Varsity High School Sports

Oklahoma High School Sports News, Stats, Pictures, Videos and Information

Deer Creek vs. Piedmont game moved to old Yukon stadium August 31, 2011 | Comment on this article

EDMOND — Friday’s game between Piedmont and Deer Creek has been relocated to Yukon’s old stadium, Antlers coach Grant Gower said. It will still begin at 7:30, as scheduled. The game was moved because renovations at Deer Creek’s stadium aren’t completed yet. “Right now it just isn’t feasible to... Read More

Deer Creek's Blaine Powell is the Cross Country Athlete of the Week

August 31, 2011 Deer Creek’s Blaine Powell won the Class 5A-and-below, three-mile boys race at the annual TIG Guthrie Cottonwood Flats Invitational, and the performance earned him The Oklahoman’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors. Powell ran the race in 15:31 for a five-second victory over teammate Taler Buck. The... Read More

Edmond North gets big gift in lineman Will Wiedenmann August 31, 2011 EDMOND — Edmond North’s football team got a nice gift after fall practices started. Will Wiedenmann (6-foot-7, 336 pounds) moved from Statham, Ga., to Edmond. “He came a couple days after practice started, and asked if we had a spot on the team for him,” Huskies coach Jeremy Dombek said. “I took one... Read More

Norman-Norman North principals wager on game

August 30, 2011 BY RYAN ABER raber@opubco.com The principals at Norman and Norman North made a wager on Thursday’s Norman Bedlam matchup between the schools. If Norman wins, Norman North principal Bryan Young will race in Norman’s alumni 5K run Sept. 25 wearing a Norman High singlet while pushing a baby stroller carrying... Read More

Oklahoma City-area high school football stadium rankings: No. 10, Tuttle

August 30, 2011 TUTTLE — Today we kick off our series on the Top 10 high school football stadiums in the Oklahoma City area. These rankings were produced by Ryan Aber and I, and are based on facilities, uniqueness and home-field advantage. We will unveil the next stadium on this blog every Tuesday, culminating with our pick... Read More

Bishop McGuinness' Brandon Nguyen cleared

August 29, 2011 Bishop McGuinness linebacker Brandon Nguyen (concussion) has been cleared to play this Thursday in the Irish’s season opener against Shawnee’s junior varsity team, coach Justin Jones told The Oklahoman. Nguyen suffered the concussion on a helmet-to-helmet collision with Lawton MacArthur running back Darius... Read More

Bridge Creek-Elgin football pushed back to 8 p.m. August 29, 2011 BY RYAN ABER raber@opubco.com Friday’s season opener between Bridge Creek and Elgin has been pushed back to an 8 p.m. kickoff due to heat concerns. The game will be played at Elgin. “We talked about it last week and looked at the weather and decided it was the right move to make,” Bridge Creek coach... Read More

Former Sentinel, OSU standout Rebel Ridling earns honor August 29, 2011 BY RYAN ABER raber@opubco.com Former Sentinel and Oklahoma State standout Rebel Ridling was named the Southern League’s Hitter of the Week for the week ending Sunday. The Tennessee Smokies infielder took a 13-game hitting streak into Monday night’s game against Jacksonville. He started the week with five... Read More

Casady taking positives from loss, excited about challenge Heritage Hall presents

August 27, 2011 Casady senior quarterback and safety Mac Katigan saw a lot of positive in Friday’s season-opening loss, and is excited by his team’s potential. The Cyclones lost 24-10 to All Saints (Fort Worth, Texas), but went up 10-0 early. “In the first half, that’s the best I’ve seen us look,” Katigan said.... Read More

Scrimmage win over Jenks a big boost for Edmond Santa Fe

August 27, 2011 After struggling through a 1-9 season last year, Edmond Santa Fe couldn’t possibly have more momentum heading into Friday’s season opener against Edmond Memorial. The Wolves beat perennial power Jenks, which has won nine of the last 15 Class 6A state championships, 9-0 at the Jenks Preview on Friday.... Read More

Deer Creek's Jared Rayburn looks like a star in the making

August 27, 2011 NORMAN — Want to see a rising Oklahoma high school football star? Go watch a Deer Creek game and pay attention to No. 4, Jared Rayburn. I have to give credit where credit is due, though. During the first week of fall practices, I asked Antlers’ quarterback Joel Blumenthal for a player I hadn’t heard of that... Read More

Stillwater coach Tucker Barnard won't 'accept the almost'

August 27, 2011 NORMAN — After a 1-9 season, you’d think Stillwater would be excited by hanging with and almost beating Norman in a half-game at Friday’s Top of the World Classic. But you’d think wrong. New coach Tucker Barnard spent the last seven years as defensive coordinator at Shiloh Christian, an Arkansas... Read More

