Content about Osage sports

After three rounds in the Oklahoma high school football playoffs Woodland is back in the final four, but Pawhuska and Hominy came up short and finished their seasons on a hopeful note.

Class A defending state champions Woodland defeated Ringling on Nov. 25, 46-7, and advanced to the semi-finals against Thomas-Fay-Custer. They meet Thomas Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Enid High School for a chance to defend their title in the state championship game.

Woodland coach Joe Sindaler said the team has had yet another interesting post-season schedule.

When the purple and white pride seeps into the fall Hominy air at Buck Memorial Field, a handful of football diehards can almost see Curtis Pratt Dobbins make his way out of the home locker room.

Some who know him as “Mr. Hominy Buck” noticed him by his robust football build, others by the stern sketch upon his face.

And some, like Scott Lohah, who played under Dobbins in the 1960s, know it’s him by the chills that pulse through this body.

* Editor's Note: This story has been revised for accuracy (July 24, 2012)

This year’s Battle of the Osage victory goes to the Pawhuska Huskies.

In a 39-6 win over the Hominy Bucks (1-2) last Friday, Pawhuska (2-1) earned its bragging rights for the next year.

Coming off a tough loss to Perry the week before, the Huskies were ready for the highly anticipated crusade.

Pawhuska head coach Eddy Scott said his team tied up some loose ends and felt prepared for the game.

It was early May when Kylie Johnson’s mobile phone rang as she made her way out the door of a drug store.

It was just moments before the state track meet in Oklahoma City and after she found out she didn’t make the Oklahoma All-State team, when she found out she was selected for the 16^th Annual Oklahoma Indian All-State.

“I was speechless, I wanted to cry,” she said. “I was a little worried about not making it for All-State and then my dream just came true.”

The days spent in uncomfortable winds and under the scorching sun are officially over as the Oklahoma high school state track meets wrapped up last weekend.

A handful of Osage athletes throughout the state represented their roots well from class 6A to 1A.

Some made personal bests and others won gold.

In the big school class 6A, Jenks’ Dillon Lookout and Mckenzie Labadie took home gold medals.

Lookout, a junior, placed first in 6A boys pole vault with a 16-0 mark, out jumping Yukon senior Tanner Ramsey by one whole foot.

Track and field isn’t exactly one of my favorite sports to cover but one talented young Osage pole-vaulter by the name of Dillon Lookout changed that last Friday.

I drove to Owasso High School to look into a story about Lookout, a pole-vaulter, who attends Jenks High School in Tulsa, but has roots in Pawhuska.

Lookout, a junior, has pole-vaulted since he was a sophomore.

For the last two years he’s moved up the national rankings and is now seeded the No. 1 pole-vaulter in the state and the No. 15^th in the nation.

While most college students were buried in books filled with square roots and experiments, Walter Hopper could be found studying the game of golf.

That was just over 40 years ago and Hopper is more active than he’s ever been in the golf world.

He got his first taste of golf from his grandfather, Fred Lookout. He said he saw how much his grandfather loved the game and it slowly grew on him.

Every spring a young group of Osage boys lace up their cleats, strap on their shin guards and take to the soccer field in Ponca City.

While most teams in the Ponca City Soccer Incorporation play year round, the Indian Camp Warriors or IC Warriors for short, only play seasonal, yet they are two-time league champions in the 14 and Under Division. And they’re working on their third.

John Star Bighorse, a parent and coach of the team, said it all started out as an innocent idea.

There is nothing like a good surprise early in the season.

With a tough schedule and what looks like will be a tough season, Pawhuska baseball coach Brandon Poteet will take anything he can get from his team.

In an early season game against down-the-road rivals Hominy, the Huskies came out on top with a 12-2 win on March 11.

Poteet said he knew they’d be strong on pitching but that wasn’t quite how they got their win.

For the last six years the Osage words MAN-KI-A-TSIN PA-HYU-SKA have been splashed on the front of the Pawhuska wrestling team’s T-shirts.

In English the words read “Pawhuska Wrestling” and the back reads WA-SHKON, meaning “Do your best.”

The two phrases in the Osage language and the Osage people themselves have carried the long wrestling tradition at Pawhuska High School.

The program started in 1966 and has been home to hundreds of the toughest Osage and non-Osage wrestlers in the state.

A scoop of confidence and hint of offense is just what the Pawhuska Lady Huskies needed to overcome the well-rounded Salina in the first round of the area tournament.

After a jittery first half the Lady Huskies sealed the 62-59 win over Salina at Burdick Center in Pryor.

Pawhuska advances to the semi finals of the area bracket and meets Adair today at 1:30 p.m. in Pryor.

Pawhuska coach Mark Shuck said once the nerves passed his girls we’re able to play the way they wanted to.