Tuttle running back D.J. Boles makes big comeback in Week 1
Tuttle running back D.J. Boles has battled injuries throughout his high school career, but his senior season started with a bang in Friday’s win over Cache. Boles rushed for three touchdowns as the Tigers rolled 46-0.
“It was an awesome feeling,” Boles said.
But Boles and the Tigers can’t relish the win for long. They travel to face archrival Newcastle on Friday. The Tigers have beaten the Racers seven straight years.
“It’s just something you want to win so you can have the bragging rights for the rest of the year,” Boles said. “Every year of my high school career we’ve won. I don’t know what it’s like to lose to them, and I don’t want to know.”
The game is at Newcastle, and I’ll be there to cover it on Friday.
Oklahoma City-area high school football stadium rankings: No. 10, Tuttle
Tuttle High School football stadium. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
TUTTLE — Today we kick off our series on the Top 10 high school football stadiums in the Oklahoma City area.
These rankings were produced by Ryan Aber and I, and are based on facilities, uniqueness and home-field advantage.
We will unveil the next stadium on this blog every Tuesday, culminating with our pick as the best high school football stadium in the city area on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
No. 10 on the list is Tuttle’s Bill Hinkle Field at Tigers Stadium.
Why it’s on the list: There are few high school football programs in Oklahoma with Tuttle’s consistency. Coach Phil Koons is entering his 19th season as head coach, and he won state championships in 2001 and 2005 to go with his career 180-41 record.
Jason White, the 2003 Heisman Trophy winner, played his prep football on Bill Hinkle Field.
Some of the Tigers’ success can be attributed to the incredible support they get from the Tuttle community. Friday nights in Tuttle aren’t quite like anything else.
The stadium may not be the fanciest around, but the small-town feel is what ultimately lands it on our list. That feeling comes from the rabid fan support and the stadium’s centralized location in Tuttle.
Named after: Bill Hinkle, Tuttle High School’s former maintenance director. Hinkle loved the field so much that he continued working on it several years after he retired. He died July 10, 2000 at the age of 74, and the field was named after him before the start of the 2000 football season.
How to get there from downtown Oklahoma City:
*Take Interstate 40 westbound to Exit 147A, and exit heading west on Interstate 44.
*Continue on West Interstate 44 to Exit 108, and exit heading west on State Highway 37.
*Continue into Tuttle city limits, and turn right on N. Cimarron Rd.
Tuttle’s 2011 home schedule
Friday: Cache, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23: Bridge Creek, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7: Blanchard, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 20: Weatherford, 7:30 p.m.
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Billy Wilson plays hero in Tuttle’s dual victory
I would never have believed you had you told me that Tuttle’s Sterling Hawkins, Brody Spencer and Zachary Beard would ALL lose and the Tigers would still somehow pull out a dual victory.
Never.
But that’s exactly what happened Thursday night at Deer Creek. Thanks to Billy Wilson, the Tigers can rejoice in a big victory against the Antlers, 36-29.
Wilson took on Trevor Gorman in the 189-pound match. However, because Wilson has been sick with the flu all week, he weighed in at 176 pounds.
And it showed, especially early. Gorman was dominating the action, nearly scoring a pin in the first minute. Through two periods, it was 10-5 and at one point in the third it was 13-7.
However, Wilson kept fighting. Down 14-12, he scored the two point takedown that turned into the pin with 1.3 seconds left. With Deer Creek’s scoreboard, you can see tenths of a second. It was ridiculous drama. On one side, the Tuttle contingent was going nuts. On the other, Deer Creek was in disbelief.
“He’s someone that has more heart than skill, but he found a way to do it,” Tuttle coach Matt Surber said.
Little did I know at the time, that would be the final match of the night. Alex Christensen earned a forfeit at 215 for the Antlers, and Tuttle’s Nathan Jackson did the same at heavyweight.
