Moore War

[SoonerDave]

Hey all...

Unusual Thursday game for Westmoore last night, and that kept the crowd down some...but the Jaguars took care of business just about as you'd expect in a 56-14 beating of oumanned Tulsa Edison last night at Moore School Stadium.

Westmoore scored on five of its first seven possessions, including its first offensive play of the game, and went into the half with a 35-7 lead. That would easily have been 42-7 had the Jags not muffed a first-and-goal snap at the Edison 4 with under a minute until halftime - the ball rolled backwards before being covered by Jag QB Bryson Lee for about a 10-yard loss, and Edison chased Lee out of bounds short of the goal line on a fourth-down attempt.

A long TD run by Kieron Hardrick and a defensive fumble return for touchdown in the 3rd quarter finished the night for most of Westmoore's starters. Some JV and perhaps even freshmen saw some playing time toward the end.

Bottom line, this was a game Westmoore should have won decisively and easily, and that's precisely what they did. They also managed to escape any injuries, and are going into their regular-season finale next week at home against Broken Arrow at 8-1 (5-1 in district). Should be a good one.

Given the Thursday game and the prevailing requirements of work, I did not take the time to get the photo gallery up last night, but hope to do so tonight. At least the lighting was back to normal - ANYTHING was better than Sapulpa!

Was also fun to meet a fellow OKCTalker in person - now have a face to put with the SOONER8693 handle here!!

Will post the gallery later.

[dankrutka]

I used to teach at Westmoore and still keep up with what's going on. If my memory serves me right, this is their best season since they went undefeated in the regular season in 2006 (my first year there). It's nice to hear. It would be great to see them get a W against BA, but they haven't fared well against the Tulsa heavyweights. I hope that changes.

[SoonerDave]

I used to teach at Westmoore and still keep up with what's going on. If my memory serves me right, this is their best season since they went undefeated in the regular season in 2006 (my first year there). It's nice to hear. It would be great to see them get a W against BA, but they haven't fared well against the Tulsa heavyweights. I hope that changes.

I think its going to be a really good game, and I suspect going in BA will be a favorite. However, in looking at their schedule and scores, I can't say that any one or series of games suggests absolutely that BA is a prohibitive favorite.

Each team lost to Jenks by more than 20 (WM 24-0, BA 28-7). Each team beat the tar out of Edison (WM 56-14, BA 70-21) and Muskogee (WM 48-7, BA 55-10). BA had an easier time with Bixby (28-6), but played them at home, while WM won on the road at Bixby (39-27) - and that was the first week WM played without their starting LG - and the young man who replaced him went down with an injured knee two weeks ago. (WM has been beaten up on the OL this year. ) For whatever reason, WM struggled with PC, winning 16-14, but putting zero points on the board in the 2nd half, while BA blew PC out, 52-21. For reasons no one quite knows, PC has given Westmoore fits the last couple of years.

So, those games would suggest BA going in is appropriately the favorite, but with Westmoore finally out of its offensive funk that saw it go seven quarters without scoring going back to the PC game and into the 2nd quarter against Sapulpa, I surely think WM has a better shot going against BA than it did Jenks. Jenks was just so much physically imposing, stronger, quicker, whatever words you want to use - I mean, they very much carried themselves like a small college football team. I haven't seen BA in person.

If WM can benefit from a favorable evening of weather (and the early forecast is promising), and can avoid a first quarter offensive funk that's hit them in a few games this year, I think they have a great shot. If offense can sustain drives, and take some of the pressure off the defense, I think that will be the key - WM's DL, which tends to run a bit smallish, doesn't want to get in a position where its being run on and getting "out-physicaled" (even though I know that isn't a word).

Whomever the favorite is, and however it turns out, I don't know too many HS FB observers in OK this year going in that would have picked Westmoore with a legit shot at finishing 9-1 and getting a first-round home game in the playoffs...really think a lot of Coach Langford and how he leads his kids.

[SOONER8693]

I used to teach at Westmoore and still keep up with what's going on. If my memory serves me right, this is their best season since they went undefeated in the regular season in 2006 (my first year there). It's nice to hear. It would be great to see them get a W against BA, but they haven't fared well against the Tulsa heavyweights. I hope that changes.

You are right. I said that very thing to my wife last night. This is our best record this far into the season since 06 when Westmoore was 9-0 and met Norman at 9-0 in the last regular season game. Westmoore led by Ryan Fightmaster at qb beat Norman, led by Ryan Broyles in a classic, 28-14, to end the regular season at 10-0 and ranked #1 in 6A. They then beat Jenks in the first round of the playoffs, but lost in the second round to Owasso.

[SoonerDave]

You guys are gracious enough to thank me for the Westmoore pics, so I'll be happy to post the latest set from last night's 56-14 win over Edison.

Westmoore 56 Tulsa Edison 14.

Enjoy!

One pic in particular I was proud of is a first-quarter pass breakup by Ausin Freeman I caught with both Freeman and the intended receiver in mid-air. Great (translated: lucky) shot.

[SoonerDave]

Hi, everyone.

Disappointing loss for Westmoore last night against Broken Arrow. Not only did they miss out on a first-round home game going into the playoffs, they just weren't quite able to hang on to a 10-0 first-half lead against the Tigers - including a sterling defensive performance that saw the Jags hold BA on 4th and (literally) an inch on one possession, and 4th and 1 on another.

