A Year of the Spectacular!

By Byron Beers Associate Editor The 2007-08 year for high school sports in Eastern Oklahoma will be remembered by many as one for the ages. Some of the top individuals in their respective sports continued to dominate, breaking or matching state records, while some programs continued to add to their legacies. There wasn't much for change in 6A football, much like the previous 11 years. Jenks and Union were left battling it out for the state crown. Avenging a 43-42 overtime loss in the regular season, the Trojans bounced the Redskins 42-24 on the last day of November in Tulsa to capture their 12th title in school history. It was also Jenks' ninth championship in the last 12 years, a dynasty by all means. Cascia Hall was the only other school in the area to bring home the gold ball. Head coach Joe Medina led the Commandos to their third state title in school history and first since the 1999 season when they upended Heritage Hall 20-13 in the 2A finals at Putnam City. Perhaps the most dominate high school player in any sport in the state's history was perfect one more time in lifting Chelsea to the 3A fast-pitch softball state title with a 1-0 victory over Henryetta. Senior Kasha Kolb tossed her ninth perfect game of the season at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, registered a state-record 19th no-hitter and finished her career with a state-record 1,660 strikeouts. Kolb, who signed with Wichita State, helped lead the Dragons to a perfect 42-0 record along the way and did not allow a single earned run in 277 innings pitched. Red Oak also took the top prize in Class B by holding off Sentinel 8-7. Basketball fans from all over kept a close watch on Verdigris senior Rotnei Clarke and Pawnee senior Keiton Page as they worked their way up the state's all-time scoring list. Clarke went on to surpass Maud's Ty Harman and finished with 3,758 career points, while Page finished with 3,709, good for second all-time. Page owns the single-season scoring record with 1,287 points and scoring average at 44.4 per outing. Clarke directed the Cardinals to their first state title in 3A, and Page propelled the Bears to their second championship in four years in 2A. Neither Union nor Booker T. Washington had ever won state championships in girls basketball entering the 2007-08 season. But both the Lady Redskins and Lady Hornets put an end to that. Union, behind standout Lindsay Palmer, went unbeaten at 27-0 and stunned McDonald's All-American Alyssia Brewer and defending state champion Sapulpa 49-48 in the 6A finals. The Lady Hornets received 20 points from Taleya Mayberry and defeated Coweta 48-43 in the 5A title game. Tulsa Memorial, behind senior Blaise Staab, had perhaps the most impressive run of anyone in basketball. The Chargers captured their second state title in 6A since 2003 with a 55-46 victory over No. 2 Putnam City North. Memorial, which entered the state tourney as the No. 8 seed overall, won 17 of its final 18 games and eliminated the likes of top-ranked Putnam City and No. 4 Midwest City to reach the finals. On the mat, Broken Arrow took home the 5A dual state title. Drew Partain won his third individual state title, while Matt Bryan won his second. Sapulpa's Kyle Blevins also finished his career with three state titles. Catoosa and Cascia Hall were also impressive once again. The Indians, led by Dallas Bailey, won both the dual title and tournament championship in 4A. Bailey is a three-time state champion. Denny Clement and Kyle Cowan both secured titles for the Commandos in 2A. Owasso continued its baseball dominance in 6A, winning the school's 10th state championship and fifth in the last eight years under head coach Larry Turner. The Rams capped off their 34-2 record with a 5-2 victory over Moore in the finals. Bixby won its first title since 1978 with a 4-1 win over top-ranked Chickasha in 5A. Bobby Bundy carried Sperry to the 3A title as the Pirates erased Beggs 15-2 in the championship game. In girls soccer, Bishop Kelley doesn't know how to stop winning state championships. The Lady Comets recorded their 10th straight title and ninth straight under head coach Troy Tokarchik. Bishop Kelley defeated Booker T. Washington 1-0 in the 5A finals. Also winning soccer titles were the Union girls, Cascia Hall boys (third straight) and Booker T. Washington boys. Other impressive individual standouts in the spring were Chris Gordon, Abby Lewis, David Gordon, Stephen Carney and Crystal Reeves. Cascia Hall's Chris Gordon became just the fifth player in state tennis tournament history to win four straight single titles. Lewis (Bishop Kelley) ended her brilliant career with three state titles. David Gordon carried East Central to a 5A track state championship, winning four gold medals. Reeves (Broken Arrow) and Carney (Union) both won golf titles.