Sports

While the majority of its scoring came from closer to the basket, El Reno High School’s boys basketball team had four first-half shots from the perimeter which were game-changers.

The Indians, ranked 13th in the first Class 5A poll of the season, defeated No. 7 Shawnee 51-33 to win their second straight season opener under head coach Rodney Haydon and snap a four-game losing streak to the Wolves.

It was the Suburban Conference opener for both teams.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team continued its tough season-opening run through the cream of the crop in Class 6A, losing 54-16 last week to Edmond North, ranked third in the state.

El Reno, ranked second in Class 5A in the first tournament rankings of the season, slipped to 0-2.

The Indians got a win at 106 pounds as Niko Gonzalez scored a 4:44 fall over Jaiden Rutledge, but gave those points and more back as Terry Guzman (113) and Hunter Davidson (126) suffered falls. El Reno’s Hudson Brooks dropped a 12-0 match at 120 pounds.

With 28 players, freshmen through seniors, numbers is not the problem facing El Reno High School’s boys basketball team going into the season opener against Shawnee.

The questions head coach Rodney Haydon and his staff are pondering are which five players will start against the Wolves and where will the other 23 players fit into the Indians scheme for the 2021-22 season.

“Two years ago when I was not coaching, we didn’t have any junior varsity games because we didn’t have enough people. That will not be an issue for us, we have got a large number and that is good.

El Reno High School’s wrestling team opened up the 2021-22 season on the road in the home of Class 6A’s top-ranked team – the Stillwater Pioneers.

Despite two wins in the final four weights, the Indians suffered a 53-18 setback.

El Reno, ranked second in Class 5A, was slated to face Class 6A’s third-ranked Edmond North and Piedmont before its home opener on Dec. 9 against Western Heights.

Stillwater ripped off 21 points over the first five weights as El Reno’s Niko Gonzalez (106), Terry Guzman (113) and Hudson Brooks (120) suffered falls.

UNION CITY – A slow offensive start to each half and gaps in its perimeter defense were a killer combination for Union City High School’s boys basketball team in last week’s 51-43 loss to Class B's 16th-ranked Lookeba-Sickles.

The Panthers raced out to a 19-7 lead after one period as Union City had only four shots and one basket by Braydon Armstrong over the first five minutes. The Tigers did close the gap to eight points briefly in the second period, but trailed 34-24 at break.

UNION CITY – Coming back off a 14-day break, Union City High School’s girls basketball team had the tall task of facing Class B’s third-ranked Lookeba-Sickles.

Union City added to that task by committing 17 second-half turnovers, 10 of which were steals by the Panthers, leading to a 76-32 loss.

The Tigers slipped to 2-3 on the season and 0-3 in the Washita Valley Conference standings.

Lookeba-Sickles used the turnovers to outscore the Tigers 39-18 over the final two periods after building a 37-14 halftime lead.

Redlands Community College women’s basketball team shot 46 percent from the field against Eastern Oklahoma State College, but the Cougars netted only two baskets from behind the 3-point arc in a 102-75 loss.

The setback to the Mountaineers dropped Redlands to 5-4 on the season and 1-2 in the NJCAA Region 2 standings.

The Cougars made 28-of-60 shots including a 2-of-12 effort (17 percent) from long distance. Redlands was 17-of-25 from the free-throw line for 68 percent.

Despite shooting 60 percent from the free-throw line and squandering a double-digit lead in the first half, Redlands Community College men’s basketball team defeated Eastern Oklahoma 84-80.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak as the Cougars improved to 7-5 overall and 2-1 in the NJCAA Region 2 standings.

Redlands built a double-digit lead in the first half before the Mountaineers pressure defense closed the gap to three points in the final five minutes.

However, the Cougars hit several late 3-pointers to push the advantage back to 45-33 at the break.

El Reno High School’s girls basketball team will debut one of the best 1-2 guard punches in Class 5A Friday night when the Indians host Shawnee for the 2021-22 season opener.

Ashlyn Evans-Thompson and Tetona Blackowl are two of the three returning starters off last year’s state semifinal team which went 15-6 and spent most of the COVID-19 shortened season ranked in the top 20.

“A lot of what we do will go through them because they are the best ball handlers and have the most experience,” said El Reno head coach Jennifer Douglas.

Rafe Goucher is living a football player’s American dream.

A dream with humble roots as a ball boy for El Reno High School’s football team. One which later traveled through an All-State career for the same Indians program and is now playing out in Kansas at Emporia State University.

“I would say it’s been as close to a dream as you can get,” said Goucher.