Black Diamonds return to football action tonight, entertain Eufaula Ironheads

After having their bye week last week due to opening the season on Zero Week on Aug. 29, the Sallisaw Black Diamonds will return to the gridiron tonight when the welcome the Eufaula Ironheads to Perry F. Lattimore Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest that will be the final non-district game for both teams.

“Everybody is ready to go,” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “The week off did us some good. We were able to go back and work on some fundamental things. I know the kids hated to take last week off. It seemed like a long week not having a game (last) Friday night, but I think our kids are anxious to get back out on the field (tonight).”

Tonight’s game is the middle of three straight home games to open the home portion of the 2025 schedule, which makes every one a happy camper.

“Last year, we had four games at home and six on the road,” Tyler said. “This year, it’s flipped. We have six (games) at home and four on the road. That’s good. This is the second straight week to be at home, and we’ll be at home next week against Hilldale to start district play. Then, we go on the road (to Broken Bow), then back home for two more (Oct. 10 vs. Tulsa McLain for homecoming and Oct. 16 vs. Glenpool on Fall Break). It’s always nice getting to play here (at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium) and not have to travel. That makes it good for our kids and our community. We’re glad we’re back at home this week.”

The Black Diamonds (1-1) could be hitting the Ironheads (0-2) at an opportune time as the Ironheads are still seeking their first win of the season after losing 41-7 in the season opener against Vian on Sept. 5 in which the Wolverines christened the newly-laid turf on St. John Stadium and falling last week 62-26 in Eufaula’s home opener to Sequoyah-Tahlequah.

Dating back to last season, the Ironheads are on a five-game losing streak. The last time the Ironheads enjoyed a victory was last year when they handled the Stigler Panthers 36-7 on Oct. 17 (Week 7) at Stigler.

However, Tyler said the Ironheads can indeed pose problems for the Black Diamonds.

“They’re definitely a solid football team,” he said. “They’re a well-coached team. Coach (Larry) Newton and his staff will do a very good job. They’re going to be very big and physical up front. Their linemen are big. The defense flies around and is very physical. Those are concerns for us as a (coaching) staff. What worries us is those guys getting into a two-(running) back set and just trying to run the ball, get ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ and eating up the clock. We definitely have to prepare and go to work. We had a good week of practice.”

The key will be for the Black Diamonds to be proficient in all three phases of the game.

“We just have to go out Friday night and do what we do — go block (on offense), tackle and fly to the football on defense and be solid in special teams,” Tyler said.

Another concern Tyler mentioned is conditioning. Since the last game on Sept. 5 when the Black Diamonds blanked the Stigler Panthers, Mother Nature has returned to her summer-like temperatures and high humidity.

“Another concern is we’ve only had one (scrimmage) of game conditioning (due to playing on Zero Week),” Tyler said. “That’s a concern. It’s been hot again. We hope that doesn’t have any impact on us, so that’s a concern as well.”