BARTLESVILLE BRUINS LOOKING TO TRIO OF KENT, HARRISON AND WILLIAMS FOR STRONG OFFENSE
Bartlesville High School’s Michael Kent (14) congratulates teammates, including Sutton Williams, during last season. Kent, Williams and and Harrison Ketchum are expected to play a big role in this year’s team.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Aug. 21, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Most of the greatest football teams seem to possess what has become known as Triplets — a salty, talented quarterback, a freight train on swivel wheels at feature running back and a game-changing receiver.
Some examples include:
Dallas Cowboys of the early 19990s: Troy Aikman, Emmett Smith, Michael Irvin.
San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s and 1990s: Joe Montana/Steve Young, Roger Craig/Ricky Watters and Jerry Rice.
Green Bay Packers of the mid-to-latter 1960s: Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Body Dowler.
Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s: Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann.
Bartlesville might well fit into that mode this year with sophomore Michael Kent (6-0, 185) — with four varsity starts under his belt — returning under center, Sutton Williams (sr., 6-1, 175) back at No. 1 tailback and Harrison Ketchum (sr., 6-2, 170) as possibly the Air Apparent to now-graduated Damien Niko.
This Talented Trio could spearhead Bartlesville to its first overall-winning record since 2015 (10-2). It might be a stretch to predict 10 wins for this year’s team, but winning potential seems to be a preseason legacy for this group, led by fourth-year head coach Harry Wright.
Wright sounded positive about the first week-and-a-half of practice.
“I think the energy level has been really good,” he said.
Of course, the threesome mentioned above are only part of the equation.
Wright is pumped up by the experience and toughness by his pit crew up on the offensive line.
If the season were to start today, the likely starters among the front would be Jesus Ortiz (jr., 5-10, 235) at center, Caiden Chambers (5-10, 235), at right guard, Landry Holmes (soph., 5-9, 195) at right tackle, John Torres (6-0, 225) at left tackle and either Colton Jernigan or Deandre Russell (jr., 5-11, 250) at left guard.
“I look for (Williams) to take another step forward,” due to the talent and experience on the line,” Wright explained, adding he wants to see Williams turn in 100-yard rushing games consistently and not just every so often, as a way to balance out the passing attack.
Wright perceives the line as being crucial to the offensive attack, especially for the running game ably manned by Williams. The short rotation at tailback or fullback also includes Drake Ford (soph., 6-0, 205), Shaun Thrasher (5-10, 155) and Boden Roberts (jr., 6-0, 165).
“One pleasant surprise has been Boden Roberts, who has looked really good at tight end and the fullback position,” Wright said, adding Roberts has been impressive with his blocking skills as well.
Roberts will provide one of the alternate receiving targets off the line to help complement Ketchum, who Wright said has been looking good.
Kent, meanwhile, has continued to impress in camp at quarterback.
“I think what Michael brings is an athletic quarterback who is a running threat,” Wright said. “With him being able to be an athlete … he’s another weapon people are going to have to account for. … His passing game has really improved.”
Kent has continued to progress in the passing game, as well.
When he started the final four games last year, he was still a freshman and the playbook was limited, Wright explained.
“I think the biggest thing passing-wise is Michael’s progression,” he continued. “Now he has the whole offense in the toolbox he can use.”
On the defensive side, Wright counts on veteran defensive backs Ivan Griffin (sr., 5-11, 170) and A.J. Jones (jr., 5-10, 155) to bring stability to the back end.
Among the leaders right now at inside linebacker are Williams, Thrasher and transfer Wyatt Mathis.
Wright expects the strength of the defense to revolve around his outside linebackers, including Roberts and Davin Carter (5-6, 170).
Last year, Carter “had a bunch of sacks,” along with playing strong, the coach added.
Next up, the Bruins hit the road Thursday for Tulsa to scrimmage at Bishop Kelley — their only real preseason test.
The younger teams will compete in the late afternoon, followed by the junior varsity at 7 p.m. and the varsity following that.
Wright plans to “really get some of our younger guys a lot of reps,” because once the season begins their quality playing opportunities will be limited.
“We also need to clean up little mistakes. That’s kind of our goal,” Wright said.
In what was a mercurial odyssey, the Bruins finished 3-8 last season — but that was after an 0-7 start.
They won 3-of-their-final-4 games with Kent as the new starting quarterback.
The Bruins also have some history on the line — they will be attempting to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth-straight season, which would extend last year’s record three-straight postseason appearances.