ten years later: bartlesville’s 2015 football team
Bartlesville High School’s Jarron Hilger runs the ball during the historic 2015 Bruins football season.
Former Bartlesville High School football coach John John McKee pumps up his 2015 football team.
By Mike Tupa
Dec. 1, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
“You’ve gotta have heart
Miles ’n miles ’n miles of heart.”
— Jerry Ross and Richard Adler
Heart.
Perhaps no other word best describes the achievements of the Bartlesville High School football team in 2015.
This amazing odyssey — which ended with a school record 10 wins (10-2) and a spot in the Class 6A-II state semifinals — was fueled by heart.
It was framed by heart. It was a testament to what a team with superior talent and superior heart might accomplish.
The 2015 team ripped through the regular season like a rhino stampede.
It mangled Tulsa East Central, 47-0, in the opener; it finished up in Week 10 by clobbering Claremore, 57-22.
Eight times Bartlesville scored more than 40 points — including three 50-or-more point outputs. The final regular season point total was 422 — an average of 42.2 per game — as the first Bruin team to score 400-or-more in the regular season.
By comparison, only four other Bruin teams in the 44-year history of the program have scored more than 300 points in the regular season — 2010 (388), 2009 (364), 2014 (344) and 2002 (306).
With such dangerous offensive weapons as senior quarterback Colton Penrod (137.5 QB rating), senior tailback Jarron Hilger, senior receiver (and future NFL starter) A.J. Parker and junior receiver A.J. Archambo, senior tight end Tristan Crowder, and others, in the quiver of head coach John McKee, the Bruins seemed unstoppable.
Add to that a group of fearsome blockers up front — some of which included seniors Isaac Barham (6-4, 290), Connor James and Seth Hinnergardt (6-0, 250), junior Joe Fodor (6-0, 230) and sophomore Ryan Haney (6-2, 260) — and the Bruins were a threat to churn out a grinding drive or to make chunk yards or a score on every snap.
On the defensive side, six Bruins racked up 30-or-more tackles — Hunter Gritzmaker (59, 54 solo), Tristan Crowder (46, 32 solo), Easton Hammonds (42, 31 solo), Jordan Williams (38), David Wiseman (37), and Hinnergardt (30). Jaumon Okyere added 21 tackles.
Crowder piled up nine tackles for loss, followed by Gritzmaker with eight.
Crowder also administered four sacks and Gritzmaker tallied a pick-six. Qemar Gray returned a punt for a touchdown.
But it wasn’t just X’s and O’s — or even the Jimmys and Joes — that made the most difference.
It was heart.
Heart — as when the team mourned together with senior teammate Nate Hansen, who lost his 13-year-old brother Burkley in an ATV accident on April 4, 2015 — less than six weeks prior to spring practice.
Heart — as in trailing Bixby by two touchdowns early and coming back with 43 points in the second half.
Heart — as in trailing Muskogee, 21-7, and bursting back with 34 second-half points to win, 48-27.
Heart — as in bouncing back from a devastating three-point loss (field goal in final 10 seconds) to Tulsa Washington — to ruin the march to a 10-0 regular season —to smash Sapulpa the next week, 56-21.
Heart — to remain focused despite the death of Wesleyan Christian School football player Ben Hamm, a personal friend of many of the players.
Heart — to block out all distractions and injury losses and personnel changes and bad bounces and unfortunate calls to and remain united in trying to power Bartlesville to where it had never been before.
_____
FINAL STATS
As expected, the Bruins final stats —regular season plus playoffs — were amazing.
— Penrod amassed nearly 4,000 yards individually. Passing: 215-321-7-3,264. Rushing: 81-630. That added up to 402 plays for 3,894 yards. Penrod also rushed for seven scores and threw for 42 touchdowns (9 different receivers).
— Hilger became the fourth 1,000-yard single-season rusher in Bruin grid history. In 2015 he rumbled for 1,082 yards (and 12 touchdowns) on 206 carries. He also caught 39 passes for 417 yards and two touchdowns, adding up to 1,499 offensive yards and 14 touchdowns.
