This is one of the few times Lawton High tailback Miles Davis was stopped for little gain by a group of Eisenhower players including from lower left, Derrick Simmons, Ishmail Garcia, Mark Berry and Isaac McLennan. But Davis had plenty of highlights, the best a 68-yard touchdown scamper to help the Wolverines take early command en route to their 42-13 victory at Cameron Stadium on Friday.
Lawton High football coach Ryan Breeze met with The Lawton Constitution’s Kevin Green ahead of the Wolverines’ district opener on Thurday against Class 6A-II No. 4 Midwest City (2-1) on the road.
The game was moved from its original Friday slot in anticipation of inclement weather. Kickoff remains at 7 p.m.
The first-year coach talked about the win over Eisenhower, Great American Rivalry Series honors, postgame catering and the Associated Press rankings.
Week 3 debrief
Another year, another predictable LHS win over Ike.
The Wolverines (2-1) took care of business early, defeating the Eagles, 42-13, at Cameron Stadium on Friday night. The win marked the 10th-straight victory for LHS over the city’s westside team, stretching the average margin of victory to 36.8 points.
Breeze said he was pleased his team got off to a good start for the first time this season.
"We wanted to play with a lead, and we were able to jump up 29-0 on them," Breeze said. "That was our first time all year to have a lead. It was kind of nice to play with the lead.”
Despite the convincing win, Breeze said he knows the team can’t get complacent and there’s a lot of work to do before it’s ready for a matchup with district rival Midwest City.
The teams have split the last eight meetings, but the Bombers have claimed the last two victories by a combined score of 61-52.
“We went into half madder than heck,” Breeze said. “We’re up 35-13 on our rival, but we wanted a shutout. The scores we gave up were cheap, but it was a lot of fun and we got to play a lot of kids.
“The (Ike) game got sloppy at times, though, especially in the third quarter. We need to clean that up because we'll need to play four full quarters of football this week against Midwest City. We're going to have to eliminate some penalties and play four quarters of solid football."
GARS award winners
There was a great deal of excitement surrounding the Great American Rivalry Series (GARS) and its involvement in the final intracity game of the season, and the organization didn’t disappoint.
GARS handed out several awards, rewarding both skills on the football field and classroom dedication.
The Scholar Athlete Award went to the most studious senior from each team, and kicker Daniel Kim was the LHS selection.
“Kim is going to be Valedictorian,” Breeze said. “Hector Becerra talked him into playing because he’s a soccer player, and he has a good leg. He loves it — he’s ate up with it. He was a little apprehensive at first, but he’s having a blast.
“I think in the Mac game, he actually had a tackle. He stuck his nose in there and made a tackle.”
Ike’s selectee was Derek Coleman.
Miles Davis was named the game’s MVP after a 222-yard, one-touchdown night on only 15 carries. Through three games, Davis has rushed for 573 yards and four touchdowns on 84 carries, averaging 191 yards per game and about 6.8 yards per carry.
“He ran hard and had that 68-yarder on the third play of the game,” Breeze said. “It’s 3rd-and-one, we’re trying to just get the first down, but he breaks a tackle and outruns them for 68. It’s good to see him shake loose for the long ones.”
GARS also recognized a pair of all-time great who participated in the rivalry, again picking one from each school.
Former LHS and University of Oklahoma standout Antonio Perkins made the trip back to Lawton alongside his family to accept his induction into the rivalry’s “Hall of Fame.”
Martin Chase was the Eagles’ inductee.
Breeze said it was cool reuniting with his former touchdown buddy from high school.
“He really made me look good when I was a junior (1999),” Breeze said. “His family and my family have been friends for a long time, so it was good to see him and his mother again. He was a heck of a player.”
Although Perkins has enjoyed quite a bit of success and fame in the 18 years since he graduated from LHS, Breeze said the former OU star and NFL player never forgot their bond.
“Oh no, no way,” Breeze said. “He was fired up about it — he couldn’t wait to come down. Obviously, he was a phenomenal player having played in the NFL, but he’s a good man. He thought he was going to the NBA when we were growing up. We talked him into playing X receiver here, and he was a three-year starter and turned out to be Division I.
“He was also a three-year starter in basketball and was a state qualifier in track. He was a freak athlete.”
Dinner of champions
After retaining the city championship, the Wolverines were no doubt hungry for something other than Eagles.
Luckily for them, Breeze’s connections run deep.
Marlin Owens, a friend and former teammate of Breeze, owns SOL Catering, and he served the players, coaches and trainers to several delicious dishes to help them celebrate and dine like (city) champions.
“He’s been bugging me about wanting to feed us,” Breeze said. “So he came down and fed us after the game. We had ribs, smoked wings, shrimp, bacon-wrapped brats — oh my, it was so good. It was a cool little deal.”
No respect in the polls
LHS entered the season ranked No. 4 in the Class 6A-II AP poll, but after a 45-35 loss to then-unranked Altus of 5A in Week 1 the Wolverines predictably dropped out of the poll.
After defeating then- 5A No. 5 MacArthur, 41-32, the next week, though, LHS once again received some votes, rising to No. 9. Now, despite dismantling Ike, the Wolverines are once again unranked, sitting behind four opponents in their district (No. 1 Stillwater, No. 4 Midwest City, No. 5 Del City and No. 7 Choctaw).
Voters can select only their top five teams on the 6A-II ballot because the class consists of only 16 teams. Any teams listed below No. 5 in the official poll is unofficially ranked and placed according to the number of votes received by each.
Breeze acknowledged his team hasn’t done quite enough to earn the respect of the voters — The Constitution’s Kevin Green included — but that could soon change.
“We want to be No. 1 — that’s where we want to be,” Breeze said. “But obviously we’re not going to be there after losing to Altus in Week 1. We don’t deserve to be in the Top 5. If we win this week, we’ll be there.”