6A-D1 Season In Review

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The 2020 season has come to an end but that doesn’t mean we’re done having content every day here at Prep Redzone Oklahoma. In fact, we’re just heating up and continuing our postseason series today. Be sure to check back every day for new postseason content from our season in review series to All State teams and much more! On Monday, we released our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/12/final-team-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Final Team Rankings</a> for the 2020 season. Yesterday, we announced the ten finalists for our first ever <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/12/2020-player-of-the-year-finalists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year</a> award. Today, we kick off the season in review series with a look back at the 2020 season in Class 6A-D1. STATE CHAMPION - JENKS TROJANS Coming into the 2020 season, Jenks was our preseason pick to win it all in 6A-D1. They had all the talent returning and had made back to back trips to the state title game and had to settle for silver. Plus we just looked at simple math. You have to go back three decades to find a five year run where Jenks did not win a state championship and 2020 was year five after Jenks last raised gold in 2015. The Trojans suffered an early loss to Bixby, but who hasn’t lost to Bixby? The Spartans are headed into 2021 with a 36-game winning streak. That would be the only blemish on the 2020 schedule for the Trojans as they wouldn’t lose again. Two Covid-19 cancelled district games caused Jenks to fall to the two seed while Edmond Santa Fe would capture the district crown. That would put Jenks on the same side of the bracket as defending champion Owasso. The top two teams in 6A-1 would meet in the semifinals and it was a rout from the start. The Trojans wanted to send a message and they did by booting the defending champs right out of the playoffs. Jenks would get Edmond Santa Fe in the championship game after the two couldn’t play in the regular season due to Covid. The Trojans had been waiting for another shot at Santa Fe after losing to the Wolves last season. Santa Fe would strike first by returning the opening kick for six but it was all Jenks after that. The Trojans would leave no doubt on their way to state championship number 17. Jenks is now all alone in second place for most championships in state history. Only Ada has more titles with 19. This Jenks senior class was determined to raise another gold ball and add their names to the legacy of Jenks football and they accomplished that mission. PLAYER OF THE YEAR [player_tooltip player_id="38514" first="Jayden" last="Patrick"] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Jenks At the end of the 2020 season, the Jenks Trojans were one of the best teams in the state. Senior <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jayden-patrick/">[player_tooltip player_id="38514" first="Jayden" last="Patrick"]<img class=" ls-is-cached lazyloaded" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/Jayden-Patrick-2-150x150.jpg" data-src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/Jayden-Patrick-2-150x150.jpg" /></a> was the best player and the most important player on that team. While his stats might not compare to some of the other finalists, we don’t care. He was one of the ten best players in Oklahoma. And his stats were actually pretty good when you consider the position. He became Jenks’ home run threat on offense. They were predominantly a run-first team but he still ended with over 800 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving. And in his natural position at corner, he was one of the best in the state. He was rarely thrown to but he did manage to come up with 5 interceptions, 2 of which he returned for touchdowns. BREAKOUT STARS [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] - Quarterback - Owasso Owasso had a quarterback battle coming into the season and it continued during the first couple weeks. However, as Owasso got closer to district play, it became apparent that sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] would be the guy under center for the Rams. Havens ended up being a breakout star for the Rams and he’s a big reason why Owasso will be at or near the top of the 6A-1 rankings in 2021. Along with Havens, Owasso has a ton of young talented players returning to make another run at the state championship. [player_tooltip player_id="38714" first="Brayden" last="Dutton"] - Quarterback - Yukon Yukon head coach Jeremy Reed has been in charge of the Miller program for a few years now and he has his flexbone system in place. One thing that certainly helps coming into a season is having a quarterback that knows the system like the back of his hand. Junior [player_tooltip player_id="38714" first="Brayden" last="Dutton"] was very successful running the flexbone in 2020 and with his return next year, the Millers will be a serious team to watch out for. Dutton has the game IQ to make the right decision every time but he also has the athletic ability to beat a defense. [player_tooltip player_id="38657" first="Ethane" last="Hyche"] - Running Back - Edmond Santa Fe Edmond Santa Fe has several players that are known across the state as some of the best prospects in Oklahoma. However, not many people knew about senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="38657" first="Ethane" last="Hyche"] coming into this season. After a tough start to the season, where Santa Fe went 0-2 in their first two weeks, Hyche took off after that. He put up monster numbers every week and even split carries at time with [player_tooltip player_id="61222" first="Micah" last="Snoddy"]. And even though he was splitting carries, Hyche was still one of the most productive running backs in Oklahoma. OTHER TOP PLAYERS [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] - Running Back - Union Union’s [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"] is one of the fastest players in the state and he showed that plenty of times this season. After a slow start, Union rallied to make it all the way to the 6A-1 semifinals. A big reason behind that was Union unlocking Green’s ability within this new look offense. Union had a three-headed monster at running back and all three had shining moments but Green was without a doubt the biggest playmaker of the bunch. Whenever he got the ball in his hands and was in the open field, you expected a touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="38505" first="Angelo" last="Rankin Jr."] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Edmond Santa Fe Edmond Santa Fe made a run to the state championship game and captured another district title and a huge reason behind that was the play of senior [player_tooltip player_id="38505" first="Angelo" last="Rankin Jr."] The two-way star for the Wolves was extremely valuable in all three phases. On offense, he was a slot weapon, on defense, he was a shutdown corner and in special teams, kickers would have to decide to kick it to Rankin, [player_tooltip player_id="38667" first="Talyn" last="Shettron"] or do a deep onside. And right now, he’s one of the top unsigned prospects in Oklahoma’s senior class. [player_tooltip player_id="38527" first="Dayton" last="Wolfe"] - Quarterback - Westmoore A lot of defensive coordinators in 6A-1 might be reading this and wondering when [player_tooltip player_id="38527" first="Dayton" last="Wolfe"] graduates. The Westmoore senior has been an impact player since taking over as QB1 during his sophomore season. He’s a legitimate dual-threat quarterback and continued that this season. The Jags have had one of the best offenses in Oklahoma over the last three seasons and a lot of that has to do with Wolfe. The Jaguars will certainly look different without their star quarterback lining up under center next season. [player_tooltip player_id="48802" first="Dominique" last="Dunn"] - Running Back - Mustang Mustang came into the 2020 season with a lot of hype and a lot of that had to do with all the young talent on this Bronco team. However, the best player from this year’s Mustang team was senior [player_tooltip player_id="48802" first="Dominique" last="Dunn"]. The senior running back had an unbelievable offseason in which he grew into a legitimate D1 prospect. He backed that up with his play on the field. And he made an impact immediately as he helped lead his team to a season-opening win over rival Yukon. That sparked a great season for Dunn. [player_tooltip player_id="38516" first="Emaud" last="Triplett"] - Linebacker - Owasso Owasso senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38516" first="Emaud" last="Triplett"] is signed with Army and we feel bad for other countries. The Owasso backer is one of the best at his position in Oklahoma. When it comes to being a college prospect, Army is getting an absolute steal in Triplett. He’s been a star on Owasso’s defense for the last two seasons. This year, he took his game to the next level, on the field and off. We knew he was one of the best at his position but he also took a big leadership role with some of the younger players on the team. [player_tooltip player_id="38555" first="Gabe" last="Trevillison"] - Running Back - Norman North Oklahoma is loaded with running backs right now in every class and here we have yet another at the position. Norman North senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="38555" first="Gabe" last="Trevillison"] is one of the more underrated players in the state. He’s battled injuries to still be one of the more productive running backs in 6A-1. Norman North has had their struggles over the last two seasons and they appear to have some young talent so the future is bright. However, Trevillison has been making plays for the last two years and is one of the best at the position. [player_tooltip player_id="38573" first="Gage" last="Laney"] - Defensive Back - Owasso While plenty of attention went to the linebacker group when you looked at this Owasso defense, one big playmaker returning was safety [player_tooltip player_id="38573" first="Gage" last="Laney"]. The senior came into the season as a ball hawk and will leave as the best in Owasso football history. He set the record for most interceptions in a career early on and continued to pad that number throughout the season, finishing in double digits. While the future is bright for Owasso on offense, replacing guys like Laney and Triplett will be tough to do in 2021. [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"] - Running Back/Defensive Back - Jenks You can honestly include [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"] right there with [player_tooltip player_id="38514" first="Jayden" last="Patrick"] and make them Co-Players Of The Year in 6A-1 and we wouldn’t make much of an argument there. We’ve written about it plenty of times this year how the only question around Jenks coming into this season would be the running back position. [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"] not only met but exceeded any expectations back in August. He was a methodical runner who ended up being one of the best overall players in Oklahoma and helped lead the Trojans to the title. [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] - Running Back - Broken Arrow If you followed recruiting, you knew all about Broken Arrow’s [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"] coming into the 2020 season. He’s already regarded as one of the best prospects in Oklahoma’s 2022 class. However, he’s made things certainly interesting as all the recruiting hype is around him as a defensive back but he just had a great season running the football. In fact, it didn’t take long for him to make an impact running the ball as he had a great game in their season-opener and never looked back. [player_tooltip player_id="38667" first="Talyn" last="Shettron"] - Wide Receiver - Edmond Santa Fe Going into 2021, Edmond Santa Fe’s [player_tooltip player_id="38667" first="Talyn" last="Shettron"] will not only be out to prove he’s one of the best players in Oklahoma, but in the country. He’s already established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the country and has a legitimate shot to become an All American next season. Since his freshman season, Shettron has been an impact player and this season might have been his best. He had everyone’s attention coming into 2020 and he was still unstoppable against defense after defense this season. TOP STORYLINE East Continues Stranglehold On The Gold Ball Every single season the question is asked in 6A-1 whether or not this is the year for a westside team to break the streak and win a state championship. Some seasons, the odds are a little more favorable and 2020 was one of those seasons. Edmond Santa Fe brought in a strong team and the Wolves would make it all the way to the state championship game. But in the end, the Tulsa-area teams continued their control over the state’s largest class. That stranglehold has been expanded to include Broken Arrow and Owasso after those two teams captured state titles in the last three seasons. Before that, it was Jenks and Union. The two teams alone won every 6A and 6A-1 championship from 1996-2016. During that stretch, Jenks won 13 and Union won 8. Owasso captured the 2017 and 2019 titles and Broken Arrow won their first ever championship in 2018. The westside teams have gotten close but that dominance is still one-sided. We’re not in the camp that a westside team will never win it all. Never is a long time. But it might not be happening anytime soon. EARLY LOOK AT 2021 Reigning champion Jenks will have to reload if they want a shot at defending their championship. The Trojans lose a lot of talent to graduation, but if we’ve learned anything over the last three decades, the Trojans have no problems with reloading. Owasso and Union might be battling it out for the top spot in the preseason rankings with so much talent coming back on both sides of the ball. For Owasso, their offense will be one of the best in Oklahoma, regardless of class. They will have some new faces on the defensive side of the ball. For Union, they have a good mix of offensive and defensive starters returning and they have the potential to make a run after back to back six win seasons. Edmond Santa Fe will be in the mix again but the target will be bigger than ever after winning back to back district championships and a state runner up finish in 2020. Broken Arrow will have a new head coach after the Tigers stunningly fired David Alexander earlier this month. And if you’re looking for a dark horse, we’ll take a Yukon team that is building something special and with key pieces returning, they could make some noise in 2021.