AREA FOOTBALL: BARNSDALL, CANEY VALLEY (KAN.), COPAN, AND PAWHUSKA
Nowata High School’s Brett Malone (44) runs the ball against Pawnee last Thursday night in Nowata. The Ironmen fell 52-12.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Dewey High School’s Easton Davis (10) tries to break a tackle during an earlier season game. Last week, the Bulldoggers fell to Sperry 17-12.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Oct. 28, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following is a roundup report of last week’s area high school football games.
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SPERRY 17, DEWEY 12
Like the nimble-fingered seamstress said, “Sew close!”
Dewey (3-5, 2-3) finished only six points short of clinching what would have been its first four-win season since 2019, plus squandered an opportunity to wriggle up into a playoff position in the district standings.
But Dewey’s loss wasn’t for a lack of effort or want-to.
“The boys played good,” said Dewey head Scott Sapulpa, who had to go to battle without two starters.
Actually, one of the two, Jackson Fox, attempted to play on a sore ankle and had to come out — but not before he contributed a sack, Sapulpa said.
The back-breaking play was a Sperry kickoff return to the Dewey seven-yard line. That set up the touchdown which would make the difference at the end.
For Dewey, quarterback Braxton Braden would throw two touchdowns — one each to Jayden Vallen and Easton Davis.
On the defensive side, Fenix Bolding and Kavery Weathers each racked up eight tackles for Dewey. Nate Sloan produced one sack. Mason Spears recovered a fumble.
Dewey is going into a must-win stretch in order to qualify for the playoffs.
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PAWNEE 52, NOWATA 12
The Nowata Ironmen (1-7, 1-4) have had to slog through a brutal schedule. The cumulative record of their best five opponents is 25-15.
Last week’s opponent, Pawnee (6-2, 4-1), is one of the major obstacles the hard-luck Ironmen have had to pound their helmets against.
Nowata has been competitive to the end in a handful of battles — the most heartbreaking being a 37-36 loss to Barnsdall. Nowata also fell to Quapaw and Chelsea by just two-touchdown margins.
Injuries and growing pains have taken their toll, but Nowata has continued to wage a good fight.
Next up, the Ironmen face geographical rival Oklahoma Union in the Battle of Nowata County.
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Nowata High School’s defense makes a play against Pawnee last week. The Ironmen fell 52-12.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Pawhuska High School’s Vann Wildcat (5) looks to the sidelines during an earlier season game. Last week, the Huskies defeated Quapaw 80-13.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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PAWHUSKA 80, QUAPAW 13
Who let the Wildcats out?
This pair of Pawhuska super siblings — first names Vann and Jimmie — put on a super-charged show Friday night to energize the Huskies past Quapaw for a vital district win.
Vann Wildcat racked up 200 yards of total offense (143 rushing, 57 receiving) and four touchdowns and seven two-point runs — for a total of 38 points — to lead the Huskie storm.
Jimmy Wildcat hauled in two catches for 22 yards and led the defense with 12 tackles.
With the win, Pawhuska improved to 7-1 and 4-1 to stay within mathematical reach of a district title or to strengthen its bid for the No. 2 seed and playoff home field advantage.
Fate did Quapaw no favors in meeting host Pawhuska on this soggy night at Ormand Beach Stadium. The Huskies were still smarting from a 32-8 loss two weeks ago to Tonkawa — which likely cost them a district title — followed by a bye week to chew on the bitter taste.
By the time kickoff arrived Friday night, the fired-up Huskies were ready to chew iron and spit out nails.
Pawhuska scored more than 40 points before the first quarter ended. By halftime, it was all over but the final buzzer.
PAWHUSKA LEADERS
PASSING: Kane Foreman 10-13-0-193, 2 TDs; Jenson Snodgrass 2-2-0-44, 1 TD; Levi Hendren 2-5-0-12.
RUSHING: Vann Wildcat 16-143, 3 TDs; Hendren 2-40, 1 TD; Jarek Edwards 1-33; Snodgrass 2-23, 1 TD; Foreman 3-10, 1 TD; Corlin Cass 2-8, 1 TD.