— As a sophomore, Archambo brought in 56 receptions for 1,025 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed for 79 yards and passed for 55 yards to total 1,159 total offensive yards.
— Parker snared 34 passes — nearly half of them for touchdowns (16) — for 803 yards. Six of his scores covered more than 35 yards and half of them were for 30-or-more yards.
—Three different Bruins recorded pick-sixes — Hansen, Gritzmaker and Wiseman.
— Twelve different Bruins scored at least one offensive touchdown.
— Gray scored touchdowns in three different ways, rushing (22), receiving (30, 77) and a punt return (62).
— Some comparisons between BHS and opponents: Passing yards: BHS 3,321, Opps. 2,010; Yards per possession: BHS 36.6, Opps. 27.5; Offensive TDS: BHS 64, Opps. 33; Sacked: BHS 16, Opps. 24; Total offensive yards: BHS 5,162, Opps. 3,872.
———
Bartlesville High School 2015 football team member Nate Henson (center), with his father Clint (left), is comforted by former head coach John McKee.
———
LIFTING A TEAMMATE
The night was October 9, 2015 — exactly 184 days after 13-year-old Madison Middle School student Burkley Hansen had tragically died — and halftime of the game against Muskogee.
The place was Custer Stadium.
The entire Bruin football team gathered on the field behind their coach, dad Clint Hansen and teammate Nate Hansen, who was still on crutches due to a foot injury.
The official reason was for McKee to present a check for $2,001 (the year Burkley had been born) to the Play for Burke Foundation.
But the occasion had a much more emotional underpinning — the effort of the football team and staff, and of the people in the community to wrap their collective heart around Nate and his family.
In some way embodying the emotion of the whole team, future Kansas State star and NFL starter A.J. Parker stood close behind Nate and coach McKee, his right hand resting on Nate’s left shoulder, his left hand posted on McKee’s left shoulder.
Burkley had been one of the Bruins’ biggest fans — especially of his big brother Nate. Clint Hansen served as a volunteer team photographer.
The words spoken during that night’s ceremony were few. But the outpouring of support, quiet prayers, and empathy for Nate and his family created a blessed silence whose sound extended all the way to Heaven’s intercom system.
This was part of the heart — to privately and publicly lift a fallen teammate and a community — that helped catapult this team to greatness.
———
Bartlesville High School 2015 football team receiver A.J. Archambo hauls in a pass.
———
2015: WEEK BY WEEK
WEEK 1: BHS 47, East Central 0
Six different Bruins scored touchdowns and Penrod found six different receivers on his first six completions.
The 47-point margin of victory was then the second-largest in Bruin history. (The record had been set in 2010 against Skiatook, 48-0).
Hilger amassed 162 yards of total offense while Parker plucked four receptions for 123 yards.
Penrod threw for 320 yards on 22-of-29 passing and tossed touchdown passes to Archambo (15 yards), Parker (55 yards), Garret Meidl (9 yards), Hansen and Hilger. Nate Hansen threw a key downfield block on Parker’s score.
Hilger also ran for a score (1 yard) and David Wiseman registered a pick-six (50 yards).
Meidl booted the extra points.
BHS linebacker Jaumon Okyere defensive linemen Hinnergardt and Crowder put maximum pressure on the quarterback and Dominic Godinez tipped a pass.
—
WEEK 2: BHS 42, Cascia Hall 14
Hilger hammered out 137 yards and scored three touchdowns on just 18 carries. He also hauled in 62 yards of receptions.
Parker added two receiving scores and Penrod found Matt Simpson for a 45-yard score.
Meidl dialed up 6-of-6 extra points.
Hunter Gritzmaker’s scrappy play fueled the defense.
Prior to the game, the Bruin players and coach McKee staged a pre-game somber procession by carrying a big American flag to honor the victims and emergency responders of 9-11.
—
WEEK 3: BHS 42, Enid 20
The Bruins didn’t allow a point in the first half for the third-straight game.
—
WEEK 4: BHS 24, Sand Springs 7
Penrod completed 25 passes for more than 300 yards and Archambo snared seven catches for 110 yards to energize the Bruin offense.
