Class 5A Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Today, we continue our class by class previews. For the next two weeks, we’ll take a look at the best teams in each class, along with the best players, best games and some of the storylines that you should pay attention to going into the new season. All of this will lead us right up to the start of the 2021 season in week zero. We continue with a look at 5A. As always, stay tuned to the website for more class by class previews. PREP REDZONE PRESEASON RANKINGS 1) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/mcalester-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McALESTER</a> (Coaches Ranking: #4) 2) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/collinsville-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COLLINSVILLE</a> (Coaches Ranking: #3) 3) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/carl-albert-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CARL ALBERT</a> (Coaches Ranking: #1) 4) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/ardmore-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ARDMORE</a> (Coaches Ranking: #8) 5) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/coweta-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COWETA</a> (Coaches Ranking: #6) 6) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/bishop-mcguinness-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BISHOP McGUINNESS</a> (Coaches Ranking: #2) 7) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/guthrie-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GUTHRIE</a> (Coaches Ranking: #7) 8) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/el-reno-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EL RENO</a> (Coaches Ranking: UR) 9) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/bishop-kelley-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BISHOP KELLEY</a> (Coaches Ranking: #5) 10) <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/tahlequah-team-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TAHLEQUAH</a> (Coaches Ranking: UR) <hr /> ALL 5A TEAM Offense QB - [player_tooltip player_id="38687" first="Gage" last="Hamm"] - Senior - Coweta RB - [player_tooltip player_id="38684" first="Buddy" last="Bizzell"] - Senior - Carl Albert RB - [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] - Junior - McAlester RB - [player_tooltip player_id="38689" first="Jaylon" last="Orange"] - Senior - Shawnee WR - [player_tooltip player_id="30990" first="Jalen" last="Reed"] - Senior - Ardmore WR - [player_tooltip player_id="64382" first="Oscar" last="Hammond"] - Senior - Collinsville OL - [player_tooltip player_id="160657" first="Avion" last="Simon"] - Senior - McAlester OL - [player_tooltip player_id="38712" first="Braden" last="Kirkland"] - Senior - Shawnee OL - [player_tooltip player_id="54350" first="Brandt" last="Haag"] - Junior - Bishop McGuinness OL - [player_tooltip player_id="38683" first="Cash" last="Hudson"] - Senior - Bishop Kelley OL - [player_tooltip player_id="150523" first="Lane" last="Williams"] - Senior - Shawnee Defense DL - [player_tooltip player_id="38722" first="David" last="Rowaiye"] - Senior - Southeast DL - [player_tooltip player_id="38738" first="James" last="Maguire"] - Senior - Piedmont DL - [player_tooltip player_id="154211" first="Malachi" last="Wrice"] - Sophomore - McAlester LB - [player_tooltip player_id="61136" first="Brayden" last="Gilkey"] - Senior - Collinsville LB - [player_tooltip player_id="38690" first="Chase" last="Faber"] - Senior - McAlester LB - [player_tooltip player_id="114810" first="Eli" last="McWilliams"] - Senior - Tahlequah LB - [player_tooltip player_id="61132" first="Mikey" last="Devereaux"] - Senior - El Reno DB - [player_tooltip player_id="38706" first="Dakaree" last="Scott"] - Senior - Ardmore DB - [player_tooltip player_id="38721" first="D’Angelo" last="Mitchell"] - Senior - Sapulpa DB - [player_tooltip player_id="57163" first="Mason" last="Ford"] - Junior - Coweta DB - [player_tooltip player_id="165365" first="Ta’Shawn" last="James"] - Junior - Carl Albert Kicker/Athletes K - [player_tooltip player_id="185648" first="Hunter" last="Wood"] - Senior - Claremore ATH - [player_tooltip player_id="51256" first="Andrew" last="Carney"] - Senior - Collinsville ATH - [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"] - Junior - Bishop McGuinness ATH - [player_tooltip player_id="38772" first="Montez" last="Edwards"] - Senior - Lawton MacArthur ATH - [player_tooltip player_id="111754" first="Trevor" last="Lorenz"] - Senior - Noble <hr /> MARK THE CALENDARS October 8th - Carl Albert AT Bishop McGuinness It’s first on the list because it’s the first one chronologically but it’s also been the biggest game in Class 5A for five years now. The Bishop McGuinness Carl Albert rivalry has become one of the best in the state, based solely on their dominance of Class 5A. The Titans have won five straight titles and four of those came in rematches with Bishop McGuinness. So when the Titans travel to OKC to face the Irish on October 8th, there’s a good chance that it’s only the first time these two teams square off this year. While two other teams might be at the top of the preseason rankings, it’s Carl Albert and Bishop McGuinness who have owned the 5A postseason. Making it very clear that the road to Wantland Stadium goes through the Titans and the Irish. October 14th - McAlester AT Coweta One of the toughest districts in Class 5A last year ended up being 5A-3. Bishop Kelley, Coweta and McAlester all battled for district supremacy and the same thing will happen this year. However, the marquee match-up comes on October 14th, when McAlester travels to Coweta for a fall break clash that could end up deciding the district championship. Both teams return plenty of their starters and have a lot to be excited about as McAlester comes in as the preseason #1 team and Coweta is close behind at #5 in the preseason rankings. If these two end up coming into this game with undefeated records, we could be talking about a top three or top four match-up. Bishop Kelley will certainly have something to say about the district championship race but the winner here will be in the driver’s seat and have a good chance to make a run in November. October 22nd - El Reno AT Ardmore Our final game to watch takes place in the other westside district and is another battle between two teams that are ranked in our 5A preseason rankings. Ardmore comes in as the favorite to capture this district after the last few years of El Reno dominating. The Indians will be traveling south to face off with the Tigers in a