AREA FOOTBALL: DEWEY, BARNSDALL, COPAN, PAWHUSKA PICK UP WINS
Dewey High School’s Jayden Vallen (3) celebrates after a run against Locust Grove. The Bulldoggers defeated Locust Grove 53-34 at home.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Scott Sapulpa picked up his first win as Dewey High School’s head football coach last Friday night. The Bulldoggers defeated Locust Grove 53-34 at home.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Sept. 1, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS
The following are area football summaries from last Friday night:
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DEWEY
What an opening-game splash!
In what some might consider Dewey’s most significant season opener since 2020 — when it beat Miami, 44-42, on Miami’s home field — the Bulldoggers defoliated Locust Grove High, 53-34, at Dewey.
The victory not only avenged last year’s 53-20 loss, but Dewey recorded what was probably its highest-quality win since that same Miami game.
New Dewey head coach Scott Sapulpa could hardly have been happier about how his team put it all together against Locust Grove.
A handful of defensive stops in the early part of the game kept Locust Grove from taking charge on the scoreboard. That allowed the new-look Dewey offense time to mesh and get in sync.
“Luckily, our defense was playing well,” said Sapulpa, who became head coach late in the offseason. “I’m really proud with the effort. We had some hitting going on. (Dewey) swarmed to the ball on defense. … We were popping some pads last night and that was nice.”
Led by first-year starting quarterback Braxton Braden, the offense finally found its stride.
“In the second quarter our offense started warming up,” Sapulpa said.
Braden, who is a sophomore, hurled four touchdown passes — two to Caydn Artherton (28, 24) and one each to Easton Davis (21) and Layne Gastel (19).
Jayden Vallen and Eddie Rice balanced out the offense with 69 and 43 years rushing, respectively.
“Braden threw the ball well,” Sapulpa said. “On one play, Braden rolled right and made an amazing pass to the corner of the end zone to Easton. … It was cool to be able to rotate carries among the running backs.”
Sapulpa also heaped praise on his offensive line, whose starters included Kaiden Fowler, Pierce Butler, Will Lawrence and Jackson Fox.
Dedicated offseason conditioning by the players created a major reason for the first-game success, the coach added.
“I’m glad it worked out for the boys,” he added.
Next up, Dewey takes on Perkins-Tryon.
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The Dewey student section cheers on the Bulldoggers last Friday night.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Copan High School’s Weston O'Rourke (4) runs the ball during the Hornets 52-0 win over Midway last Friday in Copan.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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COPAN
New Copan Hornet head coach Trenton Kallenberger had plenty about which to smile Friday night.
Number one?
Perhaps the Hornets’ smothering defense that held Midway to minus-62 yards.
Bolstered by this voracious defense, the Hornets hung a mercy-rule loss on Midway, 52-0, in front of a happy home crowd at Sheets Stadium.
Kallenberger utilized three different quarterbacks, with Zane Stricklin taking the majority of the snaps. Teegan Caron and Edan Thompson also lined up behind center.
But the defense and special teams got into the scoring act as well. Senior Weston O’Rourke and freshman Payten Call each returned a punt for a touchdown (O’Rourke, 33 yards; Call, 28 yards) and Jayden Schaffer recorded a forced fumble, scoop and score. The defense also forced a safety.
Caron and O’Rourke each rushed for two touchdowns and Shooter Brewington ran in one six-pointer.
“I think I was most pleased with our defensive effort,” said Kallenberger. “We flew to the football and tackled well. Our freshmen and sophomores played well.”
Freshmen Call and Thompson started as defensive backs and helped lock down Midway’s aerial game.
On Midway’s opening possession, Thompson picked off a pass to set the tone for the game.
Caron would complete 2-of-2 passes for 14 yards; Stricklin also complete 2-of-2, good for 48 yards.
Caron rushed for 50 yards on just three carries and one two-point conversion. Brewington ran for 36 yards on three totes and O’Rourke gained 21 yards on three touches. He also ran in two two-pointers.
Ashton Jeffers led all receivers with one catch for 40 yards. Keeghan Smith gained 10 yards on one catch.
Next up, Copan hits the road for Foyil, which could provide a tougher challenge.
With Kallenberger as an assistant, Copan finished 8-3 last season.
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The Copan Hornets swarm a Midway runner during their 52-0 win over the visiting Chargers last Friday.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BARNSDALL VS. CANEY VALLEY
This was one of two zero weak games featuring a serious area rivalry.
Barnsdall surged to a 30-0 halftime lead, prompting a running clock in the second half and a 36-8 victory by the Panthers.
While Barnsdall boasted plenty of offensive highlights, the MTP ODA — Most Tough Player and Outstanding Debut Award — honors might have been due defensive lineman Hayden Collins (6-4, 295).
Collins racked up 11 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks and a safety.
Some other Panther defensive torpedoes included Gavin Wood with six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack; Talon Bond with six tackles, two for loss; and Jacob Clark with seven tackles.
Plenty of players also contributed to Barnsdall’s offensive success, led by starting quarterback Lincoln Gott with 250 yards of total offense and four touchdowns — all in the first half.
