The Cowboys will be back in action tonight (Thursday) when they play host to the Geary Bison. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Bob Givens Sports Complex.

Geary fell to Canton, 50-16, last Friday night. The Bison are 0-1 for the season and this will be the first meeting between the two schools.

The contest with Bray-Doyle started badly as the Donkeys intercepted a deflected pass on the Cowboys’ first offensive play and returned it for a score.

On the Cowboys next possession, they were forced to punt and the Donkeys returned the punt for a score.

Bray-Doyle proceeded to score on seven of nine offensive possessions.

The Donkeys lost a fumble on one possession and took a knee to end the game on the final possession.

The Cowboys found themselves in a 16-0 hole after those first two scores, but the Cowboys were able to put together their only scoring drive of the night on the next possession.

The Cowboys went on a six-play, 57-yard drive for the score that included one play that lost 10 yards.

The big play in the drive came on Grayson Tomberlin’s 57-yard pass to Julian Rodriguez that set the Cowboys up at the Donkey 10.

Three plays later, Tomberlin scampered in from nine yards out for the score with 8:02 left to play in the first quarter. The run for two points failed, but Ryan had cut the lead to 16-6.

The rest of the night was filled with frustration for the Cowboys that was created by poor tackling, dropped passes, failure to convert on fourth downs and injury issues.

The Donkeys scored on drives of 77, 30, 76, 91, 59, 37 and 36 yards.

Trailing 34-6 at the end of the first quarter, the Cowboys opened the second frame by moving to the Donkey nine.

Racen Williams scrambled into the end zone from nine yards out, but the Cowboys were flagged for holding and that would be the final scoring threat for the Cowboys in the contest.

The Cowboy defense had no answer for Bray-Doyle’s Tyler Anderson who rushed 14 times for 185 yards and scored four times in addition to returning a punt 69 yards for a touchdown.

Cody Edwards also eclipsed the 100-yard mark rushing with nine carries for 113 yard and two touchdowns.

The Cowboys were unable to generate a lot of offense during the game, but Tomberlin did pass for 151 yards. However, the senior quarterback playing with a knee injury, was only nine of 32 passing.

COWBOY CORRAL: You have to go back to 1981 to find the last time the Donkeys defeated the Cowboys, however, the two schools did not meet between 1992 and 2015….The Donkeys broke a 16-game losing streak against the Cowboys…Ryan still leads the series, 22-4….The 60 points scored by the Donkeys is the most points scored against the Cowboys in a victory, but is the second highest total for Bray in the series…The Donkeys scored 74 points against the Cowboys in a wild 78-74 Ryan win in 2018….The six points scored by the Cowboys is the fewest by a Ryan team in the 26-game series with Bray-Doyle….The Donkeys did have six players on the field against the Cowboys that had not seen action in the season-opener or the pre-season scrimmage for Bray-Doyle.

Game In Figures

RHS BDHS

First Downs 6 13

Yards Rushing 14-24 28-385

Yards Passing 151 0

Passes 9-36 0-0

Passes Int. By 0 1

Fumbles, Lost 1-1 1-1

Punts 1-30 0-0

Penalties 3-40 4-35

SCORE BY QUARTERS

RYAN 6 0 x x—6

B-D 34 26 x x—60

FIRST QUARTER

B-D – Sam Woods 31 interception return (Tyler Anderson run), 11:37

B-D – Anderson 69 punt return (Weston Edwards run), 9:55

RYAN – Grayson Tomberlin 9 run (run failed), 8:02

B-D – Anderson 71 run (run failed), 6:58

B-D – Cody Edwards 30 run (pass failed), 5:45

B-D – C. Edwards 38 run (run failed), 1:32

SECOND QUARTER

B-D – Anderson 1 run (pass failed), 9:23

B-D – Anderson 7 run (Anderson run), 6:22

B-D – Anderson 37 run (pass failed), 4:18

B-D – W. Edwards 35 run (pass failed), 1:48

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RYAN: Rushing – Caleb Perrin 5-17, Racen Williams 7-6, Grayson Tomberlin 2-1; Passing – Tomberlin 9-32-151-1; Williams 0-4-0-1; Receiving – Skyler Wickware 4-36, Julian Rodriguez 2-83, Williams 2-27, Mason Adsit 1-5; Tackles – Rodriguez 6, Wickware 6, Perrin 6, Williams 5, Trey Bryant 3, Tomberlin 2, Ethan Burden 1, Adsit 1.

