Stilwell Football: a Seventy Nine Year History
By Gregg W. Stilwell
Part Four : The Nineties
Ron Etheridge departed at the end of the 1989 season and defensive wizard Bill Farney was elevated to the head coaching position. Farney's 1990 team looked like they would continue the success of the eighties, winning their first three contests, but had dropped six in a row by the time week ten rolled around. Broken Bow came into Bradley Park boasting the state's longest winning streak, 24 games, and Class 4A's # 1 ranking. The Indians shocked the defending state champions behind the smart quarterbacking of Senior Tye Mitchem, the swift feet of 1,000 yard rusher Keith Watkins and a suddenly immovable defense. Stilwell rolled to a 23-6 win, earning Oklahoma coach of the week and player of the week for Farney and Mitchem. Offensive Tackle Vince Jones, a fixture on the line since his Sophomore season earned All-State recognition for his play during the season.

Farney's 1991 team was young and inexperienced, winning only one game, a 13-12 victory over McAlester on a ridiculously rainy homecoming night at Bradley Park. Among the nine defeats was a 20-19 loss to Muldrow. The Indians led the game 19-6 with three minutes remaining in the contest but could not hold on to the lead. The win was the first for the Bulldogs over the Indians since 1921. The fate of the 1992 and 1993 teams was pretty much determined in late 1991 when the Class re-alignments for the next two seasons were announced. The Indians had enough trouble coping with life in class 4A the past two seasons and to make matters worse, they were moving up to 5A to where they would face the likes of Tahlequah, Claremore, Tulsa Edison, Tulsa Central, Tulsa East Central, Miami and Pryor. The Indians would win their first two games in 1992 against Siloam Springs and Fort Gibson, then lose six in a row, before beating Tulsa Central and Tulsa East Central, who had a combined record of 1-19, to end the season at 4-6.

Farney's final season in 1993 produced a 3-7 record with the wins coming over an 0-10 Fort Gibson team 28-0, and upsets of Pryor 14-7 and Tulsa East Central 20-15.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Scott returned to his alma mater in 1994. Scott's first two seasons were complicated with the same problems that plagued Bill Farney in his final two seasons, playing in Class 5A. The Indians district foes were pretty much the same. Tahlequah, Claremore and Miami were dropped out of Stilwell's district, but they were replaced by two teams ranked among the top five in the state, Broken Bow and McAlester. Tulsa Bishop Kelley also joined the mix in 5A-4. The Indians won over Pryor 25-7 but lost a couple of games they probably should have won, 15-12 at Tulsa Kelley and 30-28 at Tulsa Edison. Stilwell managed an upset win in a downpour at Tulsa Central in the final week of the season to end at 2-8.

The 1995 Indians could do no better than a 1-9 record. Stilwell recorded an encouraging 22-3 win over Fort Gibson in week two, but could come no closer than ten points ( a 41-31 loss to Tulsa Edison ) to beating anyone else. Senior Wes Whiteley averaged six yards a carry and rushed for 1,019 yards against what was possibly the toughest schedule in school history ( McAlester, Broken Bow and Tulsa Central finished the season ranked among the top eight teams in 5A ) but was overlooked by the All-State selection committee.

1996 saw the school sent back down to Class 4A, but the offense was a serious problem, averaging only seven points per game and scoring more than one touchdown in a game only four times. In two of those games though, two TD's were enough, as Stilwell snapped a 13 game losing streak at Bradley Park in a 14-3 victory over Catoosa, then won the next week 13-12 win at Locust Grove, although in actuality, the defense accounted for six of those points with Colby Longshore returning an interception 92 yards for a touchdown. The 1996 team finished at 2-8.

