Midwest City rallies against Bentonville
Midwest City didn’t return home until after 4 a.m. Sunday, but there were still smiles all around.
The Bombers, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A-II, upset Arkansas’ Class 7A state runner-up Bentonville 28-25 in overtime late Saturday night.
“They never quit,” Midwest City coach Darrell Hall said. “That’s the best attribute I’ll give them. They’re fighters, and they’re a great team. They’re going to give us their all every time and it’s so awesome to have that.”
Midwest City rallied in the second half to force overtime. From there, Bentonville kicked a field goal, but Midwest City running back Billy Cooks scored on a 10-yard run on the second play of overtime.
The Bombers took advantage of several Bentonville miscues to complete the comeback.
Bentonville jumped to a 16-7 lead midway through the third quarter when a lateral pass was fumbled and Midwest City’s Oshei Whiteside scooped it up and raced 45 yards to the end zone.
Bentonville responded for a 22-14 lead, but Bombers quarterback Preston Colbert threw a fourthdown touchdown pass to Andre Miles to make it 22-20. The Bombers then caught another break when Bentonville’s snap on a punt went out of the end zone to tie the game.
Colbert completed 10 of 24 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown.
“I’m really excited about what we’ve got going,” Hall said. “We’re a long ways from getting the job done, but we took a huge step last night.”
Earlier in the day, Class 6A-II defending champion Tulsa Washington lost to Arkansas’ Class 7A defending champion North Little Rock, 29-28.
OSSAA to partner with military veterans
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association is looking to team up with former military personnel.
The OSSAA announced last week that they were partnering with ‘Battlefields2Ballfields’, an organization designed to help military veterans transition back to civilian life by training them to become sports officials.
“We could not be happier than to now be included in the great work that ‘Battlefields2Ballfields’ is doing,” said OSSAA executive director David Jackson. “With athletics being so impactful to Oklahomans, it’s critical for us to have enough quality officials to cover the many sporting events that our students participate and compete in daily. We feel that this partnership gives us a great jump start in promoting our military personnel into great leaders in any number of sports.”
The organization, which touts itself as the fastest-growing officiating organizations in America, was conceived and administered by FOX Sports NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira.
Battlefields2Ballfields offers scholarships to candidates to help offset the cost of training, registration fees, uniforms, camps and clinics. To date, B2B has awarded 150 scholarships to aspiring officials throughout the United States.
“Teaming up with the OSSAA is exactly what ‘Battlefields2Ballfields’ is trying to do throughout the country,” Pereira said. “This organization has a track record of excellence throughout the state of Oklahoma, and we at B2B are proud to be a part of the work they do so well.”
OCS kicker Gosden raising money for research
Oklahoma Christian School kicker Jack Gosden is raising money throughout the season to help fight childhood cancer.
Gosden is accepting donations and pledges for each field goal and extra point he makes this fall. All donations will benefit childhood cancer research through Kick-It, a national charitable athletic program through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Gosden first picked up the idea at a Kohl’s Kicking Camp this summer. He hopes to raise more than $1,000, which will fund more than two days of research.
“I just want to do something I love and help the community at the same time,” Gosden said in a release.