From left; Quintaz Struble of Heritage Hall, Jamaal Whitney of Bishop McGuinness and Devante McKinney of Douglass.PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: NORTH METRO EDITION

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010 SPECIAL SECTION NEWSOK.COM/VARSITY

2 0 1 0VARSITY

HERITAGE HALL | THE CHARGERS’MUCH-HERALDED JUNIOR CLASS ISSTEPPING UP AND TAKING CHARGE. PAGE 4

BISHOP MCGUINNESS | WITH TWO SOLIDQUARTERBACKS, THE IRISH ARE READYTO MAKE ANOTHER RUN. PAGE 5

DOUGLASS | EXCITEMENT IS IN THE AIR ASTHE TROJANS TRY TO RETURN TO THE STATECHAMPIONSHIP GAME. PAGE 2

VIII

With the change to anoffense more reliant onthe passing of new quar-terback Shon Bridges,there’s an excitement inthe air around Douglassfootball this season.

But it will be the de-fense of Willis Alexander’steam that gives them ashot at returning to theClass 4A championshipgame.

Last year’s runners-up,the Trojans have to replaceseveral key players, but thedefensive front has a lot ofreturning talent to buildaround.

Defensive ends Ravi Ri-ley and DeVante McKin-ney are backed by line-backer Erik King, giving

the front seven an out-standing combination ofsize, speed and strength.

“Our defense is physi-cal, fast, and we’re gonnahit you,” Riley said. “It’sthat simple.”

And though the Trojanslost several seniors lastyear, the new senior classhas the experience and theattitude to take over.

“The strength of theteam is the leadership, theseniors,” King said. “If welead these youngsters,we’ll be all right.

“I’ve got to keep every-body up, make plays. Evenwhen the play’s not to me,I’ve got to make plays. I’vebeen here long enough toknow what’s going on.”

The offense has someplaymakers, led by top re-ceiver, Marcus Caddell,with McKinney at tight

end, giving Bridges somereliable targets. The of-fensive line returns start-ers like Cayman Bundageand Riley, and runningback Aliston Cobb rushedfor 714 yards on 82 carrieslast year.

And there’s nothingmore motivating thanreaching the champion-ship game and losing. It lita fire that has been burn-ing since December.

“Last year’s motivationcarried over,” King said.“We’re working just ashard as last year, and may-be even harder, becausewe want it even more sincewe fell short last year.

“We’re a brotherhoodright now. We’ve just gotto transfer that to thefield, make it happen,make plays and get thatgold ball.”

Excitement in the air at DouglassBY SCOTT WRIGHTStaff Writerswright@opubco.com

ShonBridgespasses forDouglassduring a2008game. PHOTO BY NATE

BILLINGS, THEOKLAHOMAN

ARCHIVE

SECTIONPRODUCTION

› Sports editor: Mike Sher-man

› Assistant sports editors:Scott Munn, Hayley Riggs,Ryan Sharp and DarlaSmith

› Writers: Justin Harper,Robert Przybylo and ScottWright

› Design: Hayley Riggs

› Cover: Heritage Hall’sQuintaz Struble, BishopMcGuinness’ Jamaal Whit-ney and Douglass’ DevanteMcKinney. Photo by NateBillings, design by PhillipBaeza

HIGH SCHOOLPREVIEW SECTIONPick up Sunday’s Okla-homan for our 2010 highschool preview section,where you can find sched-ules for every team in thestate and rankings for everyclass.

A lot was said about thisyear’s Heritage Hall juniorclass back when they werefreshmen. The hype didn’tdie down last year as soph-omores.

And with a certain num-ber of them already enter-ing their third year withsignificant playing time,no one is giving them a freepass this season.

After dominating Class2A in 2008, a lot was ex-pected from last year’steam. But the kids hadsome growing pains andcould never maintain thatconsistency.

The difference is alreadyshowing up in this year’spractices. The unit is muchmore crisp, more in sync.

“We’re wondering moreabout what plays to run atthis time than last year,when we were still tryingto line up correctly,” coachAndy Bogert said.

The offense is going torun through junior BarrySanders. After a phenom-enal sophomore year,Sanders knows there willbe even more attentionthis year. He also wel-comes the challenge thatgoes with moving up to 3A.

The Chargers have twosolid quarterbacks in ju-nior Sterling Shepard andsenior Cooper Cloud. Bog-ert said he’s not looking fora competition, but insteadwill plan to use both ofthem depending on the of-fensive package.

One of the biggestchanges is in the leader-ship department. Heritage

didn’t have many seniorslast year, and it showed attimes.

