Rankings preview: Sept. 24
Class 6A
1. Tulsa Union (1)#4-0
2. Jenks (2)#3-1
3. Midwest City (3)#4-0
4. Broken Arrow (4)#3-1
5. Norman (5)#4-0
6. Lawton (6)#3-1
7. Edmond North (7)#4-0
8. Owasso (9)#2-2
9. Putnam City (10)#4-0
10. Stillwater (NR)#3-1
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.
Picks: Week 4
For the second consecutive week, Scott picked up a game on Jason and me last week. Jason missed out on his lock of the week on Millwood’s wild last-second win over McGuinness.
Last week:
Scott: 9-1, 1-0
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 8-2, 0-1
Overall:
Ryan: 22-8, 3-0
Scott: 22-8, 2-1
Jason: 21-9, 1-2
Ryan
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 14
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 35, Sapulpa 30
Wagoner 27, Vinita 14
Ryan 22, Thackerville 18
Purcell 28, Sulphur 26
Seq. Tahlequah 20, Verdigris 13
Westmoore 21, Edmond Santa Fe 17
Seminole 14, Valliant 7
Midwest City 28, Yukon 9
Guthrie 34, Deer Creek 28
Lock of the week: Norman over Sapulpa. Sapulpa will score points on Norman but the Tigers defense has the potential for some big stops in this one that will prove to be the difference.
Scott
Clinton 21, McGuinness 17
Norman 38, Sapulpa 28
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Thackerville 42, Ryan 35
Purcell 33, Sulphur 28
Seq. Tahlequah 49, Verdigris 31
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Westmoore 14
Seminole 35, Valliant 24
Midwest City 27, Yukon 24
Lock of the week: Guthrie over Deer Creek. Deer Creek has a lot of talent, and is close to breaking through as a great team. But Guthrie is already there. This will be a close one, but I’ll take the Bluejays’ big-game experience to win out.
Jason
McGuinness 21, Clinton 14
Norman 35, Sapulpa 27
Wagoner 28, Vinita 21
Ryan 35, Thackerville 31
Purcell 38, Sulphur 24
Seq. Tahlequah 31, Verdigris 21
Edmond Santa Fe 27, Westmoore 24
Seminole 34, Valliant 24
Midwest City 35, Yukon 17
Guthrie 28, Deer Creek 17
Lock of the week: Edmond Santa Fe over Westmoore.
I watched Edmond Santa Fe play Midwest City, and while they clearly weren’t better than the Bombers, they showed that they can play with almost anyone. I think the 2-1 Wolves get back on track by winning their district opener at home.
Norman to honor 1961 team
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
Norman will honor the 1961 football state champions at halftime of Friday’s homecoming game against Sapulpa.
Norman beat Capitol Hill to win the 2A title that season. The title is one of two football championships for Norman. The Tigers also won in 1992.
Before the game, there will be a reception for the team in the Gene Corrotto Fieldhouse.
Corrotto coached the 1961 team and had a 105-40-5 record in 15 seasons with the Tigers. Corrotto was a captain on OU’s 1937 team.
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
jkersey@opubco.com
Follow me on Twitter @jasonkersey
Friend me on Facebook
Norman’s Tanner Satterthwaite feels good about cross country season
Norman cross country runner Tanner Satterthwaite is the defending Class 6A boys individual champion.
NORMAN — The Norman boys cross country team, which was Class 6A’s runner-up last season, competed last weekend at the Greenhill Relays in Dallas.
Tanner Satterthwaite, the defending Class 6A individual state champion, and the Tigers finished fourth at the event.
“We went up against some of the best teams from Texas and still got fourth,” Satterthwaite said.
This weekend is the Brookhaven Run, a road race in Norman that also serves as a fundraiser for the team. The Brookhaven Run isn’t a high school meet; it is open to runners of all ages.
The next weekend, however, the Tigers return to high school competition in the OK Runner Classic.
Norman only lost one runner off of last year’s runner-up team, so Satterthwaite said his biggest concern in 2011 is overconfidence.
“Our team is really united,” Satterthwaite said, “but our biggest worry is overconfidence since we returned so many guys and were so close to winning it last year.”
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.
Norman coach excited about more than Donovan Roberts, George Kittle
Norman's George Kittle
BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com
After last season’s 8-3 finish, Tigers coach Greg Nation figured there’d be plenty of excitement around his program.
He didn’t know, though, how that would translate into numbers on Tuesday’s first day of practice.
Like many schools, Norman got started at 7 a.m. to try to beat the heat. Nation had 85 players out for the varsity team, plus a group of 55 freshmen.
“I was surprised and excited,” Nation said. “There were a lot of wide eyes but there were also plenty of big hopes.”