BA had difficulty dealing with Westmoore's speed throughout the first half. The Jags struck first on an 81-yard catch-and-run middle screen to Dahu Green. After stopping BA on downs on their next possession, Westmoore used a great play-action fake on the first play of their next possession to connect with Jake Dyer on a deep ball down to the BA 4. Westmoore, in an interesting series of calls, opted to run between the tackles three straight times, pushing the ball down within the BA 1-yard-line, but after a timeout opted for a 17-yard chip-shot field goal by Austin Dodd to go up 10-0. It was a great defensive stand by BA, although I couldn't help but think we'd see the Jags pull QB Bryson Lee on a bootleg on at least one of those plays.

BA's offense finally got untracked on their next-to-last possession before halftime, and closed the gap to 10-7. That really blunted Westmoore's momentum, as it also showed how BA would attack the Westmoore defense more effectively in the 2nd half. Moving away from the slower-developing handoffs and deep-drop throws, BA shifted to a quick-attack handoff that allowed their backs to run inside the Westmoore rush and use their speed advantage against them.

The Jags took the ball to open the second half, but Bryson Lee tossed a pick that BA converted into a field goal. Constant pressure by BA's defense clearly frustrated Bryson Lee into delayed or ill-timed throws, and with BA up 13-10 midway through the fourth quarter, the second of two picks gave BA the ball and set up the clinching touchdown with about four minutes to play.

The loss for Westmoore puts them on the road next week to Sand Springs as the #3 seed in the district.

Ultimately, I think this game played out approximately as I expected. I think, going in, BA was a proper favorite, and if these teams played ten times on neutral fields, I think BA probably wins six or seven of them. From my observation, a confident Bryson Lee is the key to this Westmoore offense, and for whatever reason, he was not as confident in this game as he has been in others earlier in the season. Part of that was surely due to BA pressure and lack of time to set up and throw, but clearly some issues boiled down to improper pre-snap reads. I also think the injuries all season across the Westmoore OL really added up to limit their ability to protect Lee as the season progressed.

Interestingly enough, I observed what I personally would characterize as the most ongoing frustration from Westmoore coach Billy Langford with officiating as I've seen all season. Not frustration in the vein of the Sapulpa game (which is well chronicled here), but overall consistency with calls (or lack thereof) on matters of alignment, procedure, and offsides, along with holding on outside receivers. I suspect most any coach would just ask officials more than anything else to be consistent in their calls, and I believe that was the source of frustration for him during the first half - less so in the second. What impresses me about Langford is that he seems to have a keen sense of how to work officials aggressively but respectfully, and without drawing their ire. Not every coach has that skill!

Obviously, the seniors playing their last home game were bitterly disappointed in the loss - certainly considering the fact they had a 10-0 lead and played very well defensively in the first half. But, as is often the case, turnovers are just brutal in big games like this, and the Jags just couldn't overcome their three turnover night last night. But they are still playoff bound!

I'll have a link to the photo gallery up later today.

[SOONER8693]

I too thought Bryson Lee was tentative with his play Friday night. I believe he was thinking of the game with Jenks. Jenks was huge up front and physically assaulted and abused Westmoore's o-line and thus assaulted and abused Bryson. The BA front 7 was huge and fast on defense and I think Bryson was very cognizant of that assault coming at him. I think the Sand Springs game is very winnable for WHS.

[SoonerDave]

I too thought Bryson Lee was tentative with his play Friday night. I believe he was thinking of the game with Jenks. Jenks was huge up front and physically assaulted and abused Westmoore's o-line and thus assaulted and abused Bryson. The BA front 7 was huge and fast on defense and I think Bryson was very cognizant of that assault coming at him. I think the Sand Springs game is very winnable for WHS.

Absolutely agree.

Frustrating thing for WM is the bracket they're in: Winner of their game next week is very likely to face Lawton in an away game. If they'd won vs BA, they'd have been playing at home against either Norman North, whom they've already beaten, or Mustang, whom I think they would be able to beat. Realize its just the breaks of the bracket, but man, *one* loss makes a huge difference the way things are set up.

[PiePie]

I too thought Bryson Lee was tentative with his play Friday night. I believe he was thinking of the game with Jenks. Jenks was huge up front and physically assaulted and abused Westmoore's o-line and thus assaulted and abused Bryson. The BA front 7 was huge and fast on defense and I think Bryson was very cognizant of that assault coming at him. I think the Sand Springs game is very winnable for WHS.

And you are right, Westmoore won 31-10

Westmoore plays Lawton next week

[PiePie]

The Broken Arrow-Westmoore game, I went to check the score of the game and I swear the score was Westmoore-84 Broken Arrow-22 then I found out later that the score have changed

[PiePie]

Westmoore defeated Lawton 28-15 but I am not sure if that is true, it will probably change though

[SoonerDave]

Westmoore defeated Lawton 28-15 but I am not sure if that is true, it will probably change though

Westmoore dominated the game, running to a 28-0 lead until Lawton scored two late touchdowns with under four minutes to play.

The Jaguar defense did a great job slowing Lawton's Michael Williams and held QB Dallas Galley at bay all day long with great pressure.

The win puts the Jags up for a rematch with Jenks next week at a site TBD, with Westmoore hoping to pull of a bit of revenge for a 24-0 loss on a cold, rainy night in October. Early forecasts for next week are sunny and seasonal, so here's hoping for a great game and a real shot at getting a team from the west with a shot at a state title!!

[PiePie]

Westmoore dominated the game, running to a 28-0 lead until Lawton scored two late touchdowns with under four minutes to play.

The Jaguar defense did a great job slowing Lawton's Michael Williams and held QB Dallas Galley at bay all day long with great pressure.

