No Father's Son

[redsox907]

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Sooners Stick It To Heupel With Second Half Explosion As Tempers Flare Post Game

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Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: October 26th, 2029

For the first two quarters of this heavyweight clash, both the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and 14th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners looked evenly matched, trading physical defense and explosive plays equally as the Sooners took a narrow 14-10 lead into the half. But when the teams retook the field out of the break, the Oklahoma Sooners hit a different gear, leaving the Vols in the dust with a 42-point second half in the eventual 56-24 rout.

The second half couldn't have started worse for the visiting Volunteers. A quick three-and-out on their opening possession quickly turned into a Sooners' touchdown when Oscar Robledo walked in from six yards out. Three plays later on their ensuing drive, Deuce Knight overthrew Pat Addison on a crossing route and after fellow safety Tiquan Middlebrooks tipped the pass in the area, DeMarco Slayton came down with the ball. Oscar Robledo would quickly punish the Volunteers' defense, dashing 69 yards on the next play to put the Volunteers in a sudden 28-10 hole.

The Volunteers would score back-to-back touchdowns after the interception, including a 71-yard bomb to Caleb Hawkins who simply outpaced his man to the ball, but it would be for naught as Oklahoma matched their scores, and then some.

Things got heated late in the 4th quarter when Armando Leon kept his starters in, despite being up 49-24, and let Cole Welliver uncork his third touchdown pass with a 22-yard post to Elijah Thomas with just one minute left. The emotions boiled over postgame when Josh Heupel and Armando Leon had to be separated after both coaches got vocal while still actively engaged in the customary handshake.

After the game, Coach Leon didn't mince words about the altercation or his team's killer mentality in the second half.


•••


Question One - James McDavid (OU Daily): "Coach, there was a pretty big dustup between yourself and Josh Heupel after the game. Can you divulge what was said in that heated conversation, or at the very least pull the curtain back on what sparked such an animated exchange of words?"

Armando Leon: "Before we'd even locked hands he was already yelling about how 'cute' it was throwing the post to Elijah that late in the game. I told him I figured since he was at such a 'premier' program he should have no problem stopping our offense. And things kind of escalated from there. I'm not going to sit up here and try and gaslight you guys with some hyperbole that we were playing until the last whistle BS. He disrespected me and this program with his comments and we wanted to remind him just how much culture and prestige we have over here. 'Cause where I'm from, you want to talk like he did you sure as hell better come out and take some souls on the field. He didn't; we did. If Josh or anyone else wants to be upset about that, no sweat off my back. We settled our business between the lines, he was the one who escalated it after."

Question Two - Brent Edmond (The Daily Beacon): "Despite only putting up 24 points, Deuce Knight and the Volunteers offense were able to find yardage in heaps at times in the contest. What do you need to tighten up defensively to keep those chunk plays from happening?"

Armando Leon: "Hats off to Knight, Kirkendoll, and the whole Vols offense, they took it to us at times. We've got to be more disciplined with our path to the ball to keep those big plays from happening. Too often we overcommitted and found ourselves chasing our tails as they ran past us. But, this is what we ultimately wanted with the Volunteers, to live and die by the big play. Our thought process was they'd die more than they lived and that proved true tonight. All of their scoring drives came with the benefit of a big play, but they also punted four times, had a turnover, two failed 4th-down conversions, and a missed field goal. So, when they weren't getting those chunk plays they were struggling to find any real estate and ultimately, that was the goal. You'd have liked to see a few fewer booms, but you can't stop them all."

Question Three - Meg Semental (SEC Network): "Cole Welliver has exactly zero rushing touchdowns in his career and notched his first tonight on a 1-yard dive early in the 4th quarter. Is that a play we might see the Sooners utilize a little bit more down the stretch, or was that a one-off based on the look the Vols had on the line?"

Armando Leon: "I don't think it's a slight on Cole to say he isn't the most fleet of foot, Meg. But, at 6'7" he just has to fall forward to gain a yard, so that was essentially the play call. I asked him if he felt comfortable and he was raring to get his first rushing touchdown. So, we snapped the ball and he kind of just found space to fall forward between the linemen and you saw the result. I don't know how consistent we're going to call that play, but when you've got a guy who can just fall from his stance and get you the yardage, it would seem foolish not to utilize it in certain situations."


