Class 4A Semifinal Preview

The 2020 playoffs are in full swing and we have arrived at semi-final week for Class 5A, 4A, and 3A. Stay tuned for breakdowns for the matchups in each class as we release them all week. Today we will take a look at the matchups in 4A as some of the teams here are as expected and others have been pleasant surprises. Let’s take a look at them. #1 Wagoner (12-0) vs Cushing (9-3) Friday, 7 PM @ Wagoner HS The first semifinal in 4A features 2 teams with very different paths this season. On one side, you have Wagoner who has been near or at the top of our rankings in 4A all season and rightfully so. They have not lost a game in 2020 and have been one of the most dominant teams in the state across all classes as they have outscored their opponents 548-60, which comes out to a ridiculous 45-5 per game. Stopping this team on offense has been nearly impossible and the same could be said for opposing offenses that want to score on their defense as they have pitched 6 shutouts and have only had 3 games all season where they allowed more than one score. On the other side, we have one of the two surprise teams of the 4A playoffs in 9-3 Cushing. Nobody really expected the Tigers to get to this point, including myself, which I am now kicking myself over because they could have been the poster child of my Potential Bracket Buster series along with McAlester if I would’ve had any faith in them against Weatherford. Regardless of my mistakes, Cushing has been electric all year on offense, producing player of the week type performances nearly every game from their young stars and have been the giant slayers of 4A in the playoffs with wins over #2 Weatherford and #6 Hilldale in back to back weeks. Wagoner Players to Watch On offense, Wagoner is led by a handful of Seniors including QB Sawyer Jones, RB Braden Drake, and WR Chase Nanni, who also plays DB on defense. They are not the most heralded players across the state, but they have all played together for multiple years and are one of the most efficient groups in the state, averaging 45 points per game. On defense, Wagoner is led by another pair of Seniors in LB Trey Gause and their Tulsa Commit DL [player_tooltip player_id="38508" first="Isaac" last="Smith"]. Gause is a reliable tackler and a multi-year starter for this team and Smith is by far their best player and one of the best DL in the state. Cushing will have their hands full trying to keep Smith out of the backfield in this one. Cushing Players to Watch As stated earlier, Cushing has been electric on offense this year and that may be the case for the next few seasons as their top players are mostly underclassmen. They are led at QB by Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] who has over 2700 yards and 25 TDs on the season. Blaze has played exceptionally in some big time games this year and is only improving each week with help from his loaded core of skill players that includes Sophomore WR Lane Yaunt, and Senior RB [player_tooltip player_id="62996" first="Hayden" last="Fry"] who has rushed for over 1300 yards this year. However, without a doubt the top playmaker perhaps on either team in this game offensively will be [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"]. Crooks has lit 4A on fire as a sophomore with over 900 yards receiving and 9 TDs on offense, and has been a turnover machine on defense with 6 interceptions on the year. Overall Analysis Before last Friday, I would’ve said that Wagoner looked virtually unbeatable in 2020 but then Tuttle nearly shocked the state by coming within a touchdown of taking them down in their 21-14 quarterfinals matchup.That was both a season low on offense for Wagoner and only the 2nd game all year that they won by less than 21 points. They may be human after all, but it will still be a tall task for Cushing to come out with a victory when you look at Wagoner’s resume. If anyone outside the top 5 were to upset Wagoner though it would be Cushing as they have the firepower on offense to go toe to toe with Wagoner if it becomes a shootout and they have the playmakers on defense to force turnovers and disrupt Wagoner’s offense early. #4 Blanchard (10-2) vs Clinton (7-3) Friday, 7 PM @ Blanchard HS The second semifinal in 4A also features one team in Blanchard that has been ranked high and billed as title contenders by many, and another team in Clinton that caught some tough breaks in the regular season and were an afterthought for the most part once playoffs started. Blanchard has cruised through their season for the most part to this point with their only losses coming to 5A Noble and Bixby’s JV team oddly enough, and they only have a couple of games that were competitive. They roll into this game on a 9 game win streak and their only challenge in the playoffs so far has been a 3 point win over Bristow last week. On the other side we have the 2nd surprise team of 4A in 7-3 Clinton. Clinton finished 2nd in their district this season with all three of their losses being decided by one score against Heritage Hall, Weatherford, and Bethany. Additionally, they have some impressive wins this year over 5A Woodward, and 3A Kingfisher, but had a handful of games cancelled this year due to COVID and have been overlooked for the most part since brackets were released a few weeks ago. Since then though, they have played their way into the semifinals with wins over Harrah, Ada, and #3 Poteau in one of the biggest upsets of the playoffs. Blanchard Players to Watch On offense, led by 2 Senior QBs Colby Langford and Chase Fox, Blanchard has had no problem moving the ball this season. While they both start and are both listed as QBs, Langford has been the more productive passer this year with over 1200 yards and 16 TDs through the air, and Fox has been more of a runner this season with over 500 yards and 5 TDs on the ground, but he does have 4 passing TDs on the season as well. On defense, Blanchard is led by Senior LB [player_tooltip player_id="38646" first="Logan" last="McKay"] who has been an aboslute tackle machine this year with 160 and in his career overall with 371, so watch for McKay to be in on virtually every tackle. Clinton Players to Watch Clinton does not have quite the star power that Blanchard boasts, but they are led by a couple of 2 way studs in [player_tooltip player_id="38610" first="Caden" last="Powell"] and [player_tooltip player_id="38635" first="Artel" last="Bryson"]. Powell plays QB and MLB for Clinton and is a big-bodied bruiser at 6’3" 220 pounds who has bullied teams all season long and is committed to play baseball at OU. Bryson plays RB and FS and leads the team in rushing yards, rushing tds, and is approaching 100 tackles for the year on defense. Blanchard will have their hands full on both sides of the ball all night with these two. Overall Analysis Blanchard will be the favorite in this one for obvious reasons as they have pummeled most teams they have faced and there are not a lot of players for Clinton other than the two we hit on above that many view as being capable of taking over a game like this. However, it has been proven that Blanchard is human in 4A after escaping by 3 points last week against Bristow, and Clinton is playing with their hair on fire currently and has taken down teams ranked higher than Blanchard, so it would be foolish to count them out. My money is cautiously on Blanchard to keep rolling with their balanced attack, with an emphasis on the caution.