BRAY-DOYLE: Rushing – Tyler Anderson 14-185, Cody Edwards 9-113, Weston Edwards 3-80, Alex Alvarez 2-7.

Ryan, Waurika Draw Tough District Assignments

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

January 29, 2020

There is an old saying that goes something like this: “You have to beat the best to be the best.”

That will certainly be true of the Ryan and Waurika basketball squads if they hope to make a deep run into the Class A basketball playoffs.

Every high school basketball team in Oklahoma gets to begin post-season play – regardless of a team’s regular season record.

District assignments were released last weekend by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association and the tourneys are set to get under way the weekend of February 14 and 15.

Brackets for the tournament are set to be released today after district meetings were held earlier this past week.

The district champion and district runner up will advance to the regional tournament the following week.

Waurika will be traveling to Alex for the Area 3, District A-8 tournament. Joining the Eagles will be the host school and Fox.

The favorite for both the boys’ and girls’ side of the bracket in the district will be Fox. After last weekend’s play, the Fox boys were undefeated at 19-0 and ranked 14th in Class A. The Lady Foxes held a 13-5 mark after last weekend’s action.

The Eagles and Lady Eagles will need a first-round win to guarantee a spot in the Class A Regional Tournament slated to be held at Central High and Alex.

Ryan has been assigned to the Area 3, District A-5 tournament at Cyril. Joining Ryan is the host school and Central High.

Cyril will be the overwhelming favorite in both the boys and girls tournament. The Pirates are the top-ranked squad in Class A through last weekend, while the Lady Pirates are 15-4 and ranked 12th in Class A.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will also need a first-round win in order to extend their seasons by another week and advance to the regional at Central High and Alex.

Looking forward into the regional tourney, the boys’ side features two ranked teams in Cyril and Fox.

The girls’ regional will potentially feature the second-ranked Canute girls and Cyril, which is ranked 12th.

Only five of the 12 boys teams sport winning records, while on the girls’ side of the region eight of the 12 schools have winning marks.

Three schools from each regional will advance to the area tourney which is slated to be held at Chickasha. The regional champion, regional runner up and the regional consolation bracket champion will advance to the area tourney.

Assigned to the Area 3 are three other ranked boys teams – Vici, Arapaho-Butler and Southwest Covenent.

The girls’ side of the area features three more ranked teams – Vici, Arapaho-Butler and Cheyenne. Plus, Fletcher girls who finished third in the Comanche County Tournament last weekend will be among the possibilities for the area tourney.

It is possible that both Ryan and Waurika teams could advance to the regional tourney, but it would take some late-season improvement for the four squads to see success in the regional tourney or advance to the area tournament.

All four teams could use your support in the district tourneys at Cyril and Alex.

Big Plays Enable Waurika to Earn First Grid Win of the Season

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 25, 2020

Waurika rebounded from its season opening loss to Laverne in convincing fashion with a 54-6 victory over Wilson last Friday night at Wilson.

The Eagles hit the road again tomorrow night (Friday) when they face Class B’s top-ranked Shattuck Indians. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Indians, 3-0, have defeated Tipton, Destiny Christian and fourth-ranked Cherokee.

Waurika really had little resistance for the Eagles from Carter County as Waurika was able to score on big play after big play in the contest that ended with nine minutes left in the third quarter.

Waurika opened the scoring when Treyton Torrez found Octavio Gomez for a 12-yard completion. Kevin Garcia ran for the two points and with 9:08 left in the initial quarter, Waurika led, 8-0.

