Waurika Homecoming Court (l-r) Kaci Reynolds, Gracie Walling, Gunner Myers, Alexa Breitigan (Seventh Grade Candidate), Gabe Jenkins, Tallon Mora (Sophomore Candidates and escorts), Coby Mead, Sara Ballard (Senior Candidates), Turner Mora, Travis Etheridge, Nicole Burton (Queen), Edwin Garcia, Seth Waid, Jordan Wadsworth (Senior Candidate and escorts), Jordan Watkins, Peyton Fletcher, Hunter Wesberry, Octavia Gomez, Asia Smith (Junior Candidates), Kaden Dobbs, Traci Ballard (Eighth Grade King and Queen), Cody Ramsey, Karlee Brinson (Freshman Candidate and Attendant with her escort), Lexi Streeter, Faith Roberson High School Crown Bearer: Kade Torres Flower Girl: Harper Watkins (near center) Junior High Crown Bearer: Daniel Neasbitt Flower Girl: Charlie Baxter (far right) Photo by Adam BrinsonHigh School King and Queen Edwin Garcia & Nicole Burton Crown Bearer: Kade Torres Flower Girl: Harper Watkins Photo by Adam Brinson
Junior High King and Queen Kaden Dobbs & Traci Ballard Crown Bearer: Daniel Neasbitt Flower Girl: Charlie Baxter Photo by Adam Brinson
A good returning nucleus of runners for the Waurika girls’ cross country squad has head coach Joe Masoner optimistic about another successful season.
The Waurika boys and girls cross country squads will open the season Saturday at the Duncan Invitational.
Last season the Lady Eagles finished sixth in the Class 2A state meet and were third in the regional hosted by Waurika.
As a team the Lady Eagles never finished lower than fifth during the regular season.
The Lady Eagles are the defending team champs at the Healdton meet and had runner up finishes at Velma-Alma, Walters and Geronimo a year ago.
Coach Masoner welcomes five of the runners that were part of the 2020 squad to the 2021 edition of the Lady Eagle cross country squad.
One of those five will not be able to run this year, but the other four returnees – Tallin Mora, Aubree Showalter, Jaci Gholson and Liberti Simmons – will be counted on to carry the squad during the season.
Mora, a senior for the Lady Eagles, was one of the ringleaders a year ago with six top-ten finishes during the season. She was fourth at the regional and finished 23rd at the state meet.
Showalter, a sophomore, had a top-10 finish at the Healdton meet for the Lady Eagles.
“Those four will be learned on hard to set the pace for us,” said Masoner about the 2021 edition of the Lady Eagles.
The fifth runner for the Lady Eagles will likely be Jaden Adams who is running cross country for the first time this fall.
Masoner will be counting on a pair of freshmen to help push the top five runners.
Sadie Smith and Destiny Foster, who have plenty of experience at the junior high level, will be competing for the varsity in their freshman season.
Coach Masoner has some lofty hopes for the team that graduated six members of the 2020 team.
“I feel we should be one of the top teams in the state by the end of the season,” said Masoner about his expectations for the coming year.
With a mixture of youth and experience, those expectations are certainly reachable for the Lady Eagles this year.
For the first time in a while the Waurika boys will not be able to have enough runners to be entered in the team competition.
Waurika had four seniors on last year’s squad and three other members of the 2020 team chose not to run cross country this fall.
Trent Arellano, a junior, and Alex Gomez, a sophomore, are the only two Eagles out for cross country they year.
“Alex has been working hard all summer,” said Masoner. “Both of them will have a chance to qualify as individual for the state meet.”
Despite being a freshman last year, Gomez had one top-10 finish at the Healdton meet. He was 30th in regional competition for Waurika.
Arellano has been running cross country the past two seasons for Waurika.
It was not the error-free game that was thought to be needed for Ryan to overcome the talented Fox Foxes.
But, it was good enough as Ryan rolled to a 42-6 victory over the Foxes at Bob Givens Sports Complex last Friday night.
The Cowboys moved to 4-2 on the year and 1-0 in District B-4 play. Fox dropped to 0-6 and 0-1 with the loss.
Ryan used its vaulted running attack and stout defense to thwart any upset hopes Fox had for the contest.
Six turnovers and only one completed pass put the Cowboys in jeopardy but with the defense making big plays and Fox committing four turnovers of its own the Cowboys were able to pick up the win.
Ryan also racked up 70 yards in penalties that kept the Cowboys in check.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 14-0 lead and then used big scoring plays the rest of the night to secure the win.
