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Five questions heading into the playoffs

The pursuit for a gold ball begins tonight. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World file
 
By MATT BAKER World Sports Writer
Published: 11/13/2009  2:24 AM
Last Modified: 11/13/2009  6:06 AM

6A: BARTLESVILLE AT OWASSO: Can tough Owasso defense stop high-powered offense?

Ron Smith has been head coach at Bartlesville since 2006, but he's been hounded with questions this week about facing his former team, Owasso, in the first round of the playoffs tonight.

"Everybody acts like I've never played them," said Smith, who was 36-21 with five postseason berths in five seasons at Owasso, "and I've played them twice since I've been at Bartlesville."

Smith said it's "really bittersweet" to face his former school, where he knows the coaches and where his wife still works, but he has no hard feelings about his departure from Owasso. Besides, he'd rather shift the focus back to the game, which pits one of the area's top offenses against one of its top defenses.

Bartlesville's high-octane offense has put up at least 28 points in every game and has scored at least 40 six times including against Jenks' stingy defense in a 63-40 loss.

It'll be tough to accomplish that against Owasso, which held opponents under 10 points in half of its games.

"They know me," Smith said. "I'm not going to be able to do any tricks."

4A: OKC DOUGLASS AT GLENPOOL: Will Warriors' loss to Star Spencer be a positive?

After nine consecutive wins to start the season, Glenpool faltered last week at an inopportune time.

The Warriors' 34-20 loss at home to OKC Star Spencer cost Glenpool the district title, the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A and snapped a 23-game winning streak.

But
coach Steve Edwards was upbeat after the defeat because it shows how much work remains for Glenpool to be able to repeat as state champions.

"It could be one of the better things that could happen to us," Edwards said after the game.

Last week's loss sets up a tough first-round opponent for Glenpool in OKC Douglass, which beat Star Spencer, 34-28, during Week 3.

Douglass tailback Quinton Neil ran wild against Star Spencer's defense in that game, racking up three touchdowns and more than 200 yards. Glenpool will continue to look for big production out of star tailback Marco Nelson, who rushed for 158 yards in last week's loss.

"Marco's a great player, and he'll get his," Edwards said. "We just have to make sure our supporting cast does their job, too."

6A: YUKON AT JENKS: Will Jenks win a title in a difficult season?

All signs are pointing for that to happen as Jenks enters the Class 6A playoffs as the favorite this season.

The top-ranked Trojans (10-0), who begin their bid for a 10th state title in 14 years when they host Yukon (5-5) on Friday, have showed significant improvement since a 27-25 win over No. 2 Union in Week 2.

"We feel we're peaking at the right time," Jenks interim coach Loren Montgomery said.

Despite off-the-field turmoil dating back to July, Jenks players have stayed focused throughout the season. Any doubts on whether the Trojans would be distracted ended in early October. Just a few hours after head coach Allan Trimble's suspension was announced, Jenks scored on its first five possessions in a 62-27 win at Sapulpa.

The next week, Jenks won a showdown with No. 3 Broken Arrow, 42-24. In Week 8, Jenks thumped previously undefeated Bartlesville 63-40 behind a school-record seven TDs by Zack Langer, who leads 6A in scoring.

Jenks' offense gained strength two weeks ago with the return of tailback Cory Jones from an injury. Jones and Langer are a powerful combination at tailback.

Trojans quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen has passed for 1,767 yards and 17 TDs this year after leading Jenks to the state final as a sophomore in 2008.

"Sawyer has grown so much as a quarterback this year," Montgomery said. "The experience he gained in last year's playoffs is invaluable."

5A: ADA AT BISHOP KELLEY: Will Kelley's undefeated run last four more weeks?

Bishop Kelley coach J.J. Tappana hopes so, but he isn't looking too far ahead as the top-ranked Comets (10-0) host Ada (7-3) in a first-round game on Friday.

"This has been an awesome season and we're trying to enjoy it as long as we can," Tappana said. "Ada is a quality opponent that's very tough and we're not looking past this week."

The Comets have a 1,000-yard rusher, Stephen Sherwood, plus one of 5A's best passing combinations — quarterback Jack Cameron and wideout Joe Dowdell.

The Comets also have a strong defense which ranks second in 5A, allowing only 9.2 points per game.

Class 5A is wide open, but the Comets enter the playoffs a slight favorite. Kelley showed it was a legitimate title threat when it defeated defending champion Booker T. Washington and No. 8 Bixby in consecutive weeks.

"We feel good about how we're playing and we're healthy, which is so important at this time of year," Tappana said.

5A: CENTRAL AT BIXBY: Will Cobbs' Central career end in a first-round showdown at Bixby?

Ninth-ranked Central (8-2) at No. 8 Bixby (6-4) appears to be an even matchup. Bixby has played a tougher schedule, but Central also came close to a perfect record, losing 23-20 to East Central after seeing a 20-point lead slip away and losing 13-7 on a late fumble at McAlester.

Central is making its first playoff appearance since 2003 while Bixby has won playoff openers the last four years. Coach Pat McGrew has led Bixby to the state final in two of the last four years.

Cobbs, a Texas commit, has made big plays on offense and defense all season. Cobbs leads 5A with 21 TDs and is second in rushing with 1,339 yards.

Cobbs will need to have a big game offensively at quarterback and set the tone early to give the Braves a chance to win.

"We've got to avoid turnovers," Central coach Corey Russell said. "If we do that, we have a chance against anybody. Bixby has a great program and we know we can't make many mistakes against them."

Central's defense ranks No. 3 in 5A, allowing 9.9 points per game.

"Our kids are so fired up and excited to play," Russell said. "We've had a good season, but our kids feel they should've been 10-0. They're still hungry and want another chance to play against the teams that we lost against."
By MATT BAKER World Sports Writer

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4 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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money1, tulsa (11/13/2009 3:26:26 PM)
why haven't tps looked were cobbs stay maybe with his coach and is he making the grade to play sports are they just passing him because of he plays football good and it brings attention to central
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concernednp, (11/13/2009 4:57:31 PM)
Thought you had to be able to read to make grades to play football, guess not in B'Ville.
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CABT, Tulsa (11/13/2009 12:14:03 PM)
Yep Smith....EVERYONE is aware of your "tricks"....
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ldgb, (11/13/2009 12:32:57 PM)
If Smith is not going to be able to do any of his "tricks", will he get someone else to do them for him?
 

 
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