Road To Edmond: Jenks
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The Class 6A-D1 state championship is set for 1PM on December 4th at UCO. And it’ll be a championship showdown between two rivals as defending champion Jenks squares off with rival Union. Prep Redzone Oklahoma has complete coverage of the championship games and more preview content than anyone else to get you ready for the title games! In this latest post, we take a look at the “Road To Edmond” for the Jenks Trojans, looking back at their 2021 season.
Preseason – Ranked #3
Despite coming into the 2021 season as defending champions, the Jenks Trojans were not the top ranked team in our 6A-1 preseason rankings. However, it didn’t take long for them to take over the top spot in 6A-1 and they’ve remained there all season. Coming into the year, the Trojans had plenty of question marks with needing to replace key players from last year’s state championship team. However, the Trojans got a boost from the transfer of former Booker T Washington standout Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK and the junior standout would become a big part of the Jenks offense throughout the season. The big question heading into the season circled around the quarterback position. Junior Ike Owens and freshman Shaker Reisig Shaker Reisig 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Union | 2025 State OK would battle it out throughout fall camp and the battle continued into the season. Behind only Owasso and Union in the 6A-1 rankings, the Trojans would take over the top spot by the end of September.
August 27 – Beat Mansfield Summit, TX. 20-14 (OT)
The defending 6A-1 champs would open up the season down in Texas against Mansfield Summit. Oklahoma would sweep the four games against Texas as Bixby, Broken Arrow and Union all rolled to wins while Jenks had to survive overtime to get out of Texas with the win. Jenks would jump out to a 14-0 lead on Mansfield Summit but the Jaguars would rally and tie the game at 14 to force the extra period. The Trojans would then rely on their defense to come up with a stop and not only did they get a stop but they forced and recovered a fumble on the goal line. From there, junior running back Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK would punch in the game-winning touchdown. The Trojans would survive to start 1-0.
September 3 – Lost To Bixby 23-15
The Trojans were the last team to beat the Bixby Spartans but that was all the way back at the beginning of the 2018 season. Unfortunately for Jenks, nothing changed when they met in week one this season. The Spartans would knock off the Trojans as they dominated the first two and a half quarters. Bixby would lead 23-0 but the Trojans would make a comeback to pull within one score. The Trojans would then have the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to send it to overtime. But a turnover near midfield would end any comeback hopes and the Spartans would beat the Trojans for the third consecutive season. Jenks would go into a rivalry game against a red-hot Union team with a 1-1 record.
September 10 – Beat Union 22-0
On the morning of the annual Backyard Bowl, head coach Keith Riggs made a change that not many others would have made. He gave the keys to his offense to freshman Shaker Reisig Shaker Reisig 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Union | 2025 State OK and the young signal caller didn’t know he was starting until less than 12 hours before the one of the nation’s biggest rivalry games was to kick off. The move paid off. Eventually. The first pass from Reisig was picked off by a Union defender. He was much better on the second pass as it went for a touchdown. From there, the defense took over and dominated their rivals for the second consecutive season. Jenks would shut out Union for the second straight year and finish up non-district play at 2-1 after the bounce back win.
September 24 – Beat Enid 49-6
Jenks opened up district play at home against Enid. The game was cancelled due to Covid a year ago but the Trojans would make quick work of the visiting Plainsmen in this year’s match-up. The Trojans would roll to a 49-6 victory and the offense was clicking on all cylinders. Reisig would finish with four touchdown passes on only seven completions. The Trojans had a balanced attack and junior wide receiver Ty Walls Ty Walls 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Jenks | 2023 State OK had a big night as well catching the ball and also helping out in special teams. Jenks would improve to 3-1 and on the same night, Union would knock off #1 Owasso in overtime and following week four, the Jenks Trojans would be back on top of the 6A-1 rankings and would never look back.
October 1 – Beat Broken Arrow 31-14
Despite being week five and the calendar saying October, Broken Arrow hadn’t played a game in front of the home fans at this point of the year. Jenks would spoil the home opener for their district rivals with a 31-14 victory. This game had a very exciting first quarter and then the Trojans just absolutely shut the Tigers down from there. Jenks would lead 21-14 after a high-scoring first quarter and eventually never looked back. Broken Arrow would have a drive in the second quarter that threatened the Trojans but a turnover, combined with a Jenks score to double up the score would put the Tigers down for good. With the win on the road, Jenks improved to 4-1 and were sitting atop the district standings.
October 8 – Beat Norman 49-21
With the exception of Bixby, Norman was the only other team this year to put up 20+ points on the Jenks defense, but that’s not the whole story. Jenks led the visiting Tigers 49-7 at the end of the third quarter and Norman would add a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the final score much more respectable. Junior Ike Owens would come into the game in the second quarter after Jenks led 14-0 and the junior torched the Norman defense. He threw for nearly 200 yards in the second quarter alone as the Trojans would do just about whatever they wanted on the offensive side of the ball. Jenks would improve to 5-1 and that set up a big district showdown with Edmond Santa Fe on the road in week seven.
October 14 – Beat Edmond Santa Fe 35-14
In a rematch of last year’s state championship game, Jenks would travel to Edmond to take on Edmond Santa Fe with the winner moving into the driver’s seat for the district championship. Santa Fe would lead 14-10 in the second quarter but it was all Jenks from there as the Trojans would knock off the Wolves 35-14, scoring 25 unanswered points to beat the Wolves on the road. Jenks was led in the road victory once again by junior running back Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK , who finished with nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. The defense would also dominate as they shut out the Wolves in the second half. With the win, Jenks would take sole possession of first place in the district and would improve to 6-1.
