It was a banner day last Saturday for the Waurika cross country teams as they competed in the first Geronimo Invitational cross country meet.
The meet was a relatively small one, but the Eagles and Lady Eagles left their mark on the rest of the field.
Waurika won the boys’ title with a total of 35 points – just in front of runner up Geronimo that had 41 points. Munday, Texas finished third with 53 points.
The Lady Eagles were runner up to Munday in the high school girls division. The Lady Moguls had 26 points, while Waurika finished with 36 points. Ryan was third with 71 points.
The Eagles had eight competitors in the meet and seven of them won medals.
Leading the way for the Eagles was Cache Dunn who earned top honors in the race with a tie of 19:26.3.
Kevin Garcia finished 11th with a time of 21:36.8 in the five kilometer race.
Gustavio Gomez earned 13th place with a time of 21:46.2 and he was followed closely by the Eagles’ Alex Gomez, who recorded a time of 21:47.0. Right behind was Octavio Gomez who was 15th with a time of 22:54.0.
Rounding out the medal winners were Trent Arellano and Isaac Camarillo. Arellano finished 17th with a tiem of 23:19.3, while Camarillo was 18th with a mark of 23:32.4.
Malachi Dodson also competed at Geronimo and was 27th with a time of 29:37.3.
Eight of the 11 runners for the Lady Eagles came home with hardware.
The top competitor at Geronimo for the Lady Eagles was Tallin Mora. Mora finished fifth with a time of 14:17.7.
Asia Smith also had a top 10 finish with a time of 14:32.8. Her time was good for seventh place.
Lexie Streeter finished 12th with a time of 15:08.4 over the 3,200-meter course.
Aubree Showalter was right behind with a time of 15:09.5, which gave her 13th place.
Jaci Gholson, who participated in her first meet of the season, was 18th with a time of 16:01.0.
Skylar Garrett earned a medal with a 19th-place finish. Her time for the day was 16:01.0.
Rounding out the medalists for the Lady Eagles was Brooklyn Barnes and Faith Roberson.
Barnes was 24th with a time of 17:18.4, while Roberson was right behind in 25th place with a time of 17:30.9.
Also competing for the Lady Eagles were Kaci Reynolds (30th, 20:29.7), Hope Cummings (32nd, 21:14.3) and Savana Ritter (33rd, 21:14.4).
Waurika’s junior high and elementary cross country squads did not compete at Geronimo.
The Eagles and Lady Eagles will be in action again tomorrow (Friday) when they will run at the Big Green soccer complex in the Cameron University Invitational in Lawton.
...Both Squads Qualify Several Competitors for State Track Meet
It was an outstanding day for the Waurika High School track teams at the Class A Regional Track Meet last Saturday at Alex.
Cache Arellano
The Eagles finished in third place with 61 points – while behind meet champion Snyder’s 97 points and Lomega’s 92 points.
The Lady Eagles also claimed third place with 50 points. Velma-Alma won the regional team title with 144 points.
Nic Alvarado
Waurika will send nine male thinclads to the state meet this weekend, while the Lady Eagles will have six competing in the state track meet.
The Class A State Track Meet will be held Friday and Saturday at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City. Field events will begin at 10 a.m. on both days and the running events begin at 12 noon on both days.
Landry Forsyth
The top three competitors in each event automatically qualify for a spot in the state meet.
Leading the way for the Eagles was the first-place finish by the 1,600-meter relay squad of Seth Cathey, Turner Mora, Colton Bryant and Cache Arellano.
Seth Cathey
It was the best time posted in the event by Waurika this season and the second year in a row Waurika claimed the regional title in the 1,600-meter relay.
The 800-meter relay team of Mora, Bryant, Nicolas Alvarado and Kevin Garcia earned a silver medal in the meet with a time of 1:36.10, which was also a season’s best mark.
The 3,200-meter relay team of Bryant, Bryson Hernandez, Octavio Gomez and Arelleno earned a bronze medal in the regional meet with a time of 9:21.28. This was the second best time posted by the Eagles in this event.
Bryson Hernandez
In the individual events, Mora earned a third-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 53.37, which was just ahead of teammate Seth Cathey’s time of 53.57.
Mora also scored in the long jump. His leap of 19-8 was good enough for sixth place.
Turner Mora
Hernandez also placed in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters. His time of 5:19.75 in the 1,600 meters was good enough for sixth, while his time of 12:19.01 in the 3,200 meters also earned sixth place.
The Eagles send the three relay teams to state, while Mora will be competing at state in the 400 meters and as an additional qualifier in the long jump. Cathey’s finish in the 400 meters earned a berth at state in the event as an additional qualifier.
Colton Bryant
The Lady Eagles claimed one regional title in the shot put as Madison Roberson won the event with a toss of 35.7.5.
Roberson also finished second in the discus with a throw of 93-9.
