FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 , 2020
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Congressman Kevin Hern Speaks At October Chamber Luncheon
By Kyle Salomon
United States Representative of Oklahoma’s 1st District Kevin Hern spoke Wednesday at the Jenks Chamber of Commerce October Luncheon. Hern spoke to the sold-out crowd for several minutes before taking questions for the remainder of the event. “It’s good to be here,” Hern said. “It’s always good to be in Jenks, America. I have been around Jenks a lot. I have seen all the fabulous growth. We love Jenks and love being here. It is great to see so many familiar faces and for what all of you do in this great community, thank you so much.” The congressman’s connections to Jenks run deep. Hern and his wife own several McDonald’s restaurants in the area, including the Jenks McDonald’s, which the couple have owned since 2004.
“We have an election in 13 days, and I am sure whether you are Republican, Democrat or don’t give two hoots about politics, you are ready for it to be over. For all of us who are running, I assure you we are no different.” Hern said his priority is and always will be to keep Americans in their jobs and not have to rely on unemployment. “One of the things that really matters to our chambers across the district, state and the country is what are we doing to help our business men and women stay in business, have jobs and keep our Americans working,” Hern said.
He added that it is unfortunate that politics have gotten in the way of helping the American people and their businesses during the pandemic. “I think we did a lot of great work back in March,” Hern said. “It’s always one of those things that we, as Americans come together in a time of need, the greatest need. When we saw what happened with COVID-19 and what it did to our states, people are coming together everywhere and the only thing that gets in the way of that is a crazy thing called politics.” Hern was elected to Congress in 2018 and is up for re-election in 13 days on Nov. 3.
The office where they run their chain of McDonald’s restaurants from is also located in Jenks by the Jones Riverside Airport. On top of the connection to the Jenks business sector, Hern’s children attended Jenks Public Schools when they were at the elementary level. Hern said he is looking forward to the days after the upcoming election. “It is a crazy time in politics as many of you all know,” Hern said.
Jenks Public Schools Foundation Announces 2020 Vision of Excellence Award Winners The Vision of Excellence Awards are presented each year to JPS faculty and staff for demonstrating outstanding qualities of leadership, continuous improvement, customer focus, and teamwork. Employees are nominated by their peers and members of the public. A selection committee comprised of JPS Foundation board members, district administrators, teachers, and staff members review the nominations in a competitive scoring process. VOE winners receive a cash stipend and an award provided by the Jenks Public Schools Foundation. The 2020 Vision of Excellence Award Winners: Morgan Brown -Art Teacher - Jenks Middle School Shelby Cates -Media Specialist - Jenks East Elementary Kimberly Catterson -Career Counselor - Jenks High School Willard Davis -Site Maintenance - Jenks Middle School Candy Dial -Cafeteria Manager - Jenks Middle School
David Lawrence -2019-20 District Teacher of the Year - Jenks Freshman Academy Stephanie Mahan -Kindergarten Teacher - Jenks Northwest Elementary Stephanie Schrack -6th Grade Teacher - Jenks West Intermediate Christy Turner -Counselor - Jenks East Intermediate
Glenda Fitzgerald -Media Specialist - Jenks West Elementary Ron Guinn -Site Maintenance - Jenks East Elementary Fred Handy -Transportation Donna Hickman -Site Administrative Assistant - Jenks Freshman Academy Beth Howard -Special Education Teacher - Jenks Freshman Academy
807 East A Street Jenks, OK 74037
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Women In Business To Host Annual Giving Event Nov. 5 The Jenks Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business program is hosting its annual Giving event on Thursday, Nov. 5 at noon. This year’s event will benefit Dress for Success Tulsa. “The Giving event is a wonderful way to connect women in our community with organizations that serve women across our region,” said program chair JayCee Kerns. Dress for Success Tulsa is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to empowering women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Since its opening, Dress for Success Tulsa has helped over 13,000 women make transitions to thriving lives of self-sufficiency. The Jenks Chamber website has a full list of items attendees can donate including steamers, shout wipes, tide sticks, body wash, clothes, coats, gloves and more. The luncheon requires an RSVP at jenkschamber.com. Cost to attend is $15 for Jenks Chamber members and $20 for non-members. It will take place at The Hive, 115 S. First St.
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Jenks Police Department Incident Reports Oct. 12 through Oct. 18.
