OKLAHOMA CITY – Two teams looking for a positive finish to tough seasons clash tonight at Speegle Stadium.
Woodward and Southeast are out of the Class 4A playoff picture, but can still end the season with a victory.
The Boomers have dropped two straight and bring a 3-6 record in the game. A win would give the Boomers one more victory than a year ago, when they qualified for the playoffs but finished 3-8. Southeast has lost six in a row and is the only 4A-1 team without a district victory.
It’s the final game for seniors on both teams.
“The biggest thing with Southeast is they’re athletic. If you let them hang around, they can beat you,” said Boomer head coach Justin Jones. “Most of the guys on our team understand that, they saw it last year (12-0 Southeast victory at Boomer Stadium). Our guys understand they better come out and play hard and it will be a good tribute hopefully to our seniors to go out and play and get a win.”
The Boomers are also looking to continue building some momentum for the future and finishing the season on a positive note would go a long way toward that. The Boomers haven’t won their final game since the 2005 season when they beat Anadarko in overtime.
Beating a team giving up that has given up over 50 points three times this year and a minimum of 36 in every district game might not seem that difficult on paper.
But Southeast, while struggling, is a dangerous opponent in many ways.
“Their quarterback is very good, very, very fast,” Jones said. “They are just athletic across the board. With the type of offense they run, they just try to get to the edge and use their speed.
“We’ve got to do a good job of turning them inside and not letting them out run us.”
The Boomers have been hot and cold on defense much of the year, playing well for stretches but giving up some big plays. They are allowing an average of 320 yards a game.
Drake Smithton leads the Boomers with 72 tackles and Polo Gonzalez has 70. Josh Glenn adds 69, Ruben Pando 68 and Jordan Murlin and J. D. Fischer 60. Murlin, Glenn and Jesse Huff have four sacks and Braden Todd and Smithton three interceptions apiece.
Offensively, the Boomers will have to be ready for a number of different things from the Spartans.
“They line up in some strange ways on defense and they do some things we’ve got to take advantage of,” said Jones.
The Boomers are averaging over 320 yards a game offensively and feature some nice balance, averaging 159 yards a game rushing and 161 passing.
Casey Covalt has thrown for 1,330 yards while Travis Harvey, David Dennison and Garrett Roach all have 350 or more yards rushing.
The bugaboo, though, has been turnovers. Simply put, when the Boomers have limited turnovers they have moved the ball and played well.
Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Notes: Here are directions and parking information for Speegle Stadium. Speegle Stadium is located at Capitol Hill High School. The address is SW 36th (SW Grand Blvd.) and South Walker. As you are traveling East on I-40, exit and go South on Walker Avenue. Continue South on Walker past the high school. The parking lot for the football game is located on the South side of the gym. Woodward last played at Speegle Stadium in 2007 when the Boomers beat Southeast 42-22. The Boomers are looking for their first road victory of the season. Southeast’s wins came over Capitol Hill and U. S. Grant.
