Hominy cancels playoff game, forfeits
Pawhuska Head Football Coach Matt Hennesy confirmed Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 17, that Hominy High School has canceled the football playoff game that the two schools were scheduled to play Friday night in Pawhuska, because of COVID-19 concerns. This means Hominy forfeits and Pawhuska prepares to play a new opponent Nov. 27.
Below is the pre-game story that the Journal-Capital had prepared for Pawhuska versus Hominy:
Pawhuska routed Hominy, 64-24, on Sept. 18, but Coach Matt Hennesy cautions that the Bucks team coming to town Friday is going to be much stronger.
"Hominy will be a much different team," Hennesy said, explaining that three of the Bucks' best players didn't take part in the earlier game. Pawhuska will need to be ready for the best challenge it has seen in a while, he said.
"I think we're playing our best football right now," Hennesy said, clarifying that while the quality of the opposition hasn't been very high in the past few games, his players have been turning in good performances. "We're executing a lot better than we were earlier."
The Huskies had a bye last week, and have had the benefit of two weeks to heal up and practice the fundamentals of their game. They last played on Nov. 6, when they defeated Ketchum, 95-7.
The 2017 Huskies -- the year before Hennesy took over -- were 0-10, so the program has made a rapid turnabout. A year ago, the 2019 Huskies were 9-1 in the regular season, losing only to Pawnee, and made the third round of the Class A playoffs before losing to Ringling. Their final record was 11-2.
This year's team is 10-0 so far and wants to still be playing on Dec. 19, which Hennesy said is the date of the Class A championship game.
The theme for the game at 7 p.m. this Friday will be "Black Out the Bucks," and fans are encouraged to dress entirely in black.
The Huskies' pass attack has been the defining element of their offense this season, with senior quarterback Bryce Drummond throwing for 3,186 yards, a 74% completion percentage, and 50 touchdowns against only 4 interceptions.
Junior receivers Mason Gilkey and Dalton Hurd have been Drummond's primary targets. Gilkey has caught 47 passes for 1,143 yards and 23 touchdowns. Hurd has caught 59 passes for 1,003 yards and 15 touchdowns.
On defense, junior linebacker Jack Long has led the team in tackles with 103. He was followed by Tyrel Richardson, Hagen McGuire, Tell Richardson and Lesharo Wildcat with 87, 86, 82 and 79 tackles, respectively. Long, Wildcat and Jamar Goff have been among the team's leaders in tackles for loss.