Owasso Rams football: making their way to the state championship
By Katelyn Fisher
Photo of head coach Bill Blankenship
The Owasso Rams Football Team had a rough start to their season but quickly turned it around and started their winning streak. This change in momentum allowed the Rams to make it to playoffs, where they won the first two rounds against Westmoore and Norman North and headed to the semifinals.
Assistant Coach Antonio Graham says the reason they started winning is largely because “A lot of the kids had a lot more energy because it's meaningful; you could lose a game and it could be the last game of a kid's career.”
For most seniors, this is their last year of football, and at this point in the season, one bad game could end their career. This puts the whole team on edge, especially the seniors. Not only are the players nervous, but the coaches are also just as, if not more, nervous than their team is. The coaches don’t want to let their players down and will do whatever it takes to let them play a little longer.
Coach Graham expresses, “I think the coaches are more on edge because we don’t wanna fail our players.”
He believes that the team's losses at the beginning of their season are due to their lack of experience in players and leaders. Two major leaders, Cole Adams and Emery Neely, sustained injuries at the season's start, taking them out of the game. This threw the Owasso Rams off their standard routine and caused new players to step up, whether through performance or leading the team.
He states that “A weakness for us was inexperience, because we were playing with a lot of kids who were stepping out on the varsity field for the first time.”
Head Coach Bill Blankenship knows that having skill and talent is only a small part of the game. In order to win, players need to be in the right mindset and believe that they do have a chance for success. Players who aren’t in the right mindset struggle to play to their full potential because they get distracted easily. Whether that be with thoughts about after the game, or thoughts of doubt, mindset is key in an athlete's performance.
He believes that “The mentality is 95% of it and the other part is preparation. As coaches, we have to be real with ourselves, like do we have a chance or do we not? But we always wanna tell our kids that they have a chance at all times.”
Leading up to playoffs, Coach Blankenship ran a tough and long practice to better prepare his team. However, now that they are here, Coach Blankenship lessens the practices by an hour or so to allow the football players to fully recover and be ready for the upcoming games. Practicing for so long takes a toll on athletes' bodies which will show in games if they don’t properly recover.
The Owasso Rams Football Team has high hopes of continuing on and believes they have what it takes to make it all the way to win the state Championship. However, in order for this to happen the athletes must remain focused at practice and not let the excitement of getting this far get into their heads. The Owasso Rams have big competition on the way, and as their coach said, “mentality is key.”