Spangler, a three-sport letter winner in her senior season, was honored for achievement in the classroom and on the athletic field while being involved in her local Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle.

For the past three years Spangler has been a member of the Cowgirl cross country, basketball and track squads. In her freshman season, Spangler lettered in four sports – cross country, fast-pitch softball, basketball and track.

Spangler was a four-time state qualifier and a two-time regional medalist in cross country and recently signed to continue her basketball career at Cowley County Community Junior College in Kansas. She has numerous achievements in track and basketball.

The FCA all-state selections are high school seniors nominated for the award. The FCA all-state awards have been given since 1975 to students in both large and small schools in Oklahoma.

FCA recognizes the character, academic and athletic achievement and the Christian faith of individual student-athletes.

In addition to her athletic achievements, Spangler has excelled in the classroom as well. She was a member of the Ryan High School Beta Club and maintained a 3.5 grade point average through high school. She will graduate fourth in her class. She was also on the yearbook staff.

Spangler, along with Lily York, Brooklyn Charmasson and Samantha Good were instrumental in beginning the FCA chapter at Ryan. Spangler is a member of Ryan’s First Baptist Church.

“Throughout my years of playing basketball, I have been blessed to be able to travel overseas and compete,” Spangler said in a recent interview. “I have competed in Australia and Costa Rica and it was awesome.”

Steve Spangler, who coached his daughter in cross country, track and basketball this past season also serves as the huddle leader for the local Ryan FCA chapter.

The 46th annual Honors FCA Banquet was scheduled for April but was canceled because of the recent pandemic. Spangler was honored at a virtual awards ceremony last Sunday night.

During the ceremony 34 athletes were cited by the FCA organization for upholding the core values of the organization – teamwork, integrity, service and excellence.

Eight coaches were also recognized for their service to FCA huddles in schools around the state of Oklahoma.

The virtual broadcast featured a testimony from one female all-stater, one male all-stater and one of the all-state coaches.

John O’Dell, the executive director of the Oklahoma FCA, presided over the ceremony.

Waurika Girls Snap Three-Game Skid with Win Over Healdton

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

January 29, 2020

Tuesday night the Waurika basketball squads traveled to Healdton and came away with a split of the doubleheader.

The Lady Eagles picked up a tense, come-from-behind victory over the Lady Bulldogs, 45-44, while the Eagles fell to Healdton, 63-48.

The Waurika girls snapped a three-game slide with the victory and it also ended Healdton’s four-game winning streak after the Lady Bulldogs had claimed their own tournament title last weekend.

The Lady Eagles actually held a 14-10 advantage after the first quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs pulled even with a 9-5 advantage in the second quarter to put the score at 19-19.

Healdton tried to take charge of the game in the third quarter with a 12-6 scoring advantage that gave the Lady Bulldogs a 31-25 lead going to the final quarter.

In the final quarter the Lady Eagles lit up the scoreboard with 20 points while limiting Healdton to 13.

But the game came down to the final seconds.

Waurika was up four late in the contest and a couple of missed free throws and a Waurika turnover enabled Healdton to tie the game at 44-44.

Faith Roberson came up with a huge steal on an inbound play with two seconds left and she went to the line and connected on the first one and missed the second intentionally with only nine tenths of a second left in the game to give the Lady Eagles the win.

Five different Lady Eagles contributed to the rally in the fourth quarter.

Gracie Walling led the Lady Eagles in scoring with season-high 13 points – six of which came in the final quarter. Tallin Mora added 10 points for coach Kalee Baxter’s club.

In the boys’ contest, Healdton used an 11-0 run to open the game and went on to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Eagles never really recovered and Healdton continued to build on the big lead with the halftime deficit for Waurika at 32-15.

The Bulldogs continued the scoring barrage to begin the second half and led after the third quarter, 50-26.

The Eagles were able to trim the margin with a 22-13 advantage in the fourth quarter, but could not overcome such a large disadvantage.

Treyton Torrez led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points.

Waurika will travel to Walters tomorrow night (Friday) for a twinbill and then will return to action on Tuesday with home contests against Central High.

Central High Uses Big First Half Subdue Cowboys

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 25, 2020

CENTRAL HIGH – Central High raced to a 52-14 victory over the Ryan Cowboys here last Friday night.

The Cowboys, 0-3 on the year, will return home tomorrow night (Friday) to host Thackerville in a homecoming contest.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with homecoming festivities beginning around 6:30 p.m. at the Bob Givens Sports Complex.

Ryan suited out only 11 players last week, but the Cowboys opened the game with a long drive that ended when they came up one yard short of a first down at the Central five-yard line.

