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Alex’s Randy Alexander needs to have another stellar performance for the Longhorns to beat Ryan.
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Alex’s Trey Anderson knocks down a pass intended for Fox’s Seth Beaird in the end zone. It was a fourth-down late in the fourth quarter.
Discussion
‘Horns with heart
Eighth-ranked Alex travels down Highway 81 Friday night for a big showdown with the unbeaten and fourth-ranked Ryan Cowboys. The ‘Pokes are 6-0 so far and on top of the district standings, while the Longhorns are one game back at 5-1.
This is a kind of Homecoming for Alex coach Justin Savage, who grew up in Ryan and coached there for three years early in his career. The hometown loyalty stops Friday.
His ‘Horns need this game with No. 10 Fox and No. 11 Caddo (4-2 each) nipping at their heels. Both will be getting mulligans this week with Cyril and Central High and should go into Week 10 at 5-2, making this game huge for all four squads’ playoff standings.
Ryan returns just about the entire team that won the district championship last year and is even more solid and experienced this year. The Cowboys have put up some huge numbers so far with big wins over Fox (24-0), Caddo (42-14) and Class C’s fourth-ranked Temple (60-22).
“They’re as quick as anyone we’ve seen so far,” Savage said. “They’re a very complete team and play with a great deal of intensity.”
Both teams are coming off good wins – Alex knocked off Fox 34-28 at home and the ‘Pokes got out of Allen up just 32-26 – and this has real barn-burner potential.
Alex is on a roll, putting up big numbers with their “three-headed monster” – quarterback Wayne Heffington, running back Randy Alexander and freshman coach’s kid Dakota Savage, who is quickly establishing himself as a premier receiver.
Ryan is basically a run team. The Cowboys can throw when they want or need, but the coach describes them as an “old-fashioned smash-mouth football team.”
“Colby Barrett, their quarterback, is a big, stout kid (6-1, 200) who’s as hard-nosed as they come,” Savage said. “Some of these small colleges need to be looking at him.
“Bettis (junior RB Trevor) is the exact opposite - a little guy (5-6, 160) who is a very elusive runner. It’s hard to get a hand on him. Weist (sophomore RB Zach) is about in the middle size-wise and complements both of them well.”
The main key, according to the coach, will be “our level of aggression and intensity. We’ll have to match theirs if we hope to beat them.”
On paper, the teams seem very evenly matched and this could come down to a mistake or an assignment breakdown. It’s going to be a tough loss for one of them.
The Fox win makes this week’s game with the defending district champion even bigger now.
“We’ve got a chance now to win a district championship,” Savage said, “but if we want to win it, we’ll have to be able to go on the road and take it away from them.”
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Duncan nips Chicks for straight-game win
Duncan got their eighth match win of the season Tuesday, beating Nancy Waters’ Lady Chicks in straight games at the Activity Center.
The Chicks looked like they had a little hangover from Monday night’s tough road loss at Tecumseh, coming out flat again and dropping their first two games by identical 25-17 scores.
They came out firing on all eight cylinders for game three, running out to a 15-9 lead on the strength of a 7-0 run with Shelby Crosley serving, but the Demons battled back to tie it late and the Chicks let it slip away, 25-21. -
STATE SPORTS BRIEFS
NORMAN (AP) — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops has named walk-on Patrick O'Hara as the starting place-kicker for the seventh-ranked Sooners.
Stoops said on his radio show Tuesday night that O'Hara won the competition with Jimmy Stevens, freshman Michael Hunnicutt and redshirt freshman Bryce Easley. -
Sooners' announcer to retire
NORMAN (AP) — Bob Barry Sr. announced Tuesday that he plans to retire as the radio play-by-play voice of Oklahoma football and men's basketball after the upcoming season.
Barry has been the radio voice of the Sooners for the last 20 years and he also had a 12-year stint in the job at the beginning of his career. In between, he handled the play-by-play for Tulsa basketball games and then for Oklahoma State football and basketball. -
Big 12 fans target Huskers during last go-round
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Cornhuskers shouldn't expect a fond farewell from fans when they go on the road this fall.