Wilson answered with its only score of the night. Michael Whatley caught a 24-yard scoring pass from Michel Cain. Waurika stopped the two-point conversion and with 3:19 showing on the first quarter clock, Waurika held a 16-6 advantage.

On the next possession, Torrez got his first touchdown of the night on a 57-yard run. The Waurika quarterback also ran for the two points and with 3:19 left in the quarter, Waurika led, 24-6.

Waurika added a pair of scores in the second quarter.

Garcia scored his second touchdown of the evening on a 19-yard run and he added the two-point conversion to put Waurika in front, 32-6, with 9:44 left before intermission.

Torrez scored again – this time on a one-yard plunge. Trent Arellano added the two point conversion and Waurika was in front, 40-6, with 6:02 before halftime.

Angel Garcia started the second half with a 40-yard kickoff return that gave Waurika tremendous field position.

K. Garcia picked up the touchdown on first down from 27 yards out and after Torrez ran for the two points, Waurika was in command with a 48-6 advantage.

Matt Arriola closed out the scoring for Waurika with a 19-yard jaunt at the nine minute mark that ended the game because of the 45-point mercy rule.

Torrez led the Eagles in rushing with 170 yards on just 13 carries. K. Garcia was also over 100 yards for the night with 108 paces on just six carries.

EAGLE FLIGHTS: This was the 77th meeting between Waurika and Wilson and Waurika leads the series, 54-20-3….It is possible they two schools meet in the two years where a complete schedule is unavailable…Waurika has now won five games in a row against Wilson. The third longest winning streak in the series that dates back to the first meeting in 1921….The 54 points score by Waurika is the fourth highest total in the series with last year’s total of 62 being the top scoring mark against Wilson….The upcoming contest with Shattuck will be the second meeting in school history with the Indians taking a 25-8 victory in a 1988 playoff game.

Game In Figures

WAU WIL

First Downs 7 7

Yards Rushing 29-351 21-31

Yards Passing 66 56

Passes 7-12 9-14

Passes Int. by 2 0

Fumbles Lost 0 2

Punts 0-0 0-0

Penalties 9-70 7-35

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Waurika 24 16 14 x—54

Wilson 6 0 0 x—6

First Quarter

WAURIKA – Octavio Gomez 12 pass from Treyton Torrez (Kevin Garcia run), 9:08

WAURIKA – Garcia 54 run (Torrez run), 5:49

WILSON – Michael Whatley 21 pass from Michel Cain (run failed),3:36

WAURIKA – Torrez 57 run (Torrez run), 3:19

Second Quarter

WAURIKA – Garcia 19 run (Garcia run), 9:44

WAURIKA – Torrez 1 run (Trent Arellano run), 6:02

Third Quarter

WAURIKA – Garcia 27 run (Torrez run), 11:41

WAURIKA – Matt Arriola 19 run (no try), 9:00

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

WAURIKA: Rushing – Treyton Torrez 13-170, Kevin Garcia 6-108, Gabe Jenkins 5-27, Matt Arriola 2-26, Trent Arellano 3-20; Passing – Torrez 7-1-66-0; Receiving – Garcia 7-66, Octavio Gomez 1-12, Jenkins 1-0.

Waurika Sports Accomplishments in 2019-2020 Noted

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

April 9, 2020

The story of high school sports at Waurika High School for the 2019-2020 school year will be forever incomplete.

The nationwide pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus forced schools across Oklahoma to close thus ending the spring sports at Waurika.

Despite the disappointing ending to the sports slate for the Eagles and Lady Eagles, the year produced some memorable moments and the accomplishments of the teams for the school year should be noted.

The Lady Eagles’ fast-pitch softball team under the direction of first-year coach Everette Hodges was the first team to complete its season.

The Lady Eagles finished a disappointing 5-16 season and while the wins were few the team won more games than the previous two seasons combined.

The Lady Eagles softball squad did not have a senior on the team and the future looks bright.

Hope Cummings, Liberti Simmons and Landry Forsyth were Southern Eight Conference honorees.

