1. Hoggatt Out As Head Coach
By Luke Boyd
Citizen Sports
Four years. 10 wins. 30 losses.
Numbers that tell a story.
The story of a coach with good intentions. But intentions don’t always
produce results.
Cushing High School football coach Lance Hoggatt was asked to resign last
week after four years without a playoff appearance.
“I was informed Thursday that the administration was going in a different
direction,” Hoggatt said. Athletic Director Koln “Knight has been very gracious
to me since I’ve been here. He told me to take as much time as I needed and
I’ve tried to spend that time with my family in prayer.
“It’s been hard on them but I’m a man of faith and I knew what I was getting
into when I got into coaching. I’ll go where ever the good Lord takes me.”
Hoggatt was hired in May 2007 to be the offensive coordinator and assistant
head coach for Mike Wayland.
Shortly after he was hired, Wayland left to become the high school principal at
Bristow. Hoggatt was asked to take over the head coaching duties.
Hoggatt, a 1988 graduate of CHS, told the administration when he was hired
that it would take him five years to build the program he envisioned.
That program never materialized despite an increase in numbers and talent.
“It’s obviously a tough situation for everybody,” Athletic Director Barry
Patterson said. “Coach Hoggatt has worked hard. Unfortunately sports is all
about wins and losses when it comes down to it.”
In high school football, nearly all coaches are required to teach. Since he was
hired as a teacher, Hoggatt has the choice to continue to teach or move on.
“Lance told his kids he would never quit on them. He has not resigned at this
time. With football being extra-curricular, we don’t need his resignation.”
Making a change is never easy, Knight said. Especially when it happens to
family.
“You’ve got a family member and you have to make a tough call,” Knight said.
“Lance walked into a tough situation.
“He came to be an assistant and within a month he was the head coach. He
didn’t even get a chance to get his program going that first year.”

2. The search for a new coach hasn’t begun, but whomever is hired must be
able to maintain the number of players Hoggatt was able to bring out,
according to Knight.
“We don’t want to regress,” Knight said. “We don’t want to go back to having
20 kids next year.
“The school board hasn’t done anything yet. I don’t know if this will be on their
agenda for the next meeting” on Dec. 6.
Hoggatt met with his team Monday to inform them of the administration’s
decision.
“I met with my team Monday morning and told them the administration was
going in a different direction,” Hoggatt said. “I just told team how proud I was
of them and to keep working.
“For the seniors, I told them how much they meant to me and that I’d be here
to help them send out film if they needed me to.”
Hoggatt will be here for the rest of the school year and will wait until after the
holidays to begin looking for other coaching jobs.
“I’ve got connections all over Oklahoma so I’m sure I’ll be in touch with them
over the next few months,” Hoggatt said. “I would love to be able to coach my
son Bryce,” who will be a sophomore next year.
Hoggatt spoke to the community.
“For all those that know me here and are concerned, I would ask that you
pray for me and my family that God may show us what’s next.”
Cushing Vs Harrah
By Luke Boyd
Citizen Sports
Every great football team has a turning point in their season. For some it’s
one game. For others it could be one play, or a series of plays in a particularly
tough game.
For the Cushing Tiger, that time has to happen Friday night when they host
Glenpool at O’Dell Field. Lose another game and they fall to 0-2 in district
play.
A situation that a young and inexperienced team must avoid if it hopes to
make the playoffs.
But there is no reason why the Tigers can’t turn around their season.

3. Against Harrah, they appeared shell shocked in the first half. The Panthers
scored 27 unanswered points and it looked as if the route was on.
But the in the second half the Tigers held the Panthers to eight points. HHS
didn’t change personnel or their game plan, according to Tiger defensive
coordinator Dusty Hancock.
“We missed a lot of plays in the first half,” Hancock said. “But Harrah was
very good at what they did.
“They didn’t do anything different in the second half. They didn’t substitute.
They didn’t change any plays. The only difference was - we made plays.
“And our players realize when they play a full four quarters, we’re going to be
pretty good.”
But playing a complete game against a tough team takes mental toughness,
and that tough mentality can only come from the players themselves.
“We’re still dealing with some confidence issues as a team,” Hancock said.
“Some guys are getting better at it but we still need some guys to step up and
believe they can play, and play at a high level - against anybody.”
One of those players is junior linebacker Marshall Dilley. Dilley, who also
plays center for the Tigers, shook off a rocky first half last week against
Harrah, and helped resurrect the Tiger defense.
“He took the challenge at halftime and responded to it,” Hancock said. “He
was getting blocked up high in the first half and wasn’t making the play, but in
the second half he was getting blocked up high and was making the play.
“He was a warrior in that half - that was the difference.”
Glenpool comes to Cushing Friday night with a 3-1 record. They rely heavily
on the power-run game and an athletic quarterback in junior Connor Ferrell.
“They’re a little more versatile than they have have been in the past,”
Hancock said. “They have a quarterback that moves pretty well and they’ll
use him a little more than we’re used to seeing but they’re still a power team.
“We’ve got win battles up front and defend they’re bread and butter better
than they run it - that’s the challenge we have this week.”
Defensively, the Warriors will use four down-lineman and three linebackers, to
try and counter the Cushing rushing attack - relying heavily on their front
seven.
GHS has beaten; Berryhill, 54-14; Sequoyah Claremore, 47-21; and McLoud,
48-23; with their lone lose coming at home to Cascia Hall, 21-0.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. from O’Dell field.

