2008 Commerce Tiger Football Home Page

Commerce - Hominy at Commerce. A huge first-round showdown between the 7-3 Bucks and the 10-0 Tigers. The meeting will mark the 3rd time in 3 years that Hominy and Commerce have met in the playoffs. Commerce won in 2006 and Hominy won in 2007. Commerce will host the rubber match at Tiger Field Friday night at 7:30.

WILLIE NG DID not know if he ever wanted to he a head football coach again when he stepped down from that position at Picher in 2004. He had been a head coach for more than a decade at Afton and Picher.

But Ng, who spent the past four years as an assistant, is enjoying his head-coaching return this year at Commerce, which promoted him late in the spring.

Commerce is 9-0 and No. 7 in the Tulsa World's Class A rankings.

"I still wanted to coach, but I had gotten burned out at Picher of being the one in charge," Ng said. "I stayed on the staff at Picher.

"And then when (football) closed there, I came here to Commerce, and I loved being an assistant. It really wasn't (on my radar) of being a head coach again."

However, when the job came open in May, Ng applied for the position after checking with Commerce assistants Steve Moss and Jack Kelley.

"This job is a good fit for me," Ng said. "I have a great staff with Steve, Jack, Tom Fenderson, Jason Hall and Mitch Crawford."

And through nine games, the tradition-rich Tigers are having a great season. Commerce extended its district winning streak to 51 games and clinched the A-8 title with a 36-0 victory over Quapaw on Friday.

Commerce has been dominant, with an average winning margin of 44 points per game. The Tigers have allowed only 25 points this season, and their defense recently had a streak of 21 consecutive shutout quarters.

"We knew the team was going to be good, but we didn't know how good," Ng said. "We've got very good team speed, and it was all about trying to put our kids in the right spots. Our kids have the potential to score anytime they are on the field, and our defense really pursues well."

Junior quarterback Joey Bowling directs a well-balanced offense. Bowling had a 64-yard touchdown run and fired two TD passes to Zach Barnes against Quapaw. Bowling has accounted for 17 TDs this season.

"He struggled early on this year, but he's come a long way," Ng said. "He's doing a good job of being a leader. He's done everything we've asked him to do."

The Tigers have a strong offensive line that includes Sean Richard, who is 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, and Travis Eads. Defensive standouts include Eads, Dusty Edens and Dylan Hutson.

Commerce is a perennial playoff team. The Tigers have reached the quarterfinals with two playoff wins in eight of the past 10 years, but have not reached the semifinals during that span.

"The kids know all about the tradition here and the standard they have to live up to," Ng said. "The measuring stick around here is the third round of the playoffs. We just need to keep doing what we're doing."