Several state championships and great individual and team seasons highlighted the year.

We take a look at the highlights month by month starting with January.

The month of January was a busy one for Mustang athletics, but there was no bigger story than Mustang native and Oklahoma starting offensive lineman Bronson Irwin helping the Sooners in their Sugar Bowl upset over Alabama. Irwin was a key cog in the Sooners offense, dominating the powerful Crimson Tide defense.

February was all about winter sports for Mustang High School. The Bronco boys basketball team won the Deer Creek tournament by beating Edmond Memorial in the championship game. The Mustang swimming team set a school record and sent 21 swimmers to the state meet. The wrestling team took second at district duals, took fourth in their regional and sent five grapplers to the state wrestling tournament.

March was highlighted by several team accomplishments. First, the boys basketball team defeated Norman North to win regionals. They then defeated Bixby in the first round of the state tournament, but lost to Putnam City West in the semifinal round. The powerlifting team, made up of mostly football players, won the state championship. The Lady Broncos basketball team saw their season come to an end at the hands of Norman North.

In April, Mustang saw seven wrestlers go to the Brute Adidas National Wrestling Tournament with five of those grapplers earning All-American status. The girls tennis team won both the Midwest City and their own tournaments en route to a solid season. The boys soccer team hosted the annual Bronco Cup.

In May, girls track star Amirah Jones took third place in the state in the 400-meter run. The girls golf team finished in the top 10 in the final rankings. Girls tennis finished the year with a top five ranking. The Lady Broncos soccer team fell in a nail-biter in the first round of the postseason at Edmond North. The Bronco baseball team’s season came to an end at the Westmoore regional.

In June, Bronson Irwin signed as a free agent to play for the Seattle Seahawks following his career at Oklahoma. The Mustang football team had its spring scrimmage to cap off the spring football season. Longtime teacher and wrestling coach Dave Rankin retired after 30 years of coaching and 39 years of teaching. Mustang native Sean Jones brought professional soccer to the Oklahoma City area with the Oklahoma City FC planting themselves in Oklahoma City.

In the month of July, Jayden Chestnut competed in the Triple Crown All-American game and retired all three batters she faced in her one inning in the circle. Logan Towe of Mustang was selected to the USSSA 9U All-American team.

August was highlighted by Jayden Chestnut being named the Mustang News No.1 athlete at Mustang High School. The Bryan Howard era got under way at Mustang with softball season starting. Mustang High School 2013 graduate Colton Hadlock signed to play soccer at Southern Nazarene University after only playing his senior year for MHS. Mustang native and former Oklahoma State and NFL wide receiver Josh Cooper joined the football coaching staff.

In September, the Broncos football team opened the 2014 season with a 41-14 beat-down of rival Yukon. The Lady Broncos softball team won both the OU softball tournament and the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference Tournament. The Mustang volleyball team went 4-2 in the Southmoore tournament.

October was highlighted by the Mustang softball team winning the 6A state championship. Lance Frost became the third-fastest male in school history with his time at the state cross country meet. The Mustang cheer squad took sixth place at the state cheer competition.

To open November, the Broncos football team became the first west-side team in 6A-1 to beat an east-side opponent with a 22-19 victory in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Lindsey Driskill was named to the All-State cheer team. The Mustang boys basketball team beat two top-rated Dallas-area teams in a two-day festival.

December was highlighted with Mustang native David Glidden and the Oklahoma State Cowboys beating the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman in the annual Bedlam matchup. The Mustang football team won the academic state championship. The Mustang pom squad won the hip hop state title at the state pom competition.

There is no doubt that Mustang High School is quickly becoming one of the best overall athletic programs in the state. It’s going to be fun to see what the Broncos accomplish in 2015.

The Mustang wrestling team continued its hot start to the season on Dec. 20 with a runner-up finish in the Norman Wrestling Tournament.

The Bronco grapplers had two first-place finishers in 106-pound freshman Joe Lupton, who remained undefeated for the season, and senior 182-pounder Zach Butler, who is also unbeaten so far this year.

Butler went 13-0 in the one-day event, while Lupton finished 12-0.

Sophomore 132-pounder Trey Edwards had a solid outing as well for Mustang with a second-place finish and a record of 11-1 in the tournament.

Mustang had a placer in all 14 weight classes in the tourney.

“We were sharp from the very beginning,” Mustang technique coach Brad Dick said. “Last year, tournament-style wrestling was something we really struggled with, but we have really worked hard coming into this year and preparing ourselves better for our tournaments. I thought technically speaking, we were very good, but we still can be better.”

Grapplers dismantle Putnam City West

Mustang improved to 2-1 in dual action this year on the mats last week with a 69-9 beating of Putnam City West at home.

The Broncos wrestling team won its second dual of the season on Dec. 16 over PC West. Putnam City had to forfeit six out of the 14 matches due to not having a full roster.

The Patriots were void in the 106-weight class, 113-weight class, 120-weight class, 132-weight class, 138-weight class and 170-weight class. Mustang was awarded six points for every PC West forfeit, so the Broncos started the dual already up 36-0.

“I thought we handled ourselves pretty well,” Mustang coach Will Allen said. “We kept our focus for the entire dual and did what we needed to do in order to get the win.”

Out of the eight matches that took place, Mustang won six, including four pins against Putnam City West grapplers. The Broncos were pinned once in the dual.

In the 145-pound weight class, Gage McBride pinned PC West’s Tanner Haskins at the :19.5 mark in the first period. In the 152-pound weight division, Wyatt Riggs pinned the Patriots’ Wesley Hudron with :13.4 remaining in the third period, and in the 160-pound weight bout, Fazon Denby defeated Putnam City West’s Christian Vargas 6-2.

