Cowboys Gain First District Win in Convincing Fashion

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October 15, 2018

1-Ryan-Football — Photo by Sheree Hanson

It was a remarkable night at Bob Givens Sports Complex last Friday night as the Ryan Cowboys rolled to an 84-38 victory over District B-4 foe Empire.

Scoring 84 points in a game is quite a feat, but it is incredible when you discover Ryan scored all 84 points in the final three quarters of play.

The Cowboys will try to maintain the momentum gained with the victory over the Bulldogs when they make the short drive up Highway 81 to battle Waurika tomorrow night (Friday). Kickoff at Cy Sloan Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

Both Waurika and Ryan enter the contest with a 1-0 mark in district play. Waurika is 5-0 overall, while Ryan is 4-2.

Last Friday’s first quarter was defined by two long drives by both Empire and Ryan that resulted in no scoring.

Ryan drove to the Empire 15 after getting an interception by Kalen Weldon on the first series of the game, but turned the ball over on downs.

Empire took over and took 16 plays to go from the Empire 19 to the Ryan 19, but on the next two plays the Ryan defense came up big and handed the Bulldogs losses of nine and two yards to turn the ball back to the Cowboys on downs late in the first quarter.

This gave the Cowboys their worst field position of the night at the Ryan 30, but the Cowboys methodically took the ball and drove the 70 yards for a score. Skylar Parkhill ran the final nine yards for the score and Dallas Fristoe ran for the two points to give Ryan an 8-0 lead with 7:50 to play in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff the Cowboys perfectly executed a pooch kick and Weldon pounced on the ball before Empire could field it to put the Cowboys back in business.

The Cowboys took quick advantage of the Bulldog miscue and drove 38 yards in just three plays. Parkhill rushed for all 38 yards – the final carry covering five yards for the score. Parkhill ran for the two points and quickly Ryan was up, 16-0, with 7:06 left in the half.

Empire took possession at its own 48 yard line after an onside kick attempt and this time the Bulldogs answered with a scoring drive of 52 yards on eight plays. Peyton Booth ran the final 20 yards for the score and quarterback Mitchell Monteith ran for the two-point conversion to cut the Ryan lead in half at 16-8 with 4:46 left to play.

Possibly the play of the game for the Cowboys came on the ensuing kickoff when Travis Fristoe took the ball in the middle of the field at the Ryan 35 and maneuvered his way through a wall of tacklers and finally cut out to the left side for a clear path to the end zone. Parkhill ran for the two points and Ryan had a 24-8 lead with 4:40 left in the half.

The Bulldogs had an answer, however, as Empire took possession at its own 41-yard line following another short kickoff. Two straight running plays produced first downs and then Monteith found Mcray Weber wide open for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The run failed, but the Ryan lead was cut to 24-14 with 3:36 left in the half.

The Cowboys were not through scoring, however – not by a long shot as it turned out.

Ryan took the ball at the Empire 46 after another onside kickoff attempt and promptly drove 46 yards on seven plays for a touchdown. Grayson Tomberlin ran up the middle from the one-yard line for the score and then passed to Weldon for the two points to give Ryan a 32-14 advantage with just 16 seconds before the break.

As the third quarter got under way it looked like Ryan would take command as they drove 47 yards in four plays for a score. Parkhill got his third rushing touchdown of the night as he scampered 16 yards for the score. Parkhill ran for the two-point conversion and Ryan held a 40-14 lead with 10:33 left in the third quarter.

Empire, however, answered with a seven-play, 53-yard drive with much of the work being done by Booth. He got the score on a three-yard run and Booth also ran for the two points to cut the Ryan lead to 40-22 with 8:10 left in the third quarter.

The two squads then exchanged fumbles. Weldon raced to recover the snap over the quarterback’s head and this gave Ryan another short field at the Empire 33 yard line.

On the first play, Parkhill raced 33 yards for the score and then Tomberlin found Fristoe on a two-point pass completion to put Ryan in front, 48-22, with 7:37 left in the third quarter.

Once again Empire proved its ability to score as they took the ensuing kickoff from the Empire 33 to the Ryan 41 in four plays. On third-and-six, Monteith found Lucas Contreras on a 41-yard touchdown pass and Daniel Alvarez caught a two-point conversion pass from Montheith to narrow the gap to 48-30 with 5:56 left to play.

That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the night.

On Ryan’s next drive facing fourth and six at its own 49-yard line, the Cowboys pulled off a fake punt by snapping the ball to Parkhill and he broke loose for a 51-yard touchdown run. Fristoe ran for the two points and with 3:48 left in the third quarter, the Cowboys held a 56-30 advantage.

The Cowboys really put any hopes of an Empire rally to rest on the Bulldogs’ next drive.

Fristoe picked off an errant Bulldog pass in the middle of the field and quickly broke into open field on the left side and went 60 yards for a touchdown. The run failed, but now Ryan led, 62-30, with 2:32 left to play in the third quarter.

The Cowboys finally another stop on Empire’s next drive and took the ball over on downs at the Ryan 39.

In three plays, the Cowboys were on the scoreboard again. Justin Williams took a short pass from Tomberlin and took off on a 66-yard touchdown pass with 11:53 left in the game. Weldon caught a two-point conversion from Tomberlin to give Ryan a 70-30 lead.