He completed 3-of-6 passes for 94 yards and romped for 150 yards — including a 44-yard scoring gallop — on just five carries.
Gott found Tripp Barbee for two touchdown passes (17 and 28 yards) and a 49-yard scoring strike to Chance Jackson.
Bond — a transfer player from Caney Valley — ran to the end zone for the Panthers’ final touchdown.
“We got out healthy and there were no major injuries,” Barnsdall head coach Kylee Sweeney said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of cramping going on, which was a pleasant scene for us.”
On the other side of the ledger, the Panthers had four touchdowns erased by penalties.
Caney Valley pulled up the curtain on the new Derrick Hammer coaching era — and saw some good things on which to build.
But health challenges took their toll in this game.
“We lost a few guys really early and we didn’t come out very healthy,” said Hammer.
The up-side of that adversity was it spread out the playing time.
“We had some younger guys who stepped into a role that they weren’t ready for,” said Hammer. “We saw a lot of young guys step up. … It was really nice to see that. They played hard and did what we asked of them.
Caidyn Kyler tallied Caney Valley’s touchdown and Cash Williams recorded the two-point conversion.
“It’s about the little things,” Hammer said about what the Trojans take from this game. He expressed hope about encouraging reports about the injured players.
“We’ve got some stuff to clean up,” Sweeney added. “We had 120 yards in the first half called back on penalties. … But it was a good win for us.”
Next up, the Panthers likely will be doubly-motivated in next week’s road trip to Oklahoma Union, which last season handed the Panthers an unexpected loss.
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PAWHUSKA VS. NOWATA
In the other area rivalry game, Pawhuska rode a tremendous defensive effort and strong offensive thrust to the 60-18 win.
“Our defense played great,” said Pawhuska head coach Matt Hennesy.
Embodying the Huskies’ effort on the stop-‘em side of the ball was Dane Jensen, who racked up 12 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Jimmy Wildcat added nine tackles, two for loss.
“I thought our defense stayed on them all night,” said Hennesy.
Special teams also came up big with Corlin Cass returning a punt for a touchdown and offense cashing in on five of seven two-point attempts.
On the offensive side, Foreman — a transfer from Copan High — delivered as the new starting quarterback.
Foreman connected on 16-of-22 passes for 248 yards and six touchdowns.
Receivers Jarek Edwards (86 years), Tripp Walker (53 years) and Logan Cass (46 yards) each grabbed two touchdowns apiece. Corlin Cass (42 yards) also fingered a scoring strike.
Jenson Snodgrass topped the rushing attack with 67 yards.
“I thought the kids played hard,” said Hennesy. “There were not a ton of penalties and we had zero turnovers. The effort was good and we came out healthy.”
Shallow depth and a few early miscues proved costly for Nowata, Ironmen head coach Chance Juby said.
“It was only 8-0 going into the last minutes of the first quarter,” he said. “There was an eight-minute stretch where they scored four times pretty quickly.”
Nowata’s Asiah Saxton amassed approximately 130 yards in receiving and caught two touchdowns from new starting quarterback Adrian O’Dell. O’Dell threw for 150 yards and rushed for 70.
Those two players were the shining offensive lights for their team.
“Pawhuska’s front seven is one of the best defensive lines I’ve seen in a while,” Juby said. “We came out of the gate … real strong. … We put together a drive and then shot ourselves in the foot. Mentally, we played with first-game jitters. … They’ve got more bodies and rotate in more people to stay fresh.”
The Nowata defense lost one of its best linemen to an injury, “which made it tough to move the ball on offense,” said Juby.
But the Nowata defense made a goal line stand, “and Pawhuska turned around and made a safety,” he added in referring to the ill fortune that dogged his Ironmen.
Next up, Pawhuska travels next week to Meeker, while Nowata takes on Warner.
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OKLAHOMA UNION
Despite a tough loss to Colcord — a state-ranked opponent — Oklahoma Union’s new head coach Bruce Munden observed some positives on which to build in the 60-14 setback.
In his first start at quarterback for Oklahoma Union, Aiden Talbott connected on 9-of-15 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns — a 70-yarder to Joseph Lindner and an 81-yarder to Kane Nash.
Nash scored off a screen pass.
“Aiden made two really big plays,” Munden said. “He managed the ball well.”
On the defensive side, “we swarmed to the ball,” Munden said. “We forced four fumbles and had three recoveries.”
Bryor Heidenreich and Brody Shufieldt each made seven tackles to lead Oklahoma Union.
The margin was deceptive, Munden said.
“Two of their scores were scored on our jayvee,” he said. “We made some youth mistakes. … A lot of the stuff that happened was because of being young and inexperienced and going against a ranked team.”
A couple of lost fumbles set Colcord up for short scoring drives.
“We’ve got this week to try to fix those things,” Munden said. “At moments we looked really good. Defensively we played pretty well. We made them drive the ball.
Next up, Oklahoma Union takes on Barnsdall — a matchup with an extra twist. Munden is a former Barnsdall head coach. Current Panther head coach Kylee Sweeney succeeded Munden.