Oklahoma
Oklahoma DT David Stone’s First Sack Was ‘Surreal’
NORMAN — In the third quarter on Saturday, Oklahoma defensive lineman David Stone finally got his moment.
Facing third-and-5, Stone cut through the Black Bears’ offensive line to smother Maine quarterback Carter Peevy for a 10-yard loss.
It was Stone’s first sack as a Sooner, and a moment months in the making after the 5-star recruit has done most of his work behind the scenes in 2024.
“I was talking to the coach before that drive and let him know that it’s coming. It’s going to be this one,” Stone said after the 59-14 win. “I told him I was going to point to him, but I got a little too carried away, too excited and lost myself. It was a good time being out there with the guys.
“Doing what we talk about, dominating the game in the moment. Being able to do that was a surreal feeling. Come on the sidelines, everybody was hyping me up. It was a good time.”
Coming in an immediately making an impact along the line of scrimmage is hard for a true freshman, even one who starred at IMG Academy.
Stone’s high school teammate, Jayden Jackson, is an outlier.
And while Stone’s chances on the field have been limited so far in 2024, OU coach Brent Venables has consistently praised Stone’s work ethic.
“He’s up in the coach’s offices every night just trying to get a little more knowledge,” Venables said last week. “And just, he’s a gym rat and doesn’t shy away from tough moments. And I love that about him. He’s gonna be a fantastic player.”
Stone is no stranger to working hard, but he did have to shift his mindset throughout spring football and fall camp.
“I’ve just been staying patient, focused on what I need to do,” Stone said. “Develop, become a great player. Coach has been preaching just stay humble, down, stay ready. I’ve been doing that.
“… Getting the advice from guys who had been in the same position as me, it made everything a little bit easier. They were telling me don’t take it as a, ‘You’re waiting.’ You’re not waiting. You’re getting ready. You’re preparing for a battle. Whenever the battle comes, be ready for it. That’s all I’ve been doing.”
Stone now has five total tackles on the year and two tackles for loss including his sack against Maine.
He’s gotten defensive snaps in small doses throughout SEC play, but the meeting with the Black Bears allowed Stone and the other young pieces of OU’s defense to get crucial experience late in the season.
“We’ve got a long of young guys that are good players,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “The details obviously matter. You don’t like giving up the two drives at the end of the game.
“I tell them all the time, the standard doesn’t change. Just because you’re not the starter or you haven’t played as much as the other guys. When you get in the game, the expectations are the same as they are for everybody else.”
Stone took his chance on Owen Field, and he’ll continue to stay mentally ready if he’s needed in a larger role in the Sooners’ final three conference games.
“It was fun, playing football. It’s what I enjoy doing,” Stone said. been doing it since I was 4 years old. It was a great time. “… We take it as it comes. One game at a time. Onto the next. Watch film Sunday, Monday, learn from our mistakes and keep going. Onto Missouri.”
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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