GRAND LARCENY; 11700 BLOCK S FOREST AVE; Unknown suspect(s) took coins from the victim depriving him of their use. LARCENY; 11400 BLOCK S JUNIPER ST; Unknown suspect stole the victim's necklace. UNAUTHORIZED USE OF CREDIT CARD; 1600 E 122ND CT; Unknown subject made sixty transactions for a total amount of $767.96 on the victim's Discover card without her consent. ACTUAL PHYSICAL CONTROL; 10800 S ELM ST IDENTITY THEFT; 12200 BLOCK S CEDAR AVE; The suspect(s) involved used the victim’s identity to open a PayPal credit line. The total amount fraudulently charged on the credit card was $1,036.15. ROBBERY 2ND DEGREE; 410 S ELM ST; Unknown suspect stole the victim's scooter depriving him of the scooter and the monetary value. BURGLARY FROM AUTO; 400 BLOCK S 6TH ST; Suspect(s) entered the victim's vehicle without permission and deprived him of personal property. MALICIOUS INJURY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; 12300 BLOCK S CEDAR ST; Paint was noted to be on the roof, trunk, and down the doors of the passenger side of a silver Dodge Charger. MALICIOUS INJURY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY; 9200 BLOCK S ELWOOD; Possible known suspect intentionally damaged company vehicle. RECKLESS CONDUCT WITH FIREARM; 727 E MAIN ST; the suspect had his gun out of its holster, on top of the center of the steering wheel, demonstrating disregard for the safety of another person.
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By Kyle Salomon
“Facebook”.
I remember when I first heard the word “Facebook”. The year was 2005 and I was sitting in class as a junior at Jenks High School. A friend of mine, who was a senior and preparing to graduate that coming May, was talking to a group of us about this new thing called
She mentioned how it was created for college students, so they could keep connected with their friends from high school. She said how only college students could have it and it was the new and up and coming thing for young people across the country. I remember thinking to myself, “Yeah, I am never going to do something like that.” That was the last I heard about Facebook for the rest of my days as a student at Jenks High School. Sure, I had a MySpace account that I barely got on and I was on AOL Instant Messenger, so I could talk to all my friends at night from home. At that time, we did have cell phones, but texting was not a thing. It was very new on the scene and even if you had it, you had strong demands from your parents to not text much because it would run up the phone bill. So, AOL Instant Messenger or AIM as we called it, was the move for us. I graduated high school in 2006 and entered the
SOUL FOOD By Sarah Clavin
There are some things in life that are just good for the soul; a warm cup of coffee, an intimate evening with friends, and a good vacation. How incredibly refreshing it is to sit and sip and reflect on the day to come. Igniting your senses with the poignant scent of freshly brewed coffee, awakening your heart and preparing your mind for the day ahead. Or at the tail end of the day, sitting with close friends or family, breaking bread and enjoying intimate conversation about life and love and all things near and dear to our hearts. Waking up refreshed the morning after a fulfilling evening full of laughter and sharing of hopes and dreams. Even more rare and invigorating for the soul is time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. There is something special about a vacation, whether alone or with loved ones that is unbelievably satisfying. Whether your travels take you to the mountaintop full of snow, or the breezy beach with sand between your toes, it is a welcome opportunity to rest and recharge. This past week we spent a few days away with our family and close friends at the beach in Watercolor. Between the two families we had 7 kids, with every age from 7 years to 6 weeks old.
SOCIAL MEDIA: CREATED TO CONNECT … NOW CREATING A DIVIDE
summer prior to my freshman year in college. Throughout the summer, I would wonder to myself how I was going to keep in touch with my friends. I was going to a place nobody from my high school was going, so the thought was growing rapidly in my head. Texting was becoming more popular by the day it seems like, but we still had the amount limitations, although I went ahead and went past my limit anyway much to my father’s liking … not.
Nevertheless, the question kept popping up in my head. How was I going to stay in touch with my high school buddies? The time came to move to college and several weeks in, my baseball teammates started talking about Facebook. I remembered when I first heard about it and what my thoughts were then and they weren’t any different at that point, though I was still interested to see what this new fad was all about. Several weeks later after talking with several of my high school friends, who had jumped aboard, I also took the plunge and decided Facebook was now for me. The social media platform was created to connect and for the first days of its life, that is what it did. It connected people and it kept people in connection with each other. I was able to talk with old friends from high school and stay in touch with what was happening in their lives. It was all about connections. I keep thinking about the word connect. What does the word connect mean? The word has a positive context to me. Staying connected with people is a wonderful privilege to have and Facebook made that possible.
wait days, weeks or even months to share. Social media was doing its job and life was great.
