Bethany, Washington excited for Children’s Center Bowl week
Bethany was awarded the Children's Center Bowl trophy after defeating Kingfisher in the game last year.
With the fun part of Children’s Center Bowl week still ahead, there’s definite anticipation as the Bethany and Washington football teams prepare to be a part of the unique event.
Throughout the week, the two schools are working together to raise money for the Children’s Center, a private, nonprofit pediatric hospital serving children with complex medical and physical disabilities in Bethany.
Each school is competing in Penny Wars to raise money, which will be given to the Children’s Center on Friday. In addition, the players and cheerleaders from both teams will meet Thursday evening to tour the hospital, meet patients and participate in the Goodwill Games, a friendly competition designed to teach the players about living with physical disabilities.
The football game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Bethany/Southern Nazarene Stadium. Patients, families and staff from the Children’s Center will be on hand to take part in the pregame coin toss, and some will participate with the band at halftime.
“We’re really excited,” Washington coach Brad Beller said. “We visited the Children’s Center last summer. It’s an amazing place and it’s great what they do for children.
“Our whole school is really excited to e a part of it.”
I’ll have a lot more coverage of the Children’s Center Bowl throughout the week, including a feature story in Friday’s newspaper and game coverage in Saturday’s edition.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK
Heritage Hall vs. Bethany to be televised on ESPNU
ESPN released it’s schedule for the 16-game Geico ESPN High School Football Showcase on Thursday morning, and it will conclude with the Week 9 showdown between Heritage Hall and Bethany.
The Chargers will host the Bronchos Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
That will be the series’ second stop in Oklahoma. Tulsa Union hosts Louisiana’s Evangel Christian in the season opener on Sept. 2, which will also be broadcast on ESPNU.
Heritage Hall and Bethany met twice last year. In Week 9, Heritage Hall won at Bethany 14-7 in a game that sealed the district title for the Chargers. The two teams met again in the Class 3A semifinals, with the Chargers taking a 28-14 decision and going on to win the state championship over Kingfisher the next week.
The chance to play on ESPNU is an exciting one for the players.
“It’s gonna be incredible,” Bethany quarterback Ryley Claborn said. “It’s a great chance for the guys on the team that haven’t been looked at by colleges, especially. It’s a great way to get exposure for our players and our school. It’ll be fun to have that feeling, then go home and watch the game and know you’re on national television.”
Fifteen of the 16 games for the ESPN series were announced Thursday and include 30 teams from 13 different states. Here’s the full schedule.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
OSSAA appeals: Good news for Piedmont’s Cassius Calhoun, no news for Union’s Davis brothers
The hardship waiver appeals are always one of the most difficult things to watch at the OSSAA board meetings, and Wednesday was no different. They’re always emotional and often frustrating, because of the division between it seems should happen and what the rules allow. All of the appeals on Wednesday were denied with the exception of two. Those cases happened to be the two higher-profile appeals involving football players. Here’s how those cases were handled:
Calhoun’s appeal upheld
Piedmont running back Cassius Calhoun will be eligible for his senior season after all. The OSSAA had initially denied his application for a hardship waiver after he transferred from Casady.
But on Wednesday, the Board upheld his appeal of the ruling after the family provided greater detail surrounding the reasons for his transfer during executive session.
“I didn’t really think I had a chance,” Calhoun said. “It was a real emotional process, but my parents, my athletic director, my coaches, my teammates all supported me through all of it.
“I knew I was gonna make it through, whether they said yes or no, but I’m glad they approved it.”
Davis brothers’ appeal delayed
The hardship appeal case of Tulsa Union’s Kendal and Joshua Davis had to be tabled after the family presented a significant amount of new information to the board. It is possible that the OSSAA staff could make a determination on the new information prior to the September board meeting.
Kendal Davis will be a senior and Joshua will be a sophomore after transferring from Sapulpa. Kendal, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound receiver has gained recruiting interest from some Big 12 programs.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Owasso’s Keon Hatcher, Booker T. Washington’s Jared Collins commit to Arkansas
Owasso receiver Keon Hatcher and Booker T. Washington cornerback Jared Collins committed Monday to play football at Arkansas, according to The Tulsa World.
Hatcher had 76 catches for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. Collins had three interceptions and 21 tackles for the Class 5A champion Hornets. He also plays receiver and placed second at the state track meet in the long jump.
Read the rest of the story here.
Bishop McGuinness to open with Shawnee’s JV team
Quarterback Camden Tharp, right, and Bishop McGuinness will open the 2011 season against Shawnee's JV team on Thursday, September 1. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
When Douglass broke its contract with Bishop McGuinness to play in the Kirk Herbstreit Kickoff Classic at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, it left the Irish in a bind.
McGuinness and Douglass were each other’s season openers, but the Trojans opted to play Sept. 5 against DeSoto (Texas) High School in a nationally-televised game.
First-year McGuinness coach Justin Jones tried desperately to fill the Week 1 void with teams from out of state, but had to settle for Shawnee’s junior varsity team. The Irish and the JV Wolves will play on Thursday night, September 1.
“I couldn’t find anyone to play,” Jones said. “We didn’t want to not have a Week 1 game.
“We just want to give our kids a chance to perform that first week. Shawnee is helping us out because we’re in a bind.”
