TUPATALK: Unforgettable moment -- the Collision

Following is a continuation of some of my frozen moments of memories the past quarter-century plus in covering Bartlesville High football.

_

Collision

It was the fall of 1999 or 2000 when the defending state champion Jenks Trojans -- and their force-of-nature ballcarrier Kejuan Jones -- came to town to take on the Bruins.

Bartlesville couldn't have been a bigger underdog -- kind of like David without a slingshot, or a sprained wrist.

No, there would be no stunning upset that night -- at least no on the scoreboard.

But, early in the game the Bruins made a crushing statement that few teams accomplished against the mighty Trojans.

And, they made it with senior defensive back Danny Manning -- the swiftest of the Bruins. And one of the most compact -- and smaller -- bundles of energy on the roster.

Early in the contest, the 6-foot, 220-pound Jones surged around the left end on a sweep, slipping and cutting back out of the grasp of a scrambling, stumbling battalion of would-be tacklers.

Jones neared the left sideline and cut upfield, where it seemed he had a clear corridor to the end zone.

Suddenly -- seemingly materializing from empty air -- Manning, who probably gave up more than 30 pounds to Jones, bolted toward Jones, plunged forward and made a cannonball tackle that knocked Jones out of bounds.

It had been a devastating, and one I thought at the time Jones hadn't seen coming.

The moment that stands out on the movie screen of my memory was watching Jones quickly turning his head to try to spot the number of the guy who had laid such a boisterous blow on him.

The play also went for almost naught -- Jenks was whistled for holding and the ball came back.

But, the Trojans went on to pulverize the Bruins, 49-5.

Jones continued his football playing days at the University of Oklahoma, where he rushed for more than 2,330 yards and accumulated 36 touchdowns on the ground. He registered his best year in 2003 (sophomore) by running for 925 yards (4.1 per carry) and 13 touchdowns, and catching 18 passes for 189 yards and another score.

As a redshirt freshman (2002), he scored the go-ahead touchdown against Texas.

Jones might have turned in a more prolific Sooner career stat-wise, but his year coincided with those of a couple of other Oklahoma running back legends in Quentin Griffin and Adrian Peterson.

Jones also helped lead the Sooners to a couple of bowl wins -- the 2003 Rose Bowl (34-14 against Washington State) and the 2005 Holiday Bowl (17-14 against Oregon).

Jones would score the winning touchdown in the Holiday Bowl.

Parenthetically, Jones would have another hard encounter with a Bartlesville product, this time in college.

At the beginning of the 2002 season, Oklahoma -- ranked No. 1 in the nation -- visited the University of Tulsa in a nationally televised game.

I obtained a sideline pass because one of Tulsa's main rotation players on defense was linebacker Brendon Swisher, a Bruin grad from the late 1990's.

During one play in that OU vs. Tulsa clash, I recall Swisher making a tackle, or at least assisting, to bring down Jones.

Jones went on to coach prep football in the Tulsa area.

Manning earned his CPA and returned with his family to live in Bartlesville.

One of his football highlights was intercepting 10 passes his sophomore year at Bartlesville.

He also excelled in high school/American Legion baseball and youth track.

He was the youngest of several brothers and a sister -- children of the late James and Marta Manning -- to excel in sports for Bartlesville High.

The next-to-youngest brother, Jacky, played a vital role in Bartlesville's 10-7 football win in 1995 at Tulsa Washington, which snapped a 24-game losing streak by the Bruins.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TUPATALK: Unforgettable moment -- the Collision