B2  Wednesday, December 11, 2019  THE OKLAHOMAN | OKLAHOMAN.

COM

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL C O N TAC T U S

Wright brothers leading

The Oklahoman Jeff Patterson, Sports Editor
Sports Department Phone: 405-475-3333
Phone: 405-475-3314 Email:

Vian behind stellar defense

Fax: 405-475-3315 jpatterson@oklahoman.com
Email: NICSportsDesk@
oklahoman.com oklahoman.com/sports

By Cameron Jourdan
Staff writer
cjourdan@oklahoman.com
VIAN – When speaking
of the Wright brothers, it
has a different meaning in
Vian.
Elijah, a senior, and
Solomon, a junior, are
leaders on Vian’s football
team. The brothers, who
are the sons of former
Oklahoma State star and
NFL linebacker Kenyatta
Wright, take flight every
Friday night, leading
a tenacious Wolverine
defense to dominate
opponent after opponent.
On Saturday, the duo
leads No. 2-ranked Vian
to UCO’s Wantland
Stadium for a 7 p.m. bout
with No. 1 Tulsa Metro
Christian for the Class
2A state championship.
The Wolverines are look-
ing for their second title
in school history but
HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK
will have
to rely
on their
defense
to stop
a potent
Kenyatta Metro
Wright Christian
offense.
“Vian has always had
a tradition based on an
attacking-style defense,”
Kenyatta, who’s an assis-
tant coach, said. “That’s
something that we rely
on. We figured out early
on that we’re not the type
to sit back and let quar-
terbacks pick us apart.”
That aggressive
defense has resulted in
Vian’s first champion-
ship game appearance
since 2006.
Along with the Wright
brothers, Gunnar Griffith
and Xavin Lackey all have
more than 100 tackles
on the season. Of those
four, all but Griffith have
at least 10 sacks. Vian’s
starting defense hasn’t
allowed a touchdown
since Oct. 25, a Week 8
bout with Tulsa Holland
Hall.
At 13-1, Vian’s lone loss
came in Week 2 on Sept.
13 to eventual Class 3A
state champion, Tulsa
Lincoln Christian. After
Vian tied the game at 18
on a field goal, Lincoln
Christian returned the
ensuing kickoff for a
touchdown for the win-
ning score.
The 25 points is the
most Vian has allowed
and the fewest the
Bulldogs scored all year.
“Our defense has been
good all year,” coach
Gary Willis said. “Fast,
flying to the ball. The
strength of ours in the
defensive front is a big
part of that.”
In Vian’s semifinal vic-
tory against Kingston,
the Wolverines held the
Redskins without a first
down until there was 1:40
left in the third quarter.
The defensive strength
starts with the Wright
brothers. This is their
second season at Vian.
Kenyatta was coaching
at Fort Gibson before
accepting a job at Vian,
which helped him go back
home, and his sons are
flourishing on the same
field he did.
Kenyatta’s teams never
made it to a state cham-
pionship game, but he’s
quick to remind his sons
they had good guid-
ance to help them earn a
chance to bring home a
gold ball.
“I joke with them
that they wouldn’t have
made it all the way to
state without me here,”
Kenyatta said while
laughing. “They’ve got
to give me credit there.”
TUNING IN
WEDNESDAY
NBA
6 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Toronto ESPN (Cox 29)
8:30 p.m. New Orleans at Milwaukee ESPN (Cox 29)
9 p.m. OKC at Sacramento FSOK (Cox 37)/WWLS-AM
640/98.1 FM
NBA G-LEAGUE
7 p.m. Salt Lake at OKC KINB-FM 105.3
NHL
6 p.m. Boston at Washington NBCSN (Cox 251)
8:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Colorado NBCSN (Cox 251)
GOLF
4:30 p.m. Presidents Cup GOLF (Cox 60)
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
6 p.m. Tulsa at Arkansas SECN (Cox 275)
7 p.m. Iowa at Iowa State FS1 (Cox 67)
MEN’S SOCCER
11:20 a.m. Club vs. Hienghene FS2 (Cox 265)
11:55 a.m. UEFA League TNT (Cox 31)
2 p.m. UEFA League TNT (Cox 31)
RODEO
9 p.m. Wranglers National Finals CBSS (Cox 249)
 
THURSDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL
7 p.m. Dematha, MD vs. Montverde, FL ESPNU (Cox
253)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
6 p.m. Home Depot Awards ESPN (Cox 29)
NFL
7:20 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Baltimore KOKH-25 (Cox 12)/
NFLNET (Cox 252)/AM 1560/FM 107.7 JIP

Ferguson Jenkins, Michele Smith

NBA
7 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston TNT (Cox 31)
9:30 p.m. Portland at Denver TNT (Cox 31)

2019 Award winners announced GOLF

6 p.m. Presidents Cup
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
GOLF (Cox 60)

7 p.m. Iowa at Iowa State ESPN2 (Cox 29)

The winners of the
annual Ferguson Jenkins
Award and Michele Smith
Award were announced
Tuesday.
The awards are pre-
sented annually to the
state's top high school
baseball and softball play-
ers and coaches based on
athletic and scholastic
achievement. The awards
will be presented as part of
the Warren Spahn Award
Gala on Jan. 31 at The
Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma
City.
Baseball winners
include Westmoore's
Jace Bohrofen, Mustang's
Daxton Fulton, Norman's
Cade Horton, Edmond
Santa Fe's Dominic
Johnson and Owasso's Nate
Wohlegmuth. Outstanding
coach is Edmond Santa Fe's
Ryan Phillips.
Softball winners include
Purcell's Katelyn Carwile,
Broken Arrow's Savannah
Evans, Owasso's Paige
Knight, Southmoore's
Mikayla Smith and
Newcastle's McKenzie
Wagoner. Outstanding
coach is Newcastle's Mike
Crossley.
Washington Nationals
ace Patrick Corbin will
receive the Warren Spahn
Award at the event.
The award is presented
annually to the best left-
handed pitcher in Major
League Baseball.
 
Mustang hires Lacy
Darity as head coach
Lacy Darity was
Lacy Darity spent the past three seasons at Deer Creek before being announced as
Mustang’s new fastpitch softball coach Monday. [DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN]
announced Monday as
Mustang’s fastpitch soft-
ball coach.
Darity was the head
coach at Deer Creek the
past three seasons and
had a 72-31 record. She
said it was a tough deci-
sion to leave the Edmond
school.
“At the end of the day,
I just felt like this was an
opportunity that doesn’t
come around very often,”
she said.
Darity was a three-year
starter at Oklahoma State,
where she graduated in
2007. She starred in soft-
ball, track and field and
basketball at Velma-Alma
High School.
Darity said Mustang is a
perfect fit.
“Mustang is kind of
unique in that it’s a big
school, but the town itself
has kind of a small-town
vibe,” she said. “That’s
what I’m used to, being
from Velma – a very small
town.”
 
Former Tulsa Holland Hall
star CJ Thompson named
NJCAA All-American
Former Tulsa Holland
Hall star CJ Thompson
was named a National
Junior College Athletics
Association All-American
on Tuesday.
Thompson, a red-
shirt sophomore at
Northeastern Oklahoma
A&M College, was voted
a second-team All-
America defensive back.
He went to Division II
Fort Hays in Kansas out
of high school but then
transferred to NEO.
This season, Thompson
collected five intercep-
tions, which ranked
first in Region 14, and 62
tackles along with three
fumble recoveries.
Cameron Jourdan
and Nick Sardis,
Staff writers
RODEO
9 p.m. Wranglers National Finals CBSS (Cox 249)
MORNING ROUNDUP
Washington Nationals’ Howie Kendrick hits a two-run
home run against the Houston Astros during the seventh
inning in Game 7 of the World Series in Houston on Oct. 30.
[AP PHOTO/ERIC GAY]
Gomes, Kendrick
officially back to World
Series champ Nationals
Doing their best to keep Dallas Stars fire coach for
as much of their World unprofessional conduct
Series roster intact as
possible, the Washington The Dallas Stars fired
Nationals announced second-year coach Jim
they re-signed catcher Montgomery on Tuesday,
Yan Gomes and infielder citing unspecified unpro-
Howie Kendrick on fessional conduct in a
Tuesday, a day after surprising blow to one of
bringing back Stephen the preseason favorites
Strasburg for $245 million. in the NHL's Western
Gomes agreed to a $10 Conference.
million, two-year con- General manager Jim
tract with salaries of $4 Nill said Montgomery
million next year and $6 had acted inconsistently
million in 2021. Kendrick with “core values and
is guaranteed $6.25 mil- beliefs of the Dallas Stars
lion under a deal that and the National Hockey
includes a $4 million League.” He did not

