After 30 years, Pirates win in final minute (2002-03-10)

By Mike Strain
The Oklahoman

STILLWATER -- Putnam City didn't take its first lead until the last minute.

But once the Pirates got ahead, they held on. And soon they were holding a gold trophy.

The Putnam City Pirates are the Class 6A boys state basketball champions.

As if winning their first state title in 30 years weren't dramatic enough, Putnam City beat second- ranked Tulsa Union in a 55-53 thriller before a crowd of about 5,500 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Putnam City trailed by 10 points late in the third quarter and didn't take its first lead until 49 seconds remained.

Then the Pirates had to hang on in the final frantic seconds, when Union had the ball with a chance to win or force overtime.

"Since we hadn't won one in 30 years, we had to make it as exciting as possible, so they'll remember it for 30 years," said Putnam City coach A.D. Burtschi.

The championship is Putnam City's first since 1972, when Alvan Adams led the Pirates to a 26-0 season. These Pirates finished 27-1, losing only to a St. Louis-area team in an out-of-state tournament.

Putnam City's championship comes a year after the disappointment of losing in the title game to Midwest City.

"We've been working for two years," said junior forward Keith Smith, who scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. "We finally got it."

Putnam City led 55-53 with 4.8 seconds left, but Union had the ball on an in- bounds play under its own basket. John Tarbell got the ball and was defended closely by several Pirates. The ball was knocked loose and there was a scramble on the floor as the horn sounded.

Putnam City's players peeled off their shirts in celebration as they ran in front of a rowdy student section.

"We did it! We did it!" junior guard Jacob Burtschi shouted to the crowd. "We're No. 1! We're No. 1!"

For the longest time, it appeared there would be no celebration. Putnam City trailed 49-39 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.

But Union went 5:15 without a point as Putnam City went on a run to tie the game at 49.

The Pirates took their first lead when Smith made a layup and was fouled with 49 seconds left. His ensuing free throw put Putnam City ahead 54-53.

On Union's next possession, the Redskins had a chance for a point-blank layup. But Jacob Burtschi blocked Jarvis Chatmon's shot, and Marques Hayden fought off several players to control the ball in a scramble of players on the floor. Putnam City called time-out while Hayden held the ball on the court.

Smith then hit a free throw with 17.7 seconds left for the final point of the game.

Tulsa Union (25-3) was led by Alan Daniels' 15 points. Clent Stewart scored 14.

"We just didn't hit some shots," said Tulsa Union coach Rudy Garcia. "It's kind of hard to shoot when you're getting fouled.

"They hit some shots and we didn't. They made some plays, and we didn't."

Marques Hayden scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Putnam City.

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The Original returns to the days of yore (2002-10-25)

By Mike Strain
The Oklahoman

THIS is how the final day of a dynasty looks.

A coach riding on his players' shoulders, championship trophy in hand. An overflow crowd packing a stately stadium. An unforgettable game from which people recall exact details like it was Friday night, even though it was a quarter-century ago.

"It was just really a defining, thrilling moment," said coach Jerry Potter, the man riding the players' shoulders the night Putnam City won in its third state football championship in four years. "It's a great memory."

But that was 1977, and the end of the dynasty that was Putnam City football. A 21-14 overtime win against Putnam City West for the Class 4A state championship.

"To me, that's still the finest football game I've ever seen," said Putnam City principal Vernon Belcher, a junior high coach in the district in those days. "It's still the game of the century to me. It was the high school comparison of OU-Nebraska, 1971. And I was at that game, too."

That December day in 1977 was the final huge moment for the school that produced Steve Largent and Pat Ryan and Kelly Phelps and the Vann brothers and a slew of other players that made Putnam City resemble the high school football powerhouse we know so well today -- Jenks.

Other good years followed for Putnam City. But playoff appearances dwindled. And no more championships. The dynasty survived one school split. It didn't survive two.

For most of the last 25 years, there's been little to celebrate in Putnam City football.

Until now. The Pirates are winning games at a clip unseen since those glory days of decades ago.

The best since ...

It's been so long since Putnam City was good, even its current players don't realize what the school once had.

"This is the best we've been in a while, right?" senior defensive end Brandon Thompson tentatively asked, knowing his school once had something special but not knowing exactly what.

Here's what: Putnam City won state championships in 1974, 1975 and 1977. The Pirates produced NFL stars and college recruits. They went through a school split -- the ransacker of dynasties -- and never slowed down. They were the Jenks of the '70s.

Upon hearing that, Marcico Petties, the quick senior running back who's helped the Pirates become the top-scoring team in Class 6A, chuckled.