In the 3,200 meters, Asia Smith earned the silver medal with a time of 12:55.52, while teammate Lexie Streeter finished fourth in the event with a time of 13:47.28. Streeter’s time was among the best among finishers at regional meets and she qualified as an additional qualifier.
Lexie Streeter
Smith and Streeter also scored for the Lady Eagles in the 1,600 meters. Smith was fourth with a time of 6:07.01, which was good enough to qualify for state as an additional qualifier. Streeter finished fifth with a time of 6:12.44.
Sara Ballard was fourth in the long jump at Alex with a leap of 15-2.75 and that put her among the best finishers at regional meets across the state and earned her a berth at the state meet.
Kaci Reynolds
The other state meet qualifier was the 3,200-meter relay squad of Kaci Reynolds, Streeter, Smith and Dallas Fristoe. The time of 11:30.66 was just good enough to qualify the team as an additional qualifier.
Waurika did manage to score in the 1,600-meter relay with a sixth place finish. The team of Ballard, Smith, Kameron Ziecek and Reynolds recorded a time of 4:53.95, which was by far the best time of the season in the event for the Lady Eagles.
Other competitors for the Lady Eagles at regionals included Olivia Ralls, Brooke Williams and Madison Christian.
Waurika Readies for Regional at Duncan Meet
Madison Roberson
The Waurika track squads prepared for the regional with some tough competition at the Quanah Cox Invitational at Duncan last Thursday – just two days before the regional meet.
The Waurika boys scored 10 points to finish 12th among a large field that featured mainly Class 6A and Class 5A teams.
Kevin Garcia & Nic Alvarado
The Lady Eagles finished in a tie for 10th place with Altus with 14 points. The girls’ division also featured Class 6A and 5A squads.
On the boys’ side, the relays again led the way and accounted for all the team scoring.
Octavio Gomez
The 3,200-meter relay team posted a time of 9:21.04 and while it was the top time of the season, it was sixth among the stiff competition.
The 1,600-meter relay team finished fifth with a time of 3:40.04, while the 800-meter relay team was also fifth with a time of 1:37.61.
The Lady Eagles were led by Roberson’s fourth place finish in the shot put with a toss of 37-4.5.
Asia Smith
Smith earned fourth place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:36.14.
The 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams added to the point totals for the Lady Eagles. The 1,600-meter relay team was fifth with a time of 5:01.93, while the 3,200-meter relay squad was sixth with a time of 11:31.87.
It took a little longer than most of Waurika’s victories in the 2018 season, but the Eagles eventually came away with another 48-0 mercy-rule victory over Cyril last Friday night in the first round of the Class B playoffs.
The Eagles will host a second-round playoff game and will face Cherokee tomorrow night (Friday). Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the newly-named Norman West Field at Cy Sloan Stadium.
Waurika Head Coach Joe Allen He has said in an interview that he is proud of the staff and how well they have worked together as well as the team. Photo by Adam Brinson
The Eagles totally dominated the game especially on defense giving up only 40 total yards through just over three and half quarters of play before Waurika ended the game by the 45-point rule.
Waurika got the first break of the game when a fourth-down punt attempt went awry when the ball was snapped over the punter’s head.
The Eagles took possession at the Cyril 23 and in just two plays scored the first touchdown. Turner Mora covered the final 21 yards. Zac Brown ran for the two points give Waurika an 8-0 advantage with 9:51 left in the first quarter.
Gatlin Black and Edwin Garcia Photo by Adam Brinson
The Pirates had snap issues on the next possession and Cyril was forced to punt after two bad snaps and a quarterback sack by Aaron Nitka.
The Eagles set up at their own 42 and marched the 58 yards in just three plays Waurika had its second score of the night.
Mora scooted down the left sideline and was tackled just inside the Cyril one for a 41-yard gain. Colton Bryant took the ball over the goal line on the next play to give Waurika a 14-0 lead with 7:17 showing on the first quarter clock.
Kevin Garcia Photo by Adam Brinson
After holding Cyril to another three-and-out, the Eagles started another drive at the Waurika 26. In just three plays the Eagles covered the 74 yards for another score. The big play of the drive was a 54-yard pass to Edwin Garcia that put the Eagles deep in Pirate territory.
Two plays later, Mora picked up a bad snap and walked into the end zone from seven yards out. The two-point conversion failed, but Waurika held a 20-0 lead with 4:09 still to play in the first quarter.
Aaron Nitka tackling a Cyril player. Photo by Adam Brinson
After a series of exchanges in possessions, Cyril finally got something going as the Pirates moved from their own 48 to the Waurika one, but on a fourth down play, Gatlin Black crashed through to drop the Cyril quarterback for a five-yard loss.
On Cyril’s next possession, Hunter Wesberry picked off a Pirate pass, but the Eagles were stymied after being stopped short on a fourth down play.
