If you have not been paying attention, Zebra football is off to a unbelievable start. I am not just talking about the varsity, I am talking about JV and Freshman as well. All 3 teams are undefeated at 3-0 on the year and have no signs of looking back. This week the freshman travel to Tahlequah and both varsity and JV play Tulsa Hale. Hopefully after this week the number is 12-0
But how did we get here. Let's start with the freshman team. The freshman have done what we all preach, trust the process. The were winless as 7th graders, 2-6 as 8th graders, and now 3-0 as 9th graders. They did not quit when things were rough the past few years, they just continued to work and have made them selves into a force to be reckoned with this year. It is a remarkable accomplishment so far, but they are not done yet.
This last week the freshman not only earned another win against Glenpool, some of them earned a taco dinner. The boys were told by Coach Willard if they helped the offense by returning a kickoff for a touchdown, he would supply the 11 guys on the field with some food. Well with some great blocking, and the help of this weeks POW, Jahiem Ewen took 2nd half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. This propelled the freshman to another revenge win from the previous year.
The next group that is playing really well is the JV team. These boys are the future of the program and right now it sure looks like we will be in good hands when these boys get the number called on Friday nights in next few years. This week the JV POW is Dax Harding. Coach Hurt says "Dax is becoming a war daddy." Dax is playing well and doing everything he needs to help the boys on Monday nights, as well as putting himself in line to play on Fridays real soon.
Varsity this past week was another amazing performance, as we crushed Hilldale 63-13. The team is firing on all cylinders and this year is starting to look like one of those special years that do not come around very often. When you have games like this, it becomes hard to pick the POW's, but there was 3 performances that stood out above the rest.
First was the special teams player of the week, Josiah Miller. Josiah took full advantage of his opportunity when he was on the field Friday night. He was the one running into the endzone after a 4th quarter blocked punt. It has been a long time since I have seen a blocked punt, as well as a scoop and score afterward. When you score a special teams touchdown, it increases your chance of winning the game by almost 86%. Even though the game was already in hand when this happened, the next time he does this may be the difference in a W or an L.
Next was the defensive POW, Carter Johnson. Carter got this award for being the most disruptive player on the D-Line. Coach Cunningham stated "Carter's effort this week was unmatched. He was either involved in the tackle, or causing havoc in the backfield allowing the defense to thrive." It took Carter a while to find his place, but now when opposing teams are watching film, they will have to try and figure out how to stop him. My bet is they cant, but good luck trying.
Lastly was the offensive POW, Eli Rogers. What a night Eli had. I know I said offensive POW, but lets start with his defense. He is a lock down corner and leads the team in interceptions so far this year. Now his offensive production from Friday was staggering. Eli plays slot receiver and last week he scored 2 touchdowns, but was responsible for 3. How is that possible you ask? Well on the first play of the game he caught an 80 plus yard touchdown pass to jump start our offense. A few moments later he was tossed the ball on a run play, and he scampered in for a 20 yard touchdown. Then he threw a long touchdown pass to Gage Deckard. You see there are not many things Eli can't do, he is a unicorn. He an run, he can catch, and he can throw. I think next week he should kick the extra points.
Great job to all the Zebra players, and lets make it 4-0 this Friday as we celebrate our alumni at homecoming.