District previews: Classes 6A-C
If you missed your school’s district football preview, here’s all the links for every district.
District previews: Classes 6A-C
Class 6A
District 6A-1: Lawton’s Sunny Puletasi learns quickly
District 6A-2: D’Juan Brooks stepping up for Edmond Memorial
District 6A-3: Jenks still strong without Jarrett Lake
District 6A-4: Choctaw trying to build tradition
Class 5A
District 5A-1: Coach Tom Cobble says it’s a good time to be in El Reno
District 5A-2: Carl Albert QB J.T. Realmuto could see time on defense
District 5A-3: Tulsa Washington unanimous No. 1
District 5A-4: McAlester poised to rebound; East Central wants more
Class 4A
District 4A-1: McGuinness’ offensive line a concern
District 4A-2: Tecumseh is strong up front
District 4A-3: Home playoff game is Collinsville’s goal
District 4A-4: Broken Bow coach high on Eric Dockins
Class 3A
District 3A-1: Tuttle battling lack of experience
District 3A-2: Madill trio has coach Kerry Roberts looking for big things
District 3A-3: Jody Iams’ Eagles rely on Wing-T
District 3A-4: Metro Christian gains valuable asset in QB Beau Marsaln
Class 2A
District 2A-1: Marc Robinson still growing for Heritage Hall
District 2A-2: Little Axe ready for breakthrough?
District 2A-3: Washington’s Chance Pistole moving to fullback; Bridge Creek rebuilding its line
District 2A-4: Atoka QB commands attention
District 2A-5: Chandler counting on Brandon Cummings
District 2A-6: Toughness key for Valliant
District 2A-7: Verdigris has 15 experienced seniors
District 2A-8: Colcord hoping to build on strong finish
Class A
District A-1: Hennessey avoids logjam at quarterback
District A-2: OCS’ Jack Warren hasn’t forgotten loss
District A-2 notes: Trio vying for QB job at CHA
District A-3: District loaded with talented teams
District A-4: Bray-Doyle deals with adversity
District A-5: Tough three weeks for Stroud
District A-6: Talihina a cut above the rest
District A-7: Morrison ready to reload
District A-7 notes: Barnsdall seniors looking for wins
District A-8: Commerce looks to preserve streak
Class B
District B-1: Could district dominance repeat?
District B-2: Paoli defense is a strength
District B-3: Weightlifting competition inspires OCA
District B-4: Copan’s secret is out
Class C
Shattuck closing in on record win streak
District C-1: Finding running back key for Forgan
District C-2: Aaron Vondrak to lead Thackerville
District C-3: Seiling to turn QB Zach McDonald loose
District C-4: Maud’s Jarrid Resler works way back
Day 1 in the books…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
A rather uneventful Day 1 from the OCA’s coaches clinic in Tulsa. Don’t remember from last year if that was the case as well, but it didn’t feel like there were as many coaches.
Then again, the setup is vastly different from how it is in Oklahoma City. Displays are scattered throughout the Marriott.
Didn’t see too many football coaches around but did catch up with Kingfisher coach Jeff Myers. And after talking to him about how this year’s team is, quickly turned the conversation to the “super” 3A class in 2010.
“Whoever wins that will definitely have deserved it. It’s going to be a dogfight every week.”
No doubt about that. In most cases in the playoffs, if you’re a top seed, you’re banking on winning comfortably in the first and second rounds.
After that, who knows? But if 3A pans out the way it should, not only will just about every playoff game be crazy in terms of intensity, but there will be a lot of perennial playoff contenders who probably won’t make the cut.
There should be more football and basketball coaches later in the week as it was a pretty slow day in that department.
That doesn’t mean I did find time to talk with people as two of my “babies,” swimming and tennis, here their coaches association meetings.
Big difference in tennis is coaches will be allowed to coach their players at all times as long as it doesn’t interfere with the flow of play.
This was tested out last year and worked during the regular season. It wasn’t utilized at regional and the state tournament.