The win puts the Jags up for a rematch with Jenks next week at a site TBD, with Westmoore hoping to pull of a bit of revenge for a 24-0 loss on a cold, rainy night in October. Early forecasts for next week are sunny and seasonal, so here's hoping for a great game and a real shot at getting a team from the west with a shot at a state title!!

Awesome to win against a undefeated team, now that is a going to be another touch matchup but if the Jaguars lose, that is okay, at least Lawton is knocked out of the playoffs

[SoonerDave]

Awesome to win against a undefeated team, now that is a going to be another touch matchup but if the Jaguars lose, that is okay, at least Lawton is knocked out of the playoffs

Great thing is that most media sources I read expected/picked Lawton to win a relatively close game, so much so that as best I can tell exactly *zero* OKC media covered the game, but Westmoore blew 'em out. Easily their best overall game of the season, even in the adverse weather conditions. Just goes to show how the wind can affect things - I've been to games with lower air temperature, but the wind out there yesterday - easily (and conservatively) 20-30 mph - made it one of *the* coldest games I've ever attended - my face was nearly numb by the time it was over.

I won't pretend that Jenks won't be a big favorite next week simply because they're Jenks and they've won before (wherever they play), but the one thing that gives me some hope is that next week's forecast is for sunny skies and mid-50's, which will at least give the Jags a fighting chance to run most of their offense. The nasty, cold, wet rain that fell when they met the last time shuttered about half their playbook. Like I said, no illusions, but hey, I'm going in optimistic, and knowing Westmoore is playing really, really well through their first two playoff wins. Couldn't ask for more.

[SOONER8693]

Great thing is that most media sources I read expected/picked Lawton to win a relatively close game, so much so that as best I can tell exactly *zero* OKC media covered the game, but Westmoore blew 'em out. Easily their best overall game of the season, even in the adverse weather conditions. Just goes to show how the wind can affect things - I've been to games with lower air temperature, but the wind out there yesterday - easily (and conservatively) 20-30 mph - made it one of *the* coldest games I've ever attended - my face was nearly numb by the time it was over.

I won't pretend that Jenks won't be a big favorite next week simply because they're Jenks and they've won before (wherever they play), but the one thing that gives me some hope is that next week's forecast is for sunny skies and mid-50's, which will at least give the Jags a fighting chance to run most of their offense. The nasty, cold, wet rain that fell when they met the last time shuttered about half their playbook. Like I said, no illusions, but hey, I'm going in optimistic, and knowing Westmoore is playing really, really well through their first two playoff wins. Couldn't ask for more.

Agree, one of the coldest games I've ever attended. With the wind in our face(fans) it was brutal. The only other game that even comes close for me was the OU-KState Big 12 championship game at Arrowhead when Sproles went crazy on OU. This Westmoore team is playing with lots of heart, desire, skill, well-preparedness. Probably without a doubt the best since the 2006 team with Ryan Fightmaster at qb. I just don't see them with much of a chance against Jenks. Hope like heck I'm wrong. Maybe history will repeat itself. That Fightmaster team beat Jenks in the first round of the playoffs.

[PiePie]

Westmoore lost to Jenks 46-14, oh well but they had a great season and knocking undefeated Lawton out of the playoffs and destroying SouthMoore are the best wins of the season! Very proud of Westmoore this year!

[Garin]

By Austin Chadwick
@AustinChadwick
Austin.Chadwick@VYPE.com

There is no better explanation in defining the secret of success in Oklahoma’s 6A.

Let me start by saying that this is a very sensitive subject for some. Before laying out a comprehensive piece to help inform readers with the detailed analysis of the differences between the top tier 6A football programs and those programs who are working hard to compete, allow us to reveal a bit of our credibility. It is very common that many people give opinions on this combustible topic without the proper experience in actually living through the processes.

Please let me preface with a few things. First off, the goal of this article is to give insight on the ever-growing debate of the perceived monopoly on the largest football class in the OSSAA. I have been covering high school sports in Oklahoma with our brand for a long time and understand that there would be nothing more pleasant than for VYPE to see some parity in 6A. Personally, I have seen the initial sacrifice and hardwork that has been present in the great schools who are outside looking in and I commend those who continue to strive. So the bias is completely absent.

I had the opportunity of growing up in the Union school district and was part of a generation of Union football players who did not see the pinnacle of success, but helped develop a foundation that propelled the Union program to win seven of the last 10 Class 6A state titles. I grew up in the current Union program that was essentially started in 1992 with the arrival of Bill Blankenship as head coach (Bill moved from Edmond to take over Union). This is very important as I have the experience of being a part of a program that started from the ground up, went through many growing pains, and has now reached a massive level of success. After high school I got a chance to play at the highest level in D-1 football and played alongside and against the best football players Oklahoma had to offer.

With the experience of playing football at Tulsa University, I played with, lived with, and became very close with players who were part of high school programs from all over the state. I was fortunate enough to learn immensely. Since, I have had the opportunity to cover high school and college sports for TV, radio, and our publication. This naturally allows me to be close with high school coaches, especially on the level of conversing with them as a player (Many times as one of their own former players). I’ve talked to more coaches about this topic than I can count. I’ve talked with them privately, publicly, on the record, and off the record. Listen, this isn’t a “look at me” list of credentials, but rather a list of credible reasons to perhaps take what I write with a bit of credibility.

What is the Difference?
Throughout this article you will see topics that will help enlighten the circumstances in the differences between football programs. Topics include:
1. A Football Program’s Mindset.
2. Administrative, Community and Parental Support.
3. Youth Feeder Systems.
4. Enrollment.
5. Hardwork.

