Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

OKLAHOMA CITY — Piedmont handled its business Friday night at Taft Stadium against Northwest Classen ahead of a key district contest at home vs. Lawton Eisenhower next Friday.

Photo by Holly Cowden
Easton Hensley displays the ball to an official on his 32-yard touchdown catch Friday night.

The Wildcats racked up 330 total yards of offense while holding Classen to minus-7 yards in a 33-0 rout in both teams’ district opener.

Jacob Bakewell ran for two scores, Landon White scored his ninth touchdown of the season and Easton Hensley, playing in his first game this season, added a 32-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Noah Ellis.

“We wanted to come out, execute and let the score take care of itself,” head coach Drew Gossen said. “I’m proud that we came out and played well and executed what we were supposed to do.”

White finished with 82 yards on 17 carries in limited action. Bakewell had 44 yards yards on seven rushes, and Hensley, who returned from a hip flexor injury that held him out for Piedmont’s non-district slate, hauled in three passes for 55 yards and a score.

“It felt great. I’m a little out of shape because I haven’t been running for four or five weeks,” he said.

Hensley’s touchdown catch put Piedmont in front 19-0 with 10:08 to play in the first half. It was a play Hensley wasn’t able to appreciate right away, though.

“Honestly, when I caught it, I didn’t think I was in the end zone. I thought I was on like the five. I came down with it and I was just looking up and thinking, all right, what’s the next play, and I look over and there’s a pylon next to me. he said. “When I realized I had scored I was pretty hyped.”

Added Gossen: “He’s a guy we were real excited to have back. He opens up a few things and gives us a downfield threat. It’s nice to have him back.”

The senior receiver had another touchdown catch wiped away due to a penalty of his own making when he lined up illegally.

“He’s a little rusty,” Gossen said. “But he did a great job.”

Ellis finished the night 10 of 16 passing for 131 yards with two touchdown passes. His first touchdown toss of the game, also Piedmont’s first score, was an 11-yard pass to Dylan Meador with 6:47 to play in the first quarter.

Defensively, the Wildcats were solid from beginning to end as Classen never threatened to score. Koy Priddy and Jacob Storts both picked off passes in the game.

Next week, Piedmont (2-2, 1-0) hosts Lawton Ike (1-3, 1-0) in a district game that’ll likely be crucial for playoff positioning.

“We’ve kind of had Week 5 circled on our calendars all year long knowing it would be a huge one,” Gossen said. “We have ourselves set up right where we want to be. We’re excited about that.”

Piedmont Gazette sports editor Blake Colston and Piedmont head wrestling coach Erik Ford discuss what’s wrong with OU football, if OSU can beat Baylor and Piedmont football playoff’s chances. Plus, one of us missed big on a Thursday Night Football prediction. All brought to you by Carter Chevrolet in Okarche.

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

Piedmont opens its District 5A-II schedule Friday night at 7 p.m. at historic Taft Stadium against Northwest Classen with something it hasn’t had in some time.

Photo by Holly Cowden
Landon White carries the ball in Piedmont’s loss at Noble Friday night.

The Wildcats have a real belief that they’re a legitimate postseason contender.

“I think these guys know and I think they understand that they have a chance to compete now,” head coach Drew Gossen said. “Since the beginning we’ve talked about the playoffs. That’s our goal and we want nothing less and now that opportunity is at hand. This is where it all begins.”

In each of the previous two seasons, Piedmont entered district play without a win, beat up and lacking momentum. Despite a 1-2 record, things are different this season. The Wildcats have been in close losses to Weatheford and Noble until the final minutes. Read more →

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

NOBLE — Piedmont produced 24 first downs, gained 415 total yards and kept Noble’s high-octane offense at bay by dominating time of possession Friday night.

None of it was enough to win.

Photo by Holly Cowden
Landon White carries the ball in Piedmont’s loss at Noble Friday night.

The Wildcats committed four turnovers, missed chances to put Noble away and squandered a fourth-quarter lead in a 33-27 loss to the Bears.

Baehler Buol hit Dallas Dow over the middle for a 55-yard touchdown pass with 2:13 to play to cap a wild comeback for the Bears. Piedmont fumbled the ensuing kickoff to seal its fate.

“Sometimes that happens and it was a mistake that cost us,” head coach Drew Gossen said. “That wasn’t the only one, there were a lot of opportunities we had.”

Buol completed 21 of 34 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns without an interception while leading his team back from an 8-point deficit with less than eight minutes to play.

The rally spoiled a signature performance from Piedmont, which got 195 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 24 carries from senior Landon White. White helped Piedmont’s offense control time of possession and keep Noble’s high-powered offense off the field while building a 20-13 halftime edge.

“The first half couldn’t have gone any smoother,” Gossen said.

Piedmont ran for 240 yards as a team despite facing a Noble defense that overloaded the line of scrimmage to take the run away.

The methodical style worked to perfection until late in the fourth quarter when critical mistakes cost the ‘Cats. Leading by eight and driving into Noble’s redzone to go ahead by two scores, a bad snap squirted past quarterback Noah Ellis, was picked up by Noble (3-0) and returned to midfield.