Fast forward to 2020 and social media has become a putrid mess of hate and division. To be honest, it is hard to get on any of my social media accounts anymore because the negativity is rampant like never before. Disagreeing with each other is part of being a human being. We are made differently, so we are not always going to agree, but when did it become okay to spew hate to someone who does not share the same feelings as you on a specific topic? When did it become okay to try and ruin their reputation even it means telling lies about them and mocking and humiliating them in every way possible? Social media has become polluted and has become a platform for hate and division. The good old days of when it was used for staying connected with people are further away from us than they have ever been. I don’t know if it is possible, but I sure would like to see us head back in that direction. I believe we are better than this. Let’s get back to connections and stop the divisiveness. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the Jenks Tribune. Sincerely, Kyle Salomon ksalomon@jenkstribune.com
Then, Twitter came along and Instagram and many other social media platforms that allowed us all to stay connected and share information with our friends and family that otherwise would have to
This trip in particular was a huge surprise for our kids. We planned in whispers, packed in secret, and woke the kids up at 4am on Saturday morning to take them to a destination unknown. Before we boarded the plane, we let the kids take a few guesses about where we were headed. Our 7 year old guessed it was Election Day and we were fleeing the country, our 5 year old suggested we were heading to the airport (smart kid!), and our 3 year old was confused as to why he was taken out of his cozy bed in the middle of the night. We finally relented and revealed that we were headed to the beach which was received by cheers heard throughout terminal 5. Upon arrival we headed straight for the sand. The kids (and grown ups) were elated. The laughter that filled the air as the kids splashed around in the ocean made up for all the stress of traveling with small children. Throughout the next few days, we enjoyed life at a slower pace. No schedules, no plans, no rush. The hustle and bustle of life with 4 kids was replaced with slow mornings, conversations over coffee and cinnamon rolls, beach time, nap time, pool time, and family dinners. Instead of rushing to 3 after school pick-ups, afternoons were spent rocking the newborn on the porch, chatting with our decade old friends about how good this was for our families. They say going to the beach has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure and stress levels. I would add that as such, it is also incredibly refreshing for the soul.
So, I would encourage you, as the temperatures drop and the holidays creep around the corner, consider how you are feeding your soul. Are you taking time away for yourself? Pour that cup of coffee, take a deep breath and relax those shoulders. Call up your best friends and plan a dinner out if they are local, or a zoom chat if they are far. Chat and reminisce and talk about your dreams. Finally, I would encourage you to take yourself, your spouse, or your family away. For the day, the weekend, the week or the month. Stay in a hotel, or at the lake. Rent an RV or fly to the beach. Whatever a vacation looks like for you at this point and time, plan it. Take the time to execute it. Your soul needs it. Your family needs it. YOU need it. They say you can’t pour from an empty cup. So, whether yours is half full, or dry to the bone, take a second to fill it up and feed your soul.
Revitalizing for both adults and children alike. Ending this crazy year with a vacation has been one of the best things we could’ve done for ourselves and our family.
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Hallowmarine 2020 Gets Underway At Oklahoma Aquarium
The annual Hallowmarine event, put on by the Oklahoma Aquarium and Jenks Chamber of Commerce, is underway and will run through the end of the month. There is plenty of time for people to come and enjoy some indoor trick-or-treating for children of all ages. Guests will be able to follow the Trick-or-Treat trail for candy and to be able to see all the marine life in the surrounding exhibits at the aquarium. All children are encouraged to dress up in their best Halloween costume for a chance to win prizes. There will also be numerous chances for guests to interact with some of the ocean’s most curious creatures. This year’s event will include safety protocols for all guests, vendors, staff and volunteers, such as nightly admission caps, mask requirements and glove requirements for vendors. The remaining dates for Hallowmarine 2020 are Oct. 23, Oct. 24, Oct. 25. Oct. 29, Oct. 30, and Oct. 31. The event will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. each night with the last admission being sold at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17.95 for adults, $13.95 for youth, $13 for adult members and $9 for youth members. Admission is limited, so to reserve your spot in advance, you purchase tickets at www.okaquarium.org.
