TUPATALK: Several area prep football teams look to turn unknowns into strengths for season
Unlike some summers, it’s difficult to forecast with a great deal of confidence the way the wind is blowing for area prep football teams heading into the fall season.
On the known side, coaching stability remains in tact for the most part.
Of the 10 area football teams the E-E attempts to cover, eight of them return the same guy in charge.
The only exceptions are Bartlesville High, which has hired Harry Wright, a successful coach on the Arkansas prep scene, to lead the Bruins; Rod Richardson, a veteran of the Oklahoma big school scene to try to set a new direction for Dewey; and Nowata High, which has brought on Chance Juby to revive the proud Ironmen grid tradition.
Returning head coaches include Kurt Cloud (Wesleyan Christian), Stephen Mitchell (Caney Valley), Marshall Foreman (Copan), Kylee Sweeney (Barnsdall), Matt Hennesy (Pawhuska), Criss Davis (Caney Valley, Kan.) and Steve Trammell (Oklahoma Union).
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Not enough space today for a meaningful analysis on each team, but the outlook — in terms of a large amount of returning, proven talent and a solid showing in 2021 — appears promising for some area teams, especially Barnsdall and Caney Valley, Kan.
But, to be honest, while several other great prep players are back for other programs, they also have some serious voids to fill.
Pawhuska’s Hennesy has guided the team to 40 wins — and two state semifinal appearances — the past four seasons. He returns starting quarterback Todd Drummond and a handful of other powerful warriors. But, he also graduated a gifted pair of skill player dynamos in Mason Gilkey and Dalton Hurd, one of the state’s toughest and most impactful linemen in Lesharo Wildcat and other impressive talent.
No doubt, the Huskies will reload with some mighty athletes. But, the Huskies will need to prove whether they can maintain the same stratospheric success as the past three seasons.
Caney Valley (Okla.) is coming off just its second winning season in 30 years. But, Mitchell needs to replace several dynamos, such as Daniel Barham, Ethan Nichols and others. However, he returns three-year starting quarterback Zak Wallis, a veteran offensive line, a dangerous ballcarrier in Jeff Childress, an all-around threat in Cooper Fogle and other battle-tested scrappers.
Dewey managed just four wins the past two seasons — but there are a lot of “what ifs” in the equation that could have caused a different scenario had they been different. New head coach Richardson will likely build his offense around multiple-threat returning starting quarterback Trent Muninger. Mitigating the graduation losses of Jacob Mouser and Dallas Mullikin are part of Richardson’s task.
Oklahoma Union’s Trammel and his staff are proven on-the-fly innovators, not afraid to successfully retool the attack in-season to fit the skill sets of personnel. Trammel has led the Cougars to four-straight playoff seasons, but needs to develop a new starting quarterback and replace other departed senior talent.
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Copan coach Foreman has done the best he could with a slim roster, sometimes not being able to suit up more than nine players — and with one or more of them being dinged up — to play in eight-man competition.
But, about the only direction for Copan is up, and Foreman welcomes a powerful freshman class that excelled in junior high football. Depending on how fast the newcomers can make major contributions in the first half of the season, Copan could take some steps forward.
On paper, Wesleyan Christian seems to be one of the area teams with bright prospects for 2022. But, Cloud graduated most of last year’s eight-win team. However, he returns multi-year starters at quarterback and other skill positions. Depending on how quickly the new offensive line bonds together, the Mustangs could be back in the hunt.
Caney Valley (Kan.) football returns a solid swath of experienced gladiators from last season’s playoff team.
Plus, Davis and his staff seem to always have the right sense in finding the best position fit for the available talent and potential.
Nowata is coming off a couple of winless campaigns, but the number of players appears to be up and there seems to be a sense of purpose coming out of team about turning the program around. It’s been just eight years since Nowata played in the state championship game.
Barnsdall’s Sweeney probably has best wealth of riches in terms of promise. He returns a large percentage of last year’s squad, many of which took their growing lumps as freshmen. Sweeney’s numbers are impressive for an eight-man team. Quarterback Maverick Lanphear and ballcarrier Easton Malone, both back as sophomores, could help lead the way.
Bartlesville head coach Harry Wright returns several starters — a good thing.
But, many of them will be just sophomores and juniors — making the Bruins still a young group.
How much the young players can flex their muscles, with a year of experience behind them, could be a telling key.
Back is sophomore-to-be quarterback Nate Neal, who saw major playing time in the last couple of games last season. A running back rotation of Austin Zink, P.J. Wallace and Cameron Hightower could be one of the most productive in the district. The promise appears there for the Bruins to improve notably in 2022 and challenge for a playoff spot. But, promise and potential are only the beginning stirrings of progress. The Bruins will have to prove their mettle on every Friday night.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TUPATALK: Focus on Bartlesville area high school football teams
