By Scott Hansen
MaxPreps.com
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. - Rotnei Clarke and Keiton Page will be synonymous forever in Oklahoma prep basketball lore. The two joined forces one final time as the Small East routed the Small West in the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-State game, 79-57.
In warm-ups, Oklahoma’s top two career scorers captured the atmosphere at Carl Albert Fieldhouse. Page threw an alley-oop pass off the backboard to his all-star teammate, and Clarke flushed it with ease. Coupled with Stringtown star James Watson, the three Division I signees were too difficult for the Small West squad to match.
Watson, headed to Washington State, scored eight points, all on dunks. Clarke would lead the Small East with 21 points, while Page chipped in a modest 10 for the East.
Clarke, Page, and Watson had already started preparing for college in workouts with their new schools. Clarke is headed to Arkansas, while Page stayed local to attend Oklahoma State. All three coming back to participate in the All-State game is a rarity.
Page was honored with the Jim Thorpe Award, handed to the Oklahoma Coaches Association player of the year. David Page, Keiton father and head coach at Pawnee, was given the Coach of the Year honor.
Clarke hit five of his six three-point attempts and rolled to his game-high. Velma-Alma’s Trey Eason of the Small West led his team with 19 points.
The East squad actually trailed 19-12 at one point before Page started making his point guard abilities known. For example, with five minutes remaining in the first half, Page found a streaking Watson for a lob and rim-rocker.
Small East…..10…..29….22…..18…..-……79
Small West…..12…..16…..17…..12…..-…..59
Small East: Rotnei Clarke (Verdigris), 21; Keiton Page (Pawnee), 10; James Watson (Stringtown), 8; Garrett Bishop (Kingston), 7; Kyle Billy (Rattan), 7; Adam Beck (Frontier), 7; Jordan Reed (Morris), 6; Ryan Hudson (Preston), 6; Kyle Bottger (Agra), 5; Kenny Davis (Adair), 2.
Small West: Trey Eason (Velma-Alma), 19; Eric Garza (Chattanooga), 10; Ethan Davis (Calumet), 8; T.J. Williams (Apache), 5; Zeke Zoschke (Thomas), 3; Dillon McGuire (Laverne), 3; Trent Lanie (Alva), 2; Cody Bond (Garber), 2.
Large School Battle Goes to West
Midwest City’s Chuck Sanders had his way in the paint for the Large West, scoring 21 points to lead his All-State squad to an 80-71 victory over the Large East
Edmond Memorial’s Daniel White paced the Large West with 19 points, 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter. White’s scoring barrage allowed the West squad to break open a game that was tied heading into the final period by outscoring the East, 26-17.
A balanced attack led the way for the Large East. Fort Gibson’s Ryan Keese, Stillwater’s Jamell Cormier, and Tulsa Memorial’s Blaise Voskul-Stabb all led the East with 10 points apiece.
Large West……21…..15…..18…..26…..-……80
Large East……11…..26…..17…..17…..-…..71
Large West: Chuck Sanders (Midwest City), 21; Daniel White (Edmond Memorial), 19; Jeffrey Merritt (Bishop McGuinness), 9; Ben Smith (OKC Southeast), 8; Geo Brewer (Lawton MacArthur), 7; Dennon Mitchell (Putnam City North), 5; Cory Nicholson (Harrah), 5; Thomas Razor (Lawton), 4; Shane Carroll (Mustang), 2.
Large East: Ryan Keese (Fort Gibson), 10; Jamell Cormier (Stillwater), 10; Blaise Voskul-Stabb (Tulsa Memorial), 10; Robert Crawford (Victory Christian), 9; Ken Holdman (Tulsa East Central), 9; Sidney Hadnott (Tulsa East Central), 7; Kevin Roland (Bristow), 7; Wes May (Seminole), 4; Eubanks (Stillwell), 3; Tyler Thalken (Bishop Kelley), 2.
Large School Girls Stars Missing, East Wins
With stars such as Sapulpa’s Alyssia Brewer not attending, the Large East still have enough firepower in its 66-59 victory over the Large West in the OCA All-State game at Carl Albert Fieldhouse.
Dewey’s Cristy Nitz scored a game-high 22 points. Tulsa Union’s Lindsay Palmer and Jenks’ Tia McGee also were not in uniform for the game. Brewer was with the United States Under-18 National Team in the FIBA World Championships in Argentina recently.
Fort Gibson’s Kendra Dean chipped in with 15 points to pace the Large East. Norman’s Sasha King scored 10 points to lead the balanced Large West attack in a losing effort.
Large West…..11…..14…..23…..11……-……59
Large East…..12…..20…..12…..22…..-…..66
Balanced Attack Leads Small West
Millwood’s Ronita Coleman led a balanced attack by netting 12 points to lead the Small West to a 70-61 victory over the Small East.
Fort Cobb-Broxton’s Autumn Klugh and Garber’s Alyssa Fuxa both scored 11 points to pace the Small West.
Preston’s Savannah Hamilton tallied a game-high 19 points for the East. Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s Angel Goodrich and Lorin Hammer scored 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Small West…..11…..25…..16……18…..-…..70
Small East…..15……17……8…..21…..-…..61
Wilkins, Horton Stand Out in West’s Football Victory
MUSTANG, Okla. - Duncan quarterback Trent Wilkins took the snaps for one final time before moving on to the University of Tulsa to feature in the secondary. The Jim Thorpe Award honoree had 142 total yards and a touchdown in the 31-14 victory over the East.
The Jim Thorpe Award is given to the Oklahoma Coaches Association player of the year, well-deserved after Wilkins rolled up huge numbers at Duncan. Wilkins led Class 5A with 1,840 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground.
Wilkins gave the West squad the lead in the second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run to give his team a 10-7 lead. From there, the West took over.
Douglass standout Da’Sor Horton, who will join Wilkins at Tulsa, rumbled in from 6 yards to put the West up 17-7. Horton was a late qualifier and appeared to be headed to a junior college before an opportunity presented itself with the Golden Hurricane.
Tulsa East Central’s Kenny Session made the play of the night in the All-State game at Mustang. Session bobbled a snap in the backfield before scooping it up and zigzagging 80 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-14.
After a huge junior season that saw him rush for over 2,400 yards and 34 scores, an injury derailed his senior campaign. Session is headed to Kansas State after rushing for 1,249 yards and 20 touchdowns despite the injury.
Horton would later add his second touchdown to help put his team on its way to the victory.
In a change by the Oklahoma Coaches Association, players were given white helmets to use in the game rather than wearing their high school helmets. The players had to return the helmets after the game. Helmet sticker trading was still in full effect. Session, for example, had a Tulsa Union split U at the front of his head gear.
