BLAST FROM THE PAST
By Mike Tupa
Dec. 18, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following are summaries from area sporting events from the past.
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September 1996
Bartlesville High’s football team played a grueling stretch that included Broken Arrow, Enid, Stillwater, Ponca City, Sand Springs, and Shawnee.
Broken Arrow blanked the Bruins, 28-0 — Zach Willis topped the Bruins in receiving (2-24).
In Enid’s 32-10 victory, Brendan Swisher scored on a 17-yard pass from Shawn Tate. Willis completed a halfback pass for 19 yards.
Stillwater thumped Bartlesville, 48-13. The Bruins ran for 12 yards for both their touchdowns, one by Brandon Hastings and the other by Shanton Burgess.
Then came the biggest heartbreak — one that had first-year head coach Lee Brower, members of the staff, players and parents in almost inconsolable sadness afterward. Ponca City — which hosted the game — won in four overtimes, 35-33. Josh Cole hauled in three touchdown passes — including a 54-yarder — from Tate. Tate — who ran for a score and found Geoff Beaulieu for another scoring strike — completed 10-of-26 passes for 137 yards. Running back Leelend Walker — seeing his first major action of the season — powered for 82 yards on 17 carries. Perry Williams picked the Ponca City quarterback to set up one of the Bruins’ touchdowns.
Next up the Bruins recorded their top victory of the year. In fact, it probably ranks somewhere in the top 10 to 20 victories in program history, considering the circumstances. Sand Springs came to town with a perfect record (6-0) and a high state ranking, while Bartlesville sat at 1-5 for this season and 2-34 in its last 36 games, going back to a playoff loss in 1992. But on this night the Bruins stunned Sand Springs — and the rest of the state — by a score of 20-16. Cole hauled in the winning touchdown with 2:03 left. Tate completed 10-of-17 passes for 130 yards. Other productive Bruins including Burgess rushing for 68 yards and Walker catching three passes for 52 yards. The Bruin defense held in the final minute after Sand Springs started its final drive from the Bruin 40-yard line.
Bartlesville boarded the bus the next week for Shawnee. Shawnee surged to a 19-7 lead partway through the first half, but the Bruins snapped back to win, 24-19 — their first back-to-back victories since 1992. A 28-yard field goal by McDonald triggered the Bartlesville comeback. Tate ran for the final two scores; Walker had opened the scoring on a 97-yard run on Bartlesville’s first possession, perhaps the longest run from scrimmage by a Bruin back. Walker finished with 143 yards rushing on 17 totes. On the defensive side, Jacky Manning successfully defended two passes to help preserve the win.
With the momentum of two wins under their belt, the Bruins next took on Tulsa Washington and a chance to put themselves squarely in playoff contention. But Washington won the shootout, 38-29. Manning intercepted a pass that set up a 25-yard touchdown toss from Tate to Beaulieu. Tate later found Cole for an aerial play that covered 40 yards, leading to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Burgess. Micah Siemers snared two touchdown passes, of seven and 22 yards. Mark Barrington also caused a Washington fumble. This was a revenge game for Washington — the previous season (1995) the Bruins — who were on a 26-game losing streak — had humiliated Washington, 10-7, on its homefield.
With no hopes for the playoffs, Bartlesville still finished 1996 with a huge effort, losing to a strong Sapulpa team by just four points, 29-25. The Bruin offense generated 325 yards, led by Tate, who completed 12-of-28 for 212 yards. Manning hauled in touchdown passes of 54 and 16 yards, Walker scored on a one-yard run, Beaulieu notched a two-point play and McDonald knocked through a 32-yard field goal. Manning recorded 114 yards receiving on just four catches.
This game ended a gritty season that saw the Bruins finish at 3-7, after having gone 1-29 the previous three years (1993, 0-10; 1994, 0-10; 1995, 1-9), for Brower. Despite a tremendous toll by graduation off the 1996 teams, Brower would lead the Bruins to 3-7 again in 1997 — with a true quarterback platoon system which saw Robbie Ball and Jarrod Graham alternate every other quarter — and 5-5 both in 1998 and 1999 before Brower retired to return to coaching on the college level.
Swisher would go on to star at linebacker for the University of Tulsa. Cole and Tate both went to college football. Tate would later join the U.S. Marines and go overseas to fight in the war on terror. In 1998, Willis would set a Bartlesville single-game rushing record with more than 250 yards. Beaulieu would play in the Oklahoma State football program.
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MAY 2010
Local bowling underdog Henry Anderson of Nowata put the bite on the rest of the competition to win the Bowler of the Year championship tournament at Bartlesville’s Red Apple Center.
Anderson faced Bartlesville bowling maestro Tom Crawford in the final. Crawford had composed a sweet symphony of crashing pins in the semifinal to shoot a soaring 278 and earn him the favorite’s mantle going up against Anderson for the title.
But the kegs weren’t nearly as obliging for Crawford in the final. Anderson won, 234-188, to earn bragging rights among the best competitors from Red Apple, the ConocoPhillips Lanes and the Nowata Ironmen Lanes.
Red Apple General Manager Dicki Ward organized the event to bring together area bowlers in a signature event.
It started with 24 bowlers. The first round pared the number to 16. A double-elimination format followed. The top four qualifiers included Crawford (averaging 220), Richard Brown, Josh Soper and Chuck Ford.
Anderson then grabbed the momentum after averaging 221.
Crawford went into the final as the top seed. He and Anderson would wage a fierce tussle until midnight.
On this night, Anderson proved to be the best roller. Both men were experienced out-of-state competitors.