Joseph Martin got the Cowboys on the board first with a 22-yard pass from Grayson Tomberlin – the only completion of the night for Ryan. Ty Garrett caught the two-point conversion pass from Tomberlin to give Ryan an 8-0 lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter.
Possibly the biggest play of the game came on the ensuing kickoff.
The Cowboys’ Martin picked up a Fox fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 38 yards to pay dirt. The run failed for two points, but Ryan held a commanding 14-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first frame.
That’s the way the half ended as both teams could not sustain any offensive attack.
Late in the third quarter, Skyler Parkhill capped a Cowboy drive with a six-yard scoring scamper. Tomberlin ran for the two points and Ryan was on top, 22-0, with 4:15 to play.
Ryan took possession again late in the third quarter and this time Parkhill broke into the Fox secondary and scooted 74 yards for the score. The two-point conversion failed, but now Ryan held a 28-0 advantage with 1:04 left in the third period.
Fox tied to rally on the next possession as quarterback Jimmy Bivings capped a drive with a three-yard touchdown run. The try for two failed, but Fox had trimmed the lead to 28-6 with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter.
Two big scoring plays by the Cowboys ended any hopes of a Fox rally.
Dawson Tomberlin shook loose for a 59-yard touchdown with 9:25 left in the game putting the Cowboys in front, 34-6.
G. Tomberlin ended the Cowboys’ scoring for the night on a 63-yard run and Parkhill added the two-point conversion to set the final margin with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Parkhill, D. Tomberlin and G. Tomberlin all finished with 100-plus yards rushing as the Cowboys rolled up 377 yards on just 35 carries.
Martin, whose two scores set the pace for the contest, was outstanding on the defensive side of the ball. He recorded 16 tackles, force a fumble and had a fumble recovery. River Williams also added to the defensive cause with 13 tackles and Tate Kimbro added 10 stops.
The Cowboys play hosts to rival Waurika tomorrow night (Friday). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Bob Givens Sports Complex.
COWBOY CORRAL: The victory over Fox still leaves Ryan trailing in the series with the Carter County school, 10-15-3…The 42 points recorded by the Cowboys is the third highest total in the 28 meetings with the Foxes….The 36-point margin of victory is the second highest margin of victory for the Cowboys in the series….Ryan had a 49-6 victory over the Foxes in 1998…This was the fourth time for Ryan to score 40 or more points against Fox, while Fox has done the same on six occasions….The win for Ryan broke a short two-game losing streak to Fox….Coach Stan Mueggenborg has a 3-3 mark against the Foxes….Fox ran 70 offensive plays, while Ryan had only 46 offensive snaps in the game – thanks somewhat to the six turnovers….Ryan, Waurika and Central High are tied for the District B-4 lead with 1-0 marks….The last time Ryan was 1-0 in district play was in 2012 – not including a forfeit in 2013 by Cement.
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.
Prior to the last regular season home games, Waurika and Ryan honored their seniors.
Waurika Senior Night (l-r) Curtis Ballard, Sara Ballard, Christina Ballard, Larry Etheridge, Travis Etheridge, Vicki Etheridge, Antonio Garcia, Edwin Garcia, Lourdes Garcia, John Hobbs, Hannah Hobbs, Emily Follis, Lisa Waid, Seth Waid, Dowd Waid, Jarriett Watkins, Porscha Woods, Jordan Watkins, Veronica and Clint Rhodes, Boomer Wesberry, Hunter Wesberry, Stephanie Wesberry, Turner Mora, Shelly Mora, Joe Hernandez, Bryson Hernandez, Glenda Hernandez, Jim Fletcher, Payton Fletcher, Peggy Fletcher, Michael Burton, Nicole Burton, Celeste Burton, Benny Juarez, Nic Alvarado, Leslie Juarez (Photo by Adam Brinson)
Ryan Senior Night Front Row: (l-r) Juliet Spangler, Lily York, Gunner Phillips, Andrew Villarreal, Samantha Good, Walter Snider Jr., Parker Carey, Jonathan Clark, Grace Stamper, Brooklyn Charmasson. Back Row: (l-r) Steve Spangler, Amanda Spangler, Amy Schrick, Donna Westberry, Jason Phillips, Amanda Phillips, Martin Villarreal, Carrie Villarreal, Tim Good, Teresa Good, Stephanie Snider, Walter Snider Sr., Victoria Clark, Gaylon Clark, Tanya Diaz, Rudy Diaz, Deonna Charmasson, Josh Charmasson. Photo by Sheree Hanson
Brian Major Honored
Front Row: (l-r) Chris Williams, Martin Villarreal, Dana Major, Cal Major, Joe Hernandez. Back Row: (l-r) Randy Kimbro, Dustan Bryant, Ross Terrel. As part of the recognition of 100 years of football, Ryan recognized 1989 and Brian Major at Ryan Friday evening.
