Football notebook

Tulsa Washington offensive lineman John Williams will miss Friday's game against second-ranked Jenks. Williams suffered a strained knee ligament in Week 2 and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Williams is a Division I prospect.

"When you have to go start district play without a D-I lineman, it makes things a little more difficult,” Washington coach Antwain Jimmerson said.

Jimmerson said Williams has offers from Tulsa, Arkansas and Kansas.

•Back on track: After a 3-7 season in 2006, Sulphur is back to its winning ways.

The Bulldogs are 3-0. One reason has been all the young players who started last year are back. The Bulldogs returned 17 starters from a team that missed the playoffs for the first time in 23 years.

Leading the way has been quarterback Robert Thomas. The senior did not complete a pass in a 28-14 victory over Elgin last week, but he rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown. It was the first game this season he did not have a punt or kickoff return for a score.

This week, the Bulldogs face Plainview and Justin Blackmon.

"Plainview is dangerous,” Sulphur coach Jim Dixon said. "Justin can do just about anything for them. He's scary good.”

•Picking up the pieces: Davis has been shut out in each of its last two games, but coach Jody Weber said there is no reason to panic.

"Our effort is there, but we're just making too many mistakes right now,” Weber said.

Weber pointed out the last time Davis lost back-to-back games was in 2005, when the Wolves went on to the 2A title game.

"We have work to do, but our seniors have been through this before,” he said.

•Cast of characters: Two Sequoyah-Claremore starters will play in a cast this week. Corey Park suffered a broken hand in Week 1, and Jake Rhines sustained a broken wrist last week. Park and Rhines both play linebacker and fullback.

"Luckily, we use a lot of kids at running back,” coach Jody Iams said. "We have a lot of extra bodies there.”

Iams said Park, a team captain and the only two-way returning starter from last year's state championship team, might return to full strength in two to three weeks.

"You don't want to have a leader like that on the sidelines,” Iams said. "All of his fingers are inside the cast, so its hard for him to run the ball.”

Sequoyah begins District 3A-3 play at home Friday against Blackwell.

•Butcher out for Claremore: Claremore running back Timmy Butcher suffered a high ankle injury during last week's loss to Owasso. Butcher will miss Friday night's game against Tulsa Bishop Kelley and is likely to miss Week 5 against Tulsa Central.

"Losing Timmy is a big loss,” Claremore coach Keith Bell said. "He's our workhorse and a senior leader. We are losing a lot more than just him on the field.”

Butcher also returns kickoffs.

"He is just such a big part of our offense,” Bell said. "We will miss him this week for sure.”

•Drastic change gets results: Following a 55-13 defeat to Madill, Kingston coach Jeremy Atwood made a bold move and kicked four starters off the team for inappropriate behavior.

Atwood said he was concerned about how the team would react. The Redskins came back with a 47-21 victory over Wilburton.

Sophomore quarterback Nate McLain threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns and ran for two more.

His primary target was Cameron Smith. The senior caught seven balls for 225