Tipton, Timberlake take center stage Thursday

Eight-man football continues to grow across Oklahoma and Thursday when Tipton and Timberlake clash for the Class C state championship, the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association’s smallest class takes a big step into the spotlight.

This year marks the first season that all 12 state championship games will be played at Central Oklahoma University’s Richison Field, giving eight-man programs the same opportunity to be showcased with the largest schools in the state. The OSSAA added three new classes last spring and all 12 are being played on the big stage at UCO.

Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. Thursday for the matchup of a pair of 13-0 clubs that have been among two of the most successful eight-man programs in the state.

“I think it’s a good thing for eight-man football,” Tipton Head Coach Travis White said. “I’m looking forward to playing there. For eight-man programs, getting to play at the same place all the other classes are playing is pretty neat.

“I’m not too happy that the game is on Thursday afternoon but getting to play at UCO is good for our players and fans. We have canceled school to allow anyone who wants to attend can show up.”

Tipton reached the title game with a 42-8 victory over Tyrone last week while Timberlake beat Ryan, 46-26. Both teams had little trouble winning three games to reach the finals as Timberlake allowed 34 points and Tipton gave up just 16 points in its three playoff wins.

In its victory over Tyrone last week in the semifinals, the Tigers were nursing an 8-0 late in the first half when nose guard Max Babcock blew through the Tyrone line and blocked a punt that set them up deep in Bobcats’ territory.

Three plays later JJ Jallah scored from two yards out and Johnny Fernandez added the PAT to push the lead to 16-0.

“That was a huge play to get us going,” White said. “We had a couple of touchdowns called back in the first half but our defense was playing well so I felt good at that point. It was one of those deals where Max just made a big play to give us a spark. We didn’t have any timeouts so I told the guys we had to score on the next play. JJ was able to get it in the end zone and that really gave us a good deal of momentum and we played much better in the second half.”

White says the Tigers need to get off to a good start against Timberlake which is similar to Tipton in many ways.

“I’ve been telling everyone that in my years of coaching Tipton, this is probably a team that is as evenly matched with us as any team we’ve played,” White said. “They are a little bigger than us but we may be a little faster.

“They are aggressive on defense and they really tackle well in space, which is so important in eight-man football. They have some really good athletes.”

One of the best athletes for Timberlake is Mavric Judd, a 6-1, 190-pound running back.

“He is really what I’d call a ‘new-age’ back,” White said. “He runs hard and he catches the ball really well. They get him the ball and let him find a seam. He’s really tough to tackle.

“Their quarterback (Payton Pierce) has some wiggle to him and he has a good arm,” White said. “He likes to scramble and they do a good job of getting him a gap and let him go. He started last year and does a good job running their offense.”

One of the toughest matchups will be against 6-7 wide receiver Paxton Glenn.

“He’s a tough matchup because we don’t have anyone that size but we have some quickness,” White said. “We just have to do a good job staying with him and we have to tackle well.”

Much is made of Tipton’s tradition, however, White said Timberlake has a good deal of tradition and has been a consistent playoff club over the past two decades.

“They won a title in 2021 and one in 2009 and some other titles earlier, so they have a good deal of tradition in their program as well,” White added.

“They have a nose guard who is about the same size as Max, plus they have a couple of good linebackers who are both around 200 pounds,” White said. “Their good back is also a defensive end. Their defense has good speed, they run to the ball, they tackle well in space, and they play with great effort.”

White said that by this time in the season, there are few secrets when it comes to running the offense which he does himself.

“To me the most important things are rhythm and tempo,” he said. “I sat down with Coach (Jim) Kerbo and we visited with Coach (Brett) Manning at MacArthur and Coach (Faron) Griffin and learned about the ‘pop’ offense they both used.

“That offense was used to stretch the defense from sideline-to-sideline. We throw some short routes, the bubble screens and the jet sweeps. We have adjusted some over the years, but we still have things that have worked well for us.”

The Tigers have been running with a 65-35 run-to-pass ratio in recent years but we’ve thrown it more in recent seasons.

“When we had Prince (Dweh) we were running the ball more because he was so explosive,” White said. “With Kaydence Sheffield at quarterback and some good receivers, we are throwing it a little more this year. At this point in the season, there are few secrets.”

What the Tigers have been doing in recent seasons has worked so well that they enter the title game with a 41-game winning streak. If that streak reaches 42 this week, it would be a rare Three-peat; something that would put Tipton among a short list of Oklahoma powerhouse programs.