Road To Wantland - Choctaw Yellowjackets

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! 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 “Road To Wantland” series, taking a look back at the season for the Choctaw Yellowjackets. Preseason – Ranked Number 6 Choctaw certainly came into 2020 with a lot of momentum and expected this season to be one to remember. They were coming off a season in which they made it to the semifinals for the first time in decades. With plenty of talent returning in 2020, and some really young and talented prospects emerging, the preseason hype around the Yellowjackets was real. However, a big question would be around their quarterback position. They had to replace a QB who put up monster numbers last year. His replacement would be sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"], who was one of those young and talented prospects. Despite never starting a game, Wasel was considered one of the better QB prospects in the state’s 2023 class. Wasel would have talent around him like junior offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="38673" first="Cade" last="McConnell"] and senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="38496" first="Chase" last="Jackson"]. The senior wideout committed to TCU this offseason and would give Wasel a big time receiver. On defense, senior corner [player_tooltip player_id="38492" first="Jordan" last="Mukes"] was knocking on the door of being one of the top overall prospects. On paper, the Yellowjackets certainly had talent. September 4 – Lost To Springdale, AR. 46-18 Choctaw kicked off their 2020 season with a road trip to Springdale, Arkansas. This would not only kick off the Choctaw season but it would start a three-game stretch where the Yellowjackets only played Arkansas teams. Choctaw’s non-district schedule was strictly Arkansas teams. And while the Yellowjackets were excited to get the season started, things did not go well and that start would be halted by the Bulldogs of Springdale. Springdale would hand Choctaw a 46-18 loss and a long trip back home. Springdale jumped out to a 23-6 halftime lead and would never look back. However, the bigger loss in the long run would be an injury to star wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="38496" first="Chase" last="Jackson"]. The TCU commit went down with a leg injury that would end his season. September 11 – Beat Van Buren, AR. 28-10 Choctaw would bounce back in week two as they would host Van Buren and get a 28-10 lead. It wasn’t exactly a pretty first half for the Yellowjackets as they would only lead 8-7 after two quarters of play but they also turned the ball over four times before halftime. They would come out in the second half and [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] would showcase his talents both throwing the ball and running the ball. Wasel would throw two touchdowns and then added a 46-yard touchdown run with less than five minutes to play to give the Yellowjackets a commanding 28-7 lead. That would be the nail in the coffin as Choctaw would bounce back to improve to 1-1 on the season and they would prepare for another road trip to Arkansas the following week. September 18 – Lost To Greenwood, AR. 23-12 Another trip over to Arkansas would end in another loss and another game where Choctaw’s offense struggled to get anything going. They would lose to Greenwood in week three 23-12. Greenwood led at one point 23-6 in the third quarter. Choctaw would add another touchdown but both teams were scoreless in the final quarter. So Choctaw came out of their three week stretch against Arkansas programs with a 1-2 record and looked ahead at competing in one of the toughest districts in the state. Things wouldn’t be easy as they would have to start with a road test against a very talented Booker T Washington team. September 25 – Beat Booker T Washington 26-22 Choctaw would open up district play against Booker T Washington and despite the game taking place in September, both teams knew that this game had massive playoff implications. The winner would still be alive for the district crown and the loser might have to say goodbye to a possible home playoff game. That was, until the OSSAA added the extra playoff round in October. Booker T Washington would jump out to a 7-0 lead but the Yellowjackets would calm down and started getting things going on the offensive side of the ball. They would lead the Hornets 12-7 at halftime. However, this game would go down to the wire and the Hornets put the Yellowjackets on the ropes. They would score to go up 22-19 with less than five minutes to go and put the pressure on Choctaw. However, the Jackets were calm, cool and collected and responded with a touchdown drive that ended with Wasel connecting with receiver Terril Davis with just over two minutes left. The Choctaw defense would do their job and the Jackets were now 2-2 and more importantly 1-0 in district play. October 2 – Beat Ponca City 20-14 Looking back at this season for Choctaw and one thing really comes to mind. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One week, this team looked like the best team in the state. The next week, they would mess around with a team that they should be taking care of early. That was the case in week five as they faced off against Ponca City. Choctaw flexed their muscles early by scoring on a Wasel touchdown bomb in the first couple minutes of the game. However, early in the second quarter, the Yellowjackets trailed Ponca City 14-6. The Yellowjackets would score two touchdowns in the final seven minutes of the second quarter to lead 20-14 at halftime. That would be the final score as both teams were scoreless in the third and fourth quarters. Choctaw again dealt with turnover issues as they managed to still get the win, improving to 3-2 on the season, setting up a big showdown with powerhouse Bixby. October 9 – Lost To Bixby 24-13 As we know now, this would be the first of two meetings during the 2020 season. And maybe we should have known that a rematch was imminent after these two squared off in week six. But with the way Choctaw had played in the first five weeks, it was hard to get a read on the Yellowjackets. Bixby would survive an upset scare from Choctaw, winning 24-13. But the Spartans would have to earn every bit of this win. Bixby’s high-powered offense was held to a season-low 24 points. These two teams were scoreless after the first quarter and it was a tie game at 7 when halftime hit. Bixby’s offense would strike quick in the second half, scoring