Week 8 - Top Performers

10/25/2020 |  Ben Johnson

Choctaw

Julius Pruitt - 3 sacks, 2 hurries, 5 tackles, 2 TFL

Verdigris

Reese Roller - had 5 tackles, 1tfl, 3 sacks, 1 hurry. Also had 2 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD. Gives him 21 sacks on the season and 4 straight games with at least 3 sacks.

Colcord

Stormy Odle 225 total offense 2 TDs

Bishop McGuinness

Luke Tarman - 27 carries for 244 yards / 12 of 18 passing for 168 yards / 5 Touchdowns - 4 passing 1 rushing

Berryhill

Chase Burke - 22 carries for 210 yards and 5 TD’s. 8 tackles and one sack on defense.

Broken Bow

CJ Whitfield - 12 carries for 100 yards / 13 tackles 1 int for a TD

Plainview

Morgan Pearson 3 receptions 109 yds 1 TD 

Caden Pickens defense- 15 tackles 5 TFL   

Del City

Sevaughn Sephus - senior defensive end - 5 sacks & 3 TFL & 13.5 total tackles

Weatherford

Ethan Downs -10 tackles / 9 carries 52 yards and a TD & 2 catches 19yards

Sam Hoffman - 8 tackles  / 17 carries for 131 yards & 2 catches for 31 yards

Adair

WR Garrett Long - 8 catches 140 yds 2 TD’s

QB Nate Ratcliff - 13/20 285 5 TD’s

El Reno

Dorian Plumley - 122 yards rushing & 175 yards passing & 4 rushing tds & 1 passing 

Came in on defense and got a pic and 2 pass break ups.

Mounds 

Taylor Wortman - 16 carries for 174 yards and 3 TDs on offense and 8 tackles with 2 tackles for loss on defense 

Mason Coddington - 58 yards passing with 1 TD, 54 yards rushing with 1 TD, 1 fumble recovery for a TD, and 2 Interceptions

Yale

Kail Williams- 4 for 6 passing for 222 yards 3 TDs / 3 carries 37 rushing 2 TD.

Dale Coffman - 1 reception, 95 yards & 1 TD / 4 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries(recovered both fumbles he caused) returned one 64 yards for a defensive TD 

Eufaula

Nick jones - 2 INTs & one returned 99 yards for TD to end 2nd half with no time on clock. And another returned 38 yards to the one yard line

Beggs

CJ Brown - 1 rec 48 td / 17 rushes 127 1 td / 4 ko ret 119 / 294 all purpose yds

Hilldale

Eric virgil - 23 carries 285 yards 3TD / 2 catches 48 yards 1 TD

Wewoka

Kobey Stephens - Passing- 6 for 10 -81yds -2 TD / Rushing- 10 for 97yds 3TD / 1 punt return for 41 TD.

Okemah

Mikey Cruz - rushing 28/234 yds 5 TD

Kurtis Wilson - passing 8/14 144 yds 3 TD

Claremore

Brooks Sherl - 3catches 140 yards and 3 TD's

Kellyville

Trevor Jones - 22 carries 161 yards 1 td and 1 int on defense 

Jeremy Hicks - 11 carries 132 yards and 3 tds plus had 8 tackles and a sack 

Wagoner 

Braden Drake - 10 carries for 210 yds and 4 TD / Also had an INT

(All in the first half)

Lawton

Donovan Dorsey - 7-9 192 yards passing 2 tds

Union

Matthias Roberson - 10 tackles 2 sacks, 3 tfl, fumble cause and recovered 

Pryor

Ben Ward - 105 passing & 1 TD / 44 rushes, 265 yards, 4 TDs

Steve Edwards steps down at Glenpool

11/21/2019 |  Ben Johnson

GLENPOOL -- When Glenpool starts the 2020 season, the Warriors will have a new head coach for the first time since the mid 90s.
On Thursday, Steve Edwards told Skordle he’s stepping down as the Warriors’ head coach after a 24-year run.
“Been going up and down the sidelines for 35 years,” he said. “It’s time to take a break.”
After serving as an assistant coach in Hominy, Edwards took over at Glenpool in 1996 and led the Warriors to the most successful years in the program’s history.
Glenpool had won only one district championship before Edwards arrived, and he now departs with eight district titles and two state championships (2002 and 2008).
“Through those 24 years at Glenpool, it’s been a really good run,” Edwards said. “Class 4A was good to us for a while.”
Edwards enjoyed a vast amount of success after his father questioned his profession a long time ago.
“I remember my dad asking why I wanted to be a football coach and having to move everywhere,” Edwards recalled. “But that wasn’t the case for me because I’ve ended up being at Glenpool for a long time.”
During his 24-year run at Glenpool, Edwards went 167-109, including a 2-8 season in 2019 to close the book on his tenure with the Warriors.
“Since 1996, we’ve followed the same coaching mantra, ‘make better players, not better plays,’” Edwards said. “It’s been so much more than developing good football players. We’ve always wanted to make sure the young boys turn into great men.”
As for Edwards, he’ll still be in Glenpool as the Warriors’ assistant athletic director. It will allow him more time to watch his sons, Gus and Michael, play football and wrestle.
“I want to sit back and watch them,” Edwards said. “Both have really promising futures in both football and wrestling, I want to be able to watch them.”
And what about coaching? Edwards wouldn’t totally close the book on a return in the future.
“If I still have a hankering to get back into it,” he said, “hopefully I’ll be able to do that.”

