By Jeff Latzke
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gratification can’t always come in an instant.
In Broken Arrow’s case, it took an extra week to make the jump to the No. 1 ranking among Oklahoma’s largest schools. For Ron Lancaster, it took more than a decade to get back to the apex of high school football in the state.
With Class 6A’s top-ranked team losing for the second straight week, Broken Arrow (2-0) claimed the No. 1 ranking Monday in The Associated Press’ high school football poll, marking Lancaster’s return to the top since his tenure at Jenks ended abruptly in 1996.
Lancaster’s debut at Broken Arrow brought a 24-9 upset of then-No. 1 Union, and the Tigers took the final two steps to the top ranking after Union beat crosstown rival Jenks 24-17 in overtime Friday night to knock the Trojans out of the No. 1 spot.
That also cleared the way for Lancaster to move to the top for the first time since he was coaching Jenks prior to the school’s current run of nine state titles in 12 years. He won the Class 6A state title at Jenks in 1993, a decade after leading Enid to the Class 5A championship when that was the state’s largest classification.
Broken Arrow got one more first-place vote than Norman North and became only the third school other than Union or Jenks to be ranked No. 1 since 1996. Muskogee held the top spot for five weeks in 2006, and Booker T. Washington had it for two weeks before Jenks took it back on its way to the state title.
The Timberwolves had the other compelling case for the top spot. Ranked No. 2 after the first week of the season, North soundly defeated then-No. 5 Muskogee 26-15 at Muskogee last Friday. Nonetheless, the T-Wolves stayed put in the newest poll while Broken Arrow was elevated two spots.
Union finds itself at No. 3, and Jenks is right behind in a tie with Midwest City. Edmond Santa Fe, Muskogee, Putnam City North, Owasso and Enid round out the top 10.
The rest
Unlike last week, the changes at the top of the poll were limited to Class 6A. Four of the state’s eight top-ranked teams lost their openers, but the seven No. 1 teams other than Jenks remained the same this time around.
They are: Guthrie in Class 5A, Glenpool in 4A, Clinton in 3A, Heritage Hall in 2A, Okeene in Class A, Davenport in Class B and Shattuck in Class C.
This week, it was the second-ranked teams that proved more susceptible.
Bishop McGuinness, the two-time defending 4A champs, fell for the second straight week against Class 5A competition, losing 15-10 to Bishop Kelley. The Irish, who were knocked out of the No. 1 ranking by their opening loss to Guthrie, dropped another two spots to No. 4 this week. Grove, which had been ranked fourth, claimed the No. 2 spot by beating then-No. 3 Wagoner 43-6.
Kingfisher fell from the No. 2 spot in Class 2A after its 49-7 loss to Tuttle, the third-ranked team in 3A, and landed at No. 5. Chandler moved up three spots to take over the Yellowjackets’ spot following its 40-0 shutout of Bristow.
In Class A, Tonkawa took over the No. 2 spot with a 12-7 win against Woodland, the former second-ranked team.
Pond Creek-Hunter fell from its No. 2 ranking in Class B after a 14-8 loss to then-No. 5 Laverne and is now behind Garber, Laverne and Weleetka.
Finally, Class C lost its second- and third-ranked teams as No. 2 Grandfield and No. 3 Seiling both lost. Corn Bible Academy, Buffalo, Covington-Douglas and Thackerville now round out the top 5 behind Shattuck and its 69-game winning streak.
AP Prep Poll
The Associated Press’ Oklahoma high school football poll with first place votes in parentheses, records, points and ranking in last week’s poll, and records through Sept. 15. Points for classes A through 6A based on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring. Points for classes B and C based on 5-4-3-2-1 scoring.
Class 6A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Broken Arrow (6) (2-0) 105 3
2. Norman North (5) (2-0) 93 2
3. Union (1-1) 88 4
T4. Jenks (1-1) 71 1
T4. Midwest City (2-0) 71 5
6. Edmond Santa Fe (2-0) 49 8
7. Muskogee (1-1) 41 6
8. Putnam North (2-0) 32 9
T9. Owasso (0-2) 16 7
T9. Enid (2-0) 16
Others receiving votes: 11, Mustang 11. 12, Edmond North 9. 13, Westmoore 2. 14, Del City 1.
