The Waurika Eagles won the District Championship tonight at home against the Empire Bulldogs. It was an exciting game. Obviously the complete story will be in this upcoming week’s paper told by Trey Smart, but for now we just wanted to say congratulations to the Waurika Eagles on a perfect season.
Waurika JH Harriers Impressive in State Meet
A large group of junior high boys and girls from Waurika traveled to the 25th annual Oklahoma Junior High Cross Country Championship meet last Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The meet was held at Woodson Park and Waurika sent 13 girls and five boys to compete with a number of teams across the state in 5th-8th grades.
In the girls’ division, Merritt was the state champion with 71 points and Watonga finished with 95 points. Waurika was sixth with 132 points – just one point shy of fifth-place Wright City.
Three Lady Eagles won medals in the large field of competitors over a 2,400-meter course.
Aubree Showalter was the best Lady Eagle finisher as she earned a silver medal for placing 16th in the race with a time of 10:02.1.
Kynlee Waters and Trish Julian each earned bronze medals in the race. Waters was 22nd with a time of 10:12.7, while Julia finished 29th with a time of 10:17.7.
All three competitors are in the seventh grade.
There were 139 runners in the Class 2A division of the junior high competition.
The Waurika boys finished ninth in the team standings for the Class 2A division.
Wright City won the meet with 44 points, while the Eagles had 181 points.
The only medalist for the Eagles was Treyton Torrez, who received a bronze medal for his finish of 24th place among the 100 participants.
Torrez’ time over the 3,200-meter course was 12:09.4
Other Lady Eagle Results
34. Jaci Cholson, 10:27.1; 45. Liberti Simons, 10:37.8; 76. Sadie Smith, 11:25.8; 100. Caitlyn Ramsey, 12:08.0; 114. Corley Coffin, 12:37.2; 115. Skylar Garrett, 12:38.4; 118. Jasmine Romero, 12:42.9; 121. Niecsa Camarillo, 13:05.9; 123. Tracy Ballard, 13:27.3; 136. Destiny Foster, 15:00.2
Other Eagle Results
40. Trent Arellano, 12:48.2; 53. Isaac Camarillo, 13:21.3; 60. Alex Gomez, 13:36.7; 97. Malachi Dodson, 17:17.5.
Lady Eagles 9th, Waurika Boys 12th in State Cross Country Meet
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.
Cowgirl Harriers Finish in Fifth Place Tie at State Meet
The Ryan Cowgirl cross country team finished the most successful season in school history last Saturday at Shawnee’s Gordon Cooper Technology Center – the site of the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet.
The Cowgirls finished in a tied for fifth place with Cherokee. Both teams had 192 points. Team places are settled by the finish of the sixth runner on each team and Cherokee earned the tie-breaker.
Photo by Amy Morgan
Boise City-Keyes won the Class 2A girls’ title with 78 points, but Hooker was right behind with 80 points and Watonga was third with 90 points.
It was a much more conducive day for a cross-country race than last week’s regional meets around the state. The Class 2A girls’ division featured the 21 teams that qualified in the regionals last week and 157 total runners.
Lilybet Harmon placed the Cowgirl team members with a 42nd-place finish. Her time was 13:39.3 over the 3,200-meter course. Harmon’s time was just short of her best time of the season set at the Cameron University meet a couple of weeks ago.
Holland Carter, the only senior on Coach Steve Spangler’s squad, was 47th for the Cowgirls and finished with a time of 13:50.1, which was an individual best for the 2018 season.
Finishing 53rd for the Cowgirls was Juliet Spangler with a time of 13:55.4. Spangler was appearing in her third state meet after qualifying as an individual her freshman year.
Freshman Katlyn Dabbs was 54th for the Cowgirls with a time of 13:56.9 and that was just two seconds above her best finish of the season which came at the Cameron meet.
Photo by Amy Morgan
Lily York was next for the Cowgirls and finished just behind Dabbs in 56th place with a time of 13:58.2. York’s time was also a personal best for the 2018 season.
Rounding out the team finishers for the Cowgirls was Alicyn Williams, who was 111th and recorded a time of 15:32.6. The Cowgirl freshman bested her top time of the season by over 10 seconds in the state meet.
Photo by
Amy Morgan
The competition at state marked the end of incredible achievements by the Cowgirl cross country squad in only their third season of competing as a team.
The Cowgirls won meets at Waurika, Walters, Frederick, Healdton and Cameron University. The team successfully defended the titles won in 2017 at Waurika and Healdton.
The Cowgirl harriers also finished second at Sulphur and third at the Class 2A regional and were ranked among the top 10 girls’ cross country teams in Class 2A all season.
Cowboys Get Thrilling Comeback Win over Bray-Doyle
It was another amazing contest at Bob Givens Sports Complex last Thursday night as Ryan scored a come-from-behind 78-74 victory over Bray-Doyle.