"I really had no idea they were that good," said Petties, who has combined with running back Travis West for 22 touchdowns.

But that's how good Putnam City was. When the Pirates had a big game -- like against Midwest City or Putnam West -- crowds were huge.

But fan support dwindled as the team slipped into decline in the 1980s. In recent years Putnam City has become known as a basketball power, winning the Class 6A state title last year and rekindling memories of the glorious undefeated run to a championship in 1972.

The basketball success was the talk of the hallways. Thompson, who along with leading tackler Ryan Henderson has helped the Pirates to four shutouts, always figured his was a basketball school.

"I didn't really see much football stuff" at the school, Thompson said. "There's a lot of basketball stuff.

"When I got to Putnam City, football was a joke here for quite some time."

But football talk is coming back, and so are crowds. About 7,000 showed up for a Thursday night game against Westmoore a few weeks ago. Winning brings them back. Potter was there, his first trip to a Putnam City game in about 20 years, although he's followed the Pirates and "always had them in the back of my heart and wanted them to do well."

Putnam City lost the Westmoore game, but the Pirates are 6-1. The school that made the playoffs just once since 1983 is ranked eighth in Class 6A with three games remaining -- including a big one next week against rival Putnam City North. A district championship remains a possibility.
Coach Jim Burton has been the man behind the success. Plenty will say so, even if Burton won't. Burton says an excellent group of assistants, especially Mark Little, have been key. And talented, hard- working players are vital.

But this coach, a veteran of 37 years who's sheepish when he talks about the many moves of his career, has been a huge factor in the turnaround.

Burton made five head- coaching stops in the '70s, including being the first coach in Deer Creek's and Heritage Hall's history. He's been head coach at Northwest Classen and Bishop McGuinness, his alma- mater. He went to Arizona for a successful stint before returning to McGuinness as an assistant in the 1990s. He thought he was done as a head coach when the Putnam City job opened.

"I swore I'd never be a head coach again," Burton said.

But he took the job. And Belcher, the school principal, has high praise for his coach, who also has support from players. Thompson said Burton has changed attitudes. Work ethics are stronger. No longer do players show up just when they want during off-season training. Workouts are an expectation, winning an attitude.

Players who didn't want to be part of that were rooted out by Burton, said Thompson, who was a freshman the year before Burton arrived.

"It was nothing like it is now," Thompson said.

What it is now is the best start to a season since the days Kelly Phelps was quarterback, and the Pirates were winning their third championship in four years.

Point of pride

Phelps was in an ambulance in the fourth quarter the night of Putnam City's final championship.

He didn't see the dramatic overtime ending, when Terry Johnson intercepted Putnam West quarterback Scott Tinsley's overtime pass in the end zone to give Putnam City the championship. He didn't see backup quarterback Fred Donley toss an overtime touchdown to Tracy Hinkle to take the lead.

Phelps, who went on to become a starting quarterback at OU, left that game with broken ribs. And he hasn't been back to Taft Stadium until last week, when Putnam City routed Northwest Classen 69-0.

School pride still runs strong for Phelps, whose oldest daughter is a senior cheerleader at Putnam City, and his younger daughter a freshman softball player at the school. Phelps likes his old letter jacket -- the one with the championship patches and the one that makes his girls cringe when he wears it. And he likes the sudden success of his old school.

"It gives you some pride ...," Phelps said. "I enjoy them winning."

But after 1977, the winning slowed.

Putnam City withstood the first school split, which created Putnam City West --itself was a powerhouse throughout the '70s and early '80s under coach Mike Little. But Putnam City didn't withstand the split that created Putnam City North, which started football in 1978.

"It just kind of went downhill," said Jack Pebworth, an assistant under Potter and the head coach at Putnam City after Potter retired following the '77 season. "We just didn't have as many players."

Good players headed into North's district, where new housing additions went up and Putnam City success went down. In Pebworth's seven years, the Pirates made the playoffs five times but won only once -- far from the glory under Potter, who coached 13 seasons and went 107-28-6. Pebworth took the heat and was forced out, although he later proved to be a good coach, leading Carl Albert to a state championship in 1993.

Three more coaches came and went before Burton arrived. He led Putnam City to a 2-8 record two years ago and 5-5 last season. And after just seven weeks this season, Putnam City already has its most wins since 1995.

But this year is far from over, and Burton knows it. Goals remain unachieved. The 6-1 start hasn't qualified his team for the playoffs, Burton points out.

But maybe this is how the first days of a dynasty look.