In the 182-pound weight class, Zach Butler pinned PC West’s Kevin Hart at the :58.7 mark of the second period. In the 195-pound weight division, Kaden Truelove pinned the Patriots’ Paxton Cleaver with :04 seconds remaining in the second period.

In the 220-weight bout, Putnam City West’s Ethan Freeman defeated Austin Brow 7-3 in three hard-fought periods, and in the heavyweight class, PC West’s Nick Jones pinned Briar Brown at the 33.1 mark of the second period.

Up next for Mustang

After going through a week of winter break practice, the Broncos will be back in action on Jan. 9 when they compete in the Geary tournament.

The Geary tournament is the longest running and one of the most respected high school wrestling tournaments across the country.

“We have a lot of work to do on the mats before we are ready for Geary,” Dick said. “We have been pretty good so far, but Geary will test us in a lot of ways we haven’t been tested yet.”

For the first time since its Bedlam upset over Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma State will be back in action in the Cactus Bowl against Washington at 9:15 p.m. Jan. 2 in Tempe, Ariz.

The Cowboys enter the matchup with an overall record of 6-6 and a Big 12 Conference mark of 4-5. The Huskies come into the bowl game with an 8-5 mark overall and a 4-5 record in the Pacific 12 Conference.

OSU’s last game was a 38-35 overtime win against in-state rival OU, while Washington’s last appearance was also a victory over their in-state foe, Washington State 31-13.

The win against the Sooners put the Cowboys over the hump in becoming bowl eligible. Coach Mike Gundy talked about his team getting that sixth win and how important it was for the program.

“Obviously, because their backs were against the wall,” Gundy said. “If they wanted to play two, they needed to win one. I told them, ‘If you play well and win this one, you get to play another. If you don’t, that’s it. It wraps it up.’ So I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. There’ll be a lot of times in their life their backs are against the wall and they’ve got to find a way to get out, and that’s what they did.”

Gundy is in his 10^th season at the helm of the Cowboys. He has an overall record of 71-38. Husky head coach Chris Peterson is in his first year with Washington, but he spent the last eight years at Boise State. Peterson had a 92-12 record in his tenure with the BSU.

Offensively, the ‘Pokes enter the bowl game averaging 27.4 points per game. OSU is averaging 371 total yards per outing, including 235.7 passing yards and 135.3 rushing yards.

The Cowboys have amassed 224 first downs this season and are converting 34 percent of their third down opportunities.

Oklahoma State has committed 20 turnovers and has been penalized 72 times for 650 yards this year.

In the rushing department, Desmond Roland leads the way for the ‘Pokes with 677 yards and 10 touchdowns on 171 carries. Bedlam hero Tyreek Hill was the team’s second leading rusher with 568 yards and one touchdown on 102 carries, but Hill has been dismissed from the team after being charged with domestic assault the following week. Rennie Childs is third on the roster with 276 yards and three touchdowns on 69 carries.

Under center, OSU will go with Mason Rudolph to make his third start of his young career. Rudolph is 32-of-60 for 554 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in the previous two starts. Daxx Garman was the Cowboys quarterback for the majority of the season, but an injury sidelined Garman and allowed Rudolph to step in and replace him. Garman is 152-of-277 for 2,041 yards with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Through the air, Mustang native David Glidden leads the ‘Pokes this season with 40 receptions for 568 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Sheperd is second on the list with 34 receptions for 639 yards and four touchdowns, and before being kicked off the team, Hill was third on the roster with 31 receptions for 281 yards and one touchdown.

In the scoring department, Ben Grogan leads OSU this season with 95 points. Hill was the leader in all-purpose yards with 1,811 yards, but after his dismissal, that title now falls to Sheperd with 742 yards.

Defensively, the Cowboys are allowing an average of 32 points per game and an average of 437.2 yards per contest, including 269.2 passing yards and 168 rushing yards.

Oklahoma State allowed 264 first downs and a 41 percent conversion rate to their opponents. OSU has forced 12 turnovers and forced 82 penalties for 745 yards to other teams this season.

In the tackling department, Jordan Sterns leads the way for Oklahoma State with 98 on the year. Ryan Simmons is second with 93 and Seth Jacobs is third with 84.

Ramon Richards leads the way in interceptions with three and Jacobs and Ashton Lampkin are tied for second with two apiece.

On the sack front, Emmanuel Ogbah leads with 11. Josh Furman is second with six and Jimmy Bean is third with 3.5.

For Washington offensively, they are averaging 30.8 points per game. The Huskies are averaging 390.2 total yards per outing, including 195.3 rushing yards and 194.8 passing yards.

The Huskies have amassed 258 first downs this season and are converting on 42 percent of their third down opportunities. Washington has committed 15 turnovers and has been penalized 91 times for 795 yards this year.

In the rushing department, Dwayne Washington leads the way with 675 yards and nine touchdowns on 119 carries. Lavon Coleman is second on the list with 589 yards and one touchdown on 138 carries, and Shaq Thompson is third on the roster with 463 yards and two touchdowns on 61 carries.

The Huskies will go with Cyler Miles under center. Miles is 194-of-291 for 2,129 yards with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Through the air, Jayden Mickens leads with 53 receptions for 535 yards and three touchdowns. Joshua Perkins is second with 23 receptions for 297 yards and three touchdowns, and John Ross is third with 17 receptions for 371 yards and four touchdowns.

In the scoring department, Cameron Van Winkle leads Washington with 105 this season, and Ross is the leader in all-purpose yardage with 1,187 this year.

Defensively, the Huskies are allowing 24.4 points per game and are allowing 405.8 total yards per outing, including 283.9 passing yards and 121.9 rushing yards.

Washington has allowed 294 first downs and is allowing 38 percent of third downs against them this season. They have forced 27 turnovers and have forced 78 penalties for 688 yards against their opponents.

