OU-HSV
1/26/2007, 08:06 PM
As a former B.A. Tiger, I must say I'm excited. It seems as if B.A. may have brought in a staff that can get past Jenks and Union. Here's a few interesting reads from The Broken Arrow Ledger:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17740010&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Apparently tired of playing third fiddle, Broken Arrow High School hired Ron Lancaster as the Tigers' new football coach.
His hiring comes 17 days after Brent Whitson resigned after three seasons and will be made official in an afternoon press conference at Tiger Fieldhouse.
Lancaster, who is coming out of a one-year retirement, is charged with taking BAHS to the next level.
"Ron's experience and success speak for themselves," BAHS Athletic Director Ken Ellett said, in a prepared statement.
"I have no doubt he will get Broken Arrow to where we want to go and that's a state championship."
BAHS, 5-6 last fall, hasn't won a state title while rivals Jenks and Union have combined for the last 11 gold balls.
Broken Arrow was a 2002 finalist but lost to Union, which was the Redskins' first trophy.
Lancaster's $30,000 salary was approved during a special school board meeting this morning.
With Lancaster comes a nearly ready-made staff, including defensive guru Steve Spavital.
Former collegiate and NFL coach Morris Watts - a longtime friend and former University of Tulsa teammate of Lancaster - will be the Tiger offensive coordinator.
Status of current BAHS assistants is unknown.
"What a remarkable opportunity our football players will have to be coached by this amazing staff," said Ellett, in his 13th year at BAHS.
"I can assure you there is not another high school coaching staff in Oklahoma with the proven track record of accomplishments and success Ron and this two coordinators bring to our program."
Lancaster, a member of the California Football Hall of Fame for his coaching success at Rancho Cordova, has six state championships on his resume.
And, the former Jenks, Sallisaw and Muskogee coach has a proven track record.
He's credited with laying the foundation at Jenks, considered the premier Class 6A program in Oklahoma and among the nation's best.
In five seasons, the Trojans were 54-8 under Lancaster, who has 278 career victories.
He resurrected Sallisaw and put the Black Diamonds on the Class 4A map with two trips to the championship game and once to the semifinal.
Lancaster's most recent reconstruction job was Muskogee where the Roughers went from pretenders to contenders, reaching the Class 6A semifinal in 2004.
Ironically, his last meeting against Broken Arrow was a 17-14 overtime loss in 2005, when the Tigers advanced the semifinal in Whitsun second year.
Spavital was the defensive coordinator for 14 seasons at Union High School, under Bill Blankenship, when the Redskins won the big-school titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
Spavital, son of Oklahoma A&M legend Jim Spavital, will be Lancaster's defensive coordinator and assistant athletic director at BAHS under Ken Ellett.
An assistant principal in the Union system, Spavital did not coach last fall after he was denied the UHS job following Blankenship's resignation after the 2005 season.
Spavital, whose son Zac is a graduate assistant defensive assistant at the University of Oklahoma, could start his BAHS duties by Wednesday.
Watts was interim head coach at Michigan State the last three games in 2002 and has been an assistant at LSU, Indiana, Louisville, Drake and Mississippi State.
In 2001, Watts was the Michigan State offensive coordinator and received the Broyles Award as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach.
Watts was quarterback coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1991 and an assistant in 1984-85 for Birmingham of the USFL.
Watts tutored NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Vinny Testaverde and Michigan State's record-setting quarterback Jeff Smoker.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17744222&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Ron Lancaster is at retirement age - for most.
At 65, it's not time for him to become inactive.
He's got the grandfatherly gray hair and does the grandfather things.
But most grandfathers, at least at Lancaster's age, aren't coaching high school football.
A fire in his eyes belies the competitive spirit in his heart.
He was on top of his game Tuesday when Broken Arrow High School announced Lancaster will be the next Tiger football coach.
There was no indication Lancaster - who got out of coaching two years ago - is slowing down.
He entertained the largest media gathering BAHS had ever witnessed for a coaching change.