Steve Edwards’ career
Record: 167-109
Seasons: 24 (all as Glenpool head coach)
District titles: 8
State titles: 2

Trent Worley named head coach at Kiefer

2/5/2019 |  Ben Johnson

KIEFER -- Trent Worley is a small-town kid at heart. Plus, he and his wife Ashley have most of their family living in northeast Oklahoma.
That made the head coaching vacancy at Kiefer so intriguing.
And sure enough, Worley was named the Trojans’ head man Monday night, becoming only the program’s second head coach in 12 years.
“It’s a really good spot to be in, both for me and my family,” Worley told Skordle. “But to a lot of people, it’ll look like a crazy move.”

Worley, a Foyil alum, recently wrapped up a two-year tenure at Piedmont, where he went 8-13. The Wildcats went 5-6 in 2018 and earned a playoff berth before being eliminated in the first round by eventual Class 5A runner-up, Ardmore.
In Kiefer, Worley will fill the void left by Josh Calvert, who is stepping away from coaching to take a job in Oregon. From 2008 to last season, Calvert led the Trojans to a 94-37 record.
“This is something I’m looking forward to,” Worley said. “What was impressive to me about Kiefer was how the town places a priority on athletics, and those being bright spots in the community. Plus, there they place a great deal of importance on building relationships in settlings like Kiefer.”
Kiefer is coming off a 3-7 campaign in 2018. The Trojans shared a spot in District 2A-3 with Class 2A’s state champion, Sperry, and runner-up, Beggs. Kiefer entered the final week of the regular season vying for postseason spot, alongside Haskell and Morris.
“I’m a small-town guy,” Worley said. “I’m going into year No. 20 in my career. The older you get the more you realize what’s important, so I’m excited for the move for my family. And I’m excited about the Kiefer program, which as unlimited potential.”

GARBER'S WILL JONES TAKES SUPERINTENDENT'S POST AT DALE

3/24/2022 |  Michael Swisher

There’s not many places that can lure Will Jones away from Garber.

Dale just happened to be one of them.

Jones was approved earlier this month to take over superintendent duties for Dale Public Schools.

He’ll take over the role July 1 when the retirement of current Superintendent Ky Wilkins becomes official.

It will end a seven-year run at Garber, the last six as the school district’s superintendent.

“My most fulfilling years in public education have been at Garber,” Jones said. “It was a very difficult decision to leave.”

However, the pull from Dale was too much to resist.

“There aren’t too many places that would even allow me to consider leaving a great school like Garber,” Jones said. “But Dale is one of those places.”

“It’s a place that expects excellence in academics as well as extra-curricular activities,” he said.

Dale owns 40 state titles in athletics.

The baseball and softball teams have nearly annual reservations at their respective state tournaments. Baseball accounts for 21 state championships and softball another 11.

Girls basketball owns seven gold balls and has reached the state tournament every year of Eric Smith’s tenure.

The boys basketball program didn’t own a state championship…until about two weeks ago. 

The Pirates, with nary a senior starter, claimed the 2A title.

That’s the kind of programs Jones will be inheriting.

He feels he’ll be turning over Garber’s reins in solid shape as well.

Among his proudest achievements was helping pass one transportation and one building bond issue in 2018. Both got 84 percent voter approval.

The district now has two devices for every student…one for school and one for home.

“We’ve made some tremendous gains in technology,” he said.

Jones also did what many small-school superintendents have had to do: Fill several roles.

“I leave here proud knowing that I was willing to do whatever I needed to help the district,” he said.

That included dusting off his coach’s whistle and taking over the boys basketball program prior to the 2017-18 season.

“I really thought my coaching career was over after 2009,” Jones said. “There was someone above pulling the strings on that.”

Under Jones, the Garber boys basketball team reached state three times in four seasons.

It peaked with a Class A state title in 2020 and a runner-up finish in 2021.

He stepped down after that season and hired Fletcher Reed away from Snyder to take his place.

Reed coached Garber to another runner-up finish in 2022.

The Garber girls basketball team, under longtime coach Jamie Davis, qualified for state for a third consecutive season.

The football team has reached the playoffs each of the last three years and all but once during Jones’ tenure there.

Jones’ oldest daughter, Karsen, graduated from Garber last year and is now a freshman at OSU.

His youngest daughter, Khloe, will be an eighth grader next year.

“For her, both academically and in extra-curricular activities, this is also a great fit,” he said of Dale. He also said the location is ideal in a number of other ways, notably the proximity to his mother, who lives in Edmond.

“A lot of things just came together,” Jones said, “to let us know this was the right move to make.”

Hard Work Pays Off for Army Signee Matteson

12/16/2021 |  Michael Swisher