The Bears converted a fourth-and-goal from the 7-yardline on the ensuing drive when Buol hit Chance Felchin to pull Noble within two points, 27-25, after a missed two-point conversion with 7:31 to play.

PHS had another chance to close out the win on its next drive, but Ellis’ pass on fourth-and-nine from the Noble 27 fell incomplete with 2:42 to go. Buol hit Dow for the deciding score three plays later. Ellis was 9 of 18 for 175 yards and hit Koy Priddy for a 37-yard touchdown in fourth quarter.

The Wildcats threw an interception in the end zone and were stopped on downs at Noble’s 22-yardline in the second half. Piedmont also committed 10 penalties for 85 yards to go along with its other miscues.

“That was the difference,” Gossen said.

The Wildcats (1-2) play at Northwest Classen next week to open district play.

“Through three games, I now know what this team is about,” Gossen said. “I know what they’re going to be like and I know how hard they’re going to fight. We can go to bat with that.”

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

There weren’t many heads hanging around Piedmont’s football facility this week.

Photo by Hugh Scott
Jacob Bakewell, left, Alex Rodriguez, center, and Dylan Meador converage to tackle Weatherford’s Ryan Terry.

Yes, Piedmont (1-1) lost a 27-20 game against Weatherford that it led 13-0 at one point and easily could’ve won. But the Wildcats controlled the final quarter of the game and came within fingertips of scoring a touchdown to even the score in the final minutes.

So as Piedmont travels to play at Noble (2-0) tonight at 7:30 in its final non-district game, the Wildcats are as confident as ever.

“It’s disappointing to come off a loss, and it sounds weird to say, but it was almost momentum building in some ways,” head coach Drew Gossen said. “To see them fight back like they did and really attack in the fourth quarter, we feel pretty good about it.”

Playing more disciplined football, as it relates to all aspects of the game, is the key to turning close losses into victories, Gossen said.

Noble likely presents Piedmont with its most difficult game thus far. The Bears’ quarterback, Baehler Buol, has led them to easy wins over Newcastle (47-10) and Chickasha (55-14) in the first two weeks of the season. Through just three games last season, Buol threw for 994 yards and 14 touchdowns, and the Bears have 1,000-yard receiver Christian Robinson-Moore back, too.

“They’re a high-powered offense,” Gossen said. “They run a lot of formations and their quarterback is good. He puts the ball in the right spots a lot on film.” Read more →

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

Piedmont’s softball team continues to grow under first-year head coach Keith Coleman.

Photo by Dave Owen
Piedmont’s Abby Detar tags out a Muskogee runner in a tournament at Carl Albert this season.

The one person who wishes that the methodical process would speed up most? Keith Coleman. But Coleman also happens to be the same guy that knows it doesn’t work that way, especially when growing up includes replacing an All-American pitcher and a college-bound catcher.

“We’re just about exactly where I thought we would be at this point,” Coleman, who’s team was 11-10 overall after two losses at Coweta on Tuesday, said. “We have some really good innings and then we have some innings where we show our youth and inexperience.”

In the circle, Piedmont has settled on freshman Chloe Bohuslavicky and senior Morgan Davis to fill the massive void left by All-American and Texas Tech signee Kassidy Scott. Both have been solid. Davis has a 1.47 ERA in 47 1/3 innings. Bohuslavicky has 41 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings with a 3.52 ERA. Neither has truly pulled ahead of the other and that’s OK with Coleman.

“They’ve both had some hard luck, but we’re happy with them,” Coleman said.

Piedmont opened the season with a 4-0 record against a soft schedule. Which, in retrospect, probably wasn’t the best way for a young team breaking in five freshman contributors and moving other returners to new positions to start.

“I think it set us back,” Coleman said. “All of the sudden when our kids played teams that could catch it and throw it, it kind of put our kids in a little shell-shock early.”

Since then, it’s been a case of putting together complete games on offense, defense and in the circle. That’s the last step to becoming a contender in Class 5A. The schedule hasn’t been easy. Piedmont’s top competition in district — Durant and Coweta — are a combined 48-6 this season.

“We’re not talented enough to just show up and play. We have a small margin for error,” Coleman said. “We’re a team that has to do all of the little things very well and we’ve proven throughout this season when we do them well we can compete.”

The Wildcats have made progress toward all of the above, but still aren’t consistent enough for Coleman. The goal is for Piedmont to be playing its best softball by the regional tournament in early October. That won’t happen with the flip of a switch, but Coleman remains optimistic his team can in the coming weeks.

“When we put it all together we have a chance to be pretty good,” he said.

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

Piedmont head coach Drew Gossen is confident that his program is close to turning the tide and becoming a true postseason contender this season.

Photo by Hugh Scott
Piedmont’s Jacob Storts collides with Weatherford’s Javier Martinez in the first half of Friday’s game.

Friday night, Piedmont was mere fingertips away from taking another big step in a front of a sellout crowd at Wildcat Stadium, but a furious fourth-quarter rally came up just short when Noah Ellis’ fourth down pass deflected off the hands of diving receiver Jacob Storts in the end zone on fourth and goal from the 14-yard line to seal Weatherford’s 27-20 win.

