Oklahoma’s Greatest Game: Owasso vs Union Semifinal: Owasso Recap
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This was arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, high school football game in the state of Oklahoma’s history. Semifinal game with the winner advancing to play in the championship game against Bixby. Both teams came out and…
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Continue ReadingThis was arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, high school football game in the state of Oklahoma’s history. Semifinal game with the winner advancing to play in the championship game against Bixby. Both teams came out and gave everything they had, to the point to where this game went into six overtimes. Owasso carried a 13-0 lead into halftime and Union responded to tie it up at 13-13 to go into overtime. Owasso had a trick play 2-point conversion fail that prevented them from having a 14-0 lead going into halftime, then Owasso blocked an extra point attempt in the second half. That is how the score fell to 13-13. The final score was 50-47 in 6 overtimes, with Owasso winning.
Mason Willingham Mason Willingham 6’1″ | QB Owasso | 2023 State OK played with more heart than any player I have ever seen. He willed his team to victory and a eight game win streak, despite them missing Alabama wide receiver commit Cole Adams Cole Adams 6’0″ | WR Owasso | 2023 State OK . Willingham rarely forced a pass that was not there and made good decisions, breaking down a phenomenal Union defense both through the air and on the ground. On the ground, he would detect a slight opening and exploit it. He is not the quickest player on the field, but he has enough speed and knows how to use it well enough to where he is a dangerous threat. He showed great patience and some elusiveness while running and would not rush anything. Over the course of the game, his statistics speak for themself. He accounted for 303 yards and six touchdowns. On the ground, he had 30 carries for 141 yards and he completed 15 of 26 passes for 162 yards through the air. He showed a nice quick release to quickly get the ball out to an open receiver, as well as perfectly placing a 41 yard pass to a receiver that had a defender on his back. One thing that I liked most about him is that after he threw a pick-6 in the third quarter that shrunk their lead to 13-7, he did not let it bring him down. He came out and continued to play like nothing had happened. That ability to be mentally tough is not something that you can teach. It is remarkable that he has willed an injury-ridden team that is depleted at the running back position and missing their best wide receiver to eight straight wins and a spot in the state championship.
is a player that I felt like I heard his name throughout the night with a lot of small catches and an occasional decent play, but he really made a name for himself in overtime. In regulation, some of the biggest things that he did were pick up big first downs. On one play, it was third and eight, and he went out there and picked up 12 yards on the ground. There was another time that he ran for eight yards and a first down. The last real big play that was impressive that he did in regulation was that he had a good run for 13 yards after a trick play had collapsed. In overtime is where he really started to shine. He had a 17 yard gain in overtime, breaking a couple of tackles along the way. In the second overtime, he started off with a 5-yard carry, followed by a 5-yard touchdown run. The other big play that he came up with was in the third overtime. It was third and 11 with his team trailing by 7. He ended up creating a little bit of space and coming up with an eleven yard touchdown grab to tie the game.
Jake Adams
Jake Adams
Jake Adams came up with some plays on defense that helped his team win. He showed the ability to tackle, coming up with a few tackles. There was one play that he was clutch for his team, forcing his opponent out of bounds right before the first down marker, which forced them to punt. Another big play that he came up with on defense was an interception. He read the play perfectly, jumping right in front of the receiver for an interception. He came up with some important plays at the right time.
Anthony Hills Anthony Hills 6’2″ | WR Owasso | 2023 State OK came up with some big plays and catches at the right time. On third down, he came up with a diving catch that picked up the first down for his team. Another impressive play is that he ran a slant and came up with a one-handed catch for about 2 yards. On this catch, he reached back and grabbed it without trouble or hesitation. One of the most impressive plays he had was that he made a 41-yard diving catch, despite the defender being on his back. In the fourth quarter, his team faced a third and six, and he was able to draw the pass interference to pick up the first down for his team. The last big play that he had was in the fourth overtime. His team faced a third and 10, he came up with a big catch and dove into the endzone for the touchdown. He has a solid frame for a wide receiver, being 6’3. He knew how to utilize it well to create space, come up with big catches, and by knowing how to extend for diving catches. His play was impressive and crucial for his team to pull off this crazy win.
Hunter Haff
Hunter Haff
Hunter Haff was in the backfield and disrupting Union’s offensive plans all night. He came up with a few sacks last night and there were multiple times that he applied pressure to the quarterback that were not recorded. He has good size, being listed at 6’3, 245 pounds. He knew how to use it to bust through the offensive line with power moves and an occasional finesse move. He forced an incompletion a few times with his pressure and he was able to come up with several tackles over the duration of this game. Multiple times, he came up with a tackle for a loss or a tackle for no gain. He was one of the anchors for the Owasso defense and an important factor in them winning.