That shouldn’t be thecase as Cloud and some ofthe juniors have steppedup, especially junior tightend Quintaz Struble.

“He’s become a bigleader for us,” Bogert said.“He won’t let people getdown on themselves.”

The receiving gameshould be stronger as ju-nior quarterback-turned-wide receiver Cale Court-ney said he’s a lot morecomfortable now. ShaunTkach had a terrific sum-mer, Bogert said, and addsanother dimension to theteam.

Bogert said the defenseshould be extremely fast,one of his fastest teamsyet. However, size mightbe an issue, Bogert said.

Heritage Hall’s standout class one year smarterBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

HeritageHall seniorCooperCloud is oneof the Char-gers’ twoquarter-backs. PHOTO

BY BRYAN TERRY,THE OKLAHOMAN

With Casadyjunior RB Garrison Lee

The Casady team wasloaded with seniors lastyear, but that’s not the casethis year. In fact, with onlythree seniors this season,some of the juniors willhave step up. One of themwill be junior Garrison Lee.In addition to his role atrunning back, Lee had 101tackles last year.

What did last year’s‘Redeem Team’ teach youguys?

They were just reallygood guys, on and off thefield. They taught how tobe leaders and how torepresent the school. Welearned how much footballand the success means tothe school.

What’s the biggest dif-ference for you enteringthis year?

I’ve put on a lot of weight.I’ve added 20 pounds sincelast year. I just spent a lot oftime in the weight room,and it came pretty easy. Icould squat 275 pounds lastyear, and now I can do 500.

It’s been incredibly hotfor fall practice. What areyou doing when you’redone?

I’m just trying to rehy-drate and relax. I feel like I’mlosing 10 pounds with eachpractice. I’m getting mystrength back, taking a dipin the pool and relaxing.

You’re not the only ex-pected to be a biggerleader this year, but areyou ready for it?

I am. I definitely feel like Iam. I’ve improved a lot fromlast year, and we have a lotof guys who are going toplay a big role.

The one talent you wishyou had?

I wish I could sing. I don’thave any musical talents atall. I sing all the time, and itjust annoys people. I wouldlove to be able to sing.

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO

Q&A

Garrison LeeCasady junior running back

› Follow The Oklahoman’s high school coverage on twitter at @HSVarsity

The biggest questionheading into last year forBishop McGuinness was,who would be the quarter-back and how productivewould the offense be?

The first question stillhas to be answered this sea-son for the Irish, but thereare no doubts about howexplosive the offense is go-ing to be.

If you want any prob-lems, having two solidquarterbacks is one you cantolerate. That’s exactlywhat coach Kenny Younghas with juniors CamdenTharp and Quinn Shan-bour.

Shanbour won the joblast season but had his sea-son ended early with a bro-ken ankle in the second

week of the season.Tharp took the reins, and

the Irish remained one ofthe top teams in Class 4A.Whether it was running orthrowing, Tharp maturedimmensely throughout theseason.

No matter who ends upwith the job, Young is con-fident the offense will seeboth players on the field be-cause “they’re two of ourbest 11.”

All eyes will be on run-ning back LaRone Richard-son. Injuries limited his ef-fectiveness last season, buthe showed glimpses of whathe can do when healthy.

Richardson said it tookhim until about March tostart feeling right, and it’sshown as the elusivenessand quickness is back forone of the top backs in thestate.

Jamaal Whitney will be

the top target for Tharp orShanbour. Whitney is afreak of an athlete, andYoung said the senior justhas to be more consistentwith his concentration.

“You look at our offense,and I don’t see a weakness,”Richardson said. “Quinn orCamden, it doesn’t matter— they’re both really goodat what they do.”

Linebackers JameelWhitney (Jamaal’s brother)and Jay Lester dominatedthe day defensively lastyear. But with both gradu-ated, this year the strengthappears to be on the line.

Seniors Dakota Leftwichand Nick Callaway will leadthe charge. Callaway had 72tackles and three sacks,while Leftwich had 63 stopsand four sacks.

The defense also wel-comes back Danny Krenger,who had 57 tackles.

McGuinness back as one of the 4A favoritesBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

Bishop McGuin-ness runningback LaRoneRichardson waslimited by in-juries last sea-son but shouldbe back to fullspeed. PHOTO BY

JOHN CLANTON, THEOKLAHOMAN

There’s only one questionsurrounding Millwood foot-ball this season: Can theFalcons finish the job?

With as much or moretalent than anyone they’veplayed the last two seasons,Millwood hasn’t won achampionship or evenplayed for a gold ball.