A couple of things need to be laid out before we start. First, there is a massive difference between a great program and a great team. Great programs can have great teams (and often do), but too many times we mistake a great team for the level of sustainable success of the school’s program.

Teams come and go and a handful of great players can help turn a team into a great one, but the long-lasting efforts of developing a great program have little to do with the acute circumstance of a high school having a great team for a year or two. There is ultimately no sustainable substance in having a great team without a great program. Sure a great team might compete for a state title in a particular year, but if the program is not at the level of the elite in 6A, then it is short-lived (i.e. Edmond Santa Fe 2003-04, Enid 2006, Southmoore 2009). To make abundantly clear, I am not saying Edmond Santa Fe, Enid or Southmoore have mediocre programs by any means, but if you take the fact that the sample of the sustainability of those programs over the course of the last 10 years, it is not comparable to the likes of Union and Jenks (and even recently, Owasso and Broken Arrow).

A Football Program’s Mindset: No Excuses
This is first and foremost the most important aspect of a football program. The overall “resilient mindset.” It starts with a school’s administration, filters to the athletic department, then down to the football coaches, then to the players, then to the parents, and finally to the youth of the program. It is imperative that everyone is on the same page and pulling the same rope. Now this takes a serious amount of detail, knowledge, resources, and shear will.

It is very simple, if one of the levels of this chain of command (administration, athletic department, coaches, players, parents, youth) is not fully vested and willing to do what it takes, there is little chance to compete in developing a great program. A school can decide if it is going to allow its football program to compete by fully investing and immersing themselves.

Listen, I know it isn’t just that easy. There are budgets to be made, and there are things that make it nearly impossible for some schools. There are a handful of football programs in Class 6A who find competing in the largest class just simply impossible, but I will re-emphasize that the majority of Class 6A schools have the opportunity.

The resilient mindset of the program is not just “what you do” as an administrator, athletic director, coach, player or parent, it is “how you live.” To make it simple, those who make up a football program have to look at it as not something that they do, but something they live. This can be a bit of a slippery slope as there are many other focuses in the lives of those in a football program, but the mindset of success and the mindset of everyday dedication has to be close to an obsession. Those in the top tier programs live with the resilient mindset of success and dedication every day. It is almost an obsession to them, so if any school is going to compete, you have to match that level of resilient mindset. This level of success is not just something programs “want really bad,” but a mindset that is so far ingrained that there is nothing that anyone can say or do that will keep a school from attaining the goal of developing a great program.

This “resilient mindset” also translates into hurdles and obstacles on the field. I was a part of a Union program that literally took 10 years to develop into a champion and the 2002 title came three years after I graduated. So I never got an opportunity to win a state championship, but I take a lot of pride in helping develop a program from the ground up with massive amounts of work, heartache and resiliency.

This resilient mindset has to be instilled, has to persevere, and has to maintain for a very long time to give a football program a chance to grow. The simple fact is that the likes of Union and Jenks went through all of this for many years, so why should it be different for anyone else? Those programs paid their dues, endured massive heartache, persevered through challenges, and because of the mindset that was ingrained, they overcame and continue to be successful because that mindset has never waivered.

Administrative, Community and Parental Support
This aspect of a football program is pretty broad. I will try to keep as detailed as possible. It is imperative that a football program has an abundance of support from the school’s administration, the community and the parents of players. This is extremely difficult as many schools find themselves in very tough situations in helping their football programs exclusively. With this, what schools have to do is find ways to not only enhance the football program, but the entire athletic department. This allows for a bit of parity with the other sports in the athletic department, which also allows for more opportunity to be successful in other sports. The challenges are great, but administrations can effectively find ways to give abundant support, especially if they have the mindset needed.

The community is also a great asset to a successful football program. Everyone in the program has to be involved in getting the community on board. Administrators, coaches, parents and even the athletes have to be willing to put in the time and effort to raise funds through the community. This can be done in ways of fundraisers, sponsorships and the ever-important bond issues. When the resilient mindset is instilled in the program, then it starts to trickle through the community. This is ideal as a school district will not only have the benefit of the football program with the correct mindset, but when the community starts to adopt the mindset, then it becomes a massive force of support.

Parents are probably the most important in immediate support. Obviously the dedicated mothers and fathers of the program’s athletes have always gone above and beyond, but it doesn’t stop there. Here is a bit of priceless knowledge for parents who have current players and parents who have players developing in the youth of the program. If you are serious about giving everything you have to support a program, then it starts when your athlete is developing in the youth system of the program. It goes much further than having the thought of “I’ll wait to support the high school program when my kids reach high school.” Something very common with schools like Jenks and Union is that parents of young kids who are years from high school, support the high school program immensely (this is done through giving up their time, making donations, etc.). The youth parents in the football program start to develop the “resilient mindset” necessary at a very early stage.

Youth Feeder Systems
For anyone who lives in the Tulsa area, one aspect of youth is the INFC football league. This is a massive comprehension of youth organizations dedicated to each and every high school. I had the opportunity to play in the INFC and can speak on it, but I will defer the next portion to our editor, Brad Heath. There is no one more qualified to speak on the importance of youth programs than Brad. He has coached four generations of football teams in the Jenks JTA Youth Football system. Brad is the ideal parent who supports a program because Brad’s kids do not even play football at the high school level. However, Brad is dedicated to helping the Jenks football program with his service in the youth ranks.

