Bowler danced into the north end zone and scored the Webster football program’s first touchdown in 45 months. Bowler also converted a 2-point run to give the Warriors an 8-0 overtime win over Memorial.

In the 2020 season, Webster went winless in seven games and posted a 369-81 record. After three seasons on ice, the Warrior varsity program is back in business with an extremely young team and a 31-year-old head coach – Everett Davis – who has the energy of a 21-year-old.

Webster brought a 38-player team to Midtown Tulsa. There are more ninth-graders (13) than seniors (11), but these ninth-graders could make it big. As eighth-graders, they finished last season with a 6-2 record. Their success was a factor in TPS’s decision to revive college football at the 88-year-old Daniel Webster High School in west Tulsa.

Memorial’s offensive possession in overtime ended when one of Webster’s more interesting freshmen, safety Khalil Stoker, intercepted a pass in the end zone. His twin brother, Jeremiah, is also a freshman and plays the other safety position.

DeRoin is a sophomore and Davis is excited about his potential.

“I’m not just saying this because he’s my quarterback,” Davis declared, “but Jordan is perhaps the best quarterback (among all TPS QBs) and I let him run the halls at Webster.”

Davis himself graduated from Webster University in 2011 and has been a coach and physical education teacher at his alma mater for three years now. He secured the position as head coach in part because he had coached the Warriors’ successful eighth-graders and has a strong bond with that group of players.

“Since we’ve been back in school,” Davis said, “some (more) kids are saying they want to play football. We only have 45 helmets.”

TPS’s original plan was for Webster to play an independent varsity game this year. The Warriors were not scheduled to play in an Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association district, but they were scheduled to get 10 weeks of game practice.

When the OSSAA redistricted football teams in May, a door opened for Webster in District 4 of the new Class 2AI. This district also includes Central, Sperry and Metro Christian.

“We need to get to a district. We need to play games that really matter,” Davis said. “It was tough calling those coaches and canceling the 10 games we had scheduled, but I was so glad we didn’t have to wait until (2025) to get to a district. We’re looking forward to playing games that really matter.”

The Warriors open their regular season next Thursday, playing Hale at East Central Stadium. Webster visits McLain on Sept. 13 and hosts Perkins on Sept. 20 at Milton Stadium. District play begins with a showdown Sept. 27 at Central.

Davis feels a connection to the Stoker twins because in 2007 he was what they are today – a Webster freshman and a receiver/defensive back who became a four-year starter when the Warriors were in Class 4A. Davis also competed in the sprints for the Warrior track and field team.

Each of the Stoker brothers is a receiver and a defensive back, and both will be members of the Warriors’ basketball and track teams.

“At those track meets in eighth grade, I just stood there with my arms crossed,” Davis said. “I thought, ‘Yeah, I have the fastest guys here.'”

Now that Webster football is resuming at the collegiate level, so too is the attempt to end one of Oklahoma’s painfully long postseason absences. No Warrior team has qualified for the playoffs since 1996.

However, as a bold and energetic head coach in his first year, Davis does not seem intimidated by Webster’s unsuccessful history.

“I think we have the athletes to make the playoffs,” Davis said. “I can see us going 5-5 or maybe 6-4, and I can see us making the playoffs. That would be very valuable for our kids and our school.”