Week 16 Winner: Davis Football
It’s not easy to talk about around
Davis, though it’s brought up often. It’s the football team’s motivation. It’s the players’ battle cry.
Around San Antonio they remember the Alamo.
Around Davis they remember 44-41 score against Oklahoma Christian.
That was the score of last year’s state 2A title game, the only loss of the season for the Wolves after 14 straight victories.
Davis
has gotten right back on the proverbial horse and is off to a perfect
13-0 start this season, including a 28-27 2A quarterfinal win over
Adair.
The team’s semifinal game with Vian was postponed due to severe weather and the teams will tangle again Friday in McAlester.
For
their excellence and perseverance, the Wolves are the MaxPreps Oklahoma
Team of the Week, presented by the Oklahoma National Guard.
After
opening the season with a narrow 34-28 win over Ringling, Davis breezed
over the next 10 games before pulling out back-to-back humdingers.
"The
philosophy we have here at Davis is based in accountability and
selflessness," said head coach Jody Weber. "Every year we have seniors
who are first-time starters. This is a credit to our players'
willingness to serve their team and wait their turn to play. We really
respect those kids who can play very little for two years, and stick
with it because they are unselfish and know that whatever role they have
is important to our team."
The Wolves pulled out a 34-29 win over Christian Heritage behind 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns from
Blake Summers and 65 yards rushing and a touchdown by
Braden Ruth.
That
set up a game with Adair, and once again the rushing combination of
Ruth (18 carries, 163 yards, 1 TD) and Summers (18, 138, 1) led the way.
Adair actually took a 27-13 halftime lead before Summers
returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. The team’s
defense then stiffened the rest of the game.
Summers scored again, this time on a 7-yard run with 9:01 to play, before he found
Ty Milligan with a pass completion and two-point conversion to put Davis up for good.
But it didn’t come without a scare.
Adair
drove 10 plays to the Davis 33, but the Wolves held and then ran out
the clock with three straight third-down conversions.
Ruth leads the team with 1,202 yards rushing through 11 games with 23 touchdowns, while Summers is at 1,190 and 14 scores.
Summers, a 5-foot-11, 152-pound junior, has also intercepted eight passes on the season and is the team’s punter.
"We
lost 17 starters from last year so we are excited to achieve a level of
success with a bunch of new starters," said Weber. "They have overcome a
lot of adversity and each week a different kid seems to answer the call
when we need him. These guys are really goal-oriented and have set
their sights pretty high. They have continued to get better even this
late in the season and that is a credit to them first and foremost."
Weber
has led a powerhouse Davis program, recording a whopping 111 wins and
just 19 losses since 2004. The Wolves, however, have not gotten over the
hump to win a state championship.
The school has won four of them — the last, however, was 1995. The Wolves have also won crowns in 1990, 1986 and 1979.
"Because
of the inclement weather preparation (for Friday's game against Vian)
has been more of a challenge," said Weber. "We are preparing for a close
game against an opponent that we respect. At this point in the season,
mental preparation is more important than physical preparation, and I
think our staff and players have done all they can to get ready."
Do you know a team that deserves
consideration for Oklahoma Team of the Week? Email us with your
nominations at OKteamoftheweek@maxpreps.com.
