Class 4A Title First Look

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 4A state championship game is set for Saturday night at 7PM in Edmond and we'll see a rematch from the regular season as #1 Cushing will square off with #6 Wagoner. These two teams met back in week six and Cushing made quite the statement with a 42-0 win over the Bulldogs. That game would end up deciding the district championship. On Saturday night, they will meet for the state championship. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have plenty of content throughout the week, previewing the state title game and then plenty to check out during and following Saturday's game. But up now, we take our first look at the 4A state championship game.   #1 CUSHING TIGERS (13-0)   Sept. 2 - Beat Bristow 63-20 Sept. 9 - Beat Perkins-Tryon 43-27 Sept. 16 - Beat Berryhill 54-3 Sept. 23 - Beat Miami 54-13 Sept. 30 - Beat Catoosa 63-7 Oct. 7 - Beat Wagoner 42-0 Oct. 13 - Beat McLain 63-8 Oct. 21 - Beat Cleveland 70-7 Oct. 28 - Beat Oologah 70-21 Nov. 4 - Beat Skiatook 75-0 1st Round - Beat Broken Bow 48-0 Quarterfinals - Beat Blanchard 42-7 Semifinals - Beat Elk City 56-14   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 2-2 (5th Title Appearance)   Cushing has been the top-ranked team in our Class 4A rankings all season with nearly everyone returning coming into this season and those starters having two to three seasons of experience. But this special senior class has been hungry to return Cushing to the state championship game for the first time since 2014. This will be the fifth state championship game in school history but the majority of their championship experience came over 60 years ago. They captured a pair of state championships back then and their last title game appearance was a loss to Cushing in the 2014 3A championship game. They've knocked on the door of the title game a couple of times since that 2014 appearance but this group of Cushing seniors are ready to finish off the job with a gold ball.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 57.2 Points Per Game   Cushing's offense has been one of the best units in the state, regardless of class. But without a doubt they've been the highest scoring offense in Class 4A this season. Averaging just over 57 points per game, the Tigers have not been contained on the offensive side of the ball this season. The lowest scoring output was 42 points and that happened twice. Coincidentally, one of those occurrences was against Wagoner in the regular season. The Tigers had a stretch in the final three weeks of the regular season where they scored 70 points or more. And the Tigers were rolling in the semifinal as they put up 56 points in a blowout win over Elk City, avenging their playoff loss to the Elks in the first round of the playoffs a year ago.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 9.8 Points Per Game   We've written quite a bit about the Cushing offense this season, and rightfully so, but the defense has been fairly stout throughout the year as well. The Tigers have given up just under ten points per game and they've had three shutouts on the season and they've elevated their game in the playoffs. Cushing gave up 47 points in their first two games of the season and they've only given up double digits on three instances the rest of the way. So while the offense will get a lot of the headlines and press this week, don't overlook the abilities of this defensive unit. And they will definitely have a ton of confidence coming into the game with Wagoner on Saturday. They pitched a shutout against the Wagoner during the regular season.   NOTABLE   Cushing has been led this season by senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='38715' first='Camden' last='Crooks'], who has had a spectacular senior season. Crooks is well on his way to becoming the first ever three-time finalist for Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year. In addition to what Crooks does on offense and defense, this year, he's taken his game to another level in special teams. Crooks has returned seven punts for touchdowns and he also has a kick return for a touchdown. We'll have more on Crooks later in the week when we take a look at the players to watch for both teams later in the week. But Crooks has been one of the best overall athletes in the state for a few years and he's taken his game to a completely new level this year in all three phases.   #6 WAGONER BULLDOGS (10-3)   Sept. 2 - Lost To Coweta 9-7 Sept. 9 - Beat Tahlequah 43-3 Sept. 16 - Lost To Grove 28-20 Sept. 23 - Beat Skiatook 66-0 Sept. 30 - Beat Oologah 36-0 Oct. 7 - Lost To Cushing 42-0 Oct. 13 - Beat Cleveland 56-0 Oct. 21 - Beat McLain 58-6 Oct. 28 - Beat Catoosa 63-6 Nov. 4 - Beat Miami 42-7 1st Round - Beat Ada 31-0 Quarterfinals - Beat Tuttle 13-10 Semifinals - Beat Poteau 30-0   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 5-3 (9th Title Appearance)   Head coach Dale Condict has turned this Wagoner program into a complete powerhouse in the last 15+ years. Before Wagoner's appearance in the 2005 championship game, Condict's first as Wagoner's coach, the Bulldogs only had one other title game appearance in it came all the way back in 1945. But starting in 2005, Wagoner has made the playoffs every year and has won at least one game in each playoff appearance. The Bulldogs fell to Clinton in that 2005 championship game. They would also lose in the 2010 title game to Douglass but that was the last time they settled for silver. They would win championships in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016 and then their last title came in 2020 when they had a perfect season end with a title win over Clinton.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 35.8 Points Per Game   While Wagoner doesn't have the offensive production that we see on the other side of the match-up with Cushing, this has never been Wagoner's style of play over the last two decades. The Bulldogs have always been a defense-first team but the offense has shown that they can produce when they need to. They come into this week averaging nearly 36 points per game. On that side of the ball, they have a really good balance between the passing and running game and that should certainly help them as we go into Saturday's game. Against Cushing, the Bulldogs were shut out and will be hungry to make sure that doesn't happen again. If they can play like they did against Poteau, where they are efficient and also shorten the game with long drives, they'll be in good shape.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 8.5 Points Per Game   The defense has been the calling card for Wagoner teams and this year's squad is no different. They come into this week giving up on average just 8.5 points per game. They've shut out two of their three playoff opponents and the team has five shutouts on the season. Not only do they not give up anything on the scoreboard, teams struggle mightily to move the ball against the Bulldogs. Wagoner's team defense has been outstanding throughout the season and they'll need them to step up in a big way on Saturday. The only team that has been successful against them this year has been Cushing. They put up 42 points on the Wagoner defense in week six. In the seven games since the Cushing game, Wagoner has given up a total of 29 points.   NOTABLE   Wagoner comes into this championship game with plenty of experience of seeing a district foe in that title game. When the Bulldogs captured three straight titles from 2014-2016, they faced district rival Oologah in all three instances and would come away with the gold ball each time. Wagoner would sweep the meetings with Oologah in 2015 and 2016. They lost to Oologah in the regular season in 2014 but that game was later forfeited by the Mustangs. That 2014 championship team featured a Wagoner squad who began the year 1-4 on the field, 2-3 if you include the Oologah forfeit. They would go on to win the state title. This year's Wagoner team started off the year 3-3 and they are hungry to bring home another gold ball to give Wagoner a second gold ball in three years.

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