How RyJan Reininger carries family football legacy at Oklahoma School for the Deaf

SULPHUR — RyJan Reininger’s disruptive defensive play on the makeshift football field contrasted with the serene backdrop of spinning wind turbines.

The senior linebacker pried the ball out of an opponent’s hands and knocked it onto the grass. As Reininger recovered the fumble during a win earlier this month, his father, Johnny Reininger Jr., watched from one of the bleachers overlooking the pasture marked with white lines.

In the 1970s, Johnny’s dad stepped onto that same field in the middle of rural land, suiting up for Oklahoma School for the Deaf’s football team. In 1999, Johnny made a memory of a lifetime there, contributing to OSD’s first homecoming victory since the once-dormant program was revived in 1990.

Now, it’s his son RyJan’s turn.

Football is a thread that connects three generations. For OSD’s star linebacker and running back, his lineage is his inspiration.

“The family played, passed it down, and I wanted to continue that tradition,” RyJan said in American Sign Language through interpreter Roy Woodall. “I wanted to play my heart out for the team.”

When OSD holds its annual homecoming events Saturday, the football game will be just one piece of a colossal, all-day festival, a community-building hub for alumni, as well as students from out-of-state Deaf schools.

For the Reiningers, it’s a chance to celebrate a family tree deeply rooted at one campus about 85 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.

The yearbook photographs are all neatly preserved by year on OSD’s website. Sylvia Sulphur Reininger, RyJan’s paternal grandmother from Eufaula, is a 1975 alumna. She met her husband, the late Johnny Reininger, at OSD.

Then their son — RyJan’s dad — graduated in 2000 after meeting his wife, 2001 alumna Roshea Kelleher Reininger, at the school.

RyJan, the middle child of three, is expanding and elevating his family’s legacy through sports.

When he dons an emerald green jersey, he doesn’t just participate. He brings honor to OSD, a school of about 40 students in small-town Sulphur.

“In the bigger picture for the school as a whole, when we have students like that (who) want to chase a higher standard, it sets the tone for our students coming up,” said athletic director Levi Mathis. “They see kids that can accomplish these things, and it creates that atmosphere of, ‘We’re going to work hard, too, and I want the same things.’”

RyJan’s athletic feats have rocketed him to national acclaim. In football, he received the National Deaf Interscholastic Athletic Association’s player of the year award — an honor coach Jason Sledd compared to the Heisman Trophy for Deaf schools — after setting a program record of 153 tackles with 17 sacks as a junior.

This summer, RyJan tried out for the U21 Team USA in Deaf Basketball.

He’s a speedster on the track, and he also decided to try cheerleading, which brought him the highest jump honor at the Great Plains School for the Deaf Tournament.

Johnny, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, said he jokes that his multi-talented son is “a Deaf version of Jim Thorpe.” Johnny is an undoubtedly proud father, but for the family, sports hold a significance deeper than record-breaking statistics and shiny medals.

“My tribe believes in community involvement and to give back,” Johnny said through interpreter Woodall. “You’re taught, you learn and pass that on from generation to generation. Being involved with sports, I learned how to give back.”

Look at RyJan’s impact on OSD’s campus, and his father’s message is personified.

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‘Play like the big dog’ 

The morning rain began to subside as the reverberating boom of a large drum indicated something exciting on the horizon.

Game day had arrived at OSD.

Without stadium lights, the Bison (3-2) often hold their eight-man matchups on Thursday mornings. This was the case on Sept. 14, when OSD hosted Phoenix Day School for the Deaf.

Students, families and faculty members flocked to the bleachers. A bed of a truck with a tent in it acted as the press box. Although the teams agreed to cut the game short because of Phoenix’s low numbers after a couple of injuries, OSD showed its skills through most of three quarters, leading 62-22.

OSD is one of the smallest Deaf schools in the country, Mathis said. The Bison have faced teams from states such as Texas, where the school has at least three times the enrollment of OSD, he added.

OSD doesn’t have ostentatious facilities, either. The school is fundraising, continuing a tireless effort that began during homecoming in 2011, to turn the pasture marked with white lines into a true stadium.

“We’re not the big dog, but we’re going to show up and play like the big dog,” Mathis said. “And everybody kind of feeds into that. When you got one or two kids that want to play, all the other kids fall in and they get excited behind that one or two kids.”

But those connected to OSD’s athletic programs have undeniable school spirit, which drives them to keep advocating for growth.

Rising football players look to RyJan, the lone senior on a roster of 14. His sophomore brother, Jarven, said RyJan’s honors inspire him to follow as a national champion, too.

The young team also includes four eighth-graders, and RyJan understands his responsibility as the veteran. Playing for the Bison involves lessons beyond football schemes and strategies. Because they take road trips like a college team with out-of-state games, players learn travel and budgeting skills before graduating from high school.

RyJan leads on and off the field, but his demeanor shifts between settings.

“It’s like two roles in one person, just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Sledd said in an email.

If the cordial Dr. Jekyll uplifts his team before games and celebrates afterward, then what does the menacing Mr. Hyde do?

His opponents know.

Last season, RyJan averaged 19.1 tackles per game and totaled three defensive touchdowns.

And defenses couldn’t easily stop him as he compiled 651 rushing yards and 265 receiving yards for 16 touchdowns.

