4A Playoffs: Players To Watch

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The 2021 regular season has come to an end and it’s time to get cranked up for the playoffs! Prep Redzone Oklahoma will be your home for the 2021 postseason as we’ll have wall to wall coverage. From playoff previews, to the most in-depth state championship coverage you’ll find anywhere, we’ll have you covered. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day for more preview content throughout the week. In this post, we take a look at the players who will be making an impact on the 4A playoffs. To check out our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/11/class-4a-playoff-preview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">4A Playoff Preview, Click Here!</a> GAME CHANGERS [player_tooltip player_id="206777" first="Canon" last="West"] - Running Back - Tuttle Only one player from the top ranked Tuttle Tigers makes this breakdown and if you’ve seen them play this year, you know why. Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="206777" first="Canon" last="West"] has been the most productive player on an absolutely dominating team. They don’t have prospects that are highly rated. They just all do their job and do it incredibly well. However, West does stand out and is having an outstanding senior season. Combining him with [player_tooltip player_id="54485" first="Tyler" last="Woodson"] in the backfield gives Tuttle a true 1-2 punch at the RB position. [player_tooltip player_id="231448" first="Colyn" last="Treat"] - Defensive Back - Catoosa Catoosa has to be considered one of the better stories of the 2021 season. After going winless in 2020, the Indians brought in first year head coach Christian Hood and they find themselves in the playoffs. A big reason behind the turnaround has been the emergence of a ball hawk in senior defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="231448" first="Colyn" last="Treat"]. The senior DB is one of the state’s leaders in interceptions and is having a breakout season. Catoosa is certainly the underdog coming into the playoffs but Treat and the Indians are ready for it. [player_tooltip player_id="215196" first="Dax" last="Collins"] - Athlete - Poteau The first of two Poteau standouts on this breakdown is the sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="215196" first="Dax" last="Collins"]. The future is bright with Collins ready to take over and lead the Pirate ship over the next two seasons. He’s had an outstanding sophomore season, despite being on a senior-heavy team. He’s still managed to find his way into the lineup and when he does, he makes plays. When it comes to slowing Poteau down, teams might focus on some of the older players on this offense and that will open things up for Collins to have a huge postseason. [player_tooltip player_id="38723" first="Daylan" last="Thompson"] - Running Back - Elk City We’ll pound this point across until he graduates. Elk City senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="38723" first="Daylan" last="Thompson"] is one of the more underrated running backs in Oklahoma today. He has carried the Elks to a playoff appearance and has basically shattered every rushing record in his school in the process. Thompson might be overlooked because of his size but if you’re making that judgement, you haven’t actually seen him play. Thompson is an absolute weapon and we won’t be surprised if he puts up some big numbers this month. [player_tooltip player_id="231450" first="Gabe" last="Rodriguez"] - Quarterback/Defensive Back - Wagoner The younger brother of current Oklahoma State Cowboy Malcolm Rodriguez, [player_tooltip player_id="231450" first="Gabe" last="Rodriguez"] certainly has the DNA to be a game changer in 4A football. He’s led an incredibly young but talented team back to the playoffs and is looking to take the Bulldogs a step further. We mentioned in our 4A playoff preview how the Bulldogs, despite being defending champs, were dark horses in the postseason this year. Rodriguez is good enough to lead this dark horse all the way back to Edmond with his play on offense and defense. [player_tooltip player_id="101401" first="Jocelyn" last="Malaska"] - Athlete - Bethany He’s one of the state’s overall best athletes and as a recruit has been treated as such. He’s one of the top rated prospects as a defensive back and is the first of two Bethany players to make this breakdown. Whether it’s on offense or defense, [player_tooltip player_id="101401" first="Jocelyn" last="Malaska"] will have a huge impact and be a big reason behind the success that Bethany has in the playoffs. Malaska and the Bronchos have to bounce back in a hurry after being blown out by Clinton in week ten, they have a brutal first round match-up against Blanchard. [player_tooltip player_id="231451" first="Lincoln" last="Smith"] - Athlete - Blanchard Blanchard senior [player_tooltip player_id="231451" first="Lincoln" last="Smith"] is coming off one of his best individual performances of his career and he’s hoping to continue that into the playoffs. If he does, the Lions are going to be a serious team to watch out for. In week ten, the Lions nearly stunned top ranked Tuttle and it was Smith who was the game changer. He had a pick six and a kick return for a touchdown that both went for over 90 yards each. Smith was a game changer in week ten and will hope to continue that momentum into the playoffs. <hr /> STAT SHEET STUFFERS [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] - Quarterback - Cushing We’ve written plenty about the state’s junior class at the quarterback position and how it’s absolutely loaded. A good example of that has been the rise of Cushing quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"]. We were impressed with his sophomore season but he’s taken his game to a completely new level as a passer this year. We think that not only has his stock gone up as a quarterback prospect, but he has the potential to lead his team to a gold ball. He has an outstanding