Sallisaw Black Diamonds open 2025 football season tonight at Pryor
The 2025 football season has arrived for the Sallisaw Black Diamonds as they will travel to meet the Pryor Tigers at 7 tonight in Pryor.
“We’re very excited to get to open at Pryor,” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “We’ve had a good week of practice. It was very intense. The kids are really excited about the opportunity to get to go up there and get the season kicked off in the right way.”
The 2024 season started with a 31-14 home victory over the Tigers at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium, which started a four-game winning streak to begin the campaign. Tyler said there’s big-time importance to starting 1-0.
“You always want to go win that first ball game, and you build on that throughout the year,” he said. “The real season begins Week 4 (the District 4A-4 opener on Sept. 26 vs. Hilldale at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium) when you get into district play. Really right now, it’s another scrimmage for us. This time it’s going to count (on our record). I think our kids are ready. Our coaches have gotten our kids prepared, and I think we’re ready to go play (tonight).”
The Tigers ended up 8-4 last season and made it to the Class 5A state quarterfinals before losing 38-37 to Newcastle. Tyler said the Tigers have most of their starters back on both sides of the ball from their 2024 squad.
“They’re big and physical,” Tyler said about the Tigers. “They have just about everybody back on both sides of the ball. They have eight players back on defense and eight back on offense. The quarterback (senior Braden Ward) is very talented. They have a very good receiving corps he likes to throw to. From our film last year and this year’s scrimmage, it was about 61 percent pass, so they are going to throw it around quite a bit with a lot of RPOs (run-pass option plays) — and take some shots down the field. Defensively, they will be in a 3-4. Their three down guys are big and athletic. We definitely will have our hands full. They’re a top 10 team in (Class) 5A, and we’re a top 10 team in (Class) 4A. It should be a good football game.”
Two big keys will be important in which the Black Diamonds need to do well — the kicking game and winning the turnover battle.
“I think the kicking game will be big in this first ball game,” Tyler said. “Whoever doesn’t turn the ball will be big. Turnovers and the kicking game will determine (the outcome). I feel like our conditioning will be big. With us having some depth, we take pride in what we do conditioning wise to get the kids in shape. Hopefully, we’ll wear down people in the fourth quarter. I think that will be big.”
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TO GET THERE — Take Interstate 40 west to the Muskogee Turnpike. Take the Muskogee Turnpike to U.S. 69 on the north side of Muskogee. Take U.S. 69 north to Pryor.