Brooklyn Charmasson was recognized before the Ryan game as the only senior cheerleader. Photo by Trey Smart Samantha Good was honored on Senior night for her service as one of the team managers. Photo by Trey Smart
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.
A couple of changes in coaching responsibilities were recently approved by the Waurika Board of Education.
Kassie Bohot, who has been a teacher at Waurika Elementary and the head coach of the powerlifting program will add fast-pitch softball to her responsibilities at the school.
Garret Bachand, the boys’ basketball coach for the past three seasons, will take on the girls’ basketball program as well for the coming year.
Bohot replaces long-time athletic director and fast-pitch softball coach Everett Hodges.
Hodges compiled a 27-52 record over the past three seasons of fast-pitch softball for the Lady Eagles. This came after a two-year period where the team only won a total of four games.
Bohot is excited about the added coaching responsibility and is looking forward to her first season after serving as the top assistant the past few seasons.
“This group of seniors if the first group I coached at Waurika,” said Bohot. “I know the girls and their abilities.”
Bohot noted the improvement of the girls she has helped with over the past few seasons.
“I am excited to see this come full circle,” Bohot added. “I can’t wait to have a good year.”
Bachand is also excited about the opportunity to take on the reins of the girls basketball program at Waurika.
He has been the Eagle roundball coach for the past three seasons and has a 33-36 record.
Bachand’s first two seasons produced a winning record, but this past season the squad struggled because of injuries.
However, the 2022 version of the Eagles made the first regional tournament appearance under Bachand, who is a graduate of Waurika High School.
Bachand will also be no stranger to the girls as he was the top assistant under Kalee Baxter during the 2022 campaign when the Lady Eagles fashioned a 20-7 record.
“I’m really excited to become the next head coach for these girls,” Bachand said. “I have talked to them and they are stoked and ready to work.”
The Lady Eagles have had strong seasons the past few years, but faltered in the post-season.
“Obviously these girls have done some really good things in the regular season,” Bachand noted.
“Most of those girls that are returning have some unfinished business from the last two years in the postseason,” Bachard added.
It will be a big goal for the veteran boys’ coach to push the girls to new heights particularly in the postseason.
“I can’t wait to get to work and see what we can do this next season,” Bachard said.
In addition to his basketball responsibilities, Bachand serves as an assistant to Joe Allen in both football and baseball.
Ryan’s basketball squads played three games in three days last weekend to substitute for games lost in the canceled Black and Gold Invitational at Wilson.
The Cowgirls and Cowboys both dropped two of three contests, but for the Cowgirls the win was the first of the season.
In a quickly scheduled game on Tuesday night on Raymon West Court, the Ryan roundballers fell to Cyril.
Photo by Shelly Villarreal
Ryan hosted Elmore City-Pernell last Thursday and then hit the road to Wilson and Temple on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Cowgirls are now 1-6 on the year, while the Cowboys stand at 4-3.
Ryan’s next action will be tomorrow night (Friday) when they will play host to Maysville on Raymon West Court before breaking for the Christmas holiday.
Cyril 60, Cowgirls 42
Despite their best offensive performance of the young season, the Cowgirls could not handle the 10th-ranked Lady Pirates.
Cyril got off to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and eventually built a lead the Cowgirls could not overcome aided by seven treys in the game.
Photo by Shelley Villarreal
The Cowgirls had three girls in double figures. Alicen Williams led the Cowgirls in scoring with 14 points, while Jasmine Villarreal and Maci Cooper added 10 points apiece.
Cyril 70, Cowboys 38
The 15th-ranked Pirates surged to a 19-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
The Cowboys could not guard the three-point line as the Pirates had eight treys during the course of the contest.
Photo by Shelley Villarreal
Caleb Perrin scored 10 points for the Cowboys and was the only Ryan player in double figures.
Temple 35, Cowgirls 26
Temple outscored the Cowgirls, 11-4, in the first quarter, but Ryan managed to use a 10-3 scoring advantage in the second quarter to tie the game
In the second half, however, the Cowgirls could get little going on the offensive end and Temple outscored Ryan, 21-12 over the two quarters to snag the win.
