OK Runner Classic is Friday in Norman
Norman's Tanner Satterthwaite, the defending Class 6A champion, is one of several top runners competing in Friday's OK Runner Classic in Norman. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN
Over 100 cross country teams will descend upon Norman Friday for the sixth annual OK Runner Classic, which is hosted by Norman High School.
Several of the top runners in the state will compete in the event, including defending Class 6A boys champion Tanner Satterthwaite of Norman and last year’s 6A girls runner-up Emily Helms of Mustang.
High school races begin at 10:30 a.m. with the 2A-4A girls. The last varsity race, the 5A-6A boys, begins at 2:30 p.m.
Here is the full list of race times:
10:30: 2A/3A/4A girls
11:30: 2A/3A/4A boys
1:30: 5A/6A girls
2:30: 5A/6A boys
4:30: Junior high girls
5:00: Junior high boys
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Norman-Norman North principals wager on game
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
The principals at Norman and Norman North made a wager on Thursday’s Norman Bedlam matchup between the schools.
If Norman wins, Norman North principal Bryan Young will race in Norman’s alumni 5K run Sept. 25 wearing a Norman High singlet while pushing a baby stroller carrying a replica of the school’s Tiger mascot.
If Norman North wins, Norman principal Scott Beck will sing Norman North’s fight song during halftime of the team’s basketball matchup Jan. 27.
Norman has a 10-4 edge in the series, beating the Timberwolves 24-7 last season.
Thursday’s game will be played at OU’s Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium.
Norman principal Scott Beck and Norman North principal Bryan Young make a wager on Thursday's football opener between the schools.
Brandon Taylor’s injury and other thoughts from Mustang’s Pigskin Preview
Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor will have X-rays Friday morning on his injured throwing shoulder.
At some point Friday morning, Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor will find out just how bad he hurt his left shoulder on Thursday night. It could be as minor as a bruise, or as major as a broken collarbone, but it will be important news either way for the Broncos.
There are a lot of new receivers and some young offensive linemen, so they need Taylor’s leadership and experience to hold the offense together. That’s not to say sophomore Frankie Edwards won’t be a good fill-in. He’s a talented young kid, but he doesn’t have the experience of Taylor.
I’ll have the news on Taylor’s shoulder as soon as I hear something.
As for Thursday’s scrimmages, Mustang had some tackling issues on defense, and the offensive line is still growing up. At receiver, Travis Mitchell showed some impressive skills, and could be valuable at receiver.
Here are some other thoughts from the Pigskin Preview:
-El Reno showed some promise, and looked a lot better on offense than when I saw them at team camp in Yukon back in June. Rashaad Copeland and Ray Little are two very dangerous athletes who each made some big plays. Copeland has been drawing some college attention from OSU, Kansas and North Texas.
-Norman North is still looking for some offensive continuity at quarterback. Bryan Payne is a talented running back, but the two QBs — senior Chad Ehrhart and junior Peyton Gavras — had some ups and downs Thursday. Defensively, the Timberwolves were strong against Altus, and they’ll need to hang their hat on that side of the ball while the offense comes along.
-Justin Jones’ first preseason at McGuinness has been a rough one. He had five starters sidelined Thursday, including most of his linebackers. No major injuries, but still, those guys are missing valuable time under a new coach. QB Camden Tharp has a good skillset, and I’d look for him to have a good year. The Irish got a good performance from the offensive line, and that will be important as they try to develop the run game.
-Lawton MacArthur looks good. Really good. I know Tulsa East Central has a lot of star power. I haven’t seen them or any of the other top teams in 5A, but Mac has a lot of athletes all over the place, not to mention the best kicker in the state, which is always a nice feature. RB Darius Graham is a big, strong runner, and Michael Thomas is a beast at cornerback. When he gets in press coverage, his WR isn’t getting off the line of scrimmage most of the time. Most of Mac’s linemen are playing both ways, so that’s always an issue with stamina, but they’re going to be a dangerous team.
-Lawton Eisenhower looks vastly different with Adrian McDonald on the field. The athletically gifted quarterback sat out Thursday night’s scrimmage after suffering a rib injury last week. Coach Boone Copeland said he didn’t know when McDonald would be back, but he’s hoping to have him next week for the opener.
-Altus is obviously battling through a transition, like a lot of teams, but the Bulldogs have a more positive attitude than just about any team I’ve been around this year. Diquon Woodhouse — who is in my top five favorite names in HS football this year — made some solid plays, including a pick-six for Altus’ only TD. He doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects from the sprained MCL in spring ball, even though he still wore a brace for protection.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Norman North’s Bryan Payne looking forward to contact
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Norman North running back Bryan Payne isn’t about to let a little soreness slow him down Friday as the Timberwolves begin practicing in pads.
“I’m excited for it,” Payne said. “I’m a little banged up but I can’t wait. The defense has been talking a lot of trash.”
While Payne said Norman North’s defense will be one of the key to their successes this season, he’s ready to go head-to-head with anybody, even if they’re on the same team.
The biggest improvement he made in the offseason, he said, was learning how to follow his blocks and pick them up on the fly during a run.
“It’s all come together for me and making be a better player,” he said. “I try to take as many reps as I can before the other running backs come in, ask my coach about things I need to adjust to and when there is another guy in, watch what he’s doing so I can correct my mistakes.”
