Writer's Block

Photo Courtesy of  B’s Pics by Bobbie Henry When you play sports in high school, one thing is a given, there will be some traveling. Sometimes it could be up to a couple hundred miles one way to get to the game. But for one Oklahoma high school football player, the next game is a much longer trip. Paytin Lucas, a junior at Mannford High School, will be playing in the Down Under Bowl in Australia this summer. The Down Under Bowl, which was started in 1988, hosts hundreds of American football players and coaches from all across the country to participate in a championship tournament. While they are there to display their athletic talent, they players also make the trip of a lifetime to the other side of the globe. Paytin played his Freshman and Sophomore seasons with Kellyville before moving to Mannford for his Junior campaign. In his junior season for the Pirates, he played multiple positions including linebacker, defensive end, center, and nose tackle. He registered 71

Caleb Riggs & Darius Riggs Okay High School Okay, OK Photo by Sarah Royce About Caleb Favorite Team: Cleveland Cavaliers Favorite Show: The Wayans Bros Favorite Cartoon Character: Riley Freeman (The Boondocks) Favorite Food: Fried Chicken Favorite Movie: He Got Game Favorite Quote: "I do it cause my mom still working" What Super Power do you wish you had: Super Speed About Darius Favorite Team:  Texas (NCAA BB) & Lakers (NBA) Favorite Show:  First 48 & Sportscenter Favorite Cartoon Character:  Tom & Jerry Favorite Food:  Chinese Food Favorite Movie:  Glory Road Favorite Quote:  "Friends come and go but banners hang forever" - Kobe Bryant What Super Power do you wish you had:  Fly __________________________________________________________________________________ For the Athlete Spotlight this month, we are heading to the small town of Okay, home of the Mustangs. Caleb and Darius Riggs are senio

Photo by City of Burns Flat A lot of things can happen in a four year period. Our nation elects or re-elects a president. Athletes from around the world compete in either a summer or a winter Olympics. It’s easy to say that four years is a decent amount of time. What follows is the story of the Burns Flat Eagles football team and how they persevered through a challenging four years.  Burns Flat is a small town in western Oklahoma, located to the southwest of Clinton, with a population of a little over 2,000 people with two gas stations and a restaurant. The town used to be home to an Air Force base but when it closed in 1969, all of its personnel were sent to other functioning bases across the nation. Needless to say, Burns Flat is not really a thriving metropolis.  Although the town may not have a lot of things, they do have a local school. Burns Flat is home of the Eagles. And like most small town Oklahoma football teams, they sometimes struggle with getting enough

Photo by Niki Counce The high school years can be difficult for some kids, trying to balance between school work, extracurricular activities, sports, a job, and trying to have a social life. For one girl, she had to try to fit in with a certain group in a way that most high school girls do not even think about.  Alexandra “Ale’” Millison is a senior at Mannford High School. She is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spirt Club. She was named the 2016 Football Homecoming Queen. She plays soccer year around with the West Side Alliance soccer club and also coaches the Littles , a soccer team made up of two and three year olds. By all accounts, Ale’ is your average high school girl, except for one thing.  Every Friday night in the fall, you will find Ale’ at every Mannford Pirate football game. She will not be found in the bleachers cheering on the team, or with the cheerleaders, keeping the crowd hyped. She’s not a manager for the football team getting water to

As most of you can tell, the look of the blog has changed. The website that hosted my blog was shut down due to circumstances that were out of my control, forcing me to find a new place to blog.  Things will not change much, I will continue to do the monthly Athlete Spotlight, highlighting a student-athlete from somewhere in the state of Oklahoma. I also will be sharing positive and uplifting sports stories when I am able.  For those followers from the previous site, I am trying to retrieve my stories that were on there and I will be reposting them here when I am able to. Thank you for following and your support! Derrick