The Cowboys had moved from their own 28 to the Central 12, but on the 10th play of the drive, the Bronchos stopped the Cowboys on fourth down.

Ryan forced Central High to punt but after picking up a first down the drive stalled at the Cowboy 37 and the Cowboys punted the ball back to the Bronchos.

This time Central High drove from their own 13 in five plays for the score. Ryan Minden took the ball into the end zone from 14 yards out, but the two-point conversion pass was intercepted by the Cowboys’ Racen Williams and Central was in front, 6-0, with only 30 seconds showing on the clock.

Central High dominated play in the second quarter with three scores.

The first drive came after another fourth down try by the Cowboys came up short. Central High took possession at the Ryan 32 and in only four plays went the distance. The scoring play came on a well-executed option play when Levin Young took the pitch from Minden and raced 27yards for the score. Jax Hansen ran for the two points giving the Bronchos a 14-0 lead with 11:06 left before the half.

A Ryan fumble that gave Central High the ball at their own 30 set up the next score. The Bronchos drove the 50 yards (Central High plays on an 80-yard field) in six plays and overcame two penalties to get the touchdown.

Hansen scored the touchdown from 15 yards out and Kolten Bethune caught a two-point conversion pass from Minden to increase the lead to 24-0 with 5:16 left in the second quarter.

On the ensuing drive the Cowboys could not pick up a first down and were forced to punt.

Central High took possession at its own 17 and six plays marched 63 yards for the score. Minden caught a 36-yard pass from Hansen and maneuvered through the Cowboy secondary for the score. Payton Spencer ran for the two points and Central High held a commanding 30-0 lead with just 1:30 left before halftime.

The Bronchos took the second half kickoff at the Ryan 38 after a failed onside kick attempt by the Cowboys. It took Central High only three plays to travel 38 yards. Young covered the final 15 paces for the score and Cooper Walters caught a two-point conversion pass from Minden to put Central High in front, 38-0.

The two teams exchanged possessions and after Ryan stopped Central High on a fourth down try, the Cowboys took over at their own 18.

Williams hit a wide open Caleb Perrin on first down and Perrin went the distance for a 62-yard touchdown pass. The try for two failed, but Ryan had trimmed the margin to 38-6.

Central High answered as they began a scoring drive at the Ryan 35. The Bronchos overcame two penalties in getting the touchdown. The final play of the drive came on Young’s 15-yard run for the score. The two-point pass was incomplete, but Central held a 44-6 lead with 7:06 to play in the third quarter.

The Cowboys did not quit, however, and they answered the score by Central High with a 61-yard drive in 13 plays.

Williams found Skyler Wickware in the back of the end zone and Wickware made the catch for the score from 11 yards out. The try for two failed leaving Ryan with a 44-14 deficit with just 29 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Central High scored for the final time as they took just 29 seconds to go 48 yards. Bethune caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Minden and Aidan Randall ran for the two points with only seven seconds left to play in the third quarter.

The Cowboy offense was a bit more effective in the contest as they rushed for 149 yards and threw for 173 yards.

Williams led the Cowboys in rushing with 69 yards on 19 totes, while Perrin had 68 yards on 18 carries.

The favorite target for Williams in the game was Wickware who finished with seven catches for 77 yards. Perrin had four catches for 85 yards.

Trey Bryant turned in another good performance for the Cowboy defense with 15 tackles. Perrin added 11 stops.

COWBOY CORRAL: This was the 38th meeting between Central High and Ryan – all eight-man encounters as Central High did not play football until 1978….Central High leads the series, 24-14….The 52 points for Central High is the third most points in the series with Ryan….Ryan is 0-3 for the first time since 2000…For some reason the officials changed the score at halftime taking two points off the board for Central High and it was never corrected, however, Central High did score 52 points in the game…Ryan’s senior quarterback Grayson Tomberlin did not suit out for the Cowboys and was slated for season-ending knee surgery last Wednesday.

Game In Figures

RHS CHS

First Downs 14 19

Yards Rushing 40-149 40-276

Yards Passing 173 141

Passes 13-26 8-14

Passes Int. by 1 1

Fumbles, Lost 22 2-0

Punts 2-31.5 1-45

Penalties 9-49 8-80

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CENTRAL – Ryan Minden 14 run (pass failed), :30.1, 1st Quarter

CENTRAL – Levi Young 27 run (Jax Hansen run), 11:06, 2nd Quarter

CENTRAL – Hansen 15 run (Kolten Bethune pass from Minden), 5:16, 2nd Quarter

CENTRAL – Minden 36 pass from Hansen (Payton Spencer run), 1:30, 2nd Quarter

CENTRAL – Young 15 run (Cooper Walters pass from Minden), 11:12, 3rd Quarter

RYAN – Caleb Perrin 62 pass from Racen Williams (pass failed), 8:38, 3rd Quarter

CENTRAL – Young 15 run (pass failed), 7:06, 3rd Quarter

RYAN – Skyler Wickware 11 pass from Williams (Wickware pass from Williams), :29.2, 3rd Quarter

