Class 5A State Title First Look
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The Class 5A state championship is set for 7PM on December 4th at UCO. For the first time since 2005, two east side teams will be…
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 Class 5A state championship is set for 7PM on December 4th at UCO. For the first time since 2005, two east side teams will be playing for the Class 5A state championship. And that might not come as a surprise as it’s the top two teams from the start of the season as #1 McAlester faced off with #2 Collinsville. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have the most in-depth championship preview and state title game content that you will find anywhere!. Let’s get started with our 5A championship first look, taking a look at both teams in the match-up!
#1 McALESTER BUFFALOES
Aug. 27 – Beat Broken Bow 39-7
Sept. 3 – Beat Sallisaw 57-6
Sept. 10 – Beat Ada 42-14
Sept. 24 – Beat Bishop Kelley 19-0
Oct. 1 – Beat East Central 62-6
Oct. 8 – Beat Durant 56-20
Oct. 14 – Beat Coweta 33-2
Oct. 22 – Beat Edison 52-17
Oct. 29 – Beat Shawnee 54-20
Nov. 5 – Beat Will Rogers 54-12
1st Round – Beat Sapulpa 48-14
Quarterfinals – Beat Guthrie 27-21
Semifinals – Beat Lawton MacArthur 42-13
Championship History: 2-2 (5th Title Appearance)
McAlester began this season as the top team in 5A and look to finish off the wire to wire run as the state champs in 5A. For just the fifth time in school history, the Buffaloes are playing for a state championship. This will be their first appearance in the state title game since 2013, where they were blown out by Guthrie. McAlester is looking to capture their first state championship in over 30 years with the last one coming in 1988. The Buffaloes are just a few seasons removed from back to back losing seasons.
Offensive Production: 45 Points Per Game
While McAlester’s defense has gotten plenty of the praise this season, the offense has been one of the best in Class 5A as well. Averaging right at 45 points per game, not many teams have been able to keep up with the Buffaloes or contain this McAlester offense. The Buffaloes have been held under 30 points on just two occasions this season and are winning games by an average of nearly 35 points per game. With one of the best running backs in the state, nobody has found an answer to slow this team down.
Defensive Production: 11.8 Points Per Game
Well, when you have the nickname “Black Death Defense”, you better be pretty good. And the Buffaloes are certainly good on the defensive side of the. ball as the top scoring defense in Class 5A. McAlester has been lights out on that side of the ball, giving up just over 10 points per game. They’ve only allowed more than 20 points just once this season and that came in their quarterfinal win over Guthrie. They held an explosive Lawton Mac offense to just 13 points in their semifinal victory Friday night.
Notable
Other than McAlester, only one other team was ranked #1 in our preseason rankings back in July and has never fallen from that spot as we get closer to December and that’s Bixby in 6A-2. The Buffaloes came into this season as the top ranked team in Class 5A and has never wavered from the top spot. Coincidentally, this title game is a match-up of the top two teams in our 5A preseason rankings as McAlester and Collinsville have spent the entire season at #1 and #2 respectively.
#2 COLLINSVILLE CARDINALS
Sept. 3 – Beat Oologah 54-22
Sept. 10 – Beat Skiatook 43-7
Sept. 17 – Beat Bartlesville 42-7
Sept. 24 – Beat Nathan Hale 71-0
Oct. 1 – Beat Sapulpa 43-13
Oct. 8 – Beat Claremore 27-3
Oct. 14 – Beat Glenpool 49-14
Oct. 22 – Beat Memorial 71-7
Oct. 29 – Beat Pryor 63-8
Nov. 5 – Beat Tahlequah 55-13
1st Round – Beat Shawnee 60-14
Quarterfinals – Beat Bishop McGuinness 56-35
Semifinals – Beat Carl Albert 27-20
Championship History: 0-1 (2nd Title Appearance)
For just the second time in school history, the Cardinals are playing for a state championship. Collinsville has been one of the top teams in Class 5A for the majority of the past decade but they’ve kept running into hurdle after hurdle, mainly in the semifinal round. However, the Cardinals knocked off the five-time champion Titans and will play for a state championship on Saturday night. The only other time they made it to the title game was 2015 and lost to Altus on a last-second field goal.
Offensive Production: 50.6 Points Per Game
Collinsville’s offense has been not only the highest scoring offenses in 5A football this year, they’ve been one of the highest scoring offenses in the state at just over 50 points per game. The Cardinals have made lighting up the scoreboard a weekly routine. They’ve scored at least 40 points in 11 of their 13 games this season and also hit the 70’s on two occasions. We knew Collinsville would have a potent offense coming into this season but the Cardinals are clicking on all cylinders as they head into this week.
Defensive Production: 11.9 Points Per Game
McAlester might have the top defense in terms of points allowed coming into this title game but Collinsville is literally right behind them. Only two points total separates these two teams as Collinsville gives up an average of 11.9 points per game compared to McAlester’s 11.8 points per game. Collinsville’s average has certainly gone up in the last two weeks after playing perennial powers Bishop McGuinness and Carl Albert. Like McAlester, they’ve given up more than 20 points just two times this season.
Notable
Collinsville made quite a bit of history when they knocked Carl Albert out of the playoffs in the semifinals. Not only did the Cardinals avenge last year’s semifinal loss to the Titans, but they knocked out the team that had captured the last five state championships. Carl Albert had also been unbeaten in semifinal games coming into the week. They were a perfect 17-0 in the semifinal round until the Cardinals knocked them off to punch their ticket to the state championship game in Edmond.