In the tackling department, John Timu leads the way for the Huskies with 96. Danny Shelton is second on the roster with 89 and Budda Baker is third with 76.

In interceptions, Marcus Peters leads with three. Sidney Jones and Timu are tied for second with two each.

Hau’oli Kikaha leads the way in the sacks department with 18 on the year. Andrew Hudson is second with 11.5 and Shelton has nine sacks.

One year ago, Oklahoma football looked to be back as one of the elite programs across the country.

OU had just pulled the upset of the century in the Sugar Bowl over Alabama and several big time national recruits decided they were going to take their talents to Norman and play for the Sooners.

Oklahoma entered this season as one of the favorites to make it to the first-ever college football playoff at the Division I level, but instead, Sooner nation got one of the most disappointing seasons in college football history.

The Sooners capped off the 2014 football season with a pathetic effort against Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. OU was drug all over the field by the Tigers in the 40-6 rout and the Sooners closed the year with a record of 8-5.

If Oklahoma fans had any hope of finishing off the disappointing season on a high note in their bowl game, that hope quickly turned to anger after each team’s first offensive possessions in the game.

The Sooners got the ball first and went a quick three-and-out that consisted of two running plays up the middle and a pass into double coverage on third-and-long.

After a rather pedestrian punt, Clemson started their opening possession on their own 35-yardline. On the first play of the drive, Tiger quarterback Cole Stoudt threw a simple wide receiver screen pass to Artavis Scott on the left side of the field.

Oklahoma had Clemson outnumbered on that side, but two veteran defensive players, linebacker Eric Striker and safety Quentin Hayes gave dismal efforts, allowing Scott to scamper 65 yards for a touchdown.

From that point on, the message was delivered to the Oklahoma team and the Sooner fans, who were watching in disgust. This was going to be a long night for OU football.

Clemson piled on 20 more points in the half following their opening touchdown and led 27-0 at the break.

With the tradition and prestige of the Oklahoma football program, one would think they Sooners would come out and play with pride in the second half. Instead, it was more of the same, a team that looked like they had no interest in being there.

The Tigers racked up 13 more points in the third quarter, as they led 40-0 heading into the final 15 minutes of the blowout. Clemson pulled all of its starters midway through the fourth quarter, which finally allowed Oklahoma, with its starters still in the game, to go down the field and score a meaningless touchdown.

Following the score, the extra-point was blocked, which is fitting considering how the season and the game went for OU.

The game ended with the 34-point defeat for Oklahoma, which is tied for the second-worst loss in the Bob Stoops era.

Striker said it all following the blowout loss.

“This is not the way Oklahoma plays,” the OU outside linebacker told reporters after the game.

The Sooners finished the game with 275 total yards of offense, including 172 rushing yards and 103 passing yards. Oklahoma amassed 17 first downs and converted 2 of 12 third downs.

OU committed five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) and was penalized eight times for 80 yards.

Running back Samaje Perine was the leading rusher in the contest with 148 yards on 23 carries. Quarterback Trevor Knight had a rough outing in his return from the spine injury that held him out numerous games. Knight had 103 yards passing on 17 of 37 completions with three interceptions.

Receiver Michiah Quick was the leading pass catcher for OU with seven receptions for 46 yards. Striker led the Sooners in tackles with 12.

Three-years-ago, Sooner nation was begging for Mike Stoops to come back and coach OU’s defense and for Brent Venables to hit the road. Venables now coaches Clemson’s defense and they made Oklahoma’s offense look below par in nearly every facet of the game, while OU’s defense is still struggling to stop opposing offenses from hanging 40 points.

Clemson ended the day with 387 total yards of offense, including 319 passing yards and 68 rushing yards. The Tigers had 22 first downs and were 7 of 19 on third downs. The Tigers had zero turnovers and were penalized four times for 20 yards.

Running back Wayne Gallman was the leading rusher for Clemson with 57 yards on 19 carries. Stoudt finished the night going 26 of 36 with 319 yards and three touchdowns.

Receiver Mike Williams led the way through the air with nine receptions for 112 yards for one touchdown. Linebacker Korrin Wiggins had seven tackles for Clemson.

Oklahoma now enters arguably the most important offseason in the program’s history. Stoops has many obstacles to face with his staff and his players on where Sooner football is heading in the future. One thing is for certain, changes are mandatory if OU is to get back to being an elite football program across the nation.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops offered his thoughts about what needs to happen in the offseason following OU’s embarrassing performance.

“Gotta keep recruiting,” Stoops said. “Keep developing the players we have. We’ve got to analyze what we’re doing as coaches. So all of us need to improve. I need to do a better job, first and foremost, and coaches after me, players after that.”

From the time she was the ripe young age of 3 years old, Mustang native Alissa Jones knew exactly what she wanted to do, and that was play soccer.

Jones starting playing the sport she loved when she was 3, and her father, Sean, began coaching her. She had an older brother, Jacob, who was just 18 months older, so like any other younger sister, she wanted to be with her brother at all times doing exactly what he was doing.

“I really looked up to my big brother,” Jones said. “I started wanting to do everything he wanted to do. When he started playing football, I wanted to play football, when he wrestled, I wanted to wrestle.”

Jones found one thing she could do with her brother and his friends all the time, and that one thing was soccer.

“The only sport that I could play that was just like my brother was soccer,” Jones said. “So that was a way I could go out in the yard and get to play with his friends and get to be a part of them. We played outside all the time, we had two big goals in our backyard. It was my dream to get to go play in college when I was younger. Ever since I was younger it’s been a goal.”

