by Paragon Communications Sports Broadcaster Aaron Kauk
The Year in sports was about a return to some sort of normalcy, although there were still some oddities that kept everyone on their toes. The year began with one of the most normal things for the past two decades happening again: Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl. The only difference was this time he was 43 and a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In February one of the greatest ever almost left us. Tiger Woods was involved in a horrific auto accident that nearly took his life, then his right leg. Woods has seemed to make it through ok judging from his performance with his son a few weeks back.
March 6, 2021 will be a day that’s never forgotten in the small town of Hydro. The Lady Bobcats pounded Vanoss 69-48 for the second straight Class A Girls State Title. The Bobcats overcame an 8 point deficit in the 4th quarter to top defending champ Garber 48-43 to earn their first state title in program history. It didn’t stop there. Both teams were also the Academic State Champs. They both even won the halftime shooting contest to earn grant money for the school.
Spring saw Big Elk Sr. Tres Hill win the Class 4A Individual State Golf Championship by overcoming a 3 shot deficit with 5 holes to play. Hill’s dominance didn’t end there. Tres also won the Ok State Amatuer Title at Cedar Ridge in Tulsa this summer. Also in golf Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to ever win a major with a two shot win in the PGA Championship at the age of 50. It’s Phil’s 6 major title.
For a few days in early June it looked like Bedlam might decide a couple of national championships. Both in state squads appeared poised for title matchups in both softball and men’s golf. Neither materialized. Oklahoma won its 5th softball national title under the watchful eye of Patty Gasso. OU men’s golf was defeated by Pepperdine in the final match to finish runner up. A big part of the Sooners squad was Wford’s Quade Cummins, who also played in the Walker Cup, which is essentially the Ryder Cup for amateur golf.
The Clinton Red Tornadoes won their 17th state title in program history by shutting out Tuttle in the 4A Finals. Elk City also had a fantastic year on the gridiron. The Big Elks played in the state semifinals for the first time since 2004. The group of graduating seniors turned the program around from 0-20 their freshman and sophomore seasons to 10-3 and a whisker away from playing in the state championship game.
College football was interesting this year in Oklahoma. The Cowboys outperformed nearly everyone’s preseason prognostications by playing in the Big 12 title game. Ok State’s defense was one of the best in Big 12 history. Oklahoma’s football season was disappointing enough for Lincoln Riley to jump ship and the end of the year and head for the glitz and glamour of LA and USC. Bob Stoops coached again at OU. Brent Venables will as well. I can only imagine the arguments going on in heaven right now between Chuck and Uncle Leon about the end of Venables’ first stint at OU and who said what about that.