"I don't know if I am the right guy," he said, smiling, "but I was the cheapest guy they could find."
According to a Broken Arrow Public School release, Lancaster was hired for $30,000 a year.
It's the maximum amount Lancaster can receive without damaging his state retirement plan, BAHS Athletic Director Ken Ellett said.
Lancaster said he didn't retire after the 2005 season at Muskogee.
"I got out because of an injury," he said, grinning.
He spent some of that season, when the Roughers got the Class 6A semifinals, coaching from a wheelchair.
"I feel great and I couldn't be happier," Lancaster said.
"It's a great day for Broken Arrow," Ellett said.
Lancaster introduced former Union High School assistant Steve Spavital as his defensive coordinator.
The 50-year-old Spavital spent 14 seasons at UHS and was the defensive coordinator when the Redskins won the Class 6A state championships in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Spavital will be assistant athletic director at BAHS and will assume those duties this week.
His first job after graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1978 was at Sequoyah Middle School.
"I've always been a Tiger," Spavital told the media gathering.
Morris Watts, a teammate and roommate of Lancaster at the University of Tulsa in the early 1960s, will be the offensive coordinator.
"We're very happy we could hire a coach like Ron," Ellett said.
"And then for him to bring two quality coaches with him is a bonus."
Watts, who retired in 2005 after 43 years of coaching, lives in Branson, Mo.
"I was fishing and hunting about every day," Watts said. "I was getting used to that when Ron called and asked if I wanted to coach again."
While Lancaster intertwined humor during his 20-minute spiel, his message was obvious.
"We are here to teach," he said. "We are going to give these young men to best chance to win that gold ball."
Lancaster met with his new team Tuesday afternoon and put the Tigers through a sixth-hour workout.
"Hey," Lancaster said, raising his eyebrows, "these are a good bunch of kids. I am looking forward to being around them."
Lancaster, whose resumes includes six state championships at two different schools, said the off-season program isn't off the ground yet.
BAHS assistant Bubba Burcham has been in charge since Brent Whitson resigned Jan. 5.
"Right now," Lancaster said, "everybody will play a part in that."
Speed will be a spring focus.
"As a staff, we believe in speed," Lancaster said. "We are going to find a way to make these guys faster."
İNeighbor Newspapers 2007
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17744238&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Katero Reynolds missed the first 25 minutes of basketball practice Tuesday at Broken Arrow High School.
It was an excused absence for the junior to attend a football meeting when new Tiger coach Ron Lancaster introduced himself to BAHS.
When Reynolds reported to basketball, he was asked about the meeting.
Reynolds, a starting cornerback, flashed two thumbs up.
"It was good," Reynolds said. "He said we can play for a state championship.
"I got excited and was ready to go back, but I am not leaving basketball."
When Brent Whitson resigned Jan. 5, it rocked junior defensive tackle Jared Higinbotham's world.
Time has been a healer.
"It was something I had to work through," Higinbotham said. "But, I believe I've gotten there."
In an instant, Lancaster bridged that gap for Higinbotham.
"He's got me pretty excited," Higinbotham said. "I was ready to get after it right then at that moment."
With a new coaching in place, Higinbotham is comfortable.
"We didn't have a head coach.?It was like missing your father," he said. "We've got that father now."
Senior-to-be quarterback Braden Chenoweth was playing catch with a teammate inside Tiger Fieldhouse.
"Coach Lancaster is a legend around here and I really liked what he said to us," Chenoweth said. "I'm excited and ready to go.
"I am looking foward to what the new offensive coordinator (Morris Watts) is bringing.
Alvin Bailey, who started at offensive tackle last fall as a sophomore, liked what he heard.
"Coach Lancaster said a lot of good things about us," Bailey said.
"He had a good speech and he talked about us winning a championship."
Senior offensive lineman Ross Hunt came away with a charge.
"He said it was up to us, the seniors, if want to win that state championship," Hunt said.