Century-old relationships will end when Nebraska leaves the Big 12 for the Big Ten in 2011, meaning this season's visits to places like Kansas State and Iowa State could be it.
Folks in those old Big Eight haunts already are planning raucous sendoffs.
The message from Iowa State fan Adam Gray: "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." -
Eagle project gives discs flight at park
Early this spring, Tanner Tibbetts, a scout from Troop 4306 in Chickasha began to plan his Eagle Scout Project. He decided on a Disc Golf Course.
He had seen a disc golf tournament at Duncan Lake while he was attending a camporee. There were more than a hundred campers who attended the weekend Disc Golf event at Duncan Lake. He continued to see this event for five consecutive years, because it was held on the same weekend as an annual scout camp.
It was surprising to him see so many people involved in an event that was unavailable in Chickasha. -
Alex visits Ryan for final scrimmage
RYAN – Alex coach Justin Savage took his Longhorns back home to Ryan Friday for their final scrimmage and came away pretty happy with his team’s performance.
With the new re-alignments, Ryan dropped to Class C this year but will still be pretty good despite losing quarterback Colby Barrett to graduation. Vype’s pre-season football magazine picked them to finish second behind Temple in a tough District C-2. -
Chicks struggle with Reds' run game
Clinton, ranked sixth in the Vype Pre-Season 4A poll, brought their powerful running game to Memorial Stadium Thursday for both teams’ final tune-up and presented Chickasha with some new challenges on both sides of the ball.
Tailback Saul Pina, who rushed for just under 1,200 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns last year, ran roughshod behind the Reds’ big front line and gave the Chick defense fits. -
Drover Baseball, softball programs host alumni weekend
The USAO baseball and softball programs, in conjunction with the Alumni Association, will host an alumni weekend in August for former players to come together socially and competitively.
“I think it’s a great thing. It keeps them involved in our programs and it provides tradition,” softball coach Jenn White-Cody said. “And I think people love to come back … It’s a way they can reconnect with the guys and gals they played ball with.”
Baseball and softball alumni will meet for dinner and drinks beginning at 5 p.m. August 28, and will follow with an alumni baseball or softball game, beginning at 1 p.m. the following day at Bill Smith Ballpark. Registration for both is $30. Any additional guests — including spouses — are $15 each. -
Chickasha splits matches in Lawton
Chickasha was at Lawton Tomlinson Thursday night for some middle school volleyball and came home with a split. The “A” team lost a close, three-game set and the “B” team won in straight games.
The “A” team prevailed in game one 27-25 but Tom answered with a 22-25 win to even things up and took the rubber game 12-15.
“Elizabeth Wilson and Chloe Moore both served for a five-point runs and Esteria Sanchez had a lot of good hits,” coach Amy Widener said.
Chickasha “B” came out on top in game one 25-19 and held Tom off 25-23 for their straight-game win. Widener said that Devyn Crosley and Athena Stallard both served well for the Chicks in that match.
“Everyone got to play and the girls were very excited,” the coach said. “They worked hard for their points, moved their feet well and never gave up.
“I was very proud of their effort tonight.”
The high school team will be at the Skiatook tournament Saturday then everyone will be back in action Monday at Tecumseh. Matches start at 4 p.m.
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Woods struggles during second round at Barclays
PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — Tiger Woods was poised to take control at the Barclays on Friday. Instead, he went the other way.
Woods missed a 20-inch putt for one of his four bogeys over the last eight holes and shot a 2-over 73.
The difference from the rest of the year is this only cost him the lead, not a chance of winning.
Jason Day, the 22-year-old Australian who won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year, made three straight birdies late in his round and finished with a good par for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead.
Day was at 8-under 134, one shot ahead of Kevin Streelman (63) and Vaughn Taylor (70). - More Sports Headlines
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