voting for the NewsOK Player of the Year is open until Dec. 31.

After a year of not playing a role in the 6A picture, Karri Sears’ girls are back. The Del City basketball team made a big statement by winning the Panther Classic at Harrah this weekend.

Gone are Toni Young and Desiree Jeffries that led the Eagles to the title. Now dominating the gym are Mariah Jackson and Toni Smith.

Jackson scored 24 points and Smith pitched in with 17 more as the Eagles defeated Northeast in the championship game. After a slow first quarter, Del City came on with an 18-4 advantage in the second quarter to take control of the game.

Those three wins came off the heels of beating another top 6A team in Norman on Tuesday night. There is reason to be excited once again for Del City girls basketball.

Other contenders

Cherrell Price, Carl Albert: It might take a little bit longer before Tim Price’s girls find their rhythm, but a fourth-place finish at the Panther Classic isn’t the worst result ever.

Marisha Wallace, Midwest City: In a big battle with Edmond Memorial, Wallace was dominant as Bombers blew out a solid Bulldog club.

A.J. Holland, Del City: Panther Classic was also kind to Tim Stogsdill’s boys. Holland led the charge to a third-place outing, beating a very good Woodward team Saturday.

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

Well, the first quarter was not what new Del City boys coach Tim Stogsdill was hoping for against Westmoore.

But after an early deficit, back came the Eagles. Behind Chris Stevenson’s 17 points, Del City got out of Westmoore with a 57-44 victory.

Former coach Allen Dukes had been there so long that it feels strange to think about someone else being on that sideline.

Have a gut feeling Del City is going to be a team that sneaks up on people this season.

Other contenders

Kaylon Williams, Midwest City: Bombers got off to a red-hot start against Norman North to cruise to 70-42 victory. Williams led way with 15 points.

Trez Colbert, Midwest City: The unexpected early loss in football allowed the football kids to get their basketball legs. Colbert notched 19 points in an impressive 31-point win against Norman North.

If you have All-District teams, go ahead and send ‘em.

6A – 1 All-District Selections

Coach of the Year:            Steve Huff        Midwest City
Offensive Player of the Year:        Louis Durant        Lawton Ike (RB)
Co-Defensive Player of the Year:    Connor Myers        Edmond Memorial (DT)
Co-Defensive Player of the Year:    Dan Davis        Norman North (LB)
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year:    Justin Durham        Lawton Ike (OG)
Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year:    Jesse Venzor        Midwest City (OG)
Defensive Lineman of the Year:    Brad Ross        Putnam City North (DT)

