Midnight Madness: Yukon

The Millers of Yukon put on full pads for the first time Friday morning for a midnight practice under the lights.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 5:41 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Aug 13, 2010 8:25 AM CDT

More high school football coverage on Oklahoma Sports.
- Midnight Madness: Edmond North | Yukon
- First Look: Putnam City | Putnam City North
- Oklahoma Sports Top 30
- For more team previews, visit our Countdown to Kickoff event.

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

YUKON, Oklahoma -- The Yukon football program sits at an intersection of what was and what will be.

Sure, every program is steeped in its own brand of history and tradition, but the Millers’ 100th football season will be the last at the old Miller Pride Stadium.

Next season, a state-of-the-art facility awaits, but for now, the team dawns its pads at the earliest time allowed by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association -- midnight Friday morning -- instilling a sense of pride that is certainly nothing new.

“The kids do a great job coming out here,” said head coach Todd Wilson. “They have a lot of enthusiasm. They’re excited about getting out here.”

Keeping the kids happy is one of several pluses for this red eye practice. Wilson also relishes the opportunity to get his players accustomed to those Friday night lights and to get them out of the triple-digit temperatures during the day.

“It’s been brutal for those kids in the middle of the day, but come back at midnight, it’s a little cooler and it’s different, so they enjoy it,” he said.

If the offense is anywhere near as expected for the Yukon Millers in 2010, this team will have even more fun. Quarterback Corben Jones is one of seven starters returning for the offense.

“Corben has a chance to be a good one,” said Wilson. “He works hard at what he does and he gets better every day -- that’s what you hope your quarterback does. He’s starting to show some good leadership skills.”

Add wide receivers Kollin Retter and Kaiden Horn to the equation and the Millers might just boast one of 6A’s most potent passing attacks this season.

That offensive attack will be necessary if Yukon wants to keep writing the latest chapter in its history. Wilson and company turned the page on 11 seasons without a playoff berth. In 2009, Yukon went 5-6, enough to earn a spot back in the dance. It served as a source of pride for the community.

This year, just getting there won’t be enough.

“The group we had the last couple years [has] worked hard,” said Wilson. “Last year, making the playoffs was good and it was exciting for our kids and our town, but finishing fourth, we opened with Jenks and [had a] first round exit. Hopefully we don’t do that again.”

With a new attitude and, soon, a new stadium which Wilson calls “as nice as anybody has in the state of Oklahoma,” same old, same old seems to be a thing of the past in Yukon.