Blake Wagner is one of two seniors who will be playing their final games for Gans on Friday night when the Grizzlies host Arkoma. (Mike Erwin•TIMES)
Senior night activities will begin at 7 p.m. and kickoff for the District B-4 contest at Grizzly Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Arkoma is 2-6 for the season and 2-5 in the league. The Mustangs had an open date last week.
Three-year starting quarterback Austin Thompson (5-foot-10, 150-pound senior) is one of the Mustangs’ key players on offense, and other standouts are fullback Chris Pinkston (5-8, 140, senior), receivers Wesley Womack and Tristan Woolsey (6-1, 180, senior) and lineman John Dunn (6-0, 205, senior).
Thompson has completed 94-of-182 passes for 1,446 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, and Woolsey has caught 50 throws for 936 yards and six touchdowns.
“Their quarterback is their main offensive threat, throwing and scrambling,” Gans’ head coach Trent Holt said. “We have to try to control him and not let him beat us because he is a good scrambler.
“On offense they’ll line up in four-wide and split with the I-formation.”
In Arkoma’s 28-26 come-from-behind win over Oaks on Oct. 23, Thompson ran for a 46-yard touchdown and threw for two other TDs (35-yarder to Pinkston and a 5-yarder to Womack). Woolsey caught two conversion throws from Thompson and Pinkston rushed for a 1-yard touchdown.
Thompson was the game’s leading rusher in that game with 185 yards on 15 carries, and he completed 10-of-14 passes for 141 yards. Woolsey caught seven throws for 86 yards.
Thompson and Pinkston are also two of Arkoma’s top defensive players, along with Shawn Giles and Christian Davis. Thompson patrols the secondary for the Mustangs and Pinkston is the middle linebacker. Giles and Davis each intercepted a pass in the Oaks’ game.
“The 3-2 is their base defense,” remarked Holt. “We have to be more consistent in our offensive play. We have to block for the full length of plays, and as a group our offensive line has to be more consistent. We also can’t turn the ball over.”
With Gans’ playoff run over, Holt said he was especially disappointed for his two seniors, Blake Wagner and Joe Brunk.
“I hate it for them,” said Holt. “We’ve been to the playoffs for the past eight seasons, and they’ve been a part of that. They still have a good attitude in practice and in the games, and they’re still playing hard.”
Finishing the season on a positive note and winning the last game of the season are incentives for the Grizzlies this week.
“We could win the last game we play this year and take a little momentum going into next year,” said Holt. “In the past we had to win the state championship to do that.”
Fourth-ranked Copan (7-0 in the district), No. 5 Porter and Welch (both 6-1) have clinched the top three playoff berths in the league, and Oaks, Watts and South Coffeyville (all 3-4) are one game ahead of Gans and Arkoma (both 2-5). Oaks plays at Porter and Watts visits South Coffeyville this week, and a win by one of those teams would keep them ahead of the Grizzlies in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot.
