MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 11

— Compiled by Nick Livingston
    Getting some looks

    It’s obvious that MacArthur has talent, and lots of it.

    Because of that, the Highlanders are getting some looks from Division I schools. Aside from Tuswani Copeland, head coach Brett Manning said quarterback Dylan Warner and wide receiver Rashaud Foreman are also getting interest from schools that want them to be part of their programs.

    “We’re getting a lot of letters, and a lot of coaches are calling me and the kids,” Manning said.

    When asked if Warner was getting interest as either a quarterback or as a safety, Manning said it was too early in the process to say what they want, and right now they are looking at him for his athletic ability.

    But when you take out the starters, the second group of players are just as good — especially at running back.

    Aaron Finley, TJ Turner and Morris Dale are taking hold when they are in the backfield, with Finley and Turner being the focal point. Finley has the most yards (223 to Turners 215), while Turner has the most touchdowns (four to Finley’s two).

    Aggression lives at Mac

    Aggression is starting to be the buzzword at Mac when it comes to defense, and Dale is being the big beneficiary of that. From the linebacker position just last week alone, Dale had an interception almost returned for a touchdown, a quarterback sack, a quarterback hurry and four tackles.

    “He’s doing a great job,” Manning said. “This new mindset has really benefited him. Bringing him off the edge, and he’s a good athlete who is quick and flies around and therefore is able to make a lot of plays.”

    Injury report

    It’s the first week of the playoffs, and things are going good on the injury front at MacArthur.

    This is the point where everyone that is a part of the Highlanders knocks wood.

    Aside from the bumps, bruises and sprains — Mac is without an injury that would cause a player to likely miss a game.

    A couple of sore shoulders, a few twisted ankles are pretty much all Mac has.

    Leading rusher Shawn McIntosh, who is averaging around 7 yards a carry and has close to 800 yards rushing through 10 games (many of those yards coming in the first half as Mac sits starters in blowouts) had to have an MRI on his knee on Monday after hurting it in the first half against Deer Creek. However, Manning said that it’s likely just sore and expects McIntosh to be ready for Carl Albert on Friday.

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 143-236-1704-8 (21 TDs), Taylor Chasteen 18-24-1-138. Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 104-763 (10 TD), Warner 95-386 (7 TD), TJ Turner 37-215 (4 TDs), Aaron Finley 35-223 (2 TDs), Morris Dale 14-87, Taylor Chasteen 15-70, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 4-(19), Rashaud Foreman 7-10, Jr Loera 1-(-7), Antwain Bell 1-3, Chris Scott 3-14 (TD). Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 31-533 (8 TD), Dewayne Sanford 15-186, Antwain Bell 10-132 (2 TD), Desmond Block 11-156 (2 TD), Rashaud Foreman 14-218 (3 TD), Shawn McIntosh 19-132 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 12-116 (TD), Morris Dale 6-27, Chris Scott 5-24 (TD), JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 2-39, Austin Hudson 2-22, Antwain Bell 1-16, Aaron Finley 2-13, Nate Miller 10-82 (3 TD), TJ Turner 9-27, Kevin McClain 2-9, Jacob Warner 1-13, Ondre Gaines 1-(-2).

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 105, Sean Cauthon 45, Austin Payne 80, Braylon Freeman 50, Jamal Pride 39, Jacob Warner 42, J.R. Loera 40, Morris Dale 68. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 5, Max Adair 4, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 2.5, Logan Nelson 1, Morris Dale 3, Calvin Slocum 4.5, Jamal Pride .5, Austin Payne 1.5, Chris Moore 1.5, Sean Cauthon 1.5, Dewayne Sanford 1. Zac Corrales 1, Horrace Murray 1.5, Kenton Means .5, Joel Jeter 1. Fumbles caused — Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1, Calvin Slocum 2, Morris Dale 2, Devon Harris 1, Zac Corrales 1. Fumbles recovered — Braylon Freeman 2, Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1, Fayne Leopold 1, Joel Durant 1, Morris Dale 1, Calvin Slocum 1. J.R. Loera 1, Jamal Pride 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 3, Austin Payne 1, Dylan Warner 1, Morris Dale 2.
 

Copeland a key cog in MacArthur’s machine

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

If you are ever on XBox Live playing “NCAA Football 10,” watch out for Tu s w a n i Copeland.

    The standout receiver likes to play ranked matches against people online to wind down from his time on the football field.

    And Copeland

    A move in, Copeland came this season to the Highlanders as a highly-recruited talent. However, it’s always tough to come into a new system and have to live away from a lot of friends.

    “It’s really different because you have to meet a whole new group of people,” Copeland said. “For football, you have to learn a whole new system. I really like it here because I have lived a lot of places and I really enjoy meeting new people and learning a lot.”But for the Highlanders and head coach Brett Manning, Copeland is everything they could ever want.

    “If you would have asked me in May who I would want to move in I would have told you a deserves a time to wind down. The senior has 31 catches for 533 yards and eight touchdowns, with a seven-game touchdown scoring streak.

corner and a receiver, and it worked out,” Manning said.

    And it works out because Copeland is a natural fit into the MacArthur system, a receiver who runs routes well, is quick and has good hands. Above all, Copeland works hard and puts in the effort to make sure he was able to contribute right away.

    “He came to us at the beginning of summer and was able to go through summer pride with us and do some 7-on-7 with us,” Manning said. “All we knew when he came in was that he was a really good athlete. He’s done a good job. It’s got to be hard on a guy to move in your senior year, not only leaving all his friends behind but being a football player and trying to fit in with the football team and adapt to what they do.”

    Fitting in meant getting on the same page as his quarterback junior Dylan Warner. Check that off the list.

    “We’re all cool together; we hang out a lot,” Copeland said. “When I first moved here, me and Dylan went to the Oklahoma State camp together to get our rhythm together.”

    That rhythm is starting to bubble over as Copeland seems to be the go-to receiver in the Highlanders’ offense. Copeland’s catches are more than double of the nearest receiver and his yardage leads the team. Manning said a lot of that comes from his technique and his speed.

    “He’s not a big guy, but he is very quick,” Manning said. “I don’t think we have played on a football field yet this year where he’s not the quickest guy out there. When he gets the ball and he makes the little cuts and the spin moves it’s pretty apparent that he’s pretty special.”

    Perhaps his most memorable catch this season came in the Altus game when Copeland went up, one-handed a pass and came down for the score. It was a turning point in the game when Mac started to pull away.

    “That one-handed catch was a real momentum boost, I got really hyped off that catch,” Copeland said.

    When Copeland came to Lawton, he was already getting looks from Division I programs. Talk was he was getting offers from Kansas State among others. Those offers continue to pour in, especially since the touchdown streak and his impressive performances.

    “I’ve been talking to Oregon lately so I’m really excited and interested in them,” Copeland said. “I haven’t got an offer yet, but they are my favorite school right now.”

    Of the schools he has offers from, his top three right now are Michigan State, Tulsa and Louisville.

    When he reaches college, he wants to study sports medicine or education in the hopes of becoming a college coach.

    But until then, he will be using his spare time in the gym or on the XBox, playing as Florida State, Ohio State and sometimes even Florida.

    Unless he plays against his brother, then he will use some of the teams scouting him to get a look at the offense.

    If things go his way, he won’t need a controller to see what the offense can do — he will be a key part on the field.

COPELAND
 

Father-son combo at Mac works

NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER

The old saying is so very true — like father, like son. It’s funny, in football it’s almost expected. If you are a coach, you will likely have a coach as a son. The son will spend his free time with the father studying tape and breaking down film. Likely, the son will become a quarterback — and a good one at that.

    Eventually, the son will become a coach like the father. The Shulas, the Moras, the Phillips, the Ryans, the Nolans and now the Kiffins. In Lawton, the father-son combo is at two schools. At Lawton High, head coach Randy Breeze has son Ryan, where father is boss.

    However, up on the hill, the combo is more like the Kiffins with son Brett Manning leading and father Ernie taking the role as offensive line coach. Last season, Ernie was in control as head coach. At the end of the campaign, Ernie retired, but when Brett got the job as head coach, the son couldn’t ignore the experience of the father.

    “My decision to come back to Lawton was to be able to coach with him five years ago,” Brett said. “I really never expected to stay here when that was over. I didn’t know how long he had left and I had every intention to coach with him then going back to Texas. As things transpired and worked out and I got this job and then to have him stay on and help me was pretty cool.”

    Pretty cool is an understatement. Brett has led a young Highlander team to a 7-3 regular-season record and into the Class 5A playoffs.

    “I am so proud of them. Brett has had a successful first year,” Ernie said. “I was 3-7 my first year, OK? So I’m proud that he was able to come in and with a young team go 7-3 and get beat by quality opponents that are in the playoffs right now.”

    Agreement reigns when talk begins about the transition — it’s a perfect fit.

    “I have enjoyed having him here, and having his expertise,” Brett said. “He has so much experience like a lot of our coaches do, and when it comes to weekend work and film watching he does a great job in contributing to what our gameplan is going to be on both sides of the ball. Having his eyes up in the box is good too. He sees so much like he sees everything up there.”

    For the elder Manning, not having all the duties of talking to young-pup media types, handling all the calls that Brett has to now and being able to just coach kids are the best parts of his new job.

    “There are adjustments that I’ve had to really consciously keep quiet and let Brett’s leadership develop,” Ernie said. “I’ve really worked hard at that, but I enjoy it. I enjoy just coaching. The other things associated with being a head coach I don’t miss at all.

    “That’s one of the good things about my situation. I was prepared to get out of it and walk away from it, and I wouldn’t have helped many people. But my son I would, so it wasn’t a tough decision once he got the job. He wanted to know where I stood if I wanted to continue to coach or anything so I thought about it and I told him that if he wanted me I would be glad to help.”

    But when asked if he imparted any key words to his son about coaching, he said he didn’t have to.

    “I don’t know if I’ve given him any advice or not,” Ernie said. “I’ve felt confident that he knew what to do and become a quality head coach. I don’t recall ever telling him that he had better do this or that. I’ve been giving him advice his whole life. In this situation I felt confident that he knows what’s going on so I let him have at it.”

    And that confidence is completely justified as Brett takes his team to Carl Albert on Friday for the first round of the playoffs. With the way the Highlanders have been firing on all cylinders the last three weeks it’s a winnable game.

