Hennesy expects a 'barn burner' against Hominy

The Pawhuska Huskies, coming off a 39-33 overtime loss Sept. 3 on the road against Victory Christian, are preparing for a visit Friday, Sept. 17 to Hominy for what may end up being a "barn burner" of a clash with the Bucks.

Hominy is off to a fast start. Depending on how you count, the Bucks are 2-0 or 3-0. They defeated the Ponca City JV by a score of 30-8 on Sept. 9. They have also defeated traditional rival Cleveland, which is a 4A school, and Tulsa NOAH.

Matt Hennesy, Pawhuska's head coach, said his team has been addressing mistakes from the Victory Christian game -- bad tackling, blocking problems, and blitz pickups. Pawhuska receivers are also working on running clean routes.

Pawhuska began the season with a home win against district opponent Perry, by a score of 55-21. The Huskies got behind, 21-6, before responding with 49 unanswered points.

Hennesy's first three teams at Pawhuska have defeated Hominy, but the Bucks have a tradition of excellence in football and are likely to try to make the most of an opportunity on their home field Friday to pay back some of that pain.

"They've got some special players," Hennesy said of Hominy. He watched the Bucks defeat Cleveland, 38-29, and said the Hominy coaching staff has its players ready to play sound football. "We expect it to be a barn burner."

Hennesy said he had wanted the Victory Christian game to be a challenge for his team -- "a game where we had to play a full 48 minutes." He acknowledged he got the 48, and then some.

Hennesy said he expects standout linebacker and running back Jack Long to be ready for the Hominy game. Long began the year on the injured list.

He also thinks triple-threat Dalton Hurd, who injured a thumb in the Perry game, may be limited to defensive and special teams play against Hominy, just as he was against Victory Christian.

"He was still a weapon. He's a special player," Hennesy said of Hurd, who scored on a kickoff return against Victory.