Barry Lewis: Jenks wide receiver commits to Oklahoma for baseball
BY BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer
Monday, November 26, 2012
11/26/12 at 4:14 AM
Go to Barry Lewis' BlogOriginal Print Headline: Jenks wideout has baseball future
Jenks senior wideout Trey Michalczewski's athletic future is in baseball after signing with the University of Oklahoma.
Michalczewski, however, is making a big impact on the gridiron in his final football season.
On Friday night, Michalczewski had four receptions for 68 yards in top-ranked Jenks' 41-10 victory over No. 3 Union in the Class 6A semifinals. Three of his catches came early in the game and helped propel Jenks to a 35-3 halftime lead.
"We wanted to set the tempo high early and we did that," Michalczewski said. "And we knew that we couldn't let up because it's Jenks-Union and anything can happen. We knew if we came out and played hard, good things would happen and they did."
As a result, Michalczewski is looking forward to playing for a state title when Jenks (11-2) faces No. 6 Norman North (12-1) in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma State University's Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. Jenks, after losing in the semifinals in 2011, is playing in its sixth state title game in seven seasons, but has not won a championship since 2007.
"It's big to get back in the championship game," Michalczewski said. "It's real exciting."
On Friday's opening touchdown drive against Union, Michalczewski had a 29-yard catch to the 13. On the Trojans' second TD drive, he had a 14-yard reception. And on the fifth TD drive of the first half, Michalczewski had a 22-yard reception to the 8.
"I feel that was probably the best game we've played as a team," Michalczewski said. "We played well as a team and executed."
It was quite a different showing for the Trojans than in a 14-7 loss to Union in the season opener. Michalczewski could only watch from the sideline that night with a hamstring injury suffered a week earlier in the Trojan Preview. That injury kept Michalczewski from playing in the first four games.
"I was very frustrated, but I'm happy to be out there now," Michalczewski said.
Michalczewski caught 31 passes for 619 yards and eight TDs last season. Since coming back from the hamstring injury, Michalczewski has 22 receptions for 377 yards and six TDs this year. He is part of a talented high-scoring offense that includes OU football wideout commit Jordan Smallwood, 6A rushing leader Trey'Vonne Barr'e and quarterback Kyle Alexander.
"It's a blast playing in this offense," Michalczewski said. "I feel we get better and practice harder every week. We want the gold ball this year."
Michalczewski signed with OU as an infielder, but he also showed he could be a clutch performer as a pitcher last spring when he tossed a five-hitter to beat Enid 2-1 in a regional final to earn a state tournament berth.
During the summer, he toured with the D-Bat Mustangs program, took part in the Perfect Game National Showcase in Minneapolis and played in the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif.
5A common foes: Class 5A title game opponents, top-ranked East Central and No. 8 Midwest City Carl Albert, have played four common opponents. East Central has victories over Del City 53-31 (later forfeited), Coweta 35-28, Claremore 20-19 and Guthrie 20-13. Carl Albert defeated Del City 28-21 and Claremore 41-16, but lost 21-19 to Coweta and 21-17 to Guthrie.
East Central lineman Tre Thompson on reaching the title game: "I feel good. I feel like we worked hard all summer to get here, and now we need to go and execute and win."
Time change: The starting time for Saturday's 4A title game between Anadarko and Clinton has been moved up 30 minutes to 12:30 p.m. at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Semifinal showdowns: Although this is championship week in most of the classifications, the only No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns are in the 3A and 2A semifinals. In 2A, top-ranked Vian (13-0) plays No. 2 Davis (13-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Midwest City. In 3A, No. 1 Seminole (12-0) faces second-ranked Kingfisher (13-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Putnam City.
Vian sets record: Vian has scored 819 points this season, a new state record. The old record was 807 by Pernell in 1983.
All-State nominations: Tulsa World All-State forms have been mailed to all high school head coaches and need to be returned by Dec. 1 or whenever a team's season ends. Coaches who have not received a nomination form should contact Barry Lewis at barry.lewis@tulsaworld.com or 918-581-8393.
Associated Images:
|
