From left; Donovan Roberts and Jaime Myers of Norman High and Daniel Davis and Emilio Gatewood of Norman North.PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: NORMAN EDITION

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010 SPECIAL SECTION NEWSOK.COM/VARSITY

2 0 1 0VARSITY

NORMAN NORTH | THE TIMBERWOLVES ARESTOCKED WITH RUNNING BACKS. PAGE 2

NORMAN | THE TIGERS’ TRIO OF STANDOUTSIS READY TO TURN THINGS AROUND. PAGE 4

PURCELL | QUARTERBACK COLE SWAYZEAND THE DRAGONS ARE GEARING UP FORANOTHER PLAYOFF RUN. PAGE 6

VI

NORMAN — How good isNorman North’s crew ofrunning backs? Considerthis: One of them ran foralmost 2,000 yards lastyear and already has a Di-vision I-A offer, but isn’tlisted as the starter.

Emilio Gatewood, a se-nior move-in from Mill-wood tops the depth chartat one of the cornerbackspots on defense, but he’sjust one of several stand-out runners in the back-field mix.

Senior Raymond Dembycame out of spring listed asthe starter at tailback, butGatewood, sophomoreBryan Payne and seniorDaniel Davis will also totethe ball regularly for the T-

Wolves.Gatewood, a 5-8, 175-

pound scatback with tre-mendous strength, startedthe last two seasons atMillwood, rushing formore than 1,000 yardseach season. He compiledmore than 1,900 yards togo with 25 touchdowns in2009.

Demby is a 6-0, 200-pounder who physicallylooks more like a collegeplayer than a high school-er. He’s coming off a kneeinjury that sidelined himfor the final five games ofthe season last year. But inthe games he played,Demby showed flashes ofgreatness.

“We call them thunderand lightning, with Raybeing the thunder andEmilio the lightning,” saidDavis, one of the state’s top

defensive ends. “They’reboth really good. They’regoing to cause a lot ofproblems for any defense.”

Davis, who has commit-ted to Stanford, will helpcause problems for foesout of the backfield, too.He’ll see time at fullbackand tailback, while alsosplitting out wide as a re-ceiver and playing tightend.

Payne stands just 5-7and weighs 155 pounds, butas he demonstrated in thespring, he’s hard to eventouch when he gets going,let alone tackle.

Even with such a sur-plus of talented backssharing the carries, lookfor Gatewood to continuehis game-breaking waysthat have been on displayat Millwood. He’s beinglooked at by Tulsa, Loui-

siana Tech and OregonState and is one of thoserare players who fans growto expect something excit-ing from any time he getsthe ball.

“It was a big changecoming here,” Gatewoodsaid of his move to Nor-man North. “The condi-tioning and weight liftingis a lot different than what

I was used to, a lot harder.That should make me bet-ter, though, so that’s good.Football is football, so theplaying part of it has gonepretty well.”

Norman North stocked with running backsBY JUSTIN HARPERStaff Writerjharper@opubco.com

Norman North’sRaymond Dembywas sidelinedwith a knee injuryfor the final fivegames of lastseason. PHOTO BY

STEVE SISNEY, THEOKLAHOMAN

NORMAN — The weaponsare many. Now, so too,could be the wins.

Norman heads into the2010 season with some ofthe best players in Class6A, a fact that should putan end to three consecutivelosing seasons.

In running back Dono-van Roberts, linebackerGreg Offenburger and do-it-all standout JaimeMyers, the Tigers have anelite triumvirate fewschools can match.

Roberts, who emerged asthe starter at the end of hisfreshman season, ran formore than 1,000 yards lastyear as a sophomore. The6-1, 205-pounder is a bat-tering ram with moves, andNorman will feed him theball a lot.

In Myers, the Tigers havean explosive playmakerwho has scored touch-downs on receptions, runs,kick returns and intercep-tion returns. The 5-10, 190-pound senior may be get-ting more college looks as adefensive back, but he’s asdangerous as anyone in 6Awith the ball in his hands inthe open field.

As for Offenburger, thesenior is a three-year start-er who averaged more than10 tackles per game lastseason. At 6-2, 225, Offen-burger has the size, athleticability and definitely theattitude to create collisionsall over the field.

