By John Tranchina
It was always the plan that they would go somewhere together.
So when East Central University in Ada extended an offer to Cameron Mackey, after previously recruiting Tre Morrow, it was a done deal that both Sapulpa football players would go there to continue their education and athletic careers.
Even though Morrow had another solid offer from Northeastern State in Tahlequah, which had been seeking to add him all last season, the wide receiver and kick returner was thrilled to choose East Central.
“NSU was leaning on me heavy, but as soon as he got the ECU offer, it was a done deal pretty much,” Morrow said. “We were going together.”
“It means a lot, this is my dog,” Mackey, the Chieftains’ star linebacker, said of Morrow. “We’ve been playing with each other our whole lives. It’s crazy. We went on a visit and we just liked it, it was good.”
Sapulpa coach Tim Holt is happy to see his two former players heading off to college together and believes that East Central is a good fit for both of them.
“It’s great for them. It’s NCAA Division II football, which is really good,” Holt said of ECU. “They were two great players for our program. Tre Morrow broke the 1000-yard mark in receiving last year and Cameran Mackey set a school record for tackles in a single season with 143. They’re two really good football players, but the most important part, they’re two really good kids. They’re really good students, they’re going to be there for them every day, they’re going to work hard, and I could see both of those guys going on to do very big things at the college level.
“They’ve been friends for a long time. They came after Tre first and kind of while they were recruiting Tre, they discovered Cameron and the special season he was having, and when all was said and done, they both ended up going to the same spot. I think it’s a great fit for both of them, really.”
With several members of the Sapulpa coaching staff having gone to East Central, including defensive coordinator Tyler McGrew, the players gained a little more insight into what type of environment they’d be entering with the ECU football program.
Both players were also charmed by the town of Ada, noting that it felt more like home than any of the other possibilities they had.
“We have a lot of coaches that went there, so they kind of know how it goes down there,” Morrow said. “And then just the town feeling, it feels more similar to Sapulpa, more than any other college like Tahlequah or Durant. Plus, it’s not far from home, I can come back any time. It’s like two hours.”
For both players, their performance last season was a key to them being able to advance to the next level.
As a receiver, Morrow led the Chieftains with 63 receptions and 1,1014 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also returned kickoffs and played some cornerback on defense.
Morrow, who also competed in basketball and track for the Chieftains, was recently named Sapulpa’s 2022-23 Male Athlete of the Year.
And Mackey was a dominant force on defense for the Chieftains. As Holt noted, Mackey set a new school record for tackles in a season with 143, while also recording 11 tackles for a loss, five sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as an inside linebacker. He also occasionally lined up on offense as a running back.
Both players were selected to the Oklahoma Coaches Association Class 5A Football East All-Star team.
The duo helped the Chieftains go 7-4 in 2022, putting together a 5-2 mark while navigating a very difficult District 5A-3 and qualifying for the Class 5A state playoffs before falling to Grove in the first round.
East Central is coming off one of their most successful seasons since 1993 with a 9-3 record, several NCAA Division II top-10 rankings, and the best record in the state of Oklahoma.
Both Morrow and Mackey will take some important lessons they learned at Sapulpa with them to the college level.
“I would say the work ethic. There’s no days off here,” Morrow said. “You got to lift before practice, sometimes you got to lift after practice and you got to work in that classroom, as well.”
“Just competing,” Morrow added. “Always compete.”
