Dingle, Eagles face tough test against Titans

There have been an untold number of military dependents come through the Lawton Public Schools and once you have interviewed several young people you know what you’re going to get when you visit with them.

Two-way Eisenhower senior Aiden Dingle gave his background immediately, firm handshake, hands behind his back and yes sir, no sir during our visit. He also expects to follow both his parents into the military.

“My mom and dad both were deployed to Iraq and also to Japan,” the 6-0, 185-pound wide receiver/tight end/free safety said. “They have both since retired. I have six siblings and I’m the middle child.”

The only thing he’s going to do differently is join the Air Force or the Navy instead of the Army.

Tonight, he and the Eagles face what may very well be their toughest test of the year when mighty Carl Albert comes to town for a 7 p.m. battle at Cameron Stadium.

“Carl Albert not only has great athletes, but they are very disciplined, and they don’t make mistakes,” Dingle said. “They great coaches and they just do things right on the field.”

The Eagles have had a tough start, holding on to beat Lawton High, 35-28, and then leading MacArthur at halftime only to see the Highlanders explode in the second half for a 57-20 victory.

“We are having some good first halves but then we just seem to let the momentum get away in the second half,” he said. “We’ve worked hard on defense this week, trying to get our alignment right. Mac used tempo against us, and we just did a bad job getting lined up right. We have worked hard on that this week.”

Dingle says the Titans don’t do anything super complicated, but they just do everything right.

“They like to do a lot of RPO (Run-Pass-Option) stuff with their quarterback, No. 4 (Daniel Newton),” Dingle said. “They love to get him outside, they also throw a lot of bubble screens and they run that ‘buck sweep’ a good deal.

“On that play they will pull their guards, so we have to be ready and lined up right. As far as my responsibilities, I will watch the No. 2 receiver or the tight end most often. And we always check the guards because they do pull them a good deal. They just are blessed with so many great athletes and the way they execute showcases those athletes.”

To pull off an upset Dingle said it starts with eliminating turnovers and avoiding penalties.

Dingle is like many students, he enjoys classes, especially English and math.

“Communication skills are vitally important, like out here on the football field or in the future in a job or the military,” he said.

When it comes to a good meal, Dingle’s favorite is mom’s spaghetti with home-made meat sauce and her Italian garlic-cheese bread.

One thing that the Eagles are facing this year will be competing in a higher class, 6AII-District 1, and with new teams like Choctaw, NW Classen, Piedmont, Putnam City, Southmoore, Stillwater, and U.S. Grant.

“We have been in a very tough 5A district with teams like Guthrie and Del City, but having the chance to see new teams should be fun. We just need to stick to what we’ve been taught and go from there.”