Chamber To Host Trick-Or-Treat On Main Street Oct. 30
Downtown Jenks will become home to ghouls, superheroes and more during the annual Trick-or-Treat on Main Street event on Friday, Oct. 30. Come in your costumes and join us for a wicked good time from 4-6 p.m. Chamber member are welcomed to set up a booth on First Street for no cost. Non-members may set up booths on First Street for $50. This year, vendors are required to wear gloves and masks to pass out candy and marketing items directly to families. Families and children may not grab items from tables or from an individual not wearing gloves or masks. Contact the Jenks Chamber of Commerce to register to be vendor for Trick-or-Treat on Main Street.
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Jenks Martial Arts Academy Brings Home 19 National Champions, 50 Medals From National Event The Jenks Martial Arts Academy had 46 students, who competed Saturday in the 2020 UTA Grand Nationals. The 46 Jenks Martial Arts Academy students brought home a total of 50 medals, which included 19 national champion titles. More than 400 children from across the country competed in the event.
Chamber Hosts Successful Golf Tournament
The Jenks Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Chamber Open Golf Tournament on Oct. 13. Walter Insurance Agency took first place, BancFirst placed second, and Carletti Dentistry & Associates placed third. Photos/Courtesy
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Long-time Jenks resident, a former City of Jenks employee, and a proud parent of a Jenks High School golfer! FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020
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OSSAA Changes 2020 Football Playoff Format, Everybody Who Wants In, Is In
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association announced Tuesday its updated playoff modifications for the 2020 season. Because of the amount of canceled district games, every team in the state has an opportunity to qualify for the playoffs. “Ultimately, I believe what they were trying to accomplish was they didn’t want anybody to not make the playoffs because of canceled games that were out of their control and I totally support that,” Jenks coach Keith Riggs said. “You would hate for any team, whether it was them canceling or another team canceling to not make the playoffs, so from that standpoint, I am glad they included all the teams for the playoffs this year.”
Here's a breakdown of the modifications, why they're happening and what to expect as we get closer to gold balls being handed out. Why the change? "The cancellations of multiple games during the regular season has caused a concern regarding the accuracy of seedings of each district entering the playoff series. Schools needing to
make up multiple canceled contests and the concerns from member schools regarding playing multiple contests in a relatively short time frame was also a factor to considering modifying the current OSSAA plan. Adding a ‘play-in round’ so that all schools may, if they desire, qualify for the playoff series can address potential inaccuracies in the seeding process." CONT on pg 15...
Volleyball’s Postseason Run Ends In State Semifinals
After sweeping through its regional, the Jenks volleyball team opened 6A State Volleyball Tournament play Monday at Choctaw High School. The Lady Trojans took on Bishop McGuinness to open the tournament and beat the Fighting Irish in straights sets. Jenks had to come back from a large deficit in the first set to win 27-25, but the Lady Trojans took care of business in the next two sets winning 25-15 and 25-16. The win advanced Jenks to the semifinal round against Bishop Kelley Monday evening. The Lady Trojans’ season came to an end at the hands of the Comets in straight sets. Jenks lost the first 25-22, the second set 25-20 and the third set 25-16. Bishop Kelley advanced to the 6A State Championship Tuesday against Mustang. Jenks finished the 2020 season with the Frontier Valley Conference Championship with a perfect 9-0 record in conference play, hosted a 6A east regional tournament and won the regional tournament championship with wins over Muskogee and Union.
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Celebrating 60 Years of teaching swimming lessons and water safety!
Girls Cross Country Sets Sights On Regional By Kyle Salomon The road to repeat is here for the Jenks girls cross country team. The defending Class 6A state champions brought everyone back from last year’s varsity squad, which won the 2019 title, but 2020 has been far from ideal for the girls. On top of battling the pressure of repeating as state champions, the cross-country girls, like everyone else, has had to battle COVID-19 throughout the season. Midway through the regular season, due to contact tracing, the entire girls cross country varsity squad had to quarantine for two weeks. During those two weeks, the girls were not allowed to train, so coming back from that experience has been difficult. Last week, Jenks competed Oct. 13 at the Frontier Valley Conference meet at Mohawk Park. The Lady Trojans won the event, but coach Rachael Graddy said it was not her team’s best effort.