CENTRAL – Bethune 38 pass from Minden (Aidan Randall run), 7.5, 3rd Quarter

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Ryan: Rushing – Racen Wiliams 19-69, Caleb Perrin 18-68, Skyler Wickware 3-12; Passing – Williams 13-26-173-1; Receiving – Wickware 7-77, Perrin 4-85, Mason Adsit 2-11; Tackles – Trey Bryant 15, Perrin 11, Wickware 9, Williams 8, Joshua Denton 7, Carson Cooper 4, Adsit 3, Ethan Burden 3, Mike Regehr 3, Will Regehr 1.

Central: Rushing – Levi Young 9-110, Ryan Minden 9-47, Payton Spencer 4-46, Jax Hansen 6-36, Cody Zimmerman2-27, Aiden Randall 9-14, Jerry Allen 1-(-4); Passing – Minden 6-12-99-1, Hansen 1-1-36-0, Zimmerman 1-1-6-0; Receiving – Kolton Bethune 1-38, Spencer 3-37, Minden 136, Hansen 1-12, Cooper Walters 1-10, Coltin Ladd 1-6.

Ryan Falls Short in Homecoming Game

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

October 2, 2020

Just when you thought the football season for the Ryan Cowboys could not get worse, the Cowboys suffered a 64-8 defeat at the hands of Thackerville at Bob Givens Sports Complex last Friday night.

The loss was difficult but the Cowboys lost starting quarterback Racen Williams early in the game and the only option was to insert sophomore receiver Julian Rodriguez at quarterback who had not had any snaps at the position in practice or in games this season.

And while Rodriguez did an admirable job in the difficult circumstances, the lack of experience did limit the options for the Ryan offense in the homecoming contest with the Wildcats.

The Cowboys had already lost another player during the week and if Williams cannot recover from his injury, the Cowboys will have only 10 or 11 players to suit out in tomorrow night’s contest at Mountain View.

Mountain View-Gotebo comes into the district game with the Cowboys with a spotless 4-0 mark and ranked fourth in Class C. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m.

With all of the difficult circumstances and adversity the Cowboys are facing last Friday night’s contest added to it as Thackerville hit for two quick scores in the first two minutes of the game.

The Wildcats scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass and passed for the two-point conversion to go on top 8-0 only 34 seconds into the game.

The Cowboys were forced to punt on their first possession and Thackerville wasted no time in scoring again – this time on a 49-yard pass. The pass for the two points was good and the Wildcats had a 16-0 lead with 10:13 still left in the first quarter.

On the next possession the Cowboys fumbled the ball and Thackerville recovered at midfield to set up a seven-play drive that included 20 yards of penalties against the Wildcats.

Blayne Giourgas, who had scored the first two touchdowns for the Wildcats, capped the drive with a 26-yard scoring run. The run for two points failed, but Thackerville was in front 22-0 with 7:25 to play in the first quarter.

On Ryan’s first play from scrimmage after the kickoff the Wildcats intercepted a Cowboy pass and returned it 26 yards to put Thackerville in business on offense at the Ryan 20.

It took Thackerville only four plays to score with Aziz Hernandez scoring from seven yards out. The conversion pass was successful and the lead had increased to 30-0 with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

Ryan was again forced to punt on the next possession and Giourgas fielded the punt at the Wildcat 42-yard line and raced 58 yards for the touchdown. The run failed, but the Wildcats held a 36-0 lead with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions with Trey Bryant recovering a Wildcat fumble to give Ryan the ball at the Thackerville 41.

On first down, Rodriguez found Skyler Wickware on a short pass and Wickware broke a couple of tackles and sped down the right sideline for the 41-yard touchdown.

Rodriguez found Carson Cooper on a pass for the two-point conversion and Ryan had cut the lead to 36-8 with 2:15 left in the first quarter.

Thackerville answered with another score before the end of the quarter. An onside kick was covered by the Wildcats and it put Thackerville at its own 49 to start the scoring drive.

In five plays Thackerville found the end zone as Giourgas made a diving catch just inside the goal line for a 14-yard score. The try for two failed, but the Wildcats had built an insurmountable 42-8 lead with just 21 seconds left in the first quarter.

Ryan turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and Thackerville began another scoring drive. This time it took the Wildcats only four plays to move 37 yards. Hernandez scored on a 17-yard run and Wade Oglesby caught a two-point conversion pass to increase the lead to 50-8 with 9:23 left in the second frame.

