Senior cornerback wants it all his final season as a Tiger

Sometimes a word like “bittersweet” is what most seniors use to describe their final seasons in their respective sport. However, determination may be the best word Central Tigers senior cornerback Aidan Sainer would use to describe his final season on the gridiron for the purple and gold.

In Week 9 of last season against Panama, Sainer suffered a season-ending injury that kept him from being a part of the complete first-ever perfect 10-0 regular season, a 12-win campaign and a trip to the Class A state quarterfinals. Sainer is going to do everything he can this season, his last as a Tiger on the football field, to make sure he’s actually on the field helping his team to this season’s goals.

“It’s a lot to take in because I’m coming off an injury,” Sainer said. “I got hurt against Panama right before playoffs. That took a lot of momentum out of things, and it took a lot out of me. It took a lot to come back this year because I didn’t know if I’d end up playing again because I tore my MCL (medial collateral ligament). I just took a lot to go back into this season. It means a lot more because I’m coming for everything. I didn’t get to be with my team (on the field), and I want to be able to be there for them (this season) and be in the same position and go play for a state title.”

After losing their first two games this season, the Tigers (3-2 overall, 2-0 in District AII3 play) have won three straight. Sainer believes the team is beginning to hit on all cylinders.

“Those first two games are really a tester,” he said. “They matter to us as far as a pride standpoint. We’re ready for district play. We’ve rolling right through. If we win this one this week, I think we’re really in good shape. We’re happy where we are right now.”

This week’s game is the biggest one so far for the Tigers as they will travel to meet the Talihina Golden Tigers (5-0, 2-0) in a showdown at 7 tonight at Talihina’s Doc Robinson Stadium in a battle of the only two unbeaten teams in the district.

“Each game gets bigger, I think, from our standpoint,” Sainer said. “We have history from them in the past. We know what they’re going to do. We know what their strong suits are. I believe we’re going to be in good shape, and we’re going to go down there and win.”

After back-to-back losses to Heavener and Warner, Central coach Jeremy Thompson “simplified” things for both the offense and defense. Since then, the Tigers have won three straight games.

“As far as simplifying things, it’s made things easy for us and our jobs easier,” Sainer said. “For me, we were trying a lot of different coverages. For me, I was going straight man. I like straight up man to man. I feel like that is my strong suit, getting my hands on somebody and making them go make a play. The simplifications have worked.”

So far this season, as was evident last Friday night when Thompson put him on Tulsa Regent Prep’s top receiver Isaac Coffin during the homecoming victory over the Rams at Tiger Stadium, Sainer has been given the assignment to keep containment on the opposing team’s top wide receiver. The senior cornerback relishes the challenge.

“It gives me a lot of confidence that the coach believes in me,” Sainer said. “I like the challenge. I like to live up to something. I feel like coming from Central, we’re the underdogs, so any challenge he gives me I like.”

Even though Sainer ended the season with an injury and could not play the final four games of the historic 2023 season for the Tigers, he said there is still some momentum the Tigers are riding from that epic season — but it is a new year.

“There’s a little bit still there as far as the fans’ standpoint of what they expect from us,” he said. “We have our own expectations. This is a new year. It’s a new team. We have a whole different team. We have a different goal this year. We are a lot faster I believe on the back end (defensive secondary) of things. We’re stronger in some places than other places, and that’s what we need to take advantage of.”

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TO GET THERE — Take U.S. 64 west to Interstate 40. Take Interstate 40 west to Warner. Take Oklahoma State Highway 2 south to Kinta. Take Oklahoma State Highway 31 east to Lequire. Take Oklahoma State Highway 82 south to Talihina. Take Oklahoma State Highways 1/63 south, where it becomes Dallas Street. Continue south on Dallas Street to Second Street (signal light), which is Oklahoma State Highway 1-U.S. 271. Turn left to Doc Robinson Stadium.