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Bartlesville-area high school football roundup, top performers from Week 4

mike tupa, bartlesville examiner-enterprise
·6 min read

So far this season, bad luck has swept over the Wesleyan Christian School football program like a hostile hailstorm. But the Mustangs have used the rising tide of adversity to float their boat of resolve.

It paid off Friday night with a gritty road win at Oaks-Mission, 21-14, in eight-man district play.

“We played really well the first half,” said WCS head coach Curt Cloud. “We got worn down the second half a little bit. … For the most part, we played really well defensively.”

Meanwhile, Washington County’s other battle-honed eight-man team, the Copan Hornets, unleashed the entire fury of their potential despite missing two starters.

Nowata High School's Keyshawn Verner, right, makes a move on a Caney Valley High School defender during rivalry football action on Sept. 22, 2023, in Nowata.
Nowata High School's Keyshawn Verner, right, makes a move on a Caney Valley High School defender during rivalry football action on Sept. 22, 2023, in Nowata.

Copan clobbered Bluejacket, 68-20, energized by Teegan Caron with four touchdown runs.

“We didn’t punt once,” noted Copan head coach Marshall Foreman. “We scored every time we had the ball (with the exception of a possession in the final minute of the first half.). We played well.”

High school football: Bartlesville finds fresh start with first win over Washington Hornets since 1995

The WCS and Copan victories set up a mega-showdown next Friday when the Mustangs host the Copan Hornets.

With a rare turn of good fortune, WCS might have back its injured starting quarterback Tyrel Cloud and best skill player Kael Siemers back in uniform.

In other noteworthy area high school football action Friday, Pawhuska broke a two-game losing streak by vexing Vinita, 46-7; Nowata improved to 3-1 by knocking off rival Caney Valley, 44-8; and the Caney Valley (Kan.) Bullpups opened district play by zapping the Cherryvale (Kan.) Chargers, 42-6. Cherryvale scored on the game’s final play.

“I thought we played pretty good defense, holding them to 17 yards rushing,” said CV Pups head coach Criss Davis. “Going into the game, they had been running the ball pretty well.”

Five outstanding performances

Pawhuska: Mason Snodgrass — 19 tackles, 3 sacks, interception.

Copan: Teegan Caron — 4 rushing touchdowns

Dewey: Ryder Muninger — 16-of-22 passing for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 2nd half.

Caney (Kan.): Garrett Watson — Ran for a touchdown, passed for 2 others and recorded a pick six.

Nowata: Peyton Trotter scored 4 touchdowns.

Jay 45, Dewey 15

Two first-half turnovers inside the Jay 10-yard line set a tough tone for Dewey (1-3). But, Dewey snapped back in the second half to reverse the momentum. After hitting on just 4-of-12 passes for 30 yards in the opening half, Muninger connected on 16-of-22 throws for 220 yards in the final two periods. Muninger also hooked up with receivers Bryce Sickler and Zaiden Masters for a receiving touchdown apiece. Evan Propper also intercepted a Jay pass.

Coach’s comments: “We just really shot ourselves in the foot in the first half. We had five turnovers. … They just completely killed us as far as getting momentum. … He’s (Muninger) coming back from a hand injury. It’s good to see him find some rhythm. Hopefully, that’s where we’re headed.” — Ryan Richardson

Dewey High School receiver Easton Davis, No. 10, hauls in a reception during varsity football action against Jay High School on Sept. 22, 2023 at the Dewey field.
Dewey High School receiver Easton Davis, No. 10, hauls in a reception during varsity football action against Jay High School on Sept. 22, 2023 at the Dewey field.

Caney Valley (Kan.) 42, Cherryvale (Kan.) 6

Watson and Jackson Griffin played the role of torrid turbos for the red-hot Pups (3-1). Watson ran for a touchdown, threw for two scores (30, 32) to Ben Matthews and registered a 65-yard pick-six. Griffin broke loose on touchdown runs of 52 and four yards and multiple two-pointruns. Griffin finished with 155 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Pups outrushed the Chargers, 223-17, and out-gained them 285-89. On the defensive side, Matthews and Aden Gorby each notched a sack.

Coach’s comment: “This was good start to playing in district.” — Criss Davis

Copan 68, Bluejacket 20

Copan (2-2) controlled this game with purposeful intent. In fact, Foreman passed up a chance to end it at halftime (on the 45-point mercy rule), because he wanted to play his younger players in the second half. In addition to Caron’s scoring splurge as a runner, Weston O’Rourke scored on a burst of 80 or 85 yards, and Karson Woodworth caught two short passes from freshman backup quarterback Zane Strickland and turned them into long touchdown plays. Copan ended the game in the third quarter when Logan Guess recovered the ball in the end zone after Jarrett Shambles blocked a Bluejacket punt. Starting quarterback Kane Foreman led the Copan offense in the first half. He also called the play on one of Stickland’s scoring throws.

Coach’s comment: “Logan Guess had a good game on defense. He and Jarrett Shambles were probably our best players on defense. … We didn’t throw it too often, but he (Kane) completed a lot of the ones he threw.” — Marshall Foreman

WCS 21, Oaks-Mission 14

Down to a third-string freshman quarterback, the Mustangs (2-2) still yanked out the victory. Rookie passer James Wisdom connected with Carson Tennison for one of the WCS touchdowns. Aden Hart flung a 16-yard scoring strike to Mason Jensen — out of the wildcat formation — for another score. WCS stopped a two-point try and drove down for the decisive score.

Coach’s comment: “We executed pretty well on both sides of the ball,” Curt Cloud said.

Nowata 44, Caney Valley 8

Nowata felt it had something to prove after winning by a controversial forfeit last year against the CV Trojans. The Ironmen surged into Friday’s game at full power, led by Peyton Trotter with four touchdowns and Bear Savala and Isaiah Saxton with one score apiece. Quarterback Treaver Emberson threw for two touchdowns. Nowata boasted three different ball carriers with more than 50 yards rushing and three different receivers with multiple catches.

Coach’s comment: “Overall, our team effort was good on both sides of the ball. Our offensive line took care of the line of scrimmage. … I told them (in the pregame speech) to leave no doubt. … We came out playing hard and didn’t take the foot off the gas until the jayvee came in.” — Chance Juby

Pawhuska 46, Vinita 7

A year ago, Vinita stunned the Huskies in a lopsided result. But, Pawhuska snapped back in Friday's rematch, led by a long list of stars. Snodgrass might have been the firmament that tied Pawhuska's universe together. He racked up 19 tackles, made three sacks and recorded an interception. Jaiden Shaw added eight tackles and two sacks. On the offensive side, Canyon Hindman threw for 288 yards and a TD and ran for two scores. JoJo Hendren ran for one touchdown and caught another. Lane Kyler and Traven Richardson both scored while racking up 111 and 104 yards receiving, respectively.

Coach's comment: "Vinita beat us by 40 last year. We came out in this came with our hair on fire. ... We led 28-0 at halftime. ... We're 2-0 in district."

Morrison 30, Oklahoma Union 8

Oklahoma Union (0-4) tied to grab that slippery victory that has eluded them since the 2021 season.

Barnsdall 2, Claremore Christian 0

Barnsdall remained the area's only unbeaten team (5-0) the easy way — by forfeit. But, that wasn't necessarily the kind of pass Panther head coach Kylee Sweeney wanted, as he tries to season his troops for the grueling upcoming district schedule.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville-area football roundup, top performers from Week 4