LUBBOCK, Texas —
The offers of vindication or validation were plentiful early Saturday evening. Two weeks after the sky seemed to be falling on the Sooners, they had just responded with a dominant 41-20 victory over Texas Tech.
OU coach Bob Stoops wasn’t interested in any of it. To him, the sky was in the same place it was two weeks earlier.
“What we care about is what we’re doing. How are we getting better? Stick with each other, recognize the elements we can control and change,” he said. “… We’ll just keep doing what we do, trying to get better in how we work and how we go to meetings. Our guys have had a great attitude. I keep saying that. They worked hard, and they played hard.”
The Sooners (3-1, 1-1 Big 12) proved their coach right with their performance against Texas Tech. There wasn’t a phase that didn’t show improvement in a victory that ended a three-game losing streak at Texas Tech’s AT&T Jones Stadium.
Players didn’t seem too interested in quieting critics either. They’d been through a rough two weeks and emerged with a big, momentum-building win at a critical time.
OU, which jumped four spots to No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday, has entered its most intense week of the season. It concludes on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas against No. 15 Texas (4-1, 1-1).
“I thought it was a big win for the team’s confidence — especially offensively,” center Gabe Ikard said. “I thought we executed really well against a defense that was ranked first in the country — statistically.
“I think it was good. I think it was whatever you want to call it. It was good to go on the road to a tough environment, a place we hadn’t won in a long time, a team that beat us last year, so to come here and get a win was big for our confidence and big for our season.”
The loss to Kansas State on Sept. 22 did knock OU off course. However, it became obvious in Lubbock and elsewhere on Saturday that OU has the potential to get back in the national championship race.
The Red River Rivalry always offers the kind of national stage few teams get to enjoy. Play well and win and the Sooners’ momentum continues to build with a showdown with No. 7 Notre Dame on Oct. 27 on the horizon.
Consistent play from their quarterback is something the Sooners must have in the Cotton Bowl. Landry Jones didn’t have gaudy numbers — 259 yards and two touchdowns, but he did play his most efficient game of the season. He didn’t come close to throwing an interception and engineered touchdown drives on three of OU’s first four possessions.
“I think we played up near to where we are capable of playing on both offense and defense,“ Jones said. “I felt like we really just did a good job on both sides of the ball and building confidence going into Texas. They are a really good team and a good defense and offense. They are really capable of doing a lot of good things. To have a game like this and have that momentum going into next week is nice.”
Perhaps that was the only thing OU lacked in its first three games. It was a team that shot itself in the foot with turnovers and made some defensive breakdowns. Those things were absent against the Red Raiders and the result was an unexpected rout.
The Sooners looked like a different team because of it and enter Texas week feeling a transformed.
“We have confidence,” safety Tony Jefferson said. “We proved ourselves.”
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Jerry Laizure | CNHI News Service Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard runs in the open field Saturday in a Big 12 Conference game against Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock.
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Sooners regain confidence after healthy Texas Tech win
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OCU’s Wright playing for Moore
Drew Wright’s heart will be with her hometown of Moore when her Oklahoma City University softball team competes in the NAIA Championships this week. Edmond Santa Fe graduate Kayley Humann, an OCU outfielder, is one of Wright’s teammates.
Wright and the fourth-ranked Stars (50-13) opened national-tournament play against fifth-ranked Cal State San Marcos Friday at South Commons Softball Complex.
The senior third baseman said it was difficult to leave Oklahoma City on Tuesday after a destructive tornado leveled several city blocks of Moore and south Oklahoma City on Monday.
Fortunately, Wright’s family is safe from the tornado that has been hailed as the most severe to hit the area. -
Bronchos win 2 straight at NCAA Division II World Series
Kaylee Brunson and Kacie Edwards keyed an 11-hit attack that carried Central Oklahoma to a 7-1 romp over Molloy in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship Finals in Salem, VA. Friday afternoon at the Moyer Sports Complex.
