Richardson named All-State receiver, part of East Squad

Ada — The honors just keep on coming for Ada High standout Colton Richardson.

Already named to the All-District 5A-2 squad, Richardson last week joined one of the state’s most select fraternities when he was named an All-State receiver from a program that traditionally doesn’t throw the ball. He will be part of the East squad that will play the West in the All-State game at Tulsa Union High School on July 31.

Then last week, Richardson was named to the Oklahoma squad that will face the Texas All-Stars in the annual Oil Bowl in June.

A 6-4, 220-pounder, Richardson caught 49 passes for 628 yards and five touchdowns as junior quarterback Qumain Black’s favorite target this season as the Cougars finished 5-6 but returned to the Class 5A playoffs after a one-year absence.

“He made All-State at receiver, and he was recruited to play defense — that tells you what kind of athlete he is,” first-year Ada coach Matt Weber said of Richardson, who has committed to play college football at Oklahoma State. “Nobody we played was really able to cover him one-on-one. He’s obviously one of the best players in the state and deserving of these honors.

“We typically don’t throw as much as we did last year,” Weber added. “(Richardson) is a big reason we threw it that much, because we felt confident he would catch it. A couple of times, we threw it 20-plus times, and that’s because we had so much confidence in him.”

Weber said he knew Richardson would be a big part of his first Cougar offensive scheme almost immediately.

“It didn’t take long,” he said. “You can see him in practice and see he’s pretty talented. He was just somebody we felt should have the ball in his hands.”

Although Richardson was recruited by OSU as a defensive back, Weber said his athletic ability could enable him to play several positions in college.

“The coaches who recruited him obviously like his frame,” and because of his speed they feel like he’s pretty versatile,” Weber explained. “They fell like he’ll play somewhere because he’s so big and athletic. That’s his big upside.”

Richardson was also one of only two two-way selections on the Class 5A East All-Stars chosen by the Oklahoma Football Coaches Association, and he joined Ada linebacker Cory Javernick on that squad.

Ada girls dominate Elgin at home

Ada — Taylor Howard scored a season-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures, and Ada broke open a tight game with a dominant second half in a 72-47 blowout of Elgin Friday night at the Cougar Activity Center.

With the win, the Lady Cougars will head into the holiday break a perfect 3-0 for the first time in Michelle Shannon’s three seasons as head coach. Shannon, a longtime assistant to former coach Jeff Maloy before taking over the girls program in 2006, said the 72 points -- which she believed to be the most scored by an Ada girls squad in at least five seasons -- were the result of her team’s aggressive play.

“We got to the free throw a lot more this time,” she explained after seeing the Lady Cougars hit an impressive 24-of-32 from the line. “We were shooting really well from the free throw line at the end of last season (which concluded with the team’s second trip to the Class 5A state tournament in three years), and that won us a lot of games.”

In the boys game, Ron Anderson’s young Cougars remained winless on the season, falling to Elgin, , in their first game without Colton Richardson (who quit the team earlier this month).

GIRLS

Ada 72, Elgin 47

Ada led just 27-21 at the break despite hitting 9-of-13 shots, but the Lady Cougars exploded for 45 second-half points, including 14 from Howard. Junior Katelyn Carter and sophomore Erin Walling had 11 points apiece and combined for 14 rebounds (eight by Walling), and Catie Newport had a career-high 10 points and added six rebounds (five of them offensive) for Ada in the victory.

“I think this was our best game of the season overall, because we had so many kids who were involved,” said Shannon, who emptied her bench midway through the fourth quarter and got scoring from nine different players. “Taylor really went off, and Katelyn Carter played her best game overall. Catie Newport has played really well defensively, and now she’s getting points added to that.

“These kids are just very coachable,” she added. “They listen, and that’s a big key.”

Ada committed just 10 turnovers in the game and had just two in the first half, and Elgin managed just three offensive rebounds.

Morgan Dye (17) and Kiara Pyfer (12) were in double figures for Elgin.

The Ada High wrestling program has made huge strides over the past couple of years, and second-year coach Kyle Bohannon hopes that by filling in some of the blanks that cost his team points last season, the Cougars can take an even bigger step forward this winter.