As she continued to get older and grow, it became more and more evident that soccer was not going to be just a hobby for Jones. Her talent quickly began to show itself and by the age of 10, she was playing competitively for the Edmond Soccer Club ’93 team, where she would continue to play throughout her high school career, even when Edmond Soccer Club transitioned to Oklahoma Futbol Club when she was 17.

Jones also played in the Olympic Development Program growing up. She played for the Oklahoma ’92 state team and for the Oklahoma Alliance WPSL (Women’s Professional Soccer League) team as an amateur.

In high school, Jones was a four-year starter and a star for the Lady Broncos soccer program. Jones scored 40 goals in her career with Mustang as a midfielder. As a senior, she was named first-team All-State, first-team All-District, first-team All-Area, first-team All-Region and first-team All-Metro. Jones was also named the state’s Offensive Player of the Year her senior season.

On top of all of her soccer accomplishments, Jones found time to be a part of Mustang’s cross country and swimming teams.

The soccer phenom graduated from Mustang High School in 2011 and it was time to take her talents to the next level.

Jones signed to play for Troy University in Troy, Ala., of the Sunbelt Conference. She started immediately as a freshman for the Trojans as a midfielder in all 20 games in the fall of 2011. She had seven goals and two assists in her freshman campaign.

As a sophomore, Jones played in 18 games for the Troy women’s soccer team and started in 17 of those matches. She had one goal in her second year.

After not playing in 2013, Jones returned to the field for Troy this past fall as a junior and had a year to remember. She switched positions from midfield to forward, which would end up being one of the best moves of her young career.

Jones started in all 22 games in 2014 for Troy and led the team with 12 goals, including seven game-winning goals, which tied her for third most in the nation. She also had 10 assists this past season for the Trojan women. Jones scored two goals twice this season, once against Alabama State and the other against Arkansas State.

The Mustang native attempted 4.32 shots on goal per game, which led her team in 2014.

Jones’ accomplishments on the field this past fall earned her first-team All-Conference honors and first-team NSCAA All-South Region. She was the only women’s soccer player from the Sunbelt Conference to be named to the All-South Region first team.

The Troy junior was also named fourth-team All-American and was rated as one of the Top 100 women’s soccer players in the nation following her successful 2014 season.

As a team, the Trojan women had their best season since Jones has been on campus. Troy had a record of 16-6 overall and 6-3 in the SBC. Their season came to an end in the Sunbelt Conference title game against South Alabama in a 1-0 loss.

Going into her senior season next fall, Jones said she has big goals and dreams she would like to accomplish both personally and as a team.

“Personally, I want to be a first-team All-American,” Jones said. “Whenever I first set out and started all this, that was one of the goals my dad and I talked about. At first, it didn’t feel like it was attainable, but now that it’s so close, I feel like it’s one thing I can accomplish. I have eight months to get ready for my last season.

“Playing in the NCAA Tournament is a huge goal as well, that’s something I’ve wanted to do since my freshman year in high school. As far as team goals, I’d like us to win our conference. Hopefully we can win a couple of games in the conference tournament and make it to the NCAA Tournament.”

Jones’ father, Sean, is the owner of the Oklahoma City FC professional soccer franchise. He started the club so his daughter would have a team to play for during the summers instead of having to stay at her school and work out all summer.

“Having a dad that owns a professional soccer team is really neat,” Jones said. “When we were younger, I never would have dreamed that he would own anything like that, but he started getting into it to give me a place to play when I come home for the summer.”

Jones plays for the Oklahoma City FC when she is back in Oklahoma for the summers. She plays with other women’s college soccer players who are back for the summer so they can stay in shape and work on the things they need to work on for their next college season.

They play as amateurs and do not get paid to play for the Oklahoma City FC.

Following her college years, Jones said she has dreams of playing professionally either here in the United States or overseas in Europe.

“I would like to go overseas and play in Spain, Switzerland or Germany for as long as I can,” Jones said. “My goalkeeper coach at Troy played over there and said I can play over there. I have to get an agent after next season and start the process. Hopefully at worst, they pay for me to fly overseas and try out.”

On top of playing soccer, Jones is majoring in social sciences and business at Troy University. Once her soccer career is completed, Jones said she wants to come back to the Oklahoma City area and open her own clothing boutique and sell clothes and makeup.

Jones has three younger sisters, Lexi, Jaci and Katie, who are all involved in soccer. Lexi is a freshman soccer player at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and Jaci is a junior at Mustang High School and is widely considered to be one of the best high school soccer players in Oklahoma.

“Our dad played in college, so playing soccer was something we had with our dad,” Jones said. “The older we got and the better we got, we would play a lot more. We would pick on Jaci a lot, so that’s probably why she is so good now. I would get up early a lot and go work out and I think they would see that and want to do it as well.”

Fun facts

In her free time, Jones said she enjoys cooking from scratch and playing video games. Her favorite video games to play are FIFA and Call of Duty. She said she also enjoys playing Mario Cart on Nintendo 64.

When it comes to athletic facilities across the state of Oklahoma, Mustang takes a backseat to nobody.

This coming August, Mustang Public Schools will unveil one of the best athletic facilities in all of Oklahoma with the new Mustang Event Center.

The Event Center will be the new home venue for the Broncos basketball teams, wrestling team and volleyball team. The new center will be roughly 63,000 square feet and have a seating capacity of around 2,300 people, which is roughly 1,300 more people than the current gymnasium seats.

Mustang Public Schools Director of Athletics Chuck Bailey said he hopes to move into the new facility before the start of the 2015-2016 school year.

“That’s our goal,” Bailey said. “We think we will be able to do that. They have a roof on it right now, so they are working day and night trying to get it done. We don’t want to have to move in during the school year. It’s going to be really nice.”

Bailey said he has toured almost every new high school gym in the state over the past several years trying to gather ideas on what he wants to do and what he doesn’t want to do for the new center.

