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Monday, October 1, 2007
Pure Power
Eastern Oklahoma, OK
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The Blankenship name is one to remember for area high school football. This father-son combination has been responsible for many highlight films and will continue to do so. Of course, the Blankenship’s – Bruce and Colton – are helping lead the Metro Christian Patriots toward their goal of a District 3A-3 championship and beyond.
Bruce Blankenship (no relation to Bill Blankenship of the University of Tulsa) made a name for himself playing wide receiver for Memorial High School in the 1970’s. He was offered a scholarship to Oklahoma State where he played tight end on the 1976 Big 8 Championship team. (For the youngsters, the Big 8 preceded the Big 12 and was made up of OU, OSU, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado.) From there, Bruce was signed by the 49’ers and then spent some time with the St. Louis Cardinals before injury ended his tenure in the National Football League.
So currently, you can find Bruce working as a lay coach for Metro where his son Colton is having a breakout year as a receiver. Patriot head coach Jay Wilkinson said, “Bruce is amazing. Here’s a guy who works 8 to 5 yet never misses a practice, meeting, event or anything. He doesn’t get paid but never passes up a chance to help our kids get better.”
Bruce is working as the defensive line coach for a team that had not surrendered a point through the first two weeks of play. When asked why he simply stated, “I knew they were a little short-handed and I just wanted to do my part to pass on some of what I knew and what I had learned. I love to be part of watching them learn the game and grow into young men.”
Although Bruce doesn’t coach the receivers, Colton still gets some of dad’s pointers and tricks of the trade. “He (Colton) doesn’t ride home with me anymore so we don’t talk about it in the car, but he listens and wants to learn how to improve.” Wilkinson echoes those sentiments. “Colton is having a breakout year. He has grown from about 5-foot-10 to about 6-foot-2 and has filled out to 190. He always stays after practice to catch extra balls.” That commitment is paying off, not just for Colton, but the whole team.
The Patriots are averaging 50 points a game and Colton compliments a stable of receivers and two quarterbacks. Jason Robison and Andrew Rice are seniors who have come in and made a definite impact in the four receiver offense Wilkinson uses. Robison has thrown for nine touchdowns in two games and when Rice comes in he moves out to receiver. Three senior receivers have drawn a lot of defensive attention and allowed Blankenship to do some damage on inside routes.
Speedster David Fitter is a constant deep threat. “Teams always know where he is lining up,” Wilkinson. Ryan Nussbaum lines up as the other outside receiver and Taylor King does duty opposite Blankenship as another interior threat. This has allowed the Patriots to rack up 652 yards and 12 touchdowns through two games.
So what is most valuable about having a dad who has walked in your shoes? “He has taught me to never give up. No matter how many times people tell you, you can’t do something, you just keep working at it and you can make it up. He also tells me to go all out till the whistle blows. I didn’t always do that before, but now I really focus on it.” It sounds like for this talented team, dad’s advice is sound and something we could all live by.
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Katie Dark
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