Empire did not quit and on the ensuing drive traveled 62 yards on just two plays. Alvarez was on the receiving end of a 33-yard pass by Monteith for the score. Brandon Mendenall caught a conversion pass from Monteith and with 11:41 left to play, Ryan was in front, 70-38.

After holding the Bulldogs on the next drive, the Cowboys took over on downs at the Empire 25.

It took only two plays with Parkhill carrying the ball to the 10 on first down and then scoring on the next play. Tomberlin ran for the two-point conversion and the Cowboys were comfortably in front, 78-38, with 10:07 left in the game.

Empire put together the longest drive of the night moving from its own seven yard line to the Ryan 10 in 12 plays and helped along by a 15-yard penalty on the Cowboys.

On second down and goal from the 10, Monteith did not see Parkhill and the Cowboy senior picked the ball off at the one and went from the left side to the middle of the field and finally down the right sideline making a nifty move on the last Bulldog defender to prevent the score and danced into the end zone for a 99-yard touchdown return.

That put the Cowboys in front, 84-38, and with 4:48 left in the game the contest ended on the mercy rule.

Parkhill had a career night with 238 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns. He also recorded nine tackles and had the game-ending interception.

Weldon had a good night on defense with five tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception. Walter Snider, Fristoe and Tomberlin led the Cowboys in tackles with 13 stops each.

COWBOY CORRAL: Ryan now leads the series with Empire, 4-1, but this was the first meeting of eight-man teams….The 84 points scored is the third most in school history behind 97 scored against Devol in 1924 and 92 points scored against Comanche in 1922…The 84 points is the most ever scored by Ryan on the field where the Cowboys currently play breaking the previous high of 80 scored against Pernell in 1985….Parkhill’s interception return is now the longest in school history and broke the record of 94 yards set just last year by Dawson Tomberlin against Bray-Doyle….Because both teams used the onside or short kickoff most of the game much of the contest was played near midfield…Empire’s worst starting field position was its own seven-yard line, but only three drives out of 13 possessions started inside the Bulldog 30-yard line….Ryan had 10 possessions in the game and only three of those started inside the Ryan 40….Parkhill’s 238 yards rushing is the career high for the Cowboy senior and ranks as the 22nd best rushing total in school history….The six rushing touchdowns scored by Parkhill is the second most in school history behind the nine rushing touchdowns by Grant Carter in a 2015 game against Cement….Parkhill scored 48 total points in the contest and that is the second most in school history moving ahead of Nelson Turnbow’s 42 points scored in a 1940 game against Noble, but behind Carter’s total of 54 scored against Cement….Counting return yards and receiving yards, Parkhill finished the game with 351 all-purpose yards….The combined number of points scored – 122 – is the second most in school history behind the 138 points scoring in a 78-60 loss at Grandfield in 1997….The 84 points scored in this game is the fourth most in any game in Oklahoma this season behind Graham-Dustin’s 94 points in Zero Week and Tyrone’s 86 in Week 3 and Destiny Christian’s 86 points in Week 5.

Ryan Game in Figures

EHS RHS

First Downs 23 18

Yards Rushing 39-166 42-335

Yards Passing 259 75

Passes 16-35 3-6

Passes Int. By 0 3

Fumbles, Lost 1-1 1-1

Punts 0-0 1-50

Penalties 3-40 7-60

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Empire 0 14 16 8–38

Ryan 0 32 30 22–84

SECOND QUARTER

RYAN – Skylar Parkhill 9 run (Travis Fristoe run), 7:50

RYAN – Parkhill 5 run (Parkhill run), 7:06

EMPIRE – Peyton Booth 20 run (Mitchell Monteith run), 4:46

RYAN – Fristoe 65 kickoff return (Parkhill run), 4:40

EMPIRE – Mcray Weber 37 pass from Monteith (run failed), 3:36

RYAN – Grayson Tomberlin 1 run (Kalen Weldon pass from Tomberlin), :16.4

THIRD QUARTER

RYAN – Parkhill 16 run (Parkhill run), 10:33

EMPIRE – Booth 3 run (Booth run), 8:10

RYAN – Parkhill 33 run (Fristoe pass from Tomberlin), 7:37

EMPIRE – Lucas Contreras 41 pass from Monteith (Daniel Alvarez pass from Monteith), 5:56

RYAN – Parkhill 51 run (Fristoe run), 3:48

RYAN – Fristoe 60 interception return (run failed), 2:32

FOURTH QUARTER

RYAN – Justin Williams 66 pass from Tomberlin (Weldon pass from Tomberlin), 11:53

EMPIRE – Alvarez 33 pass from Onteith (Brandon Mendenall pass from Monteith), 11:41

RYAN – Parkhill 10 run (Tomberlin run), 10:07

RYAN – Parkhill 99 interception return, (no try), 4:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Empire: Rushing – Booth 17-89, Jackson Carrio 15-80, Monteith 6-13, Team 1- -16; Passing – Monteith 16-34-259-3; Contreras 0-1-0-0; Receiving – Alvarez 6-103, Mccray Weber 6-65, Contreras 3-77, Booth 1-14.

Ryan: Rushing – Parkhill 21-238, Tomberlin 13-106, Travis Fristoe 8-19; Passing – Tomberlin 3-6-79-0; Receiving – Williams 1-66; Parkhill 1-11, Fristoe 1- -2; Tackles – Walter Snider 13, Fristoe 13, Tomberlin 13, Pacen Wiest 12, Parkhill 9, Williams 8, Andrew Villerreal 7, Gunner Phillips 6, Weldon 5, Trey Bryant 4, Sam Brown 2, Raesh Casebolt 1.