Hunter Wesberry, Aaron Nitka Photo by Adam Brinson
The Pirates took over on downs but on first down, Black pounced on a Cyril fumble giving the ball back to the Eagles.
This time the Eagles took advantage of the turnover and in just two plays moved the 33 yards for the score. Kevin Garcia scored from 17 yards out and after the two-point conversion failed, the Eagles held a 26-0 lead with just 11 seconds left in the half.
Waurika’s offense. Photo by Adam Brinson
The second half opened with a failed Cyril onside kick that Austin Dyer recovered at midfield.
On first down, K. Garcia went the distance for the score. The two-point conversion failed, but Waurika was in front, 32-0, with 11:48 left in the third quarter.
Colton Bryant Photo by Adam Brinson
Cyril could not move on its next drive and after Waurika took possession, Cyril’s Jose Rivera intercepted a Mora pass giving the Pirates possession at Cyril seven-yard line.
On first down, the Cyril quarterback scrambled back into the end zone and was met by Mora and Jordan Watkins for a safety that increased the Waurika lead to 34-0 with 7:50 left in the third quarter.
The free kick was returned to the Cyril four and Bryant scored on a four-yard run on first down. Brown got the two-point conversion and Waurika held a commanding 42-0 advantage with 7:40 left in the third quarter.
With the mercy-rule victory now in sight, the Eagles attempted an onside kick which Waurika’s Dyer was able to retrieve giving the Eagles the ball. In six plays the Eagles were able to get the game-ending score as Mora scored from one yard away with 5:45 left in the third quarter.
EAGLE FLIGHTS: The 48-point margin of victory is the third best in school history behind the 55-point margin against Haileyville in 1988 and the 51-point win over Okemah in the 1951 state finals….The 48 points scored by the Eagles is the sixth most in school history during post-season play…The Eagles are 2-3 in the playoffs since moving to eight-man play and both wins have come over Cyril….This was the third time the Eagles have held an opponent to less than 40 yards of total offense during the 2018 season….Cyril still leads the series with the Eagles with four wins in the seven meetings….Waurika is 10-0 for only the second time in school history….This is the second time since beginning eight-man play the Eagles have advanced to the second round and only the third time since the 1996 season.
Game in Figures
CHS WHS
First Downs 36
Yards Rushing 36-5 26-226
Yards Passing 3554
Passes 1-2 1-6
Passes Int. By11
Fumbles, Lost4-1 0-0
Punts 3-31 1-40
Penalties2-20 0-0
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cyril 000x-0
Waurika 20622x-48
WAURIKA – Turner Mora 21 run (Zac Brown run), 9:57, 1st Quarter
Only four competitors made up the Ryan Cowgirl track squad last Friday at the Waurika Eight-Man Invitational, but those athletes turned in some impressive performances.
The Cowgirls finished fourth in the team race with 80 points – just a single point behind third-place Bray-Doyle. Empire won the meet with 138 points.
Leading the way as they have all season, the 3,200-meter relay team of Lilybet Harmon, Lily York, Holland Carter and Juliet Spangler earned the gold medal with a time of 11:44.33. The time is one of the best posted in the event among Class A competitors this season.
That time broke the school record of 11:56.76 set just a couple of weeks earlier at the Cache Invitational.
The same four girls also competed in the 1,600-meter relay and the team narrowly missed setting the school mark for the second time this season.
Harmon, York, Carter and Spangler recorded a time of 5:13.59, which was good enough for second place and was just behind the school mark of 5:12.17 set just a few days before at the Elgin Invitational.
Spangler had the top individual performance by the Cowgirls with a first-place finish in the 1,600 meters. Her time of 6:30.43 set a meet record and it is the sixth best time in school history, but just off her best time of the 2018 season.
Harmon earned a bronze medal in the 1,600 meters with a time of 6:52.46 and York was just behind her in fourth place with a time of 7:04.47.
Carter turned in her best performance of the season in the 800 meters and finished second in the meet with a time of 2:48.81. Harmon finished right behind Carter in the event to earn a bronze medal with a time of 2:57.79.
In the 3,200 meters, Spangler earned a third-place finish with a time of 14:33.54. York was fourth in the same event with a time of 15:19.77.
The 80 points scored by the Cowgirls is the second highest total ever in a meet. The highest point total ever for the Cowgirls is 87 points in last year’s Waurika Eight-Man Invitational.
Walker Rawlings competed in the meet for the Cowboys and he came away with points in both the shot put and discus.
Rawlings was third in the discus with a throw of 108-9 and he earned fifth place in the shot put with a toss of 37-6.
That gave Ryan eight points in the meet to finish ninth – just one point behind eighth-place Temple.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will compete Saturday in Waurika’s Red River Invitational (weather permitting) and will also be in action Tuesday at the Velma-Alma Comet Invitational.
