CACHE — Hayden Nunley’s humble answer caught Chet Pobolish off guard.
At a football camp in Weatherford this past summer, the Southwestern Oklahoma State head coach asked high school players what their goals were for the upcoming season.
Most players seeking to play at the next level answer Pobolish by stating their individual goals statistically and how it will lead to a college scholarship.
But not Cache senior sensation Hayden Nunley, whose answer stuck with Pobolish.
The answer stuck with Pobolish to the point that the Bulldogs’ coach had to flag down Hayden’s dad, Cache Athletic Director Lonnie Nunley, when the camp concluded.
“Your son gave me the most different answer than every other senior I asked,” Pobolish told Lonnie Nunley. “All seniors ever say is they want a college scholarship. That wasn’t your son’s answer.”
So what was the young Nunley’s answer that stood out to a college coach whose attention was being sought by countless players?
“I want to make it to the playoffs and to win some postseason games,” Hayden Nunley had told Pobolish. “I want my team to win.”
“I was a proud dad at that moment,” recalled Lonnie Nunley, who often has to wear the AD and dad hat simultaneously.
Tonight could be extra special for Hayden and Lonnie as the football program is looking to win its first playoff game since 1983 when No. 9 Cache (8-2) hosts No. 8 Blanchard (8-2) at Ulrich Stadium in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Thirty-five years seems like a weight, but the moment is not too big for these Bulldogs who are eager to re-write history with their #CodeofthePack motto.
“Ever since we made the playoffs our freshman year, it’s been a goal to get further and further. We’re trying to accomplish that this year because we feel like we should do it for more than just the team,” said Hayden Nunley, who has accounted for more than 1,300 yards of offense and 16 total touchdowns this season. “We want to do it for the community and the people who have been here so many years.”
‘God chose you to be first’
This past Sunday, Hayden brought his youngest sister, 10-year-old Maycee, along to surprise their 12-year-old sister, Payton, who was playing at a softball tournament in Chickasha.
On Payton’s first at-bat with her siblings watching, she hit a home run.
“I think Payton was a little excited that big brother was in the house,” Lonnie laughed.
It was role reversal for Payton, who is usually cheering on Hayden with Maycee.
“If I get tackled and take a few seconds to get up, Payton and Maycee are always the first ones to worry. And they’re always the first ones to tell me I played a good game,” Hayden said. “I love that. With everything I do, they look up to me and whatever happens to me, they’re always worried. I love their support and them being there for me.”
Hayden is about to graduate, but the eldest has left his mark on his younger sisters.
“They both think their big brother hung the moon,” Lonnie said. “He’s been pretty tough raising them, but Hayden loves them and raises them like two little brothers.”
Lonnie has two older brothers, including Mike Nunley, who is the athletic director for Edmond Public Schools.
“Growing up, my two brothers were my idols,” Lonnie said. “I thought they hung the moon and still do.”
Since Lonnie knows how important it is for younger siblings to have a role model, he and his wife Crystal have always preached one thing.
“God chose you to be first, Hayden,” Lonnie and Crystal told their firstborn child. “You’re supposed to be the role model and set the tone for them.”
In the same way Hayden has set the tone for his siblings, he has also set it for the Bulldogs, who have had a remarkable season to date a year after missing the playoffs.
“All eyes are on him all the time. Hayden handles that role well because he’s modest,” Cache head coach Faron Griffin said. “A lot of what Hayden does goes unnoticed around here — on and off the field, in the weight room. And we hold him accountable to be that leader for us because all these young guys look up to him.
“I hardly know Hayden’s voice because he doesn’t talk much. He just takes care of business.”
Putting the AD in dad
On Senior Night last Friday against Clinton, Lonnie Nunley’s mind was racing.
As emotional as the festivities were for the parents, it’s not easy for Nunley to process in the moment his son’s final regular season home game while juggling his athletic director duties.
“Sometimes I don’t have a chance to be a dad with my job,” Lonnie said. “I don’t get to sit back and appreciate some of the things my kid does so in those moments, but as a dad I love watching him play football. I’m Hayden’s biggest fan. There will be a time when this is all over where you go, ‘Man, I’m not going to get to watch him play high school sports anymore.’”
Hayden vividly remembers his dad — a longtime basketball coach — taking him to practice every day and doing every single drill, challenging him to become better.
“It’s pretty special,” Hayden said of their unique father-son relationship. “Ever since I was young, my dad always challenged me to be a better athlete than he was in high school. Ever since he’s challenged me to do that, I felt like I needed to do that to make him proud and prove to him who the real Nunley is.”
Most people are unaware of the pressure that goes hand in hand with being a coach’s son playing sports. Even those aware likely don’t showcase the bond Lonnie and Hayden share.
“Lonnie is real supportive and extremely proud of Hayden and that’s important for Hayden because he has a hard role to play,” Griffin said. “That relationship has to be great because if the dad isn’t supportive, the kid can crumble. I’ve seen it before.
“Their strong relationship is why Hayden has been successful not only in football but in baseball and basketball as well.”
Code of the Pack
Hayden has been on a bus with Lonnie since he was 2 years old.
Hayden — who was 4 years old when the Nunley’s left Apache for one year at Checotah before settling in Cache — sat on the bus right beside Cache defensive coordinator Tanner Thompson for four years back when the former SWOSU standout at linebacker played basketball for Lonnie.
When Thompson went to SWOSU — where he led the team with 87 tackles his junior year (2014) and ranked seventh in the Great American Conference — Hayden had a picture in his room of Thompson wearing No. 48.
“That’s who he wanted to be,” Lonnie said. “For Hayden getting the opportunity to play for someone he looked up to who also was his idol is really cool.”
The same way a young Hayden looked up to Thompson is the way many young Cache kids in the weekly “Bulldog Buddies” program are looking up to Nunley.
Nunley has a habit of breaking long touchdown runs. The explosive plays are all a blur to him.
“It’s just crazy,” Hayden said. “Like how is this happening? How did I even get in a position for this to even become a thing?”
Nunley busted a 96-yard run against Sulphur — unofficially the longest play in program history — and other long TD runs of 68 (Muenster), 80 (Elk City), 73 (Weatherford) and 65 (Elgin) yards this season. The past three weeks Nunley — who has thrown three touchdown passes this fall — has accounted for 489 yards of offense and 7 touchdowns.
As talented as Nunley is, he knows he wouldn’t have ample daylight to run without his impressive O-line.
“The guys up front sacrifice so much whether it’s in the weight room, on the field and especially up there on the chutes,” Nunley said. “They’re working every single day to make sure we have places to run. I could never be more grateful for them because they save me from so much.”
Lonnie has noticed this group has a special bond. If they aren’t bonding together on the weekends — whether that’s at Seth Wesaw’s house hanging out, eating spaghetti and playing Call of Duty or at the Nunley’s, they are talking to each other on headsets while playing Fortnite.
“They’re a special group,” Lonnie said. “Nobody thinks they're better or want the glory more than the other. They are simply best friends with one purpose. They want to be successful in the playoffs.”
Now this tight-knit team can smell the program’s first playoff victory since 1983.
“I really just have to say it’s the bond we’ve had that helps us play as one,” Hayden said. “If it wasn’t for our bond, I don’t think we would’ve come together and sacrificed as much for each other as we do now. I really think that drives us to be the best we can be.”