BARTLESVILLE FOOTBALL PLAYS EXHIBITION GAME AT BISHOP KELLEY
Bartlesville High School head football coach Harry Wright watches play at last spring’s showcase game held at Custer Stadium in Bartlesville. The Bruins played in an exhibition game at Bishop Kelley on Thursday prior to the season opener at home on Aug. 29.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Aug. 23, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
As strong as preseason optimism is for the Bartlesville High School football team — and its potential to challenge for a winning record and playoff momentum — observers still have to remember this is a young team in spots that needs seasoning.
Thursday’s exhibition game at Bishop Kelley provided the kind of test the Bruins need to hone their competitive capability.
Bishop Kelley won the half-game scrimmage on the scoreboard. But this wasn’t the complete Bruin attack or personnel set that fans will see in the Week One showdown next Friday (August 29) against visiting Newcastle.
Bruin head coach Harry Wright observed some specific things about which to be encouraged by.
“I thought our energy level was good,” he said. “We did some good things on both sides of the ball. We just have to clean up a few mental mistakes.”
Sophomore quarterback Michael Kent led the offense. Kent is no raw varsity talent in the position — he started the final four games of last season and worked all through the off-season on preparing for this opportunity.
“I really thought our tempo and ability to be so multiple will be a weapon for us moving forward,” Wright said about his general offensive assessment from the scrimmage.
He praised the performance of Kent and right side of the line (Landry Holmes, Caiden Chambers) on offense.
In grading the defense, Wright said he felt “our depth at linebacker and getting more guys on the field will be good for us. … I thought Christian Ketiku, Ian Badji and Shaun Thrasher played well.”
He also singled out for praise Boden Roberts for his play on both sides of the ball.
The Bruins are looking to get off to a stronger start than last season when they started 0-7. The team probably has had more than 50-percent turnover in main rotation players from 2024 and hopes to put an exciting product on the field while opening the season with back-to-back home games — August 29 against Newcastle and September 5 against Claremore.
Also of note, Bartlesville has been to the playoffs the past three seasons — a new team record since the program began in 1982. This year’s squad is obviously hoping to extend that streak and make a postseason run.
NOTE: Starting a sophomore quarterback has been a winning formula for Bartlesville the past 25 seasons. In 2000, coach Rich McGuire started 10th grader Kolby Williams and he guided Bartlesville to a winning record (its first in 10 years) and playoff appearance (its first in a decade) in 2002; Coach Ron Smith started Kirby Schoenthaler as a sophomore in 2008. By 2009, Bartlesville blitzed to a 9-3 record and a playoff win. In Schoenthaler’s senior year (2010) the Bruins muscled out a 7-4 mark and another playoff shot; In 2013, John McKee decided to go with sophomore Colton Penrod at quarterback. In 2014, Penrod helped lead the Bruins to the playoffs and the next campaign Bartlesville finished 10-2 and advanced to the 6A-II state semifinals. Like Schoenthaler, Kent actually became a starter part way through his freshman season.