The cross country season was a successful one for Waurika.

The Eagle squad finished ninth in the regional cross country meet and had two other top-five finishes in meets earlier in the year including the team title at the Healdton Invitational.

Kevin Garcia was the top runner for the Eagle harriers that were coached by Joe Masoner.

The Lady Eagle runners turned in an outstanding season. The squad finished fifth in the Class 2A State Cross Country Meet and were third in the regional meet hosted by Waurika.

The Lady Eagles had six other top-five finishes in meets at Duncan, Cameron University, Walters, Velma-Alma, Oklahoma Baptist University and Healdton.

Lexie Streeter and Tallin Mora were the top competitors for Coach Masoner’s squad and Asia Smith joined the squad late in the year and was the top Waurika runner at the regional and state meets.

Waurika’s football squad enjoyed a second straight outstanding season last fall.

Second-year coach Joe Allen led the Eagles to a 10-2 record and a second straight district title and fifth straight playoff appearance – the second longest streak in school history.

The Eagles ended the season with a tough 38-14 loss to Pioneer-Pleasant Vale in the second round of the Class B playoffs.

Waurika had advanced to the second round with a resounding 54-6 victory over Cyril in a contest that ended at halftime.

Only seven teams in school history have posted a better record than the 2019 squad.

Turner Mora was named the District B-4 player of the year and Jordan Watkins earned the defensive lineman of the year honors. Gabe Jenkins was named the district’s newcomer of the year.

Kevin Garcia, Brandon Forsyth, Payton Fletcher and Hunter Wesberry were also honored by being named to the all-district team.

Basketball took the limelight for the winter months with both the Lady Eagles and Eagles finishing the year with winning seasons.

For the Eagles the 13-11 mark was the first winning season since 2020 in coach Garret Bachand’s first year at the helm of the Eagle roundballers.

The Eagles were eliminated in the first round of the district tournament at Alex.

Treyton Torrez, a freshman, was the top scorer for the Eagles on the hardwood and he was named all-conference for both the Southern Eight and Oil Field conferences.

Coach Kalee Baxter led the Lady Eagles to a 15-11 mark in her third season directing Waurika girls’ basketball program.

The Lady Eagles fell in the district finals to Alex, but advanced in the consolation bracket to the regional tournament where they defeated Ringling, but fell to Binger-Oney in the consolation semifinals at Alex.

Asia Smith was named the defensive player of the year for the Southern Eight Conference and she led the Lady Eagles in scoring.

The Lady Eagles had no seniors on the squad and with a lot of experience and talent returning next year the expectations will be high.

The spring sports of baseball, boys and girls track and golf were unable to finish the season.

Coach Joe Allen was in his second year at the helm of the Eagle baseball squad and the team had managed a 2-2 mark in the early part of the scheduled.

The Eagles had games with Geronimo and a doubleheader with Frederick postponed before the season was abruptly halted.

The Eagles had won the first two games of the year and dropped the final two games played and almost half the squad was made up of seniors.

It was believed the Eagles will be in the running for the district title in 2020, but district pairings were still a month away from being announced when the season ended.

The track season had featured only one meet – the Velma-Alma Invitational.

The Eagles of coach Roger Jessie finished eighth in the meet with 34 points, while Coach Joe Masoner’s Lady Eagles also finished eighth with 26 points.

Tallin Mora won the long jump at the V-A meet.

The golf squad of coach Kalee Baxter had not begun competition before the interruption of the season.

Lady Eagle Softballers Extend Winning Streak to Three Games

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 3, 2020

The Lady Eagles softball squad is putting together one of the best seasons in recent memory.

Waurika picked up a couple of victories last Thursday when Temple hosted the Lady Eagles and Geroimo.

Games that were scheduled for Monday against Frederick and Tuesday at Ryan were postponed because of rain.

The Lady Eagles and Frederick were in the second inning when rain and lightning halted the contest and after a delay another storm came through forcing the postponement.

Tuesday the Lady Eagles were set to take on Ryan, but additional rains overnight on Monday and Tuesday morning forced the game to be postponed.