What’s more, David Nel-son and Stephan McElroyare also terrific linebackers,giving Norman perhaps thebest corps in 6A.

“Oh, for sure. There’s nodoubt,” Offenburger said.“We’re all three prettysmart and know the game.And we just have a feel forwhere the ball is.”

Norman needs to replaceChad Johnson at quarter-back, but has a good groupof candidates. One who hasdrawn a lot of interest issophomore Zach Long, theson of former NFL playerand OU offensive coordi-nator Chuck Long.

Heading into coach GregNation’s third season,there’s a different feelamong the players.

“The past two years havebeen rebuilding years,” Of-fenburger said. “This year,we’re coming togethermore as a team and playingtogether more. We all haveeach other’s back outthere.”

Norman trio ready to turn things aroundBY JUSTIN HARPERStaff Writerjharper@opubco.com

Norman’sJaimeMyers, left,brings downDel City’sGreg John-son during a2009 game.

PHOTO BY STEVESISNEY, THE

OKLAHOMANARCHIVE

With Blanchard seniorQB Zach Ray

Your team made the playoffsand went 8-4 last season, and thatteam was coming off a playoffberth in 2008. Can breakthroughseasons like that continue to buildthe program this season and be-yond?

“It definitely builds the program.Pretty much, we have had a greatgroup of seniors the past two years.That sums it up the best. Last year’sgroup was especially athletic. Thisyear we definitely have some lead-

ers among the seniors. And thatmakes all the difference when youhave seniors with a good head ontheir shoulders.”

How did you get started playingfootball?

“I started in Little League, I think Iwas in fourth grade. But I ended upplaying up a grade with a 12-and-under team because I was biggerthan everyone else. It was a goodway to start, I guess.”

Does any one game of your ca-reer stand out more than others?

“My sophomore year against Cas-cia Hall. We went up to Tulsa to play

them. We ended up losing to themin the quarterfinals of the playoffs.It’s kind of weird that I would re-member a loss instead of a win, butthe atmosphere up there and beingin the playoffs, it just seemed huge.And the guy I was switching outwith got knocked out and I playedthe rest of the game. So that gamestands out a lot.

What game gets you fired upevery time you look at the sched-ule?

“Tuttle. I love playing those guys.They’re an old rivalry from yearspast. That’s always a fun game to

play. Last year didn’t go the way wewanted it to, though. We’re definite-ly ready for Tuttle this year.”

When you look ahead to theseason, what are the things youwant to accomplish?

“The past couple of years wefinished in the third or fourth spot inthe district. So winning the district isdefinitely up there. And, of course,make the playoffs again. We’ve lostin the second round the last twoyears, so getting past that round isalso big.”

BY JUSTIN HARPER

Q&A

Zach RayBlanchard seniorquarterback

With Bridge CreekQB Ryan Spangler

At 6-foot-8, you won’t finda taller quarterback thanBridge Creek’s Ryan Span-gler. A star in football andbasketball, the senior hasbeen a big part of the Bob-cats’ recent success.

You’re at a football campone day, a top basketballevent the next. How toughhas it been to find somebalance this summer?

It has been tough, but I’vegrown up always playingdifferent sports. It doessome time feel like it’s a newsport each day. But Iwouldn’t have it any otherway.

What makes this offenseso explosive?

It’s the total package. Wehave a line that does a greatjob blocking and giving metime. We have receivers thatit feels like have never drop-ped a ball in their career. And

we have everybody back.How much fun is it to

play in this type of of-fense?

It’s a blast. It feels like wecan chunk it around and runour offense against anybody,doesn’t matter who we play.We feel we have the totalpackage.

A move to 3A, any wor-ries there?

No, it’s going to be a greatchallenge. That’s what youwant, a chance to playagainst the best. We’redefinitely going to have thatthis year.

You’re a pretty big bas-ketball prospect as well,how is that going for you?

The summer was veryexciting. I’m up to 11 offersnow. I love football, don’t getme wrong, but my firstchoice is definitely basket-ball. Gonzaga, Penn Stateand TCU have been some ofmy latest offers.

