Elgin staff took right path to success

When Chalmer Wyatt took over the Elgin football program six years ago, there wasn’t a great deal to cheer about but he was determined to build a program that could compete with the best teams in the state.

Friday night Wyatt’s Owls tangle with Wagoner at 7 p.m. at East Central University in a battle of 12-0 clubs with the winner advancing to the Class 4A title game a week later.

Those early years weren’t great but Wyatt got to work hiring a good staff and this senior group of players has gone from a winless freshman season to an unbeaten season with a chance for the Gold Ball.

When the playoffs started we got input on the program from Offensive Coordinator Adam Castro and Defensive Coordinator Jack Baker.

Thursday we sat down with four important members of the staff: Lance Hill who coaches linebackers and runs the strength and conditioning program; Ryan Breeze who coaches quarterbacks; Orrin Forsythe who coaches the secondary; and Andrew Park who handles the defensive line.

Another key member of the staff is Cody Rowell who is the middle school head football coach and the highly-successful Elgin wrestling coach. He will be on the sidelines tonight helping Wyatt send the offensive signals to the team and helping send messages to the offensive unit from Castro who calls the offense from the press box.

Lance Hill/LBs-S&C

“I played for Barry Foster at Rush Springs from my sophomore to senior season,” Hill said. “I actually went to college planning on going into the pre-med program. David McKay was another coach who helped me along the way. Going into the spring of my junior year I went back to college and at that time I was missing football so I changed my major.

“I coached at Guthrie, Kingfisher, Rush Springs and then went to Texas to work for a buddy of mine. I saw this job open up and wound up here.”

The strength and conditioning role came about thanks to some of the coaches he worked with at Kingfisher.

“Stuart Purintun and Kelly Beebee got me into powerlifting at first but when I was 22 I started getting out of powerlifting and got more into strength and conditioning,” Hill said.

Hill, who teaches science at Elgin, admits that not every athlete loves weightlifting when they first start.

“The thing about strength and conditioning is you got to get right in there and lift with them,” he said. “The first time these kids see that bicep growing they are hooked. We have the boys and girls in our program and it’s not just weight work but ways to help their flexibility. We turn up the music really loud and have fun.”

Like the entire staff, Hill has watched hour after hour of video of Wagoner, trying to pick out the things that his linebackers will have to be thinking about when kickoff arrives.

“Wagoner is just a solid football team,” Hill said. “They are well coached and they play hard. There is a lot of tradition engrained in their players. “I think the first thing that stood out to me was their quarterback (Kale Charboneau). To me he’s a really good linebacker who is playing quarterback. He throws the ball well and he’s a tough kid.

“They have a solid offensive line with a really good center and right tackle. Their offensive line is one of the better ones we’ve seen.”

Ryan Breeze/QBs

Coach Breeze played quarterback at Lawton High and was the offensive coordinator for 12 years under his father Randy, then called plays for the Wolverines during his tenure as head coach at LHS.

“Right off the bat you see they are really athletic,” Breeze said of the Bulldogs. “They run the ball well and are very aggressive. They have a similar structure to MacArthur’s offense. You also notice their speed. Their nose guard is really good and they have a great deal of tradition. I think they’ve been to the Final Four in 7 of the last 12 seasons.”

When it comes to throwing the ball, Breeze explained some of Wagoner’s coverages.

“Their secondary will play a little more zone than man but sometimes they will match coverages and pass guys off,” he said. “They are very athletic in the back end. In some third-and-long situations they will have two deep safeties but I don’t think we will see much of that because of how well we run the ball. We are going to have to take what they will give us.

“But we are going to take some shots; that’s something we’ve done all season. We have to protect Tres (quarterback Lorah) and give his time to do his progressions. Tres is really accurate with his passes and we’ve protected him well.”

Andrew Park/D-line

While Coach Wyatt is starting to have success at his alma mater, Coach Park found out the hard way that coaching at your alma mater is sometimes tough.

“I played ball at Watonga and my older brother Chad Park and my uncle Mark Park both coached at Watonga, so I wound up there for a time,” Park said. “But I learned going to an alma mater is not always easy.”

Park was at LHS when Castro and Breeze told him about the opening and he now has found a great home.

“I’m blessed to be here,” Coach Park said. “Getting to coach this group of linemen is special. Shay (Spencer) and Jace (Williams) are great players. Teams try to double-team them but both are great at tying up a couple of linemen and giving our backers a clean run to the ball. And Tristan Kephart has really been playing well. It’s fun to have three good ones like we have.

Park teaches computers at Elgin and in the spring he will be helping coach girls slow-pitch softball. He’s enjoying working with Coach Wyatt

“Chalmer really reads people well,” Park said. “He knows what I’m thinking and what the kids are thinking. He makes adjustments really fast and is just a great guy to coach with. This is a very cohesive coaching staff.”

Coach Orrin Forsythe/DBs

Coach “O” played for Tim Beard at Rushing Springs and he’s been enjoying coaching the Owls’ secondary.

“We have some really good guys back there and they are coachable and they work really hard,” he said. “We can mix coverages with our guys. Josh Adesola is our Swiss army knife; he can play corner or safety. We have a good bunch of guys. Brice martin has made some really big plays for us, Brody and Josh have a great deal of experience back there along with Hunter Jackson.

“We also have several other players who can step up and help us, John Lohman, Gabe Rush; it’s great to have depth, especially in the playoffs.”

Forsythe, who teaches math, said the job has been rewarding.

“This is a great staff, a very cohesive staff,” he said. “We all get along and we have so many good athletes that it’s a pleasure to coach here.”

Coach “O” said that the video has given them a good idea of what Wagoner will put on the field on offense.

“They throw the ball pretty well but they want to establish the run first,” he said. “I think we are well prepared for whatever they throw at us.”