Playoff Notebook
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Starting today, and continuing all day and every day until Friday evening, we’ll be publishing playoff preview content. From team breakdowns to players to watch to championship predictions, we’ll get you covered as the “Road To Wantland” officially begins this week. We kick off our playoff preview series with the Playoff Notebook. Taking a look at some of the bigger storylines as we head into the postseason.
Cascia Hall Is In Once Again
Cascia Hall is back into the playoffs for the 34th consecutive season. That ties the record that was set by Thomas and then tied by Davis a few seasons ago. No other programs have a longer streak of consecutive playoff appearances. However, the Commandos will have to wait to begin their playoff journey. After winning the district title, they received a bye in the first round this week. They automatically advance and will play the winner of Hugo and Keys in the next round. They haven’t played Hugo this season but just beat Keys 34-21 in week ten.
Cascia Hall comes into the postseason with an 8-1 record, the lone loss was to 3A’s #1 Holland Hall back in September. While the Commandos have been to the playoffs 34 straight years now, it’s been a while since they’ve competed in the 2A playoffs. For nearly 15 years, Cascia has been back and forth between 4A and 3A. This is their first appearance in the 2A playoffs since 2007. During that season, they went 15-0 and won the state championship. While history won’t repeat itself with a perfect record, maybe that gold ball is still on the table.
Champs Streaking Into The Playoffs
For four different defending champions, not only do they come into the playoffs looking to defend a title, they look to keep their winning streak in tact. Four different defending champions come into the postseason with a perfect record this year and a winning streak dating back to last year, and for one team, dating back two years ago. 6A-D1’s Owasso, 6A-D2’s Bixby, 3A’s Lincoln Christian and A’s Ringling all come into the playoffs having won at least 20 games in a row.
Bixby comes into the playoffs with the state’s longest winning streak. The Spartans have won 33 consecutive games and the last two state titles in 6A-D2. For the second straight year, it appears evident that we’re on a crash course for another Bixby-Stillwater title clash. Owasso and Lincoln Christian each come into the postseason having won their last 23 games. Owasso is 10-0 this season and Lincoln is 9-0. Finally, Ringling brings in a 20-game winning streak after winning their last 13 games last year and going 7-0 this season.
Pawhuska’s Record-Breaking Offense
Pawhuska is back into the Class A playoffs at 10-0 and district champions. They bring in an offense that is literally the best Oklahoma has ever seen. The Huskies broke the record for most points in a regular season in their week ten blowout of Ketchum. They come into the playoffs averaging 69.5 points per game. This is an offense that has scored 90+ points twice this season, including in week ten against Ketchum. They’ve scored 80+ points in one other game. The lowest scoring output that the Huskies have had this season was in a 48-14 win over Commerce.
Pawhuska is led by star quarterback Bryce Drummond Bryce Drummond 6'3" | QB Pawhuska | 2021 State OK , a North Texas commit. Drummond has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the state and has put up some monster numbers to go along with his game. He enters the playoffs after throwing for nearly 3,200 yards and 50 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. He’s also completing nearly 75 percent of his passes. He’s also a threat to run the ball. He finished the regular season with nearly 600 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
The Huskies broke the record, set by Locust Grove back in 2014. That Locust Grove team was coached by Matt Hennesy, the current head coach of the Huskies. That Locust Grove team also fell short in the playoffs as they lost to eventual champion Heritage Hall in the semifinals. We’ll see if the Huskies can bring home a gold ball to go with their record.
Shattuck Streak Snapped
8-man football powerhouse Shattuck hit a road block right as they were about to enter the playoffs. Laverne blew out Shattuck 50-16 and snapped their 44-game winning streak, that was the longest of any school in Oklahoma. You have to go back to 2017 to see the last time Shattuck lost. Coincidentally, that was to Laverne in the regular season. The good news for Shattuck is they got revenge in the end. They beat Laverne to capture the state title later that season.
Shattuck comes into the Class B playoffs as the three-time defending state champions. That title run began in 2017 when they beat Laverne to capture the gold ball. The last two seasons, Shattuck beat Regent Prep to win it all. This year, because of the loss to Laverne in week ten, they could see some of those Class B powers a little earlier than usual. They open up the playoffs next week against the winner of Canton and Okeene. They’re on the same side of the bracket as Regent Prep as well as top ranked Dewar.
Top Teams Leaning On Defense
It’s a motto in football that goes back decades and decades. “Defense wins championships.” And for a few teams in Oklahoma, that may end up being true. Three top ranked teams enter the postseason with some of the best defensive numbers in the state. 4A’s #1 Wagoner, 3A’s #1 Holland Hall and Class A’s #1 Ringling all feature stout defenses that just simply shut teams down.
Starting with Wagoner, the Bulldogs came into the season as our top ranked team in Class 4A. And they’ve shown no sign of being anything but the top team in 4A football. They’ve only given up 46 points this season. That includes five shutouts in ten games. One of those shutouts came against 5A’s #3 Coweta in the season opener. The most points they’ve given up is 14 against Grove in week nine. They’ve given up double digit points on just two occasions this season. The Bulldogs enter the playoffs as a big favorite to capture another gold ball.
Up next is 3A’s top ranked Holland Hall. The Dutch moved up to Class 3A this season after spending the last few years in 2A. They have had no problems making that transition and pretty quickly ascended to the top spot in Class 3A. The Dutch came into this season with high expectations after returning nearly everyone from last year’s team. But I think it’s safe to say that even they didn’t see this amount of dominance coming, especially from the defensive side of the ball. They’re 8-0 on the season and they’ve given up just 27 points all season. That includes four shutouts and zero games where a team scored more than seven points.
And finally we have the defending Class A champs in Ringling. The Blue Devils had one of the top defenses in 2019, on their way to the state title and they’re looking strong once again. While last season featured a run where they had NINE consecutive shutouts, that includes the first few rounds of the playoffs, this season has been stout as well. Because of a few cancellations, they’ve only played seven games this season. They’ve given up a total of 18 points all year, without a doubt the best in all of Oklahoma. The defense has had four shutouts so far and come into the playoffs looking for more.