“I feel like there is a lot of factors, a lot of it was coming back from quarantine, so it has been crazy and I was just happy to be able to fill our varsity girls squad back up,” Graddy said. “It wasn’t our best race. We definitely have some spots we need to work on and hopefully our legs will start to feel a little better.” Jenks will travel to Sand Springs Saturday for the 6A East Regional meet, which will begin for the girls at 10 a.m. and the boys at 10:45 a.m. at Case Community Park. Graddy said the team will prepare for the regional like they always do for any other regular season meet. “It is just another race for us,” Graddy said. “We don’t want them to put too much pressure on it and get stressed out, so we are just going to do our work and prepare like we always do. We need to stay focused one step ahead of you. Our job right now is qualifying for the state meet. Our goal this weekend is to win the regional meet, which will set us up for a good spot on the state line.” The 6A State Cross Country Championships are at 10 a.m. Oct. 31 at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
Jenks Returns To Action Friday Against Yukon By Kyle Salomon
Eight days following its cancellation with Edmond Santa Fe, 6A-1 No. 2 Jenks will host Yukon at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Allan Trimble Stadium. The Trojans were all set to host the T-Wolves last Thursday, but COVID-19 had other ideas and the game was canceled. It was the second time this season, the pandemic has taken away a game from Jenks, but coach Keith Riggs said his team will not let the situation get them down. “We are doing as well as we can under the circumstances,” Riggs said. “Losing that game last week was hard no matter what side of the coin you were on. This team has been so resilient in everything that has come its way and I don’t have any reason to believe any different this time.”
CONT from pg 13... District rankings To facilitate possible seeding scenarios, all districts will begin ranking teams in their district beginning the weekend of Oct. 23 through the OSSAA Rankings platform. The ranking process would include three rankings beginning the weekend of Oct. 23, the second ranking during the weekend of Oct. 30 and last ranking concluding the weekend of Nov. 6. Rankings will open each Friday at noon and close at noon on Saturday. Coaches will rank teams in their district each week. The rankings following Week 10 will be used to seed the teams in the play-in round. “You can find fault with any potential seeding issue when you are in the situation we are in this year,” Riggs said. “This is certainly one approach. I can only speak for us and our district, I believe all the coaches are going to be fair and whether you go by wins or rankings, I think you are going to get pretty close to the same thing either way. Ultimately, you have to win four games in the playoffs to win it all, it doesn’t matter where you end up in the final rankings.” Seeding teams Districts that have not canceled any district games would use the seeding process for advancement from the OSSAA Football Manual. “Flagged districts”, districts that have had canceled games, could choose to use the ranking process to determine final district places for advancement. A majority of the schools within each district may elect to use the ranking process through the OSSAA Rankings site. District Chairman of currently flagged districts must notify OSSAA by 10 am on Friday, Oct. 23 that the flagged district has chosen to use the ranking process. Absent notification by 10 am on Oct. 23, the district will use the flagged district standing for seeding advancement by default. (Districts that are not currently flagged but become flagged after Oct. 23, will have until 10 a.m. Friday of the week they become flagged to notify OSSAA of their intention to use the ranking process for seeding advancement. Absent a notification, the district will use the modified seeding process for districts that have had games canceled.) “Given our circumstances, there is no perfect way to seed teams,” Riggs said. “Some teams have canceled games, some teams don’t. They have offered two approaches and I think that is probably the best we can do. Hopefully, we will all be healthy when we get to the playoffs and be able to have a good playoff run for everybody involved.”
The Trojans come into the match up with the Millers with a 4-1 overall record and 2-0 mark in the district, while Yukon is 4-3 and 2-2 in district play. The Millers have not had a game canceled due to COVID-19 so far this year. Yukon took on Broken Arrow last week and nearly upset the Tigers with a 27-22 loss at home. It took a touchdown with only seconds remaining for BA to beat the Millers, who are coached by Jeremy Reed. “Coach Reed does a great job with that program,” Riggs said. “I have been really impressed with how much they have improved every year. They are definitely better this year. They had chances to win that game last week against Broken Arrow. They run an offense that is very difficult to prepare for from the standpoint of you only see it once a year and it’s not realistic for your scout team to give you a good look at it because they don’t ever do it. That first quarter is vital to adjusting because they do a great job of running it.” Yukon brought back defensive coordinator Craig Hubbard, who came to the Millers with Reed in 2016. Hubbard took the defensive coordinator job with Hennessey in 2019 but is now back on the Yukon sidelines.
