Guymon hopes for one win; Texhoma looks for 9th win at Hooker in Friday games

November 1, 2012

The 2012 regular football season concludes Friday night for all of the local teams. Postseason play is ahead beginning on Nov. 9 for Texhoma and most likely for Hooker and Tyrone.
Going into the final season game, Guymon, 0-9 and holding onto hope that the Tigers will pull out one win is hosting another 0-9 team. Western Heights, a team that has an identical record to Guymon, is said by some observers to be evenly matched with the Tigers.
The Tigers finished the 2011 season 1-9.
Plagued by fundamental mistakes, Guymon head coach Bryan Ballard has said several times this season that the Tigers must correct those recurring mistakes.
Attempts to reach Ballard for a comment were unsuccessful on Wednesday.
Tougher District 5A competition that Guymon has had to face this year has taken a toll on the Tigers. Guymon was forced to move from 4A to 5A due to increased enrollments.
Last week, El Reno, 3-5 coming into a game in Guymon, won 47-0. The Tigers made several costly mistakes in that game.
The best scenario for the Tigers would be a win over Western Heights Friday night. Whoever wins, the game will be the final 2012 contest for both teams.
Football is far from over for the teams playing in Hooker Friday night. The Red Devils will visit the Bulldogs for the final regular season contest.
Unbeaten Texhoma (ranked No. 4) is looking for a 9-0 regular season, while 6-3 Hooker is jockeying for playoff positioning. The District A-1 champion Red Devils are already guaranteed home field advantage at Texhoma’s Wheatbowl Stadium for the first two playoff games. Texhoma head coach Aaron Witten said the first playoff game is just over a week away on Nov. 9. The opponent will be determined this Friday night.
Texhoma’s 41-20 win over Okeene last week secured the district championship for the Red Devils.
Witten is not dismissing Hooker as a team that could play a close game to the final seconds with the Red Devils.
“It’s going to be tough. They’re going to play us tough,” he said.
Texhoma broke a 37-37 tie with the Bulldogs last year with a last second field goal to win the game 40-37.
“We’ve got to stop Joe (Bean). We had a tough time doing it last year,” Witten said.
Bean, Hooker’s senior quarterback, is one of the top college prospects in Oklahoma and has been sought after by some of the nation’s premier Division 1 colleges. He signed with the Tulsa University Golden Hurricane football program last week.
“That (if Texhoma can stop Bean) will probably help them out. That’s for sure,” said Hooker head coach Jake Kreamer.
“I just want my guys to go out there and play hard. I know they will. It’s a rivalry game,” he said.
“It’s going to be a good one. It’s going to be a fun game,” Kreamer said.
He said it is almost certain that Hooker will play at Thomas for a playoff game on Nov. 9, but that could depend on the outcome of a game this Friday between Mooreland and Okeene.
Hooker has other offensive weapons besides Bean that could make the going tough for the Red Devils including Taylor McBee and Chad Kennedy.
It is almost a given that Texhoma’s Bryson Beattie will score several touchdowns and record significant yards gained in most any given game.
The Bobcats (6-3) will play at Balko (5-2) Friday night for the final regular season game.
Tyrone head coach Josh Bell said two weeks ago that every win is important as the playoffs are nearing.
The Bobcats gave up two fumbles in the first half that led to a 52-48 loss to Buffalo last week. Buffalo’s winning touchdown came with just 2.9 seconds remaining in the game. Therefore, Tyrone goes into the final regular season game 6-3 rather than 7-2.
The Goodwell Eagles (0-9) will host Forgan (8-0) Friday.
The Eagles, crippled since September with long-term injuries, have scored few points this season.