    And the entire game Brett will be on the field, talking to players and calling in plays. Meanwhile, he will have his father up in the press box, always watching for holes in defenses to relay to his son.

    It may not technically coaching advice, but it’s a welcome voice of guidence that has helped keep MacArthur at the top of the 5A ranks for yet another season

Highlanders ramble past Antlers, 48-30

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

You always want to finish the regular season strong. MacArthur accomplished that in the first half of a 48-30 win over Deer Creek-Edmond on Friday night in Cameron Stadium.

    The Highlanders finish the regular season with a 7-3 record and 5-2 in District 5A-1 with a likely trip to Carl Albert awaiting next Friday. Deer Creek falls to 4-6, 3-4 in district play and saw its season end.

    Mac scored all 48 points in the first half, and held the Antlers to only nine points by halftime.

    It was another game where head coach Brett Manning was able to pull his starters at the end of the half, and with a tough road test coming, it may turn out to be for the best.

    “I didn’t expect to be able to do that,” Manning said. “That’s a nice bonus for us.”

    Again, the Highlanders were led by Dylan Warner. The junior quarterback finished with 167 yards passing on a 14 of 18 effort. He threw two interceptions, but he also threw four touchdowns. Warner also ran the ball four times for 37 yards and a touchdown.

    “We had a good game, this is exactly what we wanted,” Manning said. “We took care of business, played well on both sides of the ball and got a good win for us.”

    When asked if everything was working right heading into the second season, Manning was confident.

    “I think we could have been a little bit sharper on offense,” Manning said. “For the most part, I’m pretty happy about where we stand right now. We are playing our best football heading into the playoffs, and that’s what we want.”

    In all, Mac had 366 total yards of offense compared to Deer Creek’s 250. Much of that offense for the Antlers came in the second half, as the visitors had only 114 at halftime.

    It was another sackfest for the Highlanders, as they got to the Deer Creek quarterback five times for 33 yards of losses. That may not sound like a lot, but Mac got that many quarterback hurries as well.

    That defense also scored for Mac, as Morris Dale intercepted a pass and returned the ball 37 yards for the touchdown. Dale didn’t intercept the ball clean, but instead was able to pick it off on a ricochet and was able to find a clean path to the endzone.

    Deer Creek scored first, as Warner’s first pass was intercepted and ran back to the Mac 11. However, the defense held and the Antlers had to settle for a field goal.

    Tuswani Copeland was the big beneficiary of Warner’s first-half passing, as the senior caught two touchdowns and had four catches for 55 yards. Antwain Bell and Nate Miller also caught touchdown scores and TJ Turner capped the first half with a 28-yard run for a touchdown.

    The Turner score came just 16 seconds after Copeland’s second touchdown catch as a fumble by Deer Creek set up Mac at the Antlers’ 28.

    Manning said that wherever they play next week, the Highlanders will be ready.

    “We have nothing to lose,” he said. “We are going to go give it our best shot. You never know what can happen, it’s the playoffs and we’re glad we’re in and we are not going to be scared of anybody. This group has stepped up and played well against everybody on our schedule and we’re not scared of Carl Albert or anybody else. We’re going to have to play them sometime, might as well start off with them.”


 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 10

— Compiled by Nick Livingston
    The sack masters

    Friday night against Chickasha was a sackfest with nine sacks tallied by MacArthur defenders.

    It was the best output of the year for the defense, and is another byproduct of the Highlanders new attack of bringing aggressive pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

    “They gave us so many opportunities by throwing the ball so much,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said.

    Led by Calvin Slocum’s two sacks, the Highlanders did their duty. Chris Moore and Austin Payne each had 1.5 sacks, Morris Dale, Devon Harris and Dewayne Sanford each had one. Max Adair and Sean Cauthon tallied a half sack.

    “We have some pretty quick, pretty talented defensive linemen that were better than their offensive tackles,” Manning said.

    But it wasn’t just line play. Sanford is a defensive back and Dale and Adair are linebackers.

    “We brought some linebackers for more pressure,” Manning said. “They at times only had five guys back there to block and when you bring six there it goes.”

    What also went in the Highlanders’ favor was the penalties.

    Against Altus, Mac had offside and other defensive penalties that resulted in first downs for Altus by penalty. Against Chickasha, there were still some offsides and defensive penalties, but much fewer resulted in first downs for the Fightin’ Chicks.

    “It was one of those freak things against Altus that happened several times,” Manning said. “I don’t think it was something that we had to concentrate on, it was just that we didn’t make the dumb mistakes we did against Altus.”

Wrenn shining at ECU

We all know that Javon Harris is playing at the University of Oklahoma, but it’s another former Highlander that is shining bright at the college level. Enter East Central University’s Norris Wrenn. Wrenn has 53 tackles, 40 of them solo, and one interception as a leader of the Tigers defense. Wrenn also has a tackle for a loss, a pass deflection and a forced fumble.

Injury report

The injury bug is still not at- tacking Mac, as their last injury — the sprained ankle of lineman Braylon Freeman — seems to be subsiding.

    With the playoffs coming up, it’s easy to see that the Highlanders are living right and are keeping their athletes prepared.

    With one game left before the playoffs, Mac may be able to take a healthy team on the road to open the second season.

    This is where Manning would have this writer tap his deck and knock wood.

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 129-215-1537-6 (17 TDs), Taylor Chasteen 11-16-1-126. Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 99-679 (10 TD), Warner 92-349 (6 TD), T.J. Turner 26-157 (3 TDs), Aaron Finley 35-223 (2 TDs), Morris Dale 13-77, Taylor Chasteen 11-47, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 4-(19), Rashaud Foreman 7-10, Jr Loera 1-(-7), Antwain Bell 1-3, Chris Scott 3-14 (TD). Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 27-478 (6 TD), Dewayne Sanford 15-186, Antwain Bell 9-95 (TD), Desmond Block 11-156 (2 TD), Rashaud Foreman 14-218 (3 TD), Shawn McIntosh 18-124 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 12-116 (TD), Morris Dale 6-27, Chris Scott 4-24 (TD), JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 1-27, Austin Hudson 2-22, Antwain Bell 1-16, Aaron Finley 2-13, Nate Miller 8-58 (2 TD), TJ Turner 1-5, Kevin McClain 1-2, Jacob Warner 1-13.

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 100, Sean Cauthon 41, Austin Payne 72, Braylon Freeman 47, Jamal Pride 30, Jacob Warner 39, J.R. Loera 37, Morris Dale 64. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 5, Max Adair 4, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 2.5, Logan Nelson 1, Morris Dale 2, Calvin Slocum 4.5, Jamal Pride .5, Austin Payne 1.5, Chris Moore 1.5, Sean Cauthon .5, Dewayne Sanford 1. Fumbles caused — Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1, Calvin Slocum 1, Morris Dale 2, Devon Harris 1. Fumbles recovered — Braylon Freeman 2, Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1, Fayne Leopold 1, Joel Durant 1, Morris Dale 1, Calvin Slocum 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 3, Austin Payne 1, Dylan Warner 1, Morris Dale 1.
 

McKee’s role vital for Mac

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

“Another kick, another field goal, another win.”

Much of the attention pointed toward the MacArthur kicking game this season has revolved around Daniel Schwarz, the s u r e - f o o t e d sophomore who is wowing with his big leg.

    But what about the guy holding that kick? He’s just as important. Without the right hold, the ball has a chance to sail wide right, perhaps losing the ballgame.

    That’s where Mitch McKee steps in.

    McKee is the holder for the Highlanders, and he understands the importance of his role.

    “Each one of us plays a vital role on this team,” McKee said. “Wether we are starters or practice players or if we are someone with a job that seems as little as a field goal and extrapoint holder. Without each one of us we can’t accomplish anything.”

    McKee has been a part of some big moments this season. He was the holder when the Highlanders kicked a gamewinning field goal against Eisenhower.

    “There are situations where you get a little more nervous,” McKee said. “Like the Eisenhower game, when it came down to overtime and we kicked a field goal to win the game. My heart was racing, and it was one exciting moment. It wasn’t the easiest hold in the world, but we had to get out there and do what we do every Friday night.”

    With a kicker like Schwarz, who is known to kick 50-yard field goals, it seems easy and almost automatic on Friday nights. McKee said that comes from a lot of work during the week,

    “What we have is called post practice once or twice a week where we practice 25-30 snaps between me, the center and Daniel and get our routine down so we are like clockwork on Friday night,” he said.

    When not on the field, McKee likes to relax at home with family and friends. He likes to hang out with 6-year-old brother Jonathan, who he homes will be a Highlander too some day.

    McKee also like to work on trucks, and is going to look for a job after football season to support his love. He used to have a 2002 Chevy Silverado show truck, but an accident totaled that ride.

    “I’m a guy, I like Chevy trucks. Chevy over Ford any day,” he said. “I like a truck that looks nice, has some 22-inch rims, a little sound system, a little vroom-vroom exhaust in it. All the things a guy would like that would sound big and bad rolling down Cache Road.”

    After high school, McKee said he wants to attend college for business management. His aim is to get into the family business— running Factory Mattress Outlet.

    “I’d like to take that over one day, and kind of follow in his footsteps and learn what it’s like to own a business and learn what it takes to have a successful business and a successful life.”

MCKEE


 

Macmen rout Chicks

Mac stays in playoff picture

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

The playoff picture is becoming clearer for the MacArthur Highlanders.

No, the Highlanders didn’t clinch a playoff berth with Thursday night’s 48-9 win over Chickasha, but they did do their part.

    Now Mac plays the waiting game. If Altus loses to E d m o n d - D e e r Creek tonight, Mac clinches a spot in the playoffs. If Altus wins, it could force Mac to go head-to-head with Deer Creek next Friday night in Cameron Stadium to clinch a ticket to the second season, but until after all of tonight’s games, nothing is set in stone.

    But Thursday was all about Mac — and more specifically quarterback Dylan Warner.

    Warner passed for four of the Highlanders’ touchdowns, all in the first half, on the way to a 11 for 15 performance for 134 yards. Warner connected with Nate Miller, Chris Scott, Andrew Melontree and Tuswani Copeland for scores as the Highlanders spread the ball around.

    “He’s a good athlete, he’s all I could ask for,” head coach Brett Manning said.

    It was 35-0 at the half, and Man- ning turned to the second team to finish business.