The junior high track squads also had good performances at the Waurika Eight-Man Invitational. The Cowboys finished third in the meet with 80 points, which was nine points behind runner up Tipton and well behind team champion Fox who finished with 134 points.
The Cowgirl squad finished with 56 points which was good enough for a fifth-place tie with Fox in the team race. Bray-Doyle was the team champion with 102 points.
The Cowboys were led by the gold-medal performances of Jullian Rodriguez in the 3,200 meters and Trey Bryant in the shot put.
Rodriguez also finished second in the 1,600 meters and Bryant was second in the discus.
Tommy Self earned a silver medal in the 3,200 meters and Ethan Burden was right behind to gain a bronze medal for the Cowboys.
Caleb Perrin had a second place finish in the shot put and placed fourth in the discus.
Mason Adsit was the other medal winner for the Cowboys with a third-place finish in the 1,600 meters. Perrin was also fourth in the 1,600 meters.
Self also scored points for the Cowboys in the long jump with a fifth place finish.
For the Cowgirls, Katlynn Dabbs earned three gold medals in the meet. She was the top runner in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters.
Alicen Williams also earned a silver medal in the 3,200 meters and a bronze finish in the 800 meters. She also scored points with a fifth-place finish in the 1,600 meters.
Whittany Spangler rounded out the medal winners for the Cowgirls with a bronze medal finish in the 3,200 meters. She was also fourth in the 800 meters.
READY TO BOARD - Ryan’s Jasmine Villerreal (left) and Alicen Williams (center) are pictured with former Ryan athlete Whittany Spangler of Moss getting ready to board a plane to Costa Rica to spend 10 days at a sports leadership camp. (Photo provided)
Two Ryan student athletes recently returned from a sports leadership camp experience in Costa Rica.
Jasmine Villerreal and Alicen Williams, both students at Ryan High School, spent 10 days at the camp that is a sports leadership experience for high school female athletes.
Former Ryan athlete, Whittany Spangler, was also part of the select group of athletes chosen to participate in this elite camp.
The leadership camp is operated by Beyond Sports and was founded by two former college athletes that were inspired by the power of cross-cultural understanding through sports and wanted to create opportunities for student athletes to travel abroad and create meaningful connections and unique experiences through their sport.
Since 2010 the camp has hosted over 3,000 athletes and the facility is located within walking distance to a beach.
The Girls Leadership Academy for Service and Sport (GLASS) is the event Villerreal and Williams attended. A team of current college athletes served as mentors for the group of girls on a campus that has been developed in Playa Flamingo, Costa Rica.
Each session of the camp consists of 18 or less students and each attendee fills out an application that includes personal information, the sports they participate in and essay questions.
Based on the applications, the girls are chosen to participate at their expense in the camp. Financial assistance is available for participants.
Williams and Spangler were slated to attend last summer but the camp was canceled because of COVID-19 and this year, Villerreal decided to try and join her friends for the experience.
“I really wanted to try something new and learn more about leadership and service while being in another country,” Williams said about this unique opportunity.
Villerreal was also excited to attend this camp because of its location out of the United States.
“Stepping out of my comfort zone and traveling out of the country by myself was a big factor for me wanting to go,” Villerreal noted. “Meeting a bunch of new girls from all over was also a factor for me.”
Both girls were elated to find out they were accepted to the camp that has only a few sessions each summer.
“I was really nervous but super excited,” noted Villerreal. “I actually started packing the day I found out because I was so excited.”
Williams echoed Villerreal’s comment about finding out she had been accepted. “I was super excited to get the opportunity to go have fun and learn so much with other amazing girls.”
Each day’s activities began with a workout and then time with their appointed mentor. After breakfast the group went on an excursion.
After lunch and a short amount of free time, the girls had another workout and then conducted sports clinics in the community giving them opportunities to interact with the culture.
Following dinner, the girls engaged in a leadership development workshop each evening.
Williams and Villerreal did not have any trouble sharing the benefits from the experience.
“The camp showed me different aspects of my life I never could have seen by myself,” Villerreal explained. “Trying to be a leader is hard especially having that mindset that you have to be perfect. People tend to lose sight of who they really are when trying to be that perfect.”
“For me the greatest benefit of the week was getting to learn more leadership skills that help with serving others,” said Williams.
No doubt the camp enhanced the opportunities that await the pair of Cowgirls in the upcoming sports seasons.
READY TO BOARD – Ryan’s Jasmine Villerreal (left) and Alicen Williams (center) are pictured with former Ryan athlete Whittany Spangler of Moss getting ready to board a plane to Costa Rica to spend 10 days at a sports leadership camp. (Photo provided)
Villerreal is a four-sport athlete at Ryan participating in fast-pitch softball, cross country, basketball and track.
“I carried a lot of weight on my shoulders due to lack of confidence this past year,” Villerreal said. “I realized you can’t do everything by yourself and people are going to have opinions.”