The OTCA and the OSSAA have approved it, so that will be a new wrinkle. Don’t know why it took this long. I’ve never understood the whole “no coaching” during a tennis match. Where else could you see that?
As for swimming, the biggest cause of concern coming last year’s state tournament was the overcrowded-ness of it all.
Problem solved as Class 6A and 5A will be split up for the finals. The prelims will run the same way.
But for the final, 5A is going to start at 10:15 a.m., followed by 6A at 4:15 p.m. Yep, that means a long day for anyone who has to cover both of them (namely me), but it also means a long day for any coach that does both as Edmond coach Steve Riggs pointed out. He’s not one of them, but there are a few such as the Lawton trio of schools as well as Mid-Del (Midwest City, Del City and Carl Albert).
Also went to the swim meet. Swimming and wrestling have got to be the two sports where you don’t know what kind of shape the kids will be in.
There’s no cutting weight or anything like that and for some of them, it might be like four or five months since they’ve hit the pool or mat.
It was the first time it was at Bixby. Not bad for a school venue and appreciate the support the Bixby staff gave me in making sure I had everything I needed.
Altus coach Linda Wiginton was named the Coach of the Year while Jill Enge of Edmond Memorial and Nelson Head of Union were named the Girls and Boys Swimmer of the Year.
And for the record, the East won both portions of the competition.
All-State schedule…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Doesn’t All-State week feel like the official beginning of the upcoming school year, or is it just me?
Since us from the Oklahoma City area are making the trip to Tulsa, I guarantee you the Boneman will get lost driving at least once next week.
To go with all the coaches clinic activities, there will be a slew of all-state games.
So as a little precursor of what’s to come, here’s the schedule:
Monday: Golf at 8:30 a.m. at Mohawk Park GC; Small Baseball at 4:30 at J.L. Johnson Stadium (Oral Roberts); Large Baseball at 7 (same location); Swimming at 6 at Bixby High (that’s where I’ll be).
Tuesday: Tennis at 5:30 at the University of Tulsa (that’s where I’ll be); Small Volleyball at 6 at Broken Arrow High; Large Volleyball at 7:30 (same location); Wrestling at 8 at Union High.
Wednesday: At Oral Roberts’ Mabee Center – Small Girls Basketball at 7; Large Girls Basketball at 8:30.
Thursday: At Oral Roberts’ Mabee Center – Small Boys Basketball at 7; Large Boys Basketball at 8:30.
Friday: to cap it off, Football at 8 p.m. at Union High (that’s where I’ll be).
Cheerleading will also go on for the basketball and football events as well.
And before all of that, there will be a Hall of Fame ceremony Sunday at the Southern Hills Marriott Hotel in Tulsa at 6:30.
Ten coaches will be enshrined in the OCA Hall of Fame: Phil Elerick (Cashion); Leo Smallwood (Rattan); Jarel Hansen (Shattuck); Chris Gillespie (Talihina); Dan Crookham (Tulsa Edison); Bill Blankenship (Union); Edward “Buck” Chatham (Lone Grove); Alan Simpson (Byng). And being recognized for Distinguished Service: Charles St. John (Vian).
Class 3A the place to be…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It would have been easy (but painstakingly long) to list all the teams moving up from Class 2A to 3A for football, starting with the 2010 season.
When you’re making a jump for 32 teams to 57 teams, it feels like the most-balanced class has been created. And of course, a lot of the top 2A teams from the previous seasons, will be making the move up.
Seriously, take a look at the list. That class didn’t need a “star” team like Star Spencer to drop into its lap.
Since the Bobcats did, now look at what we have in 3A: Star Spencer, Tuttle, Heritage Hall, Cascia Hall, Chandler, Kingfisher, Sequoyah-Claremore, Purcell, Metro Christian, Purcell, Eufaula, Weatherford. That’s even leaving out some schools like Newcastle and Bethany, among others.
Very interesting stuff. Schools with some of the lower ADMs in the class (Beggs, Verdigris, Riverside, Nowata, Westville) are going to have to climb quite a mountain.
