The last week of non district play brought us some fireworks all across the state. As we head into the first week of district play on Friday some things have become clear while we still have countless questions. We’ve had so many games come down to the last minute and won in the last minute. As we do every Monday here on the Roundup Notebook, it’s now time to break down some of the top stories from week 3 in high school football.
Class 6A
Union Goes On The Adkins Diet. Beat Broken Arrow 38-21
Okay, I took that headline from the Tulsa World. It was so corny it was great. Sophomore running back Tyler Adkins burst onto the scene against BA and gashed the Tigers defense for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns on 34 carries. The Redskins, working with their back up quarterback and third string running back for the second consecutive week, avoid starting the season 0-3 for the first time since 2006.
Broken Arrow jumped out to a 14-0 start and Union couldn’t do anything right. The Redskins turned the ball over several times and had countless penalties left Union feeling like the Broken Arrow teams they’ve dismantled in the past 2 decades. The Redskins then woke up and showed why they’re a team that has now won 29 of the last 30 meetings with Broken Arrow. Union scored 31 unanswered and ran away with an unbelievable 17 point win that not a lot of people expected. Myself included.
Jenks Runs Away From Owasso In Second Half. Beat Rams 45-28
Perhaps this defense isn’t up there with the best we’ve ever seen. Perhaps. The Trojans still have the rest of the season to impress us on defense. Owasso was able to drive up and down racking up yards and points on the Trojans. One thing that has been missing over the first two weeks is the Jenks offense. The Trojans started to get it going as they were able to run away from Owasso in the second half. The Jenks rushing attack took a huge hit in the game when running back Brett Tye got hurt. It’s not clear how long Tye will be out with an AC tear in his shoulder.
The Battle Of HWY 97 Goes To Sapulpa. Beat Sand Springs 49-32
Sapulpa jumped out to a 21-3 lead and took it into the halftime locker room. The second half became a shootout. The only problem for the Sandites though was that Sapulpa kept up with the Sand Springs scoring. The 18 point halftime deficit was too much to overcome for a Sand Springs team that is now 1-2 going into district play while Sapulpa has raced out to a 3-0 record into what could end up being one of the most competitive districts in the state.
Bixby Comes Back To Win In NW Arkansas. Beat Springdale 45-38
The Spartans trailed by as many as 24. Going into the 4th quarter they trailed Springdale 38-23. Don’t call it a comeback. Okay call it a comeback. Bixby came back to stun a Springdale team that historically is pretty good in Arkansas. The Spartans put up 22 points in the fourth quarter while shutting out the Bulldogs in the final quarter. With 45 seconds left Bixby scored the go ahead touchdown and held on to get the big comeback victory. Bixby has all the momentum in the world after their 3-0 start and will need it going into district play this week.
Not A Typo. The Edison Eagles Are 3-0.
Okay, Edison is about to play in what I think is the most competitive district in the state in 6A-2. Winning 3 more games going forward will be a struggle but you have to tip your cap to Edison. The Eagles went west and got a win over Elk City 42-6. Earlier this year they got wins over Memorial and Hale. Over the last 3 years the Eagles were 3-27. Edison immediately gets tougher competition this week when they face the #1 ranked team in the state in the Jenks Trojans, a team that beat them 82-7 last year.
Westside Love
Westmoore Wins Shootout. Beat Norman North 45-31
Similar to the Sapulpa-Sand Springs game, Westmoore jumped out to a 21-10 lead at the end of the 1st quarter and went score for score with Norman North. The T’Wolves are not what they were last year when they made it to the title game. They’ll put up some points this year but so far they haven’t stopped anybody. The Jaguars are now 3-0 and now look east. Westmoore is 1 of the 2 West side teams in district 6A-2, the other is Putnam City. The Jaguars are set up for a nice run this season. Their first district test will be another 3-0 team in Bixby.
Bomber Magic Might Be Back. Beat Del City 16-8
Only one week ago Del City put up 550 yards of total offense on a Norman North team that many people feel is a consensus top 10 6A team. Fast forward one week and another top 10 6A team completely shut them down. Midwest City didn’t put up the points Norman North did but they didn’t need to. The Bombers held Del City to only 94 yards of total offense and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown. Del City’s only score came on a special team’s touchdown. Speaking of Norman North, Midwest City opens up district play this week with the T’Wolves.
Edmond Santa Fe Needs Double Overtime Against Rival. Beat Edmond North 38-31
In the first overtime Justice Hansen converted a fourth down for a touchdown to make the second overtime possible. This was one of the more surprising games of the week. Rivalry games always make things a little closer but I didn’t expect it to be so close that extra time was needed. Edmond Santa Fe is a team that could go far this season, Edmond North lost a lot from last year. Santa Fe is still one of the better West side teams, but they’re more vulnerable then I originally thought.