Villarreal led the Cowgirls in scoring with 15 points, but had only six in the second half.
Cowboys 57, Temple 35
The Cowboys broke a two-game skid with their best offensive output of the young season against the Tigers.
Ryan raced to a 17-8 first quarter lead behind the shooting of Racen Williams and Perrin, who scored 15 of the Cowboys’ 17 points in the period.
Ryan maintained the lead at the half, 31-22.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys went on an 11-5 run to extend the lead to 42-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys put the game away in the final period with a 15-8 scoring advantage.
Three Cowboys scored in double figures – Perrin finished with 15 points, Williams added 14 and Landen Alexander added 12 points.
Cowgirls 31, Wilson 29
The Cowgirls picked up their first win of the year thanks to some clutch free throw conversions at the end of the game.
The Cowgirls led the Lady Eagles, 6-5, after the first quarter, but trailed at the half, 15-12.
The Cowgirls narrowed the Wilson advantage to 23-22 at the end of the third quarter and outscored the Lady Eagles 9-6 in the final quarter of the hotly contested game to get the victory.
Villarreal hit a pair of free throws and Cooper converted on another charity toss in the final seconds to secure the win for the Cowgirls.
Villarreal led the Cowgirls in scoring with 15 points.
Wilson 48, Cowboys 42
The Cowboys took an 18-7 lead in the first quarter, but the Eagles came alive and outscored the Cowboys, 40-24 the rest of the way to get the win.
Ryan clung to a 27-21 advantage at the half and led the game, 33-30, at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, however, the Cowboys committed some key turnovers and ran into some foul problems that aided the Wilson rally.
Photo by Shelley Villarreal
The Eagles converted 11 of 15 free throws in the quarter, while Ryan went to the line only five times and hit only two free throws.
Wilson outscored the Cowboys, 19-9, to pick up the come-from-behind victory.
Williams led the Cowboys in scoring with 13 points, while Alexander added 11 points.
EC-P 39, Cowgirls 20
In the home opener on Friday the Cowgirls hung with the Lady Badgers for the first part of the first quarter, but the inability to generate any offense turned out to be the demise of the Cowgirls.
Elmore City never trailed in the game, but after the Lady Badgers had opened a 7-2 lead, the Cowgirls had a brief spurt. Williams hit a three-point bucket to cut the margin to 7-5 before ECP added a free throw to extend the lead to 8-5.
Ryan’s Carter Combs connected on one of two free throws with 4:14 remaining leaving the Cowgirls trailing only 8-6.
Photo by Shelley Villarreal
But, the Lady Badgers finished out the quarter with an 11-2 run and Cowgirls never threatened the rest of the contest.
The Lady Badgers held a huge lead on the boards, 45-24, with many of those coming on the offensive end.
Williams led the Cowgirls in scoring with 14 points.
EC-P 71, Ryan 46
In the nightcap, the Badgers used a full-court press in the first quarter to help create 12 Ryan turnovers in the quarter and get out to a 12-0 lead with 2:54 left in the initial frame.
The Cowboys responded, however, and went on an 8-0 run to cut the gap to 12-8 with 1:35 left in the first quarter.
Westin Jennings hit a pair of free throws with 26 seconds remaining to draw the Cowboys back to within two at 14-12, but the Badgers connected on a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to hold a 17-12 at end of the quarter.
The Cowboys would never be closer as the Badgers opened the second quarter on a 12-3 run to hold a 29-15 lead with 3:48 left in the half.
In the final minute, the Cowboys got a layup from Williams and a pair of free throws from Alexander to cut the margin to 29-21 with 10 seconds showing.
The Badgers got a free throw with just three ticks left on the clock and went to the locker room with a 30-21 lead.
The third quarter was a disaster for the Cowboys. Ryan did not score until Jennings hit a long three-pointer with 58 seconds left in the period.
The Badgers used their size advantage to the fullest in the quarter outrebounding the Cowboys 16-7 and most of them were on the offensive end. This helped the Badgers go on a 29-5 scoring barrage to put the game away.
Elmore City finished with a 52-28 advantage in rebounding and had 12 players hit the scoring column.
Julian Rodriguez led the Cowboys in scoring with 12 points, while Williams added 11.
Cyril 60, Ryan 42
(Girls)
Cyril 17 14 17 12–60
Ryan 6 9 10 17–42
CYRIL: K. McLemore 4-4-13, Miller 4-0-10, Snider 3-1-10, L. McLemore 2-4-9, Row 1-5-7, S. Thompson 3-0-6, Williamson 1-2-4, Wilson 0-1-1. PF: 19. Three-pointers: Snider 3, Miller 2, K. McLemore, L. McLemore.
