Lawton High football coach Ryan Breeze met with The Lawton Constitution’s Kevin Green ahead of the Wolverines’ matchup tonight at 7 p.m. on the road against Putnam City (0-9, 0-6).
Breeze discussed the Del City loss, playoff scenarios and the usage of recently acquired bond money.
Week 9 debrief
Going into last week, LHS had been competitive in its three losses.
Against Altus in the season opener on Aug. 30, the Wolverines overcame an early 14-point deficit to take a 27-17 lead in the third quarter before the Bulldogs rattled off 28 of the next 35 points. Altus is now ranked No. 5 in Class 5A.
LHS held two double-digit leads against Midwest City in the district opener on Sept. 20, and the teams went back-and-forth for most of the game until the Bombers scored 15 unanswered in the fourth quarter to take the win. Midwest City is ranked No. 3 in Class 6A-II heading into the final week.
Then, nursing a four-point advantage, the Wolverines were seconds away from upsetting No. 1 Stillwater on Oct. 12, but a pass interference penalty on the final play of the game led to an untimed-down touchdown for the Pioneers.
All of those were close calls, but last Thursday night was a different story.
Del City handed LHS its largest deficit of the season (19-0) only five minutes into the game, and though the Wolverines got within five in the second quarter, it never quite felt as if they were in control.
Jahkobie Smith threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jack Foreman with 37 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Eagles a 34-21 lead after a successful 2-point conversion.
It was all Del City from there, as it sprinted to a 55-28 victory at Cameron Stadium.
Chateau Reed intercepted a pass and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown with 8:55 remaining in the second quarter, but that would be LHS’s last score until 5:16 left in the game — nearly 28 minutes of game time.
To make matters worse, the offense went scoreless for nearly 31 minutes of game time.
Despite the result, Breeze said there were some positives taken from the humbling experience.
“When most people get down like that at the start, they roll over,” Breeze said. “We didn’t, and we fought hard. Del City played extremely well, but not much else could’ve gone wrong for us.”
Playoff scenarios
The Wolverines might not have a winning district record at the moment, but one thing they do have is security.
Regardless of what happens this week against Putnam City, LHS is locked in at fourth place in District 6A-II-1. It is the only team in the district that knows where it’s going for the first round of the playoffs.
If Del City beats Stillwater on Friday, those two teams and Midwest City will be in a three-way tie for first with one district loss. District points will decide the district champion and remaining order in that scenario.
A Stillwater win earns the Pioneers the district title and the class’s only undefeated record, and the Bombers and Eagles would finish second and third in that order.
“If Del City plays like they did against us, Del City beats them,” Breeze said. “I think Del City will score points because they’re tough to defend. It’ll be interesting to see if Del City can slow Stillwater down — I think that’ll be the deciding factor.”
This is the first time the Wolverines have finished fourth since 2005. That year, they went on to lose to Edmond Santa Fe, 49-11, in the first round, finishing with a record of 7-4.
This time around, it means a trip to No. 2 Bixby.
The Spartans (8-1, 6-0) have already clinched the District 2 title, and their only hiccup came in a Week Zero loss to Class 6A-I No. 2 Jenks, 28-14.
Bixby sports the class’s second-best offense based on points per game at 42, trailing only Stillwater (44.8).
The Spartans have the best defense, though, having allowed only 101 points through nine games (11.2 ppg). Stillwater is the closest, allowing 36 more points on the season for an average of 15.2.
That doesn’t bode well for LHS in either facet.
The Wolverines have 6A-II’s fifth-worst defense, allowing 34 points per game. Only Putnam City West, Bartlesville, Shawnee and Putnam City are worse.
LHS makes up for their lack of defense with a high-powered offense that averages 37.9 points per game, but it hasn’t faced a roadblock like Bixby.
The Wolverines will be a clear underdog, but Breeze is optimistic about his team’s chances for an upset.
“We still feel confident that we can play with anybody,” Breeze said. “Bixby is very, very comparable to Stillwater; very good up front. We’re going to have to play well to win and play our best ball, and we’ve talked about how once we get in the playoffs, records don’t matter. We’re in the “elite eight”, so they’re going to be good.
"It’s obviously not the best draw in the world, but we’re going to put together a game plan and go win.”
Spending bond money
LHS will be getting some upgrades in the near future.
Lawton voters approved a $99.5 million bond on Nov. 14 last year, with nearly $46 million going to demolition and re-creation of Eisenhower Middle School.
The remaining $53.5 million was dispersed across the district for various projects, and the Wolverines athletic department was given about $11,000, according to Breeze.
Breeze said the funds will be used to make improvements in the weight room, which is located in the fieldhouse on the eastside of the school.
“We’re trying to buy some new weight equipment — leg curls and leg extension machines — get us a little upgrade there,” Breeze said. “Some people buy uniforms, but our uniforms are like $25,000.”