    In all, the Highlanders rushed for 186 yards on 50 carries. They got 20 first downs by rush, a contrast to the usual high-flying Mac football.

    “We just took what they gave us and they were pretty weak up front at the beginning of the game and so we were able to run on them early then they put more in the box and we were able to throw on them in the second quarter,” Manning said.

    The defense also did its job well. On top of holding the Fightin’ Chicks to minus-12 yards rushing, the Highlanders sacked quarterback Chase Rodgers eight times for 64 yards.

    “We felt like we had an advantage — our D-line against their O-line,” Manning said. “We wanted to be aggressive and put pressure on their young quarterback and make him have to deal with that.”

    That pressure was felt, as Rodgers had minus-47 yards rushing because of all the sacks.

    The Highlanders had a 394-112 yard disparity.

    Also scoring touchdowns for Mac were Shawn McIntosh on a 23-yard run for the first touchdown; Taylor Chasteen, a 1-yard run in the third and TJ Turner, a 15-yard score in the fourth.

    Chickasha got a 5-yard run from Rodgers and a late field goal in the fourth to get on the board.

    If Altus gets the win tonight, the scenario is clear, a win is needed against Deer Creek. Manning thought Thursday’s battle was a good tune-up for the final battle

    “It’s a good build up. I didn’t think we’d get to rest our starters as much, but that’s a good deal,” Manning said. “I’m glad we took care of business, and hopefully have a good showdown with Deer Creek next week.”

Pride accomplishing things both on and off football field

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

Not all accomplishment is done on the football field.

    Jamal Pride gets his name called on the football field from time to time, but his real accomplishments come off the field.

    Pride, the MacArthur Highlander, is a member of Kudos, a the like. This weekend, Kudos will be painting the bathroom at the Patterson Center.

    The group meets once a month, and does community service once a month. Pride likes doing the work, especially when the group fed the homeless.

    “That felt good to help them out, because they can’t help themselves,” Pride said. “It was nice to support them a little bit.”

    But on the football field, Pride is a giver as well — a giver of tackles.

    Though he doesn’t see much time from his linebacker position, head coach Brett Manning lauded the senior for his work on special teams.

    “He’s doing a really good job on special teams,” Manning said. “He does a great job on kickoffs and he’s always coming up with group of young men that give back to the community.

    “We’re like a fraternity for men that does community service,” Pride said.

    The group picks up trash, serves meals to the homeless and the tackles on the kickoffs and punts.”

    And it is starting to show on the stat sheet, Pride has 27 tackles through eight games.

    “I just try to go out there and do my best,” Pride said. “I just want to go out there and be a playmaker.”

    Doing his best is also performing on the practice squad.

    “I just try to stay focused and practice just as hard as everybody else,” he said. “We get a chance to prepare the starters for the game on Friday.”

    Though he doesn’t expect to play football in college, he plans to attend the University of Central Oklahoma and study computer science.

    One thing is for sure, he does want to continue his community service after high school.

PRIDE

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 9

— Compiled by Nick Livingston

Coaches corner

Southwest Oklahoma has been good to MacArthur coach Mike Reffett. Reffett grew up here, went to school here and has coached here. Here is where he loves and where he would love to stay.

    After graduating from Lawton High and Cameron, Reffett got on at Elgin, after some more time coaching in Lawton he went to Elgin’s arch rival Cache. Now he’s at MacArthur, coaching cornerbacks and outside receivers for the Highlanders.

    “I think Southwest Oklahoma is a great place to live, and the kids in this area are special,” Reffett said. “A lot of them I still stay in touch with. Southwest Oklahoma is a good place to be — I don’t want to leave.”

    The choice to come to MacArthur was an easy one indeed.

    “(Head coach) Brett (Manning) called and I knew they had a good program here so I had to jump at it. You can’t pass that opportunity up,” he said.

    It helps when you have a loving wife and child that understand the business. Reffett was very appreciative of what wife Kendall does for his family and their 3-year-old daughter Kenley.

    “They make it easy on me to coach. She makes it easy on me,” Reffett said. “She takes care of a lot of stuff at the house, and raising the baby when I’m gone and I appreciate it a lot.”

    Reffett has pretty much done everything in the realm of coaching. He has coached baseball at Elgin; baseball, wrestling and football at Lawton High and was offensive coordinator at Cache.

    He feels like his fit at Mac has been the best, and said he is learning something new everyday.

    “There are so many years of experience here,” Reffett said. “On some staffs, I felt like I had to make sure I was doing all the stuff. There is quite a bit of knowledge in this room, so I just sit back and be quiet.”

    That silence doesn’t head out to the football field, however, as Reffett told us what he wants to teach the students the most.

    “I want them to not ever quit. You are going to be faced with some adversity, but you have to keep fighting cause life is going to throw some curveballs at you and it’s going to be tough. You have to keep battling and keep fighting and try to make the best of your situation.”

    When asked if there was any one player that exemplifies that fact — Reffett pointed to Austin Hudson.

    “He works hard everyday and does everything he needs to do to help the team,” he said. “I think he does a great job of showing up and showing perseverance.”

    Those kind of players — the practice squad kings —that make a team like Mac shine. Without them, the starters don’t get the kind of competition they need to succeed.

    “I think they are big team guys and you have to have them around that are there and are prepared to make that sacrifice,” Reffett said. “They don’t get a lot of glory, but they are important. Those kids that hustle every sprint, you use them as an example. It’s easy to come and practice when you know you are going to play. It takes a real strong character to come every day and work your tail off even when you know you won’t play as much as you want to.”

    When asked about his future, Reffett relayed that he really enjoys what he is doing now. However, when asked if he would like to be in the big chair (that of head coach), he was quick to say no.

    “I’d like to eventually be a coordinator somewhere again, hopefully here. Not any time soon though, I still have a lot to learn,” Reffett said. “I like it here and I think Brett does a great job. He does a lot of things that I don’t want to have to do. The interviews and the phone calls he takes. I just want to coach kids and see that product show off on Friday night.”

    Injury report

    Braylon Freeman will be all right people.

    Freeman was injured in the first half of the Altus game with a Grade 1 ankle sprain. Head coach Brett Manning said that Freeman is walking without a limp and will be ready to suit up against Chickasha on Thursday in Cameron Stadium.

    It was a scary moment for Mac when Freeman went down, as the sophomore defensive linemen is one of the top tackle getters with 47 on the season. Freeman recovered two fumbles against Altus before being injured.

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 118-200-1403-6 (13 TDs), Taylor Chasteen 4-7-1-52. Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 88-599 (9 TD), Warner 87-313 (6 TD), T.J. Turner 16-100 (3 TDs), Aaron Finley 20-142 (2 TDs), Morris Dale 13-77, Taylor Chasteen 4-53, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 4-(19), Rashaud Foreman 6-7, Jr Loera 1-(-7), Antwain Bell 1-3, Chris Scott 2-6 (TD). Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 25-458 (5 TD), Dewayne Sanford 13-166, Antwain Bell 8-82 (TD), Desmond Block 11-156 (2 TD), Rashaud Foreman 13-207 (3 TD), Shawn McIntosh 17-113 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 8-56, Morris Dale 6-27, Chris Scott 3-20, JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 1-27, Austin Hudson 2-22, Antwain Bell 1-16, Aaron Finley 2-13, Nate Miller 3-26 (TD), TJ Turner 1-5, Kevin McClain 1-2, Jacob Warner 1-13.

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 96, Sean Cauthon 36, Austin Payne 63, Braylon Freeman 47, Jamal Pride 27, Jacob Warner 35, J.R. Loera 34, Morris Dale 53. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 4, Max Adair 3.5, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 2.5, Logan Nelson 1, Morris Dale 1, Calvin Slocum 2.5, Jamal Pride .5. Fumbles caused —Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1, Calvin Slocum 1, Morris Dale 2, Devon Harris 1. Fumbles recovered — Braylon Freeman 2, Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1, Fayne Leopold 1, Joel Durant 1, Morris Dale 1, Calvin Slocum 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 3, Austin Payne 1, Dylan Warner 1, Morris Dale 1.

REFFETT
 

Belle hearing a higher call

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

It’s easy to follow the call from a coach. It takes much more to follow the call from a higher power. For Michael Belle, that call from the higher power has shaped him more than anything.

    The defensive tackle and offensive guard has followed that call all the way to Wales over the last summer, where he spent a week doing missionary work.

    “It’s kinda weird talking to total strangers, but they prepare you pretty well to go and share your faith with different people,” he said.

    The well-spoken senior at MacArthur talked extensively about his experience in Wales. The member of the First Baptist East church, Belle said his week-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean helped his faith here at home.

    “It definately helps you to rely on your prayer life because in order to have the courage to speak to totally different people that you have no idea what they are all about it definately strengthens your prayer life.”

    Many missionaries get the call and travel to much more exotic places like China, India or Africa. For Belle, the trip to England was a good first mission.

    “It’s not too much different. I was a little scared because I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to handle the culture shock, but it’s not too much different,” Belle said. “There is a falling away in their church, and it’s kinda sad. It’s kinda like America, they are claiming a faith based on what their parents believe or what their parents follow and it’s like an empty faith. They claim one thing but they just do their own thing without religion.”

    While there, Belle did a lot of what he called “prayer walking” where he and his group prayed over the ground for them to know who they should talk to.

    After that, they started conversations with people to develop the friendships that eventually turned to questions about their religion and faith.

    “It throws them off guard, but then again you can see they are excited to share their views about it,” Belle said.

    One such conversation stood out to Belle.

    “I got to witness to a Muslim man about his faith, and we got to debate the different faiths,” he said. “He seemed interested, but we got him associated him with a church and he started to talk with people with the church to continue that debate. It wasn’t anything agressive, it was just sharing common beliefs and then the differences in the beliefs.”

    An interesting word there — debate. Belle said that it is critical to listen as well as talk when discussing a touchy subject like faith with someone who doesn’t believe the same as you.

    “I’ve always been told that you are never going to win somebody over by winning an argument,” he said.

    When he returned to Oklahoma, things were just not the same. He called it a “reverse culture shock.”

    “The language was so attractive to me,” Belle said of the Queen’s English. “You get back here and you hear the southern drawl, and it’s like nails on a chalkboard. No offense to anyone.”

    But he doesn’t have to worry about much talking on the football field. Belle has four tackles through eight games, and is known as a player that can get fired up on occassion.