In the first game last Thursday at Temple, Waurika held off Geronimo, 7-6. In the second contest, the Lady Eagles pounded Temple, 13-9.

The Lady Eagles are back on the diamond today with a contest at Grandfield.

The Lady Eagles will be on the road again Tuesday when they travel to Central High.

Next weekend the Lady Eagles will return to Temple for the Temple Invitational on Thursday and Saturday.

Waurika is 8-5 on the season heading into today’s game and just need one more win to equal the number of wins from the three previous seasons.

Waurika 13, Temple 9

The Lady Eagles used a 10-run third inning to build a big lead and held on for the win.

Temple scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning on three hits, an error and a pair of stolen bases including a steal of home. This gave the Lady Tigers a 3-0 advantge.

The Lady Eagles came back in the top of the second with a pair of tallies.

A lead-off single and a stolen base by Gracie Walling helped get the uprising started.

Alana Lewis followed with an RBI-double and she scored on Riley Howell’s run-scoring single. This trimmed the Temple lead to 3-2.

In the top of the third the Lady Eagles sent 16 players to the plate.

Aubree Showalter and Faith Roberson led off the inning with infield singles and scored on Walling’s double.

Lewis had another infield single and she scored on a single by Hope Cummings. Howell walked and Grace Hill produced a two-run single.

Faith Hill walked and eventually stole home to increase the lead to 10-3.

After two were out Roberson and Landry Forsyth came up with infield hits. Walling walked to load the bases and the back-to-back walks by Lewis and Cummings produced the final two runs of the inning that put the Lady Eagles in front, 12-3.

Temple answered with a four-run rally of their own in the bottom of third that narrowed the gap to 12-7.

The Lady Tigers added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to close the gap to 12-9.

The Lady Eagles added a run in the top of the fifth inning as Lewis drove in Roberson with a two-base hit.

The Tigers put the lead off runner on in the bottom of the fifth, but the next three batters were retired to end the game.

Eight Waurika batters had at least one hit in the game.

Walling and Lewis led the way with 3-for-3 performances.

Lewis had three runs batted in and Walling and G. Hill each had a pair of runs batted in.

Waurika 7, Geronimo 6

Waurika had a seven-run rally in the third inning and made it stand up in picking up the win against the conference tournament champion Lady Bluejays.

Geronimo got out on top with a three-run surge in the bottom of the first inning.

Two walks, a pair of fielder’s choices and an error led to the three runs.

In the top of the third inning Faith Hill led off with a single. Aubree Showalter singles and Faith Roberson reached on an error to load the bases.

Landry Forsyth picked up an RBI-single and Gracie Walling cleared the bases with a three-run triple.

Alana Lewis followed with a run-scoring double and she scored on an error that led Hope Cummings to reach base.

Grace Hill came up with a big two-run single to center field to close out the scoring and giving the Lady Eagles a 7-3 advantage.

Geronimo picked up a run in the bottom of the third after an error and an RBI-single to trim the LadyEagles’ lead to 7-4.

There was no more scoring until the bottom of the fifth inning. Geronimo led off with a single and the runner scored on a ground out to put the score at 7-5.

A two-bagger produced another run, but the Lady Bluejays could do no more damage.

Forsyth was the big hitter for the Lady Eagles as she went 3-for-3 at the plate and had an RBI. Lewis was 2-for-3 with a run batted in. Walling finished with three runs batted in.

District Basketball Tournaments Have Long History in Oklahoma

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

June 18, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senior Cowboy, Cowgirl Athletes Had Major Contributions

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

May 2, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Central High Uses Big First Half Subdue Cowboys

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

September 25, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game In Figures

RHS CHS

First Downs 14 19

Yards Rushing 40-149 40-276

Yards Passing 173 141

Passes 13-26 8-14

Passes Int. by 1 1

Fumbles, Lost 22 2-0

Punts 2-31.5 1-45

Penalties 9-49 8-80

SCORE BY QUARTERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

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

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

Waurika Girls Snap Three-Game Skid with Win Over Healdton

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

January 29, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

But the game came down to the final seconds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Treyton Torrez led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points.