Waurika Looks to Take Control of District Race Against Ryan

By

Trey Smart

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October 11, 2018

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Not much has to be said or written about the rivalry between Waurika and Ryan.

With the two communities just 10 miles apart, it is natural for the two schools to be rivals in all sports competition.

The football version of the rivalry is tomorrow night at Waurika’s Cy Sloan Stadium and kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

In many of the years of this series the two teams have also been competing against each other for district honors and 2018 is no different.

The Waurika Football Team.
Photo by Shelly Mora

And even though the series in football took a break (except for two seasons) after Ryan moved to eight-man football, the rivalry on the gridiron was resumed in 2012 when Waurika dropped to eight-man football.

The series of eight-man meetings have been split at three wins apiece for the two teams. Ryan won the first two and then Waurika won three straight before last year’s thrilling 44-36, double-overtime victory by the Cowboys in 2017.

It will be Waurika’s homecoming and that will give the Eagles added incentive to be able to revenge last year’s heart-breaking loss.

Waurika has a huge advantage overall in the series that dates back to 1919 – the first year the two schools played football. The Eagles lead the series 40-17-3.

The Eagles built a good part of that advantage with 11 straight wins between 1963 and 1973 before Ryan broke the string in the 1974 season with a 28-0 victory over Waurika on the Eagles’ home field.

The Ryan Football Team.
Photo by Sheree Hanson

The game has been close and it has been lopsided. There have been two one-point games between the Cowboys and Eagles – in 1946 and 1954 – and each team came out on top once.

Waurika’s largest margin of victory came in a 1971 conquest of the Cowboys as the Eagles whitewashed Ryan, 64-0.

In 1937, Ryan earned its largest margin of victory over the Eagles with a 37-0 win.

Ryan has twice scored 44 points against Waurika – the highest number of points scored by the Cowboys in the series and both of those games were eight-man contests.

Waurika’s greatest margin of victory was the 64-point win in 1971.

Two of the three ties in the series were scoreless and they came in back-to-back years in 1942 and 1943.

Waurika has 15 shutouts over the Cowboys through the years, while Ryan has seven of shutouts. Both include the two scoreless games.

Waurika comes into this year’s game with a 5-0 record, while Ryan is 4-2 on the year.

Waurika had its biggest win of the year last week with a 38-6 decision over Wilson.

The Cowboys exploded for an 84-38 victory over Empire last Friday night, but that was helped along by two defensive scores and a kickoff return.

So, both offenses are potent and it could be an old-fashioned eight-man shootout.

Waurika has been a bit more dominating with only last week’s win over Wilson going past halftime.

The Cowboys will have to try to corral the team speed of the Eagles and figure out a way to keep the offensive momentum gained against Empire going against Waurika.

The two schools have three common opponents this season – Temple, Grandfield and Caddo. Both teams had runaway wins over Temple and Grandfield, but Ryan dropped a 57-26 decision to the Bruins, while Waurika rolled to a 48-0 win over Caddo.

Waurika features a potent running attack with Turner Mora, Colton Bryant, Kevin Garcia and Zachary Brown.

The Cowboys will counter on offense with a more wide-open attack behind quarterback Grayson Tomberlin, who has thrown for over 900 yards this season. He has also rushed for 655 yards.

However, the Cowboys are not one-dimensional as Skylar Parkhill has been the favorite target of Tomberlin’s passing attack. The Cowboy senior has rushed for 466 yards and 10 rushing scores.

Both teams will be challenged defensively to stop the offensive attacks.

Look for a contest with plenty of scoring if Ryan can solve the Waurika defense that has only allowed three touchdowns in five games.

Here’s a look at the results of the long-running series:

1919: Ryan 23, Waurika 0

1919: Waurika 29, Ryan 27

1927: Ryan 37, Waurika 0

1928: Waurika 14, Ryan 6

1929: Ryan 20, Waurika 0

1930: Waurika 27, Ryan 0

1931: Waurika 7, Ryan 0

1932: Waurika 7, Ryan 0

1933: Waurika 13, Ryan 0

1934: Waurika 18, Ryan 0

1935: Waurika 32, Ryan 20

1936: Waurika 14, Ryan 0

1937: Ryan 6, Waurika 6

1938: Waurika 12, Ryan 6

1939: Waurika 27, Ryan 0

1940: Waurika 6, Ryan 0

1941: Ryan 19, Waurika 0

1942: Ryan 0, Waurika 0

1943: Ryan 0, Waurika 0

1944: Waurika 38, Ryan 7

1945: Ryan 13, Waurika 0

1945: Waurika 19, Ryan 6

1946: Ryan 15, Waurika 14

1947: Waurika 14, Ryan 6

1948: Waurika 38, Ryan 13

1949: Waurika 32, Ryan 0

1950: Waurika 60, Ryan 0

1953: Waurika 41, Ryan 14

1954: Waurika 7, Ryan 6

1955: Ryan 19, Waurika 12

1956: Ryan 19, Waurika 6

1957: Ryan 33, Waurika 12

1958: Ryan 18, Waurika 14

1959: Waurika 20, Ryan 0

1960: Waurika 12, Ryan 8

1961: Ryan 8, Waurika 6

1962: Ryan 33, Waurika 18

1963: Waurika 40, Ryan 8

1964: Waurika 58, Ryan 6

1965: Waurika 2, Ryan 0 (forfeit)