Youth Football and Why It Matters
By Brad Heath
Youth football in America has gone through some changes over the years. At least since I played, rules are created to make the game safer for kids, to equal the playing field for teams and to educate youth coaches to hopefully create an atmosphere that allows the kids to play and develop a love for the game of football.

Lets take a look at the leagues all over the state and what they mean to the programs they feed.

Now you’re asking yourself, “Why is he qualified to have this conversation?” I’ve been involved in youth football for 13 years, most as a head coach and a board member of the Jenks JTA Youth Football Club. I’ve coached four generations of players and for three of those I did not have a kid on the team. I say that because I believe it’s important to understand the motivation of a person who gets into coaching. It has to be for the right reasons.

Back to the question of youth football programs in Oklahoma. The Indian Nations Football Conference includes teams from Tulsa, Stillwater, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Union, Owasso, Muskogee, Fort Gibson, Grove, Bixby, Collinsville, Sand Springs, Haskell, Claremore, Coweta, Berryhill and many others. By my count there are 34 clubs in the conference. Each club could have multiple teams in a grade. For example the Union 5th grade may have four teams consisting of 20-25 players per team. Each team is identified by color, not a fabricated mascot. Union Red and Jenks Maroon play the Backyard Bowl at every grade level. Travel can be something of a concern, but games are played on Saturday making travel issues easier.

Make no mistake about it, the east side youth football clubs take football very serious. One of the biggest falsehoods circulated about youth football in eastern Oklahoma is that the high schools require the youth teams to use their plays and run their schemes. This is simply not true. Do high school coaches give tips and instruction? Absolutely, when asked. Nearly all of the high schools in eastern Oklahoma are involved with their youth programs through camps they host before the season starts. It just makes sense. Why not develop some pride in your youth players before they get to middle school or junior high? Why not let that fifth grader shake hands with the head coach or get a little instruction from one of the starting offensive lineman? All while wearing the same colors.

Oklahoma City and the surrounding area take a little different approach to their youth football. The Greater Oklahoma City Youth Football Championships consists of board members from the Oklahoma Elite, Moore Youth Football and the Central Oklahoma Football League. The GOYFA was created to develop and govern a citywide playoff system. Each league plays their own games (usually during the week).

With several different governing bodies involved I can see how difficult it would be to get each club on the same page. Scheduling, fields, which teams a player would play for, etc…would be a nightmare. The GOYFA is attempting to alleviate some of that confusion.

I’m sure the coaches, parents and clubs are after the same result for their youth players in Oklahoma City as they are in Tulsa, which is developing a love for the game and giving the kids a great experience. But is it helping the schools they feed? Or is that simply not something parents are interested in who have kids in these programs? Are the coaches at the high schools interested in helping these youth programs develop and teach kids what it takes to be a Lion, a Bronco or a Tiger from Norman? I can’t answer for the high school coaches from Oklahoma City and the surrounding area, but I can tell you the eastern Oklahoma coaches are…very interested.

Jenks kids wear their Jenks Trojan jersey to school every Friday during football season. Their jersey looks like the high school jerseys. From the 1st grade to the 7th grade, these kids grow up wanting to be a part of that program and it’s the same way at Union, Owasso, Broken Arrow and even smaller schools like Metro Christian and Haskell. They climb the fence behind the home bench during the games waiting for high-fives from the players. It’s a completely different environment for these kids.

Are the leagues in OKC growing? Are they competing at a high level? We’re okay with youth baseball, basketball and softball players participating in competitive sports leagues, why not football? The INFC is as competitive as it gets. They are nationally recognized as one of the best youth league organizations, if not the best, in the country. Why wouldn’t you want your kids competing in that league? Just ask teams and clubs that do. Better yet, ask the coaches of the high schools and junior highs if they think the INFC does a good job of preparing youth players for school ball.

So who’s better? Who feeds the high schools with players who have grown up waiting for their chance to play under the lights on the high school field? The answer is easy…but is it something everyone wants to admit? No it’s not. The INFC is continuing to try and develop their concept to the OKC area and one of the biggest roadblocks is the INFC’s philosophy of playing on Saturdays. Really? I thought youth football in OKC was only 10 years behind, now I think it may be 20.
-Brad Heath

To sum up Brad’s thoughts, I had to re-iterate his final sentences. I have been told numerous times by OKC area youth parents that “Saturdays are for college football.” Everything the INFC does in Tulsa is based on Saturdays. And parents who are OU, OSU or TU alum, make the sacrifice to miss home games for their kids at times. That’s how it has worked for twenty years. Even former All-American players at OU and OSU who are expected at every home game will absolutely miss it if their kid’s INFC game falls at the same time. That is a massive difference.

Enrollment
This is an aspect of a football program that absolutely has to be addressed. I am not naïve and understand completely that enrollment plays a big factor in the talent pool of athletes. But if enrollment is the only factor (or even looked as the main factor), then a school like Broken Arrow should have been winning the state championship in Oklahoma’s largest class over the past twenty years. Before 1988, Moore had the highest enrollment for a handful of years before splitting to Westmoore. Moore did not win a state championship during those years.

Jenks went on a run from 1996 to 2001 where it won six straight state titles, and this was done with the Jenks enrollment consistently ranked outside the top 5. The key to Jenks was that because of their program and everything that went into it, they developed what is commonly referred to as “program players.” This is a very important facet as the program kids of any great football program are the real reasons why a program can sustain an elite level year-in and year-out. Program kids are developed over time. These are kids who are more than likely not going to play beyond high school, but are more effective as a unit within the team (and program) than kids with the same talent level at other programs. They live with the “resilient mindset” ever since they are very young. During the years when a great football program has a few great athletes (D-1 caliber) coupled with their program kids, then you go from a great team to a historically great team.

