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TULSA — After Tulsa Union blocked an extra point on the first possession of overtime in its Sept. 7 game with Jenks, Redskins assistant coach Jon Davis sought out kicker Tress Way.

Davis tried talking to Way about anything but the game at hand and the possibility that it could come down to a Way kick to win the game in front of more than 20,000 fans and NFL Films cameras. The coach wanted to get Way relaxed and take his mind off the pressure.

"It wasn't happening,” Way said.

Union scored on the second play, and Way immediately found Luke Olson, his holder.

"He looked at me, and I told him we just won the Backyard Bowl,” Way said. "I don't mean that to be anything cocky, I just knew I was going to make that kick.”

After Union scored and Jenks called a timeout to try to "ice” Way, Davis asked Way what he was thinking.

"Honestly, coach, I'm thinking about how I'm going to celebrate after I make this kick,” Way said.

Way's kick sailed straight through, Union won 43-42 and Way ran the length of the field where he was mobbed by the rest of the Redskins.

It's that fine line between cocky and confident that a kicker has to walk.

A season ago, Way was on the wrong side of that line.

"I'd go out there without any idea of whether it would go in or it wouldn't,” Way said. "It could've gone either way.”

And in the Redskins' two biggest games of last season, they didn't.

Against Jenks early in the 2006 season, Way missed a pair of field goals. One hit the goal post and bounced out. The other went outside the uprights by less than a foot. Jenks won 9-6.

In the first round of the playoffs against Muskogee, Way had a field goal try with 17 seconds left that would've lifted the Redskins to a come-from-behind victory. Instead, the wind kicked up and blew Way's kick wide.

Even though Way's offseason wasn't long, he made it a point to work on being sure he never had to experience that feeling again in 2007.

"There's three things I wanted to make up for this season — that game against Jenks, that game against Muskogee and not getting the gold ball,” Way said.

Two down, one to go.

Tonight, right back at Tulsa's Chapman Stadium, Way and the Redskins will once again face off against Jenks for the Class 6A football title.

And although Way has been critical in avenging those two losses from last season, he hopes that's not the case this time around.

When asked to write the perfect ending to this season, Way doesn't hesitate.

"35-0,” Way said. "I'd absolutely love for it to come down to a last-minute field goal, but I just want to win the dadgum gold ball.

"My parents and grandparents have been saying, ‘Why don't you win this one a little easier?' That'd be nice just to be able to relax and enjoy it a little bit, but Jenks is an excellent team, and we respect them very much.”

Besides working on making up for last season's troubles, Way spent the offseason earning an offer from Oklahoma, one he didn't even know if he wanted at one point.

He was set to take a week of recruiting visits to Texas Christian, Louisville and Tulsa when an invitation to Oklahoma's kicking camp arrived.

Way told his dad he wasn't sure if he wanted to go, particularly since OU hadn't been heavily recruiting him. Plus, the Sooners had just signed national-record-holder Jimmy Stevens of Heritage Hall.

Way's mom, though, convinced him to give it a try.

"She told me that it was OU, and I should just go for the experience of it,” Way said.

He did and turned in the day of his life — kicking, punting, everything.

Way did go to TCU and Louisville and found himself talking with the other kickers, not about how great those schools were, but about how much fun he'd had at OU.

Even with Stevens in place, he didn't hesitate to commit to the Sooners.

"We'll just work around each other and work together to win a championship,” Way said. "I'm going there because I love to play in big games, and every game's big there.”

Tonight, Way still has one big game in high school before moving on to Norman.