Crabtree loves getting first TDs but defense still his first love

Seldom do schools grow as dramatically as Elgin High School has done in the past 6 to 7 years and it has taken some of the Owls’ athletic programs time to build good staffs and get more athletes out for the various sports.

Andre Crabtree is a solid 6-0, 205-pound senior who plays on both sides of the ball but his prep career didn’t get off to a great start.

“Our freshman year everyone beat us,” he said after Monday’s 8 a.m. practice. “We went from the lowest of lows to a gradual progression to where we are this season.”

What drove the improvement?

“I think it is maturity that has sparked this progression,” Crabtree said. “We had been so young at that point but now we have mostly juniors and seniors and we’ve all worked hard to get stronger to the point where we could make this program a contender.”

The Owls proved that last season by finishing second in District 5A-1, using a win over MacArthur late in the season to edge out Noble and the Highlanders for the runner-up spot behind Midwest City and earn the right to host a first-round playoff game.

While it seems that the senior outside linebacker loves that side of the ball a bit more, he sure posted some dandy numbers on the offensive side.

“Friday night I got a little taste of the end zone with a couple of touchdown passes,” he said of the Owls’ convincing win over Anadarko. “Both passes were perfect from Tres (junior quarterback Lorah). One was a slip route and the other was a go route. It really felt great.”

When it comes to his spare time, Crabtree loves to play his acoustic guitar, which he’s learned on his own.

“About three years ago a friend gave me the guitar and I learned on that and then two years ago I asked for an electric acoustic guitar and have kept trying to get better,” he said. “On the electric I play mostly country but I also play some rock music.”

While he’s made progress, he said he wasn’t ready to join Taylor Swift’s band just yet.

In the classroom Crabtree is taking all the tough math classes because that’s a field he loves and it will be important as he strives for an engineering degree.

“I’ve already had Algebra and last year I had trig,” he said. “Now I’m taking calculus. I’m thinking mechanical or electrical engineering.”

Having already taken those tough classes will only help when college coaches come recruiting the muscular senior.

“I really want to play college football,” he said. “I will just sit back and see how that works out after our season.”

When it comes to eating Crabtree has a wide range in his taste buds.

“When I go out to eat it’s usually pizza which is my favorite,” he said. “But at home I love whatever my grandparents cook, especially their spaghetti or their steaks cooked on the grill.”

Crabtree’s evaluation of last week’s win over Anadarko sounded more like a coach than a player.

“I think the thing we need to do better is control our emotions,” he said. “We were so excited to play a game and had so much success in the first half that everyone was sky high. If the game had gotten closer in the second half and we needed to go back into the game, I think it might have been tough to get back up emotionally like we were at the start.

“If we play against these good district teams we are going to have to control that emotion and just stay focused on what we are supposed to be doing on the field.”

Head Coach Chalmer Wyatt waited until the end of Monday’s practice to challenge his team to build toward peak level gradually and that progress needed to start at film study early Tuesday morning.

“We need to focus on the next game like it is a state championship game,” Crabtree said. “We have Cache this week and then Weatherford and we just need to keep building our intensity as we move into district games.”

The Owls learned a great deal about how to manage their level of energy in their 17-0 playoff loss to Guthrie in the first round of the playoffs.

“That loss is what really drove all of us to work harder than ever during the summer,” he said. “We got exactly where we wanted to be and we couldn’t get it done. We got a piece of what we wanted and now we have to work harder to take that next step.”

And while it was nice to get into the end zone a couple times last week, Crabtree’s first love is still playing defense.

“I love playing outside linebacker because I get a chance to use my quickness and strength to go attack the offen se,” he said. “There is just something about making a big tackle or sack on defense. It doesn’t get any better than that.”