Sports

In a game marred by penalties, El Reno High School's football team scored points on both sides of the football en route to a 41-8 win over Southeast in a clutch game for both schools in the playoff hunt.

El Reno improved to 3-6 overall with the 33-point win, but more importantly, took over sole possession of fourth place in the District 5A-1 standings at 3-3.

The Indians are now one game ahead of the Spartans and Duncan for the final playoff position and own the head to head tiebreaker over both schools – which are 2-4 going into the final week of the regular season.

One of the hottest schools in Class 5A over the last month of the season was rewarded for its efforts as El Reno High School’s softball program earned five first-team picks on the 2021 All-District 5A-2 squad.

El Reno was third in the district behind Piedmont and Guthrie, with all three teams making the Class 5A State Championship.

The Indians were 19-16 on the year, but posted a 16-6 run over the past month. Over the final 12 games of the season, including state, El Reno was 10-2 with a seven-game win streak.

El Reno High School senior Mikey Devereaux leads the Indians in both rushing and tackling.

Kobe Null is EHS’ top receiver and seventh in tackles going into week 9’s game with Southeast.

For the second time in three weeks, El Reno High School’s football team faces a must-win situation in order to make the playoffs – but this week the room for error is razor thin.

El Reno slipped to 2-6 overall with last week’s loss to league-leader Ardmore, which left the Indians with a 2-3 mark in District 5A-1 play. Southeast, which visits Memorial Stadium this week, suffered a 48-28 setback to Noble.

The Spartans are also 2-3 in league play and tied with El Reno for the fourth and final playoff spot.

ARDMORE – Cal Swanson carved through El Reno High School’s Blue Crush defense with surgeon-like precision as the Ardmore Tigers defeated the Indians 49-7 to remain tied atop the District 5A-1 standings.

The loss dropped El Reno to 2-6 on the season and 2-3 in 5A-1 play.

Swanson did not complete a pass over 10 yards in four attempts. However, under 10 yards, the junior was a perfect 13-of-13, getting the ball quickly into the hands of three different receivers who produced 285 yards and four touchdowns.

It’s been said that being a place-kicker in football can be the loneliest job on the field.

Hours spent alone in practice, booting the ball through the uprights from different spots – then chasing down your own footballs.

Game nights are spent walking the sidelines waiting for your number to be called to showcase to coaches and fans what you have been doing in practice.

Not as glamorous as skilled position jobs, but that’s just fine for El Reno High School’s Kenneth Solis – or No.22 on your roster in case you scanned over it.

Etta Dale Junior High’s football teams closed out the 2021 schedule last week by splitting home games with Shawnee in Suburban Conference action.

The Indians eighth-grade team dropped a 46-6 game to the Wolves despite scoring the first points of the game on a 22-yard run by quarterback Deacon Tillery.

El Reno’s seventh-grade team improved to 7-1 on the season with a 34-8 win over Shawnee. The victory came a week after a close 8-6 road win over Carl Albert, which was sealed on a fourth-period touchdown and 2-point conversion run by Kaleb Blackwolf.

Redlands Community College’s cross country teams had their most successful outing of the 2021 season last week with five harriers placing in the top 10 medalists and one team title.

Redlands women won the team title at the 2021 Carl Albert State College Viking Invitational, fueled by three runners crossing the finish line in the top 10.

The Cougars ran the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) course in a total time of two hours, 22 minutes and eight seconds.

The team’s average time per runner was 28:26.

Due to a rash of injuries, Redlands Community College’s soccer team forfeited last week’s road match at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

The 2-0 forfeit left Redlands with a 2-9 overall record. The Cougars were slated to wrap up the 2021 regular season in Tonkawa against Northern Oklahoma College, according to RCC Athletic Director Eli Zucksworth.

Zucksworth said Saturday was the last day teams could play regular-season matches which will count toward qualifying and seeding for the upcoming NJCAA Region 2 Championships.

In a reversal of fortunes from a year ago, El Reno High School’s football teams travels to Ardmore Friday clinging to the fourth playoff spot from District 5A-1, while the Tigers remain tied at the top of the standings.

“Obviously our season has not gone as expected but we knew Ardmore had a talented team last year and they had a lot coming back. I think we can still compete with them but they are very talented,” said El Reno head coach Chuck Atchison.