“Our facility will rival any other gymnasium in the state of Oklahoma,” Bailey said. “I have been to nearly every new gym and ours will be on par with everyone else’s.”

The Event Center will have seats on all four sides of the court on the floor level. It will have seven locker rooms, athletic offices, coaches offices and a training room. It will also have an event room that can seat 60 people, a hospitality room and two press rows on the court level of the gym.

Basketball, volleyball and tennis will have their locker rooms in the new facility.

With more room opening up in the Wellness Center, the cross country, track and golf teams will have their locker rooms in there.

The current athletic training room will also expand in the Wellness Center.

“It has been a long process, but it will be worth every minute of it,” Bailey said. “The community is going to say ‘Wow’ when they see it for the first time after it’s completed.”

Another athletic facility project that is taking place is the new playing surface being put on at Bronco Stadium.

Field Turf is replacing the old turf with their latest and greatest form of field turf called Revolution.

The former playing surface had a lifespan of eight to 10 years and was installed in 2006, which would make it exactly 8 years old.

Bailey said the old turf was safe to play on but it was wearing down, so they decided to go ahead and put the new surface on this year.

“Some of the fibers from the old turf were coming up,” Bailey said. “It was safe for the kids to play on. We put it through some costly tests every year to make sure of that, but we just didn’t get what we paid for, so we decided to go ahead and get the new turf since we were under warranty with the old surface still.”

Because of the problems with the old surface and since it was still under warranty, instead of the normal cost of $500,000 to $600,000 to install the new surface, Field Turf only charged Mustang Public Schools $175,000 to install the new turf.

Bailey said he didn’t want to wait until June to put the new surface in because of the team camps and spring football that take place early in the summer break.

“We could have waited if we would have had to, but we wanted to go ahead and get it done,” Bailey said. “We have good enough weather here in Oklahoma in December to where we could go ahead and get it in and not have to worry about it in the summer months.”

The new turf will have the midfield logo facing the correct way toward the home side seats and the end zones will be black instead of red because of the fading process of the color over time.

Most of the old turf will be trashed because it is not considered safe for contact anymore, but Bailey said they will keep four strips of 15-feet by 45-feet in case they have use for it down the road.

Many of the Field Turf surfaces that were put in in 2006 have had the same problems that Mustang has had. Luckily for MPS, because of that, they were able to get the cheaper price for the new surface.

For example, the turf at Putnam City Stadium is having worse problems than Mustang’s old surface, but since their turf was installed in 2009, they can’t replace their surface for the low price MPS can.

It would cost the Putnam City school district close to $600,000 to replace their surface, which is more than $400,000 of what Mustang paid.

The third facility that is currently under construction is the new baseball and softball indoor complex, which is located on the south side of the baseball stadium.

The new indoor facility is expected to be move-in ready by Feb. 1 and will be state-of-the-art and comparable to any other indoor facility in the area. It will have batting cages, indoor pitching mounds, locker rooms and coaches offices. The outer wall will be made out of cement block, where most indoor facilities are metal on the outside.

“We have had the baseball stadium lights on for the workers at night, so they can work during the night hours as well,” Bailey said. “They are working hard and are going to have this done in eight months when it really should take them a lot longer to complete. It’s going to be impressive.”

Other current upgrades to athletic facilities across the school district include more improvements to the softball complex and upgrades to the middle school gymnasiums during the winter break.

“At the college level, the saying is, if you’re not building, you’re behind,” Bailey said. “Well, at the high school level now, especially at the 6A level, it’s almost the same way. Once we have everything completed, we will be up there with any other school in the state. We have a great community that wants nice things, and they will be very pleased with what we are doing.”

After arguably the most disappointing regular season in the Bob Stoops’ era at the University of Oklahoma, the Sooners will take on the Clemson Tigers in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

OU comes into the game with an 8-4 overall record and a mark of 5-4 in Big 12 Conference play. The Tigers enter Monday’s bowl game with an overall mark of 9-3 and a record of 7-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It will be the fourth meeting between the two schools, and the first since the 1989 Citrus Bowl, where Clemson beat Oklahoma 13-6. OU won the other two games against the Tigers and holds a 2-1 advantage in the series.

“We are looking forward to playing Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl,” Stoops said in his pre-bowl site press conference. “They are a terrific football team and Dabo Sweeney and his staff does a great job across the board. We are excited to go to a great bowl site. They are first class in every way. We are looking forward to the opportunity.”

Stoops will coach the Sooners in his 16^th bowl game while at OU. Stoops is 8-7 in bowl appearances and has an overall record of 160-39. Tigers coach Dabo Sweeney has an overall record of 51-23 in his tenure at Clemson.

It will be the first time since his departure in 2011, the Sooners will face their former defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who is now roaming the sidelines for Clemson. Venables was with Stoops for his first 13 years at Oklahoma.

“It’s something we hoped wouldn’t happen,” Venables said after hearing the news of bowl matchup with Oklahoma. “Bob (Stoops) and I were texting back-and-forth the past several weeks hoping it wouldn’t happen, but the closer we got to selection day, the more it looked like it was going to happen.”

Oklahoma’s last game was against in-state rival Oklahoma State in Norman where the Sooners were upset 38-35 in overtime by the Cowboys. Clemson’s last appearance on the field was better than OU’s. The Tigers took on their in-state rival South Carolina at home and defeated the Gamecocks 35-17.

Offensively, the Sooners come into the game averaging 38.9 points per contest. They average 480.5 total yards per outing, including 268.6 rushing yards and 211.9 passing yards per game.

Oklahoma has converted 42 percent of their third down opportunities this season. They have committed 19 turnovers and have been penalized 62 times for 568 yards.