Entering the 189 match, it was 24-23 Tuttle. Give the Tigers two falls, Antlers one and boom, 36-29.
I expected Tuttle to win this dual, but when it was 20-9 Deer Creek and four straight Antler victories, I was singing a different tune.
Zach Dunlop earned a tough 3-2 win against Spencer. Raymond Prescott makes me look stupid by pinning Hawkins in the first period.
And then Beard goes up to 171 to take on Nolan Boyd. Boyd is one of the best in the state and showed it. After an early Beard takedown, Boyd cruised to a 10-4 win though he did lose a major decision in the final 20 seconds.
Phenomenal dual, glad I chose to attend this one.
“This was good for us. We needed a challenge like this,” Surber said. “Give credit to Deer Creek — that’s a real good team. We may have worked too hard this week because we were a little flat at first.”
The teams could see each other in certain matchups at the Chickasha Tournament this weekend.
Tuttle 36, Deer Creek 29
103: Chad Dunlop, DC, 17-1 tech. fall Danny Doherty (0-5)
112: Gunner Laffoon, Tuttle, pinned Carter Cooper (6-5)
119: Dakota Head, Tuttle, 5-0 dec. Tim Hicks (9-5)
125: Zach Dunlop, DC, 3-2 dec. Brody Spencer (9-8)
130: Atticus Young, DC, pinned Deakon Mincey (9-14)
135: Raymond Prescott, DC, pinned Sterling Hawkins (9-20)
140: Levi Berry, Tuttle, 6-4 dec. Cole Pacheco (12-20)
145: Isaac Beard, Tuttle, pinned Tanner Lackey (18-20)
152: Dylan Coppenbarger, Tuttle, 8-1 dec. Chad Draper (21-20)
160: Austin Elam, Tuttle, 4-3 dec. Taylor Williams (24-20)
171: Nolan Boyd, DC, 10-4 dec. Zachary Beard (24-23)
189: Billy Wilson, Tuttle, pinned Trevor Gorman (30-23)
215: Alex Christensen, DC, by forfeit (30-29)
285: Nathan Jackson, Tuttle, by forfeit (36-29)
***
Robert Przybylo, bprzybylo@opubco.com
All-Best of the Rest football team…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours from the Varsity staff. I’ma go back to being Uncle Bob to my niece and nephew here in Kansas.
Here’s the final installment with an all-best of the rest. Basically, teams in the OKC area that aren’t in one of the set zones.
Here ya go:
All-Best of the Rest
Offense
QB — Ryan Spangler, Bridge Creek
RB — Devin Campbell, Bethany
RB — Blake Riojas, Newcastle
WR — Caden Locke, Bridge Creek
WR — Abraham Luna, Santa Fe South
WR — Travis Carroll, McLoud
OL — Landon Chappell, Newcastle
OL — Caleb Craig, Harrah
OL — Blake Belcher, Guthrie
OL — Dexton Robertson, Cashion
OL — Gonzalo Delatorre, Kingfisher
K — Nathan Lee, Jones
P — Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defense
DL — Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
DL — Darren Davenport, Bethany
DL — Micah Thompson, Jones
DL — Derrick Luetjen, Hennessey
LB — Kenny Dennison, Blanchard
LB — Landry Chappell, Guthrie
LB — Jeremy Seaton, Cashion
DB — Tanner Koons, Tuttle
DB — Tylor Seabolt, Jones
DB — Orlando Pina, Hennessey
DB — Mike Miller, Davenport
KR — Jeremy Smith, Kingfisher
Offensive Player of the Year: Derek Patterson, Kingfisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Kentrell Brothers, Guthrie
Coach of the Year: Shannon Watford, Hennessey
Kinda get a glimpse into a lot of our Little All-City team with this list. I’ll have much more to say when the LAC team comes out Thursday, Dec. 30.
Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival schedule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
The goal for teams in Class B-4A is to make it to the Big House in March. Teams from all over the state will get a taste of what State Fair Arena is like this weekend.
