Keys to victory for Bartlesville-area high school football teams in Week 1

For the sixth straight year, the Bartlesville High School football team will cut its teeth on Claremore in the season opener.

During that stretch, the series has steadily transformed from a geographic rivalry to a personal scrap of wills. These teams, both rich with veteran toughness, will collide Friday at Custer Stadium, with kickoff planned for 7 p.m.

"They've got a ton of returning starters," said Bartlesville Bruin head coach Harry Wright about the Zebras. "They're similar to us. They've got a lot of sophomores last year who have a year of experience and are back this year as juniors."

Claremore is especially experienced in the offensive backfield and the front seven on defense, he added.

Bartlesville is somewhat a mirror image of the Zebras. The Bruins also will rely heavily on second-year junior starters, including quarterback Nate Neal, feature tailback P.J. Wallace, proven receiver threat Damien Niko, linemen Junior Earnhart, Lucas Wilson and Avery Hitchings, defensive back Mason Manley, versatile Chase Eaves, kicker/receiver Braxton Decker and other 11th graders with varsity experience.

"We're all hoping to come out and get some of those wins," Bruin assistant Otis Crane said during a recent interview about the non-district schedule, which also includes rugged challenges against Sapulpa and Collinsville. "We're looking for complete buy-in and confidence that we can build off on what we did last year."

High school football: Inside the season-opening wins for Pawhuska, Barnsdall and Nowata football

Bartlesville finished 5-7 in 2022 — the program's best season since 2015, while Claremore finished a respectable 6-6. Both teams made notable playoff runs.

Let's take a game-by-game look at keys to this Friday's Bartlesville-area high school football games.

Claremore at Bartlesville

BARTLESVILLE (0-0): Needs to avoid turnovers, particularly interceptions, needs to avoid conduct penalties and needs to pass effectively in order to loosen defense for tailback Wallace.

CLAREMORE (0-0): Bartlesville scored two defensive touchdowns in last year's game, which Bartlesville won, 20-9, so the Zebras need to limit giveaways. Needs to hit on some big pass plays over the top to get to the red zone.

Nowata at Dewey

DEWEY (0-0): Needs for 1st year-starting QB Ryder Muninger to come out with confidence and accuracy. Needs to get the ground game going. Needs to keep its cool emotionally and avoid costly penalties. Dewey's first season outing.

NOWATA (1-0): Needs to not get caught up in what likely will be an emotionally charged atmosphere. Needs second-year quarterback Treaver Emberson to be patient. Needs to get the ball in the hands of Peyton Trotter. Nowata is coming off a 20-16 win at Chelsea.

Webbers Falls at Wesleyan Christian

WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN (0-0): Needs to put behind it a costly offseason that saw the injury to starting quarterback Ty Cloud and the transfer loss of running back Archer Swisher. Needs for Kael Siemers to step up in the QB role, not only as a runner but as a passer. Needs for Mason Jensen and other players to step up and take some of the load.

WEBBERS FALLS (1-0): Needs to not underestimate WCS' strength despite the absence of two key players.

Welch at Copan

COPAN (0-1): Needs to continue to build on its confidence following the positives forged in last week's loss to Barnsdall. QB Kane Foreman needs to continue to spread the passes out. Needs to put faith in its defense.

WELCH (1-0): Needs to not underestimate Copan despite last season's 56-6 win. Welch won last week, 56-0.

Foyil at Barnsdall

BARNSDALL (1-0): Needs to continue to utilize the strengths of its quarterback rotation of Lincoln Gott and Braden Byers as it continues to preview both. Needs to get the ball in the hands of Easton Malone.

FOYIL (1-0): Needs to deal with Barnsdall's physicality.

Haskell at Caney Valley

CANEY VALLEY (0-1): Needs to have a short memory about last week's lopsided loss to a powerful Pawhuska team. Needs to build on experience at quarterback by Noah Mitchell or the other candidate Zack Ketchum. Needs to feature Jeff Childress.

HASKELL (0-0): Needs to not take Caney Valley lightly.

Pawhuska at Cashion

PAWHUSKA (1-0): Needs to not get caught up in the payback mode (Cashion beat the Huskies in the state semifinals in 2020 and 2021) but to focus on the development of this year's team. Needs to continue to utilize the talents of quarterbacks Canyon Hindman and Deacon Hendren. Needs to continue to run the ball well. Needs to emphasize defense.

CASHION (0-1): Needs to not worry about last season's loss to Pawhuska but come out and focus on its strengths. Coming off 59-0 loss to Rejoice Christian.

Wyandotte at Oklahoma Union

OKLAHOMA UNION (0-0): Needs to put last year's 0-10 mark out of its mind and attack this game as a new start. Needs to invest confidence in quarterback Connor Pierce and let him continue to learn on the job as he adjusts to the role. Needs to get the ball in the hands of Waylon Miner.

WYANDOTTE (0-0): Needs to approach this game with full focus and not look past the Cougars.

Caney Valley (Kan.) at Erie (Kan.)

CANEY VALLEY (0-0): The Pups look strong offensively on paper, especially with the return of their quarterback and one of their main ballcarriers. They need to hunker down and grind it out to wear down Erie and also build momentum for other big tests in the first half of the season. They need to establish a limited but effective pass game to keep the defense from crowding the line every play.

ERIE (0-0): Caney Valley has been dominant in the series. Erie needs to approach this meeting with a short memory. Needs to score early and force Caney Valley into a come-from-behind mode. Needs to control the ball and move the chains to eat up the clock.

CLAREMORE GLANCE

Some of last year's junior and sophomore stars included: QB Braxton Etheridge (No. 10), running back Micah Teel (No. 88), receiver Gage Deckard (No. 9), and tight end J. Bump (No. 44).

Claremore head coach Jarrett Hurt was inducted this year into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He is the son of Jay Hurt, a former Dewey High head football coach and Pawhuska High athletic legend.

Bartlesville vs. Claremore, by the numbers

Meetings: 9(2008-09, 2014-15, 2018-2022).

Series lead: Bartlesville, 8-1.

Bartlesville scoring avg.: 29.4.

Claremore scoring avg.: 15.8.

Largest Bartlesville win: 57-22 (2015).

Largest Claremore win: 40-28 (2019).

Games decided by 12 points or fewer: Five.

Trend: Bartlesville has won three straight (2020-22).

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Keys to victory for Bartlesville-area HS football teams in Week 1