“They have installed a new defense and it is also one of those that is not easy to prepare for,” Riggs said. “You don’t see it often. They have done a great job of getting it installed and getting their kids ready. It will be a great challenge for us, especially after missing a week. They play extremely hard and do a great job on both sides of the ball and our kids will see that on film.” Riggs said his team will go through a typical week of practice. “We got a little practice in after the announcement last week just to polish things up and get an early preview of Yukon,” Riggs said. Going into Week Eight in a normal year, being at full strength is a rarity for high school football teams, with the pandemic also taking its toll, Riggs said his team has not been at full strength since the start of the season. “We haven’t been at full strength yet this year between injuries and the pandemic,” Riggs said. “We are looking forward to that time when we can be, but not sure when that will happen. In talking with other coaches, everyone is experiencing the same things.”
Play-in round Week 19 in the OSSAA calendar (the 11th week of the football season) would be designated as the date for a “play-in round.” Games will be scheduled on a Friday or Saturday based on the availability of officiating crews. Teams may mutually agree to move the game to Thursday. All member schools currently in district play would be offered an opportunity to join the playoff bracket. Play-in games would be paired between Districts 1 and 2; 3 and 4; 5 and 6; 7 and 8. Teams would be paired (crossing districts) with 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 with the higher seed hosting. (Member schools may “opt-out” of the play-in round by notifying the District Chairman as soon as possible; deadline of noon on Nov. 7. District Chairman will notify OSSAA by 1 p.m. on November 7 what teams have opted out.)
able to play 10 regular season varsity games may complete their 10-game varsity schedule up through the date of the championship game in their classification. Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association Associate Director Mike Whaley spoke with members of the media via Zoom teleconference Tuesday morning discussing the OSSAA's changes to football playoffs this season.
Determining home teams The play-in round is designated as Round 1. The higher district seed shall host in Round 1. The district champion shall host in Round 2 if the district champion advances. Determining host teams in all classes for Round 3 shall follow the criteria listed in Board Policy in the OSSAA Football Manual XI. STATE PLAY-OFF SERIES, letter D. (Classes 2A, A and B shall use the same criteria for Round 4.) Neutral sites will be used for semifinal rounds. Championship contests in all 11-man classifications will be played at UCO.
Teams can remain playing regular season games. Because so many games were canceled, teams in every classification will be able to play regular-season contests until their classification's championship game. Even those who lose in the playoffs will be able to make up regular-season games if teams wanted to.
COVID interruptions A team that cannot play a non-championship playoff game on the scheduled date due to a COVID situation will be eliminated from the series. That team’s opponent in the preceding round will be offered the opportunity to fill that line on the bracket on the scheduled date. If the preceding opponent declines the opportunity or there is no proceeding opponent as in the case of a bye, the remaining team will advance to the next line. State Championship final games issues with the COVID will be handled by OSSAA staff. State championship dates Adding the play-in round, moves the state championships dates for Class 5A, 4A, 3A and C to the weekend of December 11 and 12. Class 2A, A and B would then be on the weekend of December 18 and 19. Classes 6A and 6A-1 would remain the weekend of December 4 and 5. Modifying end of season policy The football manual states that the football season will terminate with week 18 of the OSSAA calendar or a school’s elimination from the OSSAA Football Playoff Series. This year due to the cancellations of many regular season games, member schools that were not
Here are some of the main points Whaley discussed Tuesday: Every team is eligible for the playoffs. There will be a play-in round the first week of the playoffs with every team eligible to play. Those who want to play must report to the district chairman by noon Nov. 7, who will then report to the OSSAA.
Teams will be able to play up to 10 regular-season games and have until their classification's championship game to do so. If a team has COVID-19 issue and can't play, it will be eliminated. The only exception is for state championships. In addition, if Team A beats Team B, but Team A gets COVID and can't play Team C in the next round, Team B could advance even if it loses. Play-in games will not change seeding. If a team opts out of a play-in game, say a 6-seed in Class 2A, the third-seeded opponent would get a bye and advance to the next round. The 7th- and 8th-seeded teams would remain against their opponents, meaning some topseeded teams could play play-in games while those third and fourth in their district may have byes. What does this mean? The playoffs are adding a week. Every team is eligible to play, if they elect to opt-in, and there will be a play-in week before the playoff schedule gets underway. Teams who have COVID issues in nonchampionship rounds will be eliminated. OSSAA staff will handle issues if a championship is affected. Individual districts will seed their teams the next three weeks through the end of the regular season to help with seeding for the play-in round.