Several teams in Class A-4A will be competing at the Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival this weekend at State Fair Arena.
Six games will be played Friday and eight more Saturday. Teams competing in the boys and girls event are Luther, Jones, Comanche, Marlow, Snyder, Carnegie, Tuttle, Kingfisher, Perkins-Tryon, Wellston, Walters, Elmore City, Cashion and Frontier.
Admission is $5. Orton was the mother of former McGuinness star Daniel Orton and former OSU player Terrance Crawford. She died of lupus.
Carolyn Orton Memorial Festival
At State Fair Arena
Friday
Luther vs. Jones, 1 p.m. (girls)
Luther vs. Jones, 2:30 (boys)
Comanche vs. Marlow, 4 p.m. (girls)
Comanche vs. Marlow, 5:30 (boys)
Snyder vs. Carnegie, 7 p.m. (girls)
Snyder vs. Carnegie, 8:30 p.m. (boys)
Saturday
Walters vs. Elmore City, 10 a.m. (girls)
Walters vs. Elmore City, 11:30 a.m. (boys)
Wellston vs. Perkins-Tryon, 1 p.m. (girls)
Wellston vs. Perkins-Tryon, 2:30 p.m. (boys)
Tuttle vs. Kingfisher, 4 p.m. (girls)
Tuttle vs. Kingfisher, 5:30 p.m. (boys)
Cashion vs. Frontier, 7 p.m. (girls)
Cashion vs. Frontier, 8:30 p.m. (boys)
Signing Day Photos, Pt. II…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
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.
Kingfisher vs. Tuttle…again…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Kingfisher (7-3) at Tuttle (7-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Hinkle Field, Tuttle
Well, what’d ya know about that? A rare time when Tuttle and Kingfisher aren’t scheduled to play each other, and they still manage to meet up.
“It feels like every year you gotta go through Tuttle or Kingfisher on the way to a championship,” Tuttle coach Philip Koons said.
The Blanchard game was a turning point for Tuttle, and that was actually a win. But it was a victory that forced Koons and the coaching staff to reevaluate things.
The Lions put up big numbers on offense, and Tuttle went back to playing fundamental defense since that point.
Tuttle stopped Madill in impressive fashion with a 26-6 win. The Kingfisher offense exploded for 55 points at Perkins. Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be? The Tigers and the Yellowjackets?
Best of the Rest honor: Dylan Coppenbarger, Tuttle…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Some really good options in this category on this week. Several players came up with big outings in the final week of the regular season.
But I liked what Dylan Coppenbarger of Tuttle did. The Tigers were coming off a tough, hard-fought loss against undefeated Anadarko and needed to show there was no hangover.
Mission accomplished. The Tigers rushed for 376 yards in a 41-7 dominating win against Marlow. Leading the charger Coppenbarger.
He finished with four touchdowns and hopes to do more of the same when Tuttle visits Madill in one of the more intriguing first round matchups Friday.
Other contenders
Tylor Seabolt, Jones: He scored one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown and took a punt back for a score as Jones continues to roll.
Darian Bennett, Crescent: What can you say about him? Twelve carries for 361 yards and five touchdowns to go with an INT return for a touchdown. Incredible month.
Levi Hill, Hennessey: Another team able to overcome a spirited loss. Hill notched three touchdowns as Eagles took care of Centennial.
Bryan Dutton, Guthrie: Not shocking that Bluejays defeated Southeast, but Dutton was perfect in passing and threw for three more touchdowns.
Class 3A: Separation Friday?
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
I’m not good at clever names so Separation Friday is what you’re getting from me when it comes to Class 3A.
You may not agree with my rankings (that’s fine), but 3A has four games featuring ranked teams, IMO.
So who is going to separate itself from the rest of the pack? Or will the pack become even more jumbled than it was before?
