Henrietta's Carter, Fletcher reunite Saturday in Big 12 game
It’s been more than two years since Henrietta’s Logan Carter and Cody Fletcher shared a football field together at the 2016 Oil Bowl.
The two hard hitters were integral pieces of a 2015 group of Bearcats who advanced to the state quarterfinals before falling to Idalou.
On Saturday morning in Manhattan, Kansas, Carter and Fletcher will be reunited when Kansas State hosts Oklahoma State in a Big 12 matchup that kicks off at 11 a.m. on ESPNU.
Box:Kansas State 31, Okla. St. 12
“I’m going to make time for that for sure,” said Henrietta coach Byron West, who wishes he could drive the 900-mile round trip to watch his former players in person. “Everybody’s going to be glued to the TV. Having both of them playing is really special.”
Carter and Fletcher are both redshirt sophomores at their respective colleges, although their paths since leaving the Clay County town of about 3,000 have widely differed.
Carter arrived in Stillwater as a preferred walk-on and has spent the past three seasons diligently working to carve out a role with the Cowboys. He’s essentially the team’s second tight end Oklahoma State brings in on certain packages – Carter is officially listed on the roster as a cowboy back – and he plays on all special teams units except for kickoff.
Fletcher wasn’t as widely recruited out of high school, but the 2015 Red River 22 Small School MVP found a landing spot at Tyler Junior College. After redshirting, the astute linebacker led the Apaches with 104 tackles last season, prompting Kansas State to come calling during the summer.
Fletcher is coming off a season-high six tackles against Baylor last week as he rotates in at linebacker, giving him nine stops for the season.
“I think it goes to show a lot about his character and eternal fortitude to keep going,” West said of Fletcher. “And with Logan, there’s always somebody else that’s coming in from a JUCO or high school. That’s what makes it hard to keep fighting.
“It’s nice to see rewards for their hard work starting to pay off.”
West isn’t surprised both have made it at the Division I level, not after watching them grow while playing for the Bearcats. Fletcher was the backbone during a 12-2 senior season that included him making an area-high 210 tackles and scoring 18 offensive touchdowns. Carter showed off his versatility in high school playing on the offensive/defensive lines before switching to tight end and linebacker in 2015.
After redshirting in 2016, Carter appeared in Oklahoma State’s first six games last fall before suffering a torn labrum – the first time he had endured a season-ending injury.
“It’s about competing every play and I’m just trying to make the most out of every opportunity,” Carter said. “God has created ways for me to get where I am, and I’m trying to take advantage of them.”
The Oklahoma State-Kansas State game marks the second time this week two area players appeared in the same Big 12 contest as T.J. Vasher (Texas Tech) and L.J. Collier (TCU) shared Amon Carter Stadium on Thursday night.
But Saturday will be different as two small-school kids who took long bus rides together to places like Eastland and Clyde represent their blue-collar town on the same turf.
“I can’t wait to see him on Saturday,” Carter said. “We fell out of touch a little bit after high school, but I talked to him when I found out he was going to K-State. I know he’s fought tooth and nail to do what he has and I’m proud of him.”