December 27, 2019 Issue, Page 18 of 18

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The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Friday, December 27, 2019 Yellowjackets good as advertised in blowout win over Elks By Don Munsch help you win a basketball Editor game, though, [such as] blocking out and rebound- Kingfisher’s boys basket- ing, we struggled with that ball team entered the Pio- against them.” neer Center on Dec. 20 with He said Kingfisher has a number one ranking in 4A. some athletes, but teams can in the state, and the Yellow- still try to block out. Ste- jackets left Elk City with the phens said he thinks King- top spot intact, earning an fisher will be hard to beat 87-47 victory against Elk going forward. City. “They’re not going to get With the loss, Elk City is beat till the state tourna- now 3-3 this season while ment, even if they get beat Kingfisher moved to 5-0. then,”Stephens said. “But The Yellowjackets, who are lim proud of my guys. We number one according to threw a lot of stuff at them OSSAA, won the 4A state and we competed and thats title last year. what we wanted to see.” The Elks could not man- The Yellowjackets took a age to stay with a Yellow- 12-5 lead in the first quarter, jacket team that can move but Nate Jarel cut the King- the ball well and hit the out- fisher lead to three, 12-8, side shot. Bijan Cortes led when he hit a trey with 3:36 all Kingfisher scorers with remaining. The Yellowjack- 20 points. ets then went on a 10-0 run, Elk City coach Sam Ste- prompting Stephens to call phens said he thought his time with 2:35 remaining. team competed for four Tres Hill drives the lane for Elk City in the Elk’s game against Kingfisher led 27-10 at the Kingfisher on Dec, 20. Photo by Jim Hodnett. quarters against the defend- end of the first quarter and ing champs. practice on Thursday and gling with is correctable, continued to pour it on, lead- will have a couple of scrim- and weire going to use this “We're not the only ing 44-21 at halftime. The team they’re going to beat mages during the holiday Christmas break time to Yellowjackets never let up break. hammer home some things by 40,” he said. “They’re in the second half, either. good. They’re number one “We've got things to and correct things. We’re Jarel led the Elks with 17 sharpen up, things to add going to be looking forward for a reason, but we had points. Tres Hill also scored and things to correct,” Ste- to the second part of the sea- some defensive schemes in double figures with 10 and I thought our guys did points for the Elks. phens said. “But the good son.” pretty well executing them thing about it is that every- at times. Simple things that The team came back to thing weire lacking or strug- Baylee Miller tries to move past a Kingfisher defender duri the game at the Pioneer Center on Dec. 20. Photo by Jim Hod- OU football: If the Sooners feel disrespect- Kingfisher takes ed, there’s a quick fix in the Peach Bowl By Berry Tramel ger than the OU head-coach- the no-respect card. I sup- That’s not exactly guar- The OMlahoman, Oklahoma City down Elkettes By Don Munsch ATLANTA - Double-digit ing spans of Bud Wilkinson, Barry Switzer or Stoops. But pose it can’t hurt. For the second straight year, OU is anteeing a victory. Not ex- actly exuding the confidence what those Sooners did that an historic underdog -- LSU shown by Stoops that week Editor underdogs. night in Miami Gardens is is a 13 1/2 -point favorite. before Florida State. Playing with the Heis- a reminder that OU’s fate is The only bigger underdog Of course, Stoops’ instilla- Elk City girls basketball coach Tim Ellison said it’s time man Trophy runner-up but not sealed, even if oddsmak- in the six-year CFP history tion of belief in those 2000 for his team to get a second wind. against the Heisman Trophy ers and recent history say than these Sooners? OU a Sooners occurred long be- The girls lost to Kingfisher 55-41 on Dec. 20 and won’t winner. have another game until Jan. 7. The Elkettes headed into the otherwise. year ago, 14 1/2 against fore OU hit Dade County. Burdened by a long line of Believe it or not, that 13-2 Alabama. The Crimson Tide Riley has either installed be- long Christmas break with a record of 0-6. failure. “We're going to give them about eight days off and just masterpiece was OU’s most won 45-34. lief by now, or it’s not com- Playing in foreign terri- recent playoff victory. But respect for the Soon- ing. recharge our batteries,” Ellison said. “You’ve got to find that tory. love for the game. Because it’s tough - we’ve been going The Sooners lost na- ers is not going to be earned “We're just coming in Facing an irresistible foe tional title games to LSU with attitude. It’s got to be ready to work and ready to since Oct. 1 and going hard. They’re