Briefly spoke with Ryan Aber (who is on vacation but still kinda working, ha), and Morrison caught his eye.
Morrison, of course, won the Class A state championship last year in its first season playing 11-man ball. The school’s ADM is 147.14. Technically, it could have moved back to Class B as the highest ADM there is Depew at 149.65.
Another eyebrow raiser is Santa Fe South. The last four years SFS has been in 3A but with an increase of 21 students (from 494 to 515), all the sudden Santa Fe South hasn’t just jumped 3A but is firmly in 4A.
Also, Del City continues to get closer to the 5A line. The school lost 27 students from last year. It is still comfortably ahead of Bixby and Shawnee in 6A (1,352 to 1,245), but the gap is closing.
The football classifications are not set in stone. In fact, if you checked the OSSAA site Wednesday, you’ll notice a big TENTATIVE has been placed on the top of the sheet.
Talking with the OSSAA’s David Jackson, “it is good to go for today.” He said they want to get it out there early so the association and the schools can work together and fix the mistakes. There really is no rush, but it’s fun to start playing fantasy with some of the potential playoff scenarios in the classes.
I’m not completely done, but here is a small sample of the teams moving up or down for this next season:
Moving up: Shawnee and Bixby (5A to 6A); Grove and Tulsa Central (4A to 5A); Heritage Hall, Metro Christian, John Marshall, Little Axe and Atoka (3A to 4A); Pocola and Stroud (2A to 3A).
Here’s where it starts getting a little hazy for me. Preston, Crowder, Snyder and Pioneer are what I have for A to 2A. From B to A, I gots Garber, Pond Creek-Hunter, Sasakwa, Strother and Chattanooga.
Moving down: Tulsa Memorial and Tulsa East Central (6A to 5A); Harrah and Stilwell (5A to 4A); Bethel, Hugo, Marlow and Victory Christian (4A to 3A); Frederick and Washington (3A to 2A).
Again, gets a little fuzzy: From 2A to A, there’s Howe, Rush Springs and Wright City. From A to B, it’s Frontier, Verden, Agra, Coyle and Waukomis.
Not completely done, so I’ll update it later.
Throw it out to the readers. Out of all the changes, what’s the biggest, most important, etc?
Enrollment numbers shaking things up…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
It’s been a while since we’ve checked in, hope everybody is doing fine. We’re just getting ready for the fall season to begin just like everybody else.
In the meantime, the OSSAA released the newest Average Daily Membership report this week, and there were definitely some movers.
The changes go into effect for all sports this season, except for football. Football will change next season.
Up top, the biggest news is the addition of Shawnee and Bixby to Class 6A. Tulsa East Central and Tulsa Memorial will both be dropping to 5A.
Since Shawnee is the old stomping grounds, spoke with softball/baseball coach Todd Boyer and boys basketball coach Ron Arthur about their feelings on moving on up.
Arthur said the biggest difference is the size of the players. Shawnee was already a pretty small team for a 5A school, but it just became a little bit smaller with the bump up.
He also said the biggest thing is really a mental block. “The mentality is something we’ll have to deal with. Sometimes you get caught up with the number before the “A,” and you can’t do that.”
It’s not just a challenge for the players moving up, it’s also a challenge for the coaches to get the kids prepared right, Arthur said.
The Boyer family seems like it’s been in Shawnee for ages, and Todd Boyer is taking the transition in stride.
He said the only real noticeable difference for baseball is a depth issue. Class 6A schools normally just have more depth than most of the other schools.
Boyer was around when Shawnee made this jump in the early ’90s from 4A to 6A and subsequent drop to 5A.
Other things that caught the Boneman’s eye:
With Tulsa East Central and Tulsa Memorial dropping, how loaded is 5A for boys basketball? That’ll be some kind of battle if teams like Carl Albert and Guthrie can maintain their levels of success. Throw in Tulsa Edison and Kelley, and that’s a pretty intimidating group right there.