October 22 – Beat Yukon 48-14
Jenks would head west for the second straight week and came back with another dominating victory after beating up on Yukon 48-14. The Trojans would only lead 6-0 after the first quarter but the offense exploded in the second and third quarters as the Trojans would run away with the 34-point victory on the road. For the second consecutive week, Carroll would finish with over 100 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. At this point in the season, Carroll had really established himself as the workhorse back for the Trojans and it was showing with his performances every single week. Jenks would improve to 7-1 on the season and unbeaten in district play, needing one more district win to wrap up the district title.
October 29 – Beat Edmond Memorial 44-0
In week nine, Jenks would lock up the district championship with a dominating and decisive 44-0 victory over Edmond Memorial. This match-up might be interesting in the future as both teams have promising and talented freshmen at the quarterback position but the Trojan defense was suffocating in this match-up. The Trojans held Edmond Memorial to negative yardage in the rushing category and only 75 yards of total offense as they pitched their second shut out of the season. Carroll continued his stellar season with three more touchdowns on the ground and also added an interception on defense. He took an interception back for another touchdown as the Trojans captured their first district title since 2018.
November 5 – Beat Westmoore 49-14
For the second straight week, the Jenks defense was flat out dominant as the Trojans beat up on Westmoore, 49-14 in the regular season finale. For the second straight week, the Jenks defense held their opponent to negative yardage in the rushing category. The Trojans would also have nearly ten sacks as a team as senior linemen AJ Brown AJ Brown 6'1" | 300 lbs | DL Jenks | 2022 State OK and Colemon Thurber Colemon Thurber 6'4" | DL Jenks | 2022 State OK shined on senior night at Allan Trimble Stadium. Carroll continued his junior season putting up numbers by eclipsing 1,000 yards for the season and the Trojans rolled to the week ten victory. Already clinched the district championship, the Trojans would wait and see who they would face in the first round of the playoffs.
Quarterfinals – Beat Norman North 41-14
Jenks would begin their pursuit of a second consecutive state championship with another dominating victory, beating Norman North 41-14. They Trojans gave up a touchdown early to Norman North but that was basically the only fireworks Norman North’s explosive offense would have in the playoff opener. Jenks would score 38 unanswered points to take a commanding 38-7 lead into halftime. Carroll and backfield companion Jalyn Stanford Jalyn Stanford 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Jenks | 2023 State OK would each score two touchdowns on the ground and the Trojans would punch their ticket to the semifinals for the 16th consecutive season and they would get a Mustang team that dominated Edmond Santa Fe to open up their playoff journey in the 6A-1 playoffs.
Semifinals – Beat Mustang 17-10
This final score certainly surprised a few people around the state as the defending champs got all they wanted and then some against Mustang in the semifinal round. The Trojans would eventually pull away with a 17-10 victory but this game was close throughout as the Trojans were without their star running backs Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK and Jalyn Stanford Jalyn Stanford 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Jenks | 2023 State OK . Because of the injuries, the Trojans had to rely on a sophomore running back in Jett Turner and the sophomore took the opportunity and ran with it, literally. He finished with over 100 yards and a touchdown on a massive stage to punch Jenks’ ticket to the state championship game for the fourth consecutive season. Jenks will get their opportunity to defend their title in Edmond.
Jenks Head Coach Keith Riggs Quote Book
Riggs On Bringing Jenks To The Title Game For A Fourth Year In A Row.
“Well I think that being in the finals for a fourth year in a row is a testiment to our kids. The commitment they have to our football program. The grit and determination, there’s so many attributes that go into it. It’s not easy being a Jenks football player. We get after them pretty good in our workouts and practices and they keep coming back for more. Winning a state championship is so difficult. At Jenks sometimes, you forget that maybe with all of Coach Trimble’s success, it’s so difficult to win a title and even harder to defend it. There’s so much good football in the state right now. There’s so much that goes into it. We’re just so excited to be back and even more excited for another Jenks-Union game.”
Riggs On The Match-Up With Union On Saturday
“You could probably say this about every team that’s ever made the finals but they don’t look the same in week 14 as they did in week 2. There’s so much growth that goes into a season. Even all those years where we see each other in week two and then see each other in the finals, each team has looked so different the second time. I felt like Union had a great defense when we faced them the first time. They’re playing at an even higher level now. Offensively, with the quarterback injury, they’ve really settled in to a challenging run game. And their quarterback is throwing the ball better than I’ve ever seen him throw it in the playoffs.”
Riggs On How The Offense Has Evolved Throughout The Season.
“The first thing that stands out to me is our running game with our offensive line and our running backs. It’s really shown if you go back and watch film of week zero and week one, to where we’re at in the playoffs, it’s so important to establish the run and run the football. We always hope that we can be balanced and keep defenses guessing so that improvement has been tremendous. And our receivers, we had some guys coming back with Ty Walls Ty Walls 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Jenks | 2023 State OK and Glenny Jones Glenny Jones 5'10" | ATH Jenks | 2022 State OK have been outstanding. That’s made our quarterback’s job much easier. Having a good running game and guys to throw the ball to has certainly made things easier on Shaker during the transition.”
Riggs On The Biggest Keys To Winning The State Title
“The biggest thing is we have to take care of the football. It’s going to be a challenge to move the ball and get first downs and score on their defense. We can’t give them the ball back and give them a short field or lose scoring opportunities with turnovers. And then defensively, we have to get them in long yardage situations. If everyone is being honest, they want to run the football because they’re really good at it and we have to find ways to make them go to their passing game.”