•••


Before we get to the Heupel drama...I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR TWO YEARS NOW. Why haven't we called more QB sneaks with Cole when the dude is a literal GIANT out there?! I'm glad someone finally made me look like a genius calling that play, cause I swear on my mother every time we've faced a 3rd-or-4th-and-inches I've literally SCREAMED for the Cole Welliver sneak.

Now that a team has seen it, I'm not sure how useful it will be, because he isn't going to do SQUAT after he leans forward to get any more of a push. But I digress.

I'm split on this Heupel drama. I get he slighted the Sooners earlier this week, but if you read the whole interview he was kind of put between a rock and a hard place. A local Knoxville radio station was interviewing him as a hype piece before the game and he was put on the spot with a question that I'm told was supposed to be off the table. So, he answered honestly in the spur of the moment.

Does that mean I didn't take offense to the statement? Of course not. But at the same time, what is he supposed to say? That he really only stayed in Tennessee for the money? C'mon now. I get Leon defending his pride and the team he inherited, but embarrassing a former Sooner National Champion on the same field he used to play on just doesn't sit right with me.

I'm still rolling with Leon, but I can't fully take his side in this beef.

Hurt feelings aside, the Oklahoma Sooners are rolling into their late-season bye week at 8-1 with all the momentum in the world after notching their fourth-ranked win of the 2029 campaign.

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Tennessee	10	0	14	0	24
Oklahoma	7	7	21	21	56

Q	Team	Time	Play	Tennessee	Oklahoma
1st	Oklahoma	4:00	Iosefa Topa, 3 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver	0	7
1st	Tennessee	3:30	Brian Rowe Jr, 73 Yd Pass From Deuce Knight	7	7
1st	Tennessee	0:35	Dominick Williams, 50 Yd FG	10	7
2nd	Oklahoma	6:13	Oscar Robledo, 1 Yd Run	10	14
3rd	Oklahoma	7:45	Oscar Robledo, 6 Yd Run	10	21
3rd	Oklahoma	6:48	Oscar Robledo, 69 Yd Run	10	28
3rd	Tennessee	4:56	Richard Gammon, 1 Yd Run	17	28
3rd	Oklahoma	3:28	Iosefa Topa, 16 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver	17	35
3rd	Tennessee	3:04	Caleb Hawkins, 71 Yd Pass From Deuce Knight	24	35
4th	Oklahoma	7:23	Cole Welliver, 1 Yd Run	24	42
4th	Oklahoma	2:13	Terrance Butcher, 4 Yd Run	24	49
4th	Oklahoma	1:04	Elijah Thomas, 22 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver	24	56

Tennessee                                                        Oklahoma

Passing               | Stats                                    Passing            | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Deuce Knight          | 18/31, 284 Yds, 2 TD, INT                Cole Welliver      | 25/39, 280 Yds, 3 TD, INT

Rushing               | Stats                                    Rushing            | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Alexander Kirkendoll  | 18 Att, 110 Yds                          Oscar Robledo      | 17 Att, 215 Yds, 3 TD
Richard Gammon        | 5 Att, 26 Yds, TD                        Terrance Butcher   | 11 Att, 95 Yds, TD

Receiving             | Stats                                    Receiving          | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Caleb Hawkins         | 6 Rec, 126 Yds, TD                       Trynae Washington  | 7 Rec, 108 Yds
Pat Addison           | 5 Rec, 37 Yds                            Iosefa Topa        | 5 Rec, 44 Yds, 2 TD
Brian Rowe Jr         | 2 Rec, 81 Yds, TD                        Elijah Thomas      | 4 Rec, 38 Yds, TD

Defensive             | Stats                                    Defensive          | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
SS Carson Lawrence    | 16 Tkl                                  FS Nathan Tilmon    | 16 Tkl, TFL
MLB Brenden Anes      | 8 Tkl, INT                              SS DeMarco Slayton  | 6 Tkl, 3 TFL, INT
DT Larry Dingle       | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack                      DT Karlos Vigil     | 3 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack

SEC Week Nine Results
34 Kentucky (4-4) @ #23 Alabama (6-2) 17
45 #7 Texas A&M (6-2) @ Arkansas (4-5) 22
27 LSU (5-4) @ South Carolina (6-2) 28
35 #11 Missouri (6-3) @ Clemson (3-5) 21
42 Florida (6-3) @ Mississippi State (3-6) 52
56 #1 Georgia (8-1) @ Vanderbilt (3-5) 21
54 Texas (4-5) @ Ole Miss (5-3) 28

