Looking ahead for county teams

The official start of the 2011 football season is now only nine days away.

Most observers think this will be a down year for county schools overall, as Spiro and Talihina lost heavily to graduation last year and were two of the three county teams to make the playoffs, along with Arkoma.

While Spiro and Talihina are reloading, other county teams should show some improvement.

Arkoma and Poteau are two teams that could make a serious run this year. The Mustangs return several starters from last year’s playoff team and if their defense improves, Arkoma could be one of the top teams in its district.
The Mustangs were potent on offense last year and should be even better this time around.

Poteau returns most of its skill players from last year’s team and boasts great speed and talent at the wideouts with Tyler Tustin and Jesse Woodson heading up the corp.

Quarterback should also be a strength with Wilson Klutts and sophomore Jace Pitchford. Klutts has improved considerably from last year and both players can also play receiver and be a threat.

Nick Donathan is back at running back after having to play quarterback last year after Klutts was injured.

The key for the Pirates is a young line on both sides and how well the defense plays.

Spiro and Talihina both lost heavily to graduation. The Bulldogs are looking to replace their potent backfield from last year while Talihina lost a great group that were part of a team that did not lose a regular-season game for three years.

Heavener has most of its starters back from a team that only won one game last year. The Wolves have a small senior class, but strong junior and sophomore classes in their final year playing in 2A before moving to 3A.
Pocola showed a lot of improvement last year and could make a serious run at the playoffs.

Panama and Bokoshe round up the county teams and are playing with new coaches. The Razorbacks failed to win a game last year while Bokoshe lost several key players from a team that competed for a playoff spot.

Panama and Spiro open the season next Thursday before the other schools get the year started on Friday.