El Reno’s Jimmy Johnston tries to keep the nose of his boat down as he flies off the starting line during last year’s Smoke on the Water Drag Boat Races.
This year’s event starts Friday with testing and races kick off Saturday at noon on Lake El Reno.
Having spent years watching her dad race jet boats on the Southern Drag Boat Association circuit, it was only natural that El Reno’s Radley Miller would catch the bug to jump into the driver’s seat.
“I don’t know when it started. I just liked going to the lake and watching him race. It’s fun to watch him,” said Radley.
There’s just one little problem - Radley is just 12 years old. Four years too young to be a SDBA boat driver and six years shy of racing in the higher-powered classes like her father, Matt Miller.
Northeast
Birch: July 10.
Elevation is .5 ft. below normal, water temperature 85°F and stained.
Blue and channel catfish fair on cut bait around channels, points. Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around brush structure.
Though it was a small sampling of games to survey, El Reno High School baseball coach Keith Hill says his program and its group of younger players grew over the summer.
“This summer was a good starting point to build from as long as we don’t get complacent and level off or slip back,” said Hill.
El Reno’s varsity 1 team dropped a one-run game to the Oklahoma City Broncos, a home-schooled program, to start the Red Dirt League season.
The Indians then reeled off five straight victories to finish with a 5-1 record in the RDL’s Wooden Bat Division.
If you are a fan of drag boat racing, you will have only one chance this year to catch some of the quickest non-capsule crafts fly across Lake El Reno.
The 2022 Smoke on the Water, set for July 22-24, will be the lone show on local waters after the Southern Drag Boat Association removed the Hunter Showdown from its 2022 schedule.
The showdown, held on Lake El Reno in early fall, was one of the final points races on the SDBA schedule the last two years.
Fueled by a second straight walk-off single, El Reno High School’s baseball team closed out its summer schedule with a 12-11 come-from-behind win over Shawnee.
The Indians finished the summer on a five-game win streak and went 5-1 in the Wooden Bat Division of the Red Dirt League standings. There were no playoffs for the RDL this season.
“We played well this summer and I’m very proud of the team and excited to see where this momentum takes us moving forward,” said El Reno head coach Keith Hill.
Northwest
Canton: July 3.
Elevation is normal and stable, water temperature 85°F and clear.
White bass good on jigs and minnows around main lake.
Fort Supply: July 3.
Elevation is normal and stable, water temperature 80°F and murky.
Channel catfish fair around channels and main lake.
Foss: July 4.
Elevation is 2.5 ft. below normal and stable, water temperature 83°F and clear.
Striped bass hybrids good on live bait and topwater lures while surfacing. Walleye fair to good near rocks along the dam. Catfish good along shore.
From the boys soccer team picking up trash around the Adams Park fields to the volleyball program stuffing food boxes for Blessing Baskets, El Reno High School’s athletes have been giving back to the community.
The football program, under first-year head coach Russell Cook, was the latest to join the effort with a community day of service.
“El Reno is a great community to live in and has always supported the school and our extracurricular activities. The football team wants to show our appreciation for all that El Reno has done for us.
CHICKASHA – Coaches for winter and spring sports at El Reno High School have the luxury of sitting back and viewing data collected from summer league action for retooling their programs as needed.
That’s not the case for fall sports like volleyball, which will have less than a month before kicking off preparations for the 2022 season.
“We really don’t even have a month, it’s more like two weeks,” said El Reno head coach Kristen Koehler.
Holding a seven-run lead and playing under a scorching sun with temperatures hovering near triple digits, El Reno High School head coach Keith Hill had one simple request of his players.
“Let’s not go back out in the field again,” said Hill.
His players obliged.
Hernan Blanco hit a walk-off bloop single into shallow right field with the bases loaded as the Indians varsity 1 baseball team defeated Destiny Christian 8-0 to sweep the season series with the Wildcats.