BY ROBERT PRZYBYLO

Q&A

Bridge CreekquarterbackRyan Spangler,who is 6-foot-8, has 11offers fromcolleges toplay basket-ball. PHOTO BY

STEVE SISNEY, THEOKLAHOMAN

Cox Communications (Cox 3) and KSBI(Cox 7) are back once again to showcasesome of the top high school football gamesthis year. The stations are televising a com-bined 36 contests.

Week 1› Thursday, Sept. 2 — Douglass at McGuin-ness (Cox); Heritage Hall at Casady (KSBI)› Friday, Sept. 3 — Bixby at Jenks (Cox);Clinton at Weatherford (KSBI)

Week 2› Thursday, Sept. 9 — Yukon at EdmondSanta Fe (Cox); Del City at Norman North(KSBI)› Friday, Sept. 10 — Jenks at Tulsa Union(Cox); Putnam City North at Mustang(KSBI)

Week 3› Thursday, Sept. 16 — Tulsa Washingtonat Tulsa East Central (Cox); Norman Northat Westmoore (KSBI)› Friday, Sept. 17 — Mustang at Bixby(Cox); Edmond Santa Fe at Midwest City(KSBI)

Week 4› Thursday, Sept. 23 — Del City at EdmondNorth (Cox)› Friday, Sept. 24 — Claremore at Coweta(Cox); Newcastle at Kingfisher (KSBI)

Week 5› Thursday, Sept. 30 — Sapulpa at South-

moore (Cox); Shawnee at Norman (KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 1 — Midwest City at PutnamCity North (Cox); Norman North at Yukon(KSBI)

Week 6› Thursday, Oct. 7 — Tulsa NOAH at Betha-ny (Cox); Edmond North at Putnam City(KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 8 — Cascia Hall at Berryhill(Cox); Norman at Southmoore (KSBI)

Week 7› Thursday, Oct. 14 — Norman North atMoore (Cox)› Friday, Oct. 15 — Guthrie at Carl Albert(Cox); Putnam City at Mustang (KSBI)

Week 8› Thursday, Oct. 21 — Owasso at Bixby(Cox); Jenks at Southmoore (KSBI)› Friday, Oct. 22 — TBA (Cox); El Reno atGuthrie (KSBI)

Week 9› Thursday, Oct. 28 — Norman North atEdmond Memorial (Cox)› Friday, Oct. 29 — Broken Arrow at Jenks(Cox); Muskogee at Norman (KSBI)

Week 10› Thursday, Nov. 4 — Yukon at EdmondMemorial (Cox)› Friday, Nov. 5 — TBA (Cox); Midwest Cityat Norman North (KSBI)

High school football TV schedule

PURCELL — Few programshave been as consistentlystrong as Purcell over thepast decade. Fact is, theDragons have made the play-offs for 10 consecutive years.

This season almost cer-tainly will be no different interms of making the post-season. Although it might bedifferent in a good way: TheDragons may go further thanthey have since the streakstarted.

With sensational quarter-back Cole Swayze and big-time running back DamienShea, Purcell may have themost potent rushing combi-nation in 3A. Both ran formore than 1,000 yards lastseason.

Swayze, a junior, is in histhird year as a starter, and

coach Mike Wilson expectsthe QB to be even better thanhe has been. That’s saying alot.

“Well, hopefully we’re go-ing to be a little more versa-tile this year with the wayCole has been throwing theball,” Wilson said. “He’s got-ten a lot better and he reallythrew the ball well in ourscrimmage.”

Purcell has several strongreceivers, including HunterMarcum, a senior who hasseen extensive action sincehis freshman season.

Six starters return on of-fense, which will also aidSwayze, who has the demea-nor of a senior.

“He’s a junior and he’s al-ready started 21 games,” Wil-son said. “He’s definitely aleader on the football team.You don’t see panic in hiseyes ever. He’s cool and col-lected and understands the

game really well.”The Dragons lost to even-

tual champion Cascia Hall inthe playoffs — a defeat thatsnapped a seven-game win-ning streak.

Wilson said Cascia Hallhas all the tools to repeat in3A. But having seen the teamlast season, these Purcellplayers know what level theyhave to get to if they expectto take the gold ball.

“Everyone else is going tohave to rise up to them be-cause they’re not going to fallback to the pack,” Wilsonsaid. “I think we’re athleticenough (to contend). I thinkwe have to prove ourselvesup front, though. We saw inthe first scrimmage that wehave a lot of things to workon on the offensive line. For-tunately most of thosethings were correctable.Coaching-wise, you can fixthat.”