Harrah might be one of the biggest benefactors of the latest shake up. The Panthers were right at the fringe of 5A and are now the second-highest enrollment school in 4A, which should help out an already-proven girls basketball squad under Curt Knox. Add Washington in that mix, too, as the Warriors are dropping to 2A.
As for football, one thing that stands out to me is Star Spencer going down to 3A. The Bobcats have been formidable at 4A for a while. 3A will turn into a real dogfight with teams like Cascia Hall, Heritage Hall, Tuttle and Kingfisher, among others.
Bishop McGuinness staying at the top of 4A I’m sure will get the conspiracy theorists going again. The ADM for the Irish is 686.84, while Southeast (the lowest school in 5A) is at 702.20.
Still in the process of figuring out every school that either dropped or moved up with the latest numbers. Try to have that done Thursday.
Top football ADM’s by class for 2010-11: 6A – Broken Arrow, Tulsa Union, Jenks, Owasso, Mustang. 5A – Tulsa East Central, Booker T. Washington, Tulsa Memorial, Claremore, Tahlequah. 4A – McGuinness, Harrah, Miami, Tecumseh, Stilwell. 3A – Star Spencer, Locust Grove, Idabel, Weatherford, Roland. 2A – Comanche, Morris, Kansas, St. Mary, Jones. A – Hominy, Fairview, Crescent, Drumright, Hulbert. B – Depew, Dewar, Pond Creek-Hunter, Merritt, Geary. C – Cement, Coyle, Goodwell, Temple, Webbers Falls.
Swimming conundrums…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Even when you’re confident about your selections, picking All-City teams is never an easy thing to do.
And this year’s version of swimming became that much tougher when the classes were split up.
Here is the list for the boys and for the girls.
Someone who placed second in 5A might have well come in seventh or eighth in 6A. So in the end, I tried to gauge it by time more than say ranking. Swimming is swimming. There’s no real, tangible advantage to swimming for an Edmond or Jenks team compared to say Altus or Bixby or Heritage Hall.
If you know how to swim, you know how to do it. Maybe the bigger schools have better resources, but if a swimmer really wants to, there are ways to not get left behind.
That solved that issue for me.
The second was the “sad” saga of Norman North sophomore Wilson Wei and Edmond North senior Nikki Colton.
Individually, they may be two of the best 10 boys/girls swimmers in the state. But at state itself, they were in events where they came up just short and couldn’t make the first team.
Wei competed in the 200 IM and the 500 free. Well, you can’t take anything away from Edmond Memorial’s Daniel Enge, who placed higher than Wei in the IM and Deer Creek’s Typ Whinnery had the fastest 500 free time of anybody in any class in the prelims.
And then there’s Colton. This was a tough one. Either Colton or EM’s Jill Enge wasn’t going to make the first team. That’s just the way the draw worked out.
Colton placed second in the 200 IM while Enge placed third. Kaylee Steffen of Putnam West won the event. However, Lizzy Whitbeck of McGuinness had the top time, so Whitbeck gets the edge. Steffen finds a spot in the 100 backstroke.
And then in the breaststroke, Enge tops Colton by .07, so it has to go to Enge based on that.
Both Wei and Colton made the second team in less than a second when I was putting it together.
No doubts on Westmoore’s Dakota Wheeler being Swimmer of the Year. What he did this last year was impressive.
Girls Swimmer of the Year came down to Whitbeck and Putnam North’s Parris Schoppa.
Did a little more research, and Schoppa’s times in the 50 and 100 free weren’t just good in Oklahoma. They’re impressive in the nation. Whitbeck didn’t lose the award, but I felt Schoppa earned the honor.
***
The album cover we re-created was The White Stripes. After initially bringing up the idea to Dakota and Parris, the toughest thing became where to shoot it.
We shot it on-location at one of the Switzer’s Locker Room storage facilities on S. Walker. Asking the place for permission was one of the more strange things I’ve done.
But with the help of genius photographer Chris Landsberger, thought it came out rather well.
So with that said, I close the pool for now and head back out to the tennis courts in what is shaping up to be a most intriguing year on the hardcourts.
