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Former Bartlesville standout A.J. Archambo returns as coach to mentor current generation

mike tupa, bartlesville examiner-enterprise
·5 min read

Bartlesville High School football enjoys a rich history of receivers.

Some of the best from the early days included:

  • Mark Miller, 1987: Caught two TDs in OT in a stunning upset of Owasso; hauled in 202 and 198 yards in back-to-back games.

  • Spence Rigdon, 1989: Caught 7 passes for 142 yards and 3 TDs in 23-20 OT win against Sand Springs; 8 catches for 117 yards and 2 TDs vs. Stillwater (and two interceptions vs. Tulsa Hale).

  • Steve Sayles, 1991: 5 grabs for 133 yards and TD vs. Stillwater; 8-149 next week against Broken Arrow; 241 all-purpose yards (punt return, kickoff return and reception all for TDs, against Tulsa Memorial.

  • Joel Estes, 1993: 6 straight games with more than 100 yards receiving (102, 130, 139, 112, 159 and 164).

  • David McPhillips, 1998-99: Back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons with different QBs.

Among Bartlesville’s consistently excellent targets in the 2000s have been the two A.J.'s — Parker and Archambo.

Archambo teamed up in 2015 with Parker to form one of the top three explosive receiving tandems in Bartlesville history. Now eight years later, Archambo is back at Bartlesville, as an assistant football coach.

He’s working this year with the varsity wide receivers, alongside veteran assistant Bobby Holmes, and with the seventh-grade team. Archambo is perhaps one of the Top 10 all-around male athletes to have played in the Bartlesville High sports program (not counting College High or Sooner High).

Bartlesville receiver A.J. Archambo, right, goes high to spear a catch for a touchdown during the 2016 season.
Bartlesville receiver A.J. Archambo, right, goes high to spear a catch for a touchdown during the 2016 season.

In high school, he played at an elite level in football, basketball and baseball — and went on to become a key baseball player for Oral Roberts. So, it appeared inevitable Archambo would land a job in the athletics realm.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the sports world,” he said. “I love all three sports. Football definitely is up there as one of my favorites. There’s nothing like playing under the Friday night lights.”

During his Bruin playing days, Archambo played a key role during the 2014-16 seasons. In 2015, he and Parker helped power Bartlesville to a 10-2 record and berth in the state semifinals. Fittingly, both went on to excel in post-high school sports.

Parker currently is in a valiant battle to make the 53-man roster for the San Francisco 49ers. He is No. 2 at nickleback on the preseason depth chart.

“We started playing football together in the first grade,” Archambo recalled about Parker. “We were teammates forever.”

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He added he’s proud of what Parker has, and hopefully will yet accomplish in pro football.

Archambo eyed multiple sports options for college but chose baseball. After shifting him around as a position player in 2018, ORU assigned him mostly a pitching role his final four seasons in the program.

Also during his prep days at Bartlesville High, A.J. Archambo, right, waits on a throw while Caney Valley High's Tristen Gagan slides toward the dish. Gagan also starred in college ball. His younger brother Troy currently is the leading hitter for Missouri Southern State.
Also during his prep days at Bartlesville High, A.J. Archambo, right, waits on a throw while Caney Valley High's Tristen Gagan slides toward the dish. Gagan also starred in college ball. His younger brother Troy currently is the leading hitter for Missouri Southern State.

In his final ORU season last year, Archambo sparkled both on the mound and at the plate. He pitched 52 innings, carved out a 5-2 record, and struck out 44 batters. With a stick in his hand, he batted an impressive 366 (26-of-71), with seven doubles, three homers and 23 RBIs.

“It is a great program, has great coaches … and I had some incredible teammates,” Archambo said about ORU.

He didn’t have to travel far to turn in a successful college career — and he’s back home to launch his post-college pursuits.

“It’s super special,” Archambo said. “I grew up here as a kid. I understand what being a kid is. I understand what being a high school kid is. I was like, ‘I want to go to Bartlesville.’ I have a lot of friends and a lot family close. This is the place I call home.”

And, it’s a place where a lot of Bruin football players are calling him coach. Some of the receivers he’s helping to mentor are Damien Niko, Jett Scully, Austin Zink, Chase Eaves, Julian Uribe and Braxton Decker.

Niko and Scully “are super talented,” and Zink should be a crucial part of the team’s success, Archambo said.

He labeled Eaves as “a bulldog. The kid competes better than a lot of people I’ve played with. … Julian Uribe … is very talented. He’s a team guy. He’s one of my favorite kids to coach. Braxton Decker is a soccer player and up-and-coming hopefully. He’s started learning all the plays.”

Holmes' analysis resonates with Archambo's.

"Austin is doing a really good job transitioning from running back. … It's good to see him progress,' Holmes said. "I would say other than Damien our other deep threat will be Jett. He can take the top off just like Damien. … Seven-on-seven really helped Chase."

Even though Archambo has to be considered one of Bartlesville’s best-ever receivers, it’s not the thrilling catches — when he often launched his 6-foot-4 frame to its apex in the night sky and high-pointed catches over beleaguered defenders — and other game highlights that he recalls most.

“It’s weird,” he said. “It’s not really the touchdowns or making plays or winning games. It’s stuff like staying after practices with some of the guys and trying to hit some of the pigeons with the football. … It’s the little memories. That’s what it's about.”

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: A.J. Archambo returns to Bartlesville to mentor current generation