Woodward, Okla. — Woodward and Garden City, Kan. have played sparingly in football over the years - 6 varsity level games with a few jv contests here and there.

But having the Buffaloes, a Class 6A team in Kansas, on the schedule generally equals good news for the Boomers.

While the series is tied at 3-3, after playing the Buffaloes, the Boomers have usually gone on to big years. Five of those seasons ended with winning records and all 6 ended in the playoffs.

And with a 1-0 start already, this is shaping up as a breakthrough season for a Boomer program looking for its first winning season since 2001 - which by the way is the last time the Buffaloes were on the schedule.

Maybe that’s a signal to play the Buffaloes more often.

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The 2001 game was noteable for another reason.

The teams played the same week as the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed nearly 3,000 people.

The Boomers game was originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 14, but all but 1 or 2 of  the games in Oklahoma that week was moved back a day to Sept. 15, a Saturday, because Sept. 14 was set aside as a National Day of Prayer.

A patriotic service was held prior to the start of the game, then at the end of the night both teams came together for a prayer.

Certainly, it was an emotional experience.

Outcome? The Boomers won 22-12.

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The series has rarely seen real close contests.

Only one was decided by under 10 points, that a 20-14 win by Garden City in 2000.

The first couple of meetings came in 1982 and 1983 when the Boomers were in a 2-year stretch of going 19-4 while Garden City was struggling.

As a result, the Boomers won 33-0 and 28-12.

Next time around was 1990-1991 when the Boomers were in back-and-forth stretch of up and down seasons. Garden City, meanwhile, was at that time becoming a state power under Dave Matthews, who had moved there from Clinton a couple of years earlier. The Buffaloes would eventually win a state championship in1999.

Garden City won both meetings 27-14 in 1990 and 37-7 in 1991. The 1991 year was a good for the Boomers, though, as they bounced back from an 0-2 start to host a playoff game and finish 7-4.

When the series once again came up in 2000 and 2001 the teams were pretty much equal, thus the 6-point win by Garden City on its home field and the 10-point victory by the Boomers at home.

This renewal brings two programs trying to climb back up the ladder in their respective classes. The Boomers have a leg up with a victory while Garden City suffered a 16-14 setback to Scott City in the opener.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday.

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Woodward officials should expect a pretty good crowd for opening night.

By nature, opening night in any sport is a big deal and if the Boomers continue to surge, the crowds should be strong at Boomer Stadium all year because the home schedule is an attractive one.

Other home games include long-time rivals Weatherford and Elk City, newcomer Cache for homecoming and a Bishop McGuinness team that could be ranked No. 1 when the Irish come calling in week 5.

If you haven’t already done so, you can buy reserved season tickets at the high school office this week and you can also purchase reserved parking.

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The area schedule on Friday offers some attractive matchups.

Laverne, ranked No. 1 in a couple of Class B polls, travels to face a Cherokee team that also won handily in week 1.

Don’t look for too many passes in this game as both teams like to run the ball - a lot.

Elsewhere, Sharon-Mutual will look to build on an impressive win over Seiling as the Trojans travel to face Timberlake.

The Tigers are the defending state champions and opened with a big win, but they could get a test from a seasoned Sharon-Mutual squad that unveiled an impressive running game last week.

Mooreland stays on the road this week in hopes of getting its first victory of the season.

The Bearcats lost to Sayre and will face former district rival Pioneer on Friday. Pioneer took it on the chin against Newkirk in the opener.

Forgan comes off a wild 34-33 win over Canton and will try to go 2-0 against Buffalo while Shattuck is also looking for a 2-0 start against Balko and Waynoka the same at Goodwell. All three games are district matchups.

But the key District C-1 matchup comes in Boise City where the Wildcats host Tyrone in a game that could factor into the playoffs later on. Tyrone, in fact, is mentioned by some coaches in the district as a potential playoff team.



Johnny McMahan is managing editor of the Woodward News