Oklahoma Sports Blog

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Published: November 5, 2009

Edmond Players of the Week

It was a great week in Edmond sports, and I don’t want to single out a defensive star here or a runner there, so I’m giving the honor to Memorial’s defense and the North girls’ cross country team as Teams of the Week.

We’ve covered Memorial and its defense at this point in the 10-0 win vs. North. The Bulldogs have given up 17 points in the last five games, earned hosting a first-round playoff game, etc.

I’ve written it before, not much to add at this point. Strong at every line of defense, and Nelson Medeiros is a stud no matter where he’s playing.

North was hoping for the clean sweep in cross country, but the boys placed second. The girls were dominant all year, led by Meredith Farley (6th) and Anna Kimsey (8th). North was 21 points better than second-place Westmoore.

Two of the top eight is impressive, four of the top 12 is insane as Ashley Webb was 11th and Hannah Helker finished 12th.

Memorial and Santa Fe were pretty solid, too. The Bulldogs placed fourth in both while the Wolves were seventh in both competitions.

Other contenders (and winners any other week)

• Taler Buck, Deer Creek, cross country: This is how stout Edmond was this week. Buck won the 5A state championship and helped pace the Antlers to a second-place finish. He was 12 seconds better than anyone else. Crazy. Aaron White was third for DC.

• Tara Lewis, Memorial, cross country: She finished a superb season by placing fourth in the 6A event. She was .45 away from placing third as her time was 12:03.74 while Jenks’ Paige Barnes was at 12:03.30.

• Adam Godwin, North, cross country: Best finisher for the Huskies, placing fifth while the team took second.

• Will Long, QB, Santa Fe: It’s been a trying year for the senior, but he played his best game of the season in a 24-7 win at Norman North. He threw two touchdowns and didn’t have an interception.

• Colton Byford, DE, North: The North defense certainly didn’t lose that game, and Byford was all over the field during Edlam.

Private Schools’ Player of the Week

There were any number of Chargers to pick from. Sophomore Brandon Moews had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. Sophomore Barry Sanders (remember, no Jr.) rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns, caught another and had an interception.

But in the end, I think the play of Sterling Shepard was the thing that got Heritage rolling in a 49-7 victory against Newkirk to earn him the Private Schools’ Player of the Week.

Shepard’s stats weren’t outstanding (one passing TD, two rushing scores), but he set the tone early. He is making better decisions with each game and threw some of his best balls this year. The Chargers are starting to find some balance to go with the running game.

Newkirk wanted to stack the box, but once Shepard found Cale Courtney a couple of times for big gains, Tigers were left in a bind. And Shepard becomes another running back when he decides to just take off and run.

That’s back-to-back solid passing games from Shepard, which is a great sign if you’re a Chargers fan.

Other contenders

• Bishop McGuinness defense: There was a story on Jay Lester and Jameel Whitney in the Oct. 27 paper and a litany of Irish players could be deserving, so I’m just giving it to the D in a 34-0 win at Guymon.

• Cale Shivers, QB, Casady: Cyclones played their heart out against a great Houston Episcopal team. Shivers threw for two touchdowns in a 24-15 loss.

• Dalton Newsome and Aaron Smith, Mt. St. Mary’s: The duo was electric as MSM scored a season-high 35 points in a 35-21 win against Fairview.

Cross Country

• Mary Kate Roy, McGuinness: The Irish were dominant at the 5A regional with Roy leading the way. Team placed first and three of the top six finishers (Mary Beth Canfield and Erin Gaffney).

• Frank Frantz, McGuinness: Boys weren’t too bad, either. Frantz placed fourth overall, and Irish placed second overall.

• Virginia Ratliff, Heritage: Will lead team into state this weekend and was also named homecoming queen last week at the football game.