1966: Waurika 35, Ryan 14

1967: Waurika 46, Ryan 0

1968: Waurika 22, Ryan 6

1969: Waurika 38, Ryan 0

1970: Waurika 34, Ryan 8

1971: Waurika 64, Ryan 0

1972: Waurika 50, Ryan 0

1973: Waurika 28, Ryan 6

1974: Ryan 28, Waurika 0

1975: Waurika 13, Ryan 8

1976: Waurika 21, Ryan 0

1977: Waurika 33, Ryan 0

1990: Ryan 27, Waurika 6

1991: Waurika 27, Ryan 20

2012: Ryan 36, Waurika 16

2013: Ryan 44, Waurika 26

2014: Waurika 29, Ryan 24

2015: Waurika 34, Ryan 22

2016: Waurika 46, Ryan 0

2017: Ryan 44, Waurika 36 (2OT)

Waurika Boys Claim Cameron Title; Girls Finish Second

By

Trey Smart

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October 15, 2018

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LAWTON – After finishing second in two straight meets, the Waurika boys’ cross country squad surged to the title at the Cameron University Invitational here last Friday.

The Waurika girls’ squad also ran impressively with a second-place finish to Ryan bolstered by the first and second place finishes of Asia Smith and Lexie Streeter, respectively.

Both teams will travel to Velma-Alma for Saturday’s Class 2A Regional Cross Country meet at the Wildhorse Golf Course at Velma.

The Lady Eagles are pitted with six other top 15 teams at the V-A regional. Waurika is ranked 12th in Class 2A.

The Waurika boys are unranked, but come with some momentum after the win last weekend and two straight runner-up finishes. Four top 15 teams will be competing on the boys’ side of the regional.

Cache Arellano crosses the finish line in fourth place for Waurika at the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational last Friday at Lawton’s Big Green Soccer facility.
Photo by Trey Smart

Waurika will be trying to qualify for next week’s state meet which will require the squads to finish in the top seven of the teams. The top 10 competitors not on a team that qualifies for state will also be tabbed to compete in the state meet.

Last Friday the Lady Eagles were second to Ryan in the team competition. Ryan had 26 points and Waurika finished with 35 points.

Smith recorded a time of 13:12.86 in taking the girls’ title, while Streeter was not far behind with a time of 13:20.80.

Asia Smith crosses the finish line in first place at the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational in Lawton last Friday.
Photo by Trey Smart

Tallin Mora also earned a medal for the Lady Eagles with her 10th-place finish. She recorded a time of 14:09.52.

Faith Roberson was 19th on the day with a time of 15:24.23, while Dallas Fristoe was right behind in 20th place with a time of 15:37.02.

Rounding out the competitors for the Lady Eagles were Kaci Reynolds (22nd, 15:37.02), Hope Cummings (31st, 16:56.97), Gracie Walling (39th, 17:53.48), Madison Roberson (43rd, 18:25.86) and Sara Ballard (48th, 20:49.57).

The Eagle squad claimed the title by nudging out Purcell. Waurika finished with 42 points, while Purcell tallied 45 points.

Bryson Hernandez led the finishers among the Waurika boys’ competitors just as he has in all but one meet this season. Hernandez crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 19:44.50.

Bryson Hernandez finishes the 5K high school boys race at the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational at Lawton last Friday. Pictured behind Hernandez is Cache Arellano. The two runners finished third and fourth, respectively, in leading the Eagles to the team title.
Photo by Trey Smart

Teammate Cache Arellano was right behind in fourth place with a time of 19:45.96. Arellano and Hernandez were the only two medalists for the Eagles.

Gustavo Gomez was 13th in the race with a time of 21:38.53, while Octavio Gomez was 16th with a time of 21:21.09. Travis Etheridge rounded out the harriers for Waurika by finishing 29th with a time of 24:14.81.

Eagle Harriers Capture Two Runner Up Finishes

By

Trey Smart

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October 5, 2018

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It was a busy week last week for the Waurika cross country squads and the Waurika boys came away with two runner-up finishes at Frederick and Healdton.

At the Frederick Invitational last Thursday, the Eagles had only two runners earn medals, but that was good enough for a team finish of second place.

Cache Arellano was 15th to top the Eagle runners, while Bryson Hernandez was the only other medal winner with a 20th-place finish.

Other results for the team were not available.

At Healdton last Saturday, the Eagles also managed a second place team finish, but this time all six Waurika competitors finished with a medal.

Hernandez topped the Eagle entries with a second-place finish.

Three Eagles finished in successive order including Arellano who was eighth, Kevin Garcia who was ninth and Gustavo Gomez who was 10th.

Edwin Garcia finished 18th and Nicolas Alvarado was 19th to round out the Eagle medal winners in the meet.

The Lady Eagles finished third at Frederick. The 12th-ranked Lady Eagles were behind seventh-ranked Merritt and meet champion Ryan, who is ranked fifth in Class 2A.

