Choctaw Players To Watch

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> The Class 6A-D2 state championship is set for 7PM on Saturday night at UCO’s Wantland Stadium. We’ll see a familiar face in the Bixby Spartans but their opponent is somewhat surprising after Choctaw stunned Stillwater in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have preview content throughout the week to get you ready for Saturday night’s title game. We continue with our championship preview content with all the players you need to know about for the Choctaw Yellowjackets heading into the title game. <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] - Sophomore Quarterback</strong></span> Not many quarterbacks had as much hype around them before starting one varsity game like Choctaw’s [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"]. The sophomore was already considered one of the state’s top prospects before the season even began. Understandably, Wasel had some growing pains as he got used to the speed of the varsity level. Plenty of mistakes were made early on but as he learned from those mistakes and continued to gain confidence, this offense began to flourish. Wasel is coming off one of his best games throwing the ball in their semifinal win over Stillwater. If he can replicate what he did last week, they will have a good shot to dethrone the champs. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>La’Trell Ray - Sophomore Running Back</strong></span> Yet another sophomore on this talented Choctaw team. While the other two sophomores on this list were known about coming into the season, running back La’Trell Ray has been somewhat of a surprise and has been a breakout star for the Yellowjackets. He’s leading the team in rushing with over 1,100 yards and gives Wasel another weapon in this Choctaw backfield. Ray and Wasel are a strong 1-2 combination in the backfield as Wasel is a threat to run the ball as well. With his frame, he’s more of a power runner while Ray gives the Yellowjackets that speed and quickness when he gets on the outside. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Terrill Davis - Senior Wide Receiver</strong></span> The only senior on the offensive side of the ball on this list, wide receiver Terrill Davis has stepped into a role that he didn’t know he would have coming into the season. With star wide out [player_tooltip player_id="38496" first="Chase" last="Jackson"] going down in their first game of the year with a season-ending injury, the Yellowjackets would need to find someone to replace that production. Davis has not only stepped up but he’s turned into one of the top senior wide receivers in Oklahoma. Coming into the championship game, Davis is the leading receiver with nearly 1,000 yards on the year. He’ll be Wasel’s home run threat in Saturday’s game. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] - Sophomore Tight End</strong></span> Yet another sophomore on this list, this helps explain why Choctaw had so much hype around their program coming into this season. Sophomore tight end [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] is getting better and better every time he steps onto the field. It’s going to be scary to see what the Wasel-Jackson connection looks like in two years when they’re seniors after growing and playing together. That combination is already a scary one as Jackson provides Wasel that reliable target when he can’t push the ball down the field. Jackson is a match-up nightmare for defenses. More times than not, he’s bigger than every player on the opposing defense. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38673" first="Cade" last="McConnell"] - Junior Offensive Lineman</strong></span> He’s one of the top junior prospects in Oklahoma’s 2022 class, offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="38673" first="Cade" last="McConnell"] anchors an offensive line that is incredibly talented and things start with him. He’s one of the best offensive tackles in the state and he uses that combination of size, strength and skill to dominate his opponents. Choctaw’s offense has continued to improve throughout the season and things start up front with the line. The Yellowjackets certainly have a lot of young and talented playmakers but if McConnell and the O-Line aren’t doing their jobs, it will be a struggle. McConnell and this group are hungry to finish off the season strong. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH</span></strong> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"] - Junior Defensive Lineman</strong></span> Another breakout star for the Yellowjackets is junior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"]. He’s been one of the best in the state at getting to the quarterback and it’s not hard to see why when you watch him play. The size, speed and strength provide Brown with mismatch after mismatch against opposing offensive linemen. He has 15 sacks on the season and he’s determined to get more on Saturday. Brown and the Yellowjackets are coming off a game against Stillwater where they absolutely wrecked shop and sacked the quarterback nearly ten times in the win. Once again, if they replicate that performance, they’ll be in good shape. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38572" first="Donnie" last="Wingate"] - Senior Defensive Lineman</strong></span> On the other side of Brown is another standout lineman in senior [player_tooltip player_id="38572" first="Donnie" last="Wingate"]. The senior has nearly ten sacks on the season and he’s able to take advantage when more resources are used to slow down Brown and some of the other Choctaw pass rushers. Wingate is a highly intelligent player who has just gotten better and better on the field. Like we mentioned with Brown, Wingate and this defensive line is coming off a stellar performance. The thing that made them nearly impossible to stop was their speed. Stillwater’s O-line is talented but they’re big. Wingate and the Jackets used speed to get right by them. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38492" first="Jordan" last="Mukes"] - Senior Defensive Back</strong></span> On a team full of young talent, [player_tooltip player_id="38492" first="Jordan" last="Mukes"] was the first big name in this Yellowjacket football program. Now committed to Oklahoma, Mukes emerged late last season and it didn’t take long for his blow up to happen during the offseason. Mukes is a top ten prospect in the senior class and he’s played like it this fall. He’s shown off his versatility as he’s played several different spots in the Choctaw secondary. But without a doubt where he’s at his best is as a lockdown corner. One of the best match-up’s to look for on Saturday is Mukes against Bixby breakout sophomore receiver [player_tooltip player_id="55156" first="Luke" last="Hasz"].