to go up 14-7 within the first minute of the third quarter. That touchdown would give the Spartans the lead for good. Overall, the Spartans would score 17 unanswered in the second half to go up 24-7. The Yellowjackets never went away but the Spartans were never really in danger to lose this game late. October 15 – Beat Muskogee 26-10 Choctaw came into Fall Break facing a Muskogee team that was winless on the season. The Yellowjackets had to like their chances after putting a scare into Bixby the week before. However, Choctaw knew that Muskogee would give them a game after the Yellowjackets ended Muskogee’s season last year in the quarterfinals. The Yellowjackets would jump out to a 14-10 lead at halftime and add on from there in the second half, while the defense did their thing. Running back La’Trell Ray got loose in the third quarter for an 84-yard touchdown to extend the Yellowjacket lead. Wasel would add a touchdown run in the fourth quarter and the Yellowjackets would roll to a 26-10 victory over the Roughers. Up next was a match-up against one of the more improved teams in the state in Sand Springs. October 23 – Beat Sand Springs 34-9 The Yellowjackets would welcome first year head coach Bobby Klinck and his Sandites in week eight. They also spotted Sand Springs a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The Choctaw offense then got going in the second period. It began about halfway through the quarter when Wasel scored a short touchdown run. Choctaw’s turnover issues would cost them as they turned the ball over, leading to a Sand Springs touchdown and they trailed the Sandites 9-7 at halftime. However, the defense once again shut out their opponent in the second half and the offense found it’s groove. Choctaw would add a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to go up for good. They would add two more in the fourth quarter on Wasel and Ray touchdown runs to give Choctaw the 34-9 win. While the offense was starting to roll, the defense was playing lights out and they looked to continue that the following week. October 30 – Beat Putnam City West 55-12 We wouldn’t have much drama in week nine as Choctaw absolutely steamrolled a Putnam City West team that would end up winless on the season and would opt out of playoff competition. The final result was never in doubt and it was an opportunity for the Yellowjackets to correct some mistakes from earlier in the season and sharpen their skills with the playoffs right around the corner. It was actually a slow start for the Yellowjackets in the first quarter as they would just have a field goal to give them a 3-0 lead heading into the second period. That second period would see plenty of Choctaw points as Wasel would throw for one touchdown and run for two more. Breakout star junior [player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"] would score a touchdown on defense and they would lead the Patriots 40-0 at halftime after a 37-point second quarter. The Yellowjackets rolled into the final week of the regular season with a 6-3 record. November 6 – Beat Bartlesville 61-21 Choctaw’s offense would continue to roll into the following week where they faced Bartlesville. They ended up scoring a season-high in points with 61 against the Bruins as they coasted to the win, clinching the second seed and a 7-3 regular season record. The Yellowjackets would waste no time lighting up the scoreboard, scoring three touchdowns in the first five minutes of the game. In the blink of an eye, they would lead the Bruins 21-0. Wasel would have a big night throwing and running the football and the Choctaw offense couldn’t be contained. They were certainly going into the playoffs with a ton of momentum. 1st Round – Bye Week After finishing as the second seed in the east side district of 6A-2, Choctaw would receive a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Choctaw came into the postseason with some momentum after winning their last four games and looking dominant doing so. They were playing week in and week out like the team we thought they could be when the season began. The Yellowjackets would await the winner of Bartlesville and PC-North. If it was Bartlesville the Yellowjackets would face them for the second time in three weeks. Quarterfinals – Beat Putnam City North 20-7 After having the week off, it would be Putnam City North that would visit Choctaw for a quarterfinal clash. Choctaw would score first to go up early and would lead 6-0 after one quarter. While the offense didn’t continue their explosion with a ton of points, the defense kept PC North in check and held them to a season-low in points by only giving up seven to the Panthers. Choctaw added another touchdown in the second quarter and PC North would follow with their only score of the game. The Yellowjackets led 13-7 at halftime. And like they had done so many times before this season, the Yellowjacket defense would shut out their opponent in the second half. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Wasel would score on a touchdown run and that would give Choctaw the 20-7 win. With the win, Choctaw would improve to 7-0 on their home field turf in 2020. They certainly protected their home field. Next up was a rematch with a Stillwater team that ended their season in 2019. Semifinals – Beat Stillwater 38-35 All Choctaw heard about was how they would lose and it would be another Bixby-Stillwater championship game. All they heard about was how they played Stillwater twice last year and lost by a combined 110 points. They heard everything and remembered it all as they took the field for their semifinal clash with the Pioneers and it would end up being one of, if not the game of the year. The Yellowjackets played a nearly perfect game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The pass rush caused problems for Stillwater all day as they finished with nearly ten sacks on the day. They bottled up Stillwater’s star running back [player_tooltip player_id="38521" first="Qwontrel" last="Walker"] better than most teams over the last four years. And Choctaw’s young star quarterback showed why he’s already considered one of the top quarterback prospects in Oklahoma. Some of the throws he made against a good Pioneer defense were P5 college throws and he was doing it as a high school sophomore. However, it all came down to a field goal kick with one second left on the scoreboard. Tommy Yousey was the hero as he kicked a short field goal as time expired to send the Yellowjackets to their first state championship game in 60 years.