Published: September 07, 2008 11:36 pm            

What does NHS do now?

Usually happy-go-lucky Jack Jewell was hanging his head as he walked off Owen Field Thursday night.

But then, so were all his teammates.

The Norman High senior, who had a pretty good game in his final Crosstown Clash, looked like his heart was broken after the Tigers’ 58-0 loss to Norman North.

“We have to re-evaluate what we’re doing,” NHS coach Greg Nation said matter-of-factly after the game.

Nation is in his first year at NHS, and from all accounts, the players like and respect the new coach.

The Tigers practice hard, run even harder in conditioning drills, pick each other up when one is lagging behind during suicide runs and no one can accuse them of not being fired up when they took the field for the Clash.

They even looked like, for at least a little while, a team that could hang with the heavily favored Timberwolves.

That was after North jumped up 28-0 in the first quarter, though. That was after three turnovers led to 21 points. That was after the offensive line decided to block the North front seven, which dominated the first half and consistently hit NHS quarterback Trenton Wright and running back Corey Freeman behind the line of scrimmage. That was after holding and false start penalties, on back to back snaps, put the Tigers back at their own 45-yard line after they drove down to the North 40.

“We had mental mistakes. We had physical mistakes,” Nation said. “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. But you can’t take anything away from them. They’re a good football team. They make those things happen.”

It certainly wasn’t all bad for the Tigers. They have some nice players, including wide receiver, and North transfer, Andre Cheatham, Wright, Freeman and Jewell, among others.

They were simply outplayed Thursday. And the T-Wolves might just have more talent. It’s just that simple. Sometimes, in a district with more than one school, one team is up and the other is down. For years, the up team was NHS. Right now, it’s North’s turn to shine.

But in the long run, the Clash loss means little. Sure, it stings, but the Tigers could still end up being a playoff team out of District 6A-2.

“We have to move on,” Nation said. “It means a lot to your pride because you play and you compete. It’s your rival.”

This week the Tigers are on the road at Del City, a great bounceback game if ever there was one. The Eagles have some talent, but they’re not nearly as fast and physical as the T-Wolves. After that it’s the home opener against Moore, then a district opener at Putnam City West.

All three are very winnable games. NHS could be 3-1, and 1-0 in district play, to start the season. That is, if the Tigers can put the Clash blowout behind them as quickly as possible.

“As far as the district goes, this loss means nothing,” Nation said. “We still have two weeks until district play. This hurts, sure, but we need to get better and think about winning those district games.”

        

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