GAMEDAY: 'Cement your history': Buffs brace for battle at Bishop Kelley
Nov. 9—The road to Chad Richision Stadium starts now.
McAlester will travel Friday to take on Bishop Kelley in Tulsa in the opening round of the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class 5A State football playoffs, and it'll be a battle of both strength and discipline.
"They're going to have to find some inner-self-discipline," Buffs coach Forrest Mazey said. "You can't have 10 penalties a game over a 100 yards consistently and win."
The first postseason test will be Bishop Kelley, in a matchup that has seen instant classics in recent years. McAlester won the last meeting in Tulsa in 2021 with a 19-0 victory, and the Buffs have won all three playoff meetings against the Comets in series history.
The 2023 Comets are 8-2 on the season heading into the playoffs. After losing the first two games of the year to Poteau and Rogers, Ark., the Comets blasted out for an eight-game win streak and undefeated in district play.
Bishop Kelley is led by quarterback Stice Smith, who is able to throw or scramble as the need arises. Some of his top targets have included a trio of senior receivers in Tyler McGinty, Gunnar Jackson, and Mason McFarlane — all who have caught passes for several hundred yards and multiple scores — and Eli Hensley helps lead the ground game.
Defensively, Reid Jones and Sam Rhoades V led the way. Both defenders are committed to play college football, with Rhoades committed to Air Force and Jones heading to Central Arkansas.
The Comet offense averages 35.8 points per game, while holding opponents to an average of 21 points per game.
McAlester (6-4) will hit back with an offense that has added up the yards itself. Quarterback Caden Lesnau returns to helm the offense after Kacin Washington-Mazey's 243-yard performance last week in relief. Lesnau has thrown for more than 1,000 yards in nine games with 11 touchdowns, with top targets Jaxon Lauerman, Carter Lance, Ethan Watkins, and Eli Chatman wrangling in a majority of those yards.
Watkins also leads the ground game, pounding the rock for more than 900 yards out of McAlester's more than 2,300 total rushing yards that also includes significant production from the likes of Drayton Pouncil, Jordan Clark, and Stephen Gragg.
Defensively, the Buffaloes are led by Will Spears with 95 total tackles, followed by Fyfer Mitchell with 68 tackles, Owen Russell with 64, and Washington State commit Malachi Wrice with 56 — with McAlester earning more than 650 tackles, 62 tackles for loss, and 24 sacks as a unit.
The Buffalo offense averages 31.5 points per game, while the defense holds opponents to 20 points per game.
"It's a good matchup if we play McAlester football," Mazey said. "If we play physical football, and we play the way we're capable of playing, it'll be a dang good fight with a chance to win."
The winner of the matchup will advance to the second round of the playoffs, facing the winner between Midwest City and Bishop McGuinness. But McAlester's focus this week is solely on Friday night's battle with the Comets.
A lot will be on the line for the Buffs — a chance to advance in the playoffs, extend the streak of playoff wins over the Comets, and the senior class earning the most wins in a four-year span in school history.
"That's what we're coaching for, that's what these kids have to play for," Mazey said. "If you win, this senior group became the winningest program in the history of McAlester football, and if you don't, you're tied.
"So if you want to cement your history, they have to take it up another level," he added. "And we've got to make sure it happens."