    “There’s definately a contradiction,” he said with laugh. “The people from my church know me as the laidback, calm guy. The guys from the football team know me that if the situation is right I can put a hit on somebody. It’s like night and day.”

    Belle likes the leadership he can give as the best thing about football. He said that he wants to help the younger players learn the Highlanders complicated offense and wants to help prevent them from making the same mistakes he did at their age.

    After high school ends, Belle is looking into another mission trip, this one of five weeks. However, the cost may be too much. As for education, he wants to attend a technology school and eventually work on computers.

    But what about becoming a minister?

    “I feel that another mission is in my future, but ministry is going to take a larger commitment,” he said. “Not that I’m not willing to make that commitment, but you have to be very called for that. I haven’t heard that call, and I don’t want to jump into something that is not for me.”

    But if and when he does hear the call, expect Belle to be ready and willing to do whatever he is told.

BELLE

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 8

— Compiled by Nick Livingston

Coaches corner

A football team is like a big family. Odell Gunter may be one of the newest member of the Highlander family, but he is a crucial cog all the same. In only his fifth season as a defensive line coach, Gunter has watched a few players pass through. However, it was last season’s seniors that was the first he had coached since they were freshmen.

    “That was a great experience to see that,” Gunter said. “It’s like watching my own kids grow and graduate.”

    Gunter is Lawton born and bred, he went to Eisenhower and then attended Langston University where he played defensive end. He then finished school at Cameron.

    From there, Gunter went to Grand Prairie, Texas, where he taught and coached at the middle school level.

    He said that his time now at Mac is a more enjoyable experience.

    “I enjoy high school. Middle school is more of a teaching,” Gunter said. “The older they get, the more challenging it becomes. In middle school you are just teaching the foundation.”

    At Mac, Gunter and the staff also teach more than just football. That is the core of the MacArthur program.

    “I love it. It teaches kids football plus they are learning life lessons,” Gunter said. “When they leave this program they are not just football players.”

    It is that teaching that makes his job even more worthwhile.

    “It’s very important, there’s more to it than football,” Gunter said. They have to know what to expect when they leave this place.”

    Gunter lives in Lawton with wife Katrina, a MacArthur grad, and son Quinton (17) and daughter Sydney (8). Gunter also has a stepson, Dameko, who is 21.

    And though Gunter is making a name for himself with the Highlanders, he likes exactly where he is.

    “Right now I’m comfortable where I am at,” he said. “Maybe in a few years I will reevaluate and see, but I am enjoying what I’m doing.”

    Injury report

    Another week, another lack on injuries.

    MacArthur has been very lucky this season, swatting away the injury bug.

    Rashaud Foreman hurt his hamstring last week against Duncan, but head coach Brett Manning said he taped up the leg and continued to play.

    Manning gave the nod to the Highlander’s offseason and summer programs as the reason they have been lucky so far.

    “Coach (Max) Plunk does a great job in the weight room and keeps us up on all the latest stuff in the world of strength and conditioning, and we are doing the same things that many of the major college football teams are doing,” Manning said.

    “In summer workouts, we do a lot of running and conditioning and that is really key that helps us stay in shape and so nobody breaks down or gets fatigued. Fatigue is when a lot of injuries happen.”

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 109-183-1288-6 (11 TDs), Taylor Chasteen 4-7-1-52. Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 77-555 (9 TD), Warner 74-257 (6 TD), T.J. Turner 16-100 (3 TDs), Aaron Finley 13-122 (2 TDs), Morris Dale 13-77, Taylor Chasteen 4-53, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 3-(18), Rashaud Foreman 4-(-6), Jr Loera 1-(-7), Antwain Bell 1-3, Chris Scott 1-2. Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 22-413 (4 TD), Dewayne Sanford 13-166, Antwain Bell 8-82 (TD), Desmond Block 10-135 (1 TD), Rashaud Foreman 11186-179 (3 TD), Shawn McIntosh 16-104 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 8-56, Morris Dale 6-27, Chris Scott 3-20, JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 1-27, Austin Hudson 2-22, Antwain Bell 1-16, Aaron Finley 2-13, Nate Miller 1-8 (TD), TJ Turner 1-5, Kevin McClain 1-2, Jacob Warner 1-13.

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 81, Sean Cauthon 32, Austin Payne 48, Braylon Freeman 44, Jamal Pride 26, Jacob Warner 32, J.R. Loera 34, Morris Dale 45. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 2, Max Adair 3.5, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 2.5, Logan Nelson 1, Morris Dale 1, Calvin Slocum 1.5, Jamal Pride .5. Fumbles caused —Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1, Calvin Slocum 1, Morris Dale 1. Fumbles recovered —Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1, Fayne Leopold 1, Joel Durant 1, Morris Dale 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 3, Austin Payne 1, Dylan Warner 1.

GUNTER

Quarterbacks, not kids, should fear Cauthon

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

Don’t be afraid kids, Sean Cauthon won’t hurt you. Opposing quarterbacks, however, you should be careful. Cauthon has become a solid member of the M a c A r t h u r lines, and his play is starting to show. He has 27 tackles from the defensive end position and is a key member as the right tackle on the offensive line.

    Cauthon can juggle the duties well and his attitude tells the story of a guy that just likes to play the game.

    “You have to be pretty strong and hold your ground,” Cauthon said. “Because if you allow the pocket to collapse then Dylan (Warner) will have to start scrambling. He can make plays with his feet, but it’s better if he can throw the ball and let the receivers make the plays.”

    He got to make some plays this year as well. In the “ninja” set, Cauthon was on the outside with receivers on some plays and it led to touchdowns.

    “I liked it because I was bigger then the guys I was blocking for once,” Cauthon said. “It worked real well.”

    Cauthon is also learning from the other side. Against Western Heights and Northwest Classen, the Mac offense was able to pull the opposing defense offsides on numerous instances. On defense, Cauthon knows how to protect against that.

    “It’s gotten easy for me this year, cause I kinda get lazy in my stance and lean over,” Cauthon said. “I’ve jumped offsides twice this year, not on a freeze but it’s pretty hard I guess.”

    He has the blessings of his coaching staff.

    “We think a lot of him not only as a player but as a person,” head coach Brett Manning said.

    But this season may be the end of football for the senior. At 208 pounds he is not the typical lineman size.

    Cauthon understands this better than most.

    “I’m too small to play lineman in college and I’m too slow to switch positions,” he said.

    Instead, he has full intentions to fulfill his academic dreams. An “A” student, Cauthon wants to be a doctor with a focus on being a pediatrician.

    What about the screaming kids? Cauthon isn’t bothered by that. He said that his inspiration for him wanting to head into the field are his younger cousins.

    “I work pretty good with kids, they are just fun to work with,” he said.

    Cauthon said that he is taking advanced placement classes to reach that goal, and is already looking online at scholarships to pay for the cost of school.

    Where that schooling my take place is still unknown. Dream schools like Harvard, Yale and the Ivy League are there, but wherever the school, he just wants to make sure it is far away from Lawton as Cauthon wants to see the world.

    With the ambition and work ethic Cauthon is showing on the football field, it may not be a stretch to see him succeed in the goals he has set in front of him now.

CAUTHON

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 6

— Compiled by Nick Livingston

Coaches corner For many years, Mike Moore has been a man of many hats at MacArthur.

    From being an assistant coach, the athletic coordinator and a sub whenever needed, Moore does a lot around the school.

    But likely the most interesting hat he wears isn’t seen that much, but it is just as vital. Moore is the record keeper for the Highlanders.

    It started when he got there many years ago and he has been quietly working on the book ever since. Moore spent the first part of his career as the recordkeeper in the archives of The Lawton Constitution, putting together the records and stats of the first 16 years of MacArthur football.

    “After many years this thing has gone from about 15 pages long to about 79 pages long,” Moore said flipping through the pages of the latest iteration of his work.

    The time-consuming affair with the numbers of the game are something he has always been a love for Mac’s mathematician.

    “It just a passion for me, something to contribute to MacArthur football,” Moore said. “The only fear I have is that when I retire someone will either pick up the torch or it will die. I’d like someone to pick up the torch and run with it.”

    But he hasn’t always been a Highlander, Moore graduated from Lawton High. But does that create a conflict of emotions during the season?

    “As far as Lawton High goes, I graduated there and I still have loyalties to Lawton High to a degree,” Moore said. “I went to Lawton High for three years, I’ve been at MacArthur for 34 years so I’m pretty much a Highlander.”

    Moore spends his off-time with wife Sylvia, the principal at Eisenhower Elementary. He has a daughter and a son. The daughter, Stephanie, lives in Oklahoma City and is a respiratory therapist. Son Scott is working toward being a radiologist in Lawton.

    Stephanie has given Mike a grandson, who looks to already be following in grandfather’s footsteps.

    “He lives and breathes MacArthur and OU football,” Mike said. “He goes to bed at night watching Highlander season highlight tapes.”

    But is there anything else that Mike wants to do in coaching left?

    “Sometime in the life you have to find a sense of peace and a sense of contentment in what you are doing and I love it here at MacArthur,” Mike said.

    Walking the walk

    If you watch MacArthur walk off the field for halftime or after the game, you may see something different.

    The Highlanders have changed the way they exit. Instead of running off, they instead walk in lines with hands held in a display of unity.

    “I always liked it. It goes back to Dennis Cavalier, what coach (Max) Plunk was talking about last week,” head coach Brett Manning said. “Coach Cavalier’s teams always went into the locker room together and when I was playing for him in middle school through my freshman year that’s the way we left practice and left the field each day. I always liked that, and it’s one of the new traditions that I wanted to start.”

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing— Dylan Warner 74-125-897-4 (9 TD), Taylor Chasteen 4-7-1-52. Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 50-414 (7 TD), Warner 41-119 (3 TD), T.J. Turner 16-100 (3 TDs), Aaron Finley 10-104 (2 TDs), Morris Dale 10-62, Taylor Chasteen 4-53, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 1-(-1), Rashaud Foreman 1-(-7), Jr Loera 1-(- 7). Receiving— Tuswani Copeland 14-202 (2 TD), Dewayne Sanford 8-126, Antwain Bell 6-80 (TD), Desmond Block 7-93 (1 TD), Rashaud Foreman 8-136 (3 TD), Shawn McIntosh 13-105 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 4-26, Morris Dale 5-17, Chris Scott 2-20, JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 1-27, Austin Hudson 1-18, Antwain Bell 1-16, Nate Miller 1-8 (TD), TJ Turner 1- 5, Kevin McClain 1-2.

