As expected, there aren’t any interlopers from the eastern part of the state in the Class C football quarterfinals.
For the most part 8-man football is dominated by western teams and that especially holds true in Class C, where all 23 state champions since the class as it is now was formed in 1986 have come from west of I-35.
The same isn’t totally true in Class B, primarily because of Morrison’s dominance in its 8-man days, but Welch and Weleetka have also won championships over time.
In Class C this year, in fact, Tipton is the only team left from the southern part of the state and it needed overtime to defeat Boise City.
District 1 teams won three of four games and District 3 posted a sweep, leaving some intriguing matchups.
Deer Creek-Lamont gets a shot at the wounded Shattuck Indians, who lost super sophomore quarterback Aaron McCandless to an injury last week.
So does this mean Shattuck is vulnerable? Possibly, but the Indians have a championship defense and one of the toughest running backs in Class C in Brent Starbuck. They also have good speed across the lineup.
Plus, you can’t underestimate the heart of a champion, especially one defending a record 93-game winning streak. Of all the teams left in the playoffs, the only one with players who know the feeling of raising a state championship trophy resides in Ellis County.
DCLA will offer a serious challenge, though, as the Eagles are an explosive offensive team.
Waynoka hosts Seiling in a battle featuring two of the veteran coaches in the 8-man ranks. Scott Kysar has coached at Waynoka since the early 1980s and Seiling’s Andy Claborn has coached at most of the schools in this area except Waynoka.
Waynoka is coming off an impressive road win at Temple and Seiling has been on a tear since a mid-season loss to Timberlake.
The winner of this one will be whoever can stop the run better.
Forgan and Covington-Douglas looks like another good one. Forgan is possibly quicker, but Covington-Douglas is a rugged team steeled by a rugged schedule. Covington-Douglas’ four losses have been to teams with a 42-3 combined record.
In Class B, Davenport and Porter are from the eastern side of the state and both have home games against opponents from District B-1, considered by most as easily the strongest in the state. Kiefer is also from eastern Oklahoma and gets the honor of trying to slow down B-1 champion and defending state champion Garber - the team everyone expects to repeat this season.
Laverne escaped at Caddo last week and the Tigers, suddenly pretty healthy again, are trying to put together a playoff run similar to last year when they reached the championship round. One of those victims was Davenport to the tune of 76-28, making this a serious revenge game for the Bulldogs. This could be the best of the Class B matchups this week.
Second-ranked Canton travels to Porter and will be a solid favorite despite Porter’s 11-0 record.
There is by the way, a fourth game with eastern Oklahoma’s Depew traveling to face undefeated Ryan from the Duncan area in southwest Oklahoma.
In Class A, an undervalued Watonga team travels to Ringling for a matchup of traditional powers. Unbeaten Hennessey is hosting Carnegie and surprise team Oklahoma Bible Academy is at Cordell.
Fort Supply is calling its 2009-2010 basketball season an “Old School Season.”
Due to the snowstorm last March that basically totaled the school’s gym, the Bulldogs have taken up residence in the old gym until a new one can be constructed.
Their new, old home, is now called “The Old House” and was originally built in 1917, then reconfigured a bit in 1952.
It was used until a new gym opened in 1980.
Eventually the floor of the old gym was filled in with concrete and the building was used for limited purposes - none involving basketball.
With the need for a home this year that changed.
A major donation from the Edison Mission Group (a wind power company), combined with insurance funds allowed Fort Supply to renovate its old gym and, frankly, make it sparkle. A donation from the Moose Lodge upgraded the concession area. Inmates from the nearby William S. Key correctional facility worked throughout the summer to get everything ready.
The result is a small but super nice and potentially super loud home for the Bulldogs.
The floor is new and the lighting is spectacular for a high school gym.
In truly old school fashion, all the seating is one side of the gym. The team benches and scoring area are on the opposite side.
It’s a quaint setting and a temporary fix for sure, but when the school does get a new state of the art gym, in a year or so, it will also have an excellent backup facility.
And, of course, some memories of playing in the same gym where some of their family members played “back in the day.”
For at least one area team, the basketball schedule will look a little different this year.
Woodward High School is in a basketball conference for the first time since early stages of this decade.
The newly formed Western Conference includes the Boomers, Altus, Anadarko, Clinton, Elk City, Cache and Elgin.
What that means is a totally revamped schedule. In addition to the league games, the Boomers play home and home with Alva and Weatherford. They have also dropped the Moore Tournament and added Newcastle’s tourney.
Gone from the schedule is Class 6A Enid and several out of state opponents.
Woodward boys coach Corey Miller said the conference affiliation will help the local program.
“Every night the game is going to mean something,” said Miller. “In the past the regular season didn’t mean so much, but with this we’ll crown a conference champion and it adds excitement to the season.
“We’re going to have conference standings posted in our locker room and we’ll be playing meaningful games every night.”
Girls coach Brady Maxwell, in his first year directing the Boomer program, grew up playing in the 270 Conference so he understands what it means to play for league titles.
“You take a certain amount of pride in developing a run and winning a conference multiple years, that sort of thing,” he said. “Most every school in every division in basketball is in some kind of conference, so I think it’s important.”
Coaches say the change also gives the Boomers an opportunity to play the teams they will see at playoff time and perhaps to improve their standing in coaches rankings and such - which could lead to better playoff draws.
Most of the schools in the league have a strong history in basketball, which should be a good thing for coaches, players and fans.
A couple of basketball teams to watch on Friday.
First, the Hammon and Fargo boys clash in Hammon. Both are undefeated in the early going, and could see each other again around playoff time.
Burlington will also look to stay undefeated as it takes on Aline-Cleo and defending state runnerup Texhoma debuts at Boise City.
On Tuesday, Leedey is at Hammon, always a big rivalry game and Fort Supply travels to Sharon-Mutual where Trojan boys coach Reece Lujan faces the team he coached the previous three season.
The Vici-Thomas girls game will be another to watch.
The actual start of the wrestling season - open tournaments are going on now - is still a couple of weeks away, but some news came out of Woodward where Matt White signed a letter of intent with Old Dominion University, one of the top 15 teams in NCAA Division I.
White, a three-time state qualifier and two-time medalist, is projected at 157/165 pounds for Old Dominion.
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