1997 would be Scott's last season as a head coach, and he managed to guide the Indians back into the playoffs for the first time since 1989. Things didn't look good for Stilwell at halftime of game five. The 0-4 Indians trailed the 4-0 Wagoner Bulldogs 14-0.This was no ordinary game though, it was homecoming night at Bradley Park and it was time for another touch of Stilwell's homecoming magic. A Waylon Williams touchdown run had brought the Indians to within seven late in the third period. Tye Havard recovered a Bulldog fumble with 7:17 left in the contest and just under two minutes later quarterback Payton Nelson scrambled in from four yards out to tie the game. On the first play following the kickoff, Stilwell linebacker Brian Bigfeather stripped a Wagoner rusher of the ball and raced untouched 35 yards into the end zone to give the Big Red a 21-14 lead. Stilwell's defense shut down the Bulldogs in their final two possessions with Kyle Henson sacking quarterback Chip Nanni on a fourth down to clinch the win. The come from behind upset win lit a fire under the Indians, who finished the season winning four of their next five with the only loss coming against District champion and State Quarterfinalist Coweta. The Indians traveled to Fort Gibson for the playoffs first round where the season would come to a close in a narrow 20-13 loss to the Tigers. The Indians 5-6 record in 1997 was the best since 1989.

Sam Claphan replaced the retired Scott in 1998 and the Indians once again gained a playoff berth. The season started off with a bang as Waylon Williams rushed for 225 in the first half against Fort Gibson on the way to an easy 31-7 win. Stilwell split their next two, winning over Jay 28-14 and losing at Glenpool 33-0. District play started off at Poteau against a Pirate team which had been picked to finish second in 4A-4. The Indians shocked the Costner Field faithful with a 20-0 lead at halftime. The Pirates stormed back in the second half but it was too little too late, as the Indians managed to hold on for a 27-22 win. After a soggy homecoming win over Hugo the Indians put themselves in the District 4A-4 drivers seat with a 19-0 upset over district favorite Idabel on the Warriors home field. Things began to fall apart for the Indians the next week. Broken Bow, which had fallen on hard times since the departure of head coach Rich Jones, pulled off a 34-19 upset of the Indians, followed the next week by a loss at Muldrow 21-15. The back-to-back upsets jumbled up the playoff picture. Claphan's squad was placed in a strange position in week ten. If they could beat Sallisaw, they would win the district championship, but if they lost they would need help to make the playoffs. The Black Diamonds downed Stilwell 23-6, but, thankfully, Checotah won for only the second time all season in a game against Muldrow at Ogle Field. The Wildcat upset put Stilwell in the fourth place spot.

Stilwell traveled to Coweta for the first round of the playoffs. Quarterback Payton Nelson, had been injured in the Sallisaw game and sat out the playoff game. Despite the outstanding rushing of the Williams brothers Waylon ( 159 yards ) and Kyle ( 105 yards ) the Indians were unable to generate enough offense without their quarterback, and the Indians fell 21-6. The 6-5 mark posted by the 1998 team stands as the best of the nineties. Waylon Williams set the school record for career rushing yards with 2,813 breaking the mark of 2,333 set by Bill McGee from 1986-89.

Claphan's 1999 team suffered from a lack of offensive punch and the tendency to self destruct. The season opener against Fort Gibson was typical of the entire season. The Indians outplayed the Tigers and could have easily scored the win if not for key mistakes. Fort Gibson's offense managed only one legitimate scoring drive, good for only a field goal against the Stilwell defense. The Tigers scored the rest of their points on a 4 yard punt return, a fumble recovery in the end zone, and a pair of short touchdown drives after Indian fumbles. The 31-7 loss set the tone for the rest of the season. Stilwell managed to avoid a winless season thanks to a 9-7 win at Hugo in week five. The Indians hit bottom two weeks later however, losing 55-7 to the previously winless Broken Bow Savages. The offense finally got going against Muldrow and Checotah but mistakes again kept Stilwell from the win column. The Indians lost 28-21 against the Bulldogs and 42-35 against the Wildcats. Kyle Williams rushed for a school record 276 yards in the Checotah game. The Indians finished 1-9.

In 2000 Jeff Streun took over as head coach as the Indians entered the first season of the new decade and the last season of the 20th century.