City, area teams get nod in key district bouts

Coaches in any sport, especially football, are always talking about peaking at the right time and it is no different with media types who think they know the game of football well and can pick games with ease.

It is never that easy but last week we finally pulled out of the below-70 percent level for the season and while it’s worth a mini-celebration, we are once again going out on a limb and try to continue the climb.

We are proud to rightly pick Lawton High School to beat Noble and we talked about the Wolverines needing big plays to accomplish that goal to beat Noble on the road and it was a 95-yard pick-6 by Amani Perry that helped clinch the win for LHS and give first-year head coach Lorenzo Williams his first win at the helm.

This week the Wolverines host John Marshall tonight at Cameron Stadium and this is another game the Wolverines can win as the Bears are 0-4 and not being very productive on offense.

We see the LHS offense having a huge game with Nate Jones going for big rushing yards and helping the Wolverines roll to a victory to improve their playoffs chances: LAWTON HIGH 32, John Marshall 6.

Here are the rest of this week’s picks and remember, home teams are listed in all-capital letters and the rest of this week’s games are on Friday.

EISENHOWER 28, Southmoore 13—The Eagles may have played the toughest non-district schedule in the state and that may have helped turn things around. Now the Eagles are healthy with Serrie Sheridan and several other key players back in the lineup and we see them proving it Friday night.

MacARTHUR 48, CLASSEN SAS 6—This will be over early as we’ve seen the Highlanders getting better and better after playing a tough schedule that included No. 1-ranked Elgin in their opener.

CACHE 28, Woodward 6—Bulldogs are another team that has played a tough schedule and that toughness they’ve developed was evident as they almost pulled off a big win over a good Elk City team. Woodward will have to make the long bus ride and just a few days after playing Elgin I’d expect the Boomers just won’t have rebounded from facing the physical Owls.

ELGIN 42, Elk City 0—The Elks will come to town without one of their better offensive weapons and the Owls are loaded for a strong run at the Class 4A title. We are pulling for the shutout so Elgin DC Jack Baker will be forced to buy donuts for his stoppers and this writer.

ALTUS 27, Western Heights 7—The Bulldogs are just the better team, plain and simple.

DUNCAN 21, OC Southeast 13—Once again we see that playing a tough non-district schedule is a benefit and Matt Terry’s Demons have done that and it will pay off Friday at Halliburton Stadium.

Heritage Hall 34, ANADARKO 27—This is the best Anadarko team in several years and even with the Warriors playing at home it will be tough to pull off the upset. The Crusaders don’t have Andy Bass any longer but they seem to find good players every season.

Marlow 20, LEXINGTON 14—Not sure about this one but the Outlaws are getting a good number of reps for quarterback Blayd Harris and the further we proceed into the district schedule the better this offense will become. Right now the difference is the Outlaws’ defense.

FREDERICK 20, Okemah 18—The Bombers were solid last week in pushing highly-regarded Minco to overtime before falling, 30-24. And, Okemah will learn all about the historic Bomber Bowl Friday night.

COALGATE 19, Comanche 14—Not sure about this one because Comanche is showing improvement. But the long bus ride to Coalgate will not be fun, however, this is a game the Indians could sure win.

APACHE 26, Carnegie 14—Warriors played possibly the best Class A team in the state in Mangum last week and it wasn’t pretty. The Warriors will be fired up and the drums will be beating at Chandler Field.

EMPIRE 28, Alex 20—These two teams seem headed for the Class B playoffs but right now they are playing their last non-district game Friday and both have shown some strength. Yes, here it comes, when all else fails, go with the home team.

WALTERS 20, Hobart 14—The Blue Devils are home and they have played a pretty good schedule so we see them taking this interesting matchup.

CYRIL 32, Life Christian 8—The Pirates have played what we feel is a tougher schedule and they are at home which is always good.

GRANDFIELD 38, Bray-Doyle 6—Grandfield is just more explosive which matters in eight-man football.

Mt. View-Gotebo 20, GEARY 18—Another tough pick. The Tigers have been up and down and hard to figure but this could be their chance to get a district road win.

SNYDER 20, Caddo 13—These eight-man non-district games are tough but even though Caddo seems a bit better, we’re going with the home team.

TIPTON 42, Corn Bible 14—Tigers are home and you know what that means, they are going to have their offense rolling for the home fans.

Last week: 14-4, 77.8 percent. Season: 46-18, 71.8 percent.