In the rushing department, Samaje Perine leads the Sooners on the ground with 1,597 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries. Alex Ross is second on the team with 582 yards and three touchdowns on 86 carries and Keith Ford is the third leading rusher with 393 yards and five touchdowns on 67 carries.

Besides being the team’s leading rusher, Perine is also the leader in the scoring department for OU with 126 points this season. Ross is the leader for the Sooners in all-purpose yards with 1,665 this year.

Under center, Trevor Knight has not seen any game action since he injured his spine in the match up against Baylor. Knight has been cleared to play by the doctors and is expected to start in the bowl game. Before his injury, Knight completed 162 of 279 passes for 2,197 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

If Knight can’t go, OU will go with Cody Thomas, who has started each game since Knight’s injury. Thomas has completed 30 of 66 passes for 342 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in Knight’s absence.

Through the air, Sterling Shepard is the man for Oklahoma. Shepard, like Knight, has been battling injuries since the middle of the year. Shepard is expected to play in the bowl game, but his effectiveness won’t be determined until the game starts. Shepard has caught 50 passes this season for 957 yards with five touchdowns.

Behind Shepard, OU’s second leading receiver is Durron Neal with 40 catches for 508 yards and three touchdowns. Coming in third is K.J. Young with 19 receptions for 225 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Oklahoma has been a disappointment this season. The Sooners are allowing 24.8 points per game to their opponents and are allowing 382.2 total yards this year, including 272.7 passing yards and 109.6 rushing yards to opposing offenses.

Opponents have picked up 242 first downs against OU’s defense this year and the Sooners are allowing a 38 percent third down conversion rate. Oklahoma has forced 19 turnovers and forced teams into 73 penalties for 594 yards this season.

In the tackling department, Dominique Alexander is leading the Sooners with 98 on the year. Jordan Evans is second on the roster with 87 and Ahmad Thomas is third with 65.

Zack Sanchez is leading Oklahoma in interceptions with six in 2014 and Quentin Hayes and Thomas are tied for second with one apiece.

In the sack department, Eric Striker is the leader for OU with 7.5 this season. Coming in second is Chuka N’Dulue with 3.5. Third on the list is Charles Tapper with three.

For Clemson offensively, they are averaging 30.1 points per game this season. The Tigers are averaging 410.1 total yards per outing, including 257.1 passing yards and 153 rushing yards per contest.

The Tigers have amassed 245 first downs and have converted 42 percent of their third down opportunities this year. Clemson has turned the ball over 18 times and has committed 48 penalties for 430 yards this season.

On the ground the Tigers are led by Wayne Gallman with 747 yards and four touchdowns on 142 carries. C.J. Davidson is the second leading rusher with 258 yards and three touchdowns on 62 carries and coming in third is Adam Choice with 233 yards and one touchdown on 50 carries.

To start the season, Clemson’s starting quarterback was Deshaun Watson, but he sustained a season-ending injury midway through the year. The Tigers now go with Cole Stout under center. Before he was injured, Watson completed 93 of 137 pass attempts for 1,466 yards with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. Stout has completed 165 of 266 passes for 1,573 yards with six touchdowns and 10 interceptions in Watson’s absence.

Through the air, Clemson’s leading receiver is Artavis Scott with 68 receptions for 851 yards this season with seven touchdowns. Second on the roster is Mike Williams with 48 catches for 918 yards with five touchdowns and third on the team is Germone Hopper with 26 receptions for 307 yards and two touchdowns.

Williams is also the team’s leading all-purpose yardage gainer with 918 this season for Clemson.

In the scoring department, Ammon Lakip is the Tigers’ leading point scorer with 96 on the year.

Defensively, Clemson has shined, as they have the No.1 overall defense in the nation when it comes to statistics.

The Tigers are allowing 17.6 points per game to their opponents and allowing 259.6 total yards to opposing offenses this season, including 161.9 passing yards and 97.7 rushing yards.

Teams have amassed 168 first downs against Clemson’s D this season and have converted on 28 percent of their third down attempts.

The Tigers have forced 19 turnovers against their opponents and have forced teams into 71 penalties for 521 yards this year.

In the tackling department, Stephone Anthony leads Clemson with 73. Coming in second is Robert Smith with 65 and taking third is Jayron Kearse with 57.

Smith also leads the Tigers in interceptions along with Kearse and Jadar Johnson with two apiece. In the sack department, Vic Beasley leads the way for Clemson with 11 on the season. Shaq Johnson is tied for second on the list with Tony Steward. Both players have 3.5 on the year.

“Oklahoma is a really good football team and really good program,” Sweeney said in his pre-bowl site press conference. “They have really good players over there and Coach (Bob) Stoops is one of the best in the nation. We are going to have to prepare really well and do what we need to do in order to get a win.”

Mustang improved to 2-1 in dual action this year on the mats last week with a 69-9 beating of Putnam City West at home.

The Bronco wrestling team won its second dual of the season on Dec. 16 over PC West. Putnam City had to forfeit six out of the 14 matches due to not having a full roster.

The Patriots were void in the 106-weight class, 113-weight class, 120-weight class, 132-weight class, 138-weight class and 170-weight class. Mustang was awarded six points for every PC West forfeit, so the Broncos started the dual already up 36-0.

“I thought we handled ourselves pretty well tonight,” Mustang coach Will Allen said. “We kept our focus for the entire dual and did what we needed to do in order to get the win.”

Out of the eight matches that took place, Mustang won six, including four pins against Putnam City West grapplers. The Broncos were pinned once in the dual.

In the 145-pound weight class, Gage McBride pinned PC West’s Tanner Haskins at the :19.5 mark in the first period. In the 152-pound weight division, Wyatt Riggs pinned the Patriots’ Wesley Hudron with :13.4 remaining in the third period, and in the 160-pound weight bout, Fazon Denby defeated Putnam City West’s Christian Vargas 6-2.