Purcell, Swayze gearing up for another runBY JUSTIN HARPERStaff Writerjharper@opubco.com

Purcell’s Hun-ter Marcum,right, at-tempts tocatch a passas Elgin’s Ja-son Butlerdefends himduring a 2009game. Mar-cum, now asenior, hasseen playingtime since hewas a fresh-man.

PHOTO BY SARAHPHIPPS, THE

OKLAHOMANARCHIVE

TUTTLE — When your his-tory and tradition is as stoutas Tuttle football’s, it’s a lotharder to come away from aseason satisfied.

Example A is last season.The 2009 Tigers went 11-1.Eleven wins in 12 games? Thatshould make anyone happy.Right?

“Well, it’s actually kind offrustrating to look back at lastseason,” said senior Mark Le-gako. “We had a great seasonup to the point we lost. To endon that note is never good. Butit fires us up for this season.”

That’s bad news for oppo-nents. Outside of the surpris-ing 40-14 loss to Sequoyah-Claremore in the Class 3Asemifinals, the Tigers didn’tjust beat people, they throt-

tled them.On offense, Tuttle ran for

2,648 yards, averaged 312.2yards of total offense and 34.0points per game. Defensively,the Tigers held nine foes to atouchdown or less and al-lowed an average of just 5.2points per game.

Seven starters, includingLegako, return on defense,which means there should belittle or no drop-off.

“We’re returning quite afew people,” said Legako, acornerback and receiver.“We’ll be good. We mighteven be better than last year.”

Graduated Ethan Biddy,Tuttle’s little dynamo of arunning back, will be verytough to replace on offense.But with quarterback TannerKoons back at the helm, noone is worried.

Koons ran for six touch-downs while averaging 6.5

yards per carry a year ago.And while the Tigers employ aground-oriented, run-firstoffense, when they did pass in2009, Koons was extremelysuccessful. The 6-1, 182-pounder completed 50 of 86tosses for 787 yards and seventouchdowns.

With other standouts suchas Dylan Coppenbarger, An-derson Depee and Brody Simsfiguring to make a sizable im-pact, Tuttle is in good posi-tion to do what it seeminglydoes every season — contendfor a state championship.

“That’s what you grow upexpecting to do here,” Legakosaid. “I remember watchingthe high school players when Iwas a kid and thinking theywere the greatest and thinkingthey never lost. Now it’s ourturn to live up to that for allthe little kids who are watch-ing us.”

Tuttle expectations remain highBY JUSTIN HARPERStaff Writerjharper@opubco.com

Tuttle quarterback Tanner Koons completed50 of 86 passes for 787 yards and seventouchdowns last season.

PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

SECTION PRODUCTION

› Sports editor: Mike Sher-man

› Assistant sports editors:Scott Munn, Hayley Riggs,Ryan Sharp and DarlaSmith

› Writers: Justin Harper,Robert Przybylo and ScottWright

› Design: Hayley Riggs

› Cover: Donovan Roberts,Jaime Myers, Daniel Davis,and Emilio Gatewood. Pho-to by Steve Sisney, designby Phillip Baeza

HIGH SCHOOLPREVIEW SECTIONPick up Sunday’s Okla-homan for our 2010 highschool preview section,where you can find sched-ules for every team in thestate and rankings for everyclass.

MORE ONLINE

› Follow the action atNewsOK.com/varsity.› Follow us on twitter at@HSVarsity

With Noble LBJohn Whitlock

Your big brother, ColbyWhitlock, is entering hissenior season playing atTexas Tech. Was it anadvantage having a futureBig 12 football player inthe house when you werea kid?

“Fighting with him thewhole time I was growingup definitely toughened meup. And now, going to allthose Texas Tech games, itmakes me want to playcollege football even more.It really drives me to bebetter.”

Noble has a new coachthis season — sort of — asSteve Barrett, whocoached at Noble from2002-04 and reached theplayoffs each season, is

back at the helm. Can youget back to the success hehad before?

“Definitely. Everybodyaround the locker room hasa different attitude andoutlook on everything.Everyone is working harderand expecting to do theirbest. It’s going to be a lotbetter.”