“I want to come into the year more confident and having fun,” Villerreal added. “Having fun and doing whatever you enjoy doing can change your whole perspective.”
Williams, who will be a senior for the Cowgirl cross country, basketball and track teams this coming school year came away with focus in regard to the upcoming seasons.
“I think it will help me to be a better leader for our team as well as being a good teammate,” Williams commented.
Both girls obviously took away memories from the experience that will last a lifetime.
“My greatest memory was getting to help out with the CEPIA kids,” Williams said, “I loved getting to play soccer and kickball with them and it was also so cool to see the culture down there and how others live.”
CEPIA is a non-profit organization that promotes culture and educational opportunities for the kids in Costa Rica.
Villerreal mentioned the opportunity to work with the kids but she also talked about relationships built and the opportunities to serve.
“Getting to meet everyone and becoming loser and seeing how fast e built those connections in just 10 days was amazing,” Villerreal said. “Doing services such as dog walking, environmental clean ups and helping with the kids was a great memory.”
Williams urged anyone to try to attend the camp.
“For any girl who would like to experience it, I would definitely say to go for it because I loved it such much and learned so many thing while making connections,” Williams said.
From al the comments of Williams and Villerreal, it is evident that the mission statement of GLASS – empowering the next generation of female leadership through sports, service and global engagement – was accomplished and will make a difference in their experiences in the upcoming sports seasons.
Two Ryan graduates and one Waurika graduate are set to compete in the annual Oklahoma Eight-Man Football Association’s all-star game in Miami which will feature nearly 80 of the top eight-man seniors from all parts of Oklahoma.
The contest kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s Red Robertson Field. Game tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the gate. Concessions and game day merchandise will be available for purchase.
This annual event was designed to recognize and honor the finest eight-man football players throughout Oklahoma. Around 3,000 fans from across Oklahoma are expected to attend the game.
Dawson Tomberlin and Tate Kimbro of Ryan along with Waurika’s Seth Cathey will be competing for the Gold team in the annual showcase of eight-man football talent in Oklahoma.
In addition two Ryan cheerleaders, Holland Carter and Laken DeBoard will be part of the cheerleader squads for the game.
Serving as a counselor for the week-long all-star game preparation is Ryan assistant coach Tony Tomberlin.
Coaches for the Gold team include Tipton’s Travis White, Shane Weathers of Coyle, Gus Overstreet of Pioneer, Josh Been of Dewar and Cave Springs’ coach Tom Osburn.
The other participants from District B-4 of which Ryan and Waurika competed this past season are district champ Central High’s T.J. Birdwell and Hayden Cooper.
The Gold team is made up of all-stars from the even numbered districts in both Class B and C, while the Green team is comprised of players from the odd numbered districts in the two eight-man classifications.
This is the 16th year for the city of Miami to host the game. Prior to 2003, the game had been held in Alva since its inception in 1973. The first state champion for eight-man football was crowned in 1959.
Sponsors of the game include the City of Miami, the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and the Oklahoma Eight-Man Football Coaches Association (OEMFCA).
The players and coaches from around the state arrived in Miami on Tuesday and participated in a full schedule of activities that will lead up to Saturday’s game.
Those activities include a night at the night at the Historic Coleman Theatre, a cook-out in Riverview Park and swimming at the state’s largest municipal pool as well as an evening with hypnotist Joe Comet. The players will team up with the Ottawa County Boys & Girls Club on Friday for an afternoon of bowling at PlayLand Lanes.
Tomorrow night (Friday), the players, coaches and cheerleaders will participate in the annual awards banquet. The OEMFCA and the local organizing committee will award some $11,000 in scholarships for 10 players. The OEMFCA awards an additional $1,000 in scholarships for two of the all-star cheerleaders.
It was not the kind of start you would expect against a team that is struggling to keep its football program alive.
Ryan held only an 8-0 lead over Temple, but exploded for 38 points in the second quarter and rolled to a 46-0 victory over the Tigers at Howell Field in Temple last Friday night.
The game ended at the half because of the 45-point mercy rule.
Temple, which has now lost 17 straight games over three seasons, had only 10 players suited up for the contest with the Cowboys.
The Cowboys return to Bob Givens Sports Complex Friday night for a 7:30 contest with Maysville.
The Warriors did not play last week and will come to Ryan with a 0-2 mark for 2018 having lost to Bray-Doyle and Paoli.
It will be Ryan’s homecoming game and the crowning of the homecoming queen will take place at 7 p.m.
Also, the school will be honoring the 1988 state runner up football team during halftime ceremonies.
No doubt the weather played a role in the slow beginning for the Cowboys as rain fell during much of the game and the field was a quagmire from rain that had fallen earlier in the week.
The determined Tigers might have gotten the Cowboys’ attention as they took the ball on an early drive and advanced methodically down the field to the Ryan 12.
