NORMAN — The Crosstown Clash is over.
Until the final minutes, it was a heck of a game, too.
But Norman High came out ahead 24-7, and now both the Tigers and Norman North are faced with the same question: Where do we go from here?
Both teams are back on Harve Collins Field this week.
The Timberwolves host Del City Thursday night. The Eagles fell 34-13 to Midwest City last week, but boast one of the top quarterbacks in Class 6A in Chazten Gonzalez.
The Tigers play Moore Friday night. The Lions have been down for several seasons and lost their annual Moore War opener to Westmoore. A year ago, NHS beat Moore 16-0.
After a big start to the season, the last thing NHS wants to do is fall to a team it’s supposed to beat. Meanwhile, North could be looking at an 0-2 start if it fails to deliver a better performance.
North is just looking for one thing this week, and every week.
“We just want to see improvement from the last game, week to week,” North coach Lance Manning said. “I don’t think we had that last year. I know we didn’t have it, losing the last five games. But we believe in one another and we’re going to improve. It’s really important to show that.”
The T-Wolves struggled with turnovers at the Clash. A fumbled kick return robbed North of a chance to come back in the fourth quarter.
“Our inexperience showed at times,” Manning said. “When things like that happen, you respond and get better. This year, we know early on what we need to work on.”
The Tigers, on the other hand, are riding high. The sky’s the limit for NHS, which beat North for the first time since 2006.
But the Tigers can’t get ahead of themselves. Lose to Moore and all the momentum built off the most emotional win they’ll enjoy all season will be sapped.
“It’s obvious that it’s a very emotional win for us,” NHS coach Greg Nation said. “They’ve had our number. It’s big for our program and it was really exciting to win here at Harve Collins. But it’s the first hurdle of 10.
“Well take the win, but now we need to forget about it and prepare for our next opponent.”
Concentration and focus are keys for the Tigers. They have to build off the Clash victory, but not let it interfere with the next game.
“The hardest thing is getting over the hurdle that we’ve beat Norman North,” Nation said. “No one can ever look ahead … The most important opponent is the next one. Our kids need to understand that. We prepare week after week after week. North’s past now.”
One thing both sides can agree upon is the season’s still young.
In 2006, North opened with three out-of-district losses, including the season-opening Clash. But they came back and beat Edmond Santa Fe in the first week of district play and beat NHS at The Harve in the first round of the playoffs.
Last year, North opened the season 5-0 but dropped five straight and missed the postseason.
The T-Wolves certainly aren’t planning to drop their next two games, but Manning wants his players to know that falling to their crosstown rival isn’t the end of the world.
“You explain to the kids that, the truth is, none of these three games mean anything for the playoffs,” Manning said. “We always go back to that team in ’06. We came out fighting and district play and earned a spot in the postseason.”
Another thing both North and NHS can agree upon is how nice it was to have a packed Harve Collins Field on Friday.
They’d both like to have that extra boost this week when the Eagles and Lions visit.
“The atmosphere last week was amazing,” Nation said. “That’s something we want in here every week. The kids, the alumni and just people in Norman, we’d love to have them all here to watch us play.”
Jeff Johncox 366-3535 jjohncox@normantranscript.com
