Roughers at 1-0 in district aim for 2-0 in homecoming battle

Sep. 28—Wrapping up win number one and taking aim at win number two as the Roughers (1-3, 1-0 District 6AII-2) prepare for Sand Springs at homecoming this week:

—For starters, it's homecoming for the Roughers and with it the challenge on focus and prioritizing as the week progresses.

"There's angles on how to make that happen, but we all know the No. 1 priority out here is the game and not these side activities," Muskogee head coach Travis Hill said earlier this week. "But if you think of it, as a coach you're preaching something you've really been preaching the whole time. Homecoming is just one of many distractions these kids have when it comes to game time, whether it's that, things at home and personal life or whatever.

"My deal has always been when you make a big deal out of something, it becomes bigger, so I've learned to go about it low-key and I think our kids will adjust to that. We've got a lot of young kids who have already been thrown into the fire and as you look back on how they've processed that, they've taken it and handled it."

—Hill's take on the performance in a 42-12 win over Putnam City West was spun away from the quality of opponent which ended a 12-game Muskogee losing skid and extended Putnam West's to 28 games. "People will look at that, but we did a lot of things we were supposed to," he said, referring to fundamentals which were all part of the two weeks of preparation thanks to an open date leading up to the contest. "We went to the right place at the right time and did the right thing at the right time. When you do that, you have a chance against anyone."

A case in point was linebacker Ronald Warren, who earned the coaches' defensive MVP honor. "We've been pressing him to get downhill and he did — 10 tackles, four for losses. He did what he was asked to do," Hill said.

One change going in was making Devin Whitfield a two-way lineman, inserting him at right guard last Friday in addition to his work as a defensive end. "He's learning. Vernon Pepiakitah (right tackle) did a lot of communicating with him out there," Hill said. "It's a lot when you going 20-25 snaps there and you go and have four tackles for losses. He handled it well."

* Running back Brandon Tolbert, making his first start since suffering a high ankle sprain in the August scrimmage,had 92 yards rushing in the first half and two touchdowns. Wanting to bring Tolbert back gradually, Hill put freshman Latavion Johnson to begin the third quarter and Johnson responded with 102 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. Tolbert will be good to go Friday. "Sore involves a lot of getting in hitting condition for football, so that's going to factor in," said Hill. "By Sunday, he was good and ready to go this week."

—The most difficult thing in preparing for Putnam West was both the lack of a roster early on, which wouldn't have really helped watching film due to the Patriots' jerseys — powder blue on gray. Even the presumably mandatory quarter-inch dark stitch separating the numbers didn't do much at all to make them look visible. National Federation of High Schools rules call for contrasting colors, but there wasn't much to indicate a contrast. That made it nearly impossible to discern from the press box, even with binoculars.

"We had trouble even from the sideline," Hill said. "It's frustration on film, and even on a TV version we got we were able to catch a few numbers. We were excited to come up with the correct guy at quarterback."

—The biggest eye-opener for Hill in watching Sand Springs get off to a 4-0 start has been the play of senior quarterback Ty Pennington, who is 65-of-100 and on the cusp of 1,000 yards (973). He's also had 11 touchdowns and has yet to be intercepted.

"How he isn't a top recruit right now is mystifying," Hill said. "He's a real 6-foot-3, a real 190 pounds (he's listed as 200) and his family are all D1 athletes. He's the real deal.

"Watching him on one play on film, he's throwing from the left hash, the out cut (by the receiver) is on the right side of the field and it's about 15 yards, and (Pennington) puts it on a dime. It wasn't floating. He has a great release. I couldn't say that last year. He was a kid maturing."

Pennington was 20 of 32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second half of a game that saw the Sandites score 28 unanswered points in a 45-14 win.

Jacob Blevins (359 yards), Brody Rutledge (283 yards), and Keaton Campbell (185) combine for 45 of Pennington's completed targets thus far in 2021. Rutledge and Campbell are both 6-foot-2, Blevins 6-0.

—Bobby Klinck, who coached one season as Josh Blankenship's defensive coordinator, is in his second season at the helm. Former longtime Muskogee assistant Jason Medrano is his offensive line coach. Medrano left Muskogee three seasons ago to be the head coach at Catoosa, where he was the past two seasons. All three of his sons played at MHS. Parker Borovetz, another former coach with the line at MHS, is also on the staff.