Lawton High School cornerback AJ Adams races to bring down Deer Creek’s Lamoris Davis during last Friday’s game at Cameron Stadium. LHS visits Putnam West Friday.
Lawton High football coach Ryan Breeze met with The Lawton Constitution’s Kevin Green ahead of the Wolverines’ Friday night district matchup with Putnam City West on the road.
Breeze discussed the Deer Creek win, the quickness of the season and defending PC West.
Week 5 debrief
LHS used a big second half to hold off the Antlers last week, 34-17, but Breeze said he thinks it shouldn’t have been close to begin with.
The Wolverines scored on their first drive, which was followed by a defensive stop. They had a chance to take a double-digit lead, but the second and third drives stalled out despite several chunk plays.
That, in turn, allowed Deer Creek to hang around and grab a 17-14 lead going into halftime.
“What we wanted to do was go up 14 so they’d have to scrap their gameplan,” Breeze said. “We didn’t do that, so offensively, we were upset with the second and third possessions and not getting up 21-0.”
That changed in the second half, though, for LHS mustered a 20-0 run to end the game. A lot of the Wolverines’ momentum came from the recovered onside kick to begin the third quarter, and the defense provided plenty of insurance for the offense en route to the team’s first district win.
“That opening kickoff kind of got us rolling, and that got everyone fired up,” Breeze said. “We got a score, got the ball again and got a score, and now we’re up nine.
“Defensively, we played extremely well as a whole in the second half. The d-line played a lot better in the second half, and the linebackers tackled better. When they did throw it, we had a couple knockdowns, and Demarcus (Andrews) had the big pick on the goal line, and that was huge for us. It was our best defensive half of the year, and I think it was our best team half of the year. Now we want to try to build on that.”
Gone in a flash
The conclusion of last week’s games marked the halfway point of the regular season.
There’s no question the 2018 season has flown by like the many others preceding it, and teams are now focusing on some important matchups as the district standings begin shaking out.
Breeze said the busy weekly schedule contributes to the season going by so quickly.
“Monday is a JV game, so we’re hooked up,” Breeze said. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to have full practices on Mondays because we haven’t had a road JV game. Tuesday is a long workday, and we get after it. Wednesday, we shorten it up a little bit and go more special teams. And Thursday is a walkthrough, and Friday we play. When you’re in that routine, it absolutely flies by. Then you throw in a Thursday game, and you have one day less prep.
“We’re 50 percent done with the season. Once it starts, it’s like a flash.”
What to expect from PCW
This is the game LHS needed a week prior to the showdown with No. 1 Stillwater.
PC West enters the game with a 1-4 record, its only victory coming against Putnam City by a score of 23-0. If the Wolverines can take care of business and put the game out of reach early, it’ll serve as a nice tune-up for what’s coming next.
Breeze said PC West runs the flexbone, and he looks to take advantage of the Patriots’ inability to throw the ball well.
“We’ve gotta get them in 3rd-and-longs, and we gotta get up early and make them chase the lead,” Breeze said. “They don’t want to be forced to throw it and have to chase points. They want to ground out the game.”
LHS has experience against the flexbone, battling the likes of Ardmore and Altus early in the season.
Ardmore was just a scrimmage, but the results provided room for concern. Altus exposed those concerns when it rushed for 518 yards in a season-opening 45-35 win over the Wolverines.
Despite the Patriots’ inability to score — averaging only 15.6 points per game — Breeze said they are similar to Altus.
“PC West is as athletic as Altus, but Altus is better up front,” Breeze said. “PC West’s athletes have the ability to take it to the house, and in this offense, the o-line doesn’t have to be great. That is scary, but I feel like us having seen it before is huge. They’re athletic enough to where if you get unsound or if you miss your option responsibilities, they can make you pay in a hurry.”