Media Day: Millwood Falcons

With a star-studded cast, the Falcons embark on a potential-laden 2010 season.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 5:42 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Aug 21, 2010 11:36 AM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – As Millwood assistant coach Kevin Cox stepped into CoachesAid.com and Oklahoma Sports First Look Media Day, it was easy to see he wasn’t alone. He was flanked by eight of his players – one more than the suggested amount of seven, but we were happy to oblige.

It’s appropriate consider the depth of talent at Millwood in 2010. The Falcons feature talent that jumps off the page. Division 1 talent can be found at nearly every skill position.

Quarterback Kevonte Richardson threw for 2,100 yards and 25 touchdowns a season ago. Running back Shevin Patterson is nothing short of explosive and will take the bulk of the carries. Wide receiver Brandon Swindall totaled 800 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago. In all, nine starters return to an offense that terrorized opponents last season en route to a 12-2 record.

And that’s just offense.

The state’s top prospect, Joshua Turner will lock down the defensive backfield and Larry Seals will look to improve on a 170-tackle season. Eight starters are back for the defense.

“The pressure is always on us,” said Cox. “We have all these great athletes. We know it takes more than having great athletes. You have to do the right thing on and off the field.”

Where players graduated, Cox feels the team has filled the gaps. Millwood oozes confidence and doesn’t care what the opposition thinks about it, as long as the team stays strong in its own areas of emphasis.

“We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing because we’ve been successful,” said the assistant coach. “We’re going to do the right things on the field. We’re going to protect the football.”

Still, the team understands the competition is nothing to take lightly.

“[Lincoln Christian is] the champs until someone knocks them off,” said Cox. “We’re coming after them.”

With a tough schedule planned, Cox is ready for – and expects – stiff competition every single week. “We have to be in mid-season form in week one,” he said. “There aren’t many 2A teams that have to do that.”

Turner added that his team excels despite the added challenges of being a smaller program than some of the state’s giants.

“Bigger schools, they only play one side of the ball,” said Turner. “We don’t get any breaks at all.”

And that’s fine by the Falcons. Each player at Media Day spoke of loving the Millwood tradition and appreciating his time on the field. Millwood’s players put tremendous weight on every game they play because they understand where the program has been and the sky-high expectations in the 2010 season.

“Every game is a championship to us,” said Turner. “That’s how we’re going to approach every game, every practice.

“We can compete with any team in Class 3A and above. We had the talent to do it then and [we do] now.”