Notable Week Nine Results
49 Nebraska (2-6) @ #6 Maryland (7-1) 51
26 #19 Duke (5-3) @ #17 Cal (6-2) 28
14 Wake Forest (7-2) @ #2 Miami (7-1) 28

Additional Media

► Show Spoiler

[djp73]

Run it up. Fuck em if they don’t like it

[Soapy]

Leon returning to his thuggish ways

[Caesar]

Now when National Championship Winning Head Coach Derek Lawson does this, it's a problem.

[James]

All that shit talk and I thought you was going to get beat. Luckily you had them at home. That helped a lot.

[redsox907]

Run it up. Fuck em if they don’t like it

THEY GET PAID TOO

Leon returning to his thuggish ways

Ay, Heupel is the one who got salty

Now when National Championship Winning Head Coach Derek Lawson does this, it's a problem.

again, Heupel got salty and fired the first shots.

We ain't start it, but we for sure gonna finish it

All that shit talk and I thought you was going to get beat. Luckily you had them at home. That helped a lot.

ngl, the home field did save me a few times. They used the no huddle a lot, but more than a few times you saw Deuce go to audible and the "?" mark pop up above players heads. Norman was rockin

[redsox907]

Chapter Forty-One: Consistent To A Fault

Consistency had been the name of the game; at home, at work, and in the media. It was a slow process, but little by little the reputation I’d begrudgingly hauled from College Park to Norman had started to crack. There was no longer a lingering question of if I could lead the Sooners, I’d answered that question emphatically with statement wins over Oregon, Texas, and Tennessee. The only blemish on our near sterling 8-1 record was a close loss in Gainesville after my controversial decision to go for the win.

I think what finally put the notion to bed wasn’t the results on the field, however, but how I responded after that controversial decision. I didn’t point fingers, or shy away and say maybe we’d reevaluate in the future. I explained it, owned it, and continued to keep that same mentality.

Consistency.

That same consistency led to a very public altercation with former Oklahoma quarterback and coordinator Josh Heupel. The same Josh Heupel who had turned down the Oklahoma Sooners before I became the 11th job offer—but more importantly the one that accepted. I hadn’t planned on making it another me versus the opposing coach matchup—that had been reserved for Dan Lanning only in my mind, a rivalry that I didn’t plan on letting burn out anytime soon—but when Heupel was quoted by the media defending his decision to stay in Tennessee by describing the Oklahoma job as a ‘step down,” I felt it was green light go. He was simply next on the hit list as far as I was concerned.

I responded in my weekly Q&A with Boone Tillman for Sooner Born, but where the sparks really flew was on the field. A close 14-10 game at the half turned into a 56-24 blowout punctuated by a 20-yard passing touchdown with just a minute left. That spilled into a confrontation between myself and Heupel at midfield where we had to be separated as we barked at each other while still mid-handshake.

I felt I answered it professionally after the game, acknowledging he was upset about the late touchdown, but not disclosing he told me I’d never be as loved as he was in Oklahoma and that in five years, he’d still be winning in Knoxville while I would be lucky to be coaching in the Sun Belt.

Of course, not disclosing that also meant not disclosing I called him a baby back bitch, told him next year I’d drop 70 on his head in Knoxville, and if he really wanted to take it there he knew exactly where I lived in Norman.

Yet that same consistency I thought was winning over critics from coast to coast landed me in Roger Denny’s office on October 28th, the Monday after our third ranked victory on the season.

When I walked into Denny’s office, he was rewatching the highlights of the game with a wide grin that stretched from ear to ear.

“Armando!” He bellowed when I knocked on the frame of his solid oak office door, “Come in and close the door behind you,” before stating to no one in particular, “this is a helluva win.”

Sitting across from Denny at his oak desk, stained the same deep-brown to perfectly match the office door and the accompanying furniture, I could feel the tone in the room instantly shift as the highlight switch from the play on the field, to the altercation between Heupel and myself at midfield.

Denny paused the replay, freezing the frame on Heupel and I, hands locked together in what looked more like a vice grip and less like a handshake, each meeting the others eyes and daring them to blink as we exchanged jabs.

