By Ron Holt
After receiving an unexpected game cancellation last Friday, Bixby’s top-rated Spartans expect to return to action Friday, Oct. 30, when Ponca City visits Lee Snider Stadium for a Class 6AII-District 2 battle. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
A day before Bixby (6-0, 4-0) was to visit Muskogee last week, the Roughers cancelled the game as a coronavirus precaution. It was Bixby’s second lost varsity game in this uncertain season.
Ponca City, coached by Scott Harmon, dropped a 34-7 home contest with Booker T. Washington last week. The Wildcats are 3-4 overall and 2-3 in district play.
This season, Ponca City lost at home to. Enid (19-17), won at Tulsa McLain (23-22), lost at home to Sand Springs (35-10), lost at Choctaw (20-14), defeated Putnam City West (21-7) and won at Bartlesville (10-7) before the Washington setback.
Against Booker T. Washington, the Wildcats and Hornets were tied 7-7 at halftime before the Hornets broke the game open in the second half. Washington returned a punt for a touchdown while also returning a fumble recovery for a TD.
Ponca City’s lone score came on a 69-yard drive featuring the running of 5-8, 160-pound sophomore Blake Bristow and 5-6 sophomore running back Cameron Jackson. Bristow scored on a 29-yard burst. Grant Harmon, a 5-7, 155-pound sophomore and son of the head coach, quarterbacks the Wildcats.
“Ponca City just keeps improving under Coach Harmon’s leadership. They play a tough physical brand of football,” Bixby head coach Loren Montgomery said of the Wildcats. “They are very well coached, and their kids played hard.
“They have been in the game against every team they’ve played and traditionally give us a great game. Our guys need to be prepared coming off a bye week,” he added.
Defensive back Devin Zimmerschied, a 5-10, 175-pound junior, paces Ponca City’s defense with 50 total tackles this season, including 37 solo stops. He has 10 tackles for a loss and one sack. Linebacker Elijah Phillips has 54 total tackles, five for a loss, and linebacker Devon KillsCrow has 48 total tackles.
Tyson Dewberry, a 5-11, 164-pound junior defensive backs, has intercepted six passes this season and has been credited with nine passes defensed.
NOTABLES – Bixby has won 31 consecutive games. … In MaxPreps national high school rankings, Bixby is ranked No. 46. … The Spartans’ regular season ending game at home against Booker T. Washington in two weeks is scheduled to be nationally televised by ESPNU. The game should help decide the district champion. … Last season, Bixby defeated Ponca City, 49-3, in a game also played at Lee Snider Stadium. Bixby finished with 396 yards of total offense while Ponca City was limited to 46 total yards. Spartan quarterback Mason Williams passed for 141 yards and three touchdowns while Braylin Presley rushed for 120 yards on nine carries and one TD while also returning a punt for a touchdown. …
DISTRICT OUTLOOK – In last week’s district games, Bartlesville routed Putnam West (52-8) and Choctaw knocked of Sand Springs (34-9). In other league games Friday, Booker T. Washington is supposed to host Muskogee, Choctaw visits Putnam West and Bartlesville visits Sand Springs. …
Bixby leads the district while Tulsa Washington (6-2, 3-1) and Choctaw (5-3, 4-1) remain in contention with two league games remaining. Besides Washington at Bixby, other final regular season district games Nov. 6 include Bartlesville (3-5, 2-3) at Choctaw, Sand Springs (4-4, 2-3) at Putnam City West (0-6, 0-3) and Muskogee (0-6, 0-3) visiting Ponca City.