Ryan’s defense stiffened, however, and took the ball over on downs to avoid the Tiger threat.
The Cowboys’ Grayson Tomberlin finally got the Cowboys on the board in the first quarter with a five-yard scoring jaunt. Skyler Parkhill added the two-point conversion and the Cowboys were in front, 8-0, with 4:54 left in the first quarter.
The Cowboys got things rolling in the second quarter and the scoring came fast and furious as the Cowboys scored three touchdowns in less than three minutes.
Parkhill got the first one on a one-yard run. Andrew Villerreal caught the two-point conversion pass to put Ryan in front, 16-0, with 11:08 to play.
At the 9:52 mark, Tomberlin added a 20-yard scoring run and after the two-point conversion pass fell incomplete Ryan was in front, 22-0, with 9:52 left in the half.
The Cowboys found paydirt again just 90 seconds later as Parkhill scored from nine yards out. Kalen Weldon caught the two-point conversion from Tomberlin and Ryan was in front 30-0 with 8:22 remaining in the half.
Ryan ended the game with a pair of scores in the final four minutes.
Parkhill caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tomberlin and the sophomore quarterback ran for the two-point conversion to move the Cowboys in front, 38-0, with 4:20 left in the half.
With just two seconds showing on the clock, Parkhill got his fourth score of the night on a 25-yard pass from Tomberlin. Parkhill caught the two-point conversion pass from Tomberlin setting the final margin.
Tomberlin finished the game with 93 yards rushing on just eight attempts. He was also seven of 12 passing for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
Villerreal was on the receiving end of three of the Tomberlin passes for 68 yards and Parkhill caught two for 55 yards and two scores. Kalen Weldon had the other two catches for 25 yards.
Defensively, Villerreal had his best game with eight stops and a fumble recovery. Gunner Phillips got his first interception of the year.
COWBOY CORRAL: The victory over Temple still leaves Ryan trailing in the long series with the Tigers, 49-31-5…The Cowboys have won three in a row over Temple for only the second time in this series….The longest winning streak for Ryan over Temple is four wins from 1990 to 1993….When Ryan was dominating eight-man football in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Temple was putting out good squads, too, including a state title team in 1989…The shut out recorded by the Cowboys in this game marks the second straight year Ryan has held the Tigers scoreless…You have to go back to the 20’s to find a time when Ryan was able to do that against Temple…In 1928 and 1929, Temple was held scoreless in back-to-back years and it included a 6-0 win and a 0-0 tie….The only other time this has happened was in 1922 and 1923 when Ryan recorded a 25-0 win and a 20-0 victory….Tomberlin is averaging just over 100 yards a game rushing as his 93 yards against the Tigers pushed him to 305 yards on the ground after three games…Tomberlin also has 372 yards passing in three games for 677 total yards of offense in three games…The two touchdown passes caught by Parkhill is the second most in a game in school history…The record of three TD receptions is held by three players – Ronnie Williams in 1971, Aaron Johnson in 1998 and Isaiah Wilson in 2009…The 46 points scored by the Cowboys is ninth highest total against Temple in the series.
Game In Figures
RHS THS
First Downs 127
Yards Rushing 15-145 21-70
Yards Passing 14815
Passes 7-12 1-5
Passes Int. By10
Fumbles Lost 1-1 2-0
Punts 0-0 0-0
Penalties3-20 7-55
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Ryan838xx-46
Temple00xx–0
FIRST QUARTER
RYAN – Grayson Tomberlin 5 run (Skyler Parkhill run), 4:54
SECOND QUARTER
RYAN – Parkhill 1 run (Andrew Villerreal pass from Tomberlin), 11:08
RYAN – Tomberlin 20 run (pass failed), 9:52
RYAN – Parkhill 9 run (Kalen Weldon pass from Tomberlin), 8:22
RYAN – Parkhill 30 pass from Tomberlin (Tomberlin run), 4:20
RYAN – Parkhill 25 pass from Tomberlin (Parkhill pass from Tomberlin), :03
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RYAN – Rushing: Grayson Tomberlin 8-93, Skyler Parkhill 6-38, Gunner Phillips 1-14; Passing: Tomberlin 7-12-0-148; Receiving: Andrew Villerreal 3-68, Parkhill 2-55, Kalen Weldon 2-25; Tackles: Villerreal 8, Parkhill 7, Tomberlin 6, Walter Snider 5, Justin Williams 4, Sam Brown 4, Pacen Wiest 4, Trey Bryant 2, Weldon 1.
A review of the 2018 Ryan High School football season reveals a number of outstanding performances by individuals and by the team.
More importantly, the 2018 season will go down as a season where the Cowboys overachieved preseason expectations.
The Cowboys finished with a 7-4 mark and earned a runner-up finish in District B-4. Ryan was tabbed by most preseason polls to finish fifth in the district.