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 57, Sean Cauthon 27, Austin Payne 28, Braylon Freeman 27, Jamal Pride 26, Jacob Warner 23, J.R. Loera 24, Morris Dale 25.Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 2, Max Adair 3.5, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 2.5. Fumbles caused — Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1. Fumbles recovered — Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1, Fayne Leopold 1, Joel Durant 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 2, Payne 1.

MOORE
 

Mac rips NW Classen

No. 7 Highlanders roll to 5A-1 win

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Who needs five down linemen when you have a ninja?

    MacArthur sure didn’t in a dominating 60-0 win over Northwest Classen on Thursday night in venerable Taft Stadium.

    The Highlanders are now 4-1, more importantly they are 2-0 in District 5A-1.

    Mac pulled out an interesting stop early on what they called the ninja, lining up two receivers and a tackle on each side of the ball spread wide and only three down lineman in front of quarterback Dylan Warner and running back Shawn McIntosh. Warner would then swing a pass out to the waiting receiver set behind a pair of blockers.

    This resulted in two of Mac’s many touchdowns, and it was an interesting wrinkle as the Highlanders get set for next Friday’s battle with district foe No. 2 El Reno.

    “It’s just something fun we have been working on and it was pretty effective tonight,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “They never adjusted to it and that made it easy for us.”

    Warner was impressive in his short stint at quarterback. In only a little over a quarter played, Warner was 6 for 6 for 168 yards and four touchdowns.

    “He was focused and did everything we asked of him,” Manning said.

    Shawn McIntosh also didn’t see much time at running back. McIntosh rushed only three times for 64 yards and a touchdown.

    From there, it was the second-string, and they weren’t having much more difficulty finding the end zone. In all, 47 points were scored by the Highlanders in the first half alone.

    Meanwhile, the defense did its job as well, keeping Classen to -22 yards of total offense in the half. The Knights would finish with 40 yards of total offense.

    “The defense has been pretty solid,” Manning said. “We have some good, young guys in that sophomore class so when we put our jayvee in they are not bad.”

    It was an offensive explosion, with Rashaud Foreman being the most receptive, scoring two touchdowns in the first half on two catches for 54 yards. Tuswani Copeland and Antwain Bell also scored on touchdown passes. Morris Dale and Aaron Finley tacked on rushing touchdowns in the second quarter to complete the half.

    Finley would score again and T.J. Turner would also rush for a touchdown to round out the scoring.

    In all, Mac would rush for 215 yards and pass for 192 more, all in a day’s work for an offense that is finding its stride.

    But the main thing that Manning took away from the game was that injuries were kept low. Last season, the Highlanders lost Javon Harris and Norris Wrenn among others when they played the week before the El Reno game. This year, the starters were gone early and there were no significant injuries.

    “It was extremely important,” Manning said of getting starters out. “We got a lot of guys hurt last year during this game and one of our main goals was to take care of business and get our starters out to not risk injury.”

    Mission accomplished, now the test begins as the El Reno Indians come calling next Friday.


STEPHEN MILLER/STAFF Elgin High School defensive back Chalmer Wyatt (3) goes high to pick off a pass from Cache quarterback Brock Lamle during action Thursday night at Cameron Stadium. Wyatt,had two of his team’s four interceptions in a 49-6 rout. Also pictured are Cache’s Landon Harper and Elgin’s Eric Gengnagel (15).
 

Bell brings laughs to Boys on the Hill

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

“I like that particular kind of attention. People don’t know what it’s like standing up there onstage, when you have a wall of people smiling at you.” — Dave Chappelle.

    The serious side of one of America’s favorite stand-up comics, and an inspiration to MacArthur receiver Antwain Bell.

    That wall of people smiling at Bell are the rest of the Highlanders, and the ever-smiling wide receiver is their comic, keeping spirits high even in tiring situations.

    “We could be running sprints, and everyone could be tired, and I could just do something funny to get their mind off being tired and doing those sprints,” Bell said.

    That laughter and smile are infectious, even to his coach.

    “He’s a good kid, he’s fun to be around,” said head coach Brett Manning.

    The senior admitted he is “always on” likes to use jokes from Chappelle to keep his friends and teammates laughing.

    “I just want to get everybody up,” Bell said.

    But it’s not all jokes, Bell also has a serious side. A side that shows on the field.

    Splitting time at outside receiver with Tuswani Copeland, Bell is starting to emerge as a threat in the Highlander attack. And though he only has four catches for 43 yards so far, there is a desire in his eyes to continue to improve.

    “I just like to have fun, but when it’s time to work it’s time to work,” Bell said. “But there’s nothing that says you can’t make work fun. I like to keep the team laughing.”

    Manning said that Bell was a player that he knew he could count on coming out this season, especially coming out of spring practices.

    “He’s got good speed, and is showing that he really has good hands,” Manning said.

    Bell admitted that he was playing better, hitting his assignments well. He wants to put his emphasis on his quickness and agility, and said he spent the summer running and catching footballs.

    “You just have to keep doing what you are doing,” he said.

    Now with the brunt of the district schedule looking the Highlanders in the face, now is the time more than ever for Bell and others to come forward to help take Mac to the next level.

    “He’s a guy we knew we could count on,” Manning said.

    Bell said that after high school, he wants to attend college. He didn’t know exactly what he wants to study yet, but said he wants to attend Tulsa University.

    As for the comedy, Bell admitted that his friends always like his jokes and his antics.

    But could that be a career path?

    He didn’t know, but the smile told a story all its own.

BELL

 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 5

 COMPILED BY NICK LIVINGSTON

Coaches corner

The coaching tree that comes from Dennis Cavalier is a tall one and growing. A picture on the wall in the coaches’ office at MacArthur High School can attest to that.

    Max Plunk is one of those coaches. As the defensive coordinator for the Highlanders, he owes his career to Cavalier among others.

    It was in Pampa, Texas that Plunk started coaching under Cavalier and met Ernie Manning. When Manning came to Mac, he brought Plunk with him.

    Over a decade later, Plunk is still bringing offenses nightmares with his Highlanders.

    “I was looking for a change myself,” Plunk said of coming with Manning to Mac. “My roots just keep getting deeper and deeper.”

    Raised in Strafford, Texas, a town 80 miles north of Amarillo, Plunk went to college and played two years at Howard Payne University before spending the next two at Panhandle State.

    It was through those years that Plunk got direction from David Bornstein and Andy Miller.

    “They were great coaches,” he said. “They treated me pretty good.”

    From there, Rich Lawrence helped Plunk get on as a graduate assistant at the University of Wyoming. After a two-year stint there and his master’s degree, Plunk returned to Texas where he met Cavalier and Manning.

    “I don’t know if I have a style,” Plunk said with a laugh. “I attribute a lot of it to Dennis. He’s the one that brought the system into Pampa that we have here now. The ‘Yes, sir. No, sir’ mentality.”

    That mentality can be seen in spades when talking to the Highlanders players, who all understand respect.

    Plunk lives in Lawton with wife Kathy, a teacher at MacArthur Middle School and has two boys. Brady, who is 23, is attending Oklahoma Baptist University and will go into the seminary soon. Cody, 20, is playing baseball at the University of Texas-Pan American.

    But will the defensive coach ever move on to lead a program of his own?

    “I’ve done about as much as I want to do,” he said. “I like what I do, that’s why I will stay here.”

Mac is all the better for that.

Super sophomores

Through four weeks of play, the Highlanders defense is starting to see a youth movement.

And not a bad one at that. At any time, up to six sophomores could be on the field at a time, something that head coach Brett Manning likes.

“It’s a very talented group, and we have more talent in that class that because we have some good juniors and seniors they don’t get the playing time,” Manning said. “They are a talented group that we are excited to see.”

Leading the charge are safeties Jr Loera and Jacob Warner.

Loera has 18 tackles, and a pass deflection while Warner has 19 tackles.

“Both of those guys are doing a great job,” Manning said. “Jr has started all season long, Jacob came in very early in the Lawton High game and played the rest of that game and the two games since.”

    Another in the group is Austin Payne, who plays linebacker. Payne has 20 tackles, a recovered fumble and an interception to his credit already this season.

    Braylon Freeman, Chris Moore and Dominique Hubert have also seen considerable time, which is giving a senior group on the line enough downtime to get prepared for offensive duties.

    Injury report

    Manning reported that the Highlanders are pretty healthy for their meeting this week with Northwest Classen.

    They even get a player back from injury this week.

    Scott Thibodeau didn’t play last week due to an ankle injury, but Manning said he will likely play.

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing— Dylan Warner 68-119-432-4 (5 TD), Taylor Chasteen 2-3-1-28. Rushing— Shawn McIntosh 47-350 (6 TD), Warner 40-126 (3 TD), TJ Turner 5-61 (2 TDs), Aaron Finley 4-39, Morris Dale 9-53, Taylor Chasteen 3-8, Desmond Block 1-2, Tuswani Copeland 1-(-1), Rashaud Foreman 1-(-7), Jr Loera 1-(-7). Receiving— Tuswani Copeland 12-144 (TD), Dewayne Sanford 6-85, Antwain Bell 4-34, Desmond Block 7-93 (1 TD), Rashaud Foreman 6-85 (1 TD), Shawn McIntosh 12-85 (TD), Wes Tom 2-41, Andrew Melontree 4-26, Morris Dale 5-17, Chris Scott 2-20, JR Lorea 4-47, Dewayne Sanford 1-27, Austin Hudson 1-18, Antwain Bell 1-16, Nate Miller 1-8 (TD), TJ Turner 1-5, .

    Defense: Tackles —Zac Corrales 45, Sean Cauthon 24, Austin Payne 20, Desmond Block 19, Braylon Freeman 19, Jamal Pride 18, Jacob Warner 19, Jr Loera 18, Nate Gradney 12. Sacks —Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 2, Max Adair 2, Desmond Block 1, Braylon Freeman 1. Fumbles caused —Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1. Fumbles recovered — Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 2, Payne 1.

PLUNK


 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 4

— Compiled by Nick Livingston

    Friday night fallout

    Though they won the game in overtime over Eisenhower, 24-21, lots of things went wrong in the eyes of the Highlanders.