After losing to Tecum-seh by a point last year,are you anxious for therematch in the seasonopener?

“That’s the game I’mlooking forward to themost. We kind of have alittle bit of a rivalry goingon. But after last year, whenthey beat us 21-20, wereally can’t wait to playthem again. Going intohalftime, we were up 20-0.We won’t let things likethat happen anymore.

At 5-9, 205, poundsyou’re not quite as big asyour brother (6-3, 294), sodefensive line doesn’tappear to be in your fu-ture. What position wouldyou play if you had yourchoice?

“I love the position I play— linebacker. I definitely liketo hit people and I’ve beenplaying linebacker all my lifestarting in Little League.”

Speaking of LittleLeague, isn’t it true thatyou got a head start onyour football career?

“Yeah, my dad coachedmy brother in Little Leagueand I started playing foot-ball when I was four. Iplayed on an eight-and-under football when I wasfour. That toughened meup, too.”

BY JUSTIN HARPER

Q&A

Dibble hungry formore success

When Charley Northtook the head coaching jobat Dibble in 2009, theywere coming off an 0-10season in 2008 and a 1-9season in 2007.

Last season under Norththe Demons went 3-7, buthe doesn’t attribute theirsuccess to a new offensivescheme or longer hours inthe gym.

“We just worked hard andtried to take advantage ofevery opportunity we had,”North said. “We told ourkids to play hard and havefun, and that’s what wedid.”

After winning 3 gameslast year, Dibble players willwant more this season andhave the tools to make thathappen.

They return eight starterson both sides of the ball.Leading rusher Seth Ham-by, a junior, will be in thebackfield again after run-ning for 400 yards lastseason. All-District punter

Ryan Keely returns as well.On the defensive side ofthe ball, junior lineman6-foot-3, 275-pound JeremyCunningham also returns.

MINCO’S NUMBERS,PROSPECTSGROWING

Clint Warren faced somechallenges when he tookthe job as Minco’s footballcoach. It was his first head-coaching job, there weren’tmany kids signed up to playand they hadn’t had a goodworkout schedule.

Those hardships led to adifficult year for the Bull-dogs, as they struggled to a3-7 record. Warren hashigher expectations for hissecond year on the job.

“We’ve really improved inthe weight room and at theteam camps we’ve gone to,”he said. “Hopefully all thatwork will pay off once theseason gets here.”

The program has grownin Warren’s time. He had 26players show up for regular6:30 a.m. workouts, morethan ever before.

“They’ve had to learn todo some stuff they’ve neverdone,” Warren said. “But theones I’ve had there haveresponded tremendously toeverything we’ve askedthem to do.”

ROYALS LOOK TOREPEAT

If ever a team lookedprimed to repeat a cham-pionship season, it’s Com-munity Christian. Comingoff an 11-0 season in whichit won the Oklahoma Chris-tian Schools Athletic Asso-ciation football crown, theRoyals have eight startersback on each side of theball.

Former Oklahoma andNFL player Josh Normanenters his second season asCommunity Christian headcoach. Among the manystarters he has back arequarterback Scott Sey-mour and linebacker BeauPotter, both of whom arehave shown All-State po-tential.

BY JUSTIN HARPER, TARIQ LEEAND CORBIN HOSLER

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

With WashingtonQB Dakota Treat

Will having a season asa starter under your beltmake everything seemmore comfortable as asenior?

Definitely. I saw a lot ofthings last year and learneda lot. It’s going to be a greatseason because I know howto handle things better andI won’t be over-thinkingthings. I’ll just react and playmore on instinct. That’s agood feeling to have.

You have a new coachthis season in Brad Beller,who took over for DennisMcCray. Is that going tomean a lot of new thingsto learn?

Actually, Coach Bellerplayed for Coach McCray at

Washington. So we’re run-ning the same plays, usingthe same terminology. It’sbeen a real easy adjust-ment because most every-thing is the same or closeto the same.

Does having a formerWashington player asyour coach instill more ofa sense of pride?

Yes. He’s the prefect fitfor us. If anyone shouldhave gotten the job, it was

Coach Beller. The town isreally excited because theycan remember watchinghim play. And we know he’sdone what we’re doing now,been where we are now,which makes everythingseem real comfortable.