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

Lady Eagles Look To Build On Last Year’s Diamond Success

Sports
2020 Articles

Trey Smart

August 7, 2020

A year ago first-year coach Everett Hodges put a young squad on the diamond for the Waurika fast-pitch softball squad and experienced limited success.

The 2019 version of the Lady Eagles fashioned a 5-16 mark, but that was a vast improvement over the previous few seasons and the outlook for the 2020 campaign is optimistic as the Lady Eagles return all the starters for last year’s team.

Waurika will open the season Monday when they host Wilson and Big Pasture. The Lady Eagles will return to action Tuesday by hosting Ryan.

Grandfield will come to Waurika one week from today to close out a busy first week of the fast-pitch season.

Besides being long on experience, the Lady Eagles will also feature some depth for the first time in a number of years as 14 players make up the pre-season roster.

Leading out in the circle for the Lady Eagles will be Riley Howell. Liberti Simmons, Alana Lewis and Faith Roberson will also be counted on to provide Coach Hodges with some options with the pitching staff.

One of the areas of concentration in pre-season workouts has been at the plate and Coach Hodges thinks fans will see the difference.

All the leading hitters from last year return for the Lady Eagles including two seniors – Hope Cummings and Landry Forsyth. Gracie Walling will also be counted on to provide some offensive punch for the Lady Eagles.

Cummings, Simmons and Forsyth were all-conference selections a year ago for Waurika.

“This might be the first year I feel we can have all nine hitters in the lineup able to hit,” said Hodges in talking about the upcoming season.

“We also might have the fastest outfield in this part of the state with Simmons, Showalter (Aubree) and Barnes (Brooklyn),” added Hodges.

Simmons recently was cleared to play after a recent ACL injury.

Look for Faith Hill, MacKenzie Taylor, Alexia Henry and Harley Bradshaw to also provide help off the bench in the 2020 season.

“Our season sets up to have a little success early,” Hodges noted.

In reflecting on this year’s schedule Hodges believes with the strength of the pitching staff for the Lady Eagles they can compete with anybody.

“Ringling is always tough and Temple will be improved,” Hodges said.

Kassie Bohot is serving as an assistant coach this fall for the Lady Eagle fast-pitch squad.

With experience, depth and talent, the Lady Eagles are poised to have the best season in years and could possibly contend for their first district title in school history.

Lady Eagles Fast-Pitch Schedule

August

10: Wilson and Big Pasture; 11: Ryan; 13: Grandfield; 17: at Ringling; 18: at Velma-Alma; 20, 22: Southern Eight Conference Tournament; 27: Temple and Geronimo at Temple.

September

1: at Ryan; 3: at Grandfield; 8: at Central High; 10, 12: at Temple Tournament; 14: at Wilson; 15: Ringling; 17: Temple; 21: Velma-Alma; 24: District Tournament.

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2020 Articles

Ryan Looks to Overcome Depth Issues to Have Successful 2020 Season

Waurika Runners Post Impressive Performances in Initial Meet

Buffalo Storms Past Cowboys To End Ryan’s Grid Season

Waurika Boys Score Big Win Over 5th-Ranked Velma-Alma

District Basketball Titles Are Few For Ringling Roundball Teams

Bad Start Signals Doom for Cowboys In Season Opener

Ryan, Waurika Draw Tough District Assignments

Big Plays Enable Waurika to Earn First Grid Win of the Season

Waurika Sports Accomplishments in 2019-2020 Noted

Lady Eagle Softballers Extend Winning Streak to Three Games

District Basketball Tournaments Have Long History in Oklahoma

Senior Cowboy, Cowgirl Athletes Had Major Contributions

Central High Uses Big First Half Subdue Cowboys

Waurika Girls Snap Three-Game Skid with Win Over Healdton

Lady Eagles Look To Build On Last Year’s Diamond Success

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