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Every time Ardmore coach Douglas Wendel announced a player’s name through the megaphone, the crowd gathered at Ardmore High School cheered and applauded.
Seven signings. Six for football, one for track. All together.
“It feels good,” Ardmore senior Trevon Lawson said of signing his National Letter of Intent to play football for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. “No more stress, no more worrying about where you’re gonna go. It’s all over.”
Lawson was side-by-side with his teammates for Ardmore’s largest signing class in some time. Joining Lawson at Division II Northeastern will be running back Ashdon Perry and defensive back Josiah Reed.
Brian Carr and Juaren McGee each signed with Bacone College in Muskogee, linebacker Tyler Dickson inked with Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, and Jywayne Allen signed a full-ride track scholarship to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.
Allen, who also played football for Ardmore and was an All-Ardmoreite Super Team safety, had offers from bigger programs like Oklahoma but felt most comfortable with OBU. The Bisons also had a leg up on the competition for the three-time Class 5A 400-meter dash state champion thanks to 2004 Ardmore alumnus T.J. Lightsey, who was a national champion relay runner at the NAIA school.
Lightsey, who is currently an admissions counselor at OBU, was on hand for the signing Wednesday. He said Allen has the potential to be not just an All-American, but a national champion. Allen will run the 400, 4x400 and possibly the 4x100 at OBU.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be my mentor, my role model when I get up there,” Allen said of Lightsey. “The coaches actually sat down and talked to me. I knew a lot of people up there and it was a great visit.”
Lawson, Perry and Reed all enjoyed their visits to Northeastern. Lawson and Reed decided a little earlier, but Perry made his decision on Saturday.
Lawson was Ardmore’s top lineman this season — the District 5A-2 Offensive Lineman of the Year and a Class 5A All-Star. Perry was Ardmore’s leading rusher with 895 yards and eight touchdowns, and Reed led 5A in interceptions with six. All were All-Ardmoreite Super Team selections.
“They have a pretty good program, they’ve won a lot and the coach has a winning record,” Perry said of Northwestern. “They also send out a lot of teachers, and that’s what I want to do.”
Every time Ardmore coach Douglas Wendel announced a player’s name through the megaphone, the crowd gathered at Ardmore High School cheered and applauded.
Seven signings. Six for football, one for track. All together.
“It feels good,” Ardmore senior Trevon Lawson said of signing his National Letter of Intent to play football for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. “No more stress, no more worrying about where you’re gonna go. It’s all over.”
Lawson was side-by-side with his teammates for Ardmore’s largest signing class in some time. Joining Lawson at Division II Northeastern will be running back Ashdon Perry and defensive back Josiah Reed.
Brian Carr and Juaren McGee each signed with Bacone College in Muskogee, linebacker Tyler Dickson inked with Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, and Jywayne Allen signed a full-ride track scholarship to Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee.
Allen, who also played football for Ardmore and was an All-Ardmoreite Super Team safety, had offers from bigger programs like Oklahoma but felt most comfortable with OBU. The Bisons also had a leg up on the competition for the three-time Class 5A 400-meter dash state champion thanks to 2004 Ardmore alumnus T.J. Lightsey, who was a national champion relay runner at the NAIA school.
Lightsey, who is currently an admissions counselor at OBU, was on hand for the signing Wednesday. He said Allen has the potential to be not just an All-American, but a national champion. Allen will run the 400, 4x400 and possibly the 4x100 at OBU.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be my mentor, my role model when I get up there,” Allen said of Lightsey. “The coaches actually sat down and talked to me. I knew a lot of people up there and it was a great visit.”
Lawson, Perry and Reed all enjoyed their visits to Northeastern. Lawson and Reed decided a little earlier, but Perry made his decision on Saturday.
Lawson was Ardmore’s top lineman this season — the District 5A-2 Offensive Lineman of the Year and a Class 5A All-Star. Perry was Ardmore’s leading rusher with 895 yards and eight touchdowns, and Reed led 5A in interceptions with six. All were All-Ardmoreite Super Team selections.
“They have a pretty good program, they’ve won a lot and the coach has a winning record,” Perry said of Northwestern. “They also send out a lot of teachers, and that’s what I want to do.”
Dickson, who shared All-Ardmoreite Defensive Player of the Year honors with teammate Tyler Day, was intrigued by the interest Northwestern’s coaches showed in him and the words of their players. He also considered Missouri Southern as a walk-on, but said he wanted his family to have the chance to see him play regularly, and to be a role model for his younger brothers.
“They talked about freshmen playing. I talked to a few players and they said (the coaches) are gonna let you play if you’re good,” Dickson said. “Their coaches have been calling me and haven’t given up.”
Though he’s going to offense exclusively, Carr was a terror at outside linebacker for the Tigers with 60 tackles and three sacks. McGee added explosiveness to Ardmore’s offense after missing the first six games of the season, scoring eight times in seven contests.
Carr and McGee were the earliest of the Ardmore 7 to commit after their visit to Bacone a few weeks ago. Carr, who wants to eventually get into coaching, said going to college with a friend will make the transition easier.
“It’ll help a lot,” Carr said. “It’ll be a lot easier to get through school because I’ll have a buddy there from the beginning.”
With Wendel on hand to introduce each player, the first-year coach was out front and center but refused to take credit for the successes of his players. Wendel said the Tigers’ staff and players worked hard at the recruiting process, but also said “the kids had to perform and the college had to make offers.
“All these kids worked exceptionally hard and it takes a lot of people,” Wendel said. “There’s a sense of pride for me, but I feel like we owe it to these kids. They put it on the line for us this fall.”
And for each other for four seasons, culminating to a trip to the state semifinals in 2011. All season, the Tigers talked about doing it together. Going to the state playoffs. Winning. Signing.
Dickson couldn’t help but bring up the brotherhood one last time.
“Jywayne, I used to beat him in races when we were young. Now, he’s like Usain Bolt,” Dickson said. “Josiah, since the day we started football he’s been like ‘I’m trying to go to college.’ He’s movitvated me a whole lot.
“It’s pretty crazy to see all my brothers sign like that.”
Erik K. Horne
221-6522
