MaxPreps Oklahoma Team of the Week: 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."

MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.

Do you know a team that deserves consideration for Oklahoma Team of the Week? Email us with your nominations at OKteamoftheweek@maxpreps.com.