Kephart, McIver prep for next challenge

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why Elgin’s football team is rolling along with an 8-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A and the reason is each week the coaches send me another player who looks like he could fight a bear.

Triston Kephart could be a superstar on most of the teams in Southwest Oklahoma but for the Owls he’s just another talented athlete who has obviously hit the weights hard and done everything he can to make himself a starter on the Elgin defense.

“Our defense is really like a family,” the 6-1, 220-pound defensive lineman said before Tuesday’s practice. “I am up there with guys who know the defense really well and all I have to do is ask them something and they know the answer.

“I usually have Jace (Navy commit Williams) beside me and he’s a great player who knows this defense really well. Coach (defensive coordinator Jack) Baker is a great coach. If you do your job he will joke around with you but if you mess up, he’ll let you know about it.”

Tuesday the defense was not going to hear Baker who was missing just his second practice in his 20-year coaching career to go watch one of his sons compete in the regional marching contest with the Pride of Elgin Band.

Kephart said they would still be practicing just as hard preparing for Friday’s district title showdown with Clinton which comes in with just one loss on the season and could foil the Owls’ hopes for the district crown.

“Clinton has a really good “O” line and a big old senior running back (Zaedon Collins),” Kephart said of the back. “He is big and strong and coach has been telling us to get your shoulders and head on him or he’s going to break tackles on you. You have to drive him to the ground or he’ll burn you.”

Kephart says the Owls need a good challenge with the playoffs just a couple weeks away.

“We had a tough game against MacArthur to start the season but since then we’ve been able to win games pretty easily,” he said. “We’ve been needing a good challenge and this should be one.”

While Kephart loves knocking heads on the field, he’s enjoying producing heads, or in this case a skull, in pottery class this semester.

“That’s my favorite class; that class is bringing out the artist in me,” he said with a big grin. “The great thing about it is if you mess up you just smish it and start over. These skulls are fun to make and I will have to find a place in my room for it when it’s finished.”

When it comes to food, defensive linemen aren’t far behind the massive Owls’ offensive line and Kephart can handle his diet with ease.

“My mom, Amber Kephart, makes really good spaghetti and she also cooks a great rice and pork dish that I love,” he said.

While Kephart and the Owls were all talking about the drop to Class 4A, he says it doesn’t really matter.

“Those trophies are all the same, they look alike so it won’t matter we’re in 4A now,” he said. “That’s been our goal all along to win a gold ball and the class doesn’t matter.”

Owls even have their McIver

Every team needs a guy who can do different things and for the Owls that’s Brayden McIver who works hard every day with the special teams.

“I’ve been here since like the fourth grade,” he said. “I was born in Mississippi and I’m a huge Old Miss fan and I also like the Dallas Cowboys.”

The Owls know all about special teams and this week coordinator Lance Mills has his troops working on kickoffs and punts to make sure that Clinton can’t break anything long in their matchup Friday.

“We also have been working a good deal with Aidan (kicker Delgado) this week because we want to be perfect in that area,” he said. “We had a bad snap lead to a blocked punt, and we have to eliminate those things in the playoffs.”

McIver may not be as big as some of the Owls, however, he can eat with the big boys and his favorite is pretty simple.

“I love the barbecue chicken pizza from Pizza Express,” he said. “It’s not spicy but it is really a great pizza. The garlic crust is great and with all that cheese it is a great meal.”

As far as life after football, McIver is taking his fix-all hands to Alabama where his father has a real estate company.

“I’m going down there and work on homes that we are fixing up to sale,” he said. “My dad knows all about those things and he’s going to teach me. It will put me back in the heart of SEC country.”