Patrick Reed still the talk of Presidents Cup
By Doug Ferguson
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE,
Australia — As if being
the first playing captain in
25 years at the Presidents
Cup weren’t enough, Tiger
Woods filled yet another
role Tuesday at Royal
Melbourne.
This wasn’t necessarily
by design.
Woods had Patrick Reed
in his group for the first
full practice round for a
U.S. team still trying to
shake off the jet lag from
a 23-hour flight from the
Bahamas.
“It’s always great play-
ing with Tiger because he
kind of frees you up,” Reed
said. “Everyone’s focused
on what Tiger’s doing.”
Woods got plenty of love
from the fans, many fear-
ing they might never get a
chance to see him Down
Under after his career was
in jeopardy from four back
surgeries. Woods won
the Australian Masters at
nearby Kingston Heath in
2009 and made the clinch-
ing putt in 2011 the last
time the Presidents Cup
was at Royal Melbourne.
Not that Reed was
ignored.
He was the biggest topic
on the first day of inter-
views because of his rules
violation last week at the
Hero World Challenge
when he twice scooped
away sand behind his ball
while playing from a waste
area. Reed was penalized
two shots after seeing the
video. He says it wasn’t
intentional and he wasn’t
helped; he didn’t feel or
see his club scrape back
the sand; and the camera
angle didn’t show his
club far enough behind
the ball.
Fans didn’t wait until
the start of the matches
Thursday to needle him.
Reed played in a four-
some with Woods, Justin
Thomas and Patrick
Cantlay. As he prepared
to tee off, a fan in the
bleachers said, “Now on
the tee, The Excavator.”
salary next year and a $6.5
million mutual option for
2021 with a $2.25 million
buyout.
The 32-year-old Gomes
split catching duties in
2019 with Kurt Suzuki and
hit .223 with 12 homers
and 43 RBIs in his first
season in Washington.
Kendrick, 36, batted
.344 with 17 home runs
and 62 RBIs during the
regular season, then was a
major reason the Nationals
won the franchise's first
championship. He is
expected to spend time at
first base and second base
next season.
elaborate.
Nill said he became
aware Sunday of an act
by Montgomery and the
decision to fire him came
after an internal inves-
tigation that included
discussions with the
team's general counsel.
Nill said only that it was
not because of a criminal
act, had no connection to
players, past or present,
and didn't involve another
employee of the team.
Nill, who hired
Montgomery, called the
incident a “total surprise.”
Wire reports

OKLAHOMA SCENE

Minco’s Rule wins
round five at NFR
Barrel racer Dona Kay
Rule of Minco won for
the second time at the
National Finals Rodeo on
Monday night, capturing
the fifth round with a time
of 13.56 seconds and earn-
ing another $26,231 for the
victory.
Oklahoma barrel racers
have won each of the
first five rounds at the
NFR. Emily Miller of
Weatherford won three
rounds and leads what is
tight race for the world
title midway through the
NFR.
Rule is now seventh in
the world standing but
within striking distance,
trailing Miller by slightly
more than $22,000.
Okahoma cowboys
also had good nights on
Monday. Riley Duvall
of Checotah took third
in the steer wrestling.
Heeler Joseph Harrison
of Marietta finished first
in the team roping while
Clay Smith of Broken Bow
and Coleman Proctor of
Pryor, roping with dif-
ferent partners, tied for
second.
Sage Kimzey of Strong
City tied for third in the
bull riding and is closing in
on his sixth straight world
championship. The NFR
continues nightly through
Saturday. 
Staff reports