Asia Smith turned in an impressive performance at Frederick and came across the finish line in first place. Lexie Streeter was fifth and Tallin Mora finished 17th to round out the medal winners for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles also earned a third-place finish at the Healdton Invitational. The Lady Eagles were just behind Velma-Alma and team champion Ryan.

Smith was again the leader for the Lady Eagles as she finished second in the individual race. Streeter was third and Mora captured 15th place.

Times for the performances at Frederick and Healdton were not available.

At Healdton, the Waurika junior high girls’ team captured the team title.

Waurika’s cross country teams competed a week ago Tuesday in the crowded field at the Velma-Alma Invitational.

The Eagles finished ninth in the team race, but none of the Waurika competitors finished in the top 25 to earn a medal. Waurika had 330 points and team champion Byng finished with 34 points. Only one Class 2A team finished ahead of the Eagles.

Leading the way for the Eagles was Bryson Hernandez, who finished 28th. His time of 19:13 was a season-best for the junior multi-sport athlete.

Arellano finished 50th with a time of 20:04 – nearly a minute better than his fastest time of the season. Rounding out the Eagle competitors were K. Garcia (64th, 20:40), Octavio Gomez (66th, 20:45), G. Gomez (89th, 21:43), E. Garcia (101st, 22:23) and Alvarado (116th, 23:08).

The Lady Eagles managed to earn 11th place in the 23-team field at V-A. Waurika finished with 371 points well behind Ardmore Plainview that finished with 49 points. However, only two Class 2A schools – Ryan and Velma-Alma – finished ahead of the Lady Eagles.

Streeter was the top competitor for the Lady Eagles finishing 27th with a time of 14:03 – her best time of the season.

Mora was 54th with a time of 14:56, while Dallas Fristoe finished 88th with a time of 16:18. Faith Roberson was 92nd with a time of 16:28 and Kaci Reynolds rounded out the team finishers with a 110th-place finish.

Also competing for the Lady Eagles was Hope Cummings, who finished 114th with a time of 17:17.

Over 200 girls competed in the meet.

These three meets closed out the regular season for Waurika’s cross country teams.

The next action for Waurika will be the Class 2A Regional Cross Country meet on October 13.

Junior High Results

At Velma-Alma

Junior High Girls

Waurika finished third in the team race with 142 points.

10. Aubrey Showalter, 11:21; 25. Kynlee Waters, 11:58; 31. Jaci Gholson, 12:07; 34. Skylar Garrett, 12:14; 42. Liberti Simmons, 12:34; 48. Trish Julian, 12:50.

Junior High Boys

43. Isaac Camarillo, 14:54; 48. Alex Gomez, 15:00.

At Healdton

Junior High Girls

6. Jaci Gholson; 8. Skylar Garrett; 12. Kynlee Waters; 15. Liberti Simmons; 17. Trish Julian; 25. Tracy Ballard (Medal Winners Only)

Junior High Boys

5. Treyton Torrez; 16. Alex Gomez (Medal Winners only)

6th Grade Girls

2. Sadie Smith; 6. Niecsa Camarillo; 10. Destiny Foster (Medal Winners only)

Officiating Concerns Brought to Light in Recent Game at Ryan

By

Trey Smart

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October 26, 2018

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Before we get to the information in this column, allow me to make a few disclaimers.

Officials in any sport are human. They can make mistakes and often do. It is unfortunate, but that is reality and since we are all human, there should be some level of understanding of this when there are bad decisions made in a game by officials.

Another issue in today’s high school sports arena is a critical shortage of officials to call the games at the high school and junior high level. Why is this? We will discuss some of those reasons further in this column.

One other disclaimer – I would never want to be an official. I will admit, however, to expressing frustration as a fan when officials make a bad call.

However, when there are repeated mistakes that are relatively obvious in a game, it is fair to bring those issues to light.

Last Thursday night at Ryan, I witnessed what was one of the poorest officiated games I have ever seen. I have been to a few in my 61 years – about 500 games.

Most of the time fans complain of the officiating when their team loses, but this time Ryan rallied for a last-second 78-74 win over Bray-Doyle.

The discrepancy in the number of penalties against each team in this game was mind-boggling. Ryan was flagged 24 times (not counting one penalty on an extra-point try), while Bray was whistled for only six penalties.

To be perfectly clear, Ryan was guilty of many of those penalties and must find a way to have more discipline during a game if they are to close out the current season with success.

Most of the critical calls came in the second half when the game became close.

Two pass interference calls, which are some of the most difficult to make in football, went against Ryan. One the Bray-Doyle receiver clearly pushed off the Ryan defender, but interference was flagged against Ryan.

The second missed call was actually a no-call as a Ryan receiver was streaking down the right sideline and was bumped by a Bray-Doyle defender keeping the Ryan receiver from reaching the ball.

Probably the worst call of the night came when Ryan coach Tony Tomberlin was giving a defensive signal. The referee blew his whistle and signaled timeout. The Ryan players and coaching staff were bewildered and when discovering none of the players called timeout, the referee was asked who called the timeout.

The referee informed Coach Tomberlin that he called it and when an explanation was given the referee refused to rescind the timeout. In my opinion, that was an easy fix. Simply call the teams back to the field and resume play.

Late in the game when Ryan was trying to drive for a clinching score and run out the clock, a Ryan player lost the ball after being tackled. The film is a bit inconclusive, but it appeared he was down before the fumble, but the officials gave the ball to Bray-Doyle and the Donkeys eventually scored the go-ahead touchdown with 43 seconds to play in the game.