And answering thatquestion with a “yes” willmean the Falcons first an-swered the questions abouttheir offensive line.

Last year, it was a revolv-ing door of players cyclingthrough as coaches lookedfor someone to earn the job.

“We always have one ortwo guys that are really goodand three guys we try to rollin there and figure out who’s

gonna go where,” offensivecoordinator Kevin Cox said.“We think we’ve made somestrides this year and foundsome people who can helpus out a lot — maybe even afreshman.”

Davion Pierson, a top-level college prospect, willanchor the offensive line atleft guard in addition to hisduties as one of the premierdefensive tackles in thestate. Devin Dobbins, an-other 300-pounder, movesfrom center to left tackle.

Harvey Hightower willalso help the line, whichgives the Falcons a clear pic-ture of what their offensiveline will look like.

The value of that can’t beunderstated with the talentthe Falcons have at theskilled positions, with Texascommit Josh Turner at re-ceiver, along with college

prospects Brandon Swin-dall, Shevin Patton, MikeCole and quarterback Ke-vonte Richardson.

Patton and Allan Starksare the top two candidatesfor carries at running backas Millwood tries to replaceEmilio Gatewood, a 2,000-yard rusher who moved toNorman North in the off-season.

Larry Seals had 183 tack-les at inside linebacker lastyear and will anchor the de-fense along with Pierson.That gives the Falcons arun-stopping threat upfront and tons of speed onthe back end.

“A lot of people are ex-pecting to see a lot ofthings,” Cole said. “Andwe’re gonna show ‘em.That’s what we plan on do-ing. We want that state ti-tle.”

Millwood ready to live up to expectationsBY SCOTT WRIGHTStaff Writerswright@opubco.com

Millwood’s Larry Seals and the rest of the Falcons prepare to take the fieldbefore facing Kingfisher in the 2009 Class 2A state semifinals in Yukon.

PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

Cox Communications(Cox 3) and KSBI (Cox 7)are back once again toshowcase some of the tophigh school football gamesthis year. The stations aretelevising a combined 36contests.

Week 1› Thursday, Sept. 2 —Douglass at McGuinness(Cox); Heritage Hall atCasady (KSBI)› Friday, Sept. 3 — Bixby atJenks (Cox); Clinton atWeatherford (KSBI)

Week 2› Thursday, Sept. 9 —Yukon at Edmond Santa Fe(Cox); Del City at NormanNorth (KSBI)› Friday, Sept. 10 — Jenksat Tulsa Union (Cox); Put-nam City North at Mustang(KSBI)

Week 3› Thursday, Sept. 16 —Tulsa Washington at TulsaEast Central (Cox); NormanNorth at Westmoore(KSBI)

› Friday, Sept. 17 — Mus-tang at Bixby (Cox); Ed-mond Santa Fe at MidwestCity (KSBI)

Week 4› Thursday, Sept. 23 — DelCity at Edmond North(Cox)› Friday, Sept. 24 — Clar-emore at Coweta (Cox);Newcastle at Kingfisher(KSBI)

Week 5› Thursday, Sept. 30 —Sapulpa at Southmoore(Cox); Shawnee at Norman(KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 1 — MidwestCity at Putnam City North(Cox); Norman North atYukon (KSBI)

Week 6› Thursday, Oct. 7 — TulsaNOAH at Bethany (Cox);Edmond North at PutnamCity (KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 8 — CasciaHall at Berryhill (Cox); Nor-man at Southmoore (KSBI)

Week 7

› Thursday, Oct. 14 —Norman North at Moore(Cox)› Friday, Oct. 15 — Guthrieat Carl Albert (Cox); Put-nam City at Mustang(KSBI)

Week 8› Thursday, Oct. 21 —Owasso at Bixby (Cox);Jenks at Southmoore(KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 22 — TBA(Cox); El Reno at Guthrie(KSBI)

Week 9› Thursday, Oct. 28 —Norman North at EdmondMemorial (Cox)› Friday, Oct. 29 — BrokenArrow at Jenks (Cox);Muskogee at Norman(KSBI)

Week 10› Thursday, Nov. 4 — Yu-kon at Edmond Memorial(Cox)› Friday, Nov. 5 — TBA(Cox); Midwest City atNorman North (KSBI)

High school football TV schedule

Miller utilizingyouth in firstseason at Grant

Matt Miller is U.S. Grant’sthird coach in the last threeseasons, but after helpingbuild Little Axe into a play-off team, Miller takes overthe Generals with plans ofdoing the same there.