Video: Douglass QB Chris Compton after All-City Preview August 27, 2011 Douglass won the All-City Preview championship once again on Friday night, but just like last year, the discussion turned to a much more important trophy than the one the Trojans claimed Friday. It’s all about another state title for this team, which starts its season Sept. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington,... Read More

Mustang's Brandon Taylor has shoulder contusion, should play vs. Yukon August 26, 2011 Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor says he has a shoulder contusion and he “should be ready” for next week’s season opener vs. Yukon. Taylor suffered the injury to his left (throwing) shoulder in Thursday night’s scrimmage vs. El Reno at the Mustang Pigskin Preview. It was feared that he might have broken... Read More

Brandon Taylor's injury and other thoughts from Mustang's Pigskin Preview

August 25, 2011 At some point Friday morning, Mustang quarterback Brandon Taylor will find out just how bad he hurt his left shoulder on Thursday night. It could be as minor as a bruise, or as major as a broken collarbone, but it will be important news either way for the Broncos. There are a lot of new receivers and some young... Read More

Barry J. Sanders to Oklahoma State: Will he or won't he?

August 25, 2011 The top high school football recruit in the state of Oklahoma has strong Oklahoma State ties, but will that lead him to commit there? As everyone knows, Heritage Hall running back Barry J. Sanders, No. 1 on The Oklahoman‘s Super 30, is the son of former OSU Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Hall of Famer Barry... Read More

Heritage Hall's Markus Wakefield injures thumb; Quintaz Struble sits out

August 25, 2011 Heritage Hall lineman Markus Wakefield, an NCAA Division I recruit, suffered what is thought to be a broken thumb during Thursday’s scrimmage at Oklahoma Christian School. Senior defensive end and tight end Quintaz Struble sat out the scrimmage after spraining his ankle last week. Both are expected to be fine... Read More

Dynamic duo debate: Why Sterling Shepard is better

August 25, 2011 BY RYAN ABER raber@opubco.com Barry Sanders or Sterling Shepard? The answer is easy, yet difficult. Choose one and either way you get a fantastic player. But the choice is agonizing. Both are terrific players with terrific bloodlines. But sometimes tough decisions have to be made. So I’m going with... Read More

Power Lunch: Chat with prep writer Scott Wright August 25, 2011 Power Lunch: Chat with prep writer Scott Wright Read More

Dynamic duo debate: Why Barry J. Sanders is better

August 25, 2011 Here’s the question: Who’s better, Barry J. Sanders or Sterling Shepard? My answer: In truth, it’s probably a coin flip. Because as I try to formulate my thoughts as to why I’m picking Sanders, my mind keeps taking me back to Shepard’s second-half performance in the Class 3A state championship game... Read More

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The Varsity High School Bloggers

Ryan Aber

Reporter

Ryan Aber has worked for The Oklahoman since 2006, covering high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the Oklahoma City Barons and OU football recruiting. An Oklahoma City native, Aber graduated from Northeastern State. Before joining The Oklahoman, Aber worked for the Muskogee Phoenix, Southwest Times-Record in Fort Smith, Ark., and the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas.

Jason Kersey

OU Sports Reporter

Jason Kersey became The Oklahoman's OU football beat writer in May 2012 after a year covering high school sports and OSU recruiting. Before joining the newspaper in November 2006 as a part-time results clerk, he covered high school football for the Newcastle Pacer. During his time with The Oklahoman, he has also coordinated Thunder coverage, worked on the copy desk and covered several NFL games, including Super Bowl XLV. A Noble High School and OU graduate, he lives in Norman.

Jacob Unruh

Copy Editor

Jacob Unruh is a graduate of Northeastern State University. He was born in Cherokee and raised near Vera where he attended Caney Valley High School.During his tenure at NSU, Unruh wrote for The Northeastern (NSU's student newspaper), the Tahlequah Daily Press and the Tulsa World. From there, Unruh spent three years at the Lawton Constitution covering prep sports and Oklahoma football before joining The Oklahoman sports staff.

Scott Wright

Reporter

A lifelong resident of the Oklahoma City metro area, Scott Wright has been on The Oklahoman staff since 2005, covering a little bit of everything on the state's sports scene.

He has been a beat writer for football and basketball at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, writing about athletes like Blake Griffin, Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson, Dez Bryant and Brandon Pettigrew before they moved on to outstanding professional careers.

He also has covered small college athletics, minor league sports and NASCAR. Currently, he specializes in high school sports, football and basketball recruiting, and coverage of the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association.