Takeaways from Bartlesville-area high school football scrimmages
BARTLESVILLE — The gauntlet ran from promising to growing pains during Friday’s area high school football scrimmages.
Bartlesville posted a mostly thumbs-up showing — the Bruins burst back in the final two minutes to knock off the visiting Ponca City Wildcats, 13-7.
Following is a closer look at the details and breakdowns of this weekend’s scrimmages.
BARTLESVILLE
Junior tailback P.J. Wallace broke off an 80-yard run on Bartlesville’s final offensive play to help write a dramatic finish for the Bruins.
Wallace scored on a graceful gallop during which he broke through defensive resistance on a slide run to the left and outran the Ponca City defense while angling back toward the middle with:135 left.
On the game's last possession, the Wildcats completed a long pass — from Tay Moore to A.J. Landes deep in the red zone. But, on the next play, Bartlesville junior Damien Niko picked off the ball just in front of the Bruin end zone to nail down the win.
Following are five takeaways from the Bruins’ performance in the one-quarter (12-plus minutes) game.
Running to daylight
Coming off a near 2,000-yard rushing season in 2022, Wallace shredded Ponca City with an eye-raising 130 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just six touches. New fullback Adyn Peugh surged for 47 yards after a slashing run off a crossing route on the game’s first play.
Defensive heroics …
Several different Bruins helped foul up the Wildcat offensive machine. On Ponca City’s first possession Bartlesville defensive lineman Colton Hainzinger dropped a running back for a four-yard loss in the red zone. Two plays later, defensive lineman Lucas Wilson blasted the Wildcat QB at the end of a three-yard run. Ponca City turned the ball over on downs the next play. Avery Hitchings made a tackle for loss on Ponca City’s final possession. Ponca City completed 5-of-11 passes.
… But 'Cats made some big plays
They included: A 48-yard catch and run from Moore to Gavin Cunningham; an 11-yard scoring sling from Moore, throwing off the roll-out, to Brody Wicker; a 15-yard toss from Moore to Kooper Rich; and an 18-yard scramble by Moore to the Bruin 17-yard line.
Blue-collar passing
Bruin QB Nate Neal avoided an interception — albeit, he perhaps lucked out on a ball or two that the Wildcat secondary defensed. Overall Neal threw well in limited attempts, hitting 3-of-5 for more than 65 yards. On a 3rd-and-12 play, he completed a 10-yard play action toss that set up Wallace’s first touchdown.
Bruins’ bottom line
OFFENSE: Vanilla and mostly efficient — at times explosive or potentially explosive — with no sacks allowed, two TDs scored on three possessions, four plays of 10-or-more yards but two red zone penalties. DEFENSE: One fourth-down stop; one turnover; one TD allowed (on a short field); aggressive tackling; no sacks; two stops for loss; and two personal fouls (off-setting). SPECIAL TEAMS: A low extra point snap; a short punt; but strong kickoffs.
CANEY VALLEY
Despite grueling heat conditions, the Trojans — looking to snap back from last year’s 1-9 mark — turned up the temperature on Hominy.
The Class A titan Hominy Bucks edged Caney Valley, 14-7.
QB test
CV field general candidate Noah Mitchell tossed a TD pass to Cooper Fogle. Wilson also hooked up with receivers Zack Ketchum, Hayden Walker and Seth Perkins.
Takeaway takeaways
Caney Valley’s defense recorded five takeaways. Leaders included Fogle, Ketchum, Walker and Talen Bond.
DEWEY
Coming off a cumulative 6-24 record the past three seasons, the Doggers were looking for preseason positives to generate momentum.
They battled hard Friday at Claremore-Sequoyah, a very strong 2A squad.
“We got off to a jittery start,” said second-year Dewey head coach Ryan Richardson. “We had a bunch of guys under the lights for the first time.”
Some Dewey highlights:
Aerial reload
Sophomore quarterback Ryder Muninger “threw the ball well,” Richardson said. Some of his receiving standouts included Zaiden Masters (40-yard TD grab) and Easton Davis.
