8B CLINTON DAILY NEWS
 SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 2018
SCHEDULE: ‘Triple C’ sets up as marquee matchup for District 4A-1
FROM PAGE 7B
be physically, the toughest
test of the season. Mac is
known for its 5A physical-
ity, and after a two-year
hiatus from Clinton’s
schedule, the Highlanders
are back.
The team might be
known for its power, but
quarterback Racer Felter
is what makes this offense
go. The junior signal caller
is a true dual threat pass-
er. At 6-foot-1, 170 pounds,
he’s a long-striding runner
that can also stand tall and
deliver strikes down field.
The Reds will have to shut
him down with their pass
rush and keep the pass-
ing game contained in the
back with safeties A.T and
Atrel Bryson.
Defensively, the High-
landers return some
big-time players from
last year. Safety Michelle
Artzberger is a returning
starter on both sides of
the ball. At 5-foot-10, 190
pounds, he’s a thumper on
the back end.
Class 4A Coaches Preseason Polls
DISTRICT 4A-1
1. Weatherford (8-3)
2. Clinton (3-7)
3. Elgin (5-6)
4. Tie - Anadarko (8-3)
Cache (5-5)
5. Elk City (6-5)
6. Newcastle (3-7)
7. Chickasha (0-10)
DISTRICT 4A-3
1. Wagoner (11-1)
2. Oologah (10-2)
3. Bristow (9-3)
4. Catoosa (7-4)
5. Tie - Cleveland (4-6) Tulsa 5. Muldrow (7-4)
McLain (4-6)
6. Grove (1-9)
7. Miami (1-9)
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SEPT. 21 VS. NEWCASTLE
Graduation did enough
damage to the Newcastle
Racers to set them back
a bit. Quarterback Casey
Thompson is in Austin,
and last year’s statewide,
leading receiver Jacob
Morris took his talents to
Stillwater. Second-year
head coach Jeff Brickman
will have a lot of talent to
replace.
Clinton lost 49-48 to
the Racers last year in a
last-second thriller. The
prolific duo of Thompson
to Morris accounted for
384 yards and five touch-
downs in the win. Thomp-
son ended up with more
than 450 yards passing and
six touchdowns. The loss
of the duo will no doubt
affect the game.
One player that will try
to fill some of the offensive
void is Thompson’s broth-
er, Cade. The senior wide
receiver caught 50 passes
for 621 yards and eight
touchdowns last year and
expects to be a big player
on offense again. Clinton’s
DISTRICT 4A-2
1. Bethany (10-3)
2. Tie - Blanchard (11-2)
Tuttle (6-5)
3. Tecumseh (4-6)
4. Cushing (6-5)
5. McLoud (4-6)
6. Harrah (2-8)
7. Madill (3-7)
DISTRICT 4A-4
1. Poteau (7-4)
2. Hilldale (10-2)
3. Broken Bow (10-2)
4. Fort Gibson (6-5)
6. Tulsa Central (2-8)
7. Sallisaw (1-9)
8. Stilwell (5-5)
Katie Jenkins
Holly Ronan
defense will look to bring
the Racers back to earth.
SEPT. 28 AT
WEATHERFORD
This year’s “Custer
County Conflict” won’t
need much added motiva-
tion for Clinton. The Reds
lost 30-7 at home. Now,
Clinton will try to return
the favor at Milam Sta-
dium. It’ll be no easy task
with many star players
back for Weatherford after
an 8-3, 2017 record.
Junior quarterback
Jaxon Ratterree returns
after completing 13-of-19
passes for 236 yards and
one touchdown versus the
Reds. Between senior wide
receiver Braden Teasley
and highly-recruited
sophomore tight end
Ethan Downs, he’ll have
a few weapons to get the
ball to.
On defense, Downs is a
big-time problem up front.
He is listed at 6-foot-4, 218
pounds and has three Div.
I offers after recording 35
tackles and two sacks in
Keilea Waddle
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Senior offensive lineman Ruben Gutierrez, No. 65, helped Clinton pile
up 504 rushing yards against Chickasha in 2017.
his freshman year.
OCT. 5 VS. ELGIN
The Owls ended Clin-
ton’s playoff hopes last
year in the season finale,
21-14. Now, Elgin hopes to
stay in playoff contention.
The team does bring back
a lot of its players in the
trenches, but it does lose
its best offensive player,
Lewis Shepherd. The run-
ning back rushed for more
than 1,400 yards and 17
touchdowns.
The offense will shift
to more of a passing
game with receiver Jacob
Johnson back. He has 314
receiving yards and four
touchdowns to his name.
OCT. 12 AT ELK CITY
After the program’s first
playoff appearance since
2010 and first win over
Clinton since the 1998
state championship, the
Elks will have to rebuild
quickly. The team returns
Genesis Torres
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just three starters from
last year. They went 6-5,
losing to state semifinalist
Blanchard in the opening
round.
Gone are key skill
players Chipper Skelton,
Diquan Bradford and
Cooper Rogers. The offen-
sive line does return two
starters in Karsen Dixon
and Grant McBroom,
so the offense will have
some experience up front.
They’ll provide time for
new starting quarterback
Caden Culver.
The junior QB will be
running the same spread
system that Elk has run
for the last few years.
Although most of the
weapons are gone, he’ll be
looking for senior running
back Chrishawn Thomp-
son who has averaged
almost six yards per touch
on 15 varsity plays.
OCT. 19 AT ANADARKO
Probably the biggest
offseason news in 4A was
Kent Jackson stepping
down as head coach of
the Anadarko football
program. He led the War-
riors to their only two
state championships (2011,
2013) in school history and
reached the title game
three straight times.
Although the team
hadn’t seen that same
level of success over
recent years, the War-
riors reached the playoffs
in every season after the
2013 title, compiling a 32-14
record in that span.
New coach Chris Pad-
dlety is no stranger to
success at Anadarko. He
was the offensive coordi-
nator for the last 11 years
with the Warriors. He will
have experienced weap-
ons at his disposal this
year. Quarterback Damon
Teart is back to start
for his third year under
center with junior wide
receiver and wildcat QB
Cash Novotny.
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OCT. 26 VS. CHICKASHA
A winless campaign for
Chickasha last year left
them picked last in the
district. On the bright side
for the Fightin’ Chicks,
they return eight starters
including junior quarter-
back Austin Albright. The
dual threat QB accounted
for more than 1,000 total
yards of offense in 2017.
He’ll be the major player
to watch on offense.
On defense, linebacker
Lloyd Givens will be all
over the field. He averaged
nearly 14 tackles per game
with 139 total last fall. At
6-feet, 220 pounds, he’s an
athletic, physical tackle
machine in the middle.
Recent history has been
kind to Clinton. The Reds
have outscored the Chicks
130-21 over the last two
years.
NOV. 2 AT CACHE
In the season finale,
Clinton heads to Cache for
a tough matchup with se-
nior running back Hayden
Nunley and the Bulldogs.
The senior back has more
than 2,000 career rush-
ing yards and rolled up 12
total touchdowns in 2017
alone. He’ll be a handful in
the backfield.
The Bulldogs will have
to revamp their passing
game with the graduation
of two-year starting quar-
terback Jayden Garcia.
With that said, second-
year head coach Faron
Griffin’s offense features
little to no shotgun and is
heavily run-based, mean-
ing he can bring his new
quarterback along slowly.
Clinton grounded out a
win last year against the
Bulldogs. Although the
team racked up just 178
yards of total offense, the
defense held on for a 21-10
Clinton victory. The Reds
are on a two-game win-
ning streak against Cache,
having defeated them 41-21
in 2016 as well.