Published: November 08, 2007 08:50 am            

They didn’t expect it in ’94

There are no quotes from coaches or players this week that really matter.

Noboby in the state of Oklahoma expects Stillwater High to challenge the defending champion Jenks Trojans. Just about everybody you talk to has penciled in Tulsa Union and Jenks for the Class 6A championship game on Dec. 1.

The Pioneers, at 6-4, earned the right to play the Trojans (9-1) by finishing fourth in 6A-3. An early loss to Edmond North, plus last Friday’s 28-21 setback at Broken Arrow and the 47-10 loss to No. 1 Union put SHS at 4-3 in league games.

The rival Plainsmen didn’t help the cause when they fell at Del City in Week 10.

Fourth in 6A-3 means a trip to Jenks ... it’s been that way for more than a decade.

However, before Union and Jenks took over 6A — the two Tulsa schools have combined for every state championship since 1996 — there was Midwest City. The Bombers won back-to-back titles in 1994 and ’95.

The champs in 1993? Jenks.

Although it wasn’t a matchup of a district champ and a No. 4 finisher, in 1994 an 8-2 Stillwater squad traveled to the home of the defending state champion Trojans for a first-round playoff game.

That Pioneer team was 5-2 in league games, losing to Sapulpa and Enid but beating district champion Tulsa Washington during the regular season.

Some of the same things were probably being said that week: Stillwater can’t beat Jenks.

Robert Turner’s 48-yard run with a lateral gave SHS a 6-0 lead — the extra point kick failed — midway through the first quarter.

Jenks’ Brian Presley hit Jake Ramer with a 45-yard scoring pass with 2:33 to play in the first half. An extra point gave the Trojans a 7-6 halftime advantage.

Early in the third, Richie Calmus gave JHS a 14-6 lead with an 11-yard run. That lead was cut to 14-12 when SHS quarterback Josh Holliday hit John Bantle with a 20-yard TD toss. A two-point conversion pass failed and the hosts led by two with 4:39 to play in the third quarter.

The Pioneers would regain the lead with a short TD run by Turner with 8:41 to play, and a defense led by Chad Axton, Denshio Cook, Ryan Hansen and BJ Moss held on for a 20-14 upset.

Holliday completed just 15-of-35 passes on that Friday, but finished with 254 yards. Randy Blake caught eight passes for 154 yards and also intercepted a pass.

Tim Govan had nine tackles and Derrick Sinclair added eight. SHS took advantage of four Jenks turnovers on that evening.

A team effort indeed. Beating the 2007 Trojans will require a similar effort.



The series

Jenks leads the all-time series with Stillwater, 8-2. Since the Pioneer victory in 1994, JHS has outscored SHS, 168-32, in four games. The last meeting, in 2003, saw Jenks beat the Pioneers, 21-6.



The 2007 Trojans

Quarterback Mark Ginther has thrown for 2,267 yards and 24 touchdowns this season, following a 2,138-yard, 27-TD campaign in 2006. His favorite target has been Alonzo Adams (40 catches for 803 yards and nine TDs).

Chris Adkins rushed for 1,335 yards a year ago. The tailback has 1,197 yards this season and 20 touchdowns. Grant Goodwin has nine touchdowns.

Jenks opponents have scored 148 points this season — Union accounting for 43 in Week 2.



Pioneers by the numbers

• Senior Grant Field has 98 career catches for 1,571 yards and 11 touchdowns. Zack Webster and Steve Hesser each caught 12 TD passes and are tied for fifth all-time at SHS. Field, who has 48 receptions this season, is five behind John Martin for second all-time at SHS.

• Quarterback Lane White, also a senior, has thrown for 2,076 career yards, the eighth-best total in school history. He needs 191 to pass Luke Louderback for sixth. White’s 1,823 passing yards in 2007 is 98 yards behind Josh Fields for the fourth-best season at SHS. White needs 11 completions to pass Matt Holliday for the most in a season. Holliday completed 147 passes during the 1996 campaign.

• Junior Chris Perry has 1,765 career rushing yards, 97 behind Rick Fagan for sixth all-time.

• Senior safety Matt Zapata leads the Pioneers with 73 tackles. He also has four interceptions. Over the last two seasons, Zapata has 129 tackles and six interceptions.

• Junior linebacker Kendall Hughes has 49 tackles and five sacks. Through two seasons, he has 127 tackles and nine sacks. Fellow junior Earl Sparrow has 91⁄2 career sacks.

• Senior linebacker Austin Dean finished with 66 tackles in 2006. He has 66 stops entering this Friday’s game. Dean has also forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and has three sacks.

• Senior Josh Cousins has accounted for 759 yards this season. The wideout has caught 36 passes for 330 yards; returned 17 kickoffs for 384 yards; returned four punts for 43 yards and has one rush for two yards.

• Senior Austin Standage has a team-leading five interceptions. The cornerback also has 51 tackles.

• First-year starter Kale Gaden, a junior cornerback, has 36 tackles and a team-leading 10 pass breakups. He’s also intercepted three passes.

• Dustin Cowans has 24 tackles and has also started at center since mid-season.

• Senior Taylor Davis has seven rushes for 24 yards; caught two passes for 15 yards and has added a pair of tackles.

        

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