Jenks Senior Steven Parker is widely regarded by major college football recruiters as one of the top safeties in the nation.
Parker, however, also will make an impact as a receiver for the Trojans this season.
"I really am enjoying being a receiver this year and catching some passes from Cooper Nunley," Parker said. "It's been great.
"My route running has gotten a lot better from last year. I've always been able to catch pretty good."
Parker briefly worked out as a receiver last year before focusing solely on defense. Jenks coach Allan Trimble gives Parker high grades for his blocking.
"Blocking is very important," Parker said. "We do blocking drills every day. If you want to play receiver at Jenks, you have to learn how to block."
Parker had his first varsity career reception for 15 yards in last week's 27-23 win over Euless (Texas) Trinity. Another Jenks standout defensive back, Oklahoma State commit Dylan Harding, had his first three varsity receptions for 48 yards and a TD. They both also delivered their typical strong performances in the secondary.
"The biggest thing I'm impressed with is their unselfishness because at this time of year, although their conditioning level is good, it's not yet what it needs to be to be a two-way player," Trimble said. "They are on offense, defense and special teams. So they are playing very tired, they are playing very sore, but they are doing it for their team.
"That's what makes those two guys really special on top of their ability. Both have played a lot of football, they are very experienced.
"It's been a lot of fun and a blessing to work with them because they are great kids. They are leaders and the kids look to them to do that. I'm sure they rest well after the game."
Although Parker and Harding will be offensive threats, the big matchup in Friday night's MidFirst Bank Backyard Bowl at Chapman Stadium is how they will fare against Union receivers Jeffery Mead and Carson Meier, both University of Oklahoma commits. Parker regarded the 6-foot-6 Mead as the toughest state receiver he faced last year.
"He has so much range and ability to catch the ball," Parker said. "It looks like he might not be open, but he's open."
Blankenship shines: Union senior linebacker Sam Blankenship had 13 tackles in a 44-20 loss to DeSoto (Texas) last week. Blankenship comes to the Backyard Bowl with a different perspective than most of the players in the game. He moved to Union before his junior season after being home-schooled and playing for NOAH, where his father, Joe, was head coach through 2011. However, Sam Blankenship had always been close to the Union program - his uncle, Bill Blankenship, was Union's former coach.
"All growing up, the Backyard Bowl always was the game to watch," Sam Blankenship said. "It was the funnest game to watch. I remember thinking these are the best games I've ever seen. It's crazy that I get to play in this game. It's kind of a dream come true that I never thought was going to come true. It's pretty awesome."
Blankenship had a key play in Union's 14-7 win in last year's Backyard Bowl when he recovered a Jenks fumble at the Union 8-yard line with the score tied in the fourth quarter.
"Sam loves the game," Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. "He's a football player who understands how to play the game."
Blankenship's transition to Union after being home-schooled was smooth.
"It was a shock to me to see how many kids were there. It was really different, but it went well," he said.
Blankenship also is enjoying his move to linebacker after being in the secondary last year.
"I like hitting people," he said. "I'm more comfortable at linebacker, but I'm for whatever is going to help the team the most."
MidTown Classic: Neighboring rivals Edison and Memorial will meet for the 51st time in the regular season at 7:05 p.m. Friday at LaFortune Stadium.
Memorial edged Edison 14-11 in the Grady Skillern All-City Preview semifinals.
"Our styles are very similar offensively," Memorial coach Ryan Reed said. "And we're both super-aggressive on defense."
Memorial won 41-12 in last year's MidTown Classic and has won six in a row in the series.
"The All-City was important because our kids know they can compete with Memorial," Edison coach D.J. Howell said. "But Memorial is pretty good and we've got to get better."
Thursday game: A 4A marquee matchup Thursday pits No. 9 Glenpool at No. 5 Cascia Hall. They have combined for five state titles in the past 11 years.
Special blue ribbons: Tahlequah Sequoyah players will have special blue ribbons on their helmets when they take the field for their home game against Beggs on Friday. The ribbons are promoting Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
"Anytime you can get a large group of people together and bring attention to something like cancer awareness, there's never a negative in that," Sequoyah coach Shane Richardson said. "Cancer reaches everyone's family and everybody's life in some way, so being involved in bringing attention to it is something we take pretty seriously."
Source for scores: For all the scores as they happen on high school football nights, look online at
okprepscores.com
Preps by the Numbers: All football teams are urged to participate in the Tulsa World's Preps by the Numbers, which is updated daily at
tulsaworld.com and published every Tuesday. The deadline for Tuesday's print edition is 3 p.m. Monday. Each coach has been assigned a password that can be used to enter statistics on the World's website. For questions on passwords and instructions on how to submit statistics, contact Barry Lewis at
barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com or call 918-581-8393.
Read Barry Lewis' blog at
tulsaworld.com/highschools
Original Print Headline: Parker likes being dual threat
Barry Lewis
After each amazing MidFirst Bank Backyard Bowl finish, I am always asked how the latest edition stacks up with previous thrillers.
Week 1 can often set the tone for a high school football team's season.