supporting cast around him to make it happen. [player_tooltip player_id="215203" first="Carson" last="Cooksey"] - Quarterback - Blanchard One of the breakout stars of this season in Class 4A has to be sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="215203" first="Carson" last="Cooksey"]. The young gunslinger has put up some monster numbers throwing the ball and certainly has a bright future in front of him. However, the biggest question is whether or not that future can speed up to the present. Cooksey has had some great games throwing the ball this year but the playoffs obviously bring a bigger stage. We can’t wait to see how the young Blanchard standout handles the playoff pressure. [player_tooltip player_id="38818" first="Carson" last="Trimble"] - Quarterback - Grove When you watch Grove this year, it’s easy to just focus on running back [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] with the outstanding numbers he’s put up this season. However, standing in that backfield with Crawford is fellow junior [player_tooltip player_id="38818" first="Carson" last="Trimble"] at the quarterback position. Trimble is an underrated athlete and can sling the ball all over the field. This year, he’s been incredibly efficient where he puts the ball. We were also in person where Trimble got absolutely rocked by Wagoner all night and kept coming back and made a clutch fourth down pass for the game-tying touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="157514" first="Eric" last="Virgil"] - Running Back - Hilldale After a breakout season last year, more expectations were on Hilldale running back [player_tooltip player_id="157514" first="Eric" last="Virgil"] coming into his junior season. He hasn’t disappointed. The junior standout has been one of the best and most productive running backs in 4A football this season. In their week ten game against Fort Gibson, Virgil ran for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns. He’s had at least two touchdowns in six consecutive games and the Hornets will need that production from him as they go up against defending champ Wagoner on Friday. [player_tooltip player_id="219245" first="Nick" last="Moore"] - Running Back - Harrah In our weekly Top Performer features, it seemed like Harrah senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="219245" first="Nick" last="Moore"] was consistently one of the prospects listed and would keep coming up week after week. It was hard to ignore some of his performances this season as he helped carry the Harrah Panthers to the playoffs. He was one of the state’s leading rushers and was an absolute workhorse in the process. We don’t expect that to change as they try to pull off a first round upset of Clinton in the first round on Friday. [player_tooltip player_id="157521" first="Taylor" last="Heim"] - Quarterback - Bethany We had to include Bethany junior standout [player_tooltip player_id="157521" first="Taylor" last="Heim"] in this portion of the player breakdown because he’s put up some monster numbers throwing and running the ball for Bethany this season. Bethany has a really strong senior class but they’ll still be a contender next year behind the play of their quarterback. Heim is a true dual-threat QB and has torched opponents throwing the ball and running with it. He also certainly passes the eye test, standing well over 6’0 and making plays all over the field. [player_tooltip player_id="207530" first="Todd" last="Mattox"] - Running Back - Poteau A big reason why Poteau has to be considered one of the top contenders has been the play of their senior running back [player_tooltip player_id="207530" first="Todd" last="Mattox"]. Let’s just go back to last week in a district championship game against Broken Bow. The Pirates dominate behind Mattox running for 300+ yards and four touchdowns in the win. What’s scary is, that’s just the tip of the iceberg as Mattox is playing his best ball right now. In his last five games, Mattox has run for well over 800 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s peaking at the exact right time. <hr /> X-FACTORS [player_tooltip player_id="38610" first="Caden" last="Powell"] - Quarterback/Linebacker - Clinton Clinton quarterback and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38610" first="Caden" last="Powell"] knows what it takes to lead his team to the state championship game. The senior baseball commit to Oklahoma led Clinton to a state title appearance last year as a junior and he has the traditional powerhouse right back in contention this year. It should surprise nobody that Powell is leading an offense that is absolutely dominant at running the ball and then he turns around and leads the defense at linebacker. Powell’s two-way play makes him a big X-Factor this month. [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Cushing Cushing junior standout [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] has continued to get better and better every time he’s stepped on the field. Since his freshman year, Crooks has been a two-way star for the Tigers and he’s hoping to lead them to an elusive state championship this fall. On offense, Crooks is one of the best wide receivers in the state and is nearly impossible to stop or even slow down. On defense, Crooks is underrated as a ball hawk defensive back. Most of the attention goes to Crooks as an offensive weapon but he’s outstanding on defense as well. [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] - Running Back - Grove Similar to Crooks, we first saw Grove running back [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] after his freshman season and it was apparent to us that this kid had the chance to be pretty special. Things have finally come together and we’ve seen that breakout season from the Grove standout this fall. He’s knocking on the door of 40 touchdowns on the season and has put up well over 2,000 yards. Crawford leads a Grove team into the playoffs as district champs and he’s looking to continue to put up these monster numbers.