Bethany coach Jon Arthur has been pleased with his defense, even through a brutal non-district stretch to start the season.

“They’ve really played great all year,” Arthur said after the Bronchos’ 10-7 win over Woodward last Friday (Sept. 25).

“And even against the (teams like the) ’85 Bears that we played the first couple weeks of the season, I mean, they really held their own in those weeks and kind of got worn down,” Arthur said with a smile and maybe a slight exaggeration about the tough slate.

Against Woodward, senior Mitchell Pace led the team with 13 tackles. Junior Collin Knudsen added 10 tackles and had one tackle for a loss. Senior Tristan Garrett, junior Xzavier McGee, junior Pierson Anderson, senior Mattix Wright and junior Jake Plummer each had a tackle for loss.

Outside of a blown coverage in the secondary on Woodward’s lone score, the Bethany defense was stout last week.

“Really, they’ve played phenomenal all year and just gotten so much better every week, stopping the run.”

He praised his cornerbacks, including senior Deacon Howell, junior Cruz Burleson and senior Troy Brooks.

Howell had an interception in the win.

KICKER’S STRENGTH

Arthur said having a kicker with plenty of leg like Broncho senior kicker Cody Martin can help his offense.

“It’s huge because it gives you some freedom on third downs and maybe not have to press quite as hard on third down,” Arthur said. “You can call something, maybe it gets you into the fourth-and-2, and then you can make it a — you don’t have to just go for it every time, which are usually low-percentage stuff.”

Martin booted the 48-yard game-winning field goal last week against the Boomers.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Bethany quarterback Brody McLaren connected with six receivers for 78 yards last week. Senior Cooper Willis had a 19-yard catch. Freshman Gunner Chesney had two catches for 16 yards. Senior Eli Mars followed with a 15-yard grab.
• Martin also had two touchbacks on kickoffs against Woodward.
• McLaren, who also punts for Bethany, had five kicks for 168 yards. That included a 46-yard punt.

UP NEXT

The Bronchos travel to Cache Friday (Oct. 2) at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs (4-1, 1-1) dominated the second half in a 27-21 win over Elk City last Friday (Sept. 25). Cache has non-district wins over 5A schools Noble, Duncan and Altus but they were throttled by 5A Elgin (last year’s 4A runner-up).

Cache has a young quarterback in sophomore Kason Puletasi. One of his targets is senior Tucker Smith, who had a touchdown catch and and a big interception in the Duncan game.

“I know they’ve got a couple guys that are tough to defend on the offensive side, good receivers,” Arthur said. “They always do a great job on the defensive side, just being solid.”

“Bethany should be a good fit for our defense,” Cache coach Tanner Thompson told the Lawton Constitution. “They are more of a spread offense which should be a chance for us to have some good matchups.”

The Bronchos won’t return home until the Oct. 30 contest against Douglass. After Cache, Bethany has a bye week followed by road matchups with Weatherford and Clinton.

Updated September 25, 2026 at 11:00 PM

2026 BETHANY FOOTBALL

HOME GAMES in bold

* District game

Updated September 25, 2026 at 11:00 PM

2026 CACHE FOOTBALL

HOME GAMES in bold

* District game

Updated September 25, 2026 at 11:00 PM

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.