Once again, enrollment plays a factor, but what is produced out of the talent pool is far more important than the size of the talent pool.

Hard Work/Sacrifice
Before I explain some of this, let me pose a question to any school who desires to achieve prominence in Class 6A. This would come with a guarantee that in the span of eight years, your school would be competing regularly for a state title, and within 10 years, it will achieve the goal of winning the championship. Would programs be willing to go through eight years of growing pains, heartaches, time, resources and investment to achieve this goal? This also comes with the unprecedented level of hardwork, mindset and sacrifice year-in and year-out with nothing but complete immersion in staying the course, developing the program and building it from the ground up. If the answer is yes, then I believe we are on the right track in identifying what it will take.

Now that we are in agreement that the sacrifice will be made, one of the first things we need to do is identify the prominent personnel within a program who would be willing to lead for at least eight years. This is very important as the longest tenured coach in 6A outside of Alan Trimble and Bob Wilson is Ty Prestidge from Mustang (8 years) and Todd Wilson from Yukon (8 years). It takes sustainability and it takes coaching that is dedicated to building for years to come. Even in Union’s case, Kirk Fridrich took over a program that he was a part of building with Bill Blankenship as an assistant in the 90′s. Fridrich is in his 6th year at Union, but was a part of Blankenship’s staff for 10 years (93′-02′).

Sometimes the words “hard work” seem to be thrown around very casually. But the type of work that goes into building a program can only be maximized with the utter and total “resilient mindset.” This mindset allows those to work harder, strive for more, and never give up. Again, it starts from the ground up. Youth, youth parents, high school parents, players, coaches, and administration.

Conclusion
In conclusion, please understand that informative pieces like this do not come around very often. I do not expect everyone to agree or disagree (which is why it makes for great debate), but hopefully it has been a little enlightening in what it takes to be part of the best Oklahoma has to offer. The bar has been raised over the last 15 years, and that bar is achievable if the “resilient mindset” is adopted and instilled.

[SoonerDave]

Very interesting article and commentary.

The realities for districts like Moore and Norman are that, right or wrong, they've made the decision to support multiple high schools and, thus, multiple programs. IMHO, that decision alone "gores the ox" of administrative support and solidarity discussed above. Such districts must inherently present a veil of neutrality to mitigate any notion they "favor" one high school over another - despite notions and allegations that precisely such "under the table" support goes on routinely in some circumstances. The community is split as well - I've lost track of the number of fundraisers (for example) Southmoore would have one week, then followed up the next week by a comparable one from Westmoore covering the same territories due to the close proximity of the district's high school boundaries. There are only so many dollars available in a community to support something as discretionary as a high school football team - and splitting that pool three ways dilutes the resources even further.

Where you have the strong booster organizations that put together great support systems, it can paradoxically have a paralyzing effect on schools in that same district where the organization inherently isn't as strong - there have been myriad stories (admittedly heard only 2nd-hand at best) that original Moore HS has had great difficulty in maintaining a strong booster organization over the last several years - and that a lot of hard feelings persist to this day from some Moore parents who believe Moore administration in general essentially allowed Southmoore to raid its coffers. Not saying that's true, not getting into that aspect of it , but the perception is there, and it illustrates precisely the point of how vital the off-field program of parents and boosters is to the ongoing success of any HS football team.

For multiple-high-school districts, the die is cast, and mitigates against the idea that powerful football fortunes come and go in waves. The split HS districts that create inherently muted and diluted administrative and community support superimpose a glass ceiling on achievement that may be impossible to overcome. Is that inherently and necessarily a bad thing? No, because there are valid reasons for keeping high schools split; transportation, land, and construction issues that have nothing to do with sports are ready concerns that have to be part of any school district's planning processes. And split schools afford a greater number of kids the opportunity to play "big time" HS football, with one or two teams making a run at a special season just as Westmoore did this year. Also, in all honesty, many folks don't want the football factory mentality ingrained in their kids starting at such a young age - and that's the opposite-pole extreme from the parents who are convinced their kid is the Next Big Thing in the NFL.

I think, for now, the "eastern bloc" mentality is going to persist. Unless the Moore's and Norman's (and those are the only two examples that come to mind) decide to drastically restructure how they execute their athletic programs - even to the point of single teams per district drawn from their high schools - a program that can never draw more than a fraction of the district's support but for all the other programs in that district - fighting the likes of Jenks and Union et al is like punching a brick wall with bare hands.

[wahoorob]

In regards to Austin's thoughts on the eastside dominance, here's a story we did in the September 2012 issue of Moore Monthly magazine:



In 1995 no one had ever heard of an iPod. The average cost of a gallon of gas was right around $1.09. Windows 95 had just been released by Microsoft, and a revolutionary new way to store media and watch movies called the DVD was announced. Garth Brooks, Van Halen, and Whitney Houston still ruled the pop charts.

It’s also the last year a 6A football team from the west side of Oklahoma brought home a state championship trophy. Midwest City beat Putnam City North 31-14 to win its second consecutive title.

Since then Jenks and Union have accumulated sixteen straight gold balls for their trophy cases, including a six-year streak by Jenks between 1996 and 2001. The Redskins have won the last four championships. In fact the championship game has been an all-eastside final for thirteen of those sixteen years, and last year’s final four featured—you guessed it—four east-side teams.

It’s a staggeringly one-sided record that some blame on a variety of factors, including school size, facilities, coaching, recruiting, money, community support and probably astrology, global warming and Scientology.