4. Lady Tigers Recap
By Luke Boyd
Citizen Sports
For the second consecutive year, the Cushing High School girls basketball
team fell to Stillwater in the championship game of the Bristow Invitational
Tournament.
The Class 6A ninth-ranked Lady Pioneers on Saturday topped Class 4A No.
11 Cushing 56-48.
The Tigers surrendered 20 first-quarter points to the Pioneers but fought back
and kept the game close thanks to an aggressive defensive effort in the
remaining three quarters.
Cushing trailed 31-29 at the half but closed to within six points twice once in
the third and again the fourth, but the Pioneers proved to be too much down
the stretch.
“I thought we came out flat in the first quarter and that really killed us,”
Cushing coach Brad Crace said. “But I was proud of the way that we fought
back.”
Crace said Stillwater was a good test for the Lady Tigers.
“You can’t take anything away from them,” Crace said. “They’re an excellent
6A team and we hung with them. I just wish we had started off better in the
first quarter.”
Senior guard Whitney Linder, hit several big 3-pointers and finished with nine
points.
“I thought Whitney played great tonight,” Crace said. “She kept us in it late
with a couple of 3s. We expect that from her.”
Stillwater shot 50 percent from the field.
The outcome left both teams with 9-2 won-lost records.
Sophomore McKenzie Stanford finished with 10 points followed by
sophomore Che’Ron Lewis who posted her lowest point total of the season
with eight points and eight rebounds. Taylor Jones finished with nine points
and two rebounds.

5. Both Lewis and Stanford earned spots on the all-tournament team. LaNesha
Middleton, who scored 16 points for Stillwater, was chosen the tournament’s
Most Valuable Player.
The Tigers traveled to Oklahoma City Tuesday to play Santa Fe South and
will finish the week at home Friday against Perry.
Cushing Vs Cleveland
By Luke Boyd
Citizen Sports
The offense showed up tonight for the Cushing Tiger football team. The
defense stayed home.
The Tigers lost a back-and-forth game to the Cleveland Tigers 54-35.
Cushing led at the start of the 4th quarter 28-27 but gave up 27 points to the
Tigers of Cleveland to fall to 1-6 on the year.
Senior tight end Jared Bass had his best offensive game of the season with 3
catches for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“He played well,” coach Lance Hoggatt said of Bass. “He got involved in the
passing game pretty big for us tonight and we’re happy for him.”
Junior quarterback Blake Murray had an outstanding game completing 10-16
passes for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 115 yards.
Despite a sluggish start, the offense played well according to Hoggatt.
“Our offense showed up for us tonight,” Hoggatt said. “We weren’t consistent
early, but once we settled down we were alright.”
Junior running back Dawson Myers, in his first game back from injury, ran the
ball 24 times for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns.
CHS finished the day with 401 yards of offense.
The defense, missing two starters in middle linebacker Marshal Dilley and
defensive back London Honeybuss, gave up 484 yards.
Most of those yards came from junior running back Austin Wills who had 266
yards on 11 carries and 5 touchdowns.
The Tigers have struggled to make open field tackles according to Hoggatt.
“Since we’ve started on this rebuilding path, spread teams have exposed us,”
Hoggatt said. “They dare you to make plays in space. They dare you to make
plays when you’re not blocked.

6. “For whatever reason our kids aren’t making those plays, but we don’t blame
them. As coaches we have to make them better.”
The Tigers travel to Tecumseh next Thursday in a must-win situation. And
desperate times call for desperate measures according to Hoggatt.
“The Freshmen move up this week,” Hoggatt said. “We’ll have a boot camp
and find the best 11 players, and if some of them are freshmen - so be it.
“We’re always talking about playing with moxy and passion and some of
these freshmen have it. Hopefully some of that will rub off on the rest of the
team.”

7. “For whatever reason our kids aren’t making those plays, but we don’t blame
them. As coaches we have to make them better.”
The Tigers travel to Tecumseh next Thursday in a must-win situation. And
desperate times call for desperate measures according to Hoggatt.
“The Freshmen move up this week,” Hoggatt said. “We’ll have a boot camp
and find the best 11 players, and if some of them are freshmen - so be it.
“We’re always talking about playing with moxy and passion and some of
these freshmen have it. Hopefully some of that will rub off on the rest of the
team.”