Hilger came up shy of 100 yards rushing but contributed some key carries to help grease the offensive attack.
Parker caught only two passes — but both of them went for touchdowns.
Freshman running back DeAndre Young converted fourth-and-short with a three-yard run to help move the chains and keep Sand Springs off the field.
The Bruin defense held Sand Springs to minus one-yard rushing in the second half.
For the fourth-straight week, Bartlesville didn’t allow a first-half point. Crowder’s end zone interception — with 18 seconds remaining until intermission — helped keep that streak going.
Bartlesville carried a 17-0 lead into halftime and grinded through the second half for the win to improve to 4-0.
—
WEEK 5: BHS 50, Bixby 33
October started with an ominous note for the red-hot Bruins — they had to travel on the first Friday of the month to the den of the defending state champion Bixby Spartans.
After Bixby bolted to a 14-0 lead — while the Bruin offense sputtered and punted on its first three possessions — the script appeared ominous.
It didn’t get much better the rest of the first half — Bixby led going into halftime, 21-14.
Then the miracle.
Sparked by Hansen’s 72-yard pick six in the opening minutes of the third quarter — resulting in a 21-21 tie — Bartlesville went on an offensive romp, putting 29 more points on the board in the second half to hang a half-a-hundred on Bixby.
Bartlesville scored six offensive touchdowns in the game — including Hilger’s 9th and 10th rushing touchdowns of the season, a 41-yard scamper to paydirt by Penrod, and three scoring aerials (to Gray, Archambo and Simpson) by Penrod — and added a 23-yard field goal by Meidl.
Archambo would record 158 receiving yards.
Hansen’s interception return was an example of the heart that characterized the Bruins.
He injured his foot during the run but kept on motoring to the end zone. A few minutes later, an ice bag would be taped on his injured foot and he would be on crutches for the rest of the game.
He stood on the sidelines cheering on his team’s amazing rally.
Simpson high-pointed the ball for the go-ahead touchdown — coming down within the back of the end zone to put Bartlesville up, 27-21.
The Bruins kept racking up the points.
Late in the fourth quarter, Hilger made a one-yard plunge into the end zone to put the game away. Brayden Mayhew set up the score on a 21-yard reception.
On the defensive side, a pass breakup by Parker, a pass tip by Crowder and a key tackle for loss by Gritzmaker and Jordy Williams opened the door for the Bruins to rally.
The only thing missing for one of the greatest nights in Bruin football history was the presence of Burkley Hansen on the sideline or in the stands to cheer on Nick’s pick six.
—
Bartlesville High School’s 2015 football team member Conner James.
—
WEEK 6: BHS 48, Muskogee 27
Deja wow!
For the second time in the season Bartlesville fell behind, 21-7 — and then let its heart kick in.
Qemar Gray returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown that made it a two-score game, 34-21, and Hunter Gritzmaker contributed a 20-yard pick-six for the Bruins’ final touchdown to help energize the Bruins.
The script set up the first half just like the week before at Bixby.
Muskogee went ahead, 14-0, and then 21-7, and led at halftime, 21-14.
Just as they had at Bixby, the Bruins tied it up early in the third quarter. They would outscore Muskogee 34-6 in the second half.
Archambo and Parker each pulled in two touchdown aerials each, while Penrod ran for 110 yards on 13 carries.
A 14-yard reception by Brayden Mayhew led to a touchdown burst by Penrod.
Crowder sacked the Muskogee quarterback on a third-down play and Hinnergardt played like triplets on the defensive line. Conner James plugged up the middle of the defensive line like the Hoover Dam.
DeAndre Williams also stepped up on defense, recovering a fumble to set up a touchdown.
Gritzmaker, Hinnergardt and Williams combined for a 10-yard sack while Muskogee was still within striking distance.
—
WEEK 7: Tulsa Washington 17, BHS 14
Drat, drat, drat!
The Hornets cost the Bruins a chance for a perfect regular season.
This was a nail-biter to the final second.
With three minutes left, the score was tied, 14-14, and Bartlesville’s offense owned the ball inside the Hornet 10-yard line.