But the truth about east-side dominance may not be all that simple. That’s why we decided on a Myth Busters’ approach in our search for the answer to the question that’s become an Oklahoma high-school football tradition: “Who will break the streak?”

NUMBERS DON’T LIE, BUT THEY CAN MISLEAD

The gap between the student population of the top teams in the state and EVERYONE else is inescapable. Broken Arrow and Union both top the 4,000 mark. Jenks trails with just over 3,000. The largest team on the west side of the state is Mustang at 2,473 students.

As you consider those numbers ,you’re hit with a staggering observation: the difference between the student ADM of Moore High School and Broken Arrow High School is 2,433, with just five schools separating the two. But the difference between Moore and Booker T. Washington is just 866 students with 24 schools separating the pair.

Logic would dictate that when you’re pulling your team’s talent from a larger pool of students, the numbers are always going to line up in your favor. Westmoore head coach Billy Langford says it’s hard to argue with that logic—up to a certain point.

“When you talk about Broken Arrow and Union, it would basically be like taking a school like Westmoore and doubling it, then picking your team from that group,” he said. “It’d be great to have two Jhames Wests and Josh Morgans and those types of things.”

But Langford says it’s less about how the starters match up and more about those reserves waiting to come into the game.

“If they have an injury, they probably have another senior ready to plug in and go,” he said. “When we have an injury, a lot of times we’re looking at playing a sophomore. And that makes a big difference as the season wears on, and you get to the playoffs.”

Southmoore’s Jeff Brickman agrees and points out the obvious: when you have 4,500 students to pull from, you’re going to have the kind of depth that allows you to weather injuries.

“When we scrimmage those teams, we match up with them very well early on as far as our starters are concerned,” Brickman said. “But when you play them in the playoffs, you’ll see that it’s about the quality of depth behind your first-string players.”

Kirk Fridrich coached at Stillwater and other smaller schools before stepping into the head coach’s spot at Union. He basically agrees with the idea that numbers give you an advantage in depth. Fridrich also points out that having too many kids can actually be a problem if not properly managed.

“If you’ve got enough players to have 70 on a team, then you’ve got enough to have a really good football team,” Fridrich said. “But if there are 140 kids involved in your program, it becomes a logistical problem of ‘how do you practice that many and hone their skills?’ That can be a hindrance.”

For coaches and administrators on the west side, the biggest trade-off is that a greater number of kids get to play on Friday nights, and they see that as an advantage in the long-run.

Southmoore’s Brickman says, “We have a lot more kids that are getting to participate—and that’s a great thing. Some of the guys who play over here probably wouldn’t play a whole lot.”

“In the end it’s pretty cool for all of these kids to get the chance to run out there on a Friday night and experience that. That’s a big deal,” Langford said.

CONCLUSION: TRUTH— numbers give the east side an advantage when it comes to depth. The bonus for three-school districts like Moore is that more kids get to participate.


FACILITIES AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Another factor often cited in the east side’s run of football success is that it’s easier for a community to rally around one school than it is for communities divided between three separate teams. Moore Lions’ head coach Todd Watters sees that as a big advantage.

“Those schools are a one-horse town, a one-high-school community, so to speak,” he said. “They don’t share kids with other high schools in their districts. Their little leagues run their systems, and everybody’s willing to pay the price to make the team successful.”

Union’s Fridrich acknowledges the advantage, but admits he really doesn’t know if winning breeds that kind of support or if the support was there before the team’s run of success.

“It’s hard to define in terms of which comes first, winning or community support,” he said. “But once it gets going, it really does feed off of each other.”

And that momentum has produced facilities at Jenks, Union, and Broken Arrow that are the envy of a lot of small college football programs.

“The old saying is that if you look good, you play good,” Fridrich said. “And for our kids, the facilities help communicate that expectation of winning. Not just the athletic facilities, but across the entire academic spectrum—the schools, the classrooms, the locker room, the field of play. The kids know they’re at a place that’s pretty special and they’re expected to practice and perform at that level.”

Like most of us, Westmoore’s Langford is impressed with those facilities, but he believes the westside schools have everything they need to compete.

“When you’re comparing the big Taj Mahal college-looking facilities that Jenks and Union have, it looks nice. But when it gets right down to doing the work, I don’t think it affects us on the football field,” Langford said. “Our guys can get just as strong as their guys in our weight room as they can in theirs. We have everything we need to be successful in terms of facilities.”

The SaberCats’ Brickman said, “It’s just a difference of philosophy. They feel like it’s better to put more money into one school than it is to have three different schools with comparable facilities. But we have what we need to be successful.”

CONCLUSION: MYTH— facilities help, but aren’t the difference maker you might expect.


LEARNING THE PROGRAM AT AN EARLY AGE

When football players arrive at Jenks and Union as freshmen, they typically bring with them as much as four years of experience playing in the same offensive and defensive systems used by the high-school teams.

Brickman said, “You look at Jenks, and they’re running pretty much the same offense that they’ve been running for ten years. So that can help.”

Langford agrees that it’s an advantage, “Those kids are used to hearing the same thing over and over and over again—so by the time they get to high school, they’ve done it for five years.”

In addition to running the same plays and using the same terminology as the high schools, these younger kids grow up in an environment where their idols are used to winning championships. That breeds an expectation of success.

“The mental hurdle is the big thing that the west side needs to get over,” Langford said. “Their kids come in expecting to win every game they play, and the only time they really have any doubt is when they play each other. Until somebody beats them, they’ll keep believing that.”