RYAN: Alicen Williams 3-6-14, Jasmine Villarreal 4-1-10, Maci Cooper 3-1-10, Carter Combs 1-2-4, Raylee White 1-0-2, Libby Carter 1-0-2. PF: 17. Three-pointers: Cooper 3, Williams 2, Villerreal.
RYAN: Jasmine Villerreal 4-5-15, Alicen Williams 2-1-5, Carter Combs 1-2-4, Libby Carter 2-0-4, Raylee White 1-0-2, Maci Cooper 0-1-1. PF: 13. Three-pointers: Villerreal 2.
For the Ryan Cowboys, tonight’s contest with Grandfield on the Bearcats’ home field, will have an impact on the post-season hopes for the Cowboys.
Kickoff tonight is set for 7 o’clock.
The Cowboys need a win to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
District C-2 is not complicated at the top, but the battle for the final two playoff positions could be.
Geary needs to win one of its last two games to be assured of third place in the district.
If Ryan can pick up a victory over Grandfield, the Cowboys should be in a good place to earn fourth in the district race.
A loss by the Cowboys would all but eliminate Ryan from playoff consideration.
But, the positioning for the post season could get muddled if Geary were to fall in its final game with Corn Bible Academy.
The Cowboys must enter tonight’s game with Grandfield focused solely on the Bearcats.
After a forfeiting last week’s game with Destiny Christian, the Cowboys have had time to heal up from a number of injuries.
All but one of the injured Cowboys are expected to be available for tonight’s game with the Bearcats.
This series has been an interesting one over the years. The Bearcats hold a 36-28-5 advantage over Ryan, but the Cowboys have won 10 of the last 14 meetings including the last five consecutive meetings.
But, the series prior to that time has had some interesting outcomes.
In 2007, the teams battled through four overtimes with the Bearcats prevailing, 28-35.
Ryan won games in 2004 and 2006 but the games were decided by one and two points, respectively.
Ryan lost to Grandfield, 39-38, in a 2003 battle and also fell in overtime games in 2007 and 1992.
Maybe the wildest game in the series came in 1997 when Grandfield captured a 78-60 loss in a game that had several individual performances by the Cowboys that are among the best in school history.
Grandfield will bring a 3-5 mark into tonight’s game and a 1-3 mark in district play. Ryan is 4-4 on the year and 1-3 in district competition.
Game in Figures
RHS GHS
First Downs 13 20
Yards Rushing 353-196 44-383
Yards Passing 120 16
Passes 6-15 1-3
Passes Int. by 0 1
Fumbles, Lost 3-3 3-1
Punts 1-30 1-27
Penalties 4-45 4-40
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Ryan 0 8 0 14—22
Geary 0 16 8 14—38
SCORING SUMMARY
SECOND QUARTER
GEARY – Kale Smith fumble recovery in end zone (Jaiden Woods run), 6:33
GEARY – Woods 47 run (Woods pass from Jose Briseno), :57
RYAN – Larry Sewell 1 pass from Racen Williams (Williams run), :00
THIRD QUARTER
GEARY – Sergio Pineda 2 run (Woods run), 1:23
FOURTH QUARTER
RYAN – Williams 48 run (Foreman Casebolt pass from Williams), 6:02
RYAN – Julian Rodriguez 48 pass from Williams (pass failed), 4:42
GEARY – Landon Holt 2 run (Pollard pass from Woods), 1:55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RYAN: Rushing – Racen Williams 16-131, Carsen Rodriguez 10-45, Xavier Guzman 3-14, Julian Rodriguez 1-8, Foreman Casebolt 3-7, Maddox Dabbs 1-1, Team 1-(-10); Passes – Williams 6-15-1-120; Receiving – J. Rodriguez 3-74, Guzman 2-45, Larry Sewell 1-1; Tackles – Kyson Tomberlin 12, J. Rodriguez 7, Andrew Scott 6, Williams 4, Casebolt 2, C. Rodriguez 1, Dabbs 1, Guzman 1, Mason Adsit 1.
GEARY: Rushing – Sergio Pineda 27-251; Jaiden Woods 11-131, Kale Smith 2-12, Landon Holt 2-6, Team 2-(-17); Passes – Woods 1-1-0-16, Smith 0-2-0-0; Receiving – Henry Brown 1-16.
It was not the error-free game that was thought to be needed for Ryan to overcome the talented Fox Foxes.
