WICHITA FALLS MacArthur football coach Brett Manning made it perfectly clear his intent in the Highlanders' season opener against Wichita Falls High. The Highlanders were going to take what the Coyotes gave them, and take they did.
Putting aside their potent aerial attack, the Highlanders went to a devastating ground game and an in-your-face defense to roll past the Coyotes, 49-14, Thursday night at Memorial Stadium in a game which was called with 4:13 left in the third quarter because of bad weather.
Darius Graham scored on a pair of short touchdown runs, Mac's special teams turned in another score and the defense picked off three Dylan Sheffield passes one of those which was returned for a touchdown in posting the easy victory.
Leading 28-14 at the half, Mac buried the Coyotes with three TDs in the third quarter to pad its lead to 49-14 before the game was called because of lightning.
As soon as both teams cleared the field it took only a matter of minutes before school officials decided to end the game right there.
"There were a number of factors," Manning said of the decision to end the game. "We were looking to at least a 30-minute delay, it's a Thursday night and the score had something to do with."
Coming into the game the Highlanders were concerned with the Coyotes' explosive offense. Last week in a 59-23 win over Burkburnett in their season opener, The Coyotes amassed more then 549 yards on offense, 438 of those coming from Sheffield's arm.
But against the Highlanders it was a different story.
Pressure from the front line and linebackers, coupled with suffocating coverage from the secondary held the Coyotes to 207 yards, 160 of the yards on two big plays.
"We were very intense coming into the game," Manning said. "We were familiar with their offense so we were ready. The coaches did an outstanding job in their game plan. I couldn't be any happier. Sure we had two busted plays, but other than that the defense did a great job."
It wasn't just the defense or offense, Mac's punt coverage team also got into the act by blocking two punts, one of which was recovered by Derek Block who had smothered the kicker in the Wichita Falls end zone.
"We've worked really hard in try to get pressure on the punter," said Manning. "It really worked out. Scoring the way we did on Derek Block's block, is a huge momentum changer in high school football." Friday, September 03, 2010
It's cliche to say that the records don't matter especially in the first game of the season.
However, when it comes to heated rivalries, there's not much you can say to dispute it.
It's like that for the Lawton High-Eisenhower battle, which kicks off at 7:30 tonight at Cameron Stadium.
You can't really get a grasp on the levity of this game unless you went to one of the schools, or have been in Lawton for much of your life. And after 48 meetings of the two squads over these many years, it's all tied up at 24-24.
"Eisenhower will play their best game of the year by far," Lawton High head coach Randy Breeze said. "They always do. What we see on film is a good football team, it's going to be an exciting football game, a close game, and we are not taking them lightly."
With the Wolverines battling expectations and the Eagles moving in the right direction after falling in the playoffs to Southmoore on a late field goal, this year's battle could be the kind of game that is a benchmark for an entire season.
It never hurts that it's the first game of the year.
For Lawton High, the key will be to stop Eisenhower's option offense, led by quarterbacks Adrian McDonald and Ivan Rosas.
"We think we can move the ball with both of them and what we ask them to do is not try and do more than they are capable of doing," said Ike head coach Boone Copeland. "Go out there and eliminate mistakes and don't give them a short field. We run a high-risk, high-reward offense and we just have to hang onto the ball and not put it on the turf."
It's the option, started by McDonald and Rosas then filtered through Nathan Locke and Louis Durant. With Locke and Alex Medina, being held out of scrimmages as they nursed injuries, the Eagles will have two of their better weapons at 100 percent tonight.
The Wolverines will have to be responsible if they want to stop the speedy Eagles.
"We spent a great deal of time on the option," Breeze said. "Option is one of those things you are going to practice against every week no matter who you are playing. You don't want to be unprepared for the option.
"It's assignment football. You want someone to take the quarterback, you want someone to take the pitch man and you have to have someone contain. If any of those have a hiccup it's going to cost you." Friday, September 03, 2010
With both college and high school football seasons opening, today is a day of pure excitement.
That also means the return of my weekly picks on Southwest Oklahoma games.
Friday features the annual intra-city matchup between rivals Eisenhower and fifth-ranked Lawton High at Cameron Stadium.
It's generally a tight battle between the two rivals, but Lawton High is loaded with Division-I talent this season and considered by many the best team this side of the state.
Eisenhower made a nice playoff run last season and even pushed Southmoore to the limit despite it being loaded with a plethora of Division-I talent itself.
