Jenks' new weapon: championship coordinator Jay Wilkinson

When Jay Wilkinson was a teenager in Stroud, he had an unusual training tool at home: a 95-foot pole vault track and landing pit. During the 1990s, Wilkinson was a sprinter and pole vaulter for a Stroud track and field team that won a state championship.

Since 1998, however, Wilkinson has become synonymous with the quest for football championships.

His jewelry collection includes five state title rings, and this season he's trying to help the Jenks Trojans in their quest to knock Bixby off the top of Class 6AI.

As the Trojans' new offensive coordinator, Wilkinson previously coached at Broken Arrow. His Jenks legacy includes three former Broken Arrow Tigers: 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior quarterback Owen Jones, a returning Jenks starter who has become a more polished passer and is noticeably bigger than last season; junior KD Jones, a sophomore Trojan and Oklahoma's top prep running back; and senior Kayleb Barnett, the fastest wide receiver in the state.

Before moving to Jenks a few weeks ago, Barnett represented Broken Arrow as a 6A champion in the 100-meter dash and long jump.

Owen Jones is also a member of the Jenks wrestling team.

“When I was at Broken Arrow,” Wilkinson explained, “Owen was there and in college. I've been around Owen for a little while and, of course, he comes from a wrestling family.

“I always wondered if he would get big at quarterback or if he would always hold his weight at a certain level for wrestling. When I found out it was 215, I was happy. It's a good size.

At Spartan Stadium on Monday, Owen Jones performed well in the opening game of the 7-on-7 summer passing league that involves the Trojans, Union, Broken Arrow, Owasso and Bixby. On the next snap after finding Barnett for a deep TD on a post pattern, Owen Jones connected with tight end Brody Henderson on the back line of the end zone.

“We’re just trying to figure it all out,” Willkinson said. “Every day is a learning experience for everyone. Obviously we have a lot of good players. It's just about getting them up to speed on what they can do and what they're comfortable with.

Jenks has a typically tough schedule that begins with a home test on August 30 against dangerous Edmond Santa Fe. On September 6, the Trojans host Owasso. On September 13, in the MidFirst Bank Backyard Bowl, the Trojans visit Union.

And on September 27, when District 6AI-1 opens, there will be a showdown in Bixby between the Trojans and Spartans.

When Jenks and Bixby last faced off on the Spartan Stadium turf, Jenks won 38-35 and ended the Spartans' winning streak at 58 games. This unforgettable and dramatic contest was televised on ESPN2.

For the past three seasons, and while commuting each day to his family's home in Broken Arrow, Wilkinson, 49, was the offensive coordinator at Fayetteville High School.

After the 2023 Bulldogs were Arkansas 7A champions, Wilkinson accepted Trojan coach Keith Riggs' offer of a return to Oklahoma football as Jenks' coordinator.

Bixby has had the same highly regarded coordinators – Rodney Flowers on defense and Tyler Schneider on offense – throughout its 2014-23 run of nine state titles (seven in 6AII and two more since being promoted to 6AI in 2022) .

Jenks counters with his own pair of big-name coordinators: rock star Adam Gaylor on defense and now the well-traveled and accomplished Wilkinson on offense.

Check out Wilkinson's career timeline: After launching his coaching career at Shawnee in 1998-2000, he was at Jenks in 2001-04, at Union in 2005, at Metro Christian as head coach in 2006- 07, at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2008-10, at Broken Arrow in 2011-13, at Coweta as head coach in 2014-15, at Edmond Deer Creek as head coach in 2016, in Broken Arrow in 2017-20 and in Fayetteville in 2021-23.

“I put in a lot of miles,” said Wilkinson, who was a member of the state championship coaching staff at Jenks in 2001 and 2003, at Union in 2005, at Broken Arrow in 2018 and at Fayetteville l 'last year.

I shared with Wilkinson my thoughts on the 2018 Broken Arrow Tigers: that because of a phenomenal offensive line that included then-junior Andrew Raym, Wilkinson could have called a running play on every snap and still won on every game this season.

“We were pretty good,” Wilkinson admitted.

Although Bixby has the hottest program in the state, Jenks still has the mystery of being an 18-time state champion. Thirteen of those titles were won during the 1996-2017 Allan Trimble era, while teams coached by Riggs were champions in 2020 and 2021.

In 2001-04, Wilkinson and Loren Montgomery were Trimble assistants at Jenks. Part of Wilkinson's job description now: find a way to stop the Montgomery-coached Bixby dynasty from winning what would be a seventh straight championship.