Week Three Top Ten Games
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Every Monday, we take a look at the top ten match-up’s across Oklahoma. It’s week three and it’s the final non-district week before district play begins next week, and games start counting towards playoff seeding. This week’s games are headlined by two monstrous match-up’s in the Tulsa area. First, it’s #1 VS #1 and champ VS champ as Metro Christian hosts Holland Hall. And then in 6A-2, #1 Bixby renews their rivalry with a Stillwater team that is determined to end that winning streak. Plus many more games all across Oklahoma highlight what should be an exciting week three!
1) 3A #1 HOLLAND HALL (2-0) AT 2A #1 METRO CHRISTIAN (2-0)
It’s 1 VS 1 and Champ VS Champ so if you’re not already excited about this one, go check your pulse. It’s Metro Christian hosting Holland Hall in a rare match-up of defending champions. We were fortunate to see it two weeks ago when Bixby and Jenks squared off and now we get another one between the two Tulsa powers. Starting next year, this match-up will feature two teams in Class 3A that are battling for the same trophy. But until then, this is the last tune-up game before both teams enter what could be considered the most difficult districts in their respective classes. Last year, Holland Hall absolutely smashed Metro Christian in their regular season meeting. Granted, the Dutch did that to everyone in 2020. Metro is much improved and both teams will be rested coming into this week after having week two off before the 1 VS 1 showdown.
2) #4 STILLWATER (2-0) AT #1 BIXBY (2-0)
Similar to our game of the week, we don’t have to hype up this match-up very much. It’s #1 Bixby and #4 Stillwater as the two teams renew a rivalry that has seen them go head to head for multiple state championships. The Spartans are in the middle of a 38-game winning streak and 2 of those wins came in championship victories over Stillwater. These two teams were supposed to meet last year in non-district play. But Covid interrupted and the game was cancelled and a playoff rematch did not happen. Now we get to see these two teams back on the field against each other for at least one last time. Maybe they face off again in the postseason, but with Bixby headed to 6A-1 after this year, the rivalry might not mean as much moving forward. The Pioneers are fresh off a last minute win over Mustang while Bixby has had a week off following their week one win over Jenks.
3) 5A #6 BISHOP McGUINNESS (1-1) AT 6A-2 #8 DEL CITY (1-1)
Both teams bounced back from season-opening losses by blowing out a rival in week two. For Del City, they beat up on Carl Albert 52-20 after losing to Booker T Washington in week one. And the Irish made the “Bishop Battle” a blowout very quickly, beating Bishop Kelley 49-6. The Irish now go on the road for the first time this year and face off with a Del City squad that they’ve had plenty of history with in the past five years with several of the games going down to the final minute. For the Eagles, they are flying high after last week’s massive rivalry win and the running game continues to be the focal point of this offense. In fact, both teams will rely on that running game and we might end up seeing a very quick ballgame when these two teams square off. The team that gets quick stops on defense will have a massive advantage in this one.
4) 2A #6 MILLWOOD (1-1) AT 4A #4 CLINTON (1-1)
Both of these teams have something in common already, just a few weeks into the 2021 football season. Both teams were beaten down by Heritage Hall. Millwood opened their season against the Chargers and lost while Clinton followed up losing to the Chargers last week. Now, they’ll square off against one another before district play begins and both teams are in very tough districts. In fact, we’ve gone on record that Clinton’s district might be the toughest in the state, regardless of class. Millwood is on a short week after playing their annual Soul Bowl game with Douglass over the weekend on Saturday. Clinton is in bounce back mode after losing to Heritage Hall. It should be no secret what each team is going to attempt to do in this match-up on Friday. Similar to Del City and McGuinness, these teams are going to focus on running the football.
5) 4A #1 CUSHING (2-0) AT 3A #6 BERRYHILL (2-0)
We mentioned week three being the final tune-up for a lot of these teams before the district schedule begins and that’s the perfect description of this match-up. Before 4A’s top ranked Cushing squad opens up district play against #2 Tuttle in week four, they have to go on the road to face Berryhill. It’s the perfect test before the test for Cushing as they’ll see a very physical Berryhill team that in a lot of ways is similar to Tuttle. But Cushing can’t worry about week four until week three is over and they’ll get all they want and then some with the Chiefs. Berryhill is off to a great start this year, which should come as a surprise to nobody when you look at some of the talent they have, especially on the offensive side of the ball. A win over Cushing will give Berryhill a ton of momentum before going into a district that features #1 Holland Hall and #2 Verdigris.
