Published: October 30, 2009 09:48 am      

Cougars focused on winning

Playoff draw is on back burner as Ada heads to Tahlequah

Ada — There’s a good chance the Ada Cougars have already played their final home game of 2009.

Trailing both No. 6 Tulsa East Central and No. 7 McAlester by two full games in the District 5A-4 standings, the Cougars could still sneak into the No. 2 slot and earn a home playoff game if the Buffaloes lose to East Central this week and Ada in Week 10. Ada would still have to win the points battle, even in that best-case scenario.

But Ada head coach Matt Weber isn’t interested in the things he and his team can’t control.

“I’m not really worried about that. I’m worried about us winning,” he said. “We’re not even going to give that any thought. We’re going to go try and beat Tahlequah then we have McAlester next week.”

Should the Cougars (6-2, 3-2) hit the road for round one of the Class 5A playoffs, Weber said they will try to be rowdy visitors.

“We’ll take whoever they give us in the playoffs. I certainly don’t think we’re a good draw for anybody. I don’t think anybody is going to turn on our film and think we’re an easy (opponent),” he said. “We’ve lost to two Top 10 teams by five points and three points. On a given night, we’re going to be tough.”

First things first. The Cougars travel to Tahlequah Friday night to face a Tiger team (2-6 overall and 1-4 in 5A-4 play) that has shown the ability to score points in bunches.

“They scored 31 points on Tulsa Central, a team we only managed to score seven on. Offensively they’re really good,” Weber said.

Tahlequah had snapped a five-game losing skid by torching Tulsa Edison 44-14 two weeks ago before dropping a 38-12 decision to McAlester last week.

The Tigers lost starting quarterback Colin Scarsdale a couple of weeks ago but sophomore Zack Thornton — the son of Tahlequah head coach Tuffy Thornton — has filled in nicely. The new QB has completed 33-of-44 passes for 461 yards and three scores with no interceptions.

“They are playing a new quarterback and he can throw it and also has a little more of a run dimension,” Weber said.

As a receiver, Thornton hauled in 22 passes for 254 yards and four TDs.

Defensively, the Tigers like to attack with various stunts out of the 4-3 alignment.

“They’ll bring a lot of pressure like they did last year. If you’re not on your assignment, they’ll create turnovers,” Weber said.

Leading the way for the Tiger defense is senior linebacker Matt Frits, who has recorded an incredible 128 tackles through eight games.

Edged by East Central

The Tulsa East Central Cardinals needed a field goal with 47 seconds left in the game to spoil a valiant Cougar comeback bid and defeat Ada 24-21 last week at Norris Field. Ada had trailed 21-7 early in the third period before battling back.

“It was a good game to watch. I was extremely proud of the way our kids played. They played with a lot of heart,” Weber said. “The second half we did a better job of defending them. We did quite a bit better defensively.”

The Cardinals piled up well over 300 yards rushing against the Cougars using a sneak attack.

“They had a great scheme against us. It wasn’t anything like they did on film,” Weber said. “They ran a lot between the tackles and set up in a lot of three-back sets. I thought that was impressive because nobody does that any more. Everybody runs the spread. I thought they did a real good job of attacking us in a way that nobody else has.”

Weber said Tulsa East Central was the better team, at least on that night.

“They just lined up and beat us and sometimes that happens,” he said.

Welcome back Ronald

Ronald Lucas was finally back to near 100 percent last week after being slowed by an ankle injury. And he made the most of his newfound health with an interception, a fumble recovery and several nice tackles on defense.

“He can run well and has a really good nose for the football. He’s a good football player for us and it’s nice to have him back on the football field,” Weber said.

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COUGAR NOTES: Ada defeated Tahlequah 27-8 last year in the two teams first-ever meeting. ... Fourteen freshman suited up with the varsity last week and will be part of the high school squad for the remainder of the season. ... Ada football fans are again invited to attend this week’s Ada Football Booster Club luncheon, scheduled for Friday at noon at Polo’s Mexican Restaurant.