And he’ll get his chance tostart building for the futureright away, because he’ll beforced into using severalyoung players in his lineupthis fall.

One of the few seniors onthe squad is Anthony Ortiz,who can do a lot in thebackfield. He reached the1,000-yard mark in bothrushing and passing lastseason. There are also acouple of returning starterson the offensive line, led bysophomore Daniel Laguna,who started at guard as afreshman.

Another sophomore,running back/linebacker

Derrick Young rushed formore than 500 yards andpicked off three passes ondefense in a strong fresh-man year. Junior CarlosMorales, 6-foot-3, 230pounds, gives the Generalsa big tight end.

Defensively, ChristianNicholson is a potentialcollege prospect as a 6-foot-2, 245-pound defen-sive end who had eightsacks and three forcedfumbles last year.

LYONS BUILDINGREDSKINS’NUMBERS

Back at the helm forCapitol Hill, Montana Lyonsis hoping to see a rise inparticipation as he tries tobuild his program into aregular contender for post-season bids.

“We’ve just got to contin-ue to build,” Lyons said. “Ithink the guys have a bet-ter understanding of what

our expectations are. Wehad a lot better participa-tion at summer workouts,and that always helps. Andwhen the kids show up,they’ve had a better atti-tude, so I think we’re look-ing better.”

The Redskins’ strengthwill be at the skilled posi-tions, led by senior quarter-back/safety Derrick Jef-ferson. Fred Taylor,De’Antre Williams andJunior Zavala are all se-niors who will contribute.

“We have a good seniorclass, guys who made thesummer workouts,” Lyonssaid. “They’re guys we’llhave to lean on for thefuture. We have a lot offreshmen that look up tothose guys, so if they pulltheir weight, we’ll be OK.”

SAFETIES LEADINGSOUTHEASTDEFENSE

Southeast coach MichaelBranch is relying on some

of his experienced seniorsto help him get the Spar-tans back on the right track,not only from a perform-ance perspective, but also inattitude and effort.

Branch sees a strength inhis secondary, led by safe-ties Nelson Williams andJay Gogue, players who heis counting on as leaders ofhis defense.

“There was a lot of mis-understanding on defenselast year, and we’re gonnaget that fixed,” Williamssaid. “Me and the otherdefensive backs are work-ing together to make sureeverybody is on the samepage.”

NORTHWEST YOUNGBUT EXPERIENCED

Northwest Classen will berelying on several youngplayers who got valuableexperience as sophomoreslast year.

In 2009, the Knights’quarterback and top rusherwere both sophomores,

with Christian Gorhamcompleting more than 50percent of his passes for869 yards. Another sopho-more, Marvin Kerbo,rushed for 395 yards onjust 43 carries, an averageof 9.2 yards per rush.

NORTHEAST’STHOMAS BACK INACTION

Michael Thomas will beat the heart of the North-east offense once again,after a busy 2009 season.He played quarterback,receiver, defensive back andspecial teams last season,leading the Vikings in totaloffense, while adding 53tackles and two intercep-tions.

He’ll have a couple of solidwideouts helping him onoffense, with Aron Gainesand Trevyone Willis, whocombined for nearly 800receiving yards and sevenTDs last year.

BY SCOTT WRIGHT

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Northeast quarterback Michael Thomas, left, tries to get past U.S. Grant’s GavonniBonds on a carry during a 2009 game at C.B. Speegle Stadium.

PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

Southeast’s Jay Gogue, left, is one of several playershis coach is counting on to be defensive leaders.

PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

With JohnMarshall WR/DBAlandis Bell

Do you feel good aboutthe defense with somany returning start-ers?

We have the same guysfrom last year that carriedus to the second round ofthe playoffs, and hopefullywe’ll have the same deter-mination, the same abilityand the same mind frameto get us back there againand farther.

You have some newplayers at cornerback.How is that positioncoming along?

They’re looking prettygood, but to get to thelevel we need, they’ll haveto step it up. They’ll beOK, though.

Is this team motivatedto show there won’t be adrop-off from last yearwith the loss of keyplayers like BrendonJordan and Ken Berry?

There’s a lot of motiva-tion for the guys that areback, but in order to havea No. 1 team, we have toget everybody on thatsame level.

What are yourthoughts about the twoplayers competing forthe quarterback job,Dion Vickers and DavionSmith?

The quarterback battleis a tough call. It’s backand forth between thosetwo guys, so we reallydon’t know what kind ofoffense we’ll come outwith until one of themsteps up and shows whatthey can do.