Tanner Hessman        QB                Choctaw
Corey Bennett            RB                Choctaw
Aaron Fournier        DB                Choctaw
Hunter Davis            DE                Choctaw
Brandon Drain            DE                Choctaw
Connor Myers            DT                Edmond Memorial
Jared Chambers        DE                Edmond Memorial
Kameron Doolittle        QB                Edmond Memorial
Jacob Wright            OL                Edmond Memorial
Jeff Balkenbush        DB                Edmond Memorial
Will Conant            Kicker/Punter            Edmond Memorial
Connor McElveen        DB                Edmond Memorial
Grant Bohuslavicky        LB                Edmond Memorial
Cale Olbert            RB                Edmond Memorial
Logan Ezell            OL                Lawton Ike
Nathan Locker            RB                Lawton Ike
Wayne  Tanner            OL                Lawton Ike
Adrain Woodard        WR                Lawton Ike
Dillon Pulliam            LB                Lawton Ike
Marty Northern        DL                Lawton Ike
JR. Hernandez            DL                Lawton Ike
Baccari Jackson        DB                Lawton Ike
Deshon Whartley        DB                Lawton Ike
Taylor Scott            DB                Lawton Ike
David Cowan            LB                Moore
Ryan Crain            DL                Moore
Vova Razryvin        QB                Moore
Kevin Ross            OL                Moore
Trystyn Kirby            OL                Moore
Greg Austin            QB                Midwest City
Trevon Lews            DE                Midwest City
Cameron Hishaw        DE                Midwest City
Carlos Morales        LB                Midwest City
Cortrez Colbert        WR                Midwest City
Jesse Venzor            OL                Midwest City
Landen Carson        OL                Midwest City
Cajun Cox            RB                Midwest City
Cortrael Colbert        WR                Midwest City
Ryan Wright            WR                Midwest City
Claude Donald        WR                Midwest City
Dan Davis            LB                Norman North
Raymond Demby        RB                Norman North
Caleb Cline            OL                Norman North
Daniel Moses            LB                Norman North
Derek Morton            DL                Norman North
Emilio Gatewood        DB                Norman North
Zac Pierce            LB                Norman North
Covin Conrady        WR                Putnam City North
Sam Wolfe            RB                Putnam City North
Brad Ross            DL                Putnam City North
Abe Almatasem        DE                Putnam City North
DeQuantae Colbert        DB                Putnam City North
Jace James            QB                Putnam City North
Billy Prater            DB                Putnam City North
Andy Bates            OL                Putnam City North
Eric Granado            WR                Yukon
Kaiden Horn            WR                Yukon
Kollin Retter            WR                Yukon
Jake Doyle            DE                Yukon
Terry Jones            RB                Yukon
Jordan Edwards        DB                Yukon
Ty Garza            DB                Yukon
Carson Mathews        LB                Yukon
Jake Henderson        LB                Yukon
Andrew Edwards        DE                Yukon

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I’m at my brother’s house in Kansas getting to play Uncle Bob for a couple of days. Be back Friday in time for Guthrie and Booker T.

Until then, here are some more signing day photos. Enjoy:

Midwest City's Kaylon Williams signs with Oklahoma to play basketball.

And a couple of Oral Roberts signees. First, Delaney Scrivner of Tuttle:

Tuttle's Delaney Scrivner signs with Oral Roberts to play basketball.

Joining Scrivner is Emma Gade of Stillwater:

Emma Gade of Stillwater signs with Oral Roberts to play basketball.

I focused a lot on Taylor Hawkins in my story on the Carl Albert overtime victory against Duncan. He didn’t give me much of a choice by scoring the game-winner in overtime to stave off the upset.

But running back Kenton Whittington woke this team up. After a rough first quarter, Whittington scored twice in the second quarter and rushed for more than 100 yards.

Whittington sure isn’t the biggest runner in the world, but he’s about as tough as they come and knows how to get the hard yards.

The Titans saw a 21-3 halftime lead disappear but found a way to pull it out and set the stage for a mega-showdown at Tulsa East Central.

Other contenders

James Flanders, Midwest City: The junior finished a strong season with two rushing touchdowns in the overtime loss to Westmoore.

Taylor Hawkins, Carl Albert: Got his passing game going in the second and third quarters and did the little things necessary to get the victory vs. Duncan.

Midwest City defense: I wasn’t there so I don’t know how the Jaguars pulled off that upset, but I know the Bombers defense gave it everything it had as it did all season.

Kaylon Williams, Midwest City: Just about that time again, the senior signed to play basketball for Oklahoma last week.

Welcome to this edition of Saturday Morning Quarterback…Today it’s Westmoore vs. Midwest City.

This was one of those games that you just wanted to be a part of. It was a defensive war that was exciting the entire time. The battle between Cody Feuerborn and James Flanders was just as exciting. Each running back picked up more than half of his team’s total yardage.

What happened? Well, we all know Westmoore upset Midwest City 14-13 to move on to the Class 6A quarterfinals. We know Midwest City was undefeated — and now isn’t. We all knew that Westmoore’s defense had to come up huge for the Jaguars to win. They did exactly that. But this game really came down to one play and it was way before overtime.

The Jaguars had just been stopped in Midwest City territory on third-and-one and fourth-and-one and it looked like the air might come out of a Westmoore defense that had held the Bombers scoreless for the last two quarters. Two plays later, Westmoore linebacker Bryan Norris caught my eye. And you know when you get that feeling like a player is going to make something special happen.

