JAN. 24 -- Big games and big plays call for big players, and they don't come much bigger than Paul Pewitt senior Melvin McGary. The play McGary made with time running out in the Brahmas' 26-24 win over Brookshire Royal in the Class 2A Division I Texas Bowl will likely go down as the biggest play in the storied history of the Paul Pewitt football program.
McGary, a 6-3, 370-pound noseguard, turned in a spectacular regular season and was instrumental in Paul Pewitt's four playoff wins leading up to the state title game.
His performance against Brookshire Royal - especially the final play of his high school career - iced the victory for the Brahmas and sealed McGary's status as defensive player of the year on the Longview News-Journal's 1998 All-East Texas Football Team.
''Winners come around when the chips are down, and Melvin is a winner,'' Paul Pewitt head coach Ronnie Bickham said of McGary.
Bickham said McGary, who finished the season with 102 tackles (64 solos), wasn't often challenged during district play when the Brahmas outscored five league opponents by a combined total of 278-28. When the playoffs rolled around, however, the senior standout turned things up a notch.
''Against some of our district opponents Melvin didn't have to play at the top of his game, so you might think he was just another big kid out there on the field,'' Bickham said. ''But Melvin knew when it was time to step it up.
Against Boyd (regional finals), they had an offensive line that went 315, 285, 260 and 260. They were double-teaming Melvin, but he just kept pushing people around.
In the state title game when the chips were down, we told him he needed to have a great second half. He finished with 14 tackles.'' None loomed larger than his final tackle, a sack of Brookshire Royal quarterback Ivan Vaughn on a two-point conversion attempt after Brookshire Royal had scored to make it a 26-24 contest with 1:14 showing on the clock.
''Coach Bickham told us if we didn't want to go into overtime, we had to stop the two-point conversion,'' McGary said. ''I was too tired to go into overtime.''
McGary was a three-year starter and four-year letterman for the Brahmas. He recorded 76 tackles and earned all-district honors as a sophomore and added 105 tackles (79 solos) to earn all-district, All-Northeast Texas and third-team all-state honors as a junior.
His 102 tackles this season were particularly impressive considering not many teams attempted to run directly at a 370-pound noseguard who bench presses 365 pounds, squats 630 pounds and deadlifts 585 pounds. Equally as impressive were the 15 forced fumbles McGary recorded.
''Melvin made plays all over the field,'' Bickham said. ''It wasn't just the number of tackles, but the punishment he brought with them. He's a good-natured kid, but when Melvin tackled someone he wanted them to remember that No. 78 had been there.''
Several colleges have shown interest in McGary, but for now the Paul Pewitt senior has turned his attention toward defending the state powerlifting championship he won in the heavyweight division last spring.
BRYAN, Texas-Three members of Paul Pewitt's Class 2A, Division I state championship team, have been named to the Texas Sports Writers Association all-state team that was released Wednesday.
Bulls' players honored were running back Kenny Boyd, defensive lineman Melvin McGary and linebacker Jimmy Wilkerson were recognized as first-team members and McGary was named co-defensive player of the year.
Brookshire-Royal running back Thomas Tarver, who rushed for 3,323 yards and 43 touchdowns last season, was selected the TSWA's offensive player of the year. Tarver, who led his team to the Division I state championship game, is the 13th player in state history to top 3,000 yards in a season.
McGary and Royal defensive back Joseph Davis shared honors as the top 2A defensive players. McGary had 102 tackles and forced 15 fumbles. Davis had 176 tackles and five interceptions.
Pewitt's Ron Bickham was named Coach of the Year and Bulls' tight end Hercules Tarver was named to the second team offense.
Story last updated at 12:14 a.m. on Sunday, August 13, 2000
New freshmen make coaches bubble with excitement
By Al Eschbach
It didn't take long for the Oklahoma coaching staff to get pumped with the new guys on campus. When freshmen reported for summer drills, you could detect a sense of excitement. Most of the recruits were on campus this summer going through unofficial drills. When things officially got under way this past week, you heard nothing but good things that were talked about with this recruiting class that was nationally ranked in the top 20 by most recruiting experts.
"It's as good or better than we thought it would be," co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "When we signed these players, we knew they were special, but sometimes you take things for granted. When you see them on the field, you know they are the real deal."
The biggest disappointed with the class is that four didn't make the grades and didn't qualify academically. It was a given that linebacker Charles Dupree of Oklahoma City Millwood and running back Rudy Wells of Linden,Texas, wouldn't qualify. The OU staff knew that was a long shot when it signed them to letters of intent.
However the same can't be said about running back Jerald Estes of Wichita Falls, Texas, and defensive lineman Jammal Brown of Lawton MacArthur. The Sooners thought both would make the grade.
Brown is on campus now and he's drawing rave reviews. He can't play this year, but can practice and will have at least three years of eligibility. Oklahoma has designated this talented athlete as its partial qualifier this year.
Estes wasn't a top 20 player in the state of Texas as a high school senior, but the Sooners definitely think he should've been. He was one of the top sprinters in that state the past two years.
"He's the type of player who could play on Sunday some day," one OU source said. "He's that good. We definitely don't want to have to go through the process of re-recruiting him out of junior college. We don't want to take the chance that we will lose him."
So what it appears Estes will do is enroll as a part-time student at OU and will keep on taking the ACT. He barely missed qualifying and believes he will be able to pass the test this time around. If he does pass the test, he'll be able to go through spring football practice and will have four years of eligibility remaining. It's the same thing Oklahoma basketball star Eduardo Najera did coming out of high school. If this formula does work, there'll be no need in sending this speedy running back to a junior college.
What freshman may play right away? Two linebackers are getting a lot of attention -- Teddy Lehman of Fort Gibson and Jimmy Wilkerson of Omaha, Texas. They've raised a lot of eyebrows. In fact, one OU insider boldly predicted, "These two guys are our linebackers of the future. They both are very special players. They are big, strong and fast." Both Lehman and Wilkerson will get a chance to contribute as freshmen because the Sooners are so thin at linebacker.
The coaching staff has liked what its seen from the receiving corps of Ardmore's Ataleo Ford, Antonio Perkins of Lawton High and Will Peoples of Humble, Texas. Since OU is deep at this position, it could redshirt all three of these players.
Another player who has a chance to make an impact as a freshman is running back Renaldo Works of Tulsa Washington. This is another position in which there's little depth. Works has been impressive in both the official and unoffical workouts. He could be a second-teammer this year.
A defensive back whom the coaches think has a great future is Darren Stephens of Lewisville, Texas. This 6-3, 185-pounder was a highly recruited athlete who picked OU over Ohio State.
"What I have seen from him early is he can be something very special for us as a safety," Mike Stoops said. "He's a very gifted athlete with outstanding work habits. He's been impressive."
Wes Sims is yet another player who could help as a freshman. The Sooners would love to redshirt the big guy from Weatherford. It's difficult for offensive linemen to play right away, but OU may be forced to get him on the field because of lack of depth on the line.
The sleeper of the group? How about Ada's Dan Cody.
Sooner fans didn't get excited when this 6-4, 240-pounder committed to OU last September. He was an unheralded player. He played numerous positions in high school. He has gotten bigger and bigger in the offseason. He was recruited as a tight end, but now is drawing accolades as a defensive end.
That's an early report card on this recruiting class. Anything can happen over the next four years, but at this moment Bob Stoops is extremely excited from the early impression he has received.