No. 1 Cascia Hall (7-1) at No. 5 Sperry (7-0)
Those who have seen them say Sperry is the real deal. I think people are overlooking the whole ‘bye’ week thing that is going on in 3A.
While Cascia Hall was busy battling it out with Nowata, Sperry was licking its chops. Its coaches watching intently. The Pirates have had two weeks to come up with special/trick plays and getting to know all there is about Joe Medina’s club.
The pick: Cascia Hall 32, Sperry 29. I am on the fence here. I really want to believe in Sperry, but how do you argue against the Commandos? Well, you don’t.
No. 2 Heritage Hall (8-0) at No. 8 Bethany (7-1)
The Bronchos are three points away from being 8-0. As is, Bethany has won seven consecutive games, including a biggie against Kingfisher a couple of weeks ago.
A lot of talent on this team from RB Devin Campbell to DL Darren Davenport. X Factor might be WR Gage Diffee.
Heritage Hall has been the dominant team in the class. The Chargers haven’t faced a challenged since Week 3 at Davis. Tulsa NOAH and Newcastle were supposed to be big games, but Heritage made a statement early.
RB Barry J. Sanders won’t be 100 percent (if he does play), but Sterling Shepard and the offensive line should be enough.
The pick: Heritage Hall 31, Bethany 17. The Bronchos are going to be fired up for this one, but eventually the adrenaline will wear off and Chargers get the job done in first road game in five weeks.
No. 3 Anadarko (8-0) at No. 7 Tuttle (5-2)
Are the Warriors ready for that next step? Has Tuttle made enough adjustments to wipe out early losses to Cache and Bridge Creek?
Viewed Tuttle a lot like Cascia Hall. How do you bet against that tradition? No question Kent Jackson’s team is really good this year. Answered one big challenge after another.
I know Anadarko is more than just Sheldon Wilson. But I want to see that be proven. Think the Tigers are going to bottle him up after getting Week 7 off.
Also want to see how Anadarko responds in a close battle. Warrior fans will point out they won’t let it get that far. We’ll see.
The pick: Tuttle 23, Anadarko 21.
No. 10 Plainview (5-3) at No. 6 Madill (8-0)
Had some heat about the Indians being ranked. I don’t know, just couldn’t punish a team for losing to two Texas clubs and a four-point loss to Clinton (20-16).
Since then, Plainview has won five in a row. Madill answered the call against Purcell and Spencer Bond is still not getting enough attention (at least from my ilk).
Anyone at this game, sure would love some Twitter updates.
The pick: Madill 33, Plainview 21. This Madill team is still pretty fired up about last year’s disappointment. Good battle that Madill pulls out.
LOCK: Tuttle takes down Anadarko, 23-21…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
When you think of Tuttle football, what do you think of? Tough, bruising, physical football. A punishing ground game that pounds teams into submission.
That is not Philip Koons’ club this year. And boy did it take him a while to come to terms to accept that. But once he did, Tuttle has found success once again.
Since a loss to Bridge Creek, the Tigers have rolled off three in a row, including a double-overtime thriller at Blanchard.
Also, with the seven-team district, Tuttle took a week off during Week 7 and should be ready for this showdown with Anadarko.
Quarterback Tanner Koons is leading the way, both on the ground and through the air. Yep, through the air. Coach Koons said he is no longer ‘being stubborn’ and has accepted what his team brings to the table.
Love what Kent Jackson at Anadarko has done. Running back Sheldon Wilson is no doubt a stud and is going to be the best runner the Tigers have seen.
Just have a hunch that Tuttle’s experience in big games ends up paying off in a great battle Friday night.
The pick: Tuttle 23, Anadarko 21.
Boneman’s LOCK record: 7-1 (Guthrie over Duncan, Heritage Hall over Clinton, Purcell over Lexington, Midwest City over Yukon, Jones over Morris, Norman over Southmoore, Carl Albert over Guthrie, Clinton over Elgin).