been fighting. It’s just averaging 42 points a game. tough. We need to need to recharge our batteries.” (2003 season), Southern Cal earned with victory. go out there and execute and But enough ancient his- (2004) and Florida (2008). OU was NOT disrespect- do our job,” said linebacker Elllison said he didn’t care what the teamis record was at tory. Enough talk about the Lost College Football Play- ed going into the Clemson Kenneth Murray. “It doesn’t this point, that he loves his team and will keep ifighting with 2000 Sooners. Let’s talk them and for them.” off semifinals to Clemson Orange Bowl (the Sooners matter what the outside Peach Bowl. (2015), Georgia (2017) and were four-point favorites) or noise is.” Kingfisher led 5-1 early, but a Baylee Miller jumper with OU plays LSU on Sat- 4:50 left in the first quarter cut the lead to 5-3. Two No- Alabama (2018). That’s the Georgia Rose Bowl (2 Maybe the Sooners can urday with a script eerily a six-game playoff losing 1/2 -point underdogs). The follow the trek of the 2014 rie Flower’s buckets helped bring the Elkettes to within one similar to what Bob Stoops’ later in the quarter, 8-7. streak. Sooners led both at halftime. Ohio State Buckeyes. Sooners faced 19 years ago. That’s the stuff of the De- “We're a team that when Twelve years removed from But the game turned completely into the Lady Jacket’s fa- You know the rest. Okla- vor early in the second quarter, as Britt Taylor made three troit Lions (nine-game play- you ask everybody in this their previous national title. homa stunned Florida State off losing streak) or Cincin- room that’s been in a college Plagued by championship- 3-pointers in a row to give Kingfisher a 19-8 advantage. The 13-2 and the Sooner Renais- nati Bengals (eight-game football playoff, there’s a lot game defeats to Florida Lady Jackets went up by as many as 14 points in the second sance had taken flight. playoff losing streak). more hands that are up than (2006) and LSU (2007). quarter, but the Elekttes were able to cut the Kingfisher lead There will be no repeat of to 12 at the half, 27-15. But these Sooners don’t aren’t,” Riley said. But the ‘14 Buckeyes, 9 1/2 13-2. That kind of score no Elk City never made a significant charge in the second have to be bound by history. “So we're a team that’s -point underdogs to Alabama longer exists on the college “We're a lot different team been there. We know what and 6 1/2 -point underdogs half, as the Lady Jackets led by 19 at one point in the third gridiron. If only 15 points than we were in the past,” this is like. We know what to to Oregon, beat both, won period and led 42-25 at the end of three quarters. are scored in the Peach “Kingfisher is a pretty good team, and They’re so big, and Lincoln Riley says. “And expect. We’re certainly play- the national title and ended Bowl, American airports each team is different. But ing a great football team, all talk of the Buckeyes not we donit deal well with big,” Ellison said. will close. Too much danger The Lady Jacket’s treys in the first half helped set the tone, we're confident that when but we think they’re playing winning the big one. of mid-air crashes with el- we play our best ball, great a pretty darn good football Can these Sooners to do Ellison said. ephants. “T thought we kind of hung in there and kind of made some things happen regardless of team, too. And so (we) don’t the same and end all talk of That Orange Bowl in Janu- who we're playing.” get caught up too much in disrespect? 3s and did some things at the end of the game to make it kind ary 2001 was long ago. Lon- Riley has taken to playing national perceptions.” of respectable,” he said. Basketball roundup: Merritt boys split contests; Canute Thru the month of girls Bywin Don Munsch two games December as Editor 19 points in the game played on Dec. 17. Kierstyn Strain and Haley Schreck each our gift to you! had 12 points. Boys Canute 69, Duke 44 Merritt, 59, Sweetwater 33 Schreck led all Trojanettes with 18 points. Come in today to Christian Skelton led all Oilers with 12 Kylie Savage had 17 points, while Faylor see one of our points in a game played on Dec. 17. Trever had 16 points and Sydney Thrasher had 11 Fowler also scored in double figures for associates and see what points for the game played on Dec. 19. we can do for you! Merritt with 11 points. Elk City Middle School: Fort Cobb 57, Merritt 39 Anadarko 54, Elk City 7 (eighth grade) Rylan Givens led the Oilers with 12 Kamdryn Walter, Ceanna Bagby and Bri- points for the game played on Dec. 20. anna Butler all had 2 points for Elk City. Fowler added 10. Elk City 47, Anadarko 46 (seventh grade) Girls Abigail led all scorers with 28 points. Canute 50, Arapaho 41 Maliah David added 8 points in the win- Madison Faylor led all Trojanettes with ning cause.