Rangers begin District 2A-5 play with road game against Keys

The Roland Rangers come into the District 2A-5 portion of their schedule at 1-2, but could be oh so close to 2-1 — especially after last week’s homecoming game loss to Central, which prevailed 8-7 on a blocked fieldgoal attempt on the final play of the game.

“I thought against Central last week, we played a heck of a defensive game,” second-year Roland coach Austin Cantrell said. “We really only let up on one play right before halftime. It was kind of a fluke play that should have been a shutout for us after the way we played defense and shut down the run the way we did. We put some pressure on the quarterback on passing downs. It’s something we haven’t been able to do (consistency) yet. We have the guys to do it, but we haven’t executed as far as defensively getting pressure on the ball from our down linemen.”

Now, it’s as if the Rangers are 0-0 as they begin the most important portion of their schedule — District 2A-5 contests.

“That’s what we’ve been stressing to our boys,” Cantrell said. “Roland hasn’t been to the (football) playoffs since 2020. In 2021, we ended up in a three-tie for third and fourth place and ended up getting the short end of the stick. The seniors I got haven’t been to the playoffs since they were freshmen. Most of my kids on my team have never played in a playoff game, so that’s what I’m harping on them about. Let’s get to the playoffs and take care of business. Every single week, you’ve got to go earn it to be a good team to get into the playoffs. I’m trying to get them going. They’re excited about it.”

The Rangers will have to hit the road for their district opener as they meet the Keys (Park Hill) Cougars.

The Cougars (0-3) lost all three of their non-district games, losing 30-7 to Gore, 20-0 to Stilwell and 62-14 to Kiefer. Still, Cantrell said the Cougars cannot be taken lightly.

“Keys has a good group out there,” he said. “They have some size and some speed. They have one guy who is a pretty big fullback. They have a (punt/kickoff) returner and receiver who has some wheels, and it’s the same with the running back. I think it’s a good match-up for us. We have a little bit of speed and size, too.”

The Rangers will need to have a good game offensively to give themselves a chance to not only win their district opener, but end a two-game losing streak.

“Offensively, we’ve got to be able to go score,” Cantrell said. “We have to put drives together. We’ve done that the first two games really, but the last game against Central was really a big defensive battle from both teams. The big thing for us offensively is we’ve got to be able to score and on to the ball and not turn it over like we did against Stilwell. We have to limit mistakes offensively and be able to go out there and execute (the game plan).”

To begin 1-0 in District 2A-5 play will be big for the Rangers.

“It’s huge,” Cantrell said. “Every district game is huge. If you can start off 1-0 in district play, it’s big. After that, we have the two toughest teams we had last year — Vian and Prague. I would definitely like to get this first (district) win. Hopefully, we can go out there and play a good game, and come away with a win.”

• • • To Get There — Take Interstate 40 west to Vian. Take Highway 82 north, past Oklahoma State Highway 100, to Indian Road. Turn left (south) on Indian Road to Keys Cougar Pride Road. Turn right to stadium.