Thackerville added two more scores before halftime to end the game by the mercy rule.

Hernandez caught a 29-yard pass with 4:14 to play in the second quarter to put the Wildcats in front, 56-8.

Justice Rodriguez capped the Thackerville scoring onslaught with a 56-yard run with 2:56 left before the half. The Wildcats ran for the two-point conversion to set the final margin.

The Cowboys could not muster anything on offense most of the night as they picked up only one first down – and that was on the scoring play.

COWBOY CORRAL: The Cowboys are now 0-4 on the season and the last time Ryan has opened a season with four straight losses came in the 1994 season….Ryan finished the night with minus-9 yards rushing and that is a new school record that broke the old mark of minus-3 against Snyder in the 2018 playoff game…The 64 points scored by the Wildcats is the highest total scored in the series with Ryan….The previous high score by Thackerville as 50 points in a 1993 loss….The 56-point margin of victory by the Wildcats is the most in the series that dates back to 1980….The previous greatest margin of victory for Thackerville against Ryan was 46 in a 2013 contest….This was the second loss to Thackerville in a homecoming game in two homecoming encounters….Ryan is 6-4 in the last 10 homecoming games.

Game In Figures

THS RHS

First Downs 13 1

Yards Rushing 28-233 12-(-9)

Yards Passing 14 58

Passes 6-10 5-18

Passes Int. By 3 0

Fumbles, Lost 1-1 3-2

Punts 1-17 2-29

Penalties 4-35 1-10

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Thackerville 42 22 x x—64

Ryan 8 0 x x—8

THACKERVILLE -Blayne Giourgas 31 pass from Justice Rodriguez (Giourgas pass from Rodriguez), 11:26, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Giourgas 49 pass from Rodriguez (Giourgas run), 10:13, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Giourgas 26 run (run failed), 7:25, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Aziz Hernandez 7 run (Colt Scarbrough pass from Rodriguez), 5:40, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Giourgas 58 punt return (run failed), 3:47, 1st Quarter

RYAN – Skyler Wickware 41 pass from Julian Rodriguez (Carson Cooper pass from Julian Rodriguez), 2:15, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Giourgas 6 pass from Rodriguez (pass failed), :21, 1st Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Hernandez 17 run (Wade Oglesby pass from Rodriguez), 9:23, 2nd Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Hernandez 29 pass (pass failed), 4:14, 2nd Quarter

THACKERVILLE – Rodriguez 56 run (Scarbrough run), 2:56, 2nd Quarter

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

THACKERVILLE: Aziz Hernandez 15-149, Justin Rodriguez 4-47, Blayne Giourgas 1-26, Colt Scarbrough 4-8, Peyton Cartright 4-3; Passing – Rodriguez 6-10-146-0; Receiving – Giourgas 4-102, Dylan Weir 1-17, Hernandez 1-29.

RYAN: Rushing – Caleb Perrin 5-1, Racen Williams 2-(-1), Julian Rodriguez 5-(-9); Passing – Williams 3-4-12-0, Rodriguez 2-14-46-3; Receiving – Skyler Wickware 5-58; Tackles – Trey Bryant 7, Wickware 7, Perrin 6, Rodriguez 5, Williams 3 Mason Adsit 3, Carson Cooper 2, Mike Regehr 2, Will Regehr 2.

Cowgirls Earn Third Place at Geronimo Meet

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 11, 2020

It was a relatively small meet at Geronimo last Saturday, but Ryan’s cross country squads came home with their share of medals.

The Cowgirls finished third in the team race behind team champion Munday, TX and runner up Waurika.

The Cowboys did not have enough competitors to compete for the team title. Waurika won the team title in the boys’ division.

Mason Adsit earned the only medal on the day for the Cowboys as he finished 25th with a time of 27:47 over the five kilometer course.

Tommy Self was the only other competitor for the Cowboys and he finished 29th with a time of 32:07.3. It was Self’s first competition of the season.

Alicen Williams, who is battling an injury, led the Cowgirls with an eighth place finish in the 3,200-meter race. Her time was 14:37.4.

Jasmine Villarreal also earned a medal for the Cowgirls with her 16th-place finish.

She turned in a time of 15:41.8 on the day.

Just missing out on a medal was Katelynn Dabbs. She finished 26th for the Cowgirls with a time of 17:44.8.

Joining the Cowgirls for this meet were Lindsey Reak and Alyssa Phillips.

Reak finished in 35th place with a time of 23:55.2, while Phillips was right behind with a clocking of 24:53.5, which was good for 36th place.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls next action for cross country will be September 19 at Prague.