game that will more than likely decide the district champion. El Reno has to replace star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38688" first="Dorian" last="Plumley"] but they feel like they have another standout waiting to have a breakout season at that position. Ardmore counters with a stellar QB of their own in [player_tooltip player_id="98174" first="Cal" last="Swanson"]. While he’s not as dynamic of an athlete, he has the chance to have one of the best arms in Class 5A this fall. A lot will be on the line when these two square off in week eight. <hr /> NOTABLE STORYLINES Carl Albert’s Dynasty Under New Management There is no doubt that when it comes to storylines in Class 5A football, the biggest one centers around the Carl Albert dynasty. The Titans have captured five consecutive state championships. They are the team to beat in Class 5A as the five-time defending state champions but 2021 is going to look much different than what we’ve seen during that five-year stretch. First off, the Titans will have a new quarterback under center. After four years of starting at QB1 and winning over 50 games, four state titles and only losing twice as a starter, [player_tooltip player_id="38534" first="Ben" last="Harris"] has graduated and a new QB will lead the Titan offense. The same can be said for the head coaching position as Mike Corley replaced Hall Of Fame coach Gary Rose in 2017. He stepped into an unbelievable position where few coaches succeed after the legendary coach moves on. That didn’t happen here. Just like with Harris, Corley led the Titans to over 50 wins and the four state titles during his four years as head coach. This offseason, Corley decided to step down and now Mike Dunn looks to continue the Titan dynasty. Dunn is a Carl Albert alum and has spent the last several seasons leading the Del City program. When the Carl Albert job came open, Dunn was an easy favorite to take over the position. Now, he steps not only into a program that he’s replacing a pair of coaching legends with Rose and Corley, he’s facing the challenge of looking to continue this Titan dynasty. Only three other programs in state history have captured six consecutive state championships and Jenks is the only team that has done it playing 11-man football. Morrison and Shattuck each achieved it but were in Class B and Class C respectively during their championship runs. Carl Albert has made plenty of history over the last three decades. And despite having a new head coach and a new quarterback, the expectations remain the same and they’ll look for more this fall. Westside Dominance When it comes to Oklahoma high school football, one of the biggest conversations is the talent gap between the east and west in 6A-1. However, Class 5A has quietly gained a big gap as well and it favors the westside. Over the last decade, all ten state champions were from the west side of the state. Obviously, the majority of those titles were won by Carl Albert, but you also had Altus, Guthrie (twice) and Lawton Mac capturing gold balls in the last ten years. During that same stretch, teams from the east side made it to the title game on only four occasions. The last time a team from the east even made it to the title game was in 2015 when Collinsville lost to Altus. And again, since then, it’s basically just been Carl Albert and Bishop McGuinness as they’ve met in the title game four of the last five years. Ardmore was the only other team to break through and make it to the title game. You have to go all the way back to 2005 to find a current east side team that won the state championship as East Central raised the gold ball that year. Booker T Washington won titles in 2008 and again in 2010 but they are now in 6A-2. Even including Booker T Washington, it’s been over ten seasons since a team from the east side captured a gold ball. 2021 might be the year where we see this run come to an end. The top two teams in our preseason rankings are McAlester and Collinsville respectively. Both teams made it to the semifinals a year ago and bring back the majority of their talent this year. Will McGuinness Reload Again? At this time last year, we weren’t very high on Bishop McGuinness as they barely cracked our preseason top ten. They had to replace star running back Dominic Richardson as well as many others and we thought they would take a step back. Whoops. The Irish made it back to the state championship game for the fourth time in five years. Granted, we didn’t know that they would have a quarterback who would finish with numbers that make video game numbers look silly. [player_tooltip player_id="38557" first="Luke" last="Tarman"] finished with over 2,000 yards passing and another 2,000 yards rushing and led the Irish throughout the season. But now they have to replace him and we again come into a season where we’re not sure that McGuinness can make another trip to Wantland Stadium. But nothing would surprise us from the Irish at this point and they certainly have some talent returning this fall. You have the start the conversation with the pair of juniors they have on offense in lineman [player_tooltip player_id="54350" first="Brandt" last="Haag"] and running back [player_tooltip player_id="51871" first="Michael" last="Taffe"]. Haag missed nearly all of 2020 with a knee injury but the Irish coaches feel like he could end up being just as highly recruited as Owen Condon from a few years ago. And Taffe didn’t have as much production last year because of Tarman’s superman efforts but he has the potential to be one of the best backs in this junior class. He also has experience of playing quarterback from his freshman year at Millwood and he also lined up at wide receiver last year. So the Irish can and most certainly will get creative with how they use their standout junior. <hr /> RELATED <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-6a-d1-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class 6A-D1 Preview</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-6a-d2-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class 6A-D2 Preview</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-4a-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class 4A Preview</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-3a-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class 3A Preview</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-2a-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class 2A Preview</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/08/class-a-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">- Class A Preview</a>