New coach already unifying Mustang
MUSTANG — Dressed primarily in Mustang High School red and black Friday night, more than 120 football players stretched across the artificial turf as far as possible, nearly touching the track. They awaited a starting whistle.
It was nearly 48 hours before the high school football season officially opened, and the excitement to see conditioning was palpable.
Around 500 fans cheered as cheerleaders pushed the players and crowd on with each sprint in the conditioning test to earn a varsity spot. Five. Hundred. Naturally, with each sprint —64 over four quarters, to be exact — the noise grew louder.
“Five hundred people in the stands watching
sprints,” Mustang athletic director Robert Foreman said Saturday, pausing to think about what he saw. “Who does that?”
Lee Blankenship does that.
Communities across the state receive a jolt of energy Monday with the opening of high school football practice. Each has a dream of a gold ball. For the West's largest school, hope truly abounds.
Six- year- olds are running some of the same plays as the varsity team. Middle school kids are doing even more of the same plays. Fans, alumni and boosters see a bright future, a turnaround from missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
It starts with the community's new coach.
“I' ve never seen anything quite like it ,” Mustang Youth Football Association president Louis Krivanek said. “He's such a motivator.”
Nine months ago, Blankenship was lured away from Bartlesville following one season. The Spiro native had built winners at Gore and Beggs. Foreman wasn't taking no for an answer.
Blankenship wasted little time establishing his vision.
The 33- year-old is the cousin of Owasso coach Bill Blankenship, the architect of powerhouse Tulsa Union and now Owasso. From afar as a child, Lee watched the Union dynasty form. He watched Allan Trimble build Jenks.
Now, he is quick to point out he never worked with either coach. He has had a lot of trial and error in eight years as a head coach. But he did steal one play from Trimble's secret playbook. Uniting a community. Trimble believed that started by aligning the youth leagues with the high school program. The head coach needs to be visible. He and his assistants need to communicate with coaches at all levels. Guidelines need to be set. Expectations need to be met.
It's possibly the first step to the West taking down the East for the first time since 1995.
“I' m no dummy ,” Blankenship said. “I know what Allan did, and I think that's going to happen here.”
Blankenship quickly met with the youth league' s board of directors. He met with the three middle school athletic directors and coaches.
Then he was more visible than ever. Blankenship was at 6-year-old practices. He developed plays for all levels that would translate one day at the high school level. He ran camps alongside his coaches and players.
Wherever Blankenship felt he was needed, he was there.
“He's probably spoken at every church in town on Sundays,” Foreman said. “He's just a genuine guy who really cares for the kids.”
That's why participation has exploded.
Mustang has 122 players ranging from sophomores to seniors. It has 93 freshmen. They've each fallen for Blankenship's new system. So has the community. “I'm not really doing anything special or anything that other places haven't done,” Blankenship said. “I'm just trying to love our kids and teach them about character and promote the game of football in our community.
“To this point, it seems to be working well.”