In Focus: Class 3A semifinals...
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
CLASS 3A
KINGFISHER YELLOWJACKETS
Record: 9-3
Ranking: Unranked
Coach: Jeff Myers, seventh season at Kingfisher
Previous state titles: 2003 (3A)
Road to 2010 semifinals: Beat Perkins-Tryon 55-21, beat Tuttle 14-8, beat Beggs 49-21
2009 record (playoffs): 12-3 (Beat Lexington 24-3, beat Bridge Creek 33-32, beat Sperry 35-14, beat Millwood 27-12, lost to Lincoln Christian 35-0)
Last week: After winning its first two playoff games on the road, the Yellowjackets hosted for the first time this postseason and quickly jumped up, as Landon Nault went 73 yards for a score on the game’s first snap. Nault finished with three touchdowns as Kingfisher blew past Beggs to send the Yellowjackets into the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season.
Player to watch: Derek Patterson, QB. The senior has more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,500 yards passing. In the win over Beggs, he accounted for four touchdowns and more than 300 total yards.
Notable: Jeremy Smith and Logan Nault are the Yellowjackets leading receivers with more than 500 yards each. … Dustin Isom and Jake Blair are Kingfisher’s leading tacklers. … Patterson also handles the punting duties. … The Yellowjackets have scored 32 or more points in all of their wins this season but one, the second-round win at Tuttle. … Two of Kingfisher’s three losses came to fellow Class 3A semifinalists Bethany (27-12 on Oct. 15) and Heritage Hall (42-14 on Nov. 5).
METRO CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS
Record: 10-3
Ranking: Unranked
Coach: Jared McCoy, third season at Metro Christian
Previous state titles: None
Road to 2010 semifinals: Beat Berryhill 17-14, beat Valliant 34-14, beat Anadarko 42-33
2009 record (playoffs): 10-1 (Lost to Dewey 28-21)
Last week: Andrew Hearon threw for 436 yards and five touchdowns as the Patriots knocked off previously undefeated Anadarko. Metro Christian scored on its first three possessions.
Player to watch: Andrew Hearon, QB. The junior has throws for more than 3,500 yards and 49 touchdowns while leading Metro Christian to its deepest playoff run.
Notable: Solomon Pierce leads the Patriots with more than 840 yards rushing. … Drew Hillenburg has more than 1,000 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. … Hillenburg was one of three Metro Christian receivers to top 100 yards receiving last week with 124. Jay Jeffers added 165 and two touchdowns while Troy Jenson had 100. … Evan Lanoue leads the Patriots in tackles with more than 115. … Has never played Kingfisher. … Hosted all three of its first three playoff games. … Won six consecutive games since 46-43 loss to Sequoyah Tahlequah on Oct. 15. … Scored 32 or more points in nine of the last 10 games.
HERITAGE HALL CHARGERS
Record: 13-0
Ranking: No. 2
Coach: Andy Bogert, sixth season at Heritage Hall
Previous state titles: 1998 (2A), 2008 (2A)
Road to 2010 semifinals: Beat Little Axe 27-7, beat Bridge Creek 34-0, beat Spiro 49-30
2009 record (playoffs): 8-5 (Beat Meeker 35-0, beat Lindsay 48-8, lost to Pawhuska 34-20)
Last week: Heritage Hall held Spiro to 215 total yards, helped by a pair of sacks by defensive tackle Quintaz Struble. The Chargers offense was plenty explosive even without the injured Barry J. Sanders, racking up 387 total yards and scoring on five of their first seven possessions.
Player to watch: Sterling Shepard, WR. Shepard caught four touchdown passes in last week’s win and added a 61-yard touchdown run as he continued his comeback from injuries that limited him late in the season. Shepard has more than 900 yards receiving and averages around 18 yards per reception.
Notable: Barry J. Sanders, a junior, is out for the season after suffering a foot injury, but has more than 1,100 yards rushing. … Brent Gaddis is the Chargers’ leading rusher in Sanders’ absence. … Quarterback Cooper Cloud has thrown for more than 1,700 yards. … Cloud threw touchdown passes of 63, 39, 11 and 21 yards to Shepard last week. … Ross Clifton and Markus Wakefield each have more than 110 tackles. … Wakefield and Quintaz Struble have double-digit sack totals. … Shepard has eight interceptions. … Beat Bethany 14-7 on the road Oct. 29. … Also beat Kingfisher 42-14 on Nov. 5. … Allowed more than 14 points just four times this season, two in the first two games of the season.