The scenario seemed to be a win-win: Either grind out a touchdown or drain the clock and boot a chip-shot field goal to reward the 1,000-plus Bartlesville fans that had traveled to Tulsa.
But — as you can surmise by the final score — neither of those things happened.
The Bruins fumbled the ball away — on a smash-mouth run — at the Washington seven-yard line with 2:33 left.
The chances for a tie and win in overtime still loomed bright to help cheer up the gloomy faithful.
Even that wasn’t to be.
Washington mounted an efficient 88-yard drive — helped by 21 yards of Bartlesville penalties — and nailed the winning field goal with six seconds left.
After falling behind quickly 14-0, the Bruins once again called on their team’s stout heart.
During one exciting stretch Penrod completed 14-of-15 passes for 195 yards. Hilger made a toe-tapping sideline catch for 18 yards to keep a touchdown drive alive. Four plays later Penrod found Archambo for a 26-yard touchdown pass play.
The Bruins tied it up on a 93-yard scoring possession in the fourth quarter, capped by a 24-yard touchdown strike from Penrod to Archambo. During the drive Hilger — who was covered by the secondary tighter than a super model’s bikini — made an over-the-shoulder catch that resulted in a 39-yard gain.
The Bruins tied the score, 14-14, with 8:29 left in the game.
Bartlesville got the ball back with 6:23 showing.
They drove the ball methodically down the field, including clutch catches by Mayhew and Meidl. As the Bruins worked down the field, the growing electric buzz from the Bruin fans could have generated enough voltage to resuscitate the heart of the Great Sphinx of Giza.
Finally the Bruins eclipsed the Hornet 10-yard line for first-and-goal. But two plays later, one of the Bartlesville ball carriers lost the ball on a fumble.
Washington recovered and — as noted above — drove the other way and booted the winning field goal in the final 10 seconds.
Bruin coach McKee vowed after the game the Bruins would bounce back and get better.
—
WEEK 8: BHS 56, Sapulpa 21
Talk about your bounce-backs.
Bartlesville scored on eight-straight possessions — and never punted.
On their ninth possession — just as the clock ran out — they were sitting on the Sapulpa 11-yard line.
The victory elevated them to a 5-0 home record in the regular season.
Penrod unleashed a 382-yard passing clinic on 23-of-27 completions and six touchdowns. Bartlesville amassed 610 offensive yards.
Archambo and Parker each scored three touchdowns — including a 55-yard connection from Archambo to Parker on a double-pass.
Mayhew and Hilger each added a touchdown while kicker Tyler Stitt booted eight extra points.
King Midas might have been jealous of Bartlesville’s golden touch on offense.
—
WEEK 9: BHS 42, Ponca City 23
The outcome didn’t reflect Bartlesville’s dominance. Ponca City scored its final two touchdowns in the last 2:58 — one on a blocked punt and the other on a scoop-and-score. Until then, the Bruins led, 42-9.
Parker sparkled with four catches for 119 yards — and three touchdowns while Hilger ripped through the defense for 133 yards rushing on 19 totes.
Penrod threw for 235 yards and ran for 101 and two touchdown runs — of 56 and 37 yards.
Defensive highlights included fumble recoveries by Gritzmaker and Parker and a Gray interception. Ponca City completed just 6-of-24 passes for 84 yards.
The Bruins opened their scoring on an aerial from Penrod to Parker, who shook off his defender and scored near the left pylon.
Bartlesville carried a 21-9 lead into halftime and scored three times in the third quarter — a touchdown catch by Parker of 13 and 33 yards and Parker’s 56-yard run on which he was harder to stop than a hurricane.
Following the game, athletic director Tim Bart accepted the ConocoPhillips Bowl Trophy to take home to Bartlesville.
Bartlesville was on the verge of clinching its first home playoff game since 1988.
—
WEEK 10: BHS 56, Claremore 22
Archambo and Parker both seized two passes for touchdowns and Hilger ran for two scores in the 34-point win.
But the Bruins’ most popular touchdown of the night probably belonged to offensive/defensive lineman Hinnergardt, who muscled one yard into the end zone for the game’s final points.