Class 5A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Guthrie (8) (2-0) 107 1
2. B.T. Washington (3) (2-0) 102 2
3. MacArthur (2-0) 81 5
T4. Tulsa East Central (1-1) 70 3
T4. Carl Albert (1-1) 70 4
6. Shawnee (2-0) 62 6
7. Ardmore (2-0) 39 8
8. Bishop Kelley (2-0) 34 9
9. Bixby (0-2) 18 7
10. Ada (1-1) 10
Others receiving votes: 11, Duncan 5. 12, Coweta 3. 13, Durant 2. 14, Altus 1. 14, Central 1.
Class 4A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Glenpool (11) (2-0) 110 1
2. Grove (2-0) 98 4
3. Broken Bow (2-0) 85 5
4. McGuinness (0-2) 71 2
5. Sallisaw (2-0) 68 6
6. McLoud (2-0) 51 7
7. Wagoner (1-1) 38 3
8. McLain TSST (2-0) 36 T9
9. Star Spencer (1-1) 27 8
10. Douglass (2-0) 14
Others receiving votes: 11, Poteau 4. 12, Elk City 2. 13, Oologah 1.
Class 3A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Clinton (10) (2-0) 109 1
2. Cascia Hall (1) (1-0) 96 2
3. Tuttle (2-0) 92 3
4. Metro Christian (2-0) 76 5
5. Newcastle (2-0) 54 8
6. Berryhill (1-1) 51 7
7. Sequoyah-Claremore (1-1) 36 4
8. Purcell (2-0) 35 10
9. Victory Christian (1-1) 17 6
10. Marlow (1-1) 16
Others receiving votes: 11, Blackwell 5. 11, Cache 5. 13, Checotah 4. 14, Bethany 3. 15, Dewey 2. 15, Madill 2. 17, Anadarko 1. 17, Roland 1.
Class 2A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Heritage Hall (11) (2-0) 110 1
2. Chandler (2-0) 89 5
3. Millwood (1-1) 78 3
4. Prague (2-0) 63 8
5. Kingfisher (1-1) 60 2
6. Henryetta (2-0) 57 T6
7. Plainview (2-0) 44 9
8. Davis (1-1) 36 4
9. Sulphur (2-0) 19
10. Vian (2-0) 13
Others receiving votes: 11, Lincoln Christian 12. 12, Sequoyah Tahlequah 10. 13, Eufaula 6. 14, Alva 4. 15, Washington 3. 16, Holdenville 1.
Class A
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Okeene (11) (2-0) 110 1
2. Tonkawa (2-0) 97 T3
3. Velma-Alma (2-0) 79 T3
4. Ringling (2-0) 64 5
5. Hominy (2-0) 63 7
6. Morrison (2-0) 57 8
7. Woodland (0-2) 49 2
8. Dewar (2-0) 35 9
9. Pawnee (1-1) 23 6
10. Stroud (1-1) 8
Others receiving votes: 11, Hinton 7. 12, Afton 4. 13, Cashion 3. 14, Commerce 2. 14, Apache 2. 14, Walters 2.
Class B
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Davenport (10) (2-0) 53 1
2. Garber (1) (2-0) 36 5
3. Laverne (1-1) 32 4
4. Weleetka (2-0) 14
5. Pond Creek-Hunter (1-1) 13 2
Others receiving votes: 6, Ryan 7. 7, Porter Consolidated 6. 8, Ringwood 2. 9, Canton 1. 9, Alex 1.
Class C
School Rec Pts Prv
1. Shattuck (10) (2-0) 50 1
2. Corn Bible Academy (2-0) 35 4
3. Buffalo (2-0) 34 5
4. Covington-Douglas (1-1) 11
5. Thackerville (2-0) 7
Others receiving votes: 6, Seiling 4. 7, Timberlake 3. 8, Grandfield 2. 8, Mountain View-Gotebo 2. 10, Deer Creek-Lamont 1. 10, Tipton 1.