TWO-POINT RUNS: Vann Wildcat (7), J. Williams (1).
TWO-POINT PASSES: Hendren to D. Edwards.
RECEIVING: Vann Wildcats 3-57, 1 TD; Snodgrass 3-56, 1 TD; Tripp Walker 1-49; Edwards 1-24, 1 TD; Jimmy Wildcat 2-22, Jack Grooms 2-20.
TACKLES: Jimmie Wildcat (12), Hendren (8), Grooms (7), Edwards (5) Vann Wildcat (5), Jayden Henley (5), Grayson Reeves (5).
SACKS: Grooms (2), Henley (1).
Pawhuska High School’s Jenson Snodgrass (1) carries the ball during an earlier season game. Last week, the Huskies defeated Quapaw 80-13.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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PLAYOFF SCENARIO: It appears as if Pawhuska is almost mathematically eliminated from the chase for the district title.
Through five district games, the Huskies are 4-1, trailing Tonkawa (5-0) and tied with Pawnee (4-1). But Tonkawa owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Pawhuska. That means Tonkawa has to lose its final two and Pawhuska win out.
Or, there’s the possibility of a three-way tie between Pawhuska, Pawnee and Tonkawa at 6-1, which would be broken by district must points. Even in that case, Pawhuska’s chances of winning the title are very slim. The bottom line is Pawhuska appears to be fighting for the No. 2 seed and home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. But right now the Huskies could finish anywhere from district champs to out of the playoffs.
Here’s a look at the scenarios in which Pawhuska could still capture the district title
— SCENARIO ONE: This one is simple — Pawhuska wins its final two games and Tonkawa loses out. In that case, Pawhuska would finish at 6-1 and Tonkawa 5-2. Even if Pawnee were to win out and finish at 6-1, Pawhuska would own the head-to-head tiebreaker because it beat Pawnee, 42-40, during the regular season. However, the likelihood of Tonkawa losing its final two games — especially to Nowata (1-7, 1-4) in Week 10 is highly unlikely. To cap it off, to win the title outright, Pawhuska has to finish at 6-1 and Tonkawa at 5-2.
— SCENARIO TWO: This becomes complicated because it deals with margins of victory and the district 15-point must system. Currently, In district play, a team is awarded 15 points if it wins a game by 15-or-more points. If the margin is less than 15 points, then the victorious team is awarded what-ever point differential there was. For example, for a 31-30 victory, the winning team would garner one district point, or for a 45-40 win the district points would be five. The same happens in a reverse for a losing team. It has 15-or-fewer points deducted from its district-must total, depending on the margin. The goal is obviously to accumulate as many positive district points as possible because in case of a three-way tie, the first tiebreaker is the team with the most district points.
Having tried to explain that, through five games Tonkawa has 75 district points, Pawnee is sitting at 58 and Pawhuska is way back at 32. That means that Pawhuska would have to win its final two games by 15-point-or-more margins, in order to reach a possible maximum of 62 district points. Meanwhile, Tonkawa would have to lose by 15-or-more to Pawnee to fall to 60 points, and then beat Oklahoma Union by only 1 point, so Tonkawa would end with 61 district points. Meanwhile, if Pawnee were to beat Tonkawa by 15-or-more points it would climb to 73 district points, which means Pawnee would have to lose the next game to Oklahoma Union (1-7, 1-4) by at least 12 points to fall to 61 district points and open the door for Pawhuska to win the three-way district point tiebreaker at 62.
But the chances of Oklahoma Union beating Pawnee by 12-or-more-points or Tonkawa beating Nowata by just one point or losing are long shots. However, both are possible. That’s why they play the game.
— PAWHUSKA IN SECOND PLACE: Pawhuska’s clearest path to finishing second and securing a home playoff game is to win or split its final two games and for Pawnee to lose to Tonkawa. As long as Pawhuska and Pawnee finish in a two-way tie for second place, Pawhuska owns the tiebreaker. As long as Pawhuska beats Caney Valley and Morrison the next two weeks it will guarantee itself second place and a first-round playoff game at Ormand Beach Stadium.
