Friday Night Lights: How Bixby became king of Oklahoma high school football

TULSA — Music boomed and football players went from one drill to another as more than 21,000 fans poured into the University of Tulsa’s H.A. Chapman Stadium last month. 

With an atmosphere like a mini OU-Texas, Bixby’s royal blue and red was on one side, while Owasso’s red filled the other. 

For the first time in more than a decade, the schools located in the suburbs of Tulsa were facing off. 

Pride was on the line. Emotions were high. 

Deservedly so.   

Bixby entered the game on a 49-game win streak as it was making its debut in Class 6A-I, while Owasso has solidified itself as one of the top powers in the classification in recent years.  

More:Oklahoma high school football roundup: Scores, stats, highlights from Week 4

The matchup lived up to its billing in the first half, and Bixby clung to a 14-7 lead at the break.  

Everything changed after that.  

As it has done countless times during its record win streak, Bixby wore down its opponent in the second half as it pulled away for a 49-14 victory.  

As district play gets underway in Oklahoma high school football this week, one thing is clear — Bixby remains the team to beat. The Spartans travel to play Norman North on Friday in their first of two trips to the Oklahoma City metro in the regular season and have become a seemingly unstoppable power. But how? 

The school has the lowest enrollment numbers in Class 6A-I with an average daily membership of 1,981 students. It also doesn’t have the best facilities. Going from a rural school to powerhouse takes dedication, and the Spartans have arguably the most physical and well-conditioned players in the state. Loren Montgomery, Bixby’s head coach since 2010, knew he’d need a great strength and conditioning program when he took over. Bixby has that now, and it’s one of the main reasons for its dominance.   

"This is going to sound crazy, but our kids and our coaches all believe in lifting weights and working really hard,” Montgomery said. “And we do it year-round. I know everybody lifts weights. But our kids really believe that that's their winning edge, and our coaches believe it.  

“Our coaches can coach it, and we do it year-round. So, if I had to pick one thing, probably the best thing that we do — that's what I would say."  

More:'We love the Big 12': Set for WVU, Norman North's Katie Kolar follows family's unique path

Bixby hadn’t won a football state title when Montgomery took over after serving as an assistant under legendary coach Allan Trimble at Jenks.  

It took a little while before the Montgomery-led Spartans started having success.  

They went 18-25 in his first four years. Then, Class 6A split into two divisions. That marked the beginning of Bixby’s dominance.  

The Spartans won their first Class 6A-II title in 2014. They claimed six other championships since, with 2017 being the only outlier. 

Bixby’s strength and conditioning program has certainly played a vital role.   

"I was offensive coordinator, offensive line (coach) and I did the strength when I was over at Jenks, and I knew that was going to be something that I always believed in,” said Montgomery, who played at Sand Springs High School and Northeastern State University.  

“I was an offensive lineman, so I knew it was going to be the centerpiece for our program here. We weren't really good at football when we first got here. Lifting weights was something we could get good at."  

More:What we learned from Week 3 high school football action across Oklahoma

Connor Myers recently arrived at Bixby as the strength and conditioning coach following a four-year stint at Edmond Memorial, his alma mater.

Immediately, the former defensive lineman at Weber State noticed a difference in Bixby's program.

“I think the biggest difference is our consistency in it,” Myers said. “We lift probably 46 weeks out of the year. We’re going to lift. Coach Montgomery has done a fantastic job of really emphasizing that part of our program.  

“We don’t cut out weights for meeting time. We cut out meeting time for weights. They do a great job of time management and getting what they need to get done to make this a priority.”  

Myers doesn’t just work with high school football players. He leads athletes in all sports, from grade school through high school.  

“We start them young and teach them young,” Myers said. “That’s kind of our process.”  

Myers teaches the elementary school kids basic bodyweight movements and puts them through workouts.  

Bixby has programs in the spring and summer for kids in grade school through high school.  

Bixby athletes start lifting weights in seventh grade and can do it at the high school as a class.  

“By the time they hit high school, the idea is they’ve already been in the weight room and can fundamentally do everything we ask of them when they’re freshmen,” Myers said.  

More:The Oklahoman’s top 10 high school football games of Week 4

The strength program has helped produce some special players, including Brennan and Braylin Presley, Brendon Evers, Jordan Reagan, Ethan Hall and Bryce Bray, among others. 

The Presley brothers, now at Oklahoma State, were both named The Oklahoman’s All-State Offensive Player of the Year during their time at Bixby.  

Brennan won it in 2019, while Braylin claimed the award in 2020 and 2021.  

For Braylin, the strength program played a big role in his success.  

“To me personally, I think it’s one of the best in the state,” he said. “They have different classes and different times you can go in there and just lift and get your body right. They really help to hit your body right, get ready to perform on a weekly basis.”  

Brennan learned things at Bixby that still benefit him. 

“I think it’s the way they attack things,” he said. “I won three there and you celebrate for that week after until you go on Christmas break.” 

Once they get back, they start working right away. 

“You win, and it’s almost like they’re obsessed,” Brennan said. 

Bixby is always looking for ways to improve. The Spartans are never satisfied. 

More:Madilynn Peters had broken spine. Now, she's standing out for Edmond Santa Fe softball.

“They always wanna do more,” Brennan said. “If they’re winning by 10, they wanna win by 20. I think it’s a way to prepare, the way they mentally get you ready with weights and conditioning and the discipline and toughness. That’s what they preach at OSU and that’s also what they preach at Bixby. If you don’t have discipline, then you won’t have a lot of things in life.”  

The top college recruit for Bixby this year is Arkansas commit Luke Hasz. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end is No. 1 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list of the state’s top prospects in the 2023 class.   

He didn’t play high school football until his sophomore season but quickly developed into a star for the Spartans, who are ranked No. 1 in Class 6A-I and have won an Oklahoma 11-man record 52 straight games as they chase their eighth state championship.

They’ve shown they can beat the state's best and have won four of their past five matchups against two-time defending Class 6A-I champion Jenks.

Bixby doesn't expect to slow down just because it is in a new classification.

“Being in the program, it’s not really hard if you just listen to what the coaches say, buy into it,” Hasz said after Bixby’s win against Owasso. “Once we get everyone to buy in, that’s when we do stuff like we did tonight.”  

Reporter Nick Sardis covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nick_sardis. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe or by using the link at the top of this page.