“Jenks and Union have had this great run of success, and everybody wants to be a part of a that winning program, and those communities have bought into doing whatever it takes to fuel that tradition,” Watters said.

Fridrich confirms those conclusions. In the Union school district, each elementary grade has about four teams playing youth football. Fridrich says about 75% of those teams run a watered-down version of Union’s high-school playbook, using the same terminology as the big boys.

“In addition to that, we host a big coaches’ clinic each summer to teach those coaches and dads who’ll be working with the kids,” Fridrich said. “It’s part of the relationship-building process that we’ve built with those coaches.”

CONCLUSION: TRUTH— kids arrive as freshmen steeped in the tradition, schemes, and terminology of the eastside high schools.


COACHING

Some would argue that the best coaches in the state gravitate toward those winning programs over in the east. Watters, Brickman and Langford are all in agreement that coaching is as critical to success as are numbers, tradition, and early indoctrination in a school’s program.

Brickman said, “It’s certainly not fair to say they’re only good because they have 4,500 students. They have great coaches up there who do a great job coaching their kids up.”

Watters adds, “Jenks and Union and those teams have a great coaching staff and there’s no way you can take that away. But the old saying is still true: ‘It’s the Johnnys and Joes, not the X’s and O’s that win the game.’”

Union’s Fridrich believes he has a great staff, but having coached most of his career either in Stillwater or smaller schools out west, he also knows there’s plenty of coaching talent elsewhere.

“I know there are some great coaches over on the west side of the state,” Fridrich said. “I know they face some challenges, but for me, it’s always about hiring great men that will coach kids. When you’re working to develop kids, people will support that.”

CONCLUSION: MYTH— WHILE IT MAY BE EASIER TO GET COACHES TO COME TO A WINNER, THERE’S PLENTY OF WISDOM AND TALENT ON THE WEST SIDE.


OVERALL CONCLUSION

When August rolls around and football practice gets started in Moore, Norman, Edmond, and the homes of other 6A programs in the west, you can bet the coaches aren’t telling their kids “We’re going to go ahead and concede the state championship to Jenks or Union.”

You can see that their goals are to hoist that gold ball in December, and it’s more than just a t-shirt slogan or motivational poster on their locker room wall. These coaches and their players believe they can win it all, and that’s the goal they’re working toward each year.

But coaches are also realistic. They understand that a lot of things are going to have to fall into place to knock off the eastside titans.

“We’ve got plenty of talent over here,” Watters said. “But to beat these guys and beat them consistently in the same way they’ve done, it will take a perfect set of circumstances.”

“You can talk about beating them, but until somebody lines up and beats them, and does it more than once, it’s going to be a challenge for this side of the state,” Langford said.

“You can compare it to the 2000 OU team that had basically no injuries,” Brickman said. “They played a Florida State team that had 85 players that were better than OU’s 85. But when they put their 22 guys on the field, OU matched up really, really well.”

And every football fan in Oklahoma knows how that season and championship game turned out. It can certainly happen on the high-school level.

- See more at: News | Moore Monthly

[SOONER8693]

Very interesting article and commentary.

The realities for districts like Moore and Norman are that, right or wrong, they've made the decision to support multiple high schools and, thus, multiple programs. IMHO, that decision alone "gores the ox" of administrative support and solidarity discussed above. Such districts must inherently present a veil of neutrality to mitigate any notion they "favor" one high school over another - despite notions and allegations that precisely such "under the table" support goes on routinely in some circumstances. The community is split as well - I've lost track of the number of fundraisers (for example) Southmoore would have one week, then followed up the next week by a comparable one from Westmoore covering the same territories due to the close proximity of the district's high school boundaries. There are only so many dollars available in a community to support something as discretionary as a high school football team - and splitting that pool three ways dilutes the resources even further.

Where you have the strong booster organizations that put together great support systems, it can paradoxically have a paralyzing effect on schools in that same district where the organization inherently isn't as strong - there have been myriad stories (admittedly heard only 2nd-hand at best) that original Moore HS has had great difficulty in maintaining a strong booster organization over the last several years - and that a lot of hard feelings persist to this day from some Moore parents who believe Moore administration in general essentially allowed Southmoore to raid its coffers. Not saying that's true, not getting into that aspect of it , but the perception is there, and it illustrates precisely the point of how vital the off-field program of parents and boosters is to the ongoing success of any HS football team.

For multiple-high-school districts, the die is cast, and mitigates against the idea that powerful football fortunes come and go in waves. The split HS districts that create inherently muted and diluted administrative and community support superimpose a glass ceiling on achievement that may be impossible to overcome. Is that inherently and necessarily a bad thing? No, because there are valid reasons for keeping high schools split; transportation, land, and construction issues that have nothing to do with sports are ready concerns that have to be part of any school district's planning processes. And split schools afford a greater number of kids the opportunity to play "big time" HS football, with one or two teams making a run at a special season just as Westmoore did this year. Also, in all honesty, many folks don't want the football factory mentality ingrained in their kids starting at such a young age - and that's the opposite-pole extreme from the parents who are convinced their kid is the Next Big Thing in the NFL.

I think, for now, the "eastern bloc" mentality is going to persist. Unless the Moore's and Norman's (and those are the only two examples that come to mind) decide to drastically restructure how they execute their athletic programs - even to the point of single teams per district drawn from their high schools - a program that can never draw more than a fraction of the district's support but for all the other programs in that district - fighting the likes of Jenks and Union et al is like punching a brick wall with bare hands.

Excellent response.