"He said he was committed to us . . . I am committed to coach Lancaster and I am ready to work hard for him."
İNeighbor Newspapers 2007
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17740010&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Apparently tired of playing third fiddle, Broken Arrow High School hired Ron Lancaster as the Tigers' new football coach.
His hiring comes 17 days after Brent Whitson resigned after three seasons and will be made official in an afternoon press conference at Tiger Fieldhouse.
Lancaster, who is coming out of a one-year retirement, is charged with taking BAHS to the next level.
"Ron's experience and success speak for themselves," BAHS Athletic Director Ken Ellett said, in a prepared statement.
"I have no doubt he will get Broken Arrow to where we want to go and that's a state championship."
BAHS, 5-6 last fall, hasn't won a state title while rivals Jenks and Union have combined for the last 11 gold balls.
Broken Arrow was a 2002 finalist but lost to Union, which was the Redskins' first trophy.
Lancaster's $30,000 salary was approved during a special school board meeting this morning.
With Lancaster comes a nearly ready-made staff, including defensive guru Steve Spavital.
Former collegiate and NFL coach Morris Watts - a longtime friend and former University of Tulsa teammate of Lancaster - will be the Tiger offensive coordinator.
Status of current BAHS assistants is unknown.
"What a remarkable opportunity our football players will have to be coached by this amazing staff," said Ellett, in his 13th year at BAHS.
"I can assure you there is not another high school coaching staff in Oklahoma with the proven track record of accomplishments and success Ron and this two coordinators bring to our program."
Lancaster, a member of the California Football Hall of Fame for his coaching success at Rancho Cordova, has six state championships on his resume.
And, the former Jenks, Sallisaw and Muskogee coach has a proven track record.
He's credited with laying the foundation at Jenks, considered the premier Class 6A program in Oklahoma and among the nation's best.
In five seasons, the Trojans were 54-8 under Lancaster, who has 278 career victories.
He resurrected Sallisaw and put the Black Diamonds on the Class 4A map with two trips to the championship game and once to the semifinal.
Lancaster's most recent reconstruction job was Muskogee where the Roughers went from pretenders to contenders, reaching the Class 6A semifinal in 2004.
Ironically, his last meeting against Broken Arrow was a 17-14 overtime loss in 2005, when the Tigers advanced the semifinal in Whitsun second year.
Spavital was the defensive coordinator for 14 seasons at Union High School, under Bill Blankenship, when the Redskins won the big-school titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
Spavital, son of Oklahoma A&M legend Jim Spavital, will be Lancaster's defensive coordinator and assistant athletic director at BAHS under Ken Ellett.
An assistant principal in the Union system, Spavital did not coach last fall after he was denied the UHS job following Blankenship's resignation after the 2005 season.
Spavital, whose son Zac is a graduate assistant defensive assistant at the University of Oklahoma, could start his BAHS duties by Wednesday.
Watts was interim head coach at Michigan State the last three games in 2002 and has been an assistant at LSU, Indiana, Louisville, Drake and Mississippi State.
In 2001, Watts was the Michigan State offensive coordinator and received the Broyles Award as the nation's top collegiate assistant coach.
Watts was quarterback coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1991 and an assistant in 1984-85 for Birmingham of the USFL.
Watts tutored NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Vinny Testaverde and Michigan State's record-setting quarterback Jeff Smoker.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17744222&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Ron Lancaster is at retirement age - for most.
At 65, it's not time for him to become inactive.
He's got the grandfatherly gray hair and does the grandfather things.
But most grandfathers, at least at Lancaster's age, aren't coaching high school football.
A fire in his eyes belies the competitive spirit in his heart.
He was on top of his game Tuesday when Broken Arrow High School announced Lancaster will be the next Tiger football coach.
There was no indication Lancaster - who got out of coaching two years ago - is slowing down.
He entertained the largest media gathering BAHS had ever witnessed for a coaching change.
"I don't know if I am the right guy," he said, smiling, "but I was the cheapest guy they could find."