Bartlesville scored touchdowns on eight of its 10 possessions.
Hilger ran for 122 yards on 17 carries while up-and-coming freshman runner DeAndre Young added 56 yards on six totes.
Parker averaged 45 yards on his three catches and Penrod passed for 244 yards.
Claremore stayed close early, scoring on three of its first five possessions. But the Zebras would add only a field goal the rest of the way. Hinnergardt intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter to end a Claremore march at the Bruin 27-yard line.
—
QUARTERFINAL: BHS 35, Midwest City 14
Four different Bruins scored touchdowns (Gritzmaker, Parker, Archambo and Hilger) — and Tyler Stitt booted five extra points — in the historic first-round victory at Custer Stadium. Archambo fingered two touchdown passes (66, 22).
On Archambo’s 66-yard scoring catch, he bolted on a ‘go’ route to the left post — created about 30 yards of separation from the nearest defender — caught Penrod’s lofty spiral and hot-footed it the remaining several yards to the end zone with less than a minute until halftime.
This was just the fifth time in 34 seasons Bartlesville won a playoff opener — and the first time at home since 1987.
Penrod gained 331 yards (278 passing, 53 rushing) and threw for four scores. Hilger wrapped up with 99 yards (71 rushing, 28 receiving).
During a key defensive sequence early in the game. After the Bruins lost the ball on a muffed punt, Barham buried a running back for a one-yard loss on 2nd-and-7 at the Bruin 24-yard line. On the next play, Gritzmaker sacked the quarterback for an 11-yard loss, forcing a punt.
—
SEMIFINAL: BIxby 67, BHS 21
This was an odd game that played out on the neutral Owasso High School field.
McKee summed up the rough outcome by saying it just wasn’t the Bruins’ day.
At least most of it.
The Bruins did make one big run — but faded in the second half.
Bixby shot out to a 19-0 lead in the opening 13-and-a-half minutes.
But then the Bruins created their own ray of hope by scoring three quick touchdowns to hijack the lead, 21-19.
The Bruin comeback began on a 77-yard scoring pass play from Penrod to Gray, who ran a go route on a post pattern. After grabbing the catch he galloped into the end zone.
The Bruin defense then forced Bixby into a three-and-done and the Bruin offense went to work again. Bartlesville scored on a missile fired to Crowder on a fly pattern down the sideline, who scored his first touchdown of the season. Stitt’s extra point cut Bixby’s lead to 19-14 with 8:10 left in the first half.
Bixby’s offense stalled again — thanks to a 12-yard sack by Crowder. On 3rd and 18, Hansen — who a few days earlier had come off being on the injury list due to a foot injury — intercepted a pass and returned it to the Bixby 25-yard line.
That set up a touchdown pass from Penrod to Archambo. Just like that the Bruins had turned a 19-0 deficit into a 21-19 lead.
But then the tide turned.
The Bruins wouldn’t score another point while Bixby — utilizing the running of 237-pound steam-roller ball carrier Nic Roller and a short controlled passing game — would score seven more touchdowns.
By halftime, the Spartans led, 33-21. They added five more touchdowns in the second half. Roller would score seven touchdowns on the day.
———
END OF THE RIDE
Just like that the Bruins’ season ended.
The task of playing in the state championship game would have to be left to a future Bruin team.
But this squad had elevated Bruin football to more wins and more points than any other in history. It tied the 1998 team as the only ones to advance to the state semifinals.
Sure, athletic talent oozed from the 2015 Bruin squad — Parker would play three seasons in the NFL (defensive back), including multiple starts for the Detroit Lions; Archambo became a key player for the Oral Roberts University baseball team; Hilger became the team’s all-time leading career rusher as a three-year starter; Crowder played football for Missouri State; junior Barron Tanner would play Division I basketball; and Barham would become an offensive line starter for Northeastern State University. Others would sign letters of intent to play college football but information of their careers does not seem to be readily available.
But it was the heart of the team — which included coaches, players, managers, trainers, parents, fans and community — that breathed life into its full potential.
What a ride!
Bartlesville High School’s 2015 football player Qemar Gray.