WELCH—The Welch Wildcat Gym will play host to this year’s district basketball tournament, Fri. and Sat., Feb. 10-11, 2012. Afton, South Coffeyville, and Welch will compete for the opportunity to advance to the regional tourney in Copan and Bristow. From there, area will be in Bixby. And after that is state.

Your Lady Cats face South Coffeyville in the first round, Fri., Feb. 10, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. Your Welch Wildcats have a bye in the first round and will play the winner of Friday’s Afton-South Coffeyville match up, Sat., Feb. 11, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. WelchOK.com will be providing live online audio coverage of all games Welch teams are involved in during the district tournament via our Welch State Bank Mobile Webcast Unit.

Here are PDFs of the brackets, which include districts (Welch is in District 7), regionals, and area.

Girls

Boys

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L-R: Senior Allison McGuire, Senior Carolina Fonseca, Junior Megan Carpenter, Sophomore Lexie Baker, and Freshman Julia Armstrong (Photo by A. Dooley)

WELCH—Basketball homecoming will be Friday night when your Welch Wildcats and Lady Cats host the Fairland Owls. The boys’ game will be first at 6:30 p.m., and the girls’ game will follow.

The homecoming court consists of senior Allison McGuire, senior Carolina Fonseca, junior Megan Carpenter, Sophomore Lexie Baker, and freshman Julia Armstrong.

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MIAMI, Okla.—Friends of the late Justin Berry have scheduled a basketball tournament to benefit a scholarship in his memory.

The Justin Berry Memorial 3V3 Basketball Tournament will raise money for a scholarship in his memory for a high school basketball student who exhibits the same qualities as Justin. It will also be a time when friends and family can get together and honor the man that they love and miss.

The tournament will be Wed., Jan. 4, 2012, 4 p.m.-10:30 p.m. at the Miami Civic Center. The entry fee is $15 per person with 4 or 5 people per a team.

Organizers also have t-shirts for sale that will be $5 for participants and $10 for anyone else who wants one. One hundred shirts have been pre-ordered and there will also be order forms available.

Entries are appreciated by Fri., Dec. 30, 2011. Have players’ names and team names ready and call Nikki Mullin at 918-961-1046 to register. High school basketball players will not be allowed to register since their season is underway and organizers don’t want to risk their injury.

Justin’s friends are also going to be selling #JUSTIN BERRY FOREVER bracelets to raise money for his memorial scholarship.

Here’s the Facebook event page for the tourney.

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WELCH—It was a nail-biter to the final buzzer at the Welch Wildcat Gym last night, as your Welch Wildcats were able to fight back into the lead in the final seconds of the game. A made shot by Jacob Mount, on which he was fouled, tied the game up 44-44. Mount’s successful free throw made it a three-point play and gave the Cats the one-point edge. The Cats were able to hang onto the lead, and Austin Buchanan was able to extend it by one, with a sunk free throw, making it 46-44. A last-second, last-ditch full-court shot by a Nowata Ironman caused some drama as it hit the rim, but fortunately for the Wildcats, it did not go in. The Cats were able to chalk up the 46-44 win.

Earlier in the night, the Lady Cats didn’t fare so well, suffering a 52-22 loss to the Lady Ironmen.

Our friend Jim Ellis from the Miami News-Record was on site and did a great write-up of the game. It’s available here.

We were happy to provide live, online audio coverage of the game in the Welch State Bank Mobile Webcast Unit. Here’s your after-the-fact playback.

Lady Cats v. Nowata 12/20/2011 [ 1:11:54 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Wildcats v. Nowata 12/20/2011 [ 1:26:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Your Wildcat teams face Fairland Thursday night for a make-up game, and we’ll do our best to bring you that game live, too. That will be the last game until the new year, when the teams travel to Nowata for a rematch on Jan. 3.

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OKLAHOMA CITY—Christmas family traditions range from eating out and attending services on Christmas Eve to giving out gifts and stockings filled with treats. But in Oklahoma, families can even go deer hunting over the Christmas holidays.

This year the holiday antlerless deer gun season will be open for 10 days starting Dec. 16 and running through Dec. 25 in open areas.

Most of the state will be open to antlerless hunting those days, except for the majority of the Panhandle and portions of southeast Oklahoma. All public hunting areas and private lands in southeast Oklahoma’s zone 10 are closed to the holiday antlerless deer gun season. Seasons on public lands may vary from statewide season dates. For a map of Oklahoma’s antlerless deer hunt zones and to see which counties will be open for the holiday antlerless deer gun season, consult page 25 of the current “Oklahoma Hunting Guide,” as well as the “Public Hunting Lands” section on page 48 of the guide for seasons on specific public areas.

Last year almost 40,000 hunters participated in the holiday antlerless deer season.

“A good number of those hunters were successful with 4,377 deer being checked during that season,” said Jerry Shaw, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

According to Shaw, high doe harvests help accomplish several important management benefits such as preventing localized overpopulation, improving buck:doe ratios for a more healthy herd, reducing competition for forage to promote greater antler growth in bucks, reducing the potential for deer/vehicle collisions, and lessening the extent of potential crop depredation.

