Football Previews

Bartlesville Head Coach Ron Smith has been coaching for 30 years, but only two of those for the Bruins. How is he going into this year's season? "We're going spread, a little counter," Smith said. "We're going to spread everybody out and find the gaps." The field general for the Bruins this year is going to be junior quarterback Clay Jenkins (5-foot-10, 175). "Jenkins is not just a good passer, but a good runner," added Smith. "He's pretty talented. He'll be handling the ball a lot. He started all 10 games last year at free safety," so he should understand the opposition's defense. While Smith is not sure of any starting running backs, he is keen on senior OT/DE Holden Mitchell (6-foot-4, 242). "He's the mainstay of our offensive line," Smith continued. While the line has its anchor, the wide receiver crew is bolstered by senior Jacus Dornbos (6-foot-0, 190) and sophomore Mike Thompson (5-foot-10, 170). "We should be able to move the ball offensively. We're happy with our skill players," Smith commented. Defensively, "for Bartlesville to be successful, we have to play better defense." Smith advised. Smith is running a 3-3-5, which he says a number of schools run. While the line is nailed down with Mitchell, the linebacker crew is led by three returning seniors: middle linebacker Tyler Edwards (5-foot-11, 195), outside linebacker Ethan Evans (6-foot-10, 210), and another outside backer Ben Powers (5-foot-10, 175). When asked if he was going to run a pure 3-3-5 with 5 defensive backs, or a knockoff where one of the backs is really a linebacker, Smith said Bartlesville will run a true 3-3-5. Three of those defensive backs that will nail down the backfield are senior Jon Hester (6-foot-1, 180), junior Luke Mitchell (5-foot-10, 175), and sophomore Bobby Dean (5-foot-11, 180). Smith mentioned, "To be able to be successful, you need to be able to adjust to the talent that you have. We've had a great off-season. We need to stay healthy. Last year, we couldn't stay healthy, but this year we're really excited about our season." To finish up, we asked Smith how he felt about this season. "We have the opportunity to be better than last year's team (3-7). Bartlesville is a great city with a great community." Look for the Bruins to make their city and community proud.