Sports

El Reno High School freshman first baseman Garrett Moss reaches out to glove a pickoff throw to the bag during a preseason game against Clinton last week at the Hub Reed Complex.

El Reno defeated the Red Tornado 9-5, paced by three runs in the fifth inning to break a 3-all tie.

El Reno had two more preseason outings slated before kicking off the 2026 season Monday at home against Midwest City. The two games with the Bombers, one on the road Tuesday, kick off District 5A-1 play for both schools.

All three area small school boys basketball programs remain in the hunt for a state tournament berth with defending champions Calumet and Okarche now one win away from punching Elite Eight tickets.

Calumet captured the Class B1, Area I, Region C title with a 99-44 win over Balko-Forgan for its sixth straight victory.

The Chieftains, ranked second in the state, are now 25-3 on the year and will play No.8 Hammon for the Area I Championship and a direct state pass.

Calumet, needing to win one out of two games, is seeking its 14th trip to state and fourth in a row.

Rallying from two points down to start the final period, Okarche High School’s girls basketball team joined Calumet in the driver’s seat toward state tournament berths in their respective classes – each needed one win.

Fifth-ranked Okarche outscored No.12 Mooreland 13-8 in the fourth period to secure a 41-38 win in the Class A, Area I, Region A Championship.

Now 22-4 on the year and riding a seven-game win streak, the Warriors face fourth-ranked Amber-Pocasset in the Area I title game. The last loss for Okarche was to the Panthers.

Several uncharacteristic turnovers throughout the final period allowed Tonkawa to get close, but Redlands Community College women’s basketball team pulled out a 66-54 home win over Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa.

The Cougars have won nine straight games to move to 24-4 on the season. The streak has occurred in NJCAA Region 2 play as Redlands is now 11-3 in the standings for third place, and still a game and a half out of first place.

Pushing four players in double-digit scoring led Redlands Community College men’s basketball team to its first win streak of the year in NJCAA Region 2 action.

The Cougars defeated Northern Oklahoma College of Tonkawa 83-69 for its second straight win, improving to 12-16 on the season. The Cougars are 6-8 in the region standings and move into a tie for sixth place.

The first-ever game utilizing a shot clock in the 71-year history of Jenks Simmons Field House came with two 35-second violations and some on-the- job training for the home team.

“We didn’t even practice using the shot clock for this game. The only thing that happened was the first time it (clock) went off our girls didn’t know what to do. So we had to tell them to keep playing.

“Even though the clock goes off, you’ve still got to play until you hear a whistle, because you don’t know if they're going to blow it dead or not,” said El Reno head coach Jennifer Douglas.

After battling through three ties and nine lead changes in the second half, El Reno High School’s boys basketball team was outscored 13-3 in the final four minutes of a 71-63 loss to the Oklahoma City Knights.

The setback closed out the regular season for El Reno with a 9-14 record.

El Reno rallied from five points down in the first half to fashion a 36-29 halftime lead. 

But the lead dwindled down to a one-possession game four times in the third period despite two 3-pointers and eight points from Bradley Island and four Gabe Osburn free throws.

For the first time since 2019, the lights at El Reno’s Jenks Simmons Field House will be dark on game days for the upcoming Class 5A playoffs as neither El Reno High School basketball teams will host a regional.

The El Reno girls, the two-time defending state champion, finished third in the District 5A-2 standings and will start their title defense at the 5A West Region 2 Championships in Del City.

El Reno, which has not played a road regional game since 2019, will face Duncan (2-19) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

El Reno High School’s boys wrestling team took part in the Class 5A West Regional Championships last week in Noble.

El Reno advanced three wrestlers to state.

See our next edition for a regional wrap-up.

With three games left in the regular season, Redlands Community College women’s basketball team made the jump into third place in the NJCAA Region 2 standings with a 70-56 win over Western Oklahoma.

The Cougars are on an eight-game win streak to improve to 23-4 on the season. Redlands is 10-3 in the region standings and trails Northeastern Oklahoma A&M by a game for second and Murray State by two games for first.

The win over Western avenged a January loss to the Pioneers as Haven Joseph put up a team-leading line of 20 points, eight boards and three steals.