The Cowboys have a huge district contest tomorrow night (Friday) as they travel to Skinny Stewart Field in Wilson to battle the Eagles. Ryan, Wilson and Central High are in a battle for the runner-up spot in District B-4.
The fans who stuck around for the end of last Thursday’s battle with the Donkeys will be talking about this one for a long time. A number of fans departed after Ryan established an 18-point advantage with 7:33 left in the game.
To Bray-Doyle’s credit, the Donkeys battled back to take the lead with 43 seconds to go before Ryan got the winning score with just four seconds left in the game.
The game had a number of momentum shifts and featured an offensive show by both teams. A number of school records were established during the game.
The Cowboys’ performance on offense was even more impressive considering they had to overcome 218 yards in penalties – many of which were against the offense.
Ryan scored first on Grayson Tomberlin’s 12-yard run that capped a 61-yard drive in six plays. The try for two failed, but Ryan led 6-0 with 8:44 to play in the first quarter.
Bray-Doyle came back to snag the lead with two touchdown catches by Curtis Cox – the first one for 14 yards and the second for 22 yards from quarterback Justin Miller. Both were outstanding catches. Mark Kilbourne ran for the two-point conversions and Bray held a 16-6 lead after the first quarter.
The Cowboys put together a 10-play, 54-yard drive with Tomberlin finding Skylar Parkhill on a 16-yard touchdown pass to narrow the score to 16-12 with 11:53 left in the second quarter.
Bray-Doyle answered with a 59-yard drive in just four plays. Dalton Whitehead got the final six yards on the ground and with 10:44 to play before intermission the Donkeys led, 22-12.
The Cowboys answered with a five-play, 58-yard drive. Parkhill got the rushing touchdown from 18 yards out. Kalen Weldon caught the two-point conversion pass from Tomberlin and Ryan had trimmed the lead to, 22-20, with 9:12 left in the half.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Donkeys failed to cover the pooch kick and Parkhill sped downfield to cover the loose ball.
This gave Ryan excellent field position at the Donkey 40 and Travis Fristoe finished the short drive with a 25-yard rushing burst for the score with 7:01 still to play in the second quarter. The Cowboys were back on top, 26-22.
The Donkeys looked poised to score again moving to the Ryan 22, but Tomberlin intercepted a pass in the end zone and after a Ryan penalty on the return, the Cowboys found themselves at their own two.
The Cowboys narrowly escaped disaster as a handoff was fumbled in the end zone, but Tomberlin alertly picked it up and made it out to the Cowboy 3.
After a critical third-down conversion, Tomberlin executed perfectly a screen pass to Parkhill and the Cowboy senior took it 70 yards for the score. Tomberlin found Andrew Villerreal for the two-point conversion pass and Ryan extended the lead to 34-22 with 1:49 left to play in the half.
Another penalty on the Cowboys on the kickoff return gave the Donkeys the ball at the Cowboy 39. It took six plays, but Kilbourne found Tully Booth on the halfback pass for a 17-yard score. Whitehead ran for the two points and the Cowboy lead was narrowed to 34-30 with just 20 seconds left to play in the half.
After Gunner Phillips returned the kickoff 14 yards to the Ryan 35, Tomberlin and Parkhill connected on another screen pass and Parkhill raced 65 yards and crossed the goal line as the halftime buzzer sounded. Tomberlin ran for the two points and the Ryan lead was stretched to 42-30 at the half.
The Donkeys took the second-half kickoff and marched 54 yards on seven plays with Whitehead getting the score from one yard out. Kilbourne ran for the two points and the Cowboy margin was cut to 42-38.
Ryan answered with a 68-yard drive on only four plays. Tomberlin again found Parkhill loose and Parkhill took the pass and covered the final 50 yards for the score. Tomberlin ran for the two points and Ryan was in front, 50-38, with 7:24 left in the third quarter.
Another Donkey drive was thwarted by a Tomberlin interception at the Ryan five and after yet another Ryan penalty the Cowboys set up on offense at the Ryan 13.
It took Ryan only three plays to travel 87 yards. Fristoe scampered for 36 yards on first down, Parkhill got seven on the next play and then Tomberlin bolted 43 yards for a touchdown. The run failed, but with 4:45 left in the third quarter Ryan was now in front, 56-38.
The Donkeys answered, however, with Whitehead getting a four-yard rushing touchdown and Miller adding the extra point to trim the lead back to 56-44 with 2:28 left in the third frame.
Phillips had another outstanding return on the ensuing kickoff as he fielded the ball at the Cowboy 17 and took it 44 yards to the Bray-Doyle 34. It took Ryan six plays, but Fristoe ended the drive with a four-yard rushing score putting Ryan back in front, 62-46, with 11:23 to play in the game.