It’s a really close battle.We had our doubts abouta freshman (Smith) beingable to come in and do it,but seeing him and ourjunior, it’s a good competi-tion. It’ll be a pretty goodsituation no matter whowins it.

BY SCOTT WRIGHT

Q&A

John Marshall receiver Alandis Bell says the team’squarterback battle is a close one.

PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

MIDWEST CITY — Thetop five tacklers fromMidwest City are gone. Atop running back gradu-ated. The top wide receiv-ers have departed.

However, there is noconcern for the Bombers.None.

Some teams take a cou-ple of years to bounce backfrom losses of that magni-tude, including the gradu-ation of last year’s Defen-sive Player of the Year,Emmanuel Maxwell.

All Midwest City is go-ing to do is plug in somenew names, and for themost part, the results forSteve Huff’s boys are go-ing to be the same or may-be better.

“Those guys taught us alot about leadership andhow to handle differentsituations,” senior TrevonLewis said. “Now it’s ourturn.”

Lewis is the gem of adefense that is going to befilled with top-notchplayers and blazing speed.

This should be the yearCameron Hishaw breaksout. Hishaw had 65 tack-les and two sacks as a ju-nior and is receiving inter-est from several schools.

The defensive backfieldis going to be anchored byRicky Reeves. The juniordominated in 7-on-7competitions this sum-mer.

Offensively, quarter-back Greg Austin returns ayear smarter and moremature, and he has a hostof weapons to get the ball

to.As a sophomore, run-

ning back James Flanderswas still trying to find hisway, but there will be noquestioning the junior thisseason.

“I know I’ll be gettingmore attention, but I’vebeen putting in the work,”Flanders said. “I’ll beready for it”

Wide receiver ClaudeDonald had a huge sum-mer. Consistency hasbeen his issue before, buthe and his teammates ap-pear to be focused 100percent.

“It’s all about the goldball,” Lewis said. “That’sour aim. That’s our focus.Nothing else matters.”

Lewis is also beingthrown a new wrinkle, ashe should see time at full-back this season.

Midwest City reloading for another runBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

Midwest City junior running back James Flanders, left, runs after a catch during asummer 7-on-7 tournament. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

Taking over a teamthat won a state cham-pionship last fall, Ter-rell Love could have satback and waited to seeif an older player wouldstep in and win thestarting quarterbackjob.

But the new StarSpencer coach saw noreason to wait, handingthe job to sophomoreDarion Bogus in theearly days of camp, andthe 5-foot-7 youngsteris growing up fast.

“He’s coming alongwell,” Love said. “He’sstarting to understandhis role as a leader inthe huddle and in thelocker room.

“He’s throwing well.He’s always texting mewith something differ-ent to ask, somethinghe wants to try, so I seehim coming along.”

Bogus’ growth hasbeen noticed by theplayers as well.

“He’s young, but helooks like he can get thejob done,” said return-

ing receiver StevoHenderson. “He hasthat playmaker abilityin him. He’s making alot of progress. Dayone, he was throwingpicks, couldn’t readplays and stuff. But it’slike he grew up over-night. He’s maturingfast.”

Bogus will be play-ing behind an offensiveline that must replaceall five starters. But afew experienced play-ers are holding thegroup together.

“They’re comingalong so well,” Lovesaid. “We had a coupleguys out early, and thatgave me a chance towork my guys that willbe my twos. The wholegroup is progressingfaster than I expected.”

The defense will bebuilt around a stronggroup of linebackerswith Kenneth Davis,Jamonte Mitchell andMontrell Alexander.Kenneth Turner is thetop returning starter onthe defensive line, andthe back end is strongwith Henderson an-choring the group atcornerback.

More than anything,Love is pleased to seehis young team comingtogether as a unit.

“I see the meshcoming,” Love said.“The timing from thehuddle to the line to theplay, back to the hud-dle. Guys are getting toknow me better andwe’re starting to un-derstand each otherbetter.

New Star Spencer QB Bogus growing up fastBY SCOTT WRIGHTStaff Writerswright@opubco.com

Star Spencer’sDarion Bogus, a5-foot-7 sopho-more, was hand-ed the quarter-back job in theearly days ofcamp. PHOTO BY

CHRIS LANDSBERGER,THE OKLAHOMAN

Stevo HendersonStar Spencer WR

OCA’s Holt excitedabout senior year

After playing his fresh-man year, Oklahoma Chris-tian Academy’s Tyler Holtwasn’t happy with the waythe team was progressingand sat out his sophomoreyear.

But under coach KeithLough, Holt said he foundhis love of the game againand came back for his junioryear.