The junior high squads also had a good day with the junior high girls capturing the team title at the first Geronimo Invitational.

Other Ryan Results at Geronimo

Junior High Boys (3,200 Meters)

3. Koble Lewis, 13:00.4; 4. Andrew Scott, 13:37.7.

Junior High Girls (1,600 Meters)

1. Ryan 15.

3. Harleigh Loftis, 6:51.7; 8. Lilah Regehr, 7:30.3; 10. Heather Poage, 7:40.4; 11. Hannah Williams, 8:10.9; 12. Lynnlee Tomberlin, 8:53.4; 13. Alyssa Harris, 9:01.0; 14. Kayleigh Hodges, 10:37.9.

Elementary Boys (1,600 Meters)

6. Kovin Lewis, 8:03.3; 7. Seth Duke, 8:15.7; 8. Clifford Self, 8:18.5; 11. Luke Burkhalter, 8:51; 16. Easton Rhoades, 10:34; 17. Bo Burkhalter, 10:48.2.

Elementary Girls (1,600 Meters)

1. Micah Villarreal, 7:50.4; 2. Annzlee Tomberlin, 8:22.5; 5. Haley Smith, 9:12.9; 6. Kinzee Parkey, 9:14.0; 7. Jordan Garcia, 10:02.0

Ryan Girls Cagers Garner More Honors

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

May 2, 2020

Post season awards continue to come in for three Ryan girls’ basketballers.

Juliet Spangler, Samantha Good and Lily York – members of this past season’s Ryan Cowgirl basketball team that went 14-10 on the year – were honored by The Sunday Oklahoman newspaper.

The paper handed out its annual all-state and Super 5 girls’ basketball players in Oklahoma last Sunday.

The three Ryan standouts were all named on the honorable mention list of the Class A Super 5 team.

Spangler, Good and York were part of 32 girls selected to receive honorable mention status from all Class A high schools around the state.

Good – the team’s leading scorer this past season – finished with a scoring average of 14.7 and she was 16th in the state among the leading scorers in Class A for the 2020 season.

Samantha Good and her family Photo by Sheree Hanson

Right behind Good in the scoring list was Spangler who finished 17th in the state among Class A scorers with her 14.2 average.

York, who averaged 13.7 points a game, came in at 19th among the Class A girls in scoring average.

Lily York and her family. Photo by Sheree Hanson

The only school across the state to have more players make honorable mention Super 5 in Class A was Glencoe. Ryan joined Canute and Ripley that had three players on the list.

The Super 5 honorable mention selections were from all freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors in Class A.

On Monday, the three girls were also honored by the Oklahoma Girls High School Coaches Association.

York, Spangler and Good were selected to the All-District Team for the Small West. The girls were named to the squad from all over western Oklahoma’s smaller schools.

The three girls, who have all committed to play at the next level, were among 31 senior girls selected to the team from the western side of the state.

Juliet Spangler and her family. Photo by Sheree Hanson

District Basketball Tournaments Have Long History in Oklahoma

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

June 18, 2020

The district basketball tournament for high school girls’ and boys’ teams is the first step in the long process of competing for a state basketball championship in Oklahoma.

The Class A and B schools were able to complete that process this past March with the crowning of state champions, but the upper classes were not able to complete their state tourneys in Oklahoma City and Tulsa because the pandemic forced the cancellation of those events.

In today’s prep basketball world the district tournament is the first of three steps to earning a spot in the state tournament each year for classes B through 4A. The district tourney sends the champion and runner up to the regional tournament. From there teams compete to advance to the area tournament and ultimately the state tournament.

Today’s district tournaments are much smaller than the district frays held 40 to 60 years ago when district tournaments featured six to eight teams. Of course, there were more high schools in Oklahoma prior to 1970 than exist today.

District tournaments in Oklahoma were started in 1919 and the winners of those district tournaments were the qualifiers for the state tournament. There was one class for boys and one class for girls and only eight district tournaments.

A few years later the regional tournament was added and for a number of years a team had to win just two regional tournament games to qualify for state.

At some point regional tournaments had eight teams and a squad had to win three games to earn the state tourney berth.

The Jefferson County schools did not compete in a district tournament until 1922 when the Waurika boys sent a team to the district tourney.

Hastings, Terral and Addington sent teams over the next three seasons to compete in the district tournament.

The Terral, Ryan and Hastings girls were the first female squads to compete in a district tournament in 1929.

The first year for Ryan’s boys to compete in a district tournament was in 1929.

Irving boys, Hastings girls and Sugden’s boys and girls teams also entered district tournament play in 1929.

Claypool, Ringling and Union Valley’s boys’ teams first competed in a district tournament in 1931.