The next Donkey drive was aided by 31 yards in Ryan penalties and covered 62 yards in only six plays. Miller got the score on a quarterback sneak from one yard out and the Ryan lead was cut to 62-52 with 9:43 still left in the game.
The Cowboys answered the threat with a four-play, 81-yard drive for a score. Parkhill carried the ball the final 29 yards for the score and after Tomberlin added with two-point conversion the Cowboys seemed comfortably in front, 70-52.
The Donkeys had no quit in them. They took the kickoff and marched 56 yards in six plays helped along by a targeting penalty. Miller ran for the score from eight yards out and Kilbourne ran for the two points and with 4:43 left in the game Ryan held a 70-60 advantage.
What the Cowboys could not afford happened on the next drive as on the first play the Cowboys fumbled and the Donkeys recovered giving Bray-Doyle possession at the Ryan 39.
A highly-questionable pass interference call aided the Donkey cause and a key pass play that bounced off Weldon’s hands into the hands of the Donkey receiver helped Bray put together the scoring drive. Whitehead finished the effort with a five-yard run and after Kilbourne ran for the two points, Ryan clung to a 70-68 lead with 3:12 left to play.
The Cowboys proceeded to try to run out the clock and moved the ball from the Ryan 26 to the Donkey 38 when another borderline call went in favor of the Donkeys as Bray recovered a fumble that appeared to happen after Tomberlin was on the ground.
This put Bray with possession at the 1:37 mark and 72 yards away from the go-ahead score. Two 15-yard penalties on the Cowboys and two big plays moved the ball to the Ryan 18 with one minute left. Two plays later Miller found the end zone from six yards out to give Bray-Doyle the lead.
The Cowboys, however, did not give up. The Cowboys took possession at their own 33 after a 14-yard return by Phillips on the kickoff.
After a first-down incompletion, Tomberlin found Fristoe across the middle for a 48-yard gain putting the ball at the Donkey 19 with 22 seconds left.
An 18-yard scamper by Tomberlin put the ball near the goal line. Tomberlin finished off the drive with a one-yard score and also ran for the two points giving Ryan the lead again.
Bray-Doyle had one final play but the halfback pass fell incomplete and Ryan had sealed the win.
Parkhill and Tomberlin were again outstanding for the Cowboys on offense. Parkhill rushed for 117 yards on 14 carries and had 215 yards receiving on five catches.
Tomberlin combined for 549 yards of offense with 273 yards rushing on 25 carries and 276 yards passing on just seven completions. Add 13 yards of interception returns and he had a total of 562 all-purpose yards.
Four school records were broken in the contest.
Game in Figures
BDHS RHS
First Downs 31 24
Yards Rushing 50-356 47-366
Yards Passing 151 276
Passes 9-14 7-10
Passes Int. By 0 2
Fumbles, Lost 1-0 6-2
Punts 0-0 1-34
Penalties 6-52 24-218 SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bray-Doyle 16 14 14 30–74
Ryan 6 36 14 22–78
FIRST QUARTER
RYAN – Grayson Tomberlin 12 run (run failed), 8:44
BRAY-DOYLE – Curtis Cox 14 pass from Justin Miller (Mark Kilbourne run), 7:26
BRAY-DOYLE – Cox 22 pass from Miller (Kilbourne run), 4:39
SECOND QUARTER
RYAN – Skylar Parkhill 16 pass from Tomberlin (run failed), 11:53
BRAY-DOYLE – Dalton Whitehead 6 run (pass failed), 10:44
RYAN – Parkhill 18 run (Kalen Weldon pass from Tomberlin), 9:18
RYAN – Travis Fristoe 1 run (pass failed), 7:01
RYAN – Parkhill 70 pass from Tomberlin (Andrew Villerreal pass from Tomberlin), 1:49
BRAY-DOYLE – Tully Booth 17 pass from Miller (Whitehead run),: 20.3
RYAN – Parkhill 65 pass from Tomberlin (Tomberlin run),: 00
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
BRAY-DOYLE: Rushing – Kilbourne 20-145, Whitehead 18-109, Miller 12-102; Passing – Miller 8-12-136-2; Kilbourne 1-2-15-0; Receiving – Kilbourne 3-62, Cox 3-47, Booth 2-28, Whitehead 1-16.
RYAN: Rushing – Tomberlin 25-273, Parkhill 14-117, Fristoe 8-76; Passing – Tomberlin 7-10-276-0; Receiving – Parkhill 5-215, Fristoe 1-48, Villerreal 1-13; Tackles – Pacen Wiest 15, Tomberlin 11, Villerreal 11, Walter Snider 9, Justin Williams 7, Gunner Phillips 5, Parkhill 5, Trey Bryant 4, Weldon 4, Sam Brown 3, Caleb Perrin 2, Raesh Casebolt 1.toe 5, Justin Williams 3, Parkhill 3, Phillips 1.