Brunson and Edwards had three hits apiece and both drove in runs during a big five-run, sixth-inning outburst that turned a precarious 2-0 lead into a comfortable 7-0 cushion as UCO coasted into Sunday’s winner’s bracket finals. -
Area camps start May 28
Girls hoop camp kicks off Tuesday
The three head varsity girls basketball coaches (Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial; Karlie Free, Edmond North; Paul Bass, Edmond Santa Fe) of Edmond Schools will be hosting a youth basketball camp for girls entering kindergarten-ninth grades at Edmond Memorial High School May 28-31.
The younger kids, entering grades kindergarten-4th, will run from 9 a.m.-noon. The camp will focus on basic fundamentals of the game including shooting, passing, ball handling as well as defensive and offensive skills.
Girls entering grades 5-9 will be in the afternoon camp from 1-4 p.m. The camp will focus on offensive and defensive fundamental skills along with sharpening individual skills through station work and competitive contests.
Cost is $115. Contact Dandy Peeler at 250-4377 for more information. -
Still time to register for UCO's Endeavor Games
Registration is open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
UCO opens World Series with a victory
Kalynn Schrock dominated in the pitching circle and Kaylee Brunson came through with a tie-breaking triple to lift Central Oklahoma past fourth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic 5-2 in Salem, Va. Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championship Finals.
It was the sixth straight postseason win for the No. 19-ranked Bronchos, who improved to 48-11 and moved into today’s 3 p.m. semifinal game against either defending national champion Valdosta State or Malloy.
Schrock gave up just two hits and no walks while striking out 15 — including 10 of the final 12 batters she faced — in improving to 31-6 on the season and 6-0 in the postseason. -
Edmond Santa Fe's Taylor heading to Central Florida
Danielle Taylor, fresh off a Central District Youth Rowing Championship victory on the Oklahoma River at the start of the month, followed up the success by signing a letter of intent in rowing with Central Florida at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
Though Santa Fe does not offer rowing as a team sport, Taylor competes for OKC Riversport on the Junior Crew which competes on the Oklahoma River.
Taylor missed her junior season due to an injury, but Coach Brian Ebke knew the Santa Fe athlete would be raring to go her senior season.
“She’s an extremely hard worker,” Ebke lauded. “Her work ethic is impeccable.” -
Bronchos hit final match play spot in first round
Dillon Rust got off to a blazing start and ended up shooting a one-under-par 70 to lead Central Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. Tuesday.
Rust birdied four of his first five holes en route to his under-par round and the Bronchos ended up with a 300 on the day, giving them a 36-hole total of 597. The 300 leaves UCO eighth in the 20-team field heading into final round of stroke play, with the top eight teams advancing to match play that will determine the national champion. -
Area players earn All-State honors on the diamond
Three area baseball players were selected to the All-State Team this week.
Right-handed pitcher Holden Lyons from Edmond North, made the team after posting a perfect 7-0 mark with an ultra-low 1.29 earned run average.
Deer Creek’s Cole Lindley made it as an outfielder and Oklahoma Christian’s Austin Brooks landed on the list in the designated hitter’s spot.
The threesome will compete on the Large West squad on July 30 at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. -
Tennis camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Raquet Club is offering a pair of tennis camps beginning May 28.
For ages 5-8, a camp is offered from 8:45-9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for ages 7-15 a tennis camp is available from 6-6:55 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Both camps run from May 28-June 13 and cost is $99 per camp.
A camp session for ages 8-16 will run on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30-9:25 a.m. May 29-June 12 for the identical cost.
For more information concerning these camps and others, call 341-4241. -
UCO winds up 10th nationally
Taylor Neidy fired a final-round 75, but Central Oklahoma failed to move up in the team standings at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday.
The Bronchos closed with a 323 — making 11 double bogeys and three triples — and finished 10th in the four-day, 72-hole tournament with a 1,298 total on the 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International.
Lynn ended Nova Southeastern’s four-year reign as national championships, finishing with a 1,187 total to edge the Sharks by three strokes. - More Sports Headlines
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OCU’s Wright playing for Moore
