Mac, Ike battle Friday in ‘Gore War’

There will be a great deal of excitement Friday when Eisenhower and MacArthur renew the “Gore War” at Cameron Stadium Friday and while both come in at 1-0, neither coach puts much stock into last week’s results.

Mac routed John Marshall, 60-6, on Thursday and Ike whipped Ardmore, 59-7, on Friday. Both were simply superior across the board.

Mac skipper Brett Manning was obviously impressed with Ike running back Rashaud Hurt who rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carriers but for him it’s hard to overlook Ike’s front line on defense.

“They have some really good players up front,” Manning said. “It’s hard to overlook guys like (Kingston) Tito and that bunch. They are going to cause problems for any team they play.”

While we won’t offer a prediction, these games always seem to come down to turnovers and we see the kicking game being a key to victory as neither has somebody who can boom the ball into the end zone on kickoffs and both have some explosive returners.

Our hope is a good game with great behavior by both sets of fans. As fans are probably aware, after last week’s tragic shooting at a Del City-Choctaw game at Choctaw, security will be tight and fans will all be checked at the gates by security members from LPS and LPD.

Here are this week’s picks and remember, home teams are in all capital letters:

Lawton High 20, DUNCAN 15—Both teams are in rebuilding mode and in the case of the Wolverines depth is an issue. LHS does have a core group of good athletes including Pene Vasiagote and if he has a big game this pick might stand up as being right.

CACHE 21, Altus 10—This is merely a guess but the home field is worth a touchdown and the Bulldogs are eager to show off a new offense. If the Bulldogs can open some holes for Connor Muldowney he could make a big difference in this contest but Cache must throw the ball with some success to make this offense work efficiently.

ELGIN 36, Anadarko 7—Owls were a little sluggish at first in their last scrimmage but the Class 5A power has too much offense for the Warriors to contain.

MARLOW 20, Chickasha 18—Not sure about either team but the Outlaws are playing at home and that’s a tough place to win.

CITY VIEW, Texas 36, Frederick 7—Bombers are in rebuilding mode and City View is already on the way up. Going to be tough night for Frederick’s young bunch.

Mangum 28, COMANCHE 14—Mangum seems stronger than last season and may challenge Apache and Walters for a high finish in District A-2. Comanche has a new coach and new system and will be learning for a couple of weeks until district.

Apache 32, RUSH SPRINGS 12—Warriors have a quick veteran quarterback in Houston Herrin and Dom Scott is a home run threat from anywhere on the field. Rush Springs is still improving, though, and could make this closer.

BURNS FLAT 14, Carnegie 12—Carnegie is eventually going to find a way to win and this might be that night if the Wildcats can force some turnovers.

Empire 14, PAOLI 13—Another game we have little to go on but Empire did pull out a narrow win last week over Rush Springs while Paoli didn’t play on Week Zero. Bulldogs have to clean up the penalties that caused problems last week.

HINTON 27, Snyder 6—Cyclones are facing a tough season as an independent after the redistricting moved them back to eight-man ball but they had an 11-man schedule. Going to be a long season for the Cyclones.

Walters 20, HEALDTON 14—The Blue Devils lost some key players but they also return some good quality players at key positions but going to Healdton is never easy.

CYRIL 28, Seiling 26—Two good programs matching up in this pre-district dandy. The long drive is never easy and the Pirates are tough at home. Could go either way.

CENTRAL HIGH 19, Bray-Doyle 12—Old friend Dusty Ketner could get his first win as the Cental High head coach if his team can move the football with some consistency. The Bronchos had some success last week against Granfield but the defense was unable to slow down the improved Bearcats.

Mt. View-Gotebo 28, MAYSVILLE 26—Another tough game to figure but the Tigers just seem to keep reloading even after losing some good talent. Another toss-up.

Tipton 32, Alex 20—The Tigers are going to be young but with a veteran coaching staff and some good young talent, look for the Tigers to find a way to win on the road.

Last week: 10-2, 83.3 percent.