You’ve drawn the in-terest of Ivy Leagueschools Yale, Dartmouthand Brown, as well asCentral Oklahoma in re-gards to continuing yourfootball career in college.Are you leaning towardgoing far away for schoolor staying close to home?

That’s tough to say. It’sreally a good situation be-cause (the Ivy Leagueschools) are such goodacademic schools andwould be a great opportuni-ty. But UCO is close and I’dbe able to play in front of

my friends and family. Ithink it will work out greateither way I go.

You were solid all of lastseason, passing for morethan 1,300 yards and 15touchdowns. But youreally came on as theseason progressed andthe team won six of itslast seven games.

The game that reallystuck with me was our lossto Bethany. We were down13-6 at the end of the gameand drove down and scored.We went for two and didn’tget in the end zone by lessthan a yard or so. Thatgame made me realize howclose the difference be-tween winning and losingcan be. We ended up havingthree more games decidedby one point and we wonthem all.

BY JUSTIN HARPER

Q&A

DakotaTreatWash-ingtonseniorQB

Santa Fe South couldsurprise

In quarterback Jameson Ball-inger, Santa Fe South has an all-star caliber player who would vie fora starting spot at many of the met-ro’s larger schools. The 6-3, 190-pound senior passed for 1,850 yardsand 15 touchdowns for a Saintsteam that finished 2-8 in 2009.

The Saints expect the win total toincrease this season. And withBallinger having a year of experi-ence and feeling comfortable run-ning the offense, that’s a real possi-bility. Regardless, the Saints’ pass-ing game should certainly be for-midable. Ballinger’s favorite target,Abraham Luna, is back for his juniorseason after catching 40 passesand scoring nine touchdowns.

SOUTHWEST CHRISTIANLOOKS TO CONTEND

Thanks to a bulked-up line andnewfound confidence from a recentscrimmage, Southwest Christianplayers are expecting big things thisseason.

“We scrimmaged Destiny Chris-tian and at one point it was 38-8,”said Garth Branch, a senior receiverand strong safety. “We looked atthat and realized we can really dosomething this year. So many peo-

ple on the team have amazing skills.I think we can win state.”

To do that, the Eagles will likelyhave to go through defending OC-SAA champion Community Chris-tian.

“That’s our biggest rivalry,” Branchsaid. “We’ve never beaten CCSbefore. But we’ve never had anoffensive line like we do now. Lastyear our centers and guards werelike 150 pounds going up against230-pound guys. Now we havesome size, too.”

AGUILAR A DOUBLETHREAT FOR ROCKETS

Mount St. Mary’s Andrew Aguilarwill be causing problems for oppo-nents on both sides of the ball afterhaving his role increased on offense

and defense.Formerly an outside linebacker,

Aguilar has moved to inside line-backer. And on offense, the one-time third or fourth option is nowone of the primary targets.

“I’m more of a hit-first kind ofperson, so linebacker is my favoriteposition,” Aguilar said. “I always tryto lead the team in tackles (for theseason), but my goal this year is tolead in every game we play.”

As for his wideout responsibilities:“Last year we had a bunch of olderplayers who were our main targets,and I was always the fallback. Like ifwe needed someone to catch apass when everyone else is double-teamed, you can look for me. Thisyear I can be the guy getting dou-ble-teamed. I like that a lot.”

BY JUSTIN HARPER

MOORE AREA NOTEBOOK

Jameson BallingerSanta Fe Southquarterback

Andrew AguilarMount St. Mary’slinebacker

Garth BranchSouthwest Christianreceiver/strong safety

With WesternHeights RB DariusYoung

You’ve got some talentedplayers like quarterback Ken-neth Mayfield and some goodlinemen back on offense. Howdo you see things turning outon that side of the ball?

The offense should be prettygood with a whole bunch ofskill kids and the quarterbackcoming back. We should beexplosive.

You’re about 5-foot-7 and205 pounds. Are you more ofa power runner or a speedguy?

I do a little bit of everything. Ican run hard in the middle orget outside and try to makeguys miss.

Do you have a goal for num-ber of wins this season, or areyou just looking to be in everygame and see what happens?