One other call in the fourth quarter that impacted the game was a targeting penalty called against Ryan’s Skylar Parkhill that results in an automatic ejection.

The film was sent to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association. It was ruled not to be targeting and the ejection was rescinded so Parkhill will be eligible to play in Ryan’s contest with Wilson tomorrow night.

A few other calls were certainly questionable throughout the game.

This officiating crew must have had an off night. They are regarded as one of the best crews in this area and are usually found officiating at larger schools on a weekly basis.

One of the real issues with officiating in all sports is the lack of numbers of officials in Oklahoma.

As current officials are growing older and eventually hanging up their whistle, younger people are not stepping in to take on the job.

The shortage is real. Just a quick scan of the internet produced articles from Muskogee and Lawton that have been written in the past couple of years about the shortage of officials.

Games have even had to be rescheduled to a different night because officials could not be found to work a particular game.

Now in defense of the people that are not stepping up, it is a greater challenge to officiate games of all sports because kids are bigger and faster than they used to be. In football and basketball in particular the game is faster than ever before.

Many times people are not joining the officiating ranks because they do not want to put up with coaches and fans that at times can be irate and irrational. The abuse they some times take is often excessive. And some sports such as basketball and baseball, the officials are not far from the fans.

And there are a growing number of student-athletes that come with less than the best attitudes and when a call doesn’t go their way, the attitude of the player comes out. This is often detrimental as officials that are human take notice of this and often begin to look at that player a bit unfairly or with more scrutiny.

Players, coaches and fans need to be held accountable for some of the problems with the shortage of available officials.

But, the need for officials is real. Local organizations in Lawton, Duncan and Ardmore are actively searching for new people to join the ranks to call games in baseball, softball, soccer, wrestling, football and basketball.

If you are interested in becoming an official, go to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association’s website (ossaa.com) and register. There is a fee and there is a lot of preparation involved to eventually become an official.

The pay level is not great, but if someone needs a little extra cash, you can make up to $1,000 a season and if you can call more than one sport, the figure will increase.

So if you can weather the criticism and you want to be involved at some level with young men and women, you are urged to take the appropriate steps and become an official.

More numbers usually results in a higher quality of product and it is no different with officials. The need is real and the issues are real, but they can be solved.

Cowboys Set to Open District Play

By

Trey Smart

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October 5, 2018

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It is time for serious football for the Ryan Cowboys.

Tomorrow night the Cowgirls will host Empire for a

District B-4 contest at Bob Givens Sports Complex.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Cowboys will take a 3-2 record into the game with the Bulldogs, while Empire is 2-3 on the year.

Ryan enjoyed a bye week last week and no doubt first-year head coach Tony Tomberlin helped identify the areas the Cowboys have struggled this year during the extra practice sessions.

The break also gave the Cowboys opportunity to head from nagging mid-season injuries.

This will be the first meeting between Ryan and Empire on the gridiron since 1977 when Ryan last played 11-man football.

Empire dropped to eight-man football last season and made a playoff appearance in its first year.

The Bulldogs were the pre-season favorite in most polls to win the district title.

Cowgirl Cross Country Squad Claims Two Meet Titles

By

Trey Smart

-

October 5, 2018

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1-Ryan-Cross-Country — (l-r) Alicen Williams, Lilybet Harmon, Katelyn Dabbs, Holland Carter, Lily York, Juliet Spangler and Coach Steve Spangler Photo by Trey Smart

The Ryan Cowgirl cross country squad continues its impressive march through the season as they won two meet titles in two days and claimed a runner-up finish last Monday.

Last Friday the fifth-ranked Cowgirls held off Merritt and Waurika to claim the team crown at Frederick.

The next day, the Cowgirls added another team title by outlasting Velma-Alma and Waurika and successfully defending the title won in 2017 at Healdton.

On Monday, the Cowgirls traveled to Sulphur and finished second to Class 4A’s fifth-ranked Pauls Valley squad. The Lady Panthers had 30 points, while Ryan finished with 64 points.

Another impressive feat by the Cowgirls in these three meets in four days is a different runner paced the team in each of the races.

Lilybet Harmon was the top finisher for the Cowgirls at Sulphur. She finished the 2.2-mile course in 15:33.76 and finished seventh overall. The time set a school record for this distance (not many meets run a 2.2-mile course) set a year ago at the same meet by Holland Carter, who ran a 16:18.79 time.

Not far behind Harmon was Lily York. She finished 10th with a time of 15:52.40.

Juliet Spangler was 12th in the race with a time of 15:58.18 and Carter was 16th with a time of 16:22.49. Katelyn Dabbs recorded a 26th-place finish and a time of 17:38.15.

Alicen Williams finished 41st in the race that featured 64 runners.

Last Saturday at Healdton it was Spangler leading the way for the Cowgirls on the 3,200-meter course in claiming the team title.

Spangler finished third in the individual race and Harmon was right behind in fourth place. Carter was sixth, Dabbs finished seventh and York was eighth giving the Cowgirls four top 10 finishers.

Williams rounded out the Cowgirl competitors by finishing just one spot from earning a medal as she recorded a 26th-place finish.

Times were not available for the meet at Frederick or Saturday’s competition at Healdton.