Two players Nation knows he can count on are running back Donovan Roberts and wide receiver/defensive back George Kittle.
Kittle has left Nation particularly impressed so far.
“The way he prepared himself over the summer, he was constantly going out and catching balls, the quarterbacks would go out and throw to him,” Nation said.
Both have gained speed since their breakout junior years.
“They’re what seniors are supposed to be,” Nation said. “They’ve worked hard and taken that leadership role on.”
Matilda Mossman readjusting to college game
Former Norman High coach Matilda Mossman, right, is now the women's coach at the University of Tulsa. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
Former Norman High girls basketball coach Matilda Mossman, who in March accepted the women’s head coaching job at the University of Tulsa, said this July has been a lot different than the past 10 for her.
“It’s July, and that used to be my month off,” Mossman said with a laugh. “This is a big recruiting time for us, so this July, I think I’ve had three days off. But I’m enjoying it; I like getting out and seeing kids.”
Mossman was a college in coach at Arkansas (1981-84) and Kansas State (1984-89). She became Norman’s girls coach in 2002.
She said the college game hadn’t changed much in her opinion, but the biggest difference for her was in the technology.
“Instead of kids writing us, they are sending us e-mails with links to watch them play on YouTube,” Mossman said.
Mossman spoke at the Oklahoma Coaches’ Association’s annual coaches clinic in Tulsa. She said her talk was about getting the little things right when running an offense.
Super 30: Week 1 review
Norman's George Kittle has gone from unknown to sought after commodity.
Saturday began our second annual summer series on the Super 30, a countdown of the top 30 football recruits for the class of 2012.
Last year we announced who they were before the series, not this year. If you wanna know who they are, keep yourself locked in at NewsOK.com/Varsity.
This is going to be a daily countdown until we reach No. 1 on July 24.
30. George Kittle, WR, Norman
Most sons of college coaches get some extra looks as a courtesy. And then when you see Kittle play, you realize it’s not a courtesy thing at all. He is Bruce Kittle’s son, but he’s a lot more than that. Kittle is the real deal on either side of the ball. At 6-4, he could be a wide receiver. He also has the intelligence to lead the defensive backfield. He was 6-0 after his sophomore season and is now 6-4 and close to 200 pounds.
For my story on Kittle, go here.
29. Marc Robinson, LB, Millwood
Just like a couple of guys last year, if Robinson was a couple of inches taller, he’d be in the top 10. No doubt in my mind about that. Nobody is going to play with a bigger chip on his shoulder than Robinson, who is getting back on the field after missing last season. A transfer from Heritage Hall, Robinson is ready to show everybody he still belongs among the elite.
For Scott Wright’s story on Robinson, go here.
And for No. 28, check out Monday’s Oklahoman.
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
George Kittle, Norman offense will be fun to watch
Slowly making the rounds for spring football. We’re just about done and one of my final stops was Wednesday evening at Norman to watch the Tigers’ Orange-White scrimmage.
If you wanted to see how good running back Donovan Roberts looks, well, you were out of luck. Roberts had less than five carries. However, he did throw a touchdown pass on the first play of the scrimmage. You can’t expect Roberts to get a test in spring so that made sense.
However, if you wanted to see the development of the passing game, bingo, you were in luck. Last year I became enamored with Roberts and Jaime Myers that I didn’t really notice anybody else. This year? Um, it’s hard to not notice George Kittle.
Kittle recently earned an offer from Air Force and you can see why. Not only does he have tremendous size (6-4 and at least 200 pounds), but he is a solid athlete.
Talking with Scott Wright, and he was mentioning how Kittle is able to dunk with ease. That makes sense. Kittle made a lot of nice plays and caught a touchdown.
Kittle makes life a lot easier for quarterback Zach Long. No longer a young pup, Long looks a lot bigger and a lot more comfortable playing the part. Coach Greg Nation said Long still has aways to go, but he’s making a lot of progress.
Also my first chance to see OL Foster Hare. If you didn’t know who he was, it wouldn’t take you long to find out. At 6-7 and 300 pounds, he towers over the rest of the Norman players.
The scrimmage split up the seniors and then let the senior captains pick their players. It was a fun time, but you cannot learn too much from a spring scrimmage with the way the teams are divided.
Either way, I didn’t have Norman sniffing the top 15 yet alone the top 10 last year. This year? Um, don’t be shocked to see the Tigers in the single digits. Replacing nine of 11 starters on defense will be tough. But when you have Roberts, Kittle and Long, that will offset some of the pressure.
Norman will be a team camp in Tulsa in early June (hmm, not sure if I can get out there). Definitely would like to see this team in the summer. We’ll see.
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