According to a Broken Arrow Public School release, Lancaster was hired for $30,000 a year.
It's the maximum amount Lancaster can receive without damaging his state retirement plan, BAHS Athletic Director Ken Ellett said.
Lancaster said he didn't retire after the 2005 season at Muskogee.
"I got out because of an injury," he said, grinning.
He spent some of that season, when the Roughers got the Class 6A semifinals, coaching from a wheelchair.
"I feel great and I couldn't be happier," Lancaster said.
"It's a great day for Broken Arrow," Ellett said.
Lancaster introduced former Union High School assistant Steve Spavital as his defensive coordinator.
The 50-year-old Spavital spent 14 seasons at UHS and was the defensive coordinator when the Redskins won the Class 6A state championships in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Spavital will be assistant athletic director at BAHS and will assume those duties this week.
His first job after graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1978 was at Sequoyah Middle School.
"I've always been a Tiger," Spavital told the media gathering.
Morris Watts, a teammate and roommate of Lancaster at the University of Tulsa in the early 1960s, will be the offensive coordinator.
"We're very happy we could hire a coach like Ron," Ellett said.
"And then for him to bring two quality coaches with him is a bonus."
Watts, who retired in 2005 after 43 years of coaching, lives in Branson, Mo.
"I was fishing and hunting about every day," Watts said. "I was getting used to that when Ron called and asked if I wanted to coach again."
While Lancaster intertwined humor during his 20-minute spiel, his message was obvious.
"We are here to teach," he said. "We are going to give these young men to best chance to win that gold ball."
Lancaster met with his new team Tuesday afternoon and put the Tigers through a sixth-hour workout.
"Hey," Lancaster said, raising his eyebrows, "these are a good bunch of kids. I am looking forward to being around them."
Lancaster, whose resumes includes six state championships at two different schools, said the off-season program isn't off the ground yet.
BAHS assistant Bubba Burcham has been in charge since Brent Whitson resigned Jan. 5.
"Right now," Lancaster said, "everybody will play a part in that."
Speed will be a spring focus.
"As a staff, we believe in speed," Lancaster said. "We are going to find a way to make these guys faster."
İNeighbor Newspapers 2007
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17744238&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574584&rfi=6
Katero Reynolds missed the first 25 minutes of basketball practice Tuesday at Broken Arrow High School.
It was an excused absence for the junior to attend a football meeting when new Tiger coach Ron Lancaster introduced himself to BAHS.
When Reynolds reported to basketball, he was asked about the meeting.
Reynolds, a starting cornerback, flashed two thumbs up.
"It was good," Reynolds said. "He said we can play for a state championship.
"I got excited and was ready to go back, but I am not leaving basketball."
When Brent Whitson resigned Jan. 5, it rocked junior defensive tackle Jared Higinbotham's world.
Time has been a healer.
"It was something I had to work through," Higinbotham said. "But, I believe I've gotten there."
In an instant, Lancaster bridged that gap for Higinbotham.
"He's got me pretty excited," Higinbotham said. "I was ready to get after it right then at that moment."
With a new coaching in place, Higinbotham is comfortable.
"We didn't have a head coach.?It was like missing your father," he said. "We've got that father now."
Senior-to-be quarterback Braden Chenoweth was playing catch with a teammate inside Tiger Fieldhouse.
"Coach Lancaster is a legend around here and I really liked what he said to us," Chenoweth said. "I'm excited and ready to go.
"I am looking foward to what the new offensive coordinator (Morris Watts) is bringing.
Alvin Bailey, who started at offensive tackle last fall as a sophomore, liked what he heard.
"Coach Lancaster said a lot of good things about us," Bailey said.
"He had a good speech and he talked about us winning a championship."
Senior offensive lineman Ross Hunt came away with a charge.
"He said it was up to us, the seniors, if want to win that state championship," Hunt said.
"He said he was committed to us . . . I am committed to coach Lancaster and I am ready to work hard for him."
İNeighbor Newspapers 2007