Players To Watch - Week Two

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! 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! [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] - 2023 Quarterback - Cushing Cushing Hosts Perkins-Tryon In one of the more underrated rivalry games this week, it’ll be 4A’s top ranked Cushing hosting Perkins-Tryon in the battle for Highway 33. Cushing is ranked number one in 4A behind an offense that has a great chance to be the best in 4A football and one of the best in the state, regardless of class. Leading that high-powered offense is junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"], who is in our opinion, one of the best quarterbacks in a very talented junior class for that position. In their week one win over Bristow last week, Berlowitz completed 24-42 passes for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns. His main target is fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"], who was one of our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/09/week-one-top-performers-pt-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Week One Top Performers</a> for his 200+ yard performance in the win. This rivalry clash will feature a great quarterback battle as Perkins-Tryon counters with senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="119092" first="Gunnar" last="Thrash"], who is in his first year as QB1 for Perkins after [player_tooltip player_id="38589" first="Austin" last="Mages"] graduated. Thrash put up some pretty big numbers last week as well and we could end up seeing a shootout on Friday night. If it ends up being a shootout, Berlowitz has plenty of weapons around him to get the job done and remain in the top spot in Class 4A. [player_tooltip player_id="38720" first="Corey" last="Metscher"] - 2022 Running Back/Linebacker - Bethel Bethel Hosts McLoud I’ve talked about how Class 2A is arguably the deepest class in Oklahoma for several years and this year is no different. Bethel is a perfect example of that. They’re a team just on the outside looking in on the 2A top ten and could end up being there very soon led by a strong team. They took care of Meeker in week one and will now host a McLoud team that is #9 in Class 3A. Leading the way for Bethel in the last few seasons has been two-way star [player_tooltip player_id="38720" first="Corey" last="Metscher"]. On offense, he’s their top running back and on defense, he’s an outstanding linebacker. In last week’s win over Meeker, Metscher had a pretty complete performance in the season opener. He finished with just over 200 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries. From his linebacker spot, Metscher finished with 11 tackles and also chipped in on special teams with a blocked punt and he had a 38-yard kick return. Metscher is one of the more underrated senior prospects because you look at his film and his production over the last few years and there aren’t many that are at the same level. With a strong performance on Friday night and then in three weeks when they play a Washington team that made it all the way to the 2A title game a year ago, Metscher’s stock will absolutely skyrocket. [player_tooltip player_id="199075" first="DeSean" last="Mays"] - 2023 Running Back - Vian Vian Is At Lincoln Christian We’ve written quite a few times how Lincoln Christian is in the middle of a 2A gauntlet. They’ve played two top five teams from 2A in Beggs and Jones and now they’ll be welcoming in another top ten team in Vian on Friday night. The Wolverines are 2-0 and have wins over Gravette, AR. and Eufaula. They shut out Gravette but the game with Eufaula was much closer. An early season standout for the Wolverines this season has been junior running back [player_tooltip player_id="199075" first="DeSean" last="Mays"]. The Vian coaches were very high on Mays coming into the season and thought he could be an instant impact player for them. Well, Friday will certainly be the toughest test for Mays and the Wolverines but he’s looked great in the first two games. He ran for over 100 yards and three touchdowns in their win over Gravette in week zero. He followed that up with a 200+ yard performance and two touchdowns against Eufaula last week. Keeping this momentum going with Mays will be a huge key to their game with Lincoln Christian. Beggs tried to win with a running game in week zero and they left Tulsa with a 52-14 loss to the Bulldogs. They had success running at times but Lincoln figured it out pretty quickly. Mays and the Wolverines will have to be on their A game. [player_tooltip player_id="193014" first="Griffin" last="Stieber"] - 2022 Quarterback - Broken Arrow Broken Arrow Is At Owasso It’s been a back and forth story for Broken Arrow’s [player_tooltip player_id="193014" first="Griffin" last="Stieber"]. As a sophomore, on Broken Arrow’s JV team, Stieber was a quarterback. As a junior, he moved to tight end. With Josh Blankenship as BA’s new head coach, Stieber moved back to quarterback and after two games, he’s turned into an excellent quarterback prospect. Broken Arrow beat up on Mansfield Legacy in the season opener and then fell short in their comeback attempt on the road against Union. In his first two games, Stieber has thrown four touchdowns in each of the first two weeks of the season. With eight passing touchdowns and also had a rushing touchdown, Stieber is certainly a quarterback that you have to keep your eye on going into the rest of the season. But before we think about the rest of the season, we look at their highly-anticipated rivalry clash with Owasso. Stieber and the Broken Arrow passing attack have to be more than ready to hit the field against an Owasso defense that has struggled against the pass in the first few weeks. In their first two games, Owasso’s defense has given up 641 yards and five touchdowns. The majority came last week as Fayetteville was able to torch the Rams for over 400 yards in the passing department. [player_tooltip player_id="64999" first="Macuric" last="Demry"] - 2022 Quarterback/Athlete - Will Rogers Will Rogers Hosts Hale Our final player to watch is one we’re very excited to see what he’s able to do in week two. Senior quarterback and athlete [player_tooltip player_id="64999" first="Macuric" last="Demry"] has Will Rogers 1-1 after a dominating win over Okmulgee and a close loss to 4A’s top five Hilldale last week. As the Ropers play host to Nathan Hale on Friday night, they have an opportunity to go into district play with a winning record at 2-1. That’s something that hasn’t happened in quite some time. In the last four years combined, the Ropers are 1-40. Demry has already proven in the first few weeks that not only is he a "stat sheet stuffer" but he’s a catalyst for their success and will have Will Rogers as a team you need to keep an eye on, instead of just assuming an automatic win. In his first two games, Demry has accounted for ten touchdowns on the year with five passing TD’s and another five rushing TD’s. He’s thrown for nearly 600 yards and has over 200 rushing yards. The pace that he’s setting is going to be nearly impossible to keep up but at this point, we can’t really doubt his abilities. If Demry keeps going at the rate he’s shown in the first two weeks, he’ll finish with over 20 passing touchdowns and over 20 rushing touchdowns. And above all the stats, the main story is Demry has this program in position to win games. And after several winless seasons in the last decade, that’s the most important stat.