6A-D2 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. Tuesday, 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. Yesterday, we kicked off the season in review series with a look back at the 2020 season in <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/12/6a-d1-season-in-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Class 6A-D1</a>. Today, we continue that series with a look back at the season in Class 6A-D2. STATE CHAMPION - BIXBY SPARTANS The Bixby Spartans came into the 2020 season as back to back champs and riding a 25-game winning streak. We’ll admit that we got our preseason analysis of the Spartans DEAD WRONG. We thought they would take a small step back in 2020. And when we say small step, we mean maybe not winning another title. Wrong. Not only did they not take a step back, they remained perfect. They would go 11-0 and capture a third straight title and a sixth title in seven seasons. And Bixby would make it very clear immediately that there would be no steps back in 2020. They opened up the season against Union and blanked them 34-0. The following week, they won an absolute dog fight with Jenks, the eventual 6A-1 state champions, escaping that rivalry clash with a 42-35 victory. All eyes were on the non-district finale as the Spartans were scheduled to travel to Stillwater in week three in a rematch of the last two state championship games. However, Stillwater would have to cancel that game due to Covid. The Spartans would roll into district play and the closest game would be against Choctaw in week six. The week before that, we had a dynasty showdown as Bixby and Carl Albert would have a rare meeting after both teams needed games. The Spartans made another statement, beating the Titans 56-14 on the road. After blowing out Booker T Washington on ESPN, the Spartans rolled into the playoffs. Bixby would face off with Del City for the second straight year and end their season with ease in the quarterfinals. Up next was a semifinal showdown against Midwest City, a team Bixby had beaten in three straight playoffs. Bixby remained perfect in 6A-D2 semifinal appearances and punched their ticket to their seventh state championship game. After Choctaw stunned Stillwater, we would get a championship rematch with the Spartans and the Yellowjackets. Choctaw again pushed the Spartans but Bixby would survive and capture another state championship. The dynasty continues. PLAYER OF THE YEAR [player_tooltip player_id="38679" first="Braylin" last="Presley"] - Running Back - Bixby The first of several state champions here, Bixby’s <a class="pn-player-link" href="https://prepredzone.com/player/braylin-presley/">[player_tooltip player_id="38679" first="Braylin" last="Presley"]<img class=" ls-is-cached lazyloaded" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/Braylin-Presley-1-150x150.jpg" data-src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/Braylin-Presley-1-150x150.jpg" /></a> helped lead Bixby to their third consecutive state championship and the sixth state title in the last seven seasons. Presley and the Spartans go into the offseason with a 36-game winning streak and will once again be favorites in 2021. Presley came out of the gates fast in 2020 and quickly established himself as one of the more dynamic players in Oklahoma. A big reason why Presley finds himself as a finalist, in addition to his stats, is his performances in Bixby’s biggest games of the year. Whether it was an impromptu showdown against Carl Albert, a nationally televised game against rival Booker T Washington or in the state championship, Presley was always the best player on the field. His older brother Brennan was widely considered the best player in Oklahoma last season. Braylin has picked up that title and ran with it in 2020. BREAKOUT STARS [player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"] - Defensive End - Choctaw Choctaw had several breakout players on their way to an state championship appearance but junior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"] was without a doubt at the top of the list. He was among the best in Oklahoma at getting to the quarterback. He finished with over 15 sacks on the season and also had a memorable interception in the state championship game against the Spartans. The Yellowjackets will lose some big names on the defense to graduation but Brown will be a great starting point going into the 2021 season. [player_tooltip player_id="57047" first="Jaden" last="King"] - Defensive Back - Booker T Washington We stick with the defensive side of the ball for another breakout star. Booker T Washington’s [player_tooltip player_id="57047" first="Jaden" last="King"] became the next big time defensive back for the Hornets. Booker T Washington always has some of the best DB’s in Oklahoma and King was this year’s breakout star. With junior [player_tooltip player_id="38668" first="Gentry" last="Williams"] missing most of the season with a knee injury, King emerged to fill that void. He ended with nine interceptions on the season. The rest of the Hornet defense COMBINED had nine interceptions. King is the next Hornet DB up. [player_tooltip player_id="55156" first="Luke" last="Hasz"] - Wide Receiver - Bixby Bixby had to have new guys step up at the wide receiver position in 2020 and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="55156" first="Luke" last="Hasz"] ended up being that guy for the Spartans. Hasz ended up being a breakout star after being more of a basketball player coming into this season. However, it didn’t take long for us to realize that Hasz would be the real deal in the Spartan offense. He’s already established himself as one of the top wide receivers in the 2023 class. Similar to Presley, Hasz had some of his best performances against Bixby’s toughest competition. OTHER TOP PLAYERS [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] - Quarterback - Putnam City North Putnam City North was one of those teams on the rise coming into the season as they moved down from 6A-D1. They had some high expectations in their first year starter at quarterback in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"]. The young gunslinger lived up to those expectations early on, leading PC North out to a fast start. While things didn’t end the way they’d like, the future is bright for Laverty and the Panthers. [player_tooltip player_id="38497" first="Donovan" last="Stephens"] - Defensive Back - Del City Del City had some high expectations coming into 2020 after their semifinal appearance in 2019. Despite the season not going the way they would like, that did not stop [player_tooltip player_id="38497" first="Donovan" last="Stephens"] from