— WORST CASE SCENARIO: If Pawhuska were to lose out in the final two games, it could find itself out of the playoffs. The Huskies — who still have to be considered among the small handful of Class A-I state championship favorites — need to take care of business in the final two regular-season games to lock down a favorable playoff seed and maximize their momentum for what could be a deep playoff run.
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Copan High School’s Marcus Bryan (58) and Keeghan Smith (8) line up during an earlier season game. Last week, the Hornets defeated Webber Falls 44-14.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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COPAN 44, WEBBER FALLS 14
Sheets Field will be rocking and rolling when the Class B-II playoffs start.
That’s because last Thursday the Copan Hornets (7-1, 2-0) wrapped up the guarantee of a first-round postseason game in three weeks.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are still in contention for a district title when they travel this week to Wilson-Henryetta.
Copan head coach Trenton Kallenberger can hope his team performs as strong as it did for most of last week’s game — especially as it dominated on defense in the second-half.
The Hornets opened the game by stopping Webbers Falls on its end of the field, leading to a tailback pass from Teegan Caron to Shooter Brewington for Copan’s first touchdown. Weston O’Rourke ran in the two-point conversion.
But Webbers Falls answered to knot the score, 8-8. Going into halftime Copan owned a fairly close lead, 22-14. But, in the second half, “Our defense pitched a shutout,” Kallenberger said. “Our kids played with a ton of effort.”
Other Copan scores in the first half included a 20-yard aerial from Zane Stricklin to Brewington and a one-yard drive by Stricklin
Through three quarters, Copan led by two touchdowns, 30-14. Caron burst 23 yards for a touchdown in the third period.
The Hornets finished up by scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter — one of them an 85-yard scoop and score by Caron set up by Keeghan Smith forcing the fumble. O’Rourke also broke off a 52-yard scoring burst in the final quarter.
Edan Thompson turned in another big play in the fourth quarter for Copan by causing the Webbers Falls quarterback to fumble.
Kallenberger compared his players’ energy to “a playoff atmosphere.”
Despite having to break in a new starting quarterback this season, Kallenberger couldn’t be happier with the season results so far.
“I think the thing I’m most pleased with is our overall effort,” he said. “The kids have played hard and have shown a passion for the game. The biggest surprise is how the freshmen have played. We’re starting three seniors on defense, and we’re starting three freshmen (both cornerbacks and the nose guard). The freshmen have played their tails off,” to help Copan develop defensive dominance.
Copan 44, Webbers Falls 14
Copan: 8-14-8-14 — 44
WF: 8-6-0-0 — 14
Copan scoring
First quarter
Brewington 20 pass from Teegan Caron (Weston O’Rourke run).
Second quarter
Brewington 20 pass from Zane Stricklin (2-pt fail).
Stricklin 1 run (Stricklin pass to Ashton Jeffers).
Third quarter
Caron 23 run (Stricklin pass to O’Rourke).
Fourth quarter
Caron 85 fumble return (2-pt fail).
O’Rourke 52 run (Caron pass to Brewington).
Copan leaders
Rushing — Teegan Caron 7-64, Weston O’Rourke 4-62, Zane Stricklin 10-38.
Passing — Stricklin 9-17-0-141, Caron 1-1-0-20.
Receiving — Shooter Brewington 5-77, Caron 4-75, O’Rourke 1-9.
Tackles — Caron (13), Brewington (13), Edan Thompson (11), O’Rourke 9, Payten Call (7), Stricklin (5).
Sacks — O’Rourke, Brewington, Caron.
Forced fumbles — O’Rourke, Keeghan Smith, Thompson.
Fumble recoveries — Jeffers, Smith, Caron.
Interceptions — Stricklin, Thompson.
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Oklahoma Union’s Aiden Talbott (3) runs the ball during an earlier season game. Last week, the Cougars fell to Tonkawa 63-16.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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TONKAWA 63, OKLAHOMA UNION 16
Any astute observer knew the Oklahoma Union Cougars (1-7, 1-4) eyed a rugged task in taking on district leader Tonkawa (7-1, 5-0).
And the contest pretty much went by script.
But Oklahoma Union is not only playing for now but trying to get stronger for the future. Judged by that measuring stick, the Cougars took some steps forward in progress.
“We figured out some things in the second half, at least up front,” said Oklahoma Union head coach Bruce Munden. “That’s something there we can continue to grow on.”
Colten Wickham caught a touchdown pass from Aiden Talbott, and JoJo Lindner burst to paydirt on a 15-yard jet sweep to account for the Cougars’ six-pointers.
Munden also praised the two-way play of Jensen Anderson.
“Aiden Talbott continues to grow as a quarterback,” which is an exciting component for the future, the coach continued.
He also lauded Lindner for the way he played coming back from injury.
Next up, Oklahoma Union plays host to Nowata (1-7, 1-4) in the battle of Nowata County.
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Barnsdall High School’s Lincoln Gott (14) runs the ball during an earlier season game. Last week, the Panthers defeated Afton 40-6.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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BARNSDALL 40, AFTON 6
The Panthers are back in the thick of the playoff chase.
With Thursday’s 35-point win, the Panthers (5-3, 2-3) squeezed into fifth place in the district standings, just one spot away from a playoff trip.
A stunning upset this coming Thursday against Hominy would be a major, major step toward the postseason. Regardless of the scenarios, the Panthers will need some help.
But at least going into Week 9 they’re still in the playoff discourse.
In talking about discourse, there are hardly enough ways to describe the outstanding effort Thursday by Barnsdall quarterback Lincoln Gott — 172 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries and seven tackles on defense. Gott has already rushed for more than 1,2000 yards despite missing one full game and most of another.
Nathan Smith — normally a backup — contributed 77 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. His production filled the void left by running back starter Blaine Miller, who focused mainly on defense, Sweeney said.
Other scoring highlights for the Panthers both came on the defensive side — a 57-yard pick six by Jacob Clark and five-yard scoop-and-score by Talon Bond.
Other offensive facts included Tripp Barbee catching a pass for 12 yards and rushing for 10 more; Bryce Byers hauling in two Gott throws for 31 yards; and offensive linemen Kayden Francis and Caden Adams each carrying the ball multiple times, including both tackled just shy of the end zone on two-point tries. On one of his totes, Adams galloped for 17 yards.
“I always try to let my big boys get a couple of carries during the season,” Sweeney said.
Barnsdall now eyes a big challenge this week against Hominy (6-2, 5-0) — but not an insurmountable task. In 2019, Barnsdall upended the Bucks, who have already lost twice this season.
“We’ve got a two-game winning streak going against Hominy,” Sweeney said.
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Caney Valley (Kan.) Bullpup Traxcyn Garton (27) carries the ball during an earlier season game. Last week, the Bullpups defeated Riverton 48-7.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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CANEY VALLEY (KAN.) BULLPUPS 48, RIVERTON (KAN.) 7
The Bullpups had plenty of reason to howl Friday night.
Bolstered by a boisterous running attack and decleating defense the Pups roared past Riverton in the district championship game, 48-7.
Caney Valley wrapped up its regular season at 7-1 and finished unbeaten (4-0) in district.
“I love where we’re at right now and what we’re doing,” said veteran Caney Valley head coach Criss Davis. “We’re just playing so physical. … Our guys are very coachable and they’re doing what we’re asking. That’s probably the best statement I can make.”
The second-best statement — at least Friday night — was 372. As in 372 yards rushing (and four touchdowns) on 49 carries.
Jace Buckley and Traxcyn Garton both rushed for triple digits again, 143 and 127 yards, respectively.
“They had a hard time stopping our run,” said Davis. “Going into the game I was scared. I thought these (Riverton) Tigers were good, that they were legit and they were fast.”
Whatever assets the Tigers boasted, the Pups’ defense had their number — only 31 yards rushing the final three quarters.
In fact, the Caney Valley defense made a monstrous statement with an 80-yard pick six by Jacob McVey, just 2:09 into the game.
Riverton — which passed for only six yards — didn’t score an offensive touchdown. They rang up their only points on an 80-yard kickoff return and extra point.
Davis praised the leadership of his defensive ends Jace Wren and Boone White in putting the squeeze on Riverton like the tentacles of an octopus.
“They kept their quarterback contained all night,” Davis said.
Another defensive highlight featured an interception apiece by Jacob McVey and Konner Paulie.
Caney Valley also recovered three Riverton fumbles, with Wren scooping up two of them.
Davis proffered special praise for McVey on the defensive side.
“It wasn’t just his interception, but he was coming up and really hitting people in run support,” Davis said.
On the offensive side, White joined Garton with two touchdowns apiece. Buckley ran for two two-point conversions. McVey recorded Caney Valley’s only reception, but it was a big one — a strike from Layne Denny that turned into a 35-yard touchdown play.
Next up, the Pups open the playoffs this week at home. They are ranked No. 2 out of the 16 teams on their side of the state.
Caney Valley (Kan.) Bullpup Konner Paulie (30) reacts during an earlier season game. Last week, the Bullpups defeated Riverton 48-7.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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CV: 6-22-20-0 — 48
Riverton: 0-7-0-0 — 7
FIRST QUARTER
CV — Jacob McVey 80 interception return (run fail), 9:51.
SECOND QUARTER
CV — Boone White 12 run (Jace Buckley run), 11:55.
RIVER — Bo Crowder 80 kickoff return (Johnson kick), 11:42.
CV — McVey 35 pass from Layne Denny (run fail), 6:40.
CV — Buckley 41 run (Tracyn Garton pass to Drake Roberds), 2:45.
THIRD QUARTER
CV — Garton 25 run (run fail), 10:14.
CV — Garton 4 run (Buckley run), 8:59.
CV — White 8 run (run fail), 0:48.
TEAM STATS
First downs: CV 14, Riverton 6; Rushing: CV 49-372, Riverton 26-112; Passing: CV 1-3-0-35; Riverton 2-7-2-6; Punts: CV 2-73 (36.5), Riverton 2-70 (35.0); Penalties: CV 8-50; Riverton 2-10; Fumbles-lost: CV 2-0; Riverton 3-3.
CANEY VALLEY LEADERS
Rushing — Jace Buckley 15-143, Traxcyn Garton 13-127; Boone White 8-58; Levi Good 5-20, Konnor Paulie 2-16.
Passing: Layne Denny 1-3-0-35.
Receiving: Jacob McVey 1-35.
Interceptions: McVey, Konnor Paulie.
Fumble recoveries: McVey, Jace Wren (2).
Tackles: Garton 6, Buckley 6, Austin Freisberg 5.5, Wren 3.
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A Caney Valley Trojan player kicks off during an earlier season game. Last week, the Trojans fell to Morrison 30-0.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
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MORRISON 30, CANEY VALLEY 0
Caney Valley (0-8, 0-5) ran head on into a Morrison team that is fighting desperately to get into the playoffs. With the win, Morrison (4-4, 3-2) stood alone in fourth place in the district standings.
Caney Valley, meanwhile, continued to use this season as a learning experience, growth and a character building journey. The Trojans struggled early with having an adequate number of players to suit up. But, the program got past that challenge and has strung together many highlights and piled up respect for its battling effort.
As its talent and experience develops during the remainder of this season and in the offseason, the fighting attitude will be the ‘X’ factor for the turnaround.
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BLUEJACKET 36, SOUTH COFFEYVILLE 22
South Coffeyville (3-3, 2-1) is still on track to qualify for the playoffs. The Lions saw their two-game district win streak snapped but they can make a major statement this coming Thursday against Oaks (5-3, 2-1).
South Coffeyville will close out the season in two weeks by hosting Medford (7-2, 4-0) for Senior Night.
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HOMINY 15, PORTER 0 (fft.)
Hominy (6-2) is perfect in district (4-0). It's only losses are two of the best teams in Class A-II.
Next up, the Bucks travel Thursday to Barnsdall — a trip of only about 20-to-25 miles. With a win, Hominy can likely sew up the district title. Barnsdall, meanwhile, will be scrapping to pull off the upset and also to keep its playoff hopes intact.
Hominy has no doubt it will advance to the playoffs and take aim on its third state football title since 2001.