Class 4A Season In Review

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022 football season has come and gone. Once again, the football season has just flown by. Two weeks removed from the final football games of the 2022 season, we officially kicked off our postseason coverage earlier this week. We continue things today with our season in review series. We continue with Class 4A, taking a look back at the 2022 season. We look at who lifted the gold ball, crown a player of the year in the class along with recognizing many other top players from this season. Then we dive into the top storyline from this year and take a very early look at the 2023 season. Keep it locked into Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day for a new class in this week long series taking a look back at the 2022 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>STATE CHAMPION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><em><strong>Wagoner Bulldogs (11-3)</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wagoner Bulldogs came into the 2022 season expecting to contend for a state championship. That's what head coach Dale Condict has turned this program into. Even if they don't come into a season as the favorite, they still expect to not only be in the mix, but falling short of a state title is considered a failure. Wagoner was near the top of our preseason rankings in June. They came in at #2 right behind new district foe Cushing, who was the overwhelming favorite to capture the 4A crown. But with Wagoner returning the majority of starters on offense and defense, overlooking the Bulldogs would be a massive mistake.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wagoner remained at #2 in Class 4A despite starting the year off at 1-2 with losses to Coweta and Grove by a combined ten points. They remained at #2 because look at who the losses were to and they were competitive in each game. Both Coweta and Grove spent the majority of the season in the top five of Class 5A and Wagoner was in the game with both of them. However, they would wrap up non-district play with a 1-2 record and would move on to a district that had a new kid on the block that would be the favorite for the district crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In just about every year for the last decade, Wagoner has come into each season as the favorite in their district. And they've won a lot of district championships during that time frame. But with Cushing moving over to 4A-3, the Bulldogs were in unfamiliar territory as an underdog. Despite that, Wagoner would shut out their first two district opponents before squaring off with Cushing. Things did not go well as Wagoner would suffer a 42-0 loss, one of the largest margins of defeat for Wagoner in the last decade. But Wagoner would quickly put that behind them with dominating wins down the stretch to take some much-needed momentum into the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wagoner's defense was an underrated quality of this year's 4A champion and they showed that throughout their playoff run. After only two games during the regular season where they gave up more than 10 points, the Wagoner defense flexed again in the playoffs. They would shut out Ada in the first round and then would have to go on the road to take on fellow perennial power Tuttle. They would hold the Tigers to just 10 points and escape with a 13-10 win, setting up a semifinal showdown with yet another 4A powerhouse in Poteau. That game was one of the stunners of the 4A playoffs as Wagoner beat up Poteau to the tune of 30-0 in absolutely dominant fashion to punch their ticket back to Edmond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The stage was set for another showdown with top-ranked Cushing and this time the state championship was on the line. However, the Bulldogs had all but erased the memories of 42-0 back in October and had been playing consistently better football ever since. They came into the title game with all the confidence in the world and the game was close throughout. With the game tied at 21 in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs would go on arguably the biggest drive in program history. They got the ball with a little over five minutes left and never gave it up. They drove down and kicked a field goal as time expired to capture their second state title in the last three years and one of the biggest wins under legendary head coach Dale Condict. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8F-grGLANE","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8F-grGLANE </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>PLAYER OF THE YEAR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["38715"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Prep Redzone Oklahoma has only been around for three seasons and following every year of our existence, Cushing standout [player_tooltip player_id='38715' first='Camden' last='Crooks'] has been a finalist for our Player Of The Year award. Crooks has been one of the best players in Oklahoma for the last several years and he reached new heights this season as a complete player. Helping lead the Tigers all the way to the 4A title game, Crooks was unstoppable on offense, finishing the year with over 1,500 yards and 23 touchdowns receiving. He also added 67 tackles and four interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. And then on special teams, he was a nightmare to defend as teams kept paying the price for kicking to him. He finished off the year with seven punt return touchdowns and a kick return for a touchdown. Crooks has been one of the absolute best playmakers in Oklahoma and earned his spot as a three-time finalist for our Player Of The Year award and ran away with the award for Class 4A this season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63a9acd6ae3d5"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>BREAKOUT STARS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='215570' first='Brady' last='McAdoo'] - Athlete - Tuttle<br>[player_tooltip player_id='370225' first='Christian' last='Brumley'] - Quarterback - Broken Bow<br>[player_tooltip player_id='522126' first='Jackson' last='Sommers'] - Running Back - Poteau<br>[player_tooltip player_id='530573' first='Kale' last='Charboneau'] - Quarterback - Wagoner<br>[player_tooltip player_id='392785' first='Levy' last='Owens'] - Running Back - Elk City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>OTHER TOP PLAYERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='294262' first='Alex' last='Shieldnight'] - Linebacker - Wagoner<br>[player_tooltip player_id='54349' first='Blaze' last='Berlowitz'] - Quartebrack - Cushing<br>[player_tooltip player_id='363852' first='Carson' last='Cooksey'] - Quarterback - Blanchard<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215196' first='Dax' last='Collins'] - Athlete - Poteau<br>[player_tooltip player_id='410947' first='Elijah' last='Green'] - Wide Receiver - Classen SAS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='157514' first='Eric' last='Virgil'] - Running Back - Hilldale<br>[player_tooltip player_id='57160' first='Evan' last='Keefe'] - Offensive/Defensive Lineman - Hilldale<br>[player_tooltip player_id='231450' first='Gabe' last='Rodriguez'] - Athlete - Wagoner<br>[player_tooltip player_id='292484' first='Jake' last='Tucker'] - Linebacker - Tuttle<br>[player_tooltip player_id='375624' first='Javion' last='Hill'] - Athlete - Clinton<br>[player_tooltip player_id='385677' first='Jaxon' last='Laminack'] - Wide Receiver - Blanchard<br>[player_tooltip player_id='57161' first='Malek' last='Murphy'] - Running Back - Chickasha<br>[player_tooltip player_id='149337' first='Riley' last='Matheson'] - Linebacker - Cushing<br>[player_tooltip player_id='161130' first='Stephen' last='Sisco'] - Wide Receiver - Madill<br>[player_tooltip player_id='157521' first='Taylor' last='Heim'] - Athlete - Bethany</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>TOP STORYLINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Wagoner's Walk Off Win</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This has been documented quite a bit already and if you're a Cushing fan you can go ahead and skip this section. But when we look back at the 2022 football season in Class 4A, the biggest story had to be Wagoner's win in the state championship game and there's several layers to that. First off, winning a state championship on a field goal as time expires is good enough to be in this category. Then you throw in the fact that Wagoner had lost to Cushing in the way they lost to Cushing. And then adding to that was the upset factor as Cushing was absolutely dominant throughout the 2022 season. It was foolish to think that Cushing was going to win 42-0 again in a rematch with Wagoner but the Tigers were still favorites nonetheless. You throw all of those factors together and the Bulldogs winning, the way the won, was without a doubt the top storyline from the 2022 season. Head coach Dale Condict still contends even weeks after the title game was over that it was the best win of his career. This is a coach that has won several state championships, over 200 games and helped lead Wagoner to a 48-game winning streak at one points. And their title win over Cushing is at the top of the list. How could that not be the biggest story from this past year?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>EARLY LOOK AT 2023</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When we look at the 2023 season in Class 4A, we have a feeling it's going to be a lot more wide open than what we saw from the class this season. While Cushing didn't come away with the gold ball, they were still the favorite all season and then a perennial power in Wagoner would eventually win it. 2023 could be more wide open then in recent memory. We'll still see the perennial powers like Clinton, Poteau, Tuttle and Wagoner all be in the mix next year for the state title race. But then you have to look at teams like Blanchard that returns a ton of skill players that could make the Lions a team to watch in Class 4A. Other teams like Catoosa, Newcastle and Weatherford will bring back some talented players but they are still waiting to take the next step as a true contender with this current group of standouts. Whenever you predict a season in Class 4A, it's a safe bet to stick to those perennial powers in Clinton, Poteau, Tuttle and Wagoner. All get hit by graduation but they also bring back some legitimate guys that could lead them to a state championship in 2023. And odds would suggest that the state champ is going to come out of that group in 2023. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->