Lighting strikes when Ike hits the field

Last Friday just when Lawton High was trying to rally and make the oldest intracity rivalry game against Eisenhower interesting, there was a bolt of lightning and it wasn’t from the thunderstorm clouds that were covering Southwest Oklahoma.

This bolt of lightning had a 10 on its jersey and in the time it takes lightning to hit the ground in Cache and produce thunder at Cameron Stadium, Ike’s Serri Sheridan had raced 72 yards with a kickoff to all but clinch a wild 41-33 victory over the Wolverines and give the Eagles a 3-1 start, their best non-district start in more than a decade.

“It was one of those things,” Sheridan said after Wednesday’s practice. “I came up on the ball and then had to take a step back and when I got the ball I looked left but didn’t see anything open. Instead I made a cut and ran to the right and it was just wide open. I am pretty fearless out there. I want to catch the ball as fast as I can and then make a cut and head to where I see an opening.”

It didn’t take him long to neutralize a Lawton High kickoff return by Dre’Vion Walker that had given the Wolverines some hope.

“I thought our special teams were the difference against them,” Sheridan said. “We recovered a couple of onside kicks when they didn’t come up and cover them and we also had some good returns and we were able to put some pressure on them on our punts.”

“Those special team moments don’t just happen by accident; we spend a great deal of time practicing special teams every day. Our coaches work hard to make sure we are prepared for anything that we might see from any opponent.”

This week the Ike coaches and players will have plenty of things to prepare against as the Eagles will travel to Midwest City Friday to face the top-ranked team in Class 5A, defending state champion Carl Albert.

“This may be the best time to play them,” Sheridan said. “They are probably not thinking about us because they’ve beaten us the last couple of years. Their starters haven’t had to play that much in their first four games and we feel like our conditioning will be good and that could give us an edge.”

Sheridan says that playing a tough schedule has taught the Eagles a good deal about their team and they are ready for the challenge.

“We’ve seen good backs, we’ve gone against some good receivers and we’ve played good defense in these first four games,” he said. “Our entire team bought into the program this past summer and we’ve put in the hard work that we needed to make us better.”

Sheridan doesn’t have much free time during the football season but when he does have a few minutes he enjoys shooting a few hoops.

When it comes to eating, while he’s only 5-9, 170, he can still devour a bowl of his favorite food in no time.

“I love chicken alfredo and my mom can make it as good as anyone,” he said. “That’s the meal I most enjoy.”

When it comes to the classroom the junior enjoys English and loves writing. He also enjoys his other classes and makes good grades and is hoping to go to college and work toward a degree in physical therapy or sports medicine.

For now, the focus is on this week’s matchup against Carl Albert and the Eagles could care less where the game is being played.

“We don’t mind going on the road because we just know that we have our goals set and we can’t be worried about the site, just the outcome,” he said. “Our coaches have worked hard to make sure we are prepared for what they will show us Friday. Now we just have to go out and execute and do what we’ve been preparing for since the summer drills.”