At Healdton it was Dabbs, a freshman, claiming her best finish of the season. Dabbs nabbed fifth place in the race and Harmon and Spangler were right behind at sixth and seventh place, respectively.

York finished in 10th place, while Carter came in 12th place. Williams finished 30th in the competition.

Sixth place in a team race is not normally considered a very impressive finish, but for the Ryan Cowgirls’ sixth-place finish at Velma-Alma’s cross country meet a week ago Tuesday was quite a performance.

The five teams that finished in front of the Cowgirls were all Class 4A teams and all of them are ranked among the top 11 in that class in the state. It was an extremely competitive meet in the high school girls’ division with 23 teams and over 200 runners entered in the meet.

Ryan finished with 202 points, which was well behind Ardmore Plainview’s meet-winning total of 49 points. Tuttle finished fifth ahead of the Cowgirls with 156 points.

Another indication the meet was a tough one was despite the sixth-place team finish, none of the Cowgirls earned a medal by finishing in the top 25.

Spangler led the Cowgirls’ effort and finished just out of earning a medal with a 26th-place showing. She finished with a time of 14:01.

Not far behind was Dabbs who managed to finish 35th with a time of 14:22. Harmon was just two seconds behind Dabbs and finished 36th. Carter was 46th with a time of 14:43 and York was 59th with a time of 15:00.

Alicen Williams also competed for the Cowgirls, but her finish did not count in the team total. Williams was 100th with a time of 16:41.

The finish by the Cowgirls was also impressive because two of the girls had been battling illness just the day before the meet.

The Cowgirls will next compete in the Cameron University meet at the Big Green Soccer Complex in Lawton. This will be the final meet of the year until the Class 2A regional on October 13.

The junior high boys’ team competed in the meets at Sulphur, Healdton and Frederick. The Cowboys recorded a fifth-place team finish at Sulphur and earned runner up honors at Healdton.

Ryan Junior High Results

At Sulphur

BOYS: 20. Koble Lewis, 8:03.34; 23. Tommy Self, 8:15.59; 30. Alex Uribe, 8:35.95; 32. Mason Adsit, 8:39.79; 47. Landon Alexander; 59. Adan Uribe

GIRLS: 6. Jasmine Villarreal, 31. Whittany Spangler.

At Healdton

BOYS: Mason Adsit, Alex Urbie, Carson Williams, Tommy Self, Aidan Urbie.

GIRLS: 4. Jasmine Villarreal; 14. Whittany Spangler

At Frederick

GIRLS: 12. Jasmine Villerreal (medalists only)

BOYS: 23. Koble Lewis (medalists only)

It All Gets Serious for District B-4 Grid Squads

By

Trey Smart

-

October 5, 2018

0

While all the games played up to this matter certainly have meaning, they do not match the intensity that is about to occur tomorrow night as the District B-4 schools begin district play.

All districts across the state began play a couple of weeks ago, but because of Class B having eight districts, each district only has five or six teams.

So for the remaining five weeks of the season Ryan and Waurika and the rest of District B-4 will be playing for a district title and a playoff spot. The top four teams in the district qualify for post-season play.

Only two schools – Waurika and Wilson – finished the non-district play with wins last Friday.

And, both Waurika and Wilson went through the non-district slate unbeaten.

Wilson is 5-0 on the year, while Waurika is 4-0. The two teams open district play by facing off at Wilson tomorrow night (Friday).

Last Friday Wilson rolled to a 54-6 victory over Maud, while Waurika scored a 48-0 road victory over Caddo.

Ryan had a bye last Friday and will take a 3-2 mark into district play tomorrow night against Empire at home.

Empire is 2-3 on the year, but has played a slightly tougher schedule than the Cowboys including last week’s 52-24 loss to Class B’s fifth-ranked Alex Longhorns.

Two Stephens County rivals – Central High and Bray-Doyle square off in the other district fray.

Bray-Doyle carries a 2-3 mark into district action, while Central High is 1-3.

Central High, who continues to struggle with injuries and depth, fell to a talented Cyril club, 46-0.

Bray-Doyle met Strother in the final non-district game for the Donkeys and came out on the short end of a 48-16 game. The Yellowjackets had seven players ejected in a skirmish during the game and Bray-Doyle had one player tossed out of the game.

Lady Eagles 9th, Waurika Boys 12th in State Cross Country Meet

By

Trey Smart

-

October 26, 2018

0

1-Waurika-CC4 — Lexie Streeter and Asia Smith Photo by Joe Masoner

Waurika’s boys’ and girls’ cross country team traveled to Shawnee last Saturday for the Class 2A State Cross Country meet held at the Gordon Cooper Technology Center.

The Lady Eagles wrapped up a successful season with a ninth-place finish among the 21 teams that qualified from three regional meets held the week before.

Boise City-Keyes won the team title for Class 2A with 78 points. Waurika accumulated 244 points in the meet.

In the boys’ competition, Waurika finished in 12th place. Mooreland dominated the team competition with 55 points, while runner-up Lomega was well back with 137 points.

The Eagles finished with 333 points – just one point ahead of Carnegie.

Heading the Lady Eagles as she did through most of the meets this season was Asia Smith.

Her finish of 13th place earned her a medal. She covered the 3,200-meter course in 13:02.2 – her best time of the season.

Lexie Streeter also turned in a great performance in the state meet with a 25th place finish. Her time was 13:19.8 – less than one second better than her season-best time.

