Underclassmen Spotlight – Week Ten

Welcome back to our final Underclassmen Spotlight of the regular season. We have highlighted some very talented youngsters this season that have bright futures ahead of them, and this week’s group is no different. This bunch features a key starter for one of the better teams in 6A, and a few players who have gone under the radar to this point but have balled out all season. Let’s dive in and get to know these guys better. [player_tooltip player_id="38789" first="Dietrich" last="Moore"] - <strong>LB Broken Arrow - Class of 2023</strong> First up we have Broken Arrow linebacker, [player_tooltip player_id="38789" first="Dietrich" last="Moore"]. Coming into the year, Broken Arrow was expected to have a stellar defense with already established stars such as [player_tooltip player_id="38511" first="Darryan" last="Moss"], [player_tooltip player_id="38565" first="Corey" last="Williams"], and [player_tooltip player_id="47299" first="Buddy" last="Mack"], so when they had young guys such as Dietrich step up this year there defense went to the next level in terms of talent. Dietrich isn’t the biggest LB but he has range for days which has shown by his tackle count. He has 74 tackles on the season including 8 TFLs and 3 sacks. Moore has shown some great things this year and has the chance to take a big leap in the next couple of seasons as he becomes less of an athlete and more of a true linebacker. Luke Adcock - <strong>QB Eufaula - Class of 2023</strong> Eufala is currently 1st in their district and primed for a deep playoff run and a lot of the credit for their success should go to Luke Adcock. Eufala gets a lot of their offensive production from their star running back and Army commit [player_tooltip player_id="38506" first="Noah" last="Alexander"], however, what Luke has been able to do should not go unnoticed.  He has not looked like an all-state QB by any means, but that is not what he has been asked to do this season. He only averages around 16 attempts per game, but when they ask him to throw the ball he has been efficient this season with over 1300 yards and 14 TDs. By producing at an efficient level in the passing game whenever they ask him to, Luke spreads the defense out by forcing them to respect his arm in the passing game, which then opens up lanes in the run game for Noah to do his thing and thrive. Luke has some growing to do for sure, but he has already shown some promising signs as a young sophomore QB. La’Trell Ray - <strong>RB Choctaw - Class of 2023</strong> When Choctaw star WR [player_tooltip player_id="38496" first="Chase" last="Jackson"] went down with a knee injury in week 1 and was ruled out for the season, we figured some younger players were going to have to step up for this offense and La’Trell Ray has stepped up big this season for Choctaw. He is not the biggest back at 5’8" 160ish Lbs., but numbers don’t lie and he has definitely produced this season with over 700 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Additionally, Ray has been excellent out of the backfield as a pass-catcher with over 200 yards receiving and 3 TDs through the air. Choctaw has quite the Trio of young stars with [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"], La’Trell Ray, and [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"], look for those three to give defenses a whole lot of trouble over the next 2 seasons. Riley Matheson - <strong>LB Cushing - Class of 2023</strong> It seems like all Cushing has on their team right now is young stars because I feel like I’ve featured at least one Sophomore from their squad on each of these spotlights, and here we are again with another one. All jokes aside, Riley Matheson has balled out this year as it seems like he is in on nearly every tackle there is to be had. In fact, Riley leads all Sophomores by a wide margin and is currently top 10 in the state with 116 tackles in 9 games. Those are stellar numbers for anyone much less a Sophomore, and with numbers like this at such an early age, don’t be surprised if you hear Riley’s name come up next to a few records before his time as a high school player is done. [player_tooltip player_id="38813" first="Reese" last="Roller"] - <strong>RB/LB Verdigris - Class of 2023</strong> Our final underclassmen to highlight for the regular season is a guy that makes me a little upset with myself. Not because I have any issue with him as a person or player, but I’m upset that it took me nearly 10 weeks to give this kid the praise he deserves here. Reese has played very well on defense this year and has found himself as a nominee for player of the week a few times this year and for good reason. Reese has had an incredible season on defense with 21 sacks. Yes, that’s right, 21 sacks. He has been in the backfield on seemingly every play whether it be from a traditional LB position or off the edge as a true pass rusher. Reese was not included in our top 40 for 2023 but I’d be willing to bet that he finds his way onto our rankings in the future whether it be to end this season or to start next.