Waurika Makes Quick Work of Another Grid Opponent
With seven games played in the 2018 season, Waurika has only played a full game one time.
That did not change last Thursday night as the Eagles pasted Central High, 52-0, in a key District B-4 contest at Cy Sloan Stadium.
Five of the six games for the season have ended at intermission because of the 45-point mercy rule.
Coach Joe Allen’s squad moves to 7-0 on the season, while Central High drops to 2-5 on the season.
The Eagles are 3-0 in District B-4 play and have a commanding hold on first place. The Bronchos are 1-2 and will have to right the ship to qualify for the playoffs.
Waurika will travel to Bray-Doyle tomorrow night for another district game against the Donkeys. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Photo by Adam Brinson
In last Thursday’s encounter, the Eagles quickly got on the scoreboard as Colton Bryant scored from one yard out and ran for the two-point conversion to put Waurika in front, 8-0, just 44 seconds into the game.
Later in the first quarter, Turner Mora finished off an Eagle possession with a one-yard score and after Bryant ran for the two-point conversion Waurika was on top with 5:55 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bronchos fumbled and the Eagles recovered. Mora scored from 27 yards out and then tossed to Aaron Nitka for the two points give Waurika a 24-0 advantage with 5:37 just 18 seconds after the previous score.
The Eagles got one more score before the end of the first quarter. Mora found Hunter Wesberry on a 44-yard touchdown pass. Bryant ran for the two points and Waurika was on top, 32-0, with 3:07 left in the first frame.
Early in the second quarter, the Eagles found the end zone again with Mora taking the pigskin in for the score from three yards out. The run failed, but Waurika held a 38-0 lead with 11:49 before the half.
Bryant got his second touchdown on the night as he busted loose for a 54-yard rushing score. The Eagle senior ran for the two points giving Waurika a 46-0 advantage with 5:29 left before intermission.
Zac Brown got in on the scoring act as he capped an Eagle drive with a 19-yard scoring run. The run failed, but Waurika had sealed the win with 2:00 remaining in the half.
EAGLE FLIGHTS: Waurika still trails in this short series with Central High, 3-2…..The 52 points scored by Waurika is the second most in games against Central High….The 52-point margin of victory is the largest for Waurika in the two wins….This was the first shutout Waurika has posted against the Bronchos in the five meetings…The 295 yards rushing by the Eagles equals the season-high total that was set against Wilson….This was the fifth time since beginning eight-man football that Waurika has recorded back-to-back games scoring 50 or more points….Waurika has now recorded five shutouts this season and with two games to go plus the playoffs has a chance to tie or break the school record of eight set in 1936, 1933 and 1928….Waurika recorded seven shutouts in 1989 and 1940 and six opponent shutouts in 1930 and 1934….The Eagles have also posted five shutouts in a season in 1927, 1939, 1945, 1950, 1959, 1969, 1981, 1988 and 1996….The six mercy-rule wins by Waurika is the most for any season since beginning eight-man play in 2012….Eight weeks into the season the Eagles finally found favor with at least one pollster as Waurika is ranked 14th in Class B by the website HS Football Oklahoma.
Game in Figures
CHS WHS
First Downs 5 12
Yards Rushing 19-18 23-295
Yards Passing 62 80
Passes 7-15 3-6
Passes Int. By 0 0
Fumbles, Lost 1 0
Punts N/A N/A
Penalities 3-25 2-10
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Central 0 0 x x–0
Waurika 32 20 x x–52
WAURIKA – Colton Bryant 1 run (Bryant run), 11:16, 1st Quarter
WAURIKA – Turner Mora 1 run (Bryant run), 5:55, 1st Quarter
WAURIKA – Mora 27 run (Aaron Nitka pass from Mora), 5:37, 1st Quarter
WAURIKA – Hunter Wesberry 44 pass from Mora (Bryant run), 3:07, 1st Quarter
WAURIKA – Mora 3 run (run failed), 11:49, 2nd Quarter
WAURIKA – Bryant 54 run (Bryant run), 5:29, 2nd Quarter
WAURIKA – Zac Brown 19 run (run failed), 2:00, 2nd Quarter
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
WAURIKA: Rushing – Bryant 7-116, Mora 8-89, Matt Arriolla 3-43, Zac Brown 3-23, Kevin Garcia 1-19, Nitka 1-5; Passes – Mora 3-6-80-0; Receiving – Wesberry 1-44, Nitka 1-30, Bryant 1-6.
Officiating Concerns Brought to Light in Recent Game at Ryan
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.
Waurika Boys Claim Cameron Title; Girls Finish Second
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cowgirls Claim Fifth Team Title for 2018 Season
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cowboys Gain First District Win in Convincing Fashion
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.
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