But that was after 10 games allowed the Eagles to improve to that level. Opening against that kind of talent, which looked extremely impressive during scrimmages according to reports, is a huge talent.
This game won't be a blowout but it won't necessarily be close thanks to Lawton High's potent offense led by quarterback Cody Miller and wide receiver Tyrequek Zimmerman. Also, don't forget the Wolverines pack one of the best defenses in the stateÖLAWTON HIGH 35, Eisenhower 17
Here are the rest of this week's picks with home teams in all caps.
Today MacArthur 42, WICHITA FALLS HIGH 35 Wichita Falls High has the advantage of playing its first game last week.
The Coyotes also scored 59 points and allowed 35 to Burkburnett, which means a whole lot of offense and little defense. Sixth-ranked MacArthur can score points and should be able to get some stops. But, it won't be easy.
Washington 27, APACHE 20 Hard to say what Apache will be able to do against the speed of Washington in its new offense. Washington returns a good group of starters on a team many think can make some noise in Class 2A this season despite a recent coaching change. This is just a tough opener. Thursday, September 02, 2010
Chris Scott was tired of being a pushover, tired of being "the weakest guy on the team."
While some players would resign themselves to the fact, the MacArthur High School senior decided to do something to correct the situation.
Correcting his situation didn't come easy. It came at a price, and that price was time. As soon as spring football started, Scott spent hour upon hour in the weight room.
Results from his dedication in the weight room didn't come instantly, but they did come.
"What I really wanted to improve upon was getting more physical at cornerback," said Scott. "When we played the best people in the state they always out-powered us. I wanted to show them that we can be physical and to be physical I needed to put on some weight."
Spring turned to summer vacation, which turned to fall and when practices began in mid-August, Scott found himself weighing 20 pounds heavier than last season.
Don't get the wrong idea, that 20 pounds didn't go to his gut. He's still lean and trim, and he hasn't lost a step. He's just stronger, a lot stronger. Thursday, September 02, 2010
WICHITA FALLS It will be like looking in a mirror.
MacArthur High School's spread offense has given opponents fits the past couple of years. The Highlanders' no-huddle offense, patterned by Louisiana Tech offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, is as complicated as it is exciting. Mac, which usually finds itself in the role as the aggressor, will find out what it's like to on the recieving end when it opens its 2010 season against Wichita Falls High tonight at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
" I wouldn't say I'm uncomfortable, but it's just going to seem wierd going against an opponent that's not only similar to us, they have the same plays, call them the same and use the same terminology that we use," said Mac head coach Brett Manning. "Tony Franklin-type teams have played each other before, but this will be our first time."
With one game under their belts, the Coyotes are coming off a 59-23 win over Burlburnett in both teams' season opener last week. The Coyotes weren't bashful about going to the air as Junior quarterback Dylan Sheffield (6-0, 180) completed 29 of 37 for 438 yards and five TDs.
"The secondary is definitely going to be put to the test," Manning said. "Their quarterback (Sheffield) is a very accurate passer. They like to throw the short passes. They have a receiver who has already committed to a D-I school. He's an explosive player. He'll be the fastest guy we'll face this season. He's really exciting to watch on film. I not too excited about playing against him. He's a really good player so we have our work cut out."
The "explosive" player Manning refers to is Devontay Chaffin (5-8, 170, Sr.), who has committed to Louisiana Tech. Against the Bulldogs, Chaffin had eight receptions for 194 yards and four TDs.
Although both teams run the same offense, the Coyotes are more apt to pass than run. Thursday, September 02, 2010
Seldom do both teams accomplish their goals when going head-to-head in sports, but that was just what both coaches thought after Lawton High School edged arch rival Eisenhower, 3-2, Tuesday in a tense volleyball match before a good crowd at the Ike Gym.
For the Wolverines, they were able to scramble and fill the void left when middle blocker Alisha Chambliss came down sick earlier in the day, pulling out the victory to go to up 2-0 halfway through their city championship schedule. For the Eagles, they clearly showed they are a better team today than they appeared earlier in a loss to MacArthur, which is the goal in every match.
In fact, had the young Eagles not had a couple of late service breakdowns, they could have easily pulled this one out and thrown the city championship race into a real logjam, but that wasn't to be.
The scores went like this, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-27 and 15-9, but it sure wasn't easy for the Wolverines, who were fresh from a runner-up finish in a tough 6A tournament at Mustang last weekend.
