HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS AUG. 29
By Mike Tupa
July 21, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
We’re closing in on the first week of high school football.
Most area teams are set to kick off on August 29 in what is traditionally known as “Zero Week” in Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association for prep grid action. By inserting a “zero week” option, this allows teams to have a “bye” week at some point during the regular season.
Two area matchups — Caney Valley at Barnsdall and Nowata at Pawhuska — help highlight the opening weekend.
Following is a list of the area season openers on August 29. All times are 7 p.m.:
Newcastle at Bartlesville (non-district)
Locust Grove at Dewey (non-district)
Wesleyan Christian School at Yale (non-district)
Midway at Copan (non-district)
Caney Valley at Barnsdall (non-district)
Nowata at Pawhuska (District A-1)
Oklahoma Union at Colcord (non-district)
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NEWCASTLE AT BARTLESVILLE
Newcastle piled up nearly half-a-hundred points in a 49-24 win last year against a Bartlesville team that would struggle to an 0-7 start. But the Bartlesville Bruin defense is much more experienced this year and the offense returns several key players in the backfield or up front.
Harry Wright returns for his fourth season as the Bruins’ head coach. Even though the Bruins haven’t recorded a winning season since 2015 they have qualified for the playoffs the last three campaigns.
Newcastle went on to power to a 9-4 record in 2024 and advance all the way to the Class 5A state semifinals.
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LOCUST GROVE AT DEWEY
This showdown will feature the debut of Scott Sapulpa as the new Dewey Bulldoggers head coach. Just as Bartlesville, Dewey hasn’t plowed to a lot of regular season success the past several seasons. Their cumulative record since 2020 is 9-41. But the Dogger program appeared to be primed for a turnaround. This year’s crew might be as experienced in vital spots, and show great promise in others, as they have been in a while. Last year Dewey put up some good offense in a 50-23 loss to Locust Grove.
Locust Grove proceeded to fashion a 4-6 record and missed out on the playoffs.
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WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL AT YALE
Just like Dewey, the WCS Mustangs also feature a new head coach in Fabian Quiroz. Quiroz inherits a squad that was extremely inexperienced and young last season and finished 2-8. The promising observation is all these guys are a year older, bigger, stronger and more battle-tested. Quiroz is the team’s third head coach in three seasons. The Mustangs will get a chance off the bat to display their progress by taking on a Yale squad that hammered them last season, 48-0.
Yale blitzed to an 11-1 record last season before falling in the second round of the Class B playoffs.
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MIDWAY AT COPAN
Copan is a third-area team to be guided by a new head coach in Trenton Kallenberger. This leadership shake-up was a bit of a surprise. The former head coach Marshall Foreman was bringing back the nucleus of a team that finished 8-3 last season, including hosting a first-round playoff game. But Foreman and his son Kane — who would have been a fourth-year starting quarterback at Copan — decided to switch to Pawhuska High. Zane Stricklin, who is playing summer baseball with the Bartlesville Doenges Toyota Indians, has been talked about as a replacement at quarterback. Copan also returns its Big Three in skill player and defensive warrior seniors Teagan Caron, Shooter Brewington and Weston O’Rourke, each of whom has three full years of starting experience under his belt. Copan last year dissected Midway, 62-6. Of course the major unknown will be the strength of the quarterback play. Assuming it fits the bill, the Hornets’ potential is sky-high.
Midway checked in with an 0-10 record at the end of last season.
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CANEY VALLEY AT BARNSDALL
This is a rivalry that extends back decades, although it endured an interruption of several seasons (2020-23) after Barnsdall was dropped to eight-man football. But starting last year the Panthers are back in the 11-man realm. They beat Caney Valley, 55-12, in the 2024 opener. Kylee Sweeney is back for his 10th season as the Barnsdall head coach. His success has been noteworthy — a 59-40 record and seven playoff seasons. In 2019 he guided the Panthers to the Class A state quarterfinals. Barnsdall finished 6-5 last season in its return to 11-man football and despite playing without arguably its best all-around athlete, due to injury. The Panthers return several veterans.
Caney Valley is another area school that changed head coaches during the offseason. Derrick Hammer will be looking to help the program make a U-Turn from a 2-28 record the past three seasons. During that stretch, the Trojans fought through tragedy in the death of a key and popular teammate and other challenges. The Trojans are just three seasons removed from a 6-4 record in 2021 and a playoff campaign in 2020.
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NOWATA AT PAWHUSKA
Nowata has been slowly rising since a major slide in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Guided by veteran head coach, Chance Juby, the Ironmen won three district games last season and made their first playoff appearance since 2019 and only their second since 2016. They have to replace a veteran, talented quarterback. Adrian O’Dell, who like Copan’s Stricklin has played summer baseball in Bartlesville with the Doenges Toyota Indians, has been talked about as the new field general. Juby also has to reload due to the graduation of other key contributors. But he also returns some strong assets that should keep Nowata’s ascension on course.
Of course taking on Pawhuska in the opener is a mountain in itself.
Since Matt Hennesy arrived in 2018, the Huskies have accumulated a 61-24 record in seven seasons and appeared in the playoffs in six seasons, advancing twice to the state semifinals. Last year’s team rocketed to a 9-3 record, including a first-round playoff win against Hartshorne, 44-7. Hennesy returns most of his major movers-and-shakers from last season. As mentioned earlier, quarterback Kane Foreman transferred from Copan to try to fill a huge vacancy there. In an interview several weeks ago, Hennesy said he was impressed with how Foreman was coming along.
Last year Pawhuska downed Nowata, 50-6. This game will be an excellent test of the state of both teams entering the season, each with a new starting quarterback.
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OKLAHOMA UNION AT COLCORD
Bruce Munden takes over the reigns of Cougar football, the fifth area school with a new head coach.
Munden already is familiar with this area from his days as the Barnsdall head coach.
He inherits a Cougar football team that has known both fat and lean years of success the past decade.
During the tenure of former head coach Steve Trammell, the Cougars posted an overall winning record (23-18) from 2018-21 and appeared in the playoffs in each of those campaigns.
But since 2022, the Cougars are 4-26.
They displayed rumblings of progress last season (2024) by finishing 3-7. Three of their losses were by a total of 12 points.
Trammell has developed some young talent which should be a boost to Munden’s endeavor to return the team back to its winning tradition.
Colcord last season downed Oklahoma Union, 40-6, Oklahoma Union’s most lopsided loss of the season.
Colcord surged to an 11-2 record last year, losing in the Class 2A state semifinals to Vian.