Playoff Players of the Week: Opening Round

With the opening round of the playoffs finished, it is time to recap and take a look at some of the players who had big nights for their team in the first round. Players from all positions made huge impacts for their teams and deserve some recognition for doing so, let’s dive in and see who balled out last week. [player_tooltip player_id="38527" first="Dayton" last="Wolfe"] - <strong>Westmoore</strong> Westmoore has been on a bit of a tear lately offensively and it all starts with their Senior QB. In this game, Wolfe went 16-22 with 331 yards passing and added 3 touchdowns through the air in the Jaguars’ 41-17 blowout over Southmoore. Westmoore will take on Edmond Santa Fe in what should be a competitive 6A-1 quarterfinal matchup. <strong>Zane Chavez - Westmoore</strong> With [player_tooltip player_id="38527" first="Dayton" last="Wolfe"] lighting up the stat sheets on Friday night, it is only natural that a few of his top playmakers would finish with some big nights. The Junior tight end finished the night with 6 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, and also added 39 yards passing as he is the backup QB for Westmoore and had a big play on a trick play. Perhaps this is a demonstration of what’s to come for Chavez if he moves back to QB full-time in 2021. <strong>Brandon Arnold - Westmoore</strong> The last of the Westmoore offense we’ll highlight here is Senior RB Brandon Arnold who has quietly had one of the better seasons among 6A running backs. In their win over Southmoore, Arnold did a little bit of everything, finishing with 96 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns off of 16 carries, while adding 40 yards in the receiving game off 5 catches. [player_tooltip player_id="38550" first<span style="font-size: 1rem;">="Sanchez" last="Banks"]<strong> - Broken Arrow</strong></span> Broken Arrow’s 2-headed attack at RB was in full display Friday night as they rolled over Putnam City 44-12. The first half of their attack, [player_tooltip player_id="38550" first="Sanchez" last="Banks"], finished with 92 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground off 12 carries. Broken Arrow will face Union next week in a matchup that wil likely garner the most hype of any second round game across the state. [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] - <strong>Broken Arrow</strong> While his running mate Sanchez got all the touchdowns on the ground for the Tigers last week, [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] still found a way to have a huge night. The other half of Broken Arrow’s lethal backfield finished with 117 yards rushing on only 9 carries, 37 yards receiving on 2 catches, and added 137 yards returning kicks, including one he returned for a TD. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">[player_tooltip player_id="38606" first="KT" last="Owens"] - <strong>Central</strong></span> Central’s Senior QB had himself an incredible night on his way to leading his school to their first playoff win since 1997. Owens finished with 373 yards passing and 7 total touchdowns, 6 through the air, and 1 on the ground. KT also converted on 5 2-point conversion attempts. KT was a player I highlighted as one of the most underrated QBs in the state pre-season and it is nice to see the young man thriving in a playoff environment. His team will have their work cut out for them though as they take on Lincoln Christain in the next round of the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id="38720" first="Corey" last="Metscher"] - <strong>Bethel</strong> Stayin on the topic of firsts, Bethel’s RB/LB had a huge night to help them win their first playoff game in school history. In their win over Commanche, Metscher contributed in a big way on both sides of the ball with 200 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing, along with 9 tackles and a fumble recovery on defense. Bethel takes on 1 seeded Marlow in their next playoff game. [player_tooltip player_id="38530" first="Stephen" last="Kittleman"] -<strong> Jenks</strong> Going back to 6A, Jenks senior QB was nearly perfect in their blowout win over Moore. Kittleman put up 248 yards passing on 14 completions and had more touchdowns than incompletions as he threw 5 TDs and only 3 incomplete passes. Jenks looks to be the real deal in 6A-I and will host Norman North this Friday night. [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] -<strong> Union</strong> Union is quietly one of the hottest teams in the state right now with the potential to really shake things up in the playoffs and [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] showed us one of the reasons why that is the case. He finished the first half of their blowout victory over Enid with 103 yards and 3 TDs on the ground on only 7 carries and added 2 receiving touchdowns as well. Union takes on Broken Arrow on Friday night in a big 6A-I quarterfinals matchup. [player_tooltip player_id="48802" first="Dominique" last="Dunn"] -<strong> Mustang</strong> In what many thought would be one of the more highly contested matchups in 6A-I last week, Mustang’s [player_tooltip player_id="48802" first="Dominique" last="Dunn"] really stepped up to the plate in a big way in their win over Yukon. Dunn had a monster night with 289 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground off of 33 carries. His team will definitely need more of that this week as they take on the defending state champions Owasso in their quarterfinal matchup. <strong>Amaurion Norment - PC North</strong> For a team whose season was nearly canceled earlier in the year, PC North has to be ecstatic about where they stand right now. They won big over Bartlesville last week to give them their first playoff win since moving to 6A-II and their star RB was a big reason for that. Norment finished the night with 260 yards and 3 TDs on the ground off of 26 carries. As excited as they are to get this win though, the Panthers will need to regroup and get ready to take on Choctaw in their quarterfinal matchup. <strong>Nate Nuthman</strong> <strong>- Christian Heritage</strong> Nuthman is a player I really liked when I saw him a few weeks ago in their game against Washington. He is a tall and athletic WR/DB who has big-play ability anytime he lines up and he showed it against Coalgate on Friday. Nuthman finished with 87 yards and a touchdown receiving on 2 catches and had a 57-yard pick-six on defense as well. Christian Heritage will play Frederick in their 2nd round matchup in the 2A playoffs. <strong>Adam Carey</strong> <strong>- Booker T Washington</strong> More on the defensive side of the ball, Booker T’s Adam Carey was a one-man wrecking crew on the defensive line on Friday night. Carey had 12 tackles, 2 TFLs, and 6 sacks to go along with a fumble recovery in their win over Lawton. They will certainly need more of that this week when they go up against Midwest City with a shot at the semi-finals on the line. <strong>Bobby Belew</strong> <strong>- Pryor</strong> I chose Pryor as one of my potential bracket buster teams and they played like it on Friday, especially Junior Bobby Belew. Bobby had 134 yards receiving off 3 catches, 85 yards rushing off 3 carries, and 5 total touchdowns. Pryor looks like a real contender in 5A and will have another tough match up against McAlester this Friday night. [player_tooltip player_id="38665" first="Demetrice" last="Coronado"] <strong>- Claremore</strong> Claremore came out of last week victorious with a close win over East Central and they did so on the back of [player_tooltip player_id="38665" first="Demetrice" last="Coronado"]. Coronado had 150 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns off 35 carries in their first-round win. Claremore will have a tough matchup with title contender Coweta in their next game. [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] <strong>- Cushing</strong> Once again we find Cushing’s [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] on our player of the week page. Crooks has been balling out all year and did so again in Cushing’s big win in the first round. He finished with 98 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving on offense and had 8 tackles, a forced fumble, and a 95-yard pick-six on defense. Cushing has looked good all year but will have to prove themselves once again as they will go against perhaps 4A’s best team in Weatherford this upcoming Friday. <strong>Alex Johnson</strong> <strong>- Skiatook</strong> To finish out this week’s players we have Alex Johnson from Skiatook. Johnson had 198 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 17 carries for Skiatook on Friday as they rolled over Ft Gibson 42-7. I chose Skiatook as a potential dark horse in 4A and with more performances like this from their star players they have a good shot at taking down some tough opponents such as Poteau who they will match up against in the second round of the playoffs this week.