“That,” he said, stabbing a finger at the frozen image on the television mounted to the left of his desk, “Is not a helluva scene, Armando.”

“What that is,” he continued, his tone rising as the color crept up his neck from under his collared button-up shirt, “is a disgrace to the University of Oklahoma.”

I began to speak up, to defend myself, but Denny quickly cut me off with a look that said he wasn’t the only one upset.

“Don’t get me wrong, Armando. I love the passion you’ve brought to the program, leadership loves the results on the field, in the media, and with the fanbase. There is no denying that. But publicly embarrassing a Sooner legend? That’s going too far.”

“Listen, I get it. His quote was taken out of context when it was given to you, something that is going to be addressed with Boone, rest assured, and you did what you’ve done since you arrived in Norman. Defend yourself, your reputation, and most importantly this university. That isn’t lost on me.”

I nodded along, understanding that Roger was doing his best to show he was on my side, if only a smidge, but that he had people to answer to as well. And they were far from pleased.

“The alumni, however, do not understand it. And I don’t think I need to remind you that a majority of the alumni provide generous donations to the program that heavily influence the NIL money we can handout. Their opinions carry weight, whether they are logical or not.”

“And they’ve made it clear, Armando, that going after Dan Lanning is one thing. But we can’t have you publicly embarrassing someone with strong ties to the program.”

I let the words settled where they were meant to land, not threatening, but not harmless either, before finally getting to defend myself.

“I understand that, Roger. But I’m not apologizing. He started-“

“Armando, come on,” Denny cut in, annoyance starting to show through, “You’ve got kids. You know that excuse doesn’t fly.”

I put my hands up in defense, acknowledging the disparity before continuing, “You’re right, Roger. But, I’m not going to stand idly by and let someone bash me or this program. Surely, the Alumni can understand that?”

“I can tell you that if it was Lincoln Riley? They wouldn’t have given it no never-mind. But even if the fans are salty Heupel is over there in that damn gaudy orange, he’s still a Sooner through and through.”

“But, there’s a big difference in defending yourself and taking the personal vendetta onto the field. What if instead of throwing a touchdown pass, Cole takes another hit to the knee and is suddenly out for the year, all because you wanted to get one more ‘fuck you’ touchdown on Josh?”

What Roger didn’t know is I’d given the first-team offense the opportunity to take a well earned rest after the lead got out of hand, every single player wanted to stay on the field and pile it on. Instead of pointing the fact out to Denny, I tried to see the other side of the coin. It was my job to protect these young men, sometimes from themselves, and instead I’d acted as an accelerant and put them in harm’s way.

Roger sat behind his desk and watched the mental gymnastics I was doing between defending myself and understanding that I had let my pride get in the way of the players best interests, ultimately interrupting my inner-monologue with his own final statement.

“No one is saying you have to apologize, Armando. If anything, that makes the whole thing look worse. But leadership has made it clear, they don’t want another on-field altercation. Keep the intensity in the media and between the lines.”

I left Roger’s office feeling like a child who was scolded not for being out-of-line, but for simply being better than his peers and rubbing their faces in it. Thankfully, I’d given the rest of the team an extra day of rest with the bye week upcoming, meaning I wouldn’t need to address the constant trolling the team had been doing on social media since the win. By the time we reconvened on Tuesday, it would fall right in with the message of focusing on the next challenge, leaving out the particular detail of the upset Alumni.

“I’m only going to work a half-day or so today, just going to call a few recruits and study some tape, then we can all head down to HeyDay to let the kids run around,” I declared to Jessica as I made my way back to the office.

“Everything okay? You don’t sound as excited as you were about sticking it to Heupel as you were this morning?” I could never hide anything from Jessica, making the fact that the pair of letters in my travel bag had gone unspoken this long a minor miracle.

A quick knock at the door drew my attention as Sophia, the receptionist, stood in the doorway with a stack of mail.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it later,” I said, quickly dismissing the question before Jessica and I exchanged I love you’s and goodbyes.

“What’s up Sophia,” I questioned, rising from my chair to meet her in the doorway.

“Just the mail,” she answered, before pulling a letter from the bottom of the pile, her eyebrows drawing together in confusion as she angled it to show who it was addressed to.

“This one gave me a bit of a pause. It says Armando Leon, but then has this extra name Orozco at the end of it? Is this yours?”