"When you lose one of your best players, it takes some adjusting and you could tell we just weren't the same team," LHS coach Dana Ponder said after the narrow win. "We stood around and let balls drop between players; we just didn't communicate out there. And, we didn't do a very good job with our serve-receive and that forced our setters to chase the ball all over the floor."
Ike forced this match to the limit with a gallant comeback in Set 4, taking a wild 27-25 victory, thanks to a brilliant play by the lone senior on the team, Marilee Ellis, who went into the bleachers to make a clean return that allowed Ike to score and move back to 3-4 in that fourth set.
After that big play, the Eagles just kept fighting from behind, going down by six at 6-12 before putting on a huge comeback that eventually knotted the set at 22-all after LHS was unable to knock down a kill and hit into the net. After that it was a couple of big plays, capped by an ace that sealed the outcome and seemed to throw the momentum to Ike. Wednesday, September 01, 2010
With the hot weather that Eisenhower's football team has had to endure, a vital part of each practice was the work of assistant trainers who worked diligently to keep the players hydrated in the 100-degree temperatures.
Head trainer Scott Buerhe, who is starting his fourth season as the Eagles' trainer, has six young ladies who are assisting him, including four-year veteran Keisha Chandler, the lone senior.
There are three juniors Rachelle Williams, Crystal Dunbar and Ashley Tordillos along with two sophomores, Victoria Waldron and Brianna Woodard.
"Those girls do a lot of things to help, including taping," Buerhe said. "They start out learning the basics and then when I am confident in their taping skills, they can move to the players."
And, just how does he know when that time arrives?
"They must practice on my ankle and be able to tape it correctly in less than two minutes," the veteran trainer said. "That way I can feel how tight it is and how much support it gives me; it just allows me to understand if they are doing things correctly."
Most important thing, though, is to keep the water to the players on the practice field and stocking the big stock tanks with ice.
"The tanks are used all the time, plus we have ice buckets at each station," he said. "I was really happy with how well our kids did at practice. We had one minor case of heat-related illness a player became nauseated but that was it, so I think that showed the kids did a good job being prepared." Wednesday, September 01, 2010
The surface is just that the surface. Beneath you may see a lot more than you thought. Carter Grigg is like that too. On the surface is a Lawton High linebacker that hits with attitude and can sniff out a play. Beneath is a guy that loves scuba diving, his family and his faith. Grigg is also the kind of player who does whatever is asked. It could be just helping a young freshman along in the program. It could be changing positions. When Grigg first came into the LHS program, he was a long snapper, and he is still being recruited at the position. But now Grigg spends his time playing middle linebacker, the quarterback of the Wolverine defense. "He's our defensive quarterback, and with his high morals and high character he's exactly what we want," LHS head coach Randy Breeze said. "He has great knowledge of the game, and he reads well. He gets himself in the right spot." Tuesday, August 31, 2010
No fads here You heard it here first the 3-4 defense is a fad. At least that's what Lawton High head coach Randy Breeze is saying. With the popular defense taking hold around the state and across the country, the question came up if the Wolverines would ever swing away from the traditional 4-3 they run now and institute the defense that is growing in popularity. "I don't like the 3-4. Duncan has gone with that," Breeze said. "It is a fad that comes through about every 10 years. (The University of) Tulsa has had success with it and a lot of people in Oklahoma have gone to it because Tulsa has had success with it. I know a lot of pro teams are going to it because of personnel. They feel they can adjust to the one-back a lot better because of it, and you can, but when someone brings in a tight end it's a problem to adjust." And that's where the Wolverines shine. In their one-back offense, they are able to use tight ends and their multiple looks to keep linebackers on their toes. Tuesday, August 31, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Corey Wilson may not be able to run out and catch a pass for Oklahoma. Walking can still be a struggle for the receiver who injured his spinal cord in a car accident last year. That doesn't mean he can't make a difference for his team and, eventually, for others who find themselves in the same situation. Wilson is now serving as an unofficial assistant coach, helping to review film and offering his teammates pointers. And when he can, he wants to start a foundation to help people who like him are hoping to one day discard their wheelchair and walk again. "Even if it doesn't happen for me, hopefully the money I can put into things or my foundation and the research that I can fund, if it helps somebody out that's in my situation when I'm gone, that's fine," Wilson said Saturday night before he received a Courage Award from the INTEGRIS Health hospital system. "As long as somewhere down the road, nobody has to sit their whole life in a wheelchair. Monday, August 30, 2010