Holt was among the teamleaders with 100 tackleslast year and figures to playan even bigger role thisseason.

“We’ve come a long way,and there is a lot of pridewith this senior group,” Holtsaid.

COYLE’S SCOTT NOTSATISFIED

Coyle’s Magnus Scottwon the Class A statechampionship in the 100-

meter dash. He led thefootball team as a runningback. He also starts for thebasketball team.

Despite all those accom-plishments, Scott isn’tsatisfied.

“I’ve done pretty good, butthere is still room for im-provement,” he said. “I’msatisfied with what I’vedone, but I will be evenmore satisfied when we’veaccomplished more.”

Scott said he wants touse his speed to lead histeam to the playoffs thisyear.

MILLER TO PROVIDEDAVENPORT’S SPARK

Davenport coach JohnGreenfield is looking to im-prove on last year’s 10-2record. One of the playershe’ll look to will be juniorrunning back and defensiveback Mike Miller.

Miller, a two-year starter,played in only three gameslast season after suffering aconcussion.

“With Mike, there’s just onespeed: fast,” Greenfield said.“He does everything hard.”

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO, TARIQ LEEAND CORBIN HOSLER

EDMOND-AREA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

TylerHoltOCAstand-out

BarryParksChan-dlertightend

EDMOND — Last year wassupposed to be the year forthe Edmond North Huskies,and the team made tremen-dous strides with an 8-3 re-cord.

But now that the programis starting to get some consis-tency, the toughest part istrying to maintain that levelof play.

It gets especially toughwhen the nucleus of the de-fense is gone. It wasn’t justthe defensive line that washit. It wasn’t just the line-backers or the secondary — itwas everywhere.

“We’re going to have tohave a lot of young guys step

up,” coach Jeremy Dombeksaid. “We know they have thetalent, but they’ve never beenthere before.”

The cupboard isn’t com-pletely bare. Linebacker RyanAdams returns, and Kyle As-chenbrenner and CamdenBohnert have made tremen-dous strides.

Going into the summer,Dombek was most worriedabout the secondary. It’s notjust that the Huskies losttheir starters, but they losttop Division I talents such asXavier Smith and RickeyLawyer.

“Those are tough names toreplace, but I’m happy withthe progress we’ve made,”Dombek said. “The 7-on-7events were big for our confi-dence, and I think we’re go-

ing to be OK.”The offense returns a

strong cast, including seniorquarterback Travis Towns-end. After winning a three-man battle for the job lastyear, Townsend was phe-nomenal as a junior.

Though he didn’t throw fora huge amount of yards(1,154), he was nearly flawlessuntil a late-season injury.

Junior running back JaredBenway was going to play ahuge role, but a leg injury hashim out indefinitely and willput a lot of pressure onTownsend.

Townsend has also foundhis No. 1 target in DonquayHammons. The pair havebeen working together forthree years, and it shows inthe chemistry department.

Edmond North trying to reload on defenseBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

EdmondNorth quar-terbackTravisTownsendwas nearlyflawlessuntil a late-seasoninjury. PHOTO

BY JOHNCLANTON, THE

OKLAHOMAN

With OCS seniorwide receiverSkyler Sikes

Oklahoma Christian widereceiver Skyler Sikes andquarterback Jack Warrenhaven’t been there forever,but they’re both three-yearstarters for the Saints. Andwith the move up fromClass A to 2A, they’re thetwo expected to lead thisteam after losing a lot fromlast year’s club.

It’s a whole new cast ofcharacters. How are thingsgoing?

Phenomenal. We’ve hadsome of the best practicesthat I’ve ever been a part of.We know a lot of guys aregoing to have to step up,but we’re not too worriedabout that.

You’ve had to step upand be a leader. Are you

comfortable with that?Yes, sir. I feel incredibly

comfortable with that. It’s areal natural role for me andthis is something the Lordhas really shaped for me inmy life — for this moment.

When did the chemistrywith Jack start?

That goes back to fresh-man year. We started in JVtogether and became reallygood friends. It’s been twoyears of solid chemistry at

the varsity level. We canimprovise and work on ourtiming. And we’re greatfriends off the field.

What have you beenworking on?

Conditioning and speed.I’m pretty quick off the ball.I’ve been working on theprecision of the routes.Steve Largent, Wes Welker,Jordan Shipley — those arethe guys I look up to. Theyrun great precise routes. I’vebeen able to shave three-tenths off my 40 time. I’mat a 4.8, and I’m still learn-ing.

How do you work onspeed at this point in yourcareer?

