What to know about Week 5 of high school football in the Bartlesville area
Week 5 of high school football has arrived for Bartlesville-area programs. Let's run through some key storylines, including a look at what the Examiner-Enterprise considers to be the Game of the Week.
Copan (2-2) at Wesleyan Christian (2-2) (8-man)
There’s no ambiguity as to which team has been the top dog.
WCS has owned the Copan Hornets since 2011 with a 9-0 record, outscoring them 443-76. During the last four seasons, the Mustangs have outscored Copan, 236-28, including a 61-12 score in 2022.
Could this be the year Copan finally breaks the shackles of the Mustangs’ dominance?
Copan last beat WCS, 14-7, in 2010, when most of the current players were around 3 years old or younger. The Hornet program went on a deep slide after that season, losing 77 games in nine seasons. (Copan didn't field a full team in 2017-19).
But Copan’s program is now on the way up — from two wins in 2021 to four wins in 2022 to a 2-2 record in 2023, led by a combustible crew of sophomores hardened by growing pains in 2022.
“They can play,” WCS head coach Curt Cloud said about this year's Copan squad. “They just grew up physically from last year. All four or five of those (freshmen) last year grew up to where they’ve become pretty good football players. We’ll have to do things to definitely try to contain their speed and to contain them in other ways.”
“Wesleyan Christian School is always strong on defense,” Copan head coach Marshall Foreman said. “They’re always pretty strong on what they do. Their secondary plays well. The (Karson) Tennison kid plays well there. He’s all over the field. Mason Jensen also does a good job on the back end.”
The cast of characters for both teams has changed drastically from two months ago. WCS has played all season without three-year starting quarterback Ty Cloud and recently lost a dangerous threat in Kael Siemers. Copan will likely play Friday without two starters — versatile skill weapon Shooter Brewington and top-notch lineman Jaxon White.
WCS' good news is Ty Cloud could be back on the field Friday, depending on his next medical check-up this week, coach Cloud said.
Will Ty Cloud be rusty? Foreman thinks not.
“There’s nothing you’re going do that’s going to shake him,” Foreman said. “He’s been a starter for three years and has seen it all. I expect that if he plays he’s going to play well.”
On the other hand, even without Brewington and White, WCS coach Cloud believes "Copan has got to be one of the better teams in our district. Our goal is to win the district. … I think their kids are stronger than last year, they have more depth and they've just improved a lot.”
Copan — ranked No. 10 (Class C) in this week’s Oklahoman newspaper state rankings — is anxious to earn respect. A win against WCS, which finished 10-2 last season, would help do that.
“You obviously want to win district and they (Hornet players) know it goes through Wesleyan,” Foreman said. “I think that aspect of it is exciting. I think our guys want to prove everybody wrong. There are still a lot of people who don’t realize how good we are and how good we’re getting. … Our boys refer to it as ‘keeping receipts.’ They want to go out and right some of those wrongs from the past.”
Interesting key: WCS success in onside kick recovery.
Other games to watch
District 6A-II-1: Bartlesville (1-3, 1-0) at US Grant (2-2, 0-1) — The Bartlesville Bruins should be considered the heavily favored team, especially coming off a 21-10 win at Booker T. Washington.
District 3A-4: Dewey (1-3, 0-1) at Bristow (2-2, 1-0) — Dewey is the prohibitive underdog, has yet to play its best game and is coming off a strong second half in last week’s 45-15 loss to Jay.
District 2A-8: Vinita (1-3, 0-1) at Nowata (3-1, 1-0) — This matchup received consideration as game of the week. Vinita has squashed the Ironmen in the previous six meetings, but Nowata is on an upward trajectory so far this season.
Class AA (Kan.) district: Caney Valley (Kan.) (3-1, 1-0) vs. Neodesha (Kan.) (2-2, 0-0) — With just four district games on the schedule, every one is crucial; Caney Valley should be favored on paper.
District A-5: Hominy (4-0) at Oklahoma Union (0-4) — Oklahoma Union will need to put everything together to pull off what would be considered a jarring upset.
District B-7: Wetumka (2-2) at Barnsdall (4-0) — This a non-district scrapper that Barnsdall hopes will get it ready for upcoming district games; this game also is a good test for Barnsdall against a Wetumka team that lost to B-7 powerhouse Regent Prep by just a touchdown.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: What to know about Week 5 of HS football in the Bartlesville area