Norman North will hold an intersquad scrimmage Saturday morning as they prepare for Wade Standley’s first season as Timberwolves coach.
Day 3: Midwest City goes into bag of tricks
It’s your Day 3 report from the Edmond North team camp on a non-existent Day 4. Sorry, let’s just say life got in the way of trying to do what I normally do with a Day 3 report Friday.
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.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Day 2: Stillwater, Deer Creek defenses rise to occasion
As big of an offensive nut as I am, it pains me (sort of) to admit that what stood out on Day 2 of the 15-team camp at Edmond North was the defense.
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.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Day 1: Camden Tharp leads Irish to strong finish
Well, the Edmond North camp is just as fun as I remember. It’s also just as hectic. There is no way I’m going to be able to track down all 15 teams, but I’ll do my best.
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.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Norman North’s Wade Standley brings fresh energy
Norman North coach Wade Standley is a ball of energy.
Every team is different. Each coach brings their own personal touch to the program. And though I truly believe Lance Manning is the right man at Edmond Santa Fe, perhaps it was time for Manning to leave Norman North.
Manning never once coached like it, but I always found it strange he stayed in Edmond instead of moving to Norman. Kinda like a ‘one foot out the door’ mentality. The last two years felt Norman North was loaded with talent but didn’t produce. A change in scenery was might have been the right move for everyone.
With that in mind, had a chance to visit a Norman North practice late last week. That was a fun experience. Not sure how much talent the Timberwolves are going to end up having, but coach Wade Standley is certainly going to bring out the best in his kids. That type of spirit is infectious. He was running around all over that practice.
Standley is coming off a two-year stint at Liberal, Kan., where his teams went 6-12. He was also a former assistant at Tulsa Union.
I look at Norman North, and my attention goes to kicker Redford Jones. He’s going to be big time. Former Norman North stud Daniel Davis was also at practice last week, and he was saying the same thing.
Davis’ younger brother is on the team and said Standley has made a good first impression, especially when it comes to being efficient. Practices are run very smoothly (I can attest to that).
This will have to be a team I get to see in summer camps, but I’m not even going to try to gauge where Norman North is at this stage. But I like where they’re going.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Early double play turns tide for Isaac Hellbusch, Deer Creek
At the time, everybody thought it was a pretty big play. But for being the first inning, nobody had any idea just how big of a play it turned out to be.
Norman North was on early against Deer Creek pitcher Isaac Hellbusch. The Timberwolves had two hits and a run across the plate by the time Caleb Simpson was up to bat.
Runners were at second and third and Simpson rifled one up the middle. Unfortunately for him, it went right into Hellbusch’s glove and started a double play.
“That was a game changer,” Hellbusch said.
The Timberwolves got one more across via an error and then were stoned by Hellbusch the rest of the way as Deer Creek rallied for a 4-2 victory at the Deer Creek Classic on Wednesday.
Hellbusch didn’t allow another hit the rest of the way and finished the game with 10 strikeouts, including fanning the final two batters of the game.
Hellbusch had an RBI double in the first inning and thought maybe we were headed for a slugfest. Um, we weren’t. The score remained that until the bottom of the sixth when the top-ranked Antlers notched three in the frame without the ball leaving the infield on the run-producing hits.
We had infield hits, safety squeezes, one error, good base running and a 2-1 deficit became a 4-2 advantage for the Antlers.
“We practice for things like that,” coach Ron Moore said. “You have to be able to find a way to win games any way possible.”
The wind, which wasn’t too bad initially, really picked up and there weren’t going to be any HRs hit on this day. In the sixth, George Haaland had an RBI single, Cameron Davis ends up with the game-winning safety squeeze while Haaland scored from second on an infield single by Hunter Dinkines.
Norman North pitcher Ryan Allen was great for five innings. And really, he didn’t throw bad pitches in the sixth but the breaks went against him. He gave up four of the seven hits in the frame and also struck out seven for the fourth-ranked TWolves.
Circumstances beyond either team’s control forced the No. 1 5A team against the No. 4 6A team at 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, but it was well-played and fun to attend.
Norman North has won 17 of its last 19 games. I have seen the two losses. The Timberwolves are going to make sure I don’t come to any more of their games. Deer Creek still has not lost to an in-state opponent.
Norman North had a good strategy by running on Hellbusch as the TWolves had five stolen bases in the first inning. But unable to get many runners on after the first inning, the running attack didn’t play a big role.
Look for a video with Hellbusch on NewsOK. The Classic continues throughout the rest of the week, with the championship Saturday night.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Deer Creek Baseball Classic schedule
Deer Creek Classic
Wednesday
El Reno vs. Westmoore, 10 a.m.
Deer Creek vs. Norman North, 1 p.m. (No. 1 vs. No. 4)
Edmond North vs. Guthrie, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Noble, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Edmond North vs. El Reno, 10 a.m.
Westmoore vs. Guthrie, 1 p.m.
Noble vs. Norman North, 4 p.m.
Deer Creek vs. Miami, 7 p.m.
Friday
Miami vs. Noble, 10 a.m.
Miami vs. Norman North, 1 p.m.
El Reno vs. Guthrie, 4 p.m.
Edmond North vs. Westmoore, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Times and teams to be decided later based on all teams participating.
Crazy to think Deer Creek and Norman North will play each other. I’ll be there for that one as it’s No. 1 in 5A vs. No. 4 in 6A. Should be fun.
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Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
