Rivalries headline this week's top Bartlesville-area high school football games

During the past two-and-a-half seasons, Copan High School’s football program has crawled, zigzagged and clawed slowly up the jagged stone face of the mountain of progress.

A win this Friday against the favored Wilson (Henryetta) High School Tigers could launch the Hornets past a huge chunk of the stony slope and toward the summit of their goals.

The significance of this game rates it as one of the E-E’s Co-Games of the Week, along with Nowata at Pawhuska.

“It would be big,” Copan head coach Marshall Foreman said about a victory. “It would put us in the driver’s seat … for home-field advantage in the playoffs. It would be big for our team, it would be big for our community.”

Following are more details on these two contests, as well as a glance at other area games on Thursday and Friday.

Wilson (Henryetta) (4-1, 2-0) at Copan (2-3, 1-1)

Foreman did not put a smiley face on last week’s 52-16 loss at Wesleyan Christian School (3-2, 2-0).

He cited poor performance —with the main culprits being key penalties and too many squandered red zone chances — for allowing WCS to pull away.

Wilson is another Goliath daring Copan to come up with a big enough slingshot.

“It’s going to be a tough one,” Foreman said. “If we play like we can we can be fine. … They’ve got some really good athletes and a lot of speed — they could be the fastest team we’ll play. But, they kind of play backyard football.”

“We need to play hard and keep our composure,” added junior receiver and versatile defensive weapon Karson Woodworth. “There’s nothing we can do except to stop them, score and give it our all.”

Foreman also puts a lot of the burden on defense, especially in forcing Wilson to have to pass the ball.

“We’ve got to tackle better and contain them,” Foreman said. “We’ve got to get to the ball in waves. … If we can get there before they can get open on the run, we should have a chance.”

As far as personnel, Copan quarterback Kane Foreman tweaked his ankle last week and Shooter Brewington might still be limited to a defensive role, coach Foreman said.

Meanwhile, Woodworth is one of Copan’s primary threats on offense and splits time between the secondary and defensive end.

Woodworth has been part of Copan’s climb from futility to playoff contender — 2-8 as a freshman (2021) and 4-6 last year. The Hornets are within reach this season of a winning record and playoff spot.

“I’ve enjoyed it all,” Woodworth said about his football experience. “I like winning a lot and getting better every day.”

He credits incoming players in 2022 as a boost to success. He sees his roles as “being there and helping my team when they get down and making big plays when I need to.”

Nowata (2-3, 1-1) at Pawhuska (3-2, 2-0)

During most of the past few seasons, Pawhuska could have effectively hung up a 'W' even before the opening kickoff.

But, Nowata has transformed from a pushover to a heavy puncher.

"You can tell this is coach (Chance) Juby's second year," Pawhuska head coach Matt Hennesy said. "They do things more precisely and he's got them in shape. They've played super hard all year."

In 25 meetings since 1983, Nowata leads the series, 13-12. Last year, Pawhuska administered a 62-8 rout.

In 2023, Pawhuska is averaging 43.5 points (compared to 26.4 for Nowata). Pawhuska also has boasted stronger results against common opponents Caney Valley and Vinita.

But, Nowata looks like a team capable of a breakout win against a high-quality opponent.

"I think they'll match up everywhere with us," Hennesy said. "They're super athletic at the skill positions. Their quarterback (Treaver Emberson) is a really good quarterback … They're not a one-dimensional team. You've got to worry about all of them."

Pawhuska counters with a stable of dangerous threats themselves, including first-year starting quarterback Canyon Hindman.

"He has come a long ways, not in his ability, but in his reads and the little things managing the game," Hennesy said. "He's progressed a lot further a lot faster than I thought."

Hennesy's also pleased with the play of Noah Willson at offensive tackle. He believes both teams will try to play at a fast pace and he wants to see his Huskies energized and aggressive from the start.

Thursday matchup

Pioneer-Pleasant Vale (0-4, 0-0) at Barnsdall (5-0, 0-0): A win would build up momentum for the Panthers in their season district opener.

Friday matchups

Putnam City West (3-2, 0-2) at Bartlesville (2-3, 2-0): Bartlesville should be the solid favorite in its first home game in 4 weeks — and have some things to play for, including the new giant video scoreboard and Homecoming.

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Dewey (1-4, 0-2) at Holland Hall (2-3, 1-1): One gets the feeling Dewey is getting closer week-by-week to finding its winning stride. Is an upset brewing Friday?

Caney Valley (0-5, 0-2) at Vinita (2-3, 1-1): Caney Valley hopes to come out re-energized from its bye week.

Bluejacket (1-4, 1-2) at Wesleyan Christian School (3-2, 2-0): With QB Tyrel Cloud back in uniform, WCS might be unbeatable the rest of the regular season.

Oklahoma Union (0-5, 0-2) at Tonkawa (4-1, 1-1): OUHS coach Steve Trammell believes his team has too much talent to stay down much longer. Could this be the game?

Kansas — Caney Valley (4-1, 2-0) at Olpe: This non-district test should provide the CV Pups a great feel for the level of their strengths before they continue their quest for a district title.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Rivalries headline this week's top Bartlesville-area HS football games