6A-1 Playoffs – Players To Watch
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The 2022 regular season has come to an end and it’s time to start taking a look at the playoffs! Prep Redzone Oklahoma will be your home for the playoffs from now until the last state champion is crowned in Edmond. In this post, we’re taking a look and breaking down some of the top players to watch in the Class 6A-1 playoffs. In case you missed it, you can check out our 6A-1 playoff preview RIGHT HERE. Keep it locked in for more playoff preview content throughout the next week ONLY on Prep Redzone Oklahoma!
The first of a few Bixby Spartans to make this breakdown is senior standout Cale Fugate Cale Fugate 5’11” | 180 lbs | DB Bixby | 2023 State OK . Coming into this season, we knew that Fugate was one of the top safeties in Class 6A-1. But this year, Fugate has emerged as a legit two-way star. He’s still been a standout on defense, but he leads the Spartans in receiving yards and nine touchdowns on the season. Fugate is turning into a star on both sides of the ball. The Bixby senior also has plenty of momentum going into the playoffs. He had a game two weeks ago where he had four interceptions and four total touchdowns. The secondary is definitely a strength of the Spartans and Fugate has been one of the best.
A few players on this breakdown have had to deal with the injury bug and the first one is Norman North running back and Oklahoma commit Chapman McKown Chapman McKown 5’8″ | RB Norman North | 2023 State OK . The Norman North product got banged up in September and would miss the majority of the middle of the season. But he would return to the Timberwolves in the last few weeks and that’s a big reason why you have to take Norman North very seriously as a semifinal and maybe even a championship contender. McKown is a truly dynamic running back and is a threat in the running game and then as a receiver coming out of the backfield. McKown is ready to explode in the month of November.
Bixby senior quarterback Connor Kirby Connor Kirby 6’2″ | 190 lbs | ATH Bixby | 2023 State OK has shown throughout the season that he is much more than a running quarterback, which is what we saw from him last season. This year, Kirby is much more of a dual-threat quarterback as he’s shown that he can absolutely beat defenses with his arm. All season, Kirby split time with fellow senior quarterback Austin Havens Austin Havens 6’3″ | 205 lbs | QB Bixby | 2023 State OK as Havens was more of the passing quarterback. But as the regular season comes to a close, Kirby has raised his level of play. Despite the loss to Jenks in week ten, Kirby was an absolute star on national stage. He had arguably the best game of his career and has established himself as a a true dual-threat quarterback.
While Bixby has a strong secondary, so does Union and leading that unit has been senior safety and Tulsa commit Devin Robinson Devin Robinson 6’2″ | 190 lbs | DB Union | 2023 State OK . The Union senior is the vocal leader of not only the secondary but the whole Union defense that is one of the best in the state and not just 6A-1. Robinson has evolved over the last 18 months into one of the best players at his position. Robinson was a really good player last year but this season, he’s taken his game to another level. Robinson and the Union defense is a big reason why we have the Redhawks as the team to beat heading into the Class 6A-1 playoffs. He also seems to perform at his best against the top competition.
The second Union Redhawk on the breakdown and we go from the defensive side of the ball to one of the best players on the offensive side of the ball in Class 6A-1 with senior running back DJ McKinney DJ McKinney 6’0″ | RB Union | 2023 State OK . The senior became a breakout player last season when he was with Booker T Washington. And McKinney is now one of the best running backs in the state. He’s run for more than 1,000 yards and he’s also another weapon in the passing game as one of the top receivers on the team. It was obvious that McKinney was going to have a major impact on the Redhawk offense very early on this season. McKinney got banged up in week ten so that is something to keep an eye on.
Jenks has a ton of momentum going into the playoffs after that week ten victory over Bixby. And while the Trojans snapping the 58-game winning streak was the headline, right behind that was the play of senior quarterback Ike Owens Ike Owens 6’2″ | QB Jenks | 2023 State OK . There’s been a lot written about Owens in the last 12 months and some of it was completely unnecessary. Through it all, Owens has handled it incredibly well and he had the game of his life against the Spartans. Owens and the Jenks rushing attack absolutely gashed the Bixby defense throughout the night. If Owens plays like he played in week ten on the road against Bixby, Jenks is going to have a great chance at securing the three-peat.
Staying with the Jenks Trojans and staying in the Jenks backfield with senior running back Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5’10” | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK . The Jenks standout was an absolute star last year in the state championship game and he’s now healthy and determined to help the Trojans make it back to Edmond and contend once again for the state championship. Carroll had to miss significant time this season due to an early season suspension and then an injury later in the year. However, l Ike Owens Ike Owens 6’2″ | QB Jenks | 2023 State OK , Carroll shined on the national stage against Bixby in week ten. He ran for 180 yards and had a breakaway 80-yard touchdown run in the win. Like the Trojans, Carroll is getting closer to full strength and is starting to peak at the right time.
Norman North has had a really good run of quarterbacks in the last decade and that’s the case once again this season. The Timberwolves had to replace QB Gavin Frakes, who is starting for New Mexico State as a freshman. They were confident in senior Kamden Sixkiller Kamden Sixkiller 6’4″ | QB Norman North | 2023 State OK coming into the season but let’s face it, you never really know until the bullets start flying in the backfield. Sixkiller has absolutely responded in a big way, helping lead Norman North to an 8-2 record, including a road win over two-time champion Jenks in early October. Sixkiller is a legit dual-threat weapon at the quarterback position. He’s definitely one of the top playmakers in the 6A-1 playoffs.
