11/14/2013 9:49:00 AM Tough challenges ahead in 1st round of playoffs
by Bailey Powell
It was an interesting season with ups and downs for every team. Four of our five Eastern Oklahoma County schools aren’t done yet.
Harrah, Del City, Carl Albert and Midwest City all made it to the playoffs this year. Let’s see how they stack up in the first round.
Harrah will start their playoff run Friday at 7:30 p.m. with a trip to Clinton to face the Oklahoman’s sixth ranked Tornados. The Panthers finished the season at 5-5 after losing their last regular season game to McCloud by one point in the last seconds of the game. Clinton finished their season with a record of 7-3. The Tornados will only be the first in a long line of challenges for the Panthers. Douglas ranked third in the Oklahoman 4A poll, Sallisaw ranked fourth in the Oklahoman 4A poll, Poteau ranked eight in the Oklahoman 4A poll, and Oologah ranked ninth in the Oklahoman 4A poll all stand in the way of the Panthers on their way to the final game.
Fans of the Eagles won’t have to travel far from Del City. They take on the Titans Friday at Carl Albert High School at 7:30 p.m. Del City finished with a record of 7-3 with two of their losses coming from out of district opponents. The Eagles are ranked seventh in the Oklahoman 5A poll. Carl Albert, the defending champions, come in ranked third. Carl Albert. They finished the season with only two losses, one to an out of conference team, and the other to Guthrie, ranked first in the Oklahoman 5A a poll and heavily favored to win the championship this year.
It’s going to be defense verses offense this Friday at 7:30 p.m. as Midwest City takes on Edmond Santa Fe in Midwest City. The Bomber defense should be feeling pretty good after keeping Moore scoreless last week. Last time Midwest City and Edmond Santa Fe met was their first game of the season. Midwest City barley won with a single field goal 3-0. The Oklahoman 6A poll has the Bombers going into the playoffs ranked seventh
Choctaw came up short this season, but they made progress in their program. Coach Todd Dilbeck brought his team from winning one game last season to a record of 3-7 this season with hopes that the team will continue to play better in the coming years.