Scene Setter – Tuttle AT Cushing

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> Now that district play is here, the games and the action get ratcheted up a notch. Every Monday, we release our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/09/week-four-top-ten-games-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Top Ten games throughout Oklahom</strong></a>a. Starting this week and throughout the season, we’ll have special "Scene Setter" posts, taking a deeper look into the to match-up’s across the state of Oklahoma. This week, our game of the week takes place in Cushing as the #1 ranked Cushing Tigers will host perennial powerhouse and 2nd ranked Tuttle in a 4A 1 VS 2 showdown. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will be on hand for the 1 VS 2 encounter but before we get there, let’s take a further look into the match-up. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>GAME PREVIEW</strong></span> It doesn’t get much better than this as we have #1 squaring off with #2 in Class 4A with Cushing hosting Tuttle on Friday night. This contest will more than likely decide the district championship and this battle of Tigers will absolutely be a clash of styles when these two teams get on the field. Both teams aren’t shy with how they’re winning games this season. Cushing has lit up the scoreboard behind a passing offense that has yet to be slowed down. On the other side, Tuttle is doing what Tuttle does and that’s run the ball and play stingy defense. We’ve had this game circled on the calendar for several months now as these two teams have been 1 and 2 in the 4A rankings for a while now. Both teams have backed up all the offseason and preseason hype with the way they’ve started this year. In last year’s meeting, Tuttle ran away from Cushing and it was running back [player_tooltip player_id="54485" first="Tyler" last="Woodson"] who ended up having a big night in the win. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>MARQUEE MATCH-UP </strong><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] VS The Tuttle Defense</strong></em></span> Something will have to give here as Cushing junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] and this high-powered Cushing offense goes against a Tuttle defense that can shut opponents down. In fact, that’s what they’ve done so far this season. They shut out Sulphur in the opener and then held Plainview and Newcastle to 20 combined points. They don’t have a wealth of stars on that side of the ball. They just have a unit that plays excellent team defense and they’re all on the same page and that’s shutting opposing offenses down. However, the game on Friday night will be their toughest test of the year as Berlowitz and this Cushing offense continues to improve every single week. The junior QB has thrown 16 touchdowns with just 1 interception and the scoring outputs have increased week after week. They put up 50+ points on Berryhill in a blowout victory a week ago. We probably won’t see either team score 50+ points on Friday night and there’s a chance that both teams combined don’t reach 50 in this excellent chess match. But when we talk about this match-up, this is without a doubt the marquee thing to watch. If Berlowitz has his way, Cushing will roll, if the Tuttle defense shut him down, we could see a new #1 team in 4A football this weekend. <hr /> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">WHY CUSHING WILL WIN</span></strong> If Cushing is to stay ranked #1 in Class 4A this weekend and get a big win over Tuttle, one thing is certain, they have to avoid turnovers and short possessions. If they can put together lengthy possessions and not give Tuttle extra opportunities, they’ll have a good shot to pull off the win. Adding to what we mentioned in the "Marquee Match-Up" section, if Berlowitz and the Cushing offense continue to roll like we’ve seen so far this year, they’ll be in good shape. However, going against this Tuttle defense will provide them with their toughest test of the year. But if they can avoid the costly turnover and also avoid the short possessions where they go three and out and give it right back to Tuttle, they’ll be in good shape on Friday night. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>WHY TUTTLE WILL WIN</strong></span> Everything that will help Cushing win, the opposite is why Tuttle will win this 1 VS 2 match-up. The Cushing offense hasn’t been contained yet but if Tuttle turns them over or if they force those short possessions, they’ll be able to control time of possession with their rushing attack on the offensive side of the ball. That’s where Tuttle can do the most damage and get out of this road contest with a win. Tuttle will make no secret about what they want to do on offense and that’s running the football. If they’re able to move the chains and put together drives that take up five to seven minutes of game action, that keeps Cushing’s biggest strength on the sideline, unable to do anything. If Tuttle ends up winning the time of possession battle by a significant margin, that probably means that Tuttle will be the new #1 team in 4A this weekend. <hr /> Be sure to stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma on the web and on Twitter throughout the game and throughout the weekend. You can follow us on Twitter <strong><a href="http://www.twitter.com/PrepRedzoneOK" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@PrepRedzoneOK</a></strong>. And we’ll have a free game recap up on the website following the game on Friday night. This weekend, you can check out in-depth scouting reports on both teams and some of their top performers.