Ramming to the Future

Future Sooner Stripling stayed true to Mayde Creek

VYPE Staff
Jan 23, 2019, 8:33 pm
Stripling averaged 3.8 tackles in his senior year. Via Vype

Originally Appeared on Vype

By signing his National Letter of Intent after donning a crimson "OKLAHOMA" cap on Early Signing Day on December 19, Marcus Stripling etched his name into Mayde Creek High football lore.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end picked the Sooners over LSU, Alabama and Texas A&M to become the fourth football player from Mayde Creek to sign with a Power 5 conference over the last 20 years.

"He means a lot. He brought a lot of attention," Mayde Creek head football coach Mike Rabe said. "While we've been here, we've progressively gotten a little bit better because football's gotten more important here because of his notoriety. Everybody sees he came from our feeder schools and he's made it to the next level. These guys believe they can do it now, too, and it just creates a whole different energy around your football team."

Making it to Oklahoma while wearing the green and white of the Rams made it more special for Stripling. Stripling said each of his 20 offers meant more and more as they came in because of where he's from.

"I want to set a platform for all my teammates and coaches here," Stripling said. "It shows they can do it themselves, too. It doesn't matter what school you go to, it can be done."

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SERIES PREVIEW

Astros vs. Rangers: It all comes down to this

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

PROBABLE STARTERS

Thurs, Sept. 24 - HOU: Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.33) vs. TEX: Lance Lynn (6-2, 2.53)

Fri, Sept. 25 - HOU: Jose Urquidy (1-1, 2.78) vs. TEX: Kyle Cody (1-1, 1.53)

Sat, Sept. 26 - HOU: TBD vs. TEX: Kyle Gibson (2-6, 5.87)

Sun, Sept. 27 - HOU: TBD vs. TEX: Jordan Lyles (1-5, 7.07)

STORYLINES

Season finale - The Astros will wrap up their regular season with their four game set in Arlington at the new Globe Life Field. Houston's magic number rests at two, as the Angels still have a puncher's chance. With Houston's miserable 8-20 road record, the postseason is anything but clinched.

Where's the offense? - The Astros offense has left a lot to be desired over the last few weeks, scoring more than three runs just twice in their last ten games. The bats really need to get going, especially if the team expects to do anything in the playoffs. George Springer has been the only reliable bat of late, with the performances of Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman, and, most of all, Jose Altuve, leaving a lot to be desired.

Playoff seeding - If the playoffs started today, the Astros would face off with their division rivals in Oakland. There's an infinite number of possibilities over the next four games, but the Astros can see themselves finish anywhere from the fifth seed to out of the playoffs entirely. Any of Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Oakland, Chicago, New York, and Cleveland could be first round foes depending on how the cards fall.

PREDICTION

Lance Lynn has been one of the better pitchers in the game for a few years now, Kyle Cody is an intriguing young arm with good stuff, and Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson gave the Astros fits in Houston just last week. It isn't a recipe for success for Houston. The Astros win 1 of 4, which combined with the Angels and Mariners failing to take care of business, is enough to get Houston into the playoffs.

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