While most schools had a girls’ team compete in a district tournament at some point, nearly all Jefferson County schools went several years without a girls team entered in a district tournament.

Around 1948 all the Jefferson County schools did have girls teams competing in the district tournament.

Ryan and Waurika have snared more district titles than any of the other schools, but they continue to compete in basketball today along with Ringling.

All the other high schools that existed around Jefferson County closed by about 1960.

The introduction of more than one class of basketball for boys and girls also had an impact on the success of the county teams.

All schools in Oklahoma competed in the same class until 1931 when two classes of boys basketball began. In 1980 there were six classes of boys’ basketball and since 1996 there have been seven classes that crown state champions.

Girls’ basketball in Oklahoma has undergone the biggest changes through the decades. Girls played six-on-six for many years.

There was only one class for girls up until 1950 when schools were divided into two classes. In 1964, three classes of play began.

In the 1980’s the larger schools in Oklahoma began to play five-on-five and in 1988 the first five-on-five champion was crowned.

The last six-on-six champions in Oklahoma were crowned in 1995 and Oklahoma was the last state to switch to five-on-five for all schools. From that point on, there have been seven classes in girls’ basketball.

Ryan, Waurika and Ringling were many times classified in a different class from the rest of the schools in the county.

There was a period of time that Waurika and Ringling were in a class above Ryan, but in the last few years all three schools have been in Class A.

Most often the county teams gathered for the district tournament at Waurika or Walters – especially in years prior to 1960. Ringling was the exception as they competed in a district tourney that was most often held at Healdton.

Once consolidation hit and several county schools closed the district tournament began to be held at schools that required more travel.

Since district tournaments are now over 100 years old this would be a good time to examine the history of the county high schools and their achievements in the basketball playoffs that began with a district tournament,

NEXT WEEK: The high school basketball playoff history of Waurika.

Waurika to Face Laverne for Rematch

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

November 28, 2020

Waurika will continue its playoff march tomorrow night when they travel to Laverne for a third-round Class B post-season clash.

The Eagles advanced last week with a 58-36 victory over Southwest Covenant, while the Tigers had its game with Seiling canceled when Seiling could not field enough players for the game because of Covid-19.

The two teams met in the second game of the regular season at Waurika and the Tigers handed the Eagles a 42-18 defeat.

In that contest the Eagles scored first, but Laverne rattled off 42 straight points before Waurika got a couple of late scores to set the final margin.

The two teams have two common opponents. Both teams had big wins over Canton. Waurika dropped a 56-14 decision to Shattuck, but Laverne downed the Indians, 50-14, in the final game of the regular season.

Laverne has a host of talented juniors that make up the roster and they have turned in some impressive performances on the season with a powerful offensive and a stifling defense.

The Tigers have won seven straight games. Last week’s playoff game is considered a no contest and does not count in the win/loss records.

Waurika continues to experience an up-and-down season and last weekend’s big win over Southwest Covenant was an example of what the season has been like.

The Eagles got off to a 16-0 lead, but allowed the Patriots to cut it to 16-8. A big second quarter gave Waurika another big lead, but the Patriots scored 20 straight points to narrow the game to two scores early in the fourth quarter.

The 2020 season for the Eagles was disrupted twice with cancelations plus Waurika scheduled Laverne and Shattuck – both traditional eight-man powerhouses – for non-district games.

The Eagles struggled in one district game – the 28-22 overtime loss to district champion Empire.

Waurika came back with a big district win over Snyder and after a week off with a first-round bye picked up the playoff win over Southwest Covenant.

The winner of Friday’s contest with Laverne will advance to the Class B quarterfinals and face the winner of Summit Christian and Davenport.

Waurika and Tipton are the only remaining teams from District B-3 in the third round of the playoffs. Empire was eliminated by Alex and Snyder fell in an overtime thriller to Velma-Alma.

Laverne’s most famous alumni is not an outstanding athlete. Jane Jayroe was a Laverne graduate and was the 1967 Miss America. She worked in television news for two Oklahoma City stations and continues to be an ambassador for the state of Oklahoma.

Here’s a brief look at this week’s playoff game:

Laverne at Waurika

Time and Place: Friday at 7 p.m. at Laverne High School Stadium

How to Get There: Take US 81 North to El Reno; Take I-40 West to the US 281 Spur toward Geary and Watonga; at Geary take US 270 to Watonga, Seiling and Woodward; Continue on 270 and turn north on US 283 to Laverne. Allow about four and half hours driving time.

Records: Laverne is 7-1, while Waurika is 6-3.

