Altus' Garrett Pride tackles MacAurthur's Ryan Andrews (3) with Tyreke Fleming (43) and Daniel Riley (22) in hot pursuit on Friday night.
MacArthur coach Brett Manning met with The Lawton Constitution’s Kevin Green ahead of the Highlanders’ Thursday night matchup with Noble.
Manning discussed the close loss to Altus, practicing in colder weather and his reaction to Lawton High’s last-second loss to Stillwater.
Week 7 debrief
Mac suffered its fourth loss of the season last week, but this one was different.
Aside from the LHS game in Week 2, the Highlanders’ losses haven’t been competitive on the scoreboard. Against Clinton and Ardmore, Mac averaged only 13 points while surrendering 35.5 points per game.
Although Altus surpassed the average with 37 points, the Highlanders kept it close, managing 30 points — 23 in the second half — against a Bulldogs defense that was allowing about 16.2 points per game.
Only the Wolverines scored more points against the Bulldogs, putting up 35 points in the 10-point loss.
Manning said quarterback Racer Felter’s performance has a lot to do with Mac’s offensive success. The junior accounted for 380 yards passing and two touchdowns to go along with two rushing scores.
“He’s making good decisions and knowing when to throw it away,” Manning said. “He’s not making bad throws that end up interceptions, and our receivers are doing a really good job. We felt like our receivers against their corners was an advantage of ours, and we made those plays.”
Despite the 3-4 record, Manning said he remains positive in his team.
“Mentally and emotionally, I feel good about our team,” Manning said. “We stayed positive through several losses and tough times in games themselves, and I’m proud of them for that. I think our senior leadership is really good, and our goal is to win out and get to third place in the district.
“I feel like we’re in a better spot right now than we were several weeks ago, and that’s what good teams do. They continue to get better and better and better, and they’re tough to beat at the end of the year.”
Cold weather moves in
Cold weather arrived in Lawton on Monday, and with temperatures lingering in the low-mid 40s, Mac was forced to practice in conditions it wasn’t quite used to.
Manning said the practice routine wasn’t going to change to help the players get acclimated to the cold, though.
“Football is one of those sports where you have to deal with extreme heat, and eventually you’re going to have to deal with some pretty cold weather, also,” Manning said. “Football covers it all. I’m sure they’ll have their hoodies on and sweatpants, but a lot of them don’t understand that they don’t really need to be bundling up. Forty-three is pretty cold, but when you’re out there running, you’re gonna end up sweating if you put on a lot of stuff.”
The forecast for Thursday night’s game at Cameron Stadium is slated to feature temperatures in the mid-50s with a 46 percent chance on rain at kickoff.
Role reversal
Although Mac’s rivalry with LHS on the gridiron is on the backburner until next season, Manning likes to keep up with how the other city schools do throughout the season.
So sure enough, he saw the video of Stillwater’s Gunnar Gundy finding Anthony Bland in the end zone on the final play of the game against the Wolverines, giving the Class 6A-II No. 1 Pioneers a 23-20 win.
The sequence gave Manning flashbacks to the Highlanders’ 41-32 loss to LHS in which Racer Felter was intercepted in the end zone by Chateau Reed, who returned it 100 yards for a walk-off touchdown.
Had that play resulted in a touchdown for Mac, it would’ve cliched a 38-35 victory and the city championship for the Highlanders.
“It was kind of the reverse of how they beat us,” Manning said. “It was the same type of deal because we’re throwing it in the end zone to win the game. They picked ours, and Stillwater caught theirs. It was an unbelievable catch.”