6) 3A #2 VERDIGRIS (2-0) AT VICTORY CHRISTIAN (1-1)
The big question is whether or not Victory Christian can do it again as they host Verdigris on Friday night in Tulsa. The Conquerors bounced back from a week zero loss to Cascia Hall by stunning Pawhuska in overtime in week one. After having week two off, the gauntlet schedule continues for the Conquerors as they play host to a Verdigris team that is one of the best in Class 3A. Not only are the Cardinals ranked #2 in Class 3A right now, but they’ll be a top five team in the class next season as well. The majority of their starters are juniors and that includes just about every skill player that they have. Victory Christian is not short on having legitimate stars as their quarterback Triton Chandler Triton Chandler 6'2" | 195 lbs | QB Victory Christian | 2022 State OK is one of the better senior QB’s in the Tulsa-area. Verdigris counters with junior quarterback Dylan White, who just threw for a ton of yards in their blowout win last week.
7) JOHN MARSHALL (1-1) AT 3A #4 HERITAGE HALL (2-0)
We mentioned Heritage Hall earlier with the Clinton-Millwood match-up and here they are once again in the top ten games as they wrap up their non-district gauntlet against another OKC power in John Marshall. The Bears are off to a 1-1 start but they are coming off a blowout win in week two where the offense put up a lot of yards and a lot of points. Then you have a Heritage Hall team that has looked incredibly good over the first few weeks and what’s scary is how little Gavin Freeman Gavin Freeman 5'10" | WR Heritage Hall | 2022 State OK has actually touched the ball. Can you imagine the production he would have if he touched the ball 20 times in one game? John Marshall might have the offense to keep up with the Chargers and turn this one into a shootout behind senior quarterback Kane Donovan Kane Donovan 6'4" | 190 lbs | QB John Marshall | 2022 State OK , who had four touchdown passes in their win a week ago.
8) #2 PAWHUSKA (1-1) AT #10 HOMINY (3-0)
After losing in overtime to Victory Christian in week one, it was back to the lab for Pawhuska as they had a bye week in week two. Now they head back on the road for a big game to wrap up non-district play as they take on Hominy. The Bucks made their first appearance in the Class A rankings over the weekend after they’ve started off the year 3-0 on the season. They have some young playmakers that have helped lead them to the 3-0 start and the battle at the quarterback position in this match-up will certainly be something to keep an eye on. Both of these teams have put up plenty of points on the scoreboard this season as well so don’t be surprised if we end up seeing a shootout. For Pawhuska, it’s all about bouncing back after losing to Victory Christian. For Hominy, a win would vault them into the conversation of state championship contenders in Class A this fall.
9) 5A #9 LAWTON MACARTHUR (2-0) AT 6A-1 #9 ENID (2-0)
This game certainly wasn’t on our radars coming into the season. Before each year, we create a master schedule with some of the top match-up’s in each week of the year. And this one wasn’t close back in August but it’s one of the sneaky interesting games going on this week. Enid has jumped out to a 2-0 start and before they enter district play, they have an opportunity to have a very big win at home against a Lawton MacArthur team that jumped into the 5A rankings over the weekend. The Highlanders landed back in the 5A top ten after knocking off rival Lawton last week and becoming city champs. Of course, for a program like Lawton Mac, they want to be much more than city champs. Both teams are determined to be playoff teams by the end of the year and this is a good measuring stick game for each before district play begins.
10) 4A #9 GROVE (2-0) AT PRYOR (2-0)
How good is this Grove team? They’re 2-0 on the season, they’ve been ranked in the 4A top ten since the preseason, but Friday’s non-district finale on the road against Pryor will be their toughest test. The Ridgerunners have looked really strong in the first two weeks of the season but they have much bigger plans than starting the year off “strong”. They want to dethrone Wagoner in their district and a win on the road against Pryor is the first step in the right direction. For the Tigers, they’ve gotten off to a good start to their season as well and a win on Friday against a ranked Grove team will give them momentum going into district play. We have this game circled because it will answer a few questions for us on both sides. Pryor could be a dark horse in 5A and a win on Friday could back that up. For Grove, a win here will solidify them as a threat to Wagoner’s reign.