Despite last week’s loss to third-ranked Checotah, the Rangers are still in the District 3A-4 playoff race, and Friday night Roland will attempt to move closer to a berth in the postseason when it meets Okmulgee for the first time.

Senior night festivities will begin at 7 p.m. and kickoff for the final regular-season game at Ranger Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“Okmulgee is a team that has improved and gotten better the last few weeks,” Roland head coach Jeff Streun said. “They are like us, kind of beaten up, but they play hard.”

The Bulldogs are 2-6 overall and 2-3 in the district, but both wins have come in the month of October. Okmulgee won its first game on Oct. 3, a 13-7 win over Kellyville, and the following week the Bulldogs stopped Bristow 25-19. Two of Okmulgee’s losses earlier in the season were a 67-27 setback to Checotah and a 45-0 defeat against Glenpool, Class 4A’s top-ranked team.

“They have good size in their offensive and defensive lines and a lot of team speed,” said Streun. “They like to run the football, so our focus on defense will be stopping the run. They have a big quarterback with a strong arm, and Darrius Moore is their go-to receiver. David Woodruff (5-foot-11, 242-pound senior) is their big fullback, and they give it to him a lot. Luke Gehring (5-8, 165, junior) is another running back, and he runs hard.”

Other key offensive players for the Bulldogs are wide receiver Devon Bailey (5-11, 170, senior), center Tony Potter (6-0, 180, senior) and tight end Michael Cain (6-2, 215, junior).

“On defense they’ve run a 4-3 the last few weeks, and they have a lot of skilled kids in the back end,” remarked Streun. “They come off the ball well.

“Executing our game plan is a key for our offense. Last week we only had two three-and-outs, and we put a lot of drives together but we didn’t finish those drives with points. We have to be more consistent.”

Defensive end/tackle Leonardo Orr (5-11, 235, senior) is one of the defensive standouts for the Bulldogs, along with Woodruff at linebacker and Bailey in the secondary.

Roland is 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the district after dropping a 41-0 decision at unbeaten Checotah last week. The Wildcats (5-0) lead the league, and trailing Checotah are fifth-ranked Metro Christian and Hugo (both at 4-1), Roland, Idabel and Okmulgee (all at 2-3).

Roland ends the regular season at Bristow, Okmulgee hosts Metro Christian and Idabel visits Kellyville after hosting Checotah this week. The top four teams in the district will advance to the postseason.