Lancaster: One Last Time
A team expecting to compete for a title this year is Broken Arrow. The Tigers were the only team to beat Union last season and they're also playing with a sense of urgency. They want to send their coach out on a winning note.

Legendary head coach Ron Lancaster said earlier this year this will be his last season on the sidelines after more than four decades of coaching.

"All of us have that moment in time where we say 'this is enough' of somebody else tells you it's enough. I'm gonna turn 68 and I've been doing this for 45 years, I think this starts my 46th year. I laid out one year, tried to retire three years ago, but it didn't take. So, I had to give it one more try."

But, after 293 victories and six state championships, what will he miss the most?

"It's that every day stuff," he says. "That's what I miss more than anything. I don't think people quite understand the smell of a locker room. As bad as it is, there's still something about it and anybody who ever played the game of football understands what I mean."

And, how about his greatest coaching memory?

"One game, just a game, that marked the change probably was at Jenks my very first year when we played at Muskogee and Muskogee was the number one team in the state and we beat them 7-to-0 up there. And, I can still remember the crowd hitting that field at one time. And, a helicopter came over and took a picture and I still have that picture, looking up and we're all standing there with our finger up in the air with several thousand people all surrounding us there. And, that was a special moment I think and that changed the fortunes I think at Jenks."

When Lancaster came to Broken Arrow last year, the Tigers wanted back in the limelight. And, they got it, beating eventual 6A champion Union in the season opener.

"And, then turn around and get the 5A state champions in Booker T. who was also a very, very good football team," he says. "I think like a lot of places, Broken Arrow is eager for a championship team and they've waited a long time. I think the ingredients were here all the time. I think we brought the best of it out so far and I think we'll find that out this year."

Coach Lancaster has helped build several programs in Oklahoma and there's no doubt Coach Steve Spavital will continue the tradition that has started in Broken Arrow.