    “I don’t want to take anything away from Eisenhower, but they didn’t make us read the wrong play on our (wrist) bands,” MacArthur head coach Brett Manning said. “They didn’t make us false start. They didn’t make us not line up right. They didn’t make us drop passes when when nobody is around us.”

    That first thing that went wrong stands out as a critical mistake. Mac prides itself on running a very potent no-huddle attack, and has been extremely successful with it.

    But will the errors made against Ike change the way things are done?

    “No way, I’d never say never but I have no interest of giving up the no-huddle,” Manning said. “We love the way we do it, and it’s just a matter of focus. This is our third year and you are always going to have mistakes, but Friday night was our only game in three years where we seemed to have that problem.” Which led to the word of the week — focus. “It’s a good word for us to have right now, we need some focus,” Manning said. Expect more focus headed into Thursday’s district opener against Western Heights.

The Thursday affair

Speaking of Thursday, the practice schedule has changed due to the game being a day earlier. “We normally practice long Monday-Wednesday and have a short practice on Thursday,” Manning said. “We’re going to be somewhere in the middle this week. Our Wednesday practice is not going to be as long as it normally is, but not as short as a Thursday practice. We will have our two hard days Monday and Tuesday and then scale them back a bit.”

    Just another thing a coach has to work through with three teams sharing a single stadium.

    Your captains

    The players have spoken, and they have selected their captains for this season.

    Zac Corrales, Devon Harris, Shawn McIntosh and Logan Nelson were voted by their teammates as the captains.

Injury report

Manning reported that the Highlanders are finally getting over the sickness bug that has tore through the team since before the first week of the season.

“We are getting over the sickness, but we are pretty healthy right now,” Manning said.

    He also said that his team is pretty healthy headed into district.

    “We’ve been very fortunate this year,” he said.

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 59-103-325-4 (3 TD). Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 41-243 (4 TD), Warner 37-110 (3 TD), Morris Dale 5-40. Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 10-120, Rashaud Foreman 6-85 (1 TD), Dewayne Sanford 6-85, Shawn McIntosh 10-74 (1 TD), Desmond Block 6-66 (1 TD).

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 40, Sean Cauthon 22, Desmond Block 19, Braylon Freeman 14, Austin Payne 13, Nate Gradney 12, Jacob Warner 11. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Devon Harris 2. Fumbles caused — Dominique Hubert 1, Ondre Gaines 1. Fumbles recovered — Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1, Tuswani Copeland 1, Autin Payne 1. Interceptions — Rashaud Foreman 1.
 

McIntosh bounces back to be a leader

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM
    Work hard. Don’t be scared.

    The mantra of MacArthur’s Shawn McIntosh.

    After tearing his ACL in his sophomore year, McIntosh has come back and is now the featured runner in the Highlander’s high-powered offense.

    He has exploded on the scene to the tune of 317 total yards and five touchdowns in three games.

    But that’s not all he does at Mac. In the Highlanders’ system, the running back also has to make the blocks to give the quarterback enough time to read a defense and make the pass.

    Head coach Brett Manning said that McIntosh does that in spades.

    “Being a back in this offense — he has to be a running back, he has got to be a receiver he has got to be a pass blocker,” Manning said. “If you can’t do any one of those three things you are not going to play. He’s doing everything we are asking of him.”

    The soft-spoken, do-everything back said that it’s all about the gameplan.

    “We just need to work hard and listen to what the coaches tell me and understand my assignments,” McIntosh said. “Wether it’s blocking or getting out into the flats to the numbers — you do what you have to do.”

    And what about that third area? What about blocking?

    “You just have to go out and block, do what you have to do and not be scared to block somebody. Just hit them.”

    Coming back last year from the injury his sophomore season could have been a daunting one, but McIntosh wasn’t rushed onto the field. Mac already had a runner — Javon Harris.

    “He played behind Javon Harris last year and would have started for a lot of teams in 5A last year,” Manning said.

    McIntosh said that season behind the now-University of Oklahoma safety taught him a lot about what it takes to be successful at Mac.

    “I learned how to run the ball and how to be tough and not be scared and that leadership of not being nervous in the game,” he said.

    But don’t think that McIntosh wants to always be behind Harris. He humbly said that he would love to outperform the former starter.

    “I would love to. If it doesn’t happen it doesn’t happen I just want to be better than him to show people that even though I am skinnier than him I can do what he did last year,” McIntosh said.

    And so far, that is coming true. The standout moment this season so far came in Coweta on a very spongy surface. By the end of the game, McIntosh’s jersey was caked with mud and his numbers could barely show through.

    “I would love to get the big run, but I would love to get muddy too,” he said. “That shows that I am working hard and getting tackled a lot.”

    But it always goes back to working hard. From returning from that knee injury to picking up a block, McIntosh is doing the things to get noticed.

    He has already been noticed by his teammates, who voted him as one of four team captains.

    Perhaps it does have something to do with his leadership.

    “I do a lot with my backup running backs, how I joke with them some of the time but I have to go out and work hard and focus,” he said.

    After finishing school, McIntosh said he wants to continue to help people. He said he would love to continue to play football for either Oklahoma State or the University of Central Oklahoma, but whatever he does he wants to be either a physical therapist or a coach.

    “I just want to help out people,” he said.

    One thing is for sure, with his mantra intact he can do anything he sets himself out to do.

MCINTOSH

 

Macmen ground Eagles

Schwarz’s overtime field goal seals win

BY HERB JACOBS STAFF WRITER

Just like that, it was over.

An interception by Rashaud Foreman and 27-yard field goal by Daniel Schwarz ended what Coach Brett Manning called ‘a nightmare of a game’ and lifted MacArthur to a 24-21 overtime victory over Eisenhower Friday in a wild intracity football battle at Cameron Stadium.

    Ike had taken a 21-13 lead when Nathan Locke broke free on a 71-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in regulation.

    Mac countered with a 10-play, 67-yard movement that Shawn McIntosh capped with a one-yard run with seven seconds remaining. Dylan Warner’s conversion pass to Foreman forced the OT.

    Ike had the initial first down at the 10-yard line, but Foreman intercepted a pass over the middle.

    Manning wasted no time, sending out Schwarz for the field goal on Mac’s first play. Schwarz, who had missed two earlier attempts, split the uprights this time.

    The win gives Mac a 2-1 record heading into Thursday’s District opener. The Highlanders earned their third straight win in this series and cut Eisenhower’s lead to 19-16.

    Ike, now 1-2, opens District play Friday.

    Durant rushed 28 times for 108 yards for the Eagles and Locke added 95 paces. Warner passed for 179 yards and McIntosh rushed for 113 paces for the Highlanders.

    Crowley produced three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Austin Hudson and Logan Nelson recovered fumbles for Mac.

    The old rivals took turns shooting themselves in the foot in the first 17 minutes. Mac recovered a pair of Ike fumbles but reciprocated by having one touchdown called back because of a procedure penalty.

    The Highlanders finally got on the board midway through the second quarter after Morris Dale stopped Adrian McDonald inches short of a first down on a fourth-down gamble from punt formation.

    Warner dropped back, found Foreman open down the right sideline and fired a strike. Foreman outran one defender to complete the 56-yard stunner and Schwarz added the conversion.

    The Eagles countered after Jacobi Crowley intercepted a Warner pass. A screen pass from Ivan Rosas to Adrian Woodward covered 38 yards to the six and Durant went off the right side for the score. Colton Rancourt tied it at 7-7 with 26 seconds left in the first half.

    Mac threatened early in the second quarter after Logan Nelson recovered an Eagle fumble. The Highlanders drove to the 14 before a solid tackle by Dillon Pulliam made it fourth and 10. A 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide.

    Mac regained the lead on its second drive in the third quarter, moving 53 yards in six plays. McIntosh set it up with a 29-yard burst up the middle and he capped it with a 12-yarder on an inside reverse. The conversion failed and it was 13-7.

    Eisenhower came right back with a 64-yard drive that was set up when Crowley recovered a Mac fumble. Durant capped it with a seven-yard power blast over the left side. Nathan Locke had three carries for 20 yards and McDonald earned a key fourth down with a six-yard scramble to the 12. Rancourt’s conversion made it 14-13, Eagles, with 3:08 left in the third.

    Ike appeared to score the clincher with 2:27 remaining when Locke found a crease over the right side and sailed 71 yards. That came on the first play after Crowley’s second interception.

    Mac countered quickly, driving 67 yards in 10 plays to forge the 21-21 tie. McIntosh inched the final yard and Warner found Foreman in the back of the end zone for the tying two-point conversion.

    Manning liked his team’s effort, but sees plenty of room for improvement.

    “We played hard,” he said. “Obviously, we didn’t give up. I’m very proud of our kids for that.

    “We played decent for about three minutes of that game. It was pretty much a nightmare of a game. We did everything wrong. We did everything we could possibly do to lose, and then we were able to come back and pull it out at the end.

    “I’m proud of them for hanging in there. I’m not necessarily happy with how we played, but I’m proud of them for hanging in there and playing all 48 minutes.”

    Stopping Ike’s power rushing game proved to be a problem.

    “They do a good job,” Manning said. “Boone (Coach Copeland) does a good job. They were pounding on us.

    “I called a time out. I wanted to tell them that if we wanted to win this game, we had to get a stop. Finally we did that time.

    “I was actually kinda glad they scored that last one so we could get the ball back. I didn’t want them to waste the clock and give it to us with a minute left or 30 seconds left. I didn’t think it

was all that bad that they

scored so quickly.

    “It was just back and forth. We’d do one thing good and we’d do two things wrong.

    Except for the outcome, it was a nightmare of a game.”

STEPHEN MILLER/STAFF TOP: MacArthur High School quarterback Dylan Warner (5) gets off a pass under the heavy pressure from Eisenhower defensive lineman John Hambrick ast Mac offensive lineman Scott Cauthon, right, blocks during action Friday night at Cameron Stadium. The Highlanders used a field goal from Daniel Schwarz in overtime to escape with a 24-21 win.
 

LHS staggers Macmen, 33-25

Miller wins battle of quarterbacks, powers Wolverines to city title

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM



    In a battle of junior quarterbacks, the show was on and the future of Lawton city football looked bright.

    On this night, Lawton High’s Cody Miller would best MacArthur’s Dylan Warner, 33-25, to give the Wolverines their first city championship since 2005.

