Class 4A Playoff Preview
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…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 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 Class 4A playoffs!
BRACKET BREAKDOWN
TEAM TO BEAT
Tuttle Tigers
We have to go with the top ranked and undefeated Tuttle Tigers here as they go into the playoffs looking for their second state championship in the last four seasons. Similar to that championship team in 2018, this year’s version of the Tuttle Tigers are led by several seniors on both sides of the ball that should lead them to another deep run. Despite being challenged in week ten by Blanchard, the Tigers have a zero in the loss column and have looked dominant every single week. As far as the district champions are concerned, Tuttle might have the toughest road to making it to Edmond. But they still have to be considered the favorite coming into the playoffs. Whether they capture that gold ball or not, that’s why they play the games.
TOP CONTENDERS
Clinton Red Tornadoes
It’s starting to feel like the good ‘ol days out in western Oklahoma as Clinton is once again one of the powerhouse programs in Class 4A. We’ll be the first to admit, we didn’t see Clinton’s dominant run this season coming. We thought that district would beat up on each other and in the end, it was Clinton that was the district bully. They outscored their seven district opponents 305-41 and had shutouts in their final three games. Clinton is playing like the Clinton that was capturing state championship after state championship. They made it all the way to the title game last year and fell short to Wagoner. However, there is no hands-down dominant team like that Wagoner team a year ago. Clinton is ready to play for another gold ball.
Cushing Tigers
Not only is Cushing one of the top contenders this year but you can go ahead and mark them down for 2022 as well. Cushing has several juniors that are among the state’s best and they’re hungry to prove that they can compete for that elusive gold ball this year. Cushing has been one of the best teams in 4A from the start of the season with their only loss coming in week four to top ranked Tuttle. Cushing certainly hasn’t forgotten that loss and they have to be wanting another shot at the Tigers, only with a state championship on the line. Cushing’s high-powered offense, with stars all over the place, is going to be tough for opponents to slow down. Cushing certainly has the firepower to win it all this season.
Poteau Pirates
The only blemish on Poteau’s record was a close loss to Arkansas powerhouse Shiloh Christian in a 27-21 loss. Other than that, the Pirates have been perfect and are right there in the conversation among the state’s best in Class 4A. The Pirates are a year removed from winning it all in 2019 and finally capturing that first state championship. And you know how Pirates feel about gold. These Poteau Pirates certainly want to add some more gold to their trophy case in southeastern Oklahoma. The Pirates are dominating opponents once again behind a strong running game and a defense that loves to hit. They’ve been playing some of their best football in the last few weeks, which should give them plenty of momentum going into the postseason.
DARK HORSE
Wagoner Bulldogs
We wrote about this in our 5A playoff preview as five-time defending champ Carl Albert was listed as a “dark horse” and we can repeat a lot of the same stuff here. Defending champ Wagoner has to be considered the dark horse in 4A as this year’s team is very different from that 2020 squad that dominated their way to a state championship. It was apparent pretty early on in the season that Wagoner was hands down the best team in 4A and nobody would come close to them. Coming into this season, with only two starters back, it was anyone’s guess how this Bulldog team would mesh together to defend that title. However, they’ve gotten better every week and are leaning on a fast and athletic defense to shut opponents down.
MARQUEE MATCH-UP
Blanchard AT Bethany
There’s a few marquee match-ups in the first round but we’re going with this battle between top ten teams that fell short of a district championship in week ten. Blanchard and Bethany squared off with Tuttle and Clinton respectively with hopes of causing chaos in the final week of the regular season. Blanchard nearly stunned the Tigers while Bethany was blown out by Clinton. After such big games in week ten, we’re intrigued to see how both teams bounce back and respond in the first round of the playoffs. Blanchard showed last week that the Lions could end up making a run in the 4A playoffs by nearly toppling the top ranked Tuttle Tigers. Bethany has to be ready to prove that the 49-0 result in week ten was just a fluke.
HISTORY LESSON
- Wagoner might be considered a dark horse coming into this year’s 4A playoffs but they’ve been the dominant team in 4A football over the last decade. After winning it all in 2020, Wagoner ended a ten-year stretch where they captured five of the ten state championships in Class 4A. The other schools to win titles during the last decade were Anadarko, Clinton, Heritage Hall, Poteau and Tuttle. Anadarko and Heritage Hall are now in Class 3A. Clinton, Poteau and Tuttle are all top five teams this year.
- That leads us to our next note as the more things change, the more they stay the same. Poteau, Tuttle and Wagoner have been the most consistent teams in 4A football over the last several seasons. Since the start of the 2018 season, each team has won at least 40 games and has one state championship. They’ve been the top teams in 4A and this year is no different.
- Two top ten teams are hoping to make a run at the state championship before heading off to another class next year. District champion Grove will be moving up to Class 5A next season and their district rival Bristow will be on the move as well, only they’ll be moving down to Class 3A.
- And finally, we have to recognize and give a shoutout to Catoosa and first year head coach Christian Hood. The Indians were winless in 2020 and made a coaching change in the offseason. In his first ever head coaching job, Hood has the Indians as a participant in the playoffs and 4-6 following the regular season.
CRYSTAL BALL
Tuttle Over Cushing
These two teams have been the top two teams in our 4A rankings all season. Cushing was #1 until Tuttle took the top spot following their meeting on September 24th. On the field, before that game, I joked with Tuttle head coach Brad Ballard that the only thing that would make that match-up better was if they were playing for a gold ball. That might still end up happening. Tuttle beat Cushing on the road with a 22-7 victory but it was clear that these two teams were ready for a possible rematch. While we think Cushing has plenty of talent, especially within that junior class, Tuttle has been the best team all year and we’re leaning to their defense and running game to get the job done. If they play throughout the playoffs like they did on the September evening in Cushing, they’ll have a great shot to capture their second gold ball in four years.
RELATED