Owasso Football: only the beginning

By McKenna Worsham

Owasso’s Varsity Football team hasn’t exactly had the most epic start to their 2022-23 season. With quite a few seniors sitting out due to injuries, the season had a rough start by playing the highest-ranked team in the state, Bixby. Unexpectedly, another senior and major leader on the team, Cole Adams, returned to the field after halftime, not suited up, apparently injured. A devastating loss of key players caused hesitation moving into the next week’s game, ending again in a loss to Jenks (14-7). 

Though initially, the team went into the season confident and ready to play, these set-backs truly took the players, as well as the coaches by surprise. 

Coach Poteete mentions that after Adams was taken out of the game against Bixby, “...everyone was just in a little bit of shock,” as it set in that a huge leader was taken away from them, not even an hour into their season. 

Picture of Cole Adams taken by Kresta Bowman

In terms of their offensive strategy, the coaches and players had to put in a lot of effort to fill the void of senior leaders such as Adams and Emery Neeley. While the coaches took these devastating losses as a challenge, many players saw them as a mental block. With key leaders missing on the field, someone had to step up and uplift the team from this dreadful situation. That upcoming leader on the field is senior quarterback, Mason Willingham. 

Poteete explains how Willingham has “...stepped his game up” and how he seemingly “...hasn’t skipped a beat,” to make up for the loss of Adams as a player and leader. 

Willingham began to embrace his role as quarterback coming into the third game of the season against Broken Arrow. His mentality seems to only grow stronger as the season goes on, as well as his ability to lead the team to victory with a 27-26 win against BA. 

Picture of QB Mason Willingham taken by Kresta Bowman.

While the quarterback is a huge part of the team, the team’s defensive players have continued to step up on the field as well. Players such as Tyler Rich, Jake Adams and Trae Hall have taken on big responsibilities as upperclassmen. 

Next week, for a game against Union High School, the coaches are confident and hopeful as they take them on at their home field. 

Though the rest of the season is yet to be determined, the team seems to be taking a more day-by-day approach, trying to stay as focused on bettering themselves as possible. 

Coach Poteete simplifies their strategy perfectly, “...get the most out of your players each day and trust to find equal success on Friday nights.”