    For Lawton High (2-0) head coach Randy Breeze, it is his first city title

    “We won a bunch in the old days, I don’t even know what the General’s Trophy looks like,” Breeze said. “I’m anxious to see that baby, I’ve heard all about it.”

    Maybe that trophy should stay with Miller, as every score was either thrown or ran by the quarterbacks, who went back-and-forth all night.

    In all Miller, was 10 for 14 for 293 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 10 carries for 66 yards and three scores on the ground.

    However, it was the way in which he made MacArthur (1-1) respect him that made the difference. When Miller would bootleg out, it would freeze the secondary just long enough for Miller to find his receiver, starting with the first pass — a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Daequan Wojciechowski. Miller would complete his first four passes, all for more than 20 yards each. He finished with six of his 10 completions for over 20 yards.

    “I know he threw the ball well, I know he ran well, but he got us in the right play over and over,” Breeze said. “There’s no telling how many audibles he did at the line of scrimmage.”

    For Warner, much of the same could be said. Mac’s signal-caller was 24 for 40 with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran well, rushing 15 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including the Highlanders first score, a 42-yard option keeper that froze the Wolverines.

    “He’s turning into a good quarterback,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “Lawton High presented some quickness problems for us and he was able to get us out of a lot of bad plays with his athleticism.”

    Lawton High jump out to a quick 19-0 lead as Mac just looked overpowered both offensively and defensively. Put it this way, Lawton High didn’t punt until 8:30 left in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Mac could only get one first down the entire first quarter, which came on a penalty for a late hit out of bounds. The Highlanders finally get that first down on their first sustained drive that ended with a Daniel Schwarz 38-yard field goal with 3:53 left in the half.

    “They are so quick everywhere,” Manning said of the Lawton High defense. “We had a lot of youth out there, and we’re learning, and that’s what we need to get out of this.”

    But the second half was a different story, as Warner exploded and carried the Highlanders back into the game with his 42-yard scamper and another two-yard run with his leap over the line on an option bootleg to cut the lead to 19-17.

    From there, it was all Lawton High, as Miller scored on runs of seven yards and one yard. On the final touchdown for Lawton High, there was a tussle and a Highlander was ejected for throwing a punch.

    “That was totally uncalled for,” Manning said of the punch in disgust. “It shouldn’t happen, it’s not what I want my team to look like.”

    Fans gasped as Miller lay prone on the ground as someone stepped on his left leg in the pile in the end zone.

    But the quarterback was ok, and Mac had one last drive in them, which the Highlanders took right down the field and scored with Warner finding Shawn McIntosh on a screen for an 18-yard score. Warner found Tuswani Copeland for a twopoint conversion to cut the lead to the final score.

    The Highlanders made a final effort with an onside kick, but the Wolverines recovered and the celebration began.

    “That’s two class football teams,” Breeze said. “They are fighting the flu and we’re fighting the flu and the people got their money’s worth.”

    Lawton High will travel to Altus on Friday while MacArthur takes on Eisenhower in the final city game in Cameron Stadium.
 

Corrales bulks up to lead defense at Mac

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

onto the scene as a leader of the Mac defense. Through two weeks, he has led the team in tackles both weeks, and has 26 total tackles.

    “He’s been our leading tackler easily overpowered by coaches going over the gameplan for their battle against Eisenhower.

    But Corrales assures that it’s a different tale on the field, and said something clicks that turns him into a vocal leader that isn’t afraid of talking a little trash.

    “It’s just intensity of the game, it just flips a switch on me,” Corrales said. “I guess it’s just Friday nights — it’s exciting, just being out there.”

    His approach to the game is a simple one — do your job. He emphasized that it is more important to fulfill your assignment then just trying to do everything yourself with the phrase, “You may not make the tackle, but you make the play.”

    When the lights go off on Fridays, Corrales likes to unwind with a nice Saturday of college football. The devout Sooner fan liked this last Saturday especially, watching Oklahoma State fall to Houston.

    “I was excited about the OSU Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, Zach Thomas, Mike Singletary. All names that strike fear into opposing offenses. All middle linebackers that played at around 250 pounds.

MacArthur’s Zac Corrales is halfway there, beefing up over 40 pounds from 171 to 212 pounds to get in shape for his final season as a Highlander.

Corrales said that he has bulked up with a diet consisting of steak and other proteins with a bit of a treat mixed in.

“I do eat some junk food here and there,” Corrales said.

When asked if “here and there” was everyday, he just smiled and laughed.

“I was just trying to gain as much as I could and I wound up gaining about 40 pounds,” Corrales said.

But the diet must be working, because Corrales has exploded and has stepped in as a senior and has really taken on the roll of the leader on our defense,” said Mac head coach Brett Manning.

    M a n n i n g spoke about Corrales’ growth as a player and enjoys him taking charge as the leader of that unit.

    “We lost so many good defensive players last year, and so many good leaders on the defense we needed somebody to step up and fill that role,” Manning said.

    But talking to Corrales, you wouldn’t think of him as a vocal leader. The reserved senior sits and speaks with a soft voice, game cause they lost,” Corrales said. “I’m a huge Sooners fan and I took a lot of stuff from Cowboy fans after the BYU loss.”

    He said that he will cherish his time as a Highlander this year, because it may be the last time he ever plays the game. With the numbers that he is putting up so far, he may end up playing on Saturdays instead of watching from a couch.

    When the season ends, another grind will begin. You see, Corrales wrestles and is considering dropping a lot of the weight and get back to 189 pounds. However, he also understands the dangers of dropping all that weight, and may just adjust his style accordingly.

    “It’s going to be tough pulling all that weight, I may just try to wrestle at 215 if I keep eating the way I do,” Corrales said.

    But whatever the decision then, it’s likely that he will continue to take in massive calories and putting on muscle.

    And if the tackles keep piling up, then the Highlanders have found their big leader.

CORRALES
 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 3

— Compiled by Nick Livingston

Lessons learned

After their 33-25 loss to Lawton High last Friday, MacArthur head coach Brett Manning learned about his team. Mainly that the Highlanders didn’t quit after the Wolverines jumped out to a 19-0 lead before Daniel Schwarz kicked a field goal near the end of the first half. From there, the Highlanders rattled off 14 unanswered points to draw the score to 19-17 and made the game a battle. “We’re real happy that they hung in there, and made a run at them in the second half,” Manning said. “We didn’t have a single thing go right in the first half. Lawton High did a good job, give them credit for coming out there and jumping on us.”

Iron Warner

In college and pro football, you hardly ever see a quarterback play anywhere else.

Sure, there are the option quarterbacks and the system quarterbacks that like to run. There is the Wildcat formation, but overall you don’t see a team risk their quarterback.

However, in high school that changes, and it’s not a stretch to see a quarterback play both ways, especially if that quarterback is athletic. Recent examples are Cornealius Douglas of Lawton High, now at Texas Tech who played quarterback and safety and Trent Wilkins of Duncan, now at Tulsa, who did the same.

MacArthur’s Dylan Warner is continuing this tradition, playing both for Mac. Though Manning said he plays under half the snaps at safety, his impact is there. Last week, Warner recorded a tackle and recovered a fumble against Lawton High while leading the team in rushing and throwing for over 200 yards at quarterback.

    “In theory it should worry me,” Manning said of playing Warner both ways. “But he is such a competitor, and when he’s not in there he’s bugging defensive coaches to let him go in. He’s a competitor and wants to get in there. I think we’re using him pretty well.”

    Injury report

    After two weeks of gridiron battles, Manning reports no major injuries. We learned that both MacArthur and Lawton High were battling the flu last week, which would be the second week for the Highlanders, so it will be interesting to see if they can crush that bug before Friday against Eisenhower.

    The word is attitude

    The word of the week at Mac is attitude, and it centers around the team picking themselves up after losing last week.

    For those that think this word selection comes from the altercation at the end of last week’s game, think again.

    “That was decided long before last week’s game,” Manning said. “No matter what happened last week, that was going to be the word this week.”

    By the numbers

    Statistic leaders for MacArthur after week two:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 45-71-446-2 (2 TD). Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 25-130 (2 TD), Warner 26-105 (3 TD). Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 8-110, Shawn McIntosh 7-64 (1 TD), Dewayne Sanford 5-51, Desmond Block 5-45 (1 TD), JR Lorea 3-46.

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 26, Sean Cauthon 17, Desmond Block 16, Nate Gradney 12, Braylon Freeman 11. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Desmond Block 1, Devon Harris 1, Max Adair 1. Fumbles caused Dominique Hubert. Fumbles recovered Aaron Finley 1, Dylan Warner 1.
 

Warner passes Mac past Coweta

Highlanders cruise past Tigers in opener, 33-9

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM



    COWETA — What firstgame jitters?

    MacArthur’s Dylan Warner came out throwing like he has always been in the pocket and the offensive line gave him plenty of time to throw it in Mac’s 33-9 win on Friday night against Coweta.

    “I don’t know what it is, it all seems routine,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “Our players know our system and our coaching staff is intact. It’s kinda weird really, it seems pretty normal, but it is nice to get that first one out of the way.”

    Warner finished the game 21 of 31 for 233 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Many of the incomplete passes came on dropped balls after Mac had scored early to take control. Warner also helped the run attack, with 24 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

    “He did a good job for us for a first start,” Manning said. “He’s a good athlete, and he still has a lot of work to go. He’s so intense, and he tries so hard that you have to calm him down sometimes. But he was level-headed tonight and ran the system well.”

    Mac began the game with Tuswani Copeland taking the opening kick 61 yards deep into Coweta territory. After a few quick plays, Warner found Desmond Brock for an 8-yard score to put the Highlanders up.

    They would never relinquish that lead, though Coweta had its chances.

    On the ensuing kickoff after the Brock score, Coweta took the return deep into Mac territory. However, what looked to be the beginning of a shootout, turned into only three Tiger points.

    That was all Coweta could muster the first half.

    “We challenged our defense,” Manning said. “We gave up a lot of yards up the middle the first two scrimmages and we challenged them to not get gouged and they came through for us.”

    In all, the Mac defense allowed Coweta only 156 yards, with 115 coming off 39 carries. The Highlanders also recorded three sacks and an interception.

    “I have total confidence in our defensive coaching staff and they are doing great things with getting the kids in their places,” Manning said. “I think we are going to have a lot of success.”