“They decided that they were going to fight back and they did,” Gossen said of his teams’ rally. “We just came up a little bit short.”

Weatherford quarterback Ryan Terry led the way for the Eagles, passing for 173 yards and a touchdown while running for 51 more yards and another score. Terry’s first down run in the final minutes iced the game. He added an interception on defense.

“He’s a winner,” Weatherford head coach Woody Roof said of Terry. “He’s kind of got what football coaches call saavy of the game. He was great tonight.”

Trailing 27-13 entering the fourth quarter, the Wildcats’ rally began when Piedmont mounted a scoring drive capped by Landon White’s 11-yard touchdown run with 8:21 to play. After a stop on defense, White did more heavy lifting on Piedmont’s  next drive with carries of eight, eight, 11 and 36 yards to take the ball to the Weatherford 20 with 4:46 remaining. Read more →

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

Piedmont did something in its season opener that no PHS team had done since 2006.

Photo by Holly Cowden
Piedmont Jack Chester leaps high to snag a pass as El Reno’s Jordan Melancon tries to tip the ball away during last week’s game.

The Wildcats won. They used a ground-and-pound offense to earn a 30-15 victory at El Reno.

The only way to improve on that?

Beating Weatherford Friday in Piedmont’s home opener set for a 6 p.m. kick. A win would mark Piedmont’s first 2-0 start to a season since 2005, when the Wildcats opened 5-0.

“Going out and beating a known opponent like Weatherford would be a huge boost for us confidence-wise,” head coach Drew Gossen said.

The season-opening win over El Reno did plenty for Piedmont’s confidence. The final score didn’t indicate just how badly the Wildcats outplayed the Indians. PHS rushed for 322 yards while limiting El Reno to just 17 yards on the ground and the Wildcats picked up 18 first downs to El Reno’s seven.

Other than minor tweaks, Piedmont doesn’t plan to change much this week.

“We need to continue to be physical and continue to execute our gameplan,” Gossen said.

Gossen does hope his team can commit fewer penalties, though. The Wildcats had 10 for 105 yards and negated an interception with a roughing the passer penalty. Conditioning, he said, will also be an added focus this week as Piedmont had trouble with cramping throughout last week’s game.

“Huge focus for us. We have to cut down on mistakes. There’s no way we’re going to beat the real solid teams on our schedule if we’re committing 10 penalties,” Gossen said.

Weatherford lost to Perryton, Texas, 30-0 in the opening week of the season, but was a playoff team in Class 4A last season and always plays a physical brand of football under veteran head coach Woody Roof.

“They’re a typical Weatherford team. They’re solid across the board and they’re tough-minded,” Gossen said. “We’re going to have to play a really sound game to beat them.”

The Eagles have beaten Piedmont in each of the last four seasons, including a 36-10 drubbing in Weatherford last season in which Piedmont gained only nine total yards.

This Wildcat team is 1 for 1 on bucking bad trends this season, though. Perhaps snapping a four-game losing skid to Weatherford is next on the list.

“I think we’ve got a really good chance to go out and play our style of football and take it to them,” Gossen said.

Blake Colston
sports@piedmontnewsonline.com

Hannah McGarraugh has cemented herself as Piedmont’s steady senior setter this season, which is ironic considering that when her Piedmont career began four years ago, she was anything but steady.

Blake Colston/Gazette
Hannah McGarraugh sets a ball in a game against PC West earlier this season.

“I cried so much my freshman year. Really anytime I messed up,” she said. “Now I don’t really get stunned at all. I’m very mentally solid.”

On a team with big hitters, McGarraugh makes it all go as the team’s top setter and unquestioned leader. She’s also the team’s best passer and has even added hitting to her arsenal this season. She’s still hard on herself, but it’s for the best now.

“She’s extremely mentally focused and she’s determined to win. She’s her toughest critic, but I think that’s what makes her a good volleyball player,” head coach Lauren Bernhardt said.

McGarraugh hopes to parlay her growth as a player into a chance to play in college. Schools in Florida and Pennsylvania have been in contact with her, though none have extended scholarship offers yet. McGarraugh thinks finishing her senior season well along with another good showing in club season will help change that.

She’s only played volleyball since joining the team in Piedmont, so she’s short on experience, but she doesn’t focus on that.

“I’m a very diverse player, so what I might lack in experience, I make up for with my hustle, passing and hitting,” she said. “I think my hustle will appeal to a lot of schools.”

McGarraugh has played four different positions during her career and gives Bernhardt a player she knows will make tough plays in big matches.

“There’s times in a game that she’s at every corner of the floor in one play,” Bernhardt said. “She’ll get things done that really impress me. She never gives up on the ball and it shows.”

McGarraugh’s mettle was on display recently as Piedmont played five consecutive games without its best hitter Brooke Spears and starting libero Lydia Wade. The stretch could’ve been disastrous, but the Lady Wildcats made it through with a respectable 2-3 record, including losses to 10th-ranked Shawnee and Class 6A Choctaw.

“She’s the glue that’s been able to keep it together for us. Even though we’ve had some rocky situations, Hannah has kept us stable,” Bernhardt said.