An All-American in basketball and football, RyJan didn’t spend much time on the gridiron until his sophomore year. But he always took a liking to athletics, and Sledd noticed how RyJan’s tendencies translated from one sport to the next. He displayed rare self-evaluation skills and competitive intensity, the coach said.

Not even two hip fractures, both track injuries, could stop RyJan from returning to sports.

First, it was his right hip. The next year, as a sophomore, he was chasing a school record in the 100-meter dash when he fractured his left hip, which forced him to withdraw from competition.

It was a painful setback.

But RyJan didn’t let it hinder him for too long. After dedicating himself to physical therapy and resting through the summer, he stepped away from track as a junior so he could make a healthy comeback in football and basketball.

That football season, he made school history.

“I was determined I was going to do it and break that (single-season tackles) record,” RyJan said.

He thrives where there’s a strong sense of community, and that starts in his household.

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Fostering community

Three generations of the Oklahoma City-based Reininger family spend most weekends gathering over food and lively conversation.

Deafness is hereditary in RyJan’s family. And everyone – RyJan’s parents, siblings and grandmother Sylvia – can fluently speak American Sign Language.

“We all get together and have a great time, and we’re all talking together,” RyJan said. “You get in a group of hearing people, and sometimes you’re not hearing what’s going on or understanding. But with our family, we’re all together, catching it. At the dinner table, we don’t have that issue of being left out.”

Even without a language barrier during the spirited dinner discussions, many settings aren’t nearly as inclusive or accommodating as the Reiningers’ homes. Standard classrooms at most schools, public or private, don’t present lessons in ASL.

But at OSD, where some students stay in dorms and others commute, life is like an extension of the Reiningers’ dinner table talks. From the football sideline to the classroom, conversations take place in ASL.

Johnny emphasized the great diversity among Deaf people — for example, some students use hearing aids or cochlear implants, while others do not — and they merge their varied experiences into one unique culture at OSD.

“Language is the foundation of everything we do,” said Mathis, who is also a high school math teacher. “Once they have that access to that, it builds everything up.”

Johnny, like RyJan, arrived at OSD about fourth grade after initially attending a public school in the Oklahoma City area.

The football team has evolved since the 1990s, when then-lineman Johnny played a part in reviving the program after more than a decade of its inactivity.

“We actually had a pretty good team that first year,” Johnny said. “We wanted it. We were very aggressive. And then we started picking up and got better and better every year.”

The Bison have posted winning records throughout RyJan’s career, and that’s not the only area of the school where his dad has seen growth.

Students have gained confidence in speaking ASL, Johnny said. And the curriculum is expanding. OSD recently created science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, a development Johnny championed to support his sons’ interests in the field.

An aspiring engineer, RyJan carries his winning ways to robotics. His Underwater Fighters remotely operated vehicle team received the top excellence award at a national competition this past spring.

Although many changes have developed since RyJan’s grandparents set foot on OSD’s campus, a football stadium with lights remains an unfulfilled dream. The Reiningers aren’t the only ones who want to bring that vision to life.

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Homecoming and hopes

RyJan is proud to follow the family legacy, but there’s one way he wishes he could have strayed from it.

His grandfather played on the unlit pasture. So did RyJan’s father.

RyJan wants a new stadium.

“That’s a dream of mine, too,” RyJan said. “I would love to have the lights and be able to play Friday night under the lights.”

OSD is state-funded through the Department of Rehabilitation Services, but stadium construction does not fall into that budget, so superintendent Heather Laine said she and DRS “are looking into other funds” that could go toward the project.

The school has been seeking external funding through the “Make It Right” campaign that started more than a decade ago. Athletic director Levi Mathis said OSD has raised about $10-12,000, but that isn’t enough for the massive undertaking of building a football field and track, which the school would use year-round for a variety of activities.

Although RyJan’s high school career is about to end, he could one day return for homecoming to a full stadium if enough funding pours in.

For a temporary solution at homecoming, OSD is renting some industrial lights for construction sites.

With permanent floodlights, OSD’s setting could finally match the grandeur of its traditions.

This Saturday’s homecoming celebration features a jam-packed schedule, and students from three out-of-state schools will converge upon the campus. New Mexico School for the Deaf is facing OSD in the football game, while teams from Arkansas and Michigan are arriving for volleyball.

Other activities include a sign-decorating competition, a ceremony honoring senior athletes and a social event following the football game.

“We always have larger crowds compared to our regular games because many of them don't just live in Sulphur itself,” coach Jason Sledd said, “but they come from far away to attend our homecoming as part of their class reunion.”

As RyJan takes the field for homecoming and receives recognition as the sole football senior, he will have many eyes on him. Some will be teammates who look up to him, while others might be opponents or alumni he has never met.

The most meaningful faces for him to spot in the crowd are those he sees nearly every weekend. Because of them, he suits up in multiple Bison uniforms, strives to motivate his peers and cares about investing in the future of OSD athletes.

OSD’s homecoming is a jubilant family reunion. For RyJan, that’s a metaphor and a literal statement.

“To continue that legacy and the heart that they’ve passed on and given me,” RyJan said, “I want to keep that going.”

Hallie Hart covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Hallie? She can be reached at hhart@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @halliehart. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Hallie's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: RyJan Reininger carries family legacy at Oklahoma School for the Deaf