RECIPE for SUCCESS
Revitalization of Pawhuska football started with family of TV's Pioneer Woman
“Pawhuska's got good tradition in football. They had just fallen on some hard times. Once we started winning, (the fans) were all back.” Matt Hennesy, head football coach
Drive through Pawhuska and you'll see the stone facade of the football stadium has the same old-town feel as the rest of the community. Pawhuska High School's stadium was constructed in the Great Depression of the 1930s, a part of numerous Works Progress Administration projects that put people to work across the country. Not many of its outside details have changed, but take a step inside the gates and you'll see all the modern amenities of big-time high school football.
The luscious artificial turf has a Husky logo at midfield. A new athletic facility sits to the northeast.
Like many things in Pawhuska these days, the change wouldn't have happened without TV's Pioneer Woman. Ree Drummond, known far and wide for her cooking show and her kitchen gadgets, and her husband, Ladd, teamed with other citizens in the quaint Osage County town to overhaul the facilities.
The Pioneer Woman is about beautifying things and making them hearty. Her latest venture — along with the entire town — is Pawhuska football, helping spark a significant turnaround after a winless 2017 season.
Her biggest contribution, though, is the quarterback, Bryce Drummond, a junior who has become the face of a program chasing a Class A title only two years after near irrelevance.
“Pawhuska's got good tradition in football,” coach Matt Hennesy said. “They had just fallen on some hard times. Once we started winning, (the fans) were all back.”
The Huskies (9-1) host Oklahoma Union (7-3) in the first round of the Class A playoffs Friday night. It will be their first home playoff game since 2011, which is also the last time they won a playoff game. Pawhuska topped Oklahoma Union 60-18 in a Week 1 matchup earlier this year, also at Ormond Beach Memorial Stadium.
The WPA stadium got its name from former Pawhuska star Ormond Beach, who became a star in the Ontario Rugby Football League in the 1930s but died at age 27 in an industrial accident.
The transformation of Pawhuska football has been dramatic.
Prior to last season, the Huskies won only four games in three seasons, including a winless campaign in 2017. When Hennesy, who had spent his previous six seasons leading Locust Grove, accepted the head coaching job a year ago, he inherited a locker room with 14 players.
Yet he could sense change happening.
During his interview, Hennesy saw that the new athletic facility that would house a locker room and weight room was nearly complete. Discussions about turf and a new track were ongoing, too.
The Drummonds' donation was the first, laying the ground for a new weight room. Others in town followed, and together they raised about $2 million to improve athletic facilities.
“It has just been fun to see it all come together,” Ladd said.
His biggest excitement was seeing the weight room develop. Rob Glass, the strength and conditioning coach for the Oklahoma State football team, helped design the space.
The locker room has space to accommodate 80 players and includes a lounge. Pawhuska's old locker room, which often would flood during storms, was under the home bleachers.
Possibly no one in Pawhuska has experienced the changes more than Duke Atterberry, who was Pawhuska's head coach in 1980-2004. Hennesy spent time as a student assistant working for Atterberry, who's now an assistant on Hennesy's staff.
The athletic facility then was just a grassy area. There were also challenges in maintaining a grass field through Oklahoma's everchanging fall weather.
Of course, Atterberry and everyone in Pawhuska has seen more than football change. Downtown has been revitalized with the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile bringing fans of the Drummonds from across the world to Pawhuska. That rejuvenation has crept north into the confines of the Huskies' stadium.
“Even with the similarities, so much has changed,” Atterberry said. “Even with the same home stands, it's hard to recognize this place.”
The new facilities don't win games, though.
Bryce, the older of Ree and Ladd's two sons, has passed for 2,650 yards with 30 touchdowns this season while rushing for 705 yards and 19 scores. As a freshman, he was an offensive lineman but moved to quarterback when Hennesy arrived, and Bryce has thrived.
“I played quarterback all my childhood,” Bryce said. “When Coach Henno got into town, I saw an opportunity to start fresh.”
His clean slate has produced 15 wins in two seasons with more games to go this season. He and his teammates are focusing on a deep playoff run, and that quest begins Friday.
Pawhuska is known for being the heart of Osage County and the home of The Pioneer Woman. Ree has helped beautify and energize downtown with her shop and bakery, but as busy as she is with her TV show and businesses, she and Ladd don't miss any football games. They're beyond proud to watch their son. Beyond proud, too, to witness the turnaround firsthand while knowing they've contributed in many ways.
“(Bryce's success) has just been incredible,” Ladd said. “It's going to be fun to see what he can do in the playoffs.”