Norris gave me that feeling.

He approached the line, like he was going to blitz, but then dropped back in coverage. Midwest City quarterback Greg Austin’s pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by a waiting Bryan Norris.

What it meant? It meant a revitalized Westmoore Jaguars football team. On the very next play, Trevor Thompson connected with Zach VanDyke on a 39-yard double-move touchdown pass. It was probably the only time all game that Westmoore went deep.

It proved once again that if Westmoore doesn’t hurt itself, it could compete with nearly anybody in the state — anybody on the west side of the state at least.

Midwets City (10-1) could do nothing to keep from falling into the overtime trap. The momentum was so far in Westmoore’s favor that there seemed to be nothing the Bombers could do. Great field position turned into a three-and-out in the final quarter.

I got that strange feeling one more time before the end of the game. With Midwest City kicker Steward Bortey lined up for an extra point attempt in overtime, I was ready to tweet the resulting score: 14-7. But I stopped. I’d heard that Bortey was a strong kicker, but still I waited.

We all know what happened next.

Up next: Westmoore hosts Owasso next Friday in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

Westmoore Jaguars (5-5) at Midwest City Bombers (10-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Jim Darnell Stadium, Midwest City

Westmoore (5-5)
Why the Jaguars can win: Defense. The Jaguars will have to lean on this unit. It’s getting better every week and doesn’t have a real weakness — other than great speed. If Westmoore wants to make it back to the second round for the first time in three years, it’ll have to do it without the ball.

Quote: “It’ll be a big challenge. They are 10-0 for a reason but our kids aren’t going to be scared or intimidated.” — Westmoore coach Billy Langford said.

Midwest City (10-0)
Why the Bombers can win: Simply put because this team is better. The offense has more weapons. The defense is more stingy. This is a team that should be poised for greatness. The first step begins tonight.

Key matchup: Westmoore’s offense vs. Midwest City’s defense. The Jaguars have to move the ball, keep possession and grind out the clock if they want a chance to win Friday. The only problem is that the Bombers’ defense is riding a wave of confidence after three shutouts in its last five games and is pretty good.

Justin’s pick: Midwest City 31, Westmoore 17. Midwest City just has too many playmakers on offense and the Jaguars might be too banged up to keep up with the Bombers’ speed.

Boneman’s pick: Midwest City 42, Westmoore 14. The sleeping giant wakes up in a big way as Bombers show they belong in 6A conversation.

Boneman’s MWC prediction record: 10-0.

Westmoore (5-5) vs. Midwest City (10-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Rose Field at Jim Darnell Stadium

There may be nothing more important for Westmoore this Friday than keeping hold of the ball. Well…coach Billy Langford says there’s one thing that might be more important.

“It’s more important than just hanging on to the ball,” he said. “We have to do something with it when we get it. If we can do that and keep their offensive guys off the field and score a few points along the way it should be good game.”

Westmoore’s offense has slumped the last two weeks, scoring only 14 combined points. Two weeks ago, Westmoore lost No. 1 receiver Daulton Craig, who hasn’t returned. Last week, running back Cody Feuerborn missed the loss to Lawton because of a knee injury.

If the Jaguars want to keep the ball and do more than just run three plays and kick it back to Midwest City, they’ll have to have at least Feuerborn back.

“It’s going to be really important to keep their offense off the field, keep driving ourselves down and eat up as much of the clock as we can,” Feuerborn said. “Play smart and hold on to it and keep the drives going. Only long drives, no short drives.”

Westmoore (5-5) at Midwest City (10-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Rose Field at Jim Darnell Stadium, MWC (Justin will be there)

Justin Hite: The Bombers haven’t played a meaningful game in almost five weeks and haven’t been in a tight one in just as long. Will Midwest City be able to bring it together quickly enough?