Coaches: Tanner Woods is in his second season as the coach of the Tigers. He has compiled an 17-4 mark and has led the team to the playoffs in both seasons. Joe Allen is in his third season at the helm of the Eagles. Under Allen the Eagles have a 27-6 mark.

Series History: Laverne won the only meeting between the two schools earlier this season.

Playoff History: Laverne is making is 43rd appearance in the playoffs and a 15th straight appearance. The Tigers have made the playoffs every year of eight-man play which began in 2006. Laverne has won three state titles and finished as the state runner up three other times – all in eight-man play. Laverne made three semifinal appearances between 1945 and 1958. The Tigers own a 48-39 mark in all playoff games and are 33-11 in eight-man playoff games.

Waurika is making its 30th appearance in the playoffs and the sixth since joining the eight-man ranks. Waurika is 30-26-2 in all playoff games. The 1951 Eagles won the state title and Waurika has five other semifinal appearances – all in 11-man play. Since entering eight-man play in 2012 the Eagles are 5-5 in all playoff games. Waurika is making its sixth straight appearance in the playoffs.

Team Capsules: Laverne is putting together another impressive season. The Tigers lost the season opener to Cherokee but have reeled off seven straight victories including an impressive 50-12 victory over Shattuck that ended the Indians’ long winning streak. The Eagles will have to figure out a way to stop Houston Bockelman, who ran for 230 yards on just 13 carries against the Eagles in the regular season meeting. He had touchdown runs of 32, 55, 33 and 40 yards against Waurika in the earlier meeting. The Eagles will also try to figure out the Laverne defense which has given up no more than two touchdowns to an opponent since the early-season meeting with Waurika and the opener against Cherokee

The Eagles played admirably last week without Torrez, but went through stretches of the game against Southwest Covenant where the team seemed to be disengaged. Kevin Garcia responded to the challenge of filling in at quarterback for the Eagles and rushed for 178 yards and was effective through the air by completing five of eight passes for 99 yards. Waurika continues to rely on a strong running game that is helped along by a consistent offensive line of Angel Garcia, Bowden Forsyth and Bobby Aldape. Slade Cathey adds to the offensive line from the tight end position. The defense continues to improve, despite giving up 36 points to a talented Southwest Covenant team in the first round of the playoffs.

Outlook: The Eagles will have to play an error-free game and be able to corral the Tiger offense that is averaging over 47 points a game. If the Eagles can accomplish this against Laverne, they should have the opportunity to move into the quarterfinals. However, this will prove to be the toughest challenge of the season for the Eagles as they face an improved Laverne squad from the one they faced early in the regular season.

2020 Laverne Season Results

Cherokee 28, Laverne 20

Laverne 42, Waurika 18

Laverne 50, Pioneer 14

Laverne 58, Balko12

Laverne 46, Seiling 0

Laverne 52, Canton 6

Laverne 56, Turpin 0

Laverne 50, Shattuck 16

Ryan Softball Squad Eyes Second Half of Season for Improvement

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 3, 2020

After a slow start to the fast-pitch softball season, the Ryan Cowgirls have shown some improvement and they hope the trend continues through the second half of the season.

The Cowgirls have had an extended layoff thanks to the schedule and to the weather which forced the postponement of a scheduled game with Waurika on Tuesday.

Ryan is slated to return to action today when the Cowgirls play host to conference rival Temple on Larry Ninman Field at the Bob Givens Sports Complex.

On Monday, the Cowgirls will host Wilson and next weekend will compete in the Temple Invitational Tournament.

The remainder of the regular season schedule will feature teams the Cowgirls have already seen during the first half of the schedule.

If the Cowgirls can continue to improve, a few more wins might be possible.

The Cowgirls have one scheduled game with Big Pasture and the two teams have split their two meetings.

The remainder of the schedule will prepare the Cowgirls for the Class B District Tournament that begins on September 24 and the site and pairings will be announced soon.

Senior Cowboy, Cowgirl Athletes Had Major Contributions

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

May 2, 2020

With the cancelation of graduation and other activities related to the 2020 senior class – including the all-sports banquet – it would be appropriate to recognize the accomplishments of the senior athletes at Ryan High School.

There were five seniors on the Cowboy football team last fall. While the team dropped to a disappointing 4-6 record in 2019, these seniors during their careers had two winning seasons and made playoff appearances as juniors and seniors.

Andrew Villerreal had an outstanding senior season as a running back on offense and a stellar defensive performer as well as the kickoff specialist for the Cowboys. For his accomplishments he was named to the District B-4 all-district first team.

Villerreal was a two-year starter for the Cowboys and moved to the running back position his senior season after leading the team in receptions as a tight end in the 2018 campaign. In the 2018 season Villerreal was a second team utility player on the District B-4 all-district squad.