Millers bring unique offense to Allan Trimble Stadium By Kyle Salomon If you reside in Class 6A-1 District 1, you are guaranteed one week of the regular season to face Yukon, which employs an offense that will give most defensive coordinators some sleepless nights and headaches. Yukon is coached by Jeremy Reed, who took over the Miller football program in 2016. Along with a new coaching staff, Reed brought the flexbone offense to Yukon and in turn, to 6A-1 football in Oklahoma. This will be the fourth time Jenks defensive coordinator Adam Gaylor has faced Reed’s flexbone offense. The first two at Mustang and the third at Jenks a year ago. “They execute really well,” Gaylor said. “Their quarterback is back from last year and being his second year in the system, he is operating at a much better level. They are better in all areas.
They are also better up front. It’s tough to defend and can be frustrating. You have to take advantage of opportunities to take the football away and get off the field on third down.” Yukon is 4-3 this year and 2-2 in the district. Last week, the Millers hosted Broken Arrow and nearly upset the Tigers in a 27-22 loss. BA needed a late-game touchdown pass to secure the win. “They limit what you can do from a defensive perspective, so you have to give them some smoke and mirrors and give them different looks,” Gaylor said. “If you do move your front or blitz, you have to be timely with it and you have to be able to fit the triple-option at all times. Coach Reed has done a good job of scheming it up against us. We gave him some things that first year we hadn’t shown, and they have come back with some different schemes. Those flexbone guys have seen every defensive known to man and they keep coming back with different answers.” When the Trojans take the field at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Yukon, it will be the first time in more than two weeks. Last week’s matchup against Edmond Santa Fe was canceled due to COVID-19.
“We have to be sound in what we do,” Gaylor said. “For the most part, they aren’t going to trick you. They will give you a different formation here or there or even fancy it up with some motion, but for the most part, they are going to do what they do. We just have to be sound. We have to tackle the dive, have a player on the quarterback and a player on the pitch guy. We have to make sure we are setting edges with our force players against the triple-option because if one guy gets his eyes in the wrong spot, it is a touchdown. Not being disciplined for one play is a touchdown against this team. They are certainly good enough to exploit us if we aren’t disciplined.” Yukon has rushed for 2,471 yards this season, which is an average of 353 yards per game on the ground. “I think Coach Reed’s scheme has evolved against what we have done and that makes it tough,” Gaylor said. “Facing this offense is tough but having a good football coach like Coach Reed on the other side makes it that much more difficult. We will do some different things, but we don’t want to confuse our kids. They have to be locked in and understand where their eyes are at all times. Your rules have to be black and white. There is no gray area. Read the keys, trigger and let’s roll.”
Softball Drops Tough Game To Southmoore In State Tournament By Kyle Salomon OKLAHOMA CITY - Jenks softball lost a heartbreaker to end its season Oct. 15 with a 7-6 loss to Southmoore in the opening round of the 6A State Softball Tournament at the Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Emma Lang got the start in the circle for the Lady Trojans, while Emma Vickery was behind the plate. The game was scoreless through two innings when Jenks got the party started in the bottom of the third with five runs. The Lady Trojans had eight hits in the inning. Natalie Rodman started the frame with a single, Faith Russell then had a single of her own, Jessica Watson then had an RBI single scoring Rodman, Vickery then had an RBI single scoring Russell, Kylie Hill had an RBI single scoring Watson, Kayla Adams had a single, Avery Brewer had an RBI single scoring Vickery and Rodman got her second hit of the inning on an RBI single scoring Adams. The five-run lead wouldn’t last long, as Southmoore scored three runs on Lang in the top of the fourth. The SaberCats added two more runs scoring one in the fifth and one in the sixth. Adams came in the pitch for Jenks in the top of the fifth with two outs. The Lady Trojans would reclaim the lead in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Vickery scoring Watson, who was on second following a double earlier in the inning. With a one-run lead going into the seventh, Jenks coach Todd Williams brought Lang back into the game to close it out, but Southmoore hit two homeruns in the top of the frame to take a 7-6 lead. The Lady Trojans got one runner on in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t get her across the plate. Jenks had 10 hits in the game. Lang finished with the loss and allowed six runs on eight hits, four walks with two strikeouts. Adams allowed one run on three hits and one walk. Southmoore went on to win the 6A state championship.