Class 5A
Defense Not Allowed. McAlester Beat Claremore 59-35
Holy smokes, seriously, did either team bring their defense with them in this game? Over 900 yards of total offense, a combined 94 points scored. McAlester bounced back from a disappointing loss to Booker T Washington by beating Claremore in a shootout by 24 points. It’s not too often you can give up 35 points and stroll to a 20+ point victory but that’s exactly what McAlester did. The Buffaloes are giving up an average 38 points in their first 3 games but it hasn’t mattered. With one of the more explosive offenses in the state, McAlester is averaging just over 50 points a game.
Coweta Gets A Miracle At Bishop Kelley. Beat Comets 48-42
What else can you call it? Not that Coweta won the game, but how the Tigers did it. With no time left on the clock Coweta completed a good ‘ol hail mary pass. The Tigers upset Bishop Kelley and take a lot of momentum into district play. Coweta finally got their first win of the season after playing Wagoner and Carl Albert in the first two weeks. Coweta takes that momentum into a district that is wide open right now.
Central Stuns TPS Rival. Beat McLain 14-12
The Central Braves got their first win of the season at the expense of their TPS rival in heartbreaking fashion. Central scored on a Kejuan Jones (I know, name sounds familiar right?) 1 yard touchdown run with 36 seconds left in the game to get the 2 point win. Just like Coweta, Central gets their first win and some momentum going into district play in 5A-4. Central is another team that could possibly make the playoffs, one thing is for sure, that district race is going to be entertaining every single week.
Class 4A
Catoosa Gets Second Straight Close Win. Beat Fort Gibson 27-26
A 42 yard field goal fell short and Catoosa went down to Fort Gibson and walked away with a huge win over another 4A top 10 team. Fort Gibson struggled in their two wins and now have a heartbreaking loss to Catoosa. They’ll have an opportunity to get the bad taste out of their mouth as they take on Rogers to open district play. After Catoosa turned the ball over 6 times against Pryor in a week 1 shutout loss, they’ve gotten two straight big wins. Catoosa will take all this momentum into this week’s district opener, and boy, will they need that momentum. They hit the road and go to Wagoner to take on the Bulldogs in a game that very well could decide the district championship.
Not A Typo Part 2: The Rogers Ropers Are 3-0!
I don’t care if Rogers played air in the first three weeks. They almost did. Rogers has opened up with wins over Okmulgee, OKC Legion (whatever that is) and last Friday against Capitol Hill. I won’t act like it’s a big deal they won those games. They should. It’s the fact that the Ropers are 3-0. Here’s why. From 2007-2012 Rogers went 3-46. It took Rogers 3 weeks to match a 6 year win total. Granted they didn’t play in 2011 but doesn’t that make this even more remarkable? Congrats Ropers. You deserve to celebrate.
Miami Snaps 13 Game Losing Streak. Beat Pryor 32-20
The last time the Wardogs got a win was all the way back on October 28, 2011 when they beat Mannford 42-0. The Wardogs lost the last game of the 2011 season, went winless last year and lost their first 2 games this season. The Wardogs were impressive on Friday against Pryor but Pryor did them some favors. In the second half Pryor had costly turnovers and Miami executed off them. Good win for Miami and the Wardogs. Being in the stadium that night, you could tell the players, coaches, parents and fans really needed that win. They got it.
Class 3A
Metro Christian With A Beatdown. Beat Broken Bow 50-2
Whoa, I don’t think anybody saw this coming. I had Broken Bow ranked at #10 in 4A and a team that could snap Cascia Hall’s district winning streak. I will say that I did have Metro Christian winning this game but I didn’t think the winning margin would be more then 10. OOPS! Metro Christian went down to Broken Bow and just put a spanking on the Savages. Even more impressive then that, they did it without their starting quarterback and playing 2 different QB’s who both had some success.
Class 2A
Millwood Comes East And Dominates. Beat Adair 34-7
It’s no surprise that Millwood beat Adair last Friday night but it is noteworthy. The Falcons snapped Adair’s 23 game regular season winning streak. The Warriors had gone 10-0 each of the last two seasons and Millwood prevented a possible 3rd straight season. Millwood is a strong team and came over to the Grand Lake area and dominated. Hats off to both Millwood and Adair scheduling this game when both had an open date and wanted some tough top 10 competition.
Westside Love
Davis Runs All Over Heritage Hall. Beat Chargers 54-23
I think I have an idea of what is going to be going on at Heritage Hall practices this week. STOP THE RUN! For the second straight week the Chargers gave up huge rushing numbers. Last week in a loss to 4A’s #1 Clinton, Heritage Hall gave up over 450 rushing yards. In the loss to Davis, the Chargers were out gained 340-42 on the ground. It doesn’t get any easier for them either as they open district play against 3A’s #1 Kingfisher and Landon Nault. Davis is off to an impressive start. It’s early but they might be on a crash course with Millwood.
Note of the Week:
In district 6A-2, 5 teams are still undefeated. (Bixby, Edison, Jenks, Sapulpa and Westmoore) In Class 5A, only 1 team is still undefeated. (Guthrie)
Come back tomorrow, we’ll have our new top 10 rankings for 2A-6A.
High School Roundup Notebook 