Sports

El Reno High School’s football team was recently recognized with its first round of postseason honors as six players were named to the 2023 All-District 5A-1 team – a senior-only honor.

Two of those picks were superlative awards as running back Malachi Nicholson was named Offensive Most Valuable Player.

William Elledge was selected as the Linebacker of the Year, sharing the award with Lawton MacArthur’s Jake Caldwell.

El Reno placed three on the first team in offensive linemen Dion Kaulaity and Cade Houston as well as defensive lineman Spencer Davidson.

PIEDMONT – Facing one of the busiest weeks on its schedule, El Reno High School’s wrestling team kicked off the first of three ranked road events with a 46-30 dual loss against cross-county rival Piedmont.

The Wildcats, ranked seventh in Class 6A, snapped a three-year losing streak to El Reno – ranked seventh in Class 5A. The loss dropped the Indians to 2-1 on the season.

“They (Piedmont) are better than they have been and we didn’t come to wrestle today.

“We are a young team and we’ve got some injuries but that is no excuse.

A precursor to earning the top spot in the first Class B state ranking of the season, Calumet High School’s boys basketball team moved to 6-0 on the season with a 75-54 win over Hinton.

Calumet has now won 26 regular-season games in a row dating back to last season. The six-win start, in which the Chieftains have scored no less than 72 points in any game, was enough for 67 first-place votes in the poll and 1,652 points.

Fort Cobb-Broxton, ranked second, earned just eight first-place votes and 1,313 points.

Riding a 16-5 scoring edge in the second period, Union City High School’s girls basketball team posted back-to-back wins for the second time this season with a 44-41 road victory over Gracemont.

The three-point decision followed a 68-47 win over Ninnekah as the Tigers moved to 6-1 on the season.

Union City trailed 10-5 after one period but got three baskets from Keely Riley in the second period.

Bree Goad added two buckets, followed by one each from Kamryn Cook and Morgan Brothers.

Redlands Community College women’s basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped last week with a 57-49 home loss to Texas-based Frank Phillips College.

The loss, on the heels of a 74-50 win over Southern Nazarene University’s junior varsity, left the Cougars with an 8-3 record.

Isabella Stafford led the team in scoring over the two games with 21 points, 12 against Frank Phillips, while adding 14 rebounds, two assists and five steals.

Hannah Harris followed with 19 points for the set, while collecting 19 rebounds.

Despite double-digit scoring efforts from seven different players, Redlands Community College men’s basketball team split a pair of high-scoring affairs to slip to 5-4 on the season. The Cougars defeated Mid-American Christian University’s junior varsity team 103-85 on the road but dropped a 106-99 decision to El Reno-based On-Point Hoops Academy.

Deazhon Perkins scored in double digits both games and closed the set with 33 points.

He added 14 assists, seven steals and five rebounds.

Overcoming a disastrous first period, El Reno High School’s girls basketball team rallied past one of its oldest archrivals to kick off the 2023-23 season with a 63-50 victory over Carl Albert.

El Reno is one of three teams in District 5A-1 to win its season opener along with Elgin and Shawnee, but getting there was not an easy task. The Indians missed 12 of their first 13 shots from the floor and trailed 14-9 after one period.

Head coach Rodney Haydon stressed in the preseason that it could take some time for his team to jell under a new lineup from last year’s state quarterfinalist.

Yet after last week’s season opener, the Indians showed they may be slightly ahead of their coach’s time frame.

El Reno played Carl Albert, widely considered a top five team in Class 5A, to a 42-39 game over three periods. The Indians even outscored the Titans 17-14 in the fourth period.

Six wins over the first seven weights lifted El Reno High School’s wrestling team to a 46-18 road win over the Perry Maroons, ranked sixth in Class 3A.

El Reno, ranked fifth in the state in the Class 5A dual rankings, moved to 2-0 on the season.

“We wrestled tough tonight,” said El Reno head coach Anthony McDonald.

Terry Guzman (113) logged a first-period fall to get El Reno’s quick start moving, followed by a forfeit win for Niko Gonzalez (120).

El Reno High School’s girls basketball team will debut its new Nike N7 uniforms during the 2023-24 season opener against Carl Albert.

The turquoise-colored uniforms are inspired by Native American wisdom of the Seven Generations.

El Reno Public Schools is a Nike N7 school. The uniforms are also honoring Native American Heritage Month. The district held theme days this week in observance.