Players To Watch – Week Four

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> It’s Friday, and games are kicking off all over the state tonight. Starting today, and every Friday this season, we’ll give you five players to watch across the state. Be sure to check back every Friday for more Players To Watch in Oklahoma and also check out the website throughout the weekend for game recaps, scouting reports, updated rankings, recap podcasts and finally top performers! <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="45651" first="Cole" last="Adams"] - 2023 Wide Receiver - Owasso</strong></span> <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Owasso Is At Union </strong></span></em>Top-ranked Owasso’s offense has not been slowed down at all this season and Friday’s test on the road against #3 Union will provide the Rams with yet another tough test. They’ve had no problems dispatching of top five teams in 6A-1 with a road win against #4 Edmond Santa Fe in week zero and a blowout of #5 Broken Arrow in week two. The junior duo of QB [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] and WR [player_tooltip player_id="45651" first="Cole" last="Adams"] has been something to watch over the first few weeks. The Rams have several weapons at the receiver position but Adams might be the best of the bunch. He has 17 catches for 273 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He started off the year with back to back games of two receiving touchdowns but was held out of the end zone against Broken Arrow. Union is coming off a shutout loss to Jenks in week two. One player that had their way with the Union defense was Jenks’ slot receiver [player_tooltip player_id="98178" first="Ty" last="Walls"]. Adams could end up picking up where Walls left off and inflicting more damage on the Union defense and the secondary in particular. Adams and fellow Ram wideout [player_tooltip player_id="61141" first="Kelan" last="Carney"] are going to be battling throughout the season to see who ends up being Owasso’s leading receiver this year. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="157514" first="Eric" last="Virgil"] - 2023 Running Back - Hilldale</strong></span> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><em><strong>Hilldale Hosts Poteau </strong></em></span>It is one of the best games in the state and in Class 4A specifically. While a lot of attention will be on the 1 VS 2 showdown with Cushing and Tuttle, you have #3 Hilldale hosting #5 Poteau right here. After a breakout sophomore season, running back [player_tooltip player_id="157514" first="Eric" last="Virgil"] has gotten his junior year off to a great start as the Hornets look to finally put down the Pirates and become the new big dogs in the district. Easier said than done as Poteau has dominated this series. However, Virgil might be the best player on the field on Friday night and if he plays like it, Hilldale will have a shot at winning and with the win, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for the district crown. So far this year, Virgil has run for 379 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s coming off back to back games of 100+ yards and multiple touchdowns in each game. He’s without a doubt the best weapon in the Hilldale offense and they use him accordingly. Last week, Virgil threw a pass, caught several passes and ran for more than 100 yards. In last year’s game against Poteau, Virgil was contained in the 38-24 loss to the Pirates. Virgil scored in eight of the first nine games for Hilldale last year. The one game he did not score was in week four against Poteau. He’ll be looking to change that tonight. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] - 2023 Running Back - McAlester</strong></span> <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>McAlester Is At Bishop Kelley </strong></span></em>5A’s top ranked McAlester is off to a 3-0 start and they have looked absolutely dominant so far this season. They open up district play against a Bishop Kelley team that is hungry after starting the year 0-3 against a brutal non-district schedule. The Buffaloes are hopeful to continue Kelley’s losing ways and one way they’ll do it is with the ground game. Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] was one of the breakout stars of the 2020 football season, helping lead the Buffaloes to a semifinal appearance. So far this season, McCarty has picked up where he’s left off. He’s ran for 435 yards and six touchdowns on the season. He’s averaging over 10 yards per carry and the scary part about this year’s McAlester offense is McCarty has help. Three other players have over 100 yards rushing after the first few weeks of the season and McCarty only has 36 carries on the season. The Buffaloes haven’t needed McCarty to be a workhorse back considering their closest game was a 28-point victory over rival Ada back in week two. After having week three off as a bye week, the Buffaloes are ready to get back on the field and run as they look to capture the district crown. The first hurdle for McCarty and McAlester is a road trip to Tulsa to take on Bishop Kelley. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="108886" first="Gavin" last="Frakes"] - 2022 Quarterback - Norman North</strong></span> <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Norman North Is Hosting Mustang </strong></span></em>This one is an easy pick as Norman North looks to stay undefeated tonight as they host Mustang. Last week, the Broncos lost an absolute shootout to Norman High and Norman’s QB [player_tooltip player_id="204031" first="Tias" last="McClarty"] absolutely went off in the shootout. So naturally, we’re going with Norman North quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="108886" first="Gavin" last="Frakes"] here as he’s already gotten off to a great start but he’s playing a Mustang defense that just gave up 64 points last week. Now, McClarty did just about all of his damage on the ground and Frakes is more of a pro-style quarterback but Frakes could put up some big numbers tonight. He already has after the first three weeks. He’s thrown for 843 yards while completing over 80 percent of his passes. He’s also added 256 yards rushing and has accounted for 12 total touchdowns within the Norman North offense. Frakes had an outstanding offseason and that momentum has continued into his senior year. The Norman North QB is currently committed to Princeton but if he continues at the pace he’s going, he’ll keep shooting up the 2022 QB rankings and more schools will try to pull him away from the Ivy League before Signing Day is here. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="206488" first="McKade" last="Peery"] - 2024 Quarterback - Stigler</strong></span> <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Stigler Is At Seminole </strong></span></em>It’s the best game in Class 3A tonight as #8 Stigler goes on the road to take on #7 Seminole. Both teams are off to 4-0 starts and this game could end up being a shootout as both teams have explosive offenses. For Stigler, they have an early candidate for breakout star this year with sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="206488" first="McKade" last="Peery"]. He has been lights out this year for the Panthers. He’s thrown for over 900 yards and 11 touchdowns and is completing 76% of his passes. He’s also ran for nearly 400 yards and six touchdowns over the last month. He first got our attention when he was nearly flawless in a 45-6 drubbing of Adair back in week one. That certainly got our attention and he’s coming off an even better performance last week. In their week three win over Hartshorne, Peery had season-high numbers in passing and rushing. He finished with 355 passing yards and five touchdowns and added 176 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. However, there is no doubt that Friday’s road game will be his toughest test to date. It’s time to find out if this sophomore is ready for the bright lights.