It’s more about technique.There is a right way to runand a wrong way, and it’smade a big difference forme.

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO

Q&A

Skyler SikesOCS receiver

Choctaw’s Davisworth a look

Choctaw coach Bill Baysis still in the process oftrying to turn the teamaround, but he has a greatcornerstone to build on.

Senior Hunter Davis isone of the top recruits inthe state and had a fewoffers before committing toTulsa this summer.

Davis should dominate onthe defensive line and willalso see time at tight end.Davis won’t be alone, asrunning back Aaron Four-nier also returns for theYellowjackets.

“We have a lot of goodguys coming back,” Davissaid. “We feel we’re goingto surprise people.”

SMITH HAS LITTLEAXE THINKINGPOSITIVE

To say the last fewmonths have been tryingfor Little Axe is an under-statement. Whether it’sbeen on the field or off, itcertainly hasn’t been dull.

Jason Wheeler wasgoing to be in his first yearas head coach but left inthe summer to take a job inTexas.

Last year’s coach, TonySmith, who helped lead theteam to its best year andfirst playoff appearance,stepped back into thetrenches.

The program is also stilltrying to deal with thetornado that hit the area inMay, but that hasn’t brokentheir spirit.

“We’re going to be outhere every day and do whatwe always do,” senior leaderRobby Dryden said.

NICHOLS BACK FORBETHEL

After some recent suc-cess, including its first play-off appearance, last yearwas a step backward forBethel football.

The program has madeseveral changes. OklahomaCoaches Association Hall of

Famer Eddie Paul is takingover as head coach, whileKevin Nichols is going to becoaching the quarterbacks.

Nichols led the Wildcatsto the playoffs in 2007.

“Eddie asked me, and itwas too good of an oppor-tunity to pass up,” Nicholssaid.

CHA’S BLAIR AFORCE

Christian Heritage Acade-my was a game away fromthe playoffs in 2009, andthe Crusaders haven’t for-gotten that. After an 0-3start, CHA closed out at5-5.

Anchoring John Merrell’steam will be senior line-backer Josh Blair. As ajunior, Blair had 113 tacklesand three sacks.

"This will be his third yearto start for us at lineback-er," Merrell said. "And he’sbigger and stronger thanhe’s ever been. He’s over215 now. He just has tre-mendous desire to be agood football player andhe’s only gotten better andbetter every year."

TUGGLE PACINGHARRAH

The improvement ofHarrah football has been

evident under coach GregWillis. The Panthers havegradually worked their wayup and were 5-5 last sea-son in Class 5A.

Now that Harrah hasdropped to 4A, expecta-tions are even higher. Onebig reason is the return ofrunning back Trey Tuggle.

Tuggle rushed for nearly1,000 yards and eighttouchdowns last year.

Junior wide receiver JakeQueen should also play amuch bigger role this sea-son.

TECUMSEH RELYINGON FOWLER

Nobody thought Tecum-seh was going to win eightgames last year, but GregGeorge’s kids pulled outsome close games andgained confidence through-out the year.

Quarterback Kyle Fowlergrew up as well. The onlything Fowler could be ac-cused of is trying too hard.

To go with his 10 passingtouchdowns, he also had 15interceptions. He was theteam’s top rusher as well,amassing more than 800yards on the ground andadding 12 more touch-downs.

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO

SOUTH OKC METRO FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Choctaw de-fensive endHunter Daviscommitted toTulsa over thesummer. PHOTO

BY CHRISLANDSBERGER, THE

OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — When youthink of the EdmondMemorial offense, ithasn’t been too excitinglately.

Doesn’t mean ithasn’t been effective,but the Bulldogs haverelied heavily on a powerrunning game to getthem to where they are.

But this season, thereis going to be a change.Memorial is going to tryto spread the field more.

“It’s going to be excit-ing to try to do some-thing new,” quarterbackKameron Doolittle said.“A lot of the plays aregoing to come from theshotgun, and I thinkthat’s really going towork out well.”

The change is suitedto work for Doolittle’sskill set. Giving an all-around talent like Doo-little more room to roamin the shotgun and rol-lout packages brings outthe best in the team.

If teams are able tostifle Doolittle, runningback Cale Olbert is readyto step up and be the topoption.

For half of last year, hewas in that positionanyway. After an injuryto D’Juan Brooks and achange in position forDoolittle, Olbert wentfrom being one part of athree-headed monsterto taking over the leadrole.

Olbert rushed for 651yards and six touch-downs, and he’s 100percent after breakinghis thumb in the sum-

mer.The Bulldogs’ top two

receivers are gone, butJeff Balkenbush turned alot of heads this sum-mer.