Gunner Phillips and Walter Snider were both starters on the 2019 squad and Jonathan Clark and Parker Carey also contributed to the team in a reserve role as injuries hit the team during the season.

Three senior athletes led the Cowgirl cross country squad to an outstanding season. Juliet Spangler and Lily York – both four-year participants in the program – and Gracie Stamper, a newcomer during her senior year – helped the cross country team to a Class 2A regional title. The Cowgirls also won five other meets during the season.

Spangler and York were selected to the Class 2A All-Star Cross Country team and were instrumental in the program’s success the past four years.

Spangler was an individual state qualifier her freshman season and was part of the Cowgirl teams that qualified for state in her final three years of high school. Spangler had four top-ten finishes in meets during her senior season.

York battled some injuries during her senior campaign, but she was consistently among the top two to five Cowgirls during the season. York managed four top-ten finishes during the year.

Stamper, in her first year of competing in cross country, provided some much needed depth for the Cowgirls during the 2019 season.

Samantha Good and Brooklyn Charmasson finished their senior seasons in fast-pitch softball as all-conference honorees by the Southern Eight Conference. It was the second year in a row for Good to be named to the all-conference squad.

Both Charmasson and Good were three-year starters for the fast-pitch team and in their sophomore season the Cowgirls won what is believed to be a school-record 16 games.

Savannah Lashley and Madisen Rhoades also were members of the 2019 fast-pitch softball team and both were starters during their senior seasons on a team that struggled to a 2-19 record.

Villerreal as the only senior member of the Cowboy basketball team for 2020. He was a starter on a team that went only 6-17, but showed tremendous improvement from the past two seasons. Villerreal was also a starter on the 2019 squad.

Good, Spangler and York were key members of the 2020 Cowgirl cage squad. The three girls all became members of the 1,000-point club for their careers during their senior year and were part of the Cowgirls two straight winning seasons in their junior and season seasons.

All three girls played in the Southern Eight’s annual all-star game held at Ryan and the three girls will be furthering their basketball careers in college next fall.

Bailee Martin was also a senior starter on the Cowgirl team in 2020, while Charmasson saw considerable playing time off the bench as the Cowgirls had only seven or eight players much of the season.

Of course the spring sports seasons for the Ryan seniors were cut short by the nation-wide pandemic and the closure of schools across the state of Oklahoma after spring break.

The slow-pitch softball team managed to get in four games before the season ended. Good, Rhoades, Charmasson, Lashley and Stamper were members of the team that went winless at the beginning of the season.

The Cowgirl track squad made only one appearance before the cancellation of the season, but it was a good one. The Cowgirls won the Maysville Warrior Invitational and York and Spangler – the only two senior members of the team – played a significant role in the meet title for the Cowgirls.

York was a member of the 400-meter relay team that finished fourth and she was also part of the meet champion 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams. In the 800 meters, York earned a silver medal.

Spangler was also part of the two gold-medal winning 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams. She also captured a gold medal in the 1,600 meters and finished second in the 3,200 meters.

Both girls have been key components to the Cowgirl track program in the past four years. York was part of the regional runner up 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams in her junior season and was part of the 3,200-meter relay team that finished second in her sophomore year. In her freshman season York was part of the 1,600-meter relay team that finished as a regional runner up.

In additional to joining York on the relay teams at the regionals during her career, Spangler also finished second in the 3,200 meters and third in the 1,600 meters at regionals during her junior season. As a freshman, Spangler recorded a regional runner up finish in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

There were no senior male athletes that competed in track for the Cowboys in 2020 and Ryan failed to have enough players to field a baseball team during the 2020 season.

All of these seniors are to be commended for outstanding careers and contributions to the Ryan High School athletic program in their senior year and beyond.

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2020 Articles

Waurika Wins Consolation Title

Lady Blue Devils, Wilson Stop Lady Eagle Fast-Pitch Softball Squad

Cowgirl Harriers Finish Seventh In First Meet of the Season

Hastings Was First Jefferson County School To Play For State Title

Cowgirls Get First Win of Season; Cowboys Drop Three of Four

Ryan’s Spangler Named FCA All-Stater for 2020

Waurika Girls Snap Three-Game Skid with Win Over Healdton

Central High Uses Big First Half Subdue Cowboys

Ryan Falls Short in Homecoming Game

Cowgirls Earn Third Place at Geronimo Meet

Ryan Girls Cagers Garner More Honors

District Basketball Tournaments Have Long History in Oklahoma

Waurika to Face Laverne for Rematch

Ryan Softball Squad Eyes Second Half of Season for Improvement

Senior Cowboy, Cowgirl Athletes Had Major Contributions

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