Road to State determined

By Derek Brown
Daily Elk Citian

The road to the State Tournament has gotten a little bit clearer for Merritt.

The Oilers will host Arapaho-Butler and Canute for the District Tournament.

"It's always nice to be home. It's probably nicer for the kids and fans," said Russ Rundle, Merritt boys head coach. "They reward schools that have success and the facilities and it's certainly nice. I think it's a slight advantage."

The Merritt boys squad is 14-4 and currently ranked as the no. 12 team in Class A. The Oilers are unbeaten against the Arapaho-Butler Indians and the Canute Trojans. Merritt has played Canute once and Arapaho once, both games were wins that came early in the season.

"They've probably gotten a lot better since then and hopefully so have we," said Rundle.

The Canute Trojans are 2-16 on the season and are not ranked in Class A. Arapaho-Butler is 11-8 and are also unranked.

"Arapaho is a good ball club. They've got our attention," said Rundle. "We just need to try and get prepared for both of them."

Canute is defeated against Arapaho-Butler and Merritt. The Trojans have met the Oilers and the Indians one time apiece and were not able to come away with wins.

The Oilers are 7-1 on their home court. Their only loss came in the Merritt Classic Tournament against Hydro-Eakly.

"It kind of gets our focus on and gets us preparing for the style of team. I think it helps quite a bit," said Rundle.

GIRLS

The Oilerette’s record is unbeaten against their district opponents. Merritt has beaten Arapaho-Butler twice and Canute once.

Merritt is 12-6 on the season and 6-2 while at home. The Oilerettes lost to Mangum at home and Hammon at home.

“We’re excited about it. We’ve got a lot of things to get better in though,” said Danny Maddox, Merritt girls head coach.

Merritt, Canute, and Arapaho-Butler are all unranked teams but all have played each other earlier in the season.

“I don’t mind playing somebody you’ve played before. They know what they need to do. That’s always a plus,” said Maddox. “It helps mentally. We’ve played them both and beat them both. I’d rather it be that way then playing somebody that kicked your tail. I don’t think it will be a huge difference though.”

Canute is 2-16 on their season and Arapaho-Butler is 12-7. Canute is 0-3 against the Lady Indians. In two of the Lady Trojans’ losses the margin of defeat was by five points in both games. Canute is 0-1 against Merritt.

“Both teams are well coached and have good players,” said Maddox. “If we do things we’re capable of I feel good about it. But if we don’t anybody can beat us.”