“He’s really steppedup and has become aleader for us,” second-year coach Justin Me-rideth said.

The Bulldogs losttheir heart and soul fromlast year’s defense,Adrian Shoecraft andNelson Medeiros. Butwith top talents likeConnor Myers, JeremyLangston and JaredChambers, the defensewill still be a majorstrength for the team.

After a 1-3 start, Me-morial won seven con-secutive games beforelosing to Jenks, and theexpectations are evenhigher this season.

Memorial offense looking for more explosivenessBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

Quarterback Kameron Doolittle, right, hands the ball off to running back Cale Olbert dur-ing spring practice. Olbert rushed for 651 yards last season.

PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

EDMOND — It wouldn’tbe inaccurate to say theEdmond Santa Fe footballteam was a couple playsaway from a 3-7 seasonturning into a 7-3 yearand a playoff berth.

But the fact of thematter, is the Wolveswere 3-7. That’s not theway coach Bruce Gowenenvisioned his first sea-son.

There wasn’t a big ad-justment in terms of thedefense, which is whereGowen had made hisname, but the offensewas always a work in pro-gress.

“It took a lot longer foreverything to click than Ithought it would,” Go-wen said. “We feel a lot

better about this year.”The feelings are good,

but the numbers are not.Gowen said there are only16 seniors out for Santa Feand not that many ju-niors.

The future looks in-credibly bright for theWolves, but the present isgoing to be determinedby how fast the youngplayers mature.

The strength of theteam is at wide receiver,where Santa Fe has threesolid options in ConnerBays, Patrick Hinton andTre Kelley.

Kelley broke his handthe first week of practice,but he is a big target. He’llbe a big weapon when hegets back.

Hinton, though notthe biggest guy around,has tremendous speedand is the most experi-

enced of the group, whileBays is only entering hisjunior year.

It remains a little bit ofa mystery who’s going tothrow to the trio. JuniorTy Hensley, also a bigbaseball star, saw limitedtime last year and hasbeen battling it out withsenior Paul Bronson forthe quarterback spot allspring and summer.

The Wolves are eagerto get back out there, es-pecially with the successof the other Edmondschools. Edmond Memo-rial and Edmond Northeach won eight gameslast year.

“The intensity is total-ly different this year,”Hinton said. “The play-ers, the coaches, we willnot go through another3-7 year. That’s not howwe’re going out.”

Edmond Santa Fe looks to bounce back

Edmond Santa Fe players enter the field before a 2009 game against Del City at Wan-tland Stadium. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

MIDWEST CITY — Everyyear it seems like Carl Al-bert is always in the sameposition. The Titans areusually coming off anothergreat season and trying tostay motivated.

That won’t be a problemthis season.

Last year’s Class 5Achampions will be any-thing but complacent. CarlAlbert won its 10th state ti-tle in the last 20 years, andit seems some people haveforgotten about that.

All the focus going intothis season seems to be onthe other 5A powers, TulsaWashington, Guthrie andDuncan.

Tulsa Washington isloaded with top recruits,

the Bluejays have KentrellBrothers and the Demonshave two of the state’s topprospects in OU commitDylan Dismuke and safetyDominique Petties. All willbe in the conversation forthe gold ball.

What about the Titans?All they do is win.

“We’re going to do thelittle things right. We haveto,” Carl Albert coach GaryRose said. “Offense, de-fense, special teams, in thelocker room — that’s howwe’re going to get the jobdone.”

There isn’t that jaw-dropping recruit for CarlAlbert this year. Nobodyresembles anything likerunning back David Okufrom a couple of years agoor defensive back Tre Por-ter from last year.

The top recruit has been

Dwight Dobbins, a soliddefensive back who com-mitted to Tulsa this sum-mer.

And the strength of theteam is going to be its run-ning game. Whether it’sthe power game of TyreLeBlanc, the experience ofKenton Whittington or themultifaceted attack of ju-nior Taylor Hawkins, CarlAlbert has options.

The Titans return 11starters from last year’sclub, and two of them areamong the top linemen inthe state.

Center Anthony Frazierand right tackle/defensiveend Kyle Croak are going tobe three-year starters.

“This is our senior year,and we want to continuethat legacy,” Dobbins said.“It’s time to get back towork.”

Carl Albert ready to get back to workBY ROBERT PRZYBYLOStaff Writerbprzybylo@opubco.com

Carl Albert defensive back Dwight Dobbins committed to Tulsa this summer. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN