FOOTBALL: REGULAR SEASON ENDS; BARTLESVILLE AND FOUR AREA TEAMS ARE PLAYOFF BOUND
Football fans sit on the visitors’ side of Nowata’s football stadium during the beginning of the season. Last Friday, the regular season ended with five area teams qualifying for postseason play. (Nowata did not make the playoffs.)
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
Bartlesville High School’s Michael Kent (14) breaks a tackle during an earlier season game. The Bruins defeated Capitol Hill 55-0 on the road last Friday. Bartlesville travels to Piedmont on Friday for the first round of playoffs.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Nov. 10, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Believe it or not, it’s Christmas.
That was the observation, at least, of a former sports editor who opined the philosophy that: “When it’s football, it’s Christmas.”
His meaning was an observation on how quickly the high school football season flies past.
Back in August or September fans anticipate with almost child-like wonder the arrival of the opening kickoff. Finally opening day materializes. After that first game, the weeks then seem to whiz past like Rudolph’s derriere.
Suddenly, it’s Week 10 and the magic is gone for most fans, other than those lucky enough to be rooting for a playoff squad. But, even then, the end is a matter only a week, two weeks or five weeks away — just in time for Christmas decorations to brighten the winter.
Following is a closer look at the playoff schedule for several area teams.
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
We’re on the verge of one of the most exciting periods of the year in Oklahoma sports — the OSSAA playoffs.
Five area teams — Bartlesville, Copan, Pawhuska, Hominy and South Coffeyville — both have found the on-ramp to the OSSAA postseason, which begins this coming Friday at 7 p.m.
The Bartlesville Bruins (3-7) will be traveling to Piedmont to take on the Wildcats (7-3) in the Class 6A-II playoffs.
In Class B-II (eight-man football), the Copan Hornets (8-2) will host the Coyle Bluejackets (7-3).
The Pawhuska Huskies (9-1) will host the Panama Razorbacks (7-3) in the Class A-I tournament.
Finishing off the regular season with seven-straight wins, Hominy (8-2) will play host to Regent Prep (5-5) to start the Class A-II postseason match.
South Coffeyville (3-5) will be making the bus ride to Sasakwa (9-1) to open the Class C playoffs.
Meanwhile, north of the border the Caney Valley (Kan.) Bullpups are headed to the Class 2A state quarterfinals in the KSHSAA playoffs.
The Pups (9-1) will play host on Friday to Osage City (Kan.) (9-1) — with a spot in the state semifinals on the line.
———
REGULAR SEASON IN THE BOOKS
Following are summaries of last Friday’s Week 10 games to finish out the regular season. We'll have a more detailed article on area teams tomorrow.
The biggest heartache belonged to Dewey, which lost to Chandler, 38-7, and just missed out on earning a playoff spot for the first time since 2019.
On the happier side, both Copan and Pawhuska won to secure a home playoff game this week, and as mentioned above, the Caney Valley (Kan.) Bullpups advanced to the Class 2A sectionals in the Kansas playoffs.
Following is the Bartlesville vs Capitol Hill game summary. We’ll have detailed reports of area games tomorrow.
———
Bartlesville High School’s Daeton Stevens (21) breaks free during an earlier season game. The Bruins defeated Capitol Hill 55-0 on the road last Friday. Bartlesville travels to Piedmont on Friday for the first round of playoffs.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
———
BARTLESVILLE 55, CAPITOL HILL 0
Just like the classic Bachman-Turner Overdrive mega-hit, the Bartlesville Bruins were “Takin’ care of business” on Friday night.
Overwhelmingly favored, the playoff-bound Bruins (3-7, 3-4) started out with an exclamation point — a 54-yard touchdown pass — just 20 seconds into the game — from Michael Kent to Sutton Williams on the game’s second play.
The rout was on.
By the end of the first quarter the Bruins led, 34-0.
By halftime, it was 48-0.
But the truth is it really was over when Williams scored that first touchdown.
That’s the only margin the ferocious Bruin defense would need to take care of the rest.
Bartlesville’s ‘D’ machine also would contribute to the scoring — Adrian Jones and Christian Ketiku would each record a pick six.
On the offensive side, in just one half Kent would turn in a full-game’s worth of big stats — more than 300 yards passing, four touchdowns and even a two-point run.
Williams scored the Bruins’ first three touchdowns and amassed 129 yards of total offense. Matthew Sears caught two second-quarter touchdowns — one covering 51 yards.
Rounding out Bartlesville’s touchdown makers was Evan Goad on a 47-yard catch and run.
Dillon Burson booted four extra points and Maci Alleman kicked the PAT after the final touchdown — Ketiku’s interception return for six.
That would be the only second-half score. A combination of a running clock and Bruin head coach Harry Wright’s decision to play the second-string — especially on the offensive side — after halftime took the air out of the ball.
To their credit, the Red Wolves (0-10, 0-7) of Capitol Hill strung together a couple of promising first-half drives, but one of them — aided by three Bartlesville penalties — stalled out in the red zone when Bruin defensive back Sonji Ketiku administered a fourth-down sack back to the Bruin 21-yard line.
Bartlesville polished off the regular season with a 3-1 record in its final four games after having started at 0-6. The Bruins have qualified for the playoffs for the fourth-straight season — a team record.
In fairness to past Bruin teams, the path to making the playoffs is easier than in the past. But still, Bartlesville has done what it needed to do when it needed to do it to
The Bruins certainly did what they needed to do — on both sides of the ball — Friday night.
After Williams scored the quick touchdown, the Bruins got the ball back immediately on an onside kick recovered by Jones.
That led to a 47-yard scoring drive — fueled by Boden Roberts’ 16-yard catch to the red zone and ended on Williams’ three-yard touchdown burst.
The Red Wolves turned the ball over on downs, giving Bartlesville another fortuitous field position. Thanks to two catches by Gavin Thomas, the Bruins worked the ball downfield in easy fashion. Williams finished off the drive on a 22-yard burst off the left side.
When Kent ran in the two-point conversion the Bruins led, 21-0, with several minutes left in the first quarter.
Bartlesville would next score on Kent’s long rainbow pass to Even Goad, which covered 47 yards.
In the final minute of the first quarter, Jones intercepted a ball deep in Capitol Hill territory and romped to the end zone to put the Bruins up, 34-0.
Early in the second quarter, a chunk-yard drive — the Bruins gained 10 or more yards on three-straight plays, and resulted in a 16-yard aerial score from Kent to Sears.
Bartlesville got the ball back with about a minute left until halftime and cashed in on a 51-yard touchdown pass play from Kent to Sears, with Sears grabbing a short throw and weaving through the defensive interference on his way to paydirt. Burson’s kick made it a 48-0 game at halftime.
One more touchdown in the second half lifted Bartlesville to its first 50-point output of the season.
It was just a matter of takin’ care of business.
Bartlesville: 34-14-0-7 — 55
Capitol Hill: 0-0-0-0 — 0
FIRST QUARTER
BART — Sutton Williams 54 pass from Michael Kent (kick blocked), 11:20.
BART — Williams 3 run (Dillon Burson kick), 8:10.
BART — Williams 22 run (Kent run).
BART — Evan Goad 47 pass from Kent (Burson kick), 1:15.
BART — Adrian Jones interception return (bad snap on PAT), 0:40.
SECOND QUARTER
BART — Matthew Sears 16 pass from Kent (Burson kick), 6:01.
BART — Sears 51 pass from Kent (Burson kick), 0:18.
FOURTH QUARTER
BART — Christian Ketiku interception return (Maci Alleman kick).
BARTLESVILLE LEADERS
PASSING: Michael Kent 15-17-0-326, 4 TDs
RUSHING: Sutton Williams 5-60 (2 TDs)
RECEIVING: Matthew Sears 5-110 (2 TDs), Williams 3-69 (TD), Gavin Thomas 3-64, Evan Goad 1-47 (TD), Boden Roberts 3-36.