I hope we can be in everygame. Maybe we can go .500at least, get better every year.Maybe this year or next year,make the playoffs.

You’re also a linebacker.Which side of the ball is thestrength of the team?

With the skill kids we havecoming back on offense, that’sa tough decision, but I’d have tosay the defense. The defensewill have to step up and stoppeople. We’re playing a 3-4because of all the skill kids wehave. Trying to get more line-backers and DBs on the field.

Do you like playing offenseor defense better?

I like offense a lot better. Thiswill be my first year playingdefense, even though I could’vebefore. They chose not to.

What’s it like playing forcoach Kevin Ball?

He’s very enthusiastic. Hewants the best for his players.He just wants all his players toinvest just like he’s invested. Heputs all his time in to get theteam better and he wants usto do the same thing.

BY SCOTT WRIGHT

Q&A

DariusYoungWesternHeightsrunningback

With Newcastlesenior CB JeremyMcDade

How did you get startedplaying football?

I was about six years oldand I was always watchingit on TV. I really liked it, somy dad asked me if I want-ed to play. I said yes.

You’re a standout defen-sive back, but is there aposition other than corneryou wish you could play?

I wish I was big enough toplay linebacker or defensiveend, but I’m too small forthat.

As a three-year starter,what will be different nowthat you’re a senior?

It seems like this seasonwill be a lot easier, and I canhelp out the other kids on

the team. I feel real com-fortable.

What game are youlooking forward to mostthis season?

Probably Tuttle. I’m defi-nitely looking forward tothat game. We’ve beenrivals with them for a longtime. It’s always a big game.

What goals have you setfor yourself this season?

To get about six or seveninterceptions and help ourteam make the playoffs.

Out of all of your bighits, does one stand outthe most?

My sophomore year, wewere playing Cache, andright before halftime thisguy had a 10-yard out. I hithim so hard that my shoul-ders hurt for a couple ofdays after that.

BY JUSTIN HARPER

Q&A

While Southmoore washaving its breakthrough sea-son last year — going 11-2 andreaching the Class 6A semifi-nals — TJ Wright could onlywatch from the sideline.

"It was a weird feeling be-cause I felt great about how wewere playing and how we werewinning," Wright said. "Butknowing I couldn’t be a part ofit on the field really hurt."

Wright will get his chance tomake up for lost time this sea-son. The senior is one of nu-merous new starters who theSaberCats are expecting bigthings from. And with 17 start-ers gone from the 2009 club,new starters such as Wrightwill need to be difference mak-ers.

"A lot of people are going toknow about TJ really fast," said

Southmoore star tailback An-drew Long. "TJ can hit. Herocked me in practice. I got upand thought I had a concus-sion. He hits us like that, so I’dhate to be on the other team."

Wright had previouslyplayed linebacker, but hasmoved to the cornerback spot.He broke his collarbone inpractice last year just as theseason got going.

"I’m comfortable at corner,"he said. "I really wouldn’t carewhere I played, I’m so ready toget back on the field. It wastough sitting out."

The injury didn’t keepWright from having great suc-cess last year. In the spring hewon a powerlifting state cham-pionship and set two state re-cords. Competing in the 157-pound class, Wright smashedthe deadlift state record in hisweight group by hoisting 530pounds. He benched 285 andsquatted 430, giving him a re-

cord total of 1,245 pounds."He has tremendous

strength," said Southmoorecoach Chris Jensen. "And he’sshown a lot of desire to comeback and do well in his seniorseason. He’s going to be a reallygood player for us."

Long, a thousand-yardrusher as a sophomore whohas 4.37 speed, and quarter-back Kendal Thompson, whohas already committed to playat the University of Oklahoma,will command the headlines.But players like Wright coulddetermine if Southmoore con-tinues to rank among the bestin Class 6A.

"We have a lot of playerswho we already know whatthey can do and who we knowwill be great for us," Wrightsaid. "But to be a team like wehad last year, we have to have alot of guys be great whohaven’t had their chance be-fore now."

Southmoore’s Wright anxious to get on fieldBY JUSTIN HARPERStaff Writerjharper@opubco.com

Southmoore’sAndrew Long,top, ran for over1,000 yards lastseason. PHOTO BY

STEVE SISNEY, THEOKLAHOMAN