The true test of the playoff season for Tonkawa’s Bucs comes this Friday night at unbeaten secondranked Colcord.The Bucs have played the Hornets twice since 1998. The most recent meeting came in 2018 when eventual State Champion Tonkawa beat Colcord in the first round of the playoffs 55-12.It was a different story in 1998, when an unbeaten 11-0 Buc team traveled to Colcord, but left a single point loser 12-13.Both teams are coming off impressive first round wins over fourth place district finishers. The Bucs beat Mounds 61-6. “It was a good way to finish at home,” Buc Head Coach Mike Kirtley said Sunday while preparing for this week’s match-up. “I thought we played with a bit of a chip on our shoulder which was good.”The Hornets were equally impressive, blanking Haskell 47-0. Kirtley said he expects Colcord to be in a 3-4 defense and a pro spread offense. “They’re very balanced,” he said, “and they’re more speedy than they are big, but they also have good size. They look a lot like Hominy.”So what do the Bucs need to do to win? “We can’t have any mistakes,” Kirtley said, “And we’ll have to play above our talents at this point in the season.”For the first time this season, MaxPreps moved Colcord above Tonkawa in the rankings this week. (See related story) The Tonkawa-Colcord winner will face the Ringling-Walters winner, most likely top-ranked, unbeaten Ringling.Unlike the past several years, the third round will be played on a neutral field like the semi-finals. So there’s no chance Tonkawa can host a third round game like they have in the past.