Robert Przybylo: Midwest City does a great job of living up to the moment. The moment was Week 9 at Lawton Eisenhower. This was it. District on the line against a hot team. Bombers shut ‘em out 28-0 to clinch the title. People look at their 28-0 win vs. Choctaw and 33-17 win vs. Norman North and say ‘they’re not that good.’ Wrong, it’s all about preparing for the playoff run. Once you reach that 15-point plateau, does it really matter how much you win by?

Hite: Midwest City running James Flanders has become one of the best backs in the state. Will he be ready Friday and what happens if he doesn’t?

Przybylo: That’s the beauty of the Bombers this year. They don’t need Flanders to rush for 200 yards and three touchdowns. It’d be nice if he did, but it’s not necessary. Quarterback Greg Austin has great size and can make the big throws. And seriously, the defense can win a game just as fast via interceptions and fumbles and field position.

Hite: Midwest City has shut out three of its last five opponents. Has the defense surpassed the offense?

Przybylo: It’s all relative. If the offense gets pushed, it will come alive. If the defense is tested, it will rise up to the challenge. Trevon Lewis, Cameron Hishaw have been saying the same thing: ‘it’s all about the gold ball. Nothing else matters.’ I’ve said it all year that despite all the big losses from last year’s defense, this year’s group might be better…maybe.

Westmoore (5-5) at Midwest City (10-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Rose Field at Jim Darnell Stadium, MWC (Justin will be there)

Robert Przybylo: The Jaguars could have won the district championship with wins vs. Mustang and Lawton. How have back-to-back blowout losses changed things, if at all?

Justin Hite: Coach Billy Langford said Monday that he hopes they learn from it. After Westmoore beat Putnam City, Langford said that all the praise that the Jaguars received might have gone to some of their heads. They might have started reading their own press clippings. Westmoore will never win if it hurts itself. The Jags hurt themselves the last two weeks, so we’ll see if that puts a spotlight on one simple fact — protect the football.

Przybylo: Running back Cody Feuerborn is such a big part of this offense. If he’s not producing, where is Westmoore going to find yards and points?

Hite: We’ll have to find out, because that’s the ultimate question after Feuerborn missed last week a a knee injury. He should be back by Friday, but receiver Daulton Craig could miss Friday’s game. He was injured against Mustang and didn’t register a catch against Lawton. Quarterbacks Lionard Fombe and Trevor Thompson can both run, but Fombe has given the Jaguars’ offense a spark since returning form injury. Fombe’s twin brother, Lionel, has shown some ability at receiver, but without Craig the Jags lack a go-to option.

Przybylo: Bryan Norris and Cody Cates have combined for almost 200 tackles. Tyler Newton has eight sacks. What’s the strength of this Jaguar defense?

Hite: The front seven. No question. Six of the front seven are seniors, which is the main reason for the success. None have exceptional speed, but all seem to recognize and breakdown plays very well. Cates has a nose for the ball and is in on every tackle and Newton is a handful one-on-one for any tackle in Class 6A — even more so now that he’s playing just one side of the ball. Archie Ocloolee and Ricky Balogun have given the Jags presence in the back four and upgraded a unit that was the weak link early in the season.

***

Back Wednesday with three questions on Midwest City.

Took too long to get rolling. Honestly, Del City has played some really good ball lately and ends the season on a three-game winning streak. No win was more impressive than the 52-36 victory against Mustang.

It was senior night, and quarterback Chazten Gonzales let it all hang out. The TCU commit threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more in accounting for nearly 400 yards of offense.

He’s had the ability all season, and he’s put it together at times, much like the team. When this team was on, boy, were the good. Too many discipline problems (on the field), the focus wasn’t always there.

For me, though, it’s good the Eagles are gone. I expected so much from ‘em early, and I finish the year a pitiful 4-6 when it comes to Del City predictions. Was fun to watch Greg Johnson, Marquis Walters, etc. Eager to see where OL Jamelle Naff ends up.