Rounding out the competitors for the Lady Eagles were Tallin Mora (63rd, 14:09.6), Faith Roberson (93rd, 15:03.3), Hope Cummings (114th, 15:37.8), Kacie Reynolds (129th, 16:11.6) and Dallas Fristoe (140th, 16:33.3).

A total of 157 runners competed in the state meet for Class 2A girls – which was a particularly tough division this year.

All of the team members for the Lady Eagles will return next year for Coach Joe Masoner’s cross country squad.

The Lady Eagles earned two runner-up spots at invitational meets and finished third in three other competitions.

Bryson Hernandez was the top competitor for the Eagles at the state meet. He was 52nd in the race and finished the 5K with a time of 19:23.

As he has been all season, Cache Arellano was the second-best performance for the Eagles as he earned a 60th place with a time of 19:40.5.

The other finishers for Waurika in the state meet that featured 160 runners and 21 teams were Kevin Garcia (77th, 20:07.7), Octavio Gomez (107th, 21:08.9), Edwin Garcia (116th, 21:32.7), Gustavo Gomez (132nd, 22:13.6) and Nicholas Alvarado (137th, 22:27.8).

All six of the competitors should return for the Eagles next season. Four of them are sophomores and two are juniors.

The Eagles, also coached by Masoner, finished with the season having won two meets – at Waurika and Cameron University and finishing second in two other meets.

Cowgirls Claim Fifth Team Title for 2018 Season

By

Trey Smart

-

October 15, 2018

0

LAWTON – Coach Steve Spangler and the members of the Ryan Cowgirl cross country squad set some goals before the season started.

One of the goals was to win five meets during the cross country season.

Last Friday, the Cowgirls met that goal as they claimed the title of the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational II here.

Lily York crosses the finish line at the recent Cameron University Cross Country Invitational and earned a medal with a ninth place finish for the Cowboys last Friday.
Photo by Trey Smart

Unlike most courses, the Lawton course was fairly wide open and a strong south wind made the event a little tougher even though only four teams competed for the team title.

The Cowgirls claimed the first-place trophy with 26 points, edging out Waurika who finished with 35 points. Lone Grove was third with 83 points and Lawton High finished fourth with 85 points.

This was the final meet of the regular season as the Cowgirl squad will compete in the Class 2A Regional Cross Country meet on Saturday at Velma-Alma’s Wildhorse Golf Course.

Julie Spangler edges out a competitor from Lone Grove to finish seventh in the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational at Lawton last Friday.
Photo by Trey Smart

The fourth-ranked Cowgirls will be joined by top-ranked Watonga in the Velma regional, which is somewhat surprising considering Velma is over twice as far from Watonga as the northwest regional to be held in Enid.

The top seven teams will advance to the Class 2A State Cross Country meet at Shawnee a week from Saturday.

Lilybet Harmon crosses the finish line in third place last Friday at the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational in Lawton.
Photo by Trey Smart

The Cowgirls will not only have the top-ranked squad to face, but will have five other teams that are ranked in the top 15 in the state in the Velma-Alma regional including the hosts, Waurika and Merritt.

For the second meet in a row, Lilybet Harmon led the contingent of Cowgirl harriers with a third-place finish at the Cameron meet. Her time of 13:35.20 was the best of the season in the 3,200-meter distance.

Katelynn Dabbs (front) and Holland Carter are (back) shown finishing the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational meet in Lawton last Friday. Dabbs finished fifth and Carter was sixth in the race.
Photo by Trey Smart

Katlynn Dabbs was fifth for the Cowgirls and finished with a time of 13:54.40 – also her best time of the season.

Holland Carter was just a half a second behind Dabbs and finished sixth with a time of 13:54.92. But, it was also Carter’s best time of the year.

Juliet Spangler, who was battling a nagging minor injury, finished seventh in the race with a time of 13:59.27.

CAMERON CHAMPS – Pictured are members of the Ryan Cowgirl cross country squad that claimed the title of the Cameron University Cross Country Invitational last Friday in Lawton. Pictured are (left to right) Juliet Spangler, Lily York, Holland Carter, Katelynn Dabbs, Lilybet Harmon and Alicen Williams.
Photo by Trey Smart

Lily York rounded out the medal winners for the Cowgirls with a ninth-place finish and a time of 14:07.92, which was also her personal best in 2018.

Alicen Williams finished 23rd in the race, but also posted her best time of the season at 15:43.68.

October 2018 Articles

Waurika Boys Claim Cameron Title; Girls Finish Second

It All Gets Serious for District B-4 Grid Squads

Cowboys Set to Open District Play

Eagle Harriers Capture Two Runner Up Finishes

Ryan Softball Seniors Honored at Home Game

Cowboys Gain First District Win in Convincing Fashion

Waurika Looks to Take Control of District Race Against Ryan

Waurika Boys Claim Cameron Title; Girls Finish Second

Eagle Harriers Capture Two Runner Up Finishes

Officiating Concerns Brought to Light in Recent Game at Ryan

Cowboys Set to Open District Play

Cowgirl Cross Country Squad Claims Two Meet Titles

It All Gets Serious for District B-4 Grid Squads

Lady Eagles 9th, Waurika Boys 12th in State Cross Country Meet

Cowgirls Claim Fifth Team Title for 2018 Season

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