The season ended with a 58-12 loss to Burns Flat-Dill City in the first round of the Class B playoffs. BFDC advanced to the quarterfinals last week with a 34-26 victory over Pioneer-Pleasant Vale.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
Offensively the Cowboys entered the season with talent at the skilled positions with three returning starters.
However, it was the offensive line that was the biggest question.
After the first game, the Cowboy offensive line started to jell and it helped the Cowboy offense to produce the third highest average number of points scored in a season in school history.
The three key offensive linemen were Sam Brown, Justin Williams and Trey Bryant. Andrew Villerreal and Kalen Weldon were key blockers from the receiver positions.
The defense turned in a couple of impressive performances – a shutout victory over hapless Temple in the third game of the season and a key 24-6 district victory over Wilson in the eighth game of the year.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
But, for the most part, the defense never was able to stop opponents from gaining lots of yards and scoring points. The Cowboys gave up 50 or more points to three opponents. The amazing thing is they had a 1-2 record in those games.
The Cowboys gave up an average of 350 yards per game to the 11 opponents. Fortunately, the Cowboys were able to average 367 yards of offense per game to help lead them to the winning mark.
The seven wins for the Cowboys has not happened often. Only eight times in 99 seasons have the Cowboys won seven games.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
The Cowboys have won seven or more games only 26 times during the 99-year history of football which is just over 25% of the time.
The offense was definitely the key to the success of the 2018 season. Ryan came up just short of having two 1,000-yard rushers.
Grayson Tomberlin was the top ball carrier for the Cowboys with 1,172 yards on 162 carries. Tomberlin had a season-high 273 yards against Bray-Doyle, which was the 12th best mark in school history.
Photo By Sheree Hanson
Tomberlin compiled the fourth and seventh best yards passing totals in school history against Bray-Doyle and Maysville, respectively. His four touchdown passes against Bray-Doyle is tied for the fifth most in school history.
The sophomore quarterback finished with 1,688 yards passing and 11 touchdowns.
Skyler Parkhill was just behind Tomberlin’s rushing total with 913 yards on only 107 carries for an average of 8.5 yards per carry. His 228 yards rushing against Empire is tied for the 26th best individual rushing total in school history. His six rushing touchdowns against Empire was the second most in school history.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
Parkhill was the leading receiver for the Cowboys with 39 catches for 932 yards – coming up just short of a 1,000-yard double-double in yards rushing and receiving.
In the game against Wilson, Parkhill snagged nine receptions, which is the second most in school history. Parkhill owns that school record with 11 catches in a game during his freshman season. The four-year starter for the Cowboys also had two other games with seven receptions, which tied him for the fifth most in school history.
Parkhill also broke the school record for most yards receiving in a game. He totaled 215 yards receiving against Bray-Doyle to set the record. He also had 189 yards receiving against Maysville and Caddo and that is the second most yards receiving on the school record books. His 154 yards receiving against Wilson is the eighth best mark in school history.
In the game against Bray-Doyle, Parkhill had four receptions for scores and that is the top mark in school history.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
As you might expect the two Cowboy performers led the team in scoring in 2018. Parkhill total 176 points for the season with 48 coming against Bray-Doyle – the most in school history. Parkhill had 15 rushing touchdowns and 10 touchdown receptions. He also had an interception return for a touchdown. Parkhill also had nine two-point conversion runs and one two-point conversion reception.
Parkhill’s interception return was the longest in school history – 99 yards against Empire.
Travis Fristoe contributed to the Cowboy rushing game. He became eligible after the season started, but had 277 yards rushing and scored five touchdowns on the ground. He also had a touchdown reception.
Weldon was another top target of Tomberlin in the passing game. The Cowboy senior finished with 18 receptions for 319 yards and three touchdown receptions. He also returned a fumble for a score and had five two-point conversion receptions.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
As a team, the Cowboy offense did not produce any school records but did record some impressive marks in several categories.
The 276 yards passing against Bray-Doyle was the fourth highest total in school history and the 642 yards against the Donkeys represents the fourth highest total in school history.
Ryan had 12 receptions in games against Maysville, Wilson and Central High which ties for the ninth most in school history.
The 24 first downs earned against Bray-Doyle were the third most in school history. And, the 152 points scored by Bray-Doyle and Ryan combined set a new school mark. The 98 points scored by Ryan and Grandfield tied for the seventh most in school history.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys gave up the fourth most points in a game in school history as Bray-Doyle hit the Cowboys for 74 points. The 507 yards gained by Bray-Doyle in the game was the sixth highest total by an opponent in school history.
Photo by Sheree Hanson
Caddo rolled up 502 yards on the Cowboys and that mark is the seventh-highest total in school history.
The Cowboys had six seniors that completed their gridiron careers – Williams, Parkhill, Weldon, Brown, Pacen Wiest and Fristoe.
