Black Diamonds welcome Tulsa McLain to town for Homecoming tonight
The Sallisaw Black Diamonds will seek to accomplish three things at once tonight — extend their winning streak to five games, stay undefeated in District 4A-4 play and make it a happy homecoming — when they welcome the Tulsa McLain Titans to town for a 7 p.m. game tonight at Perry F. Lattimore Stadium.
The Black Diamonds (4-1 overall, 2-0 in district play) picked up a huge road district win last week, knocking off Class 4A’s third-ranked Broken Bow Savages 40-30 after falling behind 28-20.
“It was a big win,” Sallisaw coach Brandon Tyler said. “Going down there and getting a win is always a bonus. We battled adversity going down, but again, I was proud of our kids and coaching staff being ready to play. I thought we played a pretty complete ball game all the way around. We gave up some points, but they’re a big-play team. They have some of the best athletes in (Class) 4A we’re going to see. Again, I was very proud of our team and our coaches, and we took care of business. I’m very pleased where we’re at right now going into Week 6. We just have to keep rolling.”
While the big road win over Broken Bow was exciting, it was back to work on Monday for the Black Diamonds as they prepare for tonight’s homecoming opponent.
“Like I always tell the kids,” Tyler said. “It’s a 48-hour rule. Come Monday at 7:30 a.m., we’re back in the weight room, and we had to get focused on Tulsa McLain. As coaching staff, we start Saturday morning on (the next opponent) over the weekend.”
The Titans (3-2, 1-1) are coming off a 55-44 road win over Stilwell last Friday night after losing their district opener 52-26 to Ada on Sept. 26. The Titans, who lost their season opener 29-26 to Tulsa Victory Christian on Sept. 5, entered district play on a two-game winning streak — routing Tulsa Webster 52-0 on Sept. 11 and getting past Kipp Tulsa 32-12 on Sept. 18. Tyler said the Titans are a very good team.
“Tulsa McLain is another talented football team,” he said. “Anytime you get one of those Tulsa TPS schools, they’re going to have a lot of athletes. They have a receiver who has gotten a lot of small school offers. They’re very fast. They’re very talented. They’ve got one loss in the district, so I’m sure their coaches are telling them if they upset us, they’re right back in the thick of things. This district is so tough. Week in, week out, you can’t take a week off.”
Tyler said the same keys the Black Diamonds were able to do in last Friday night’s road win over Broken Bow will hold true tonight.
“We have to get focused on what we need to do this week,” he said. “We have to come prepared. It’s going to be a lot like (the) Broken Bow (game). We have to limit the big plays. They got away from us four times and scored all their points. We have to get turnovers. We’re getting about three to four turnovers the last four ball games — that’s very helpful. We have to turn those into points like we have been. Offensively, we have to control the ball, continue going on long drives and put points on the board. We have to control the line of scrimmage like we have been doing. Our offensive line has been doing a great job. (Quarterback) Kase (Adams), our running backs and our receivers have been doing a great job of doing their jobs. We have to be solid in the kicking game. We can’t give up a punt return or a kickoff return, or have a blocked punt, but we’ve been doing a pretty good job in that aspect, too.”
Tyler, like any football coach when that special date arrives, is concerned with how his players will handle tonight’s homecoming and all the festivities which accompany it.
“It’s scary because it’s homecoming with all the distractions we have (today),” he said. “We’re out of school (today). There’s a lot of distractions going on. I think we have a great senior class that will keep us focused on what we have to do and get ready to play at 7 p.m.”
Homecoming festivities will get underway at around 6-6:15 p.m. when past homecoming queens will be recognized, followed by the 2025 homecoming ceremony around 6:30 p.m.
Tyler said all Black Diamonds are healthy and are available for tonight’s game, with the exception of one member.
“Matthew McGrew will be the only one out this week,” Tyler said. “He has an AC (acromio-clavicular) sprain. He’s not going to play. Hopefully, we’ll get him back this week — definitely for the Poteau game (on Oct. 24). Shoulder injuries are kind of tricky to heal up, but I think he’ll be good to go in the next couple of weeks.”