On a list that is full of seniors everywhere, there is only one freshman and that’s Broken Arrow running back KD Jones KD Jones 6’0″ | 170 lbs | ATH Jenks | 2026 State OK . The son of former Jenks and OU running back Kejuan Jones, we knew that Jones had the potential to be a breakout player for the Tigers this season. We didn’t expect this kind of production. Jones has emerged as Broken Arrow’s leading rusher, eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark on the season. He’s been splitting reps at running back all year and despite the lower workload, he’s still managed to go for more than 1,000 yards. We’re very excited to watch Jones continue to grow and see what kind of production he has when he’s getting more carries.
One of the best two-way players in Class 6A-1 is Edmond Memorial senior Kiefer Mullins Kiefer Mullins 6’0″ | 195 lbs | LB Edmond Memorial | 2023 State OK . The Bulldogs are back into the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. The combination of an experienced senior class with some very talented underclassmen has led the Bulldogs back to the postseason. Mullins is one of the best linebacker prospects in the state’s 2023 class. But in addition to being a tackling machine on defense, Mullins is also a strong running back, who has produced in a big way, especially in short yardage situations. Edmond Memorial plays the marquee first round game in 6A-1 as the Bulldogs will host Enid on Friday night.
Another Bixby standout to keep an eye on is offensive and special teams weapon Kordell Gouldsby Kordell Gouldsby 5’11” | WR Bixby | 2024 State OK . We mentioned this last week when we were publishing our 2024 prospect breakdowns, but man we’re glad that Gouldsby has been healthy this season. His first two years of high school ball were cut short to season-ending injuries. Even though he was with a Holland Hall team that won back to back state championships during his freshman and sophomore seasons, this will be the first year that Gouldsby can have an impact during the playoffs. Gouldsby has turned into arguably Bixby’s most electric playmaker on the offensive side of the ball this season.
The story of the offseason was sophomore quarterback Shaker Reisig Shaker Reisig 6’0″ | 185 lbs | QB Union | 2025 State OK going from Jenks, where he won a state championship as a freshman, to rival Union in late May. Like his former teammate Ike Owens Ike Owens 6’2″ | QB Jenks | 2023 State OK , there’s been a lot written about Reisig and that move. So needless to say, the spotlight on Reisig has been bright from the start. It hasn’t had an impact on him. We’ve described Reisig as “surgical” and an “assassin” throughout the last 12 months. The sophomore is calm, cool and collected. And Reisig is continuing to get better and better the more comfortable he gets within the Union offense. Reisig is hungry for another state championship.
Norman senior Tias McClarty Tias McClarty 5’9″ | 160 lbs | ATH Norman | 2023 State OK is one of the more underrated playmakers in Class 6A-1. McClarty plays quarterback for the Tigers but he’s without a doubt a run-first QB and has shown that over the last three seasons. This year, McClarty eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and at least ten rushing touchdowns for the third consecutive season. When we were publishing our 2023 prospect breakdowns, we wrote about McClarty and how he could transition to become a very strong running back prospect at the next level. We’ve made the comparison to former Moore standout and current Kansas Jayhawk Deuce Hishaw, who was a great HS quarterback and is now a RB, and we stand by that comparison.
We go from one of the more underrated playmakers in Class 6A-1 to one of the more underrated quarterbacks, not only in 6A-1, but in the state’s 2023 class. Mustang quarterback Tristen Russell Tristen Russell 5’11” | 175 lbs | QB Mustang | 2023 State OK is one of the better quarterbacks in the state. And when it comes to him as a prospect, the biggest thing holding him back is his height. But we’ve watched Russell several times in person and every time we watch him, we don’t see a quarterback who is south of 6’0. We see a quarterback who plays much bigger than the height that’s listed on the roster. Russell also benefits from having some legit weapons around him at wide receiver that will end up at the D1 level.
Highlights
Enid senior wide receiver Tykie Andrews Tykie Andrews 6’0″ | WR Enid | 2023 State OK has to be on the shortlist for breakout player not only in Class 6A-1 but in the state. Every single week, Andrews made ten catches, 150 yards and two touchdowns look routine. Even against the tougher teams on the Enid schedule, Andrews continued to produce in a big way. Andrews has nearly 20 receiving touchdowns on the season. He rewrote the record book at Enid and has skyrocketed up the wide receiver ranks for the state’s 2023 class. We have watched Andrews the last two offseasons while he played with Sooner 7. We knew he was a good receiver. He has proved this season that he might just be a great one.
The third Jenks Trojan to keep an eye on and the final prospect on this breakdown is senior wide receiver and defensive back Ty Walls Ty Walls 6’0″ | 175 lbs | WR Jenks | 2023 State OK . Like teammate Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5’10” | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK , Walls had to miss significant time during his senior year due to nagging injuries. Walls is back now and making a big impact on both sides of the ball. We knew coming into this season that Walls was going to play on both sides of the ball. But what we didn’t know was that he was going to make just as big of an impact on defense as he does on offense. Last year, he was the leading receiver in the Jenks offense. This season, Walls has also become an outstanding cornerback, locking down opposing receivers.