Class 6A-1 Playoff Preview
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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 complete look at the Class 6A-1 playoffs. From the favorite to all of the contenders and match-ups to keep an eye on, we have you completely covered. Keep it locked in for a Players To Watch feature later on today and throughout the next week for more class breakdowns!
PLAYOFF BRACKET
TEAM TO BEAT
Union Redhawks (10-0)
Union came into this season as our preseason number one team and nothing has changed since late June when those rankings were released. The Redhawks have been lights out all season and are rolling as they go into the playoffs. Union is looking to make it back to the state championship game for the second consecutive season and this time, walk away with a gold ball, which would be their first since 2016. The Redhawks are the only undefeated team coming into the playoffs and the target on them has continued to get bigger and bigger throughout the season. We’ve been saying this all season but Union, top to bottom and on both sides of the ball, has the most talented team in Class 6A-1. That’s a pretty big reason why they are the favorites coming into the playoffs.
TOP CONTENDERS
Bixby Spartans (9-1)
For the first time since early on in the 2018 season, the Bixby Spartans are coming off a loss. In week ten, the Spartans had their state record winning streak of 58 straight snapped at the hands of Jenks. Despite the loss, Bixby still claimed the district championship and let’s face it, they are still right there in the conversation among the state’s best in 6A-1. This is Bixby’s first season in Class 6A-1 after dominating 6A-2 for the last eight seasons with seven state championships, including the last four. When the calendar rolls around to November and December, the Spartans have been perfect. Literally. In the last eight years, the Spartans have lost just one playoff game and that came in the 2017 state title game to Booker T Washington.
Jenks Trojans (8-2)
Jenks made some history Thursday night with their road win over Bixby, but it also showed that we still need to take the two-time defending champs very seriously with the playoffs beginning. Even though they ended up as a three-seed, the Trojans are clearly playing some of their best football right now. And a lot of that has to do with Jenks finally being healthy and getting some of the key pieces that they lost earlier this year. We made this comment on Thursday night when the Trojans knocked off the Spartans. This is the Jenks team that we wrote about back in July when we had them right behind Union in our preseason rankings. The Trojans are healthy, they have momentum, and that makes them a very dangerous contender.
Norman North Timberwolves (8-2)
Every year when it comes to Class 6A-1 football, we talk about what team is going to be the “best from the west” as OKC-area and westside teams try to take down the “Tulsa Five”. We might have that answer with Norman North as the Timberwolves are absolutely rolling right now and playing arguably their best football of the season. Norman North began the year 2-2, with back to back losses in late September, including a surprising loss to a Yukon team that finished 1-9 this season. But the Timberwolves followed up the 2-2 start with an exciting overtime win over Broken Arrow, followed by a 31-21 road win against Jenks. And in their last four games, the closest outcome was a 20-point win over Enid in week ten.
DARK HORSE
Mustang Broncos (8-2)
Right there with Norman North is Mustang in terms of the best teams from the west side this year in 6A-1. In fact, you can honestly group them in with the top contenders but when it comes to this class, it’s just not as deep as the others with teams that have a realistic chance of making a run. Mustang has had one of the best offenses in the state and that side of the ball is extremely experienced and that will certainly help them coming into the playoffs. The Broncos made a run to the semifinals a year ago and actually pushed eventual champion Jenks in that semifinal round. They could get another crack at the champs as they will more than likely face the Trojans following their bye week in round one.
MARQUEE MATCH-UP
Enid (5-5) AT Edmond Memorial (4-6)
Both Edmond Memorial and Enid have ended playoff droughts and will square off in the first round. Both teams have very balanced offenses that are capable of scoring a lot of points. For Enid, they have two excellent seniors in running back Luke Rauh Luke Rauh 6'1" | 205 lbs | RB Enid | 2023 State OK and wide receiver Tykie Andrews Tykie Andrews 6'0" | WR Enid | 2023 State OK . For Edmond Memorial, they have an excellent mix of seniors and underclassmen that are very talented and the future is bright for Edmond Memorial. The Bulldogs had their toughest stretch of the season in the last three weeks, facing Mustang, Owasso and Union to wrap up the regular season. They come into the playoffs with three straight losses and look to turn things around
HISTORY LESSONS
Bixby’s Title Streak
Bixby might have had one streak come to an end in week ten but they still have another one in tact as they head into the playoffs. Bixby has gone to eight consecutive state championship games and will look to make it nine in the next month. The Spartans and their dominance while in Class 6A-2 has been well documented. Now, they try to replicate that in Class 6A-1. The Spartans won another district title and will look to start a new winning streak in the few weeks after having a bye week in the first round.
Enid Back In
For the first time since 2009, the Enid Plainsmen are back into the playoffs. Now, full disclosure, that’s not entirely true. In 2020, Enid participated in the playoffs but did not technically qualify for the playoffs. Because of Covid and many games getting canceled, the OSSAA allowed any team that wanted to participate in the playoffs to make it in. Now they focus on one of the better first round match-ups, traveling to Edmond to take on Edmond Memorial, another team that ended a playoff drought.
Jenks Under Keith Riggs
Bleach hair dye is about to go off the market in Jenks for the next month. In addition to the tradition of dying their hair for the playoffs, Jenks has a new tradition under head coach Keith Riggs and that’s playing for the state title every year. Since taking over in 2018, Riggs has led the Trojans to the state championship game in every season as head coach, winning the last two gold balls. The Trojans are playing some of their best football right now as they are getting healthy at the right time.
New Playoff Format
There’s a new playoff format for Class 6A-1 and 6A-2 this season, featuring 12 teams making it into the postseason instead of 16. This was a change that was voted on by the football coaches across the state and then approved by the state association. The top six teams in each district make it into the playoffs now. And that also gives the top two teams from each district a bye in the first round. Another change is the 6A-1 and 6A-2 playoffs goes back to being four weeks instead of three, eliminating the bye week in between the semifinals and championship game.
CRYSTAL BALL
Union Over Bixby
For about two months now, it’s felt like these two teams have been on a crash course for one another in the title game. Jenks has definitely made things more interesting and there’s no doubt that they’re playing their best football right now. But they’ll have to beat Bixby a second time in less than a month to make it back to the title game. So we’re giving the edge to Bixby in that rematch. And on the other side, we like Union to continue the roll that they are on to make a second straight trip to the state title game. Once there, it’ll be a clash of the two teams that have been at the top for the majority of this season. And as we said before, Union is the most talented team in Class 6A-1, but Bixby is the scariest team. No matter what the outcome, it should be a great game if these two square off with the gold ball on the line. But we’re giving the edge to Union to win their first state championship since 2016.
Keep it locked in for a Players To Watch feature later on today and throughout the next week for more class breakdowns!