being one of the best players in the state. In fact, with Del City struggling to start, Stephens and the Eagles could have mailed it in. But Stephens was a vocal leader from day one and ended his career that way. [player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="Brown"] - Linebacker - Stillwater Stillwater’s [player_tooltip player_id="38676" first="Gabe" last="Brown"] enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore, where he emerged as one of the state’s best at that position. This year, Brown took more of a leadership role on the defense and became like an extension of the coaching staff on the field. Brown committed to Oklahoma State earlier in the season and will go into the 2021 season as one of the best linebackers in Oklahoma. [player_tooltip player_id="38492" first="Jordan" last="Mukes"] - Defensive Back - Choctaw Nobody had quite the offseason like Choctaw’s [player_tooltip player_id="38492" first="Jordan" last="Mukes"]. Following his junior season, Mukes turned into a household name, seemingly overnight as he became one of the top recruits in the state. Eventually, he committed to OU and then came out for his senior season looking to solidify himself as a top player in Oklahoma. He did just that and helped lead the Yellowjackets to a title game appearance. [player_tooltip player_id="51178" first="Logan" last="Ward"] - Tight End/Linebacker/Kicker - Deer Creek You read all of that right. Deer Creek’s [player_tooltip player_id="51178" first="Logan" last="Ward"] was truly a three-phase player for the Antlers. On offense, he was a tight end. Defense, he was a linebacker and special teams he was Deer Creek’s kicker and punter. Ward is considered one of the top kickers in the country. And while that is where his future is at, we can’t overlook everything that Ward brought to the table as an overall athlete. [player_tooltip player_id="38499" first="Makale" last="Smith"] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Midwest City Similar to Ward at Deer Creek, Midwest City’s [player_tooltip player_id="38499" first="Makale" last="Smith"] was one of the best three-phase players in the state this season. On offense, Smith was the home run threat for the Bombers at wide receiver. On defense, Smith was a shutdown corner and is headed to OSU for that position. And finally, Smith was an impact player in the return game and made kickers think twice about kicking to him. [player_tooltip player_id="38531" first="Mason" last="Williams"] - Quarterback - Bixby Is a 36-1 record with over 100 touchdown passes and three state championships any good? That’s exactly what Bixby quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38531" first="Mason" last="Williams"] brings to the table as he’s capped off a memorable career with a state championship. While the debate about Williams continues when it comes to recruiting, there is no doubt that he’s one of the more accomplished QB’s in state history. [player_tooltip player_id="38521" first="Qwontrel" last="Walker"] - Running Back - Stillwater Stillwater running back [player_tooltip player_id="38521" first="Qwontrel" last="Walker"] is one of ten finalists for our Player Of The Year award. And in that post, we wrote about how other 6A-D2 coaches have to be thankful that Walker will finally be graduating after one of the best careers we’ve seen from a running back. Similar to Williams at Bixby, Walker’s recruitment is somewhat puzzling but there is no doubt that he’s been one of the best at the position. [player_tooltip player_id="61142" first="Shamaur" last="Edwards"] - Linebacker - Midwest City Another Bomber that stood out in 2020 was junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="61142" first="Shamaur" last="Edwards"]. The Bombers were once again one of the better defenses in the state. That should come as a surprise to nobody that follows Oklahoma HS football at this point. Edwards finished his junior season with over ten sacks and will be right there with Stillwater’s Brown as one of the top senior linebackers next season. [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] - Quarterback - Choctaw Similar to Laverty at PC North, Choctaw sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] certainly came into his first year as a starter with a lot of hype. By the end of the season, you could see why there was so much hype and Wasel lived up to it. He played like one of the best QB’s in the state in their biggest games. He led the Yellowjackets to the semifinal win and battled a brutal injury to contend with Bixby. TOP STORYLINE 6A-D2 Is Deeper Than Ever Before...But... Coming into this season, we thought the top storyline in 6A-D2 would be the class being deeper and more competitive than ever before. And to a certain extent, that ended up being the case. But there’s a but. While 6A-D2 ended up being deeper, it didn’t matter as the Spartans once again ran the table and captured yet another gold ball. We saw Choctaw rise up and make a run to the title game and push Bixby to the brink, but the Spartans once again brought home gold. However, the future is bright for 6A-D2 for several reasons. We’ll get into it a little more in our next category when we take an early look at the 2021 season. But a lot of teams bring back some very talented players. However the biggest key for some of those other teams outside of Bixby is this. 2021 will more than likely be the last year for the Spartans in 6A-D2. Odds are that the Spartans will finally get that call on their enrollment that puts them in the top 16 in the state, which will bump them up to 6A-D1 starting in 2022. EARLY LOOK AT 2021 Continuing on the storyline, 6A-D2 will be deep once again in 2021. However, it might not matter as the Spartans are going to be at the top of the hill until someone knocks them off. With Presley returning and key pieces on both sides of the ball, Bixby will have a shot to set the state’s all time record for consecutive wins. They have 36 right now and the record is 48. Choctaw will be right there to push the Spartans in 2021 once again. That district will once again be competitive with Booker T Washington still in the mix with a ton of young talent returning. Muskogee will have a new head coach and the Roughers will look to bounce back after a winless 2020 season. In the other district, Stillwater will once again be the favorite to capture the district crown but they will no doubt look different on the offensive side of the ball. Midwest City and Putnam City North both return some playmakers on offense and could end up being contenders. And finally, Del City will be looking to bounce back after a struggle in 2020.