The letter sat pressed between her thumb and forefinger. Same white card stock and looping print, with the same name as the letter in the front of my travel bag: “Armando Leon-Orozco.”

I rolled my eyes as I reached for it, turning it over once in my hand before putting it underneath the stack of mail Sophia still had cradled in her other arm. “If it’s the same as the others I got, just some angry fan mail,” I said, disregarding the letter with some contempt.

“Is that weird last name just some hispanic heritage thing?”

“Something like that,” I answered, tucking the stack of mail under my arm as I moved back towards my desk.

Sophia lingered for another moment in the doorway, debating between asking another question and simply dropping the subject.

“Anything else, Sophia?”

“Can I go home early?” When my eyebrows instantly raised, surprised at the question she had chosen to ask rather than the actual questions, she quickly defended herself.

“It’s just, I heard you tell Mrs. Leon you were leaving early. And it’s dead here today, so-“

“It’s not a problem, Sophia. You can actually leave now if you want,” I softly interrupted her. A quick nod and thank you was all the answer I got as Sophia quickly scurried out of the office, in a hurry to take advantage of the day before I changed my mind.

I discarded the mail on the edge of the desk and returned to the call list for the newest recruits we’d added to the board. Markelle Nickey, Charles Byler, and Parker Armah; all quarterbacks who were only added after striking out on both Ja’Darius Tonges and Klay Abraham, one of the lone blemishes in recruiting this season.

Thankfully, Coach Mack had been in steady contact with the other three quarterbacks and by that miracle alone, we weren’t completely out of the running yet.

“Nickey is a baller, honestly I like him better than Abraham,” I recalled Mack telling me when we moved them out of the tentative pile and onto the board, “Number one recruit or not.”

I glanced back at the pile of mail, reaching for the letter buried at the bottom of the pile instead of my office phone to start the trio of calls.

Same white card stock, same sprawling name. If you had told me this was the same letter from my travel bag, there would have been no argument. It was identical.

The despair about the letters had dulled to a minor annoyance, the threats in the letters falling flat after over a year since the first had arrived with nothing to show for it than a few sleepless nights. At this point, the only disruption to my life the letters had provided was the one secret I’d held onto with Jessica since trying to repair the relationship after my abrupt decision to take the Oklahoma job.

“Fuck it,” I whispered to myself, ripping the envelope at the top in one quick motion and spilling the letter inside out onto my mahogany desk.

“Armando,

You don’t just share a name with your father. You have the same competitive fire that made your father so successful.

He used that fire to make his rivals respect him, and fear him. You seem well on your way to carrying on that legacy.

The time is coming for us to meet. Soon”

There was no shifting of the room this time, no disconnect with reality as my mind reeled to process the letter. I knew what they were at this point, had known what to expect when I opened the letter, even if the contents were unsettling.

Arturo wasn’t just a criminal. He was successful. People respected him, and feared him. The same way I was successful, by punishing my enemies and taking respect, and with it, fear.

Unlike the previous letters, I didn’t linger on this one. I re-read it once, making sure the words landed, then creased it once cleanly down the middle before crossing to the coat rack in the corner where my bag hung and depositing it in the front pouch, tucked in with the other two letters.

I didn’t call Jessica. Didn’t call Harvey. Just tucked the letter away, walked back to my desk, and went back to work.

Consistency.

[djp73]

Secret sibling? Grandparent? Father’s rival’s kid coming back for vengeance? Don’t think anyone has ended a dynasty with the coach getting killed by the cartel yet

[Soapy]

Secret sibling? Grandparent? Father’s rival’s kid coming back for vengeance? Don’t think anyone has ended a dynasty with the coach getting killed by the cartel yet

[redsox907]

Secret sibling? Grandparent? Father’s rival’s kid coming back for vengeance? Don’t think anyone has ended a dynasty with the coach getting killed by the cartel yet

Well Miss Tara was estranged from her LDS family since before she even met Arturo, so they wouldn't know about him. And Arturo left home at 16 when his parents kicked him out for getting involved with the cartel, so they out of the question even if they were still alive. So those are off the table

Secret sibling? Grandparent? Father’s rival’s kid coming back for vengeance? Don’t think anyone has ended a dynasty with the coach getting killed by the cartel yet

already putting the Armando pack in the air and he ain't even won a Natty yet