Propper weapon
Feature tailback Evan Propper handled the bulk of the running game well, Richardson said, adding he turned in a 25-plus yard run.
Defensive growth
Caleb Whitson (cornerback) and Gavin Lynch (outside linebacker) probably turned in the strongest games on 'D', Richardson said.
COPAN (8-man)
Head coach Marshall Foreman wanted his young Hornets to fight through brutal challenges. He got his wish.
Copan — which finished 4-6 last season — battled in a large small schools’ field including Class B powerhouses Regent Prep, Pioneer-Pleasant Vale and Davenport.
“We played well while we were still fresh,” Foreman said. “But, we got worn out. … We saw some things we have to work on but overall I was pleased with it.”
Some Copan highlights:
Getting offensive
Sophomore quarterback Kane Foreman hurled multiple touchdowns and spread the ball around. Two of his favorite targets were Karson Woodworth and Shooter Brewington. Weston O’Rourke “had some good, long touchdown runs,” and Teagan Caron “ran and caught the ball well,” Foreman added.
Shutdown effort
Brewington “really played good on defense,” said coach Foreman, who also praised the drive-stopping efforts of Jarrett Shambles.
OKLAHOMA UNION
Coming off an 0-10 record last season, Trammell didn’t know what to expect in the scrimmage against host Caney Valley and Newkirk — especially when he held out three of his best players (a linebacker, safety and wing back).
“We looked really good,” Trammell said. “We were still making young mistakes, but we saw a lot of positive things … I think we’re ahead of where I thought we would be.”
In addition:
Older than their age
“We had three freshmen that played like they were upperclassmen,” Trammell said.
Small but potent senior class
Trammell praised his trio of seniors — lineman James Garoutte, ballcarrier Isaiah Johnson (“He’ll always have his name in the paper”) and center Calan Lopez (“He’s definitely one of the best leaders as a senior I’ve ever coached”).
Endless possession
In a session against Newkirk, the Cougar offense held the ball the entire 12 minutes — well, 11:48, anyway, before throwing a red zone interception with 12 seconds left,. One of the drive’s key plays happened when Grant Reeves took a hand-off from QB Connor Pierce and ran a counter for seven yards to set up a fourth-and-manageable down. Waylon Miner and Johnson also ran well; Pierce completed multiple passes, Trammell said.
BARNSDALL (8-man)
In a clash between the Panthers and Wesleyan Christian, two local small school powers, the action proved intense.
Following are observations for Barnsdall.
QB hunt, Malone being Malone
Both of the Panthers’ signal caller candidates, Braden Byers and Lincoln Gott each threw a touchdown — Byers to James Johnson and Gott to Byers.
Third-year tailback Easton Malone scored a touchdown on his second carry.
Case for the ‘D’
The defensive line performed well and a spirited competition by Byers, Malone, Gott and Blaine Gilbert for the linebacker spots continues, Barnsdall head coach Kylee Sweeney said.
PAWHUSKA
Coach Matt Hennesy didn’t shy away from grueling competition — Rejoice Christian, Sperry and Holland Hall.
“We wanted to play great teams so we’d know what we needed to work on,” Hennesy said.
Some takeaways:
Personnel notes
Both quarterback candidates, Deacon Hendren and Canyon Hindman played well, Hennesy said, adding: “Our O-line is really young and made some mistakes but they’re going to be really good.”
Report card
Rejoice Christian outscored Pawhuska two TDs to one. Pawhuska scored three times vs. Sperry without allowing a point. Holland Hall, a 4A power, controlled the action. “Our defense is going to need to clean up some things,” Hennesy said.
NOWATA
Chouteau and Ketchum provided the scrimmage opposition for a Nowata team looking to build on last year’s 2-8 mark.
“The biggest thing is being year two the kids … are a lot further ahead as far as understanding what needs to be done,” second year head coach Chance Juby said.
QB importance
The play of second-year starting signal caller Treaver Emberson will be a barometer of Nowata’s fortunes. “In reality, he’s the reason we’re a lot better,” Juby said. “He understands the offense and what I’m expecting him to do.”
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Takeaways from Bartlesville-area high school football scrimmages