To participate in the holiday antlerless deer gun season, resident hunters must possess a valid hunting license and a holiday antlerless deer gun license, unless exempt. Resident youth hunters 16 or 17 years old must purchase a hunting license and a $10 youth holiday antlerless deer gun license, unless exempt. Youth under 16 are not required to purchase a hunting license but they must possess a $10 youth holiday antlerless deer gun license.

Although nonresident deer hunters are exempt from a hunting license while hunting deer, they must possess a nonresident deer gun license.

Hunters age 8-30 who have not completed the Wildlife Department’s hunter education class may still hunt during the holiday antlerless deer gun season, but their licenses will have an apprentice designation, and the hunter must be accompanied by a qualified adult hunter who remains within arms reach of the apprentice hunter while hunting. For details, consult the current “Oklahoma Hunting Guide” online at wildlifedepartment.com.

In addition, hunters participating in the holiday antlerless deer season must comply with the hunter orange requirements for the regular deer gun season. Archery hunters and those hunting most other species in open holiday antlerless zones must wear either a hunter orange hat or upper garment while hunting.

To learn more about this year’s antlerless deer season, consult the current “Oklahoma Hunting Guide” or log on to wildlifedepartment.com.

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It was hand-to-hand combat in Welch last night (Click to enlarge)

Alex Smith on a carry (Click to enlarge)

WELCH—No one who traveled to Welch last night for the Welch/Wetumka first-round playoff rematch can say they didn’t get their money’s worth. The Chieftains and your Wildcats did battle for a grueling four quarters, and finally were able to wrap up a 30-26 victory with a completed pass to Austin Buchanan in the end zone with eight seconds remaining on the clock. That after a phenomenal approximately 80-yard run by Alex Smith put the Cats in scoring position one final time.

The Chieftains did something no one else has done this year: held the Cats scoreless in the first half. Wetumka led 6-0 at halftime, then the lead changed hands several times in the second half.

The Cats, though, were able to rack up 24 points in the fourth quarter and emerge the victors, sending them to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade. The win also allowed the Cats to avenge their first-round 42-34 loss to the Chieftains in Wetumka last year.

Breaking the plane is what counts! (Click to enlarge)

The Cat win advances them to the second round of playoffs against Laverne, who beat Alex 50-0 in Laverne last night, so the Cats hit the road, all the way to Laverne, for the second round next Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Our friend Jim Ellis at the Miami News-Record had a great write up with all the stats that you can see here.

We were glad to bring you live online audio coverage of the game via the Welch State Bank Mobile Webcast Unit. Here’s your after-the-fact playback:

Excerpt of the last two Cat offensive plays [ 0:58 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Excerpt from 1:09-:08 [ 6:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Excerpt from 2:07-:08 [ 16:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Full game archive [ 2:17:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jeane Wynn was on scene snapping photos, and here they are:

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Here’s the football playoff bracket from www.MaxPreps.com:

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WELCH—The Welch Public Schools music department’s annual homecoming chili supper will be held Fri., Nov. 4, 2011, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the Civic Auditorium.

The fundraiser offers chile, coneys, and Frito pies, plus beverages and homemade desserts.

Adult admission is $5, and children under 12 are $2. Come have a warm meal before homecoming festivities begin at 6:45 p.m.

Help out by downloading, printing, and posting the flier [PDF].

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Photo by A. Dooley

WELCH—The 2011 Welch Wildcat football homecoming court has been announced. Pictured above are (front, L-R) senior queen candidates Rachel Seigel and Lexi Mercer, (back, L-R) junior attendant Morgan Cook, Sophomore attendant Rylee Chenoweth, and freshman attendant Morgan Smith.

Homecoming festivities will begin before the football game at 6:45 p.m., the game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m., and senior night recognition will be held during halftime. The Wildcats face Summit Christian in the final game of the regular season.

Don’t forger the music department’s annual chili supper in the Civic Auditorium from 5:00-6:30 p.m.

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Welch QB Tra Dodson rushes and leaps over a Depew defender for a Wildcat TD. (Photo by Damyon Dooley)

DEPEW—It was a hard-fought victory for the Wildcats in Depew Friday night, but the final score of 58-46 gave the Cats their eighth victory of the season.

The cold, damp game was a back and forth affair, but the Wildcats were finally able to put some distance between themselves and their opponents then bleed to clock to get the W.

Alex Smith had five TDs and three two-point conversions for 36, Tra Dodson had two TDs and two two-point conversions for 16, and Logun Bruce contributes one TD for six.

The team continues to hold together and make scoring opportunities for those with the ball, and it shows in the stats. Alex Smith remains the top scorer in the state of Oklahome and the No. 7 top scorer in the nation, according to stats on the MaxPreps site.

Logun Bruce was injured, but reports indicate he should be able to play the final regular season game against Summit Christian this Friday night.

We were glad to being you live online audio coverage of the game via the Welch State Bank Mobile Webcast Unit. Here’s your after-the-fact playback:

Wildcast v. Depew 10/28/2011 [ 2:24:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Friday night’s game will do double duty as both homecoming and senior night. After the music department’s annual chili supper in the Civic Auditorium from 5:00-6:30 p.m., homecoming festivities will take place at 6:45 p.m., then the game will begin at 7:30 p.m. The senior night program will take place during half time.

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