Here is a look back at some of the Cowboy games during the season:
Best All-Around Performance: A 24-6 victory over Wilson in what were awful playing conditions.
Most Dramatic Win: The memorable 78-74 victory over Bray-Doyle tops the list of exciting games this season. The Donkeys scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to rally from a large deficit before the Cowboys scored with only four seasons left on the clock to pull out the win.
Most Memorable Performance: The Cowboys were very impressive in the 84-36 victory over Empire. The Cowboy defense contributed scores on interception returns and also had a kickoff return in Ryan’s mercy-rule win over the preseason pick to win the district title.
Most Forgettable Game: The 57-26 loss to Caddo was by far the Cowboys’ poorest performance of the season for a game that lasted four quarters. The Bruins finished the season with a 2-8 record.
Most Embarrassing Loss: The 58-0 loss to rival Waurika was a tough one although the Eagles are putting together one of the finest seasons in school history. But, The Cowboys had six turnovers in only one half of football and never gave themselves a chance to be competitive against the eventual district champion. Honorable mention is the 68-8 loss in the season opener to Snyder when the Cowboys looked totally disorganized and caused a great deal of pessimism among Cowboy fans about the 2018 season.
Most Improvement: After the difficult loss to Snyder, the Cowboys came back in the second week of the season with an impressive 70-28 victory over Grandfield.
Most Undisciplined Game: The Cowboys gained the 78-74 win over Bray-Doyle despite 24 penalties for 218 yards. The Cowboys had several personal foul penalties and three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Penalties plagued the Cowboys through much of the season.
Key Win: Every district game was important for the Cowboys because the talent edge was not that great, but the 24-6 win over Wilson helped propel the Cowboys into the runner-up position in the district that enabled them to host a playoff game for the second year in a row.
Biggest Blunder: This was not committed by the Cowboys, but rather this reporter. Throughout the season the name of Skyler Parkhill was misspelled. Apologies are in order to the outstanding Cowboy senior.
Hoping to redeem what has been a disappointing season for the Waurika fast-pitch softball team, the Lady Eagles were to have begun play today in the Class A District Tournament at Ringling.
The first round game with Wilson was to have been played at noon today (Thursday). The loser was slated to face Ringling at 1:30 p.m. and the winner plays Ringling today at 3 p.m.
The double-elimination tournament will continue tonight and if only two teams remain, the championship game would be tonight if one of the teams has no losses.
An if necessary game is scheduled for Friday.
Last week the Lady Eagles dropped contests to Geronimo, 4-1, on Monday and to Velma-Alma, 12-5, last Thursday
The Lady Eagles scored in the top of the first against Geronimo as Gracie Walling singled. Hope Cummings also singled and Walling scored by stealing home to give Waurika a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Blue Jays picked up two runs in the bottom of the first as the first two runners reached on errors and eventually came around to score to give Geronimo a 2-1 advantage.
The game stayed at 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth inning. Three hits and two walks helped the Lady Blue Jays add two more runs to take a 4-1 advantage into the seventh inning.
In the top of the seventh, the Lady Eagles went down in order.
Five different players for Waurika had hits – Liberti Simmons, Faith Roberson, Walling, Cummings and Landry Forsyth.
Against Velma-Alma the Lady Eagles battled on nearly even terms with the Lady Comets until late in the game.
The Lady Comets got on the board first with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the first with the benefit of only two base hits.
The Lady Eagles answered in the top of the second with a pair of runs. Cummings singled and Forsyth singled and Cummings scored on a bases loaded walk by Grace Hill. Forsyth scored on an error and the Lady Eagles had trimmed the lead to 4-2.
V-A came back with a single run in the bottom of the second to increase the lead to 5-2.
Waurika narrowed the lead in the top of the third with a run after Walling reached on an error Forsyth got an RBI-single to put the deficit at 5-3.
The Lady Comets added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a run to put the score at 6-3.
In the top of the fifth, the Lady Eagles scored twice. Walling led off with a walk, Cummings singled and Forsyth singles to load the bases. Riley Howell was hit by a pitch to score Walling and Kinzie Taylor got an RBI-single to cut the Lady Comet lead to 6-5.
In the bottom of the fifth the Lady Comets scored three times taking advantage of two Lady Eagle errors, a walk and two doubles to extend the lead to 9-5.
Waurika could not cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth and V-A added three more runs in the bottom of the inning with a three singles and two Waurika errors.
The Lady Eagles could not score in the top of the seventh to end the game.
Forsyth was outstanding at the plate for the Lady Eagles going 3-for-4 with one run batted in. Cummings had two hits and scored two runs. Walling also scored a pair of runs for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles had seven hits total, but nine Waurika errors hampered the squad’s ability to stay with the Lady Comets, who had 10 hits and had only two errors in the game.
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.