In the 182-pound weight class, Zach Butler pinned PC West’s Kevin Hart at the :58.7 mark of the second period. In the 195-pound weight division, Kaden Truelove pinned the Patriots’ Paxton Cleaver with :04 seconds remaining in the second period.

In the 220-weight bout, Putnam City West’s Ethan Freeman defeated Austin Brow 7-3 in three hard-fought periods, and in the heavyweight class, PC West’s Nick Jones pinned Briar Brown at the 33.1 mark of the second period.

Mustang was back in action at the Norman tournament last Saturday. Those results will be in next week’s Mustang News.

The Mustang swimming teams competed in two meets in the past several weeks. First on Dec. 9, they participated in the Chickasha Swim Meet at Chickasha High School and then on Dec. 12, they competed in the Altus Swim Meet at Altus High School.

Here are the individual results from the Chickasha meet:

In the girls 200-yard medley relay, Mustang took first place with a time of 2:55.19. Gabby Rhodes, Rachel Dawson, Hope Eirwin and Tori Anderson made up the team.

In the boys 200-yard medley relay race, the Broncos took third place with a time of 2:29.39. Jacob Hesser, Max Mayfield, Cullen Quinn and Austin Satterlee made up the squad.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle, Katrina Bearce placed first with a time of 3:05.44. Emma Downing took second with a time of 3:23.14 and Tori Anderson placed third with a time of 3:29.38.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle, Lane Brown took first place with a time of 2:38.28. Max Mayfield placed second with a time of 2:47.49 and Zachary Boyanton took fourth place with a time 2:49.39.

In the girls 200-yard individual medley, Zoe Mills placed first with a time of 3:44.07 and Faith Desplinter finished in third place with a time of 4:13.58.

In the boys 200-yard individual medley, Cullen Quinn placed first with a time of 2:53.91.

In the girls 50-yard freestyle, Hope Eirwin took first place with a time of 35.17. Rachel Dawson finished in third place with a time of 35.99. Shelbie Toquothy finished in fourth place with a time of 40.50 and Kelsi Frazier took fifth place with a time of 40.72.

In the boys 50-yard freestyle, Jacob Hesser finished in first place with a time of 31.36. Austin Satterlee took second place with a time of 32.51 and Braden Autrey placed fifth with a time of 37.12.

In the girls 100-yard fly, Heidi Doughty took second place with a time of 2:35.00.

In the girls 100-yard freestyle, Katrina Bearce placed first with a time of 1:22.82. Gabby Rhodes finished in second place with a time of 1:29.78. Diana Wagner took third place with a time of 1:29.82 and Rachel Dawson placed fourth with a time of 1:32.62.

In the boys 100-yard freestyle, Lane Brown finished in first place with a time of 1:12.33. Zachary Boyanton placed second with a time of 1:15.73 and Braden Autrey took fourth place with a time of 1:25.13.

In the girls 400-yard freestyle, Emma Downing took third place with a time of 7:23.40.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Broncos took first with a time of 2:30.64. Hope Eirwin, Diana Wagner, Katrina Bearce and Rachel Dawson made up the team.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle relay, the Broncos took third place with a time of 2:10.49. Cullen Quinn, Zachary Boyanton, Lane Brown and Austin Satterlee made up the squad.

In the girls 100-yard backstroke, Tori Anderson took second place with a time of 1:41.79 and Zoe Mils placed third with a time of 1:45.23.

In the boys 100-yard backstroke, Jacob Hesser took third place with a time of 1:23.06 and Max Mayfield placed fourth with a time of 1:31.76.

In the girls 100-yard breaststroke, Diana Wagner took first with a time of 1:42.77 and Gabby Rhodes placed third with a time of 1:59.34.

In the boys 100-yard breaststroke, Cullen Quinn took first with a time of 1:29.48 and Brandon Cloy took fifth with a time of 1:58.52.

In the girls 400-yard freestyle relay, Mustang took first place with a time of 5:49.24. Zoe Mills, Emma Downing, Gabby Rhodes and Katrina Bearce made up the team.

In the boys 400-yard freestyle relay, the Broncos took first place with a time of 4:55.06. Max Mayfield, Zachary Boyanton, Lane Brown and Jacob Hesser made up the squad.

Here are the individual results from the Altus meet:

In the girls 200-yard medley relay, Mustang took third place with a time of 2:45.24. Summer Chrismon, Morgan Shirk, Mazie Garza and Katrina Bearce made up the team.

In the boys 200-yard medley relay, the Broncos took second place with a time of 2:13.29. Drake Stowe, Zach McSwain, Minh Nguyen and Chandler McDonald made up the squad.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle, Brandi Naeher took fourth place with a time of 3:04.06.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle, Matt Sellon took second place with a time of 2:21.12 and Zachary Boyanton took fifth place with a time of 2:45.02.

In the girls 200-yard individual medley, Lauren Oliver took first place with a time of 2:55.84 and Hannah Kertzner placed second with a time of 2:56.29.

In the boys 200-yard individual medley, Tucker Legg grabbed fourth with a time of 3:02.79 and Cullen Quinn finished in fifth with a time of 3:03.50.

In the girls 50-yard freestyle, Samantha Jones took first with a time of 30.39.

In the boys 50-yard freestyle, Robert Coulter placed fourth with a time of 29.39.

In the girls 100-yard fly, Summer Chrismon took third place with a time of 1:26.98.

In the boys 100-yard fly, Chandler McDonald placed third with a time of 1:15.02 and Matt Sellon took fifth with a time of 1:20.09.

In the girls 100-yard freestyle, Samantha Jones finished in first place with a time of 1:09.25 and Mazie Garza took third place with a time of 1:14.33.