    With the defense firing on all cylinders, it was up to the offense to respond in kind. They answered that call, as Warner ran for a 25-yard score and Shawn Mcintosh ran for a 10-yarder of his own as Mac pulled away.

    Manning praised his offensive line, saying it was a great night against Coweta’s tough defense.

    “Coweta’s defensive front is really good, they are one of the best we will see all year,” he said. “We did a good job. They were worried about our screens, they were hesitant to rush cause they were looking for the screens and so we didn’t throw a lot of screens.”

    With only 13 seconds left in the half, Mac took to the field on fourth down. Instead of running out the clock, it turned to sophomore kicker Daniel Schwarz, who nailed a 49-yard bomb to put Mac ahead at the half, 23-3.

    “We knew he would be like that,” Manning said of his kicker. “He was a freshman last year and kicked for us all last year. He worked hard over the summer and worked hard in camps and got a lot stronger. It’s a great weapon, it’s a big confidence booster when you go into the locker room at halftime when your kicker makes a 49-yard field goal.”

    Schwarz kicked another field goal of 37 yards in the fourth quarter.

    But in the second half it was the running game that came to life, as McIntosh added another touchdown of two yards to seal the game.

    Though the Highlanders had nearly identical halves in the ground game, the holes seemed to open better in the second half.

    “We play fast, we try to run a lot of plays,” Manning said. “The theory behind that is that the run may not be there at first but we are going to try to wear you out until the run game is there.”

    Mac returns to action on Friday in Cameron Stadium when it takes on Lawton High in a game that will go a long way toward deciding the city championship, which Mac took last year. LHS beat Eisenhower last night, 28-14, to set up a big game with Mac.

 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 2

— Compiled by Nick Livingston



    Labor Day

    Monday was Labor Day, and while many people were relaxing in their homes or grilling in the backyard, the MacArthur Highlanders were hard at work preparing for Friday’s battle with Lawton High.

    It began with a film session at 8 a.m. then carried over to the football field an hour later for a practice session that ended around 12:15 p.m.

    “We can’t afford to give Labor Day off, but it’s nice that it’s 12:30 and we’re done and have the rest of the day to hang out,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “It gives our players a longer time to recover for our Tuesday afternoon practice.” But before you think the Highlanders got off easy practicing before the temperatures rose, think again — it’s hot out there. “It’s not cool out there, it’s still pretty hot,” Manning said.

The word is pride

MacArthur’s Word of the Week this week is pride. “It’s a word that we use a lot for these city games,” Manning said. “Not an outward showing of pride, but a pride in ourselves to continue to get better, and taking pride in our everyday approach to practice and continuing to improve.”

    Injury report

    Though there were no big injuries this week for the Highlanders, a look deeper shows that there were some health troubles against Coweta on Friday that could carry over into this week.

    Instead of the injury bug biting, it was the sickness bug.

    “We’re battling some sickness. We had a few guys go through last week missing some school,” Manning said. “They are practicing through it, toughing it out. We had three guys sick on Friday who played and all three played pretty well. They toughed it out and showed a lot of heart in playing as well as they did and as hard as they did even when they may have been throwing up on the sidelines.”

    By the numbers

    The statistic leaders for the MacArthur team are:

    Offensive: Passing — Dylan Warner 21-31-233-1 (1 TD). Rushing — Shawn McIntosh 19-104 (2 TD), Warner 11-24 (1 TD). Receiving — Tuswani Copeland 4-90, Dewayne Sanford 5-51, Antwain Bell 4-34, Desmond Block 3-28 (1 TD).

    Defense: Tackles — Zac Corrales 12, Sean Cauthon 10, Desmond Block 8, Nate Gradney 8. Sacks — Darren Hart 2, Desmond Block 1, Devon Harris 1. Fumbles caused — Dominique Hubert. Fumbles recovered — Aaron Finley 1.
 

It’s all about the team for Mac guard Harris

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM



    If you had looked over at the MacArthur sideline on Friday against Coweta, you might have been in for a unhealthy sight.

    The sight of Devon Harris losing his lunch.

    Harris and many of the MacArthur linemen were sick last week, and that carried over to the game on Friday.

    “He was one of our kids who was sick Friday who played every play of offense and almost every play of defense,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “He was in on a lot of special teams plays too. On some of the special teams that he wasn’t in, he may have been on the sidelines throwing up, but he toughed it out and played a great game.”

    Even sick, Harris graded out by the Mac coaches as the highest on the offensive side of the ball.

    It’s a testament to his focus, and his desire to do what his coaches are teaching.

    “If you just do what you’re told to do and take the steps that you need to everything should go right,” Harris said.

    The quiet leader is emerging as a very talented lineman, and an even more talented leader.

    “I just did what coach told me to do, take the steps they told us to do,” Harris said of his offseason preparation. “(It was) just listening to the coaches and trying to get everyone on the line (to do it too). We have a lot of experience on the line. We all played last year and we know how to keep things moving so we just try to pick everything up and try to make everything move fast.”

    And what is he doing to make sure the younger players keep up?

    “I just try to encourage them to keep up the pace,” Harris said. “I have a lot of great seniors out there to help me with that.”

    But where does that come from? Harris said the team as a whole is like that, and it starts with the program as a whole.

    “You have to buy into the system. It’s all about trust,” he said. “If you don’t trust your coaches and players, you really don’t have anything. It’s like a brotherhood.”

    That brotherhood gets back to action on Friday against city rival Lawton High, but if you talk to Harris it sounds more like a game against a team like Norman North than against a city rival.

    “It’s nothing, it’s just another game. You have to stay focused,” Harris said. “We’re just playing the Lawton High Wolverines. That’s how we keep our team focused; you just take it as another game. You can’t look at it like, ‘Oh, this is a city game and a chance at the city championship.’ It would be nice to win a city championship, but at the same time we have to be focused and keep our head on straight.”

    Harris said that he wants to go to college, but is not worried about getting a scholarship. He said that he is thinking of joining the Air Force, but his biggest desire is to go to college and get into a medical field.

    Maybe those studies can help in the future if he has to attend to a player that is sick on the sidelines. Or maybe he will just relay the story of him toughing out his own illness to lead his team to victory.

 

MACARTHUR NOTEBOOK/Week 1

 Compiled by Nick Livingston

    The word is trust

    It’s a long standing tradition at MacArthur to have a Word of the Week — a defining word that exemplifies what the coaches want the players to understand that week.

    The word for the first week of the season is trust.

    “They need to trust what they are being coached and have the discipline to carry it out,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “I think they are doing a good job, and they are trying, but in the heat of the battle and in scrimmages last week they get out there on the field and there’s not a coach out there with them they sometimes forget technique so the focus this week is for those guys to trust their coaches are telling them and that will help us improve.”

    But where the tradition comes from is unknown — even to a coach that played his high school ball at the school.

    “We’ve had that as long as I can remember — even back when I was playing we had a Word of the Week,” Manning said. “It just wrapped up what our coaches taught us and what we needed to focus on. It’s been one of those things that has been here a long time.” If anyone out there knows the roots of this tradition, send an email to nlivingston@lawtonconstitution.com, we’d love to know how this got started.

Injury report

Manning said that his team has been pretty fortunate with the lack of injuries to his team. The first-year coach reported that Devon Harris twisted his knee in their scrimmage on Thursday, but was able to play the rest of the affair and will be ready for Friday’s game at Coweta. Manning said that Michael Belle sprained his ankle, but is also doing good and will be ready. The most positive news was that sophomore Austin Payne will also be returning this week. “We’ve been pretty fortunate to get Austin Payne back,” Manning said. “He had an open sore on his foot before football and practiced one day and it got infected. We get him back this week. He’s a sophomore, but we’re counting on him pretty heavily. He’s had a big setback, but he does get back.”

    Support staff

    Brett Manning may be the head coach and offensive coordinator, but there are many others that help on the sidelines.

    Max Plunk will be the defensive coordinator and will specialize with safeties. Mike Moore is the athletic coordinator, special teams coordinator and will specialize on running backs and defensive ends.

    Position coaches are: Leo Holmes (linebackers, inside receivers), Mike Reffett (cornerbacks, outside recievers), Odell Gunter (defensive line) and Ernie Manning (offensive line).
 

Hudson wants to savor time as a Highlander

BY NICK LIVINGSTON SPORTS WRITER NLIVINGSTON@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM

Austin Hudson wants to savor the moments he has left at MacArthur. The senior wide receiver/cornerback enters his final season as a Highlander with few expectations, but with a load of effort.

    “He’s a small guy, but he’s an extremely hard worker,” Mac head coach Brett Manning said. “He made all of the summer workouts— even the ones past his required amount. He’s a good kid and works extremely hard.”

    That work ethic has translated into Hudson becoming a crucial part of a team that will look to senior leadership this season with many underclassmen picking up work at the skill positions.

    “I’m not the most talented person in the world, but I just want to show great leadership — being all in — and doing the little things right,” Hudson said.

    He takes his role as leader very seriously, and puts in hours with the younger players to make sure they understand what it means to be a Highlander too.

    “I have a bunch of the younger guy’s (phone) numbers, I go pick them up and we go work out and stuff like that,” Hudson said. “Over the summer we all came out here and threw the ball around. We run a lot of screens, so we just worked on a lot of screen stuff. Just kinda bonded with them a little bit.”

    Did it work? Did the younger players get the jist of things?

    “They are still young, but what are you going to expect,” Hudson said. “You just have to go out and show great leadership, and it will rub off on them. Like the year before with me, (the seniors) did that to me and that rubbed off on me.”

    Manning agreed that those comments are Hudson in a nutshell, which is why he has a spot on the team.

    “He finally has got himself into a position to get on the field and play and really take a leadership role for the team,” Manning said.

    For a player who loves the atmosphere the most about football, he doesn’t allow himself to be carried away by perhaps unachievable goals as others do.

    “I have no expectations,” Hudson said. “I don’t think I’m going to be talented enough to play college football, but I want to do something to where I can be around football like a physical therapist or a volunteer or something.”

    That future begins with his desire to attend the University of Oklahoma and learn something, but he wasn’t quite sure what that was yet.

    What is for sure is that he doesn’t want to rush anything, as the joys of senior year come only once in life.

    “The past years the season has gone by real fast because you don’t really think about it,” he said. “Every single day now I come to practice and I say, ‘Now I’m going through practice’ so it makes it seem longer. I don’t want it to end.”

HUDSON