Max McGreevy, Taylor Moore take conference golf crowns
The Edmond Santa Fe boys golf team has been working hard to replace several key seniors from last year’s squad and get the program back into contention.
Max McGreevy certainly helped the cause on Monday. He fired a two-round total of 136 at Broadmoore Golf Course in Moore to claim the Metro Conference individual title.
He was two strokes ahead of Edmond North freshmen Nick Heinen at 138 and Sam Humphreys at 139. Edmond North also held the next three spots, with Austen Fuller and Caleb Meyers tied for fourth at 140 and Alec Heinen — Nick’s older brother — in sixth at 142.
Obviously, Edmond North ran away with the team competition at 552, with Choctaw second at 596 and Santa Fe third at 599.
Edmond Memorial’s Taylor Moore won the Mid-State Conference Tournament, firing an 8-under-par 132 (69-63) for the title, just three strokes ahead of Norman North’s Jett Johnson at Belmar Country Club on Monday. Memorial’s team total of 547 was good for a four-shot win over Norman North as well.
It’ll be interesting to follow things in 6A boys golf the next couple of weeks with regionals and state coming up.
All the Edmond schools plus Norman North will go head-to-head in regionals at Oak Tree East, which should make for some thrilling competition. And state is at Cedar Ridge Country Club, which is the home course for a couple of Jenks players, and the Trojans are among a small group of teams that could end Edmond North’s state title run — Memorial and Norman North are probably the only other two who have a real shot.
From the individual perspective, Moore has been strong all year as he tries to repeat, but Colton Staggs at Jenks looks pretty impressive. Johnson, Fuller and Alec Heinen are right there, too, and who knows what some of the young guys like McGreevy, Jenks’ Brendon Jelley and the Edmond North freshmen could do on the big stage.
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
All-Centennial Conference boys basketball postseason honors
Here is the All-Centennial Conference team as selected by the coaches from the conference members, Lawton, Lawton Eisenhower, Enid, Stillwater and Ponca City.
Player of the Year – Jordan Pound, Stillwater
Coach Of the Year – Michael Davis, Stillwater
All-Conference Team
Alex Budke, Stillwater
Austin Brinker, Stillwater
Zack Brown, Lawton Eisenhower
Dominique Perkins, Lawton Eisenhower
Mitchell Foote, Enid
Alex Patterson, Enid
Brent Wilson, Ponca City
Cole Hibler, Ponca City
Kendall Suttles, Lawton
Richard Sheperd, Lawton
Honorable Mention All–Conference
Josh Pierre, Stillwater
Connor Lamb, Stillwater
Delvonte Pierre, Lawton
Jalon Jackson, Enid
Brandon Wilcoxson, Ponca City
Sherief Stafford, Lawton Eisenhower
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
El Reno promotes Shawn Mason to head football coach
El Reno found its successor to football coach Tom Cobble without leaving town. The school promoted defensive coordinator Shawn Mason, who officially accepted the job Tuesday morning.
Mason has spent the last five seasons working as Cobble’s defensive coordinator, including the run from 2007-09 when the Indians reached the Class 5A state semifinals each year.
Cobble resigned last month to become the head coach at Chickasha. Mason said five assistant coaches remained on staff at El Reno.
Before coming to El Reno, Mason worked in west Texas and spent one season as the head coach at Guymon.
“I’m gracious for the opportunity. I’ve been blessed,” Mason said. “I have to go to work now, and finish up what Tom started here. Working for Tom was definitely a good experience for me and we had some good years together.”
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Central Oklahoma Conference basketball awards
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA CONFERENCE
ALL-CONFERENCE
GIRLS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
HALEY WEATHERS—LUTHER
1ST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
MORGYNE WEAVER—MOUNT ST. MARY
KELSEY DAWKINS—BRIDGE CREEK
CRISSY JOYNER—LEXINGTON
BAXLEE HORTON—JONES
AIMEE RISCHARD—MOUNT ST. MARY
2ND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
HANNAH HOLASEK—LEXINGTON
SHARON VOSS—LUTHER
NIKKI BRANDT—BRIDGE CREEK
SARAH TROSPER—CROOKED OAK
BRYANA WADE—MOUNT ST. MARY
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA CONFERNCE
ALL-CONFERENCE
BOYS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
RYAN SPANGLER—BRIDGE CREEK
1ST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
SHAWNEIL SKANES—CROOKED OAK
BLAKE GIFFORD—LEXINGTON
KYLE FOREHAND—LEXINGTON
RYAN GIBSON—LUTHER
JUSTIN WAGNER—MOUNT ST. MARY
TYLOR SEABOLT—JONES
2ND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
BRAD BEAHAN—MOUNT ST. MARY
JAKE PEACE—MOUNT ST. MARY
NATHAN COOPER—JONES
JEREMY WAGNER—MOUNT ST. MARY
JOSH PERSHICA—BRIDGE CREEK
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA CONFERENCE
COACHES OF THE YEAR
AND
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
GIRLS CHAMPION
BRIDGE CREEK
GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR
SKIP ASHWORTH, BRIDGE CREEK
BOYS CHAMPION
BRIDGE CREEK
BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR
JASON SANDERS, BRIDGE CREEK
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
Yukon, MWC football players part of documentary
A documentary filmed during the Red Bull Game Breakers 7-on-7 tournament last summer will be screened in Moore Monday 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.