Other contenders

The Colbert Brothers, Midwest City: Trael Colbert caught two touchdown passes and Trez Colbert had an INT return for a score in a win vs. Norman North to complete a 10-0 season.

Carl Albert defense: Did what it was supposed to do but doesn’t make it any less impressive in a 63-0 dominating outing against Noble.

Greg Austin, Midwest City: Not his most accurate game, but Austin threw for 231 yards and three touchdowns for the Bombers.

Yo, CA followers, do me a favor. If you have any stats from Friday, lemme know.

Midwest City (9-0) at Norman North (3-6)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Harve Collins Field, Norman

Midwest City (W – Del City; W – Enid; W – ESF; W – Yukon; W – PCNorth; W – Moore; W – Choctaw; W – EdMemorial; W – Lawton Ike)
Why the Bombers can win: Because that defense, whew, is playing unbelievable right now. The key is to keep that intensity in a game that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Norman North
Why the T-Wolves can win: Because you can take out a year’s worth of frustration in one fell swoop with a win over the Bombers. There are so many great seniors on this team so you know they wanna go out playing their best.

The pick: Midwest City 39, Norman North 15. Bombers haven’t really hit the gas pedal hard all season, incredibly content to win with comfortable margins. Do it again here.

Boneman’s MWC prediction record: 9-0.

Sorry, Mid-Del fans, I can’t give you ‘great wisdom’ about the district scenarios for your schools. Two of them can’t change regardless of what happens Friday. And the other could have its fate decided Thursday.

- Midwest City is locked in as the district champion. The Bombers will most likely face Westmoore or Edmond North in the first round at Jim Darnell Stadium.

- Carl Albert, heck, there is no drama at all. Gary Rose’s boys will meet Duncan for the second time this season in the first round. This time it will be at Jim Harris Field. This time Duncan won’t have Domonique Petties. CA also won’t have Dillan Dansby as it was against the Demons that Dansby got injured. CA won 42-10 in Week 3.

- Del City, well, better get out there and support US Grant. If Edmond North beats US Grant, then the Eagles are home once again, regardless of what happens Friday vs. Mustang. Too many uneven performances early because Del City has performed pretty well in the last few weeks. If Edmond North loses to Grant, we’ll revisit what the Eagles need to do Friday morning.

A Midwest City feeder school will be taking on an eighth grade football team from the Dallas/Fort Worth area coached by former NFL great Deion Sanders on Saturday.

Monroney Middle School is 22-0 in the last three seasons. The last Monroney teams that were undefeated three straight years led to state championships for the Bombers in 1994 and 1995.

The Monroney Thunderbirds (7-0) will take on the Dallas Prime-Time (7-0) at 2:35 p.m. at Midwest City’s Jim Darnell Stadium. Tickets are $5 for adults and $1 for children 12 and under.

The Prime-Time squad has been seen on many Nike, NFL and Under Armour commercials in recent years.

FIRST TEAM MID-STATE CONFERENCE
Del City = Kayla Rogers, Rachel French
Edmond Memorial = Lindsay Littles, Alexis Bracaglia, Sommer Peterson
Midwest City = Brooke Hand, Brittany Hand, Shianne Hughes
Moore = Brianna Nunley, Hannah Coker, Raegan Sampson, Caiti Hall
Norman = Caitlyn Cosme, Summer Leitka
Norman North = Andrea Smith, Shelby Tiller
Southmoore = Haley Strawn, Chelsi Hill
Westmoore = Kendra Pierce, Taylor Green, Melaney Anderson

HONORABLE MENTION
Edmond Memorial = Rachel Baker, Charli Kroeker
Midwest City = Tiana Jordan, Carly Suellentrop, Ashlee Gesell
Moore = Hannah Lynch, Tianna Gutierrez, Qiana Harrison, Stephanie Couser
Norman = Catherine Lesser, Sami Alberts
Norman North = Jacy Glover, Michaela Smith, Tanner Moody
Southmoore = Hartley Tyler, Jackie Hilterbran, Katelyn Brown
Westmoore = Destinie Lookout