In the boys 100-yard freestyle, Minh Nguyen took second place with a time of 1:03.95 and Robert Coulter took third place with a time of 1:07.33.

In the boys 400-yard freestyle, Drake Stowe took third place with a time of 5:33.03.

In the girls 200-yard freestyle relay, Mustang took second place with a time of 2:10.84. Hannah Kertzner, Brandi Naeher, Lauren Oliver and Samantha Jones made up the team.

In the boys 200-yard freestyle relay, the Broncos took third place with a time of 1:59.23. Zach McSwain, Chandler McDonald, Matt Sellon and Minh Nguyen made up the squad.

In the girls 100-yard backstroke, Hannah Kertzner took third place with a time of 1:25.52. Brandi Naeher placed fourth with a time of 1:29.89 and Summer Chrismon placed fifth with a time of 1:34.13.

In the boys 100-yard backstroke, Cullen Quinn took third place with a time of 1:20.26 and Drake Stowe placed fourth with a time of 1:21.79.

In the girls 100-yard breaststroke, Lauren Oliver took first with a time of 1:29.34 and Mazie Garza took second place with a time of 1:34.05.

In the boys 100-yard breaststroke, Minh Nguyen took first place with a time of 1:20.70 and Zach McSwain placed fifth with a time of 1:24.44.

In the girls 400-yard freestyle relay, the Lady Broncos took second place with a time of 5:02.98. Hannah Kertzner, Brandi Naeher, Lauren Oliver and Samantha Jones made up the team.

In the boys 400-yard freestyle relay, Mustang took third place with a time of 4:34.99. Drake Stowe, Tucker Legg, Robert Coulter and Matt Sellon made up the squad.

Ever since the Sooners were stunningly upset in the annual Bedlam game against bitter in-state rival Oklahoma State, Oklahoma fans across the state, nation and even the world are up in arms at what has happened to their beloved football program.

Expectations at OU are simple – compete for a national championship every year. Every year the Sooners don’t win a national title, it’s a disappointing season. If Oklahoma has a season where they go 10-2 and go to a big bowl game and beat a big-name program, Sooner nation will forgive you for not winning the national championship (i.e. last year), but going 8-4 in a year the Sooners were expected to heavily contend for the title is flat out not going to cut it.

OU fans are getting sick and tired of hearing the same old answers whenever Stoops is grilled hard by the press during his press conferences. Stoops likes to bring up his past success with Oklahoma and all the Big 12 titles they have won since he’s been the man in Norman. He will also become sullen and snobby toward the media if they question him or one of his assistant coaches.

The fact of the matter is, Stoops’ leeway has expired. The 2000 national championship is 14 years old and his last outright Big 12 championship was four years ago in 2010. The bottom line is that Stoops is on his last breath with the Sooners.

If Oklahoma has another year next season like the one it had this year, then it could indeed be Stoops’ swan song out of Norman.

For all the OU fans who are calling for that to happen right now, hold on to your britches a little bit. That is not the answer just yet. If we are sitting in the same position 365 days from now, then you’ll have a valid argument, but Stoops deserves another year to prove he can return to the glory days when he first arrived on scene.

There are three things Stoops and the OU football program need to do in this offseason to bring them back to the forefront of college football. No, the answer is not recruit better. Oklahoma has a talented roster, enough talent to compete for a national championship, but player development is a big problem with the Sooners right now.

It’s not necessarily that OU’s players can’t do it, they just look like they have no clue what they are doing, and that goes back to coaching.

So the first thing that needs to happen is Stoops needs to address his brother and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. Everyone, including me, thought when Mike Stoops came back into the picture at OU, the defense would go back to being a dominant unit and a defense that opposing offenses would fear.

Instead, the opposite has happened. Oklahoma switched to the 3-4 scheme on defense hoping their problems would be solved, but they have only gotten worse under Mike Stoops. The problem is, Mike Stoops is trying to coach the defensive backs and coordinate the defense at the same time.

Bob Stoops needs to bring in a defensive backs coach that will coach these young DBs how to match up and be physical at the line of scrimmage. Oklahoma used to be feared in the secondary. Now, teams can’t wait to face the Sooners.

The second thing that needs to happen is Bob Stoops needs to fire Josh Heupel. I know Heupel quarterbacked his team to his only national championship, but he is not going to coordinate the offense to a national championship.

Heupel simply does not know what he’s doing with the offense. He will go in spurts of throwing the ball all over the field trying to be like Oregon, but then he will go back to running the football. There is no balance, no rhythm with Heupel’s play-calling.

Heupel excelled as a quarterbacks coach, but when it comes to coordinating the offense, he just doesn’t have it. It’s time for someone else outside of the program to get their shot.

The third thing Bob Stoops needs to do is figure out what the offensive identity is going to be and stick with it. I’m sick and tired of hearing the word balance when it comes to Oklahoma’s offense. Was OU balanced when they won the national title 14 years ago? No.

They threw the ball all over the field. Yes, they had Quinton Griffin, but he did not run the ball all that much in the national title season. He actually made a lot of plays in the passing game for the Sooners.

Am I saying OU needs to go back to a Mike Leach style of offense and forget the run game? Absolutely not. When you have Samaje Perine on your roster and Joe Mixon coming next year, going to a pass-happy offense would be dumb.

Oklahoma should go to a pro-set style of offense where power running and play-action passing is the focal point. Bob Stoops needs to go out and find an offensive coordinator that knows and understands how to run that style of offense.

As poor as OU’s season was, if Bob Stoops would put aside his stubbornness for one second and do those three things, the Sooners could get back to being what Sooner nation believes they should be every year, a national title contender.

If not, well then, Bob Stoops’ tenure with Oklahoma will come to an abrupt end much sooner than expected.