Class 6A-2 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. A little over a week removed from the final football games of the 2022 season, we officially kicked off our postseason coverage earlier this week. We continue things today by continuing our season in review series. We move on to Class 6A-2, 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"><strong><em>Stillwater Pioneers (13-0)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stillwater came into the 2022 season as the #3 team in our preseason rankings for 6A-2 behind Choctaw and Booker T Washington. It wouldn't take long before the Pioneers would take over the top spot in the rankings and they would never let it go. Stillwater was boosted behind the majority of their starters returning on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Pioneers got out to a fast start with a 3-0 start in non-district play. The Pioneers would get their closest call of the season in week three when they hosted Norman and they won 36-33. From there, the Pioneers would go into district play and absolutely dominated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a blowout win over US Grant, the Pioneers would go on the road to face Booker T Washington and they won 38-6. In fact, the Pioneers had to be road warriors in the second half of the season. After four straight home games to start the season, the Pioneers would have to go on the road five times in the final six weeks, including their three toughest district games. But that wouldn't stop the Pioneers from completing a perfect regular season. They would beat up on Booker T Washington and then in week ten, they won a showdown with unbeaten Muskogee for the district title with a 38-21 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pioneers would punch their ticket to the semifinals once again after beating district foe Bartlesville in the quarterfinals. The Pioneers would then have to hold off Deer Creek in the semifinals to punch their ticket to Edmond. Stillwater jumped out early and often against the Antlers but Deer Creek would have a massive comeback that came up just short in the second half. This set up a state championship showdown with Choctaw in the first meeting between these two teams since the Yellowjackets stunned the Pioneers on a field goal as time expired in the 2020 semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In that title game, the Pioneers would rely on the running game and a defense that forced turnovers all year to get the job done in a 26-21 victory over Choctaw. Coming into the game, the Pioneers had forced nearly 40 turnovers on the season. The Pioneer defense would come away with three interceptions on the afternoon and the Pioneers would complete a perfect 13-0 season, giving them their first state championship in decades. </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=auIi0zdqu0A","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=auIi0zdqu0A </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":["157517"],"_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":"Stillwater senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='157517' first='Gage' last='Gundy'] was absolutely one of the more improved players in the state this season and the progression he has shown at the quarterback position was a big reason why the Pioneers ended this year as state champions. The Stillwater signal caller had about as perfect of a season as you can ask for. First, he helped lead the Pioneers to a perfect record and their first state championship in decades. Then you look at the numbers. He threw for nearly 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns and also added well over 500 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. And he only had ONE turnover all season and that came on an interception that featured some miscommunication on a pass route. Gundy was flawless throughout the season and he did whatever he had to do to help the team win. In the state title game, he had less than five completions because the Pioneers committed to the running game. What's scary is that Gundy's best football continues to be in front of him and he's already grown so much in two years.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63a5e49091e40"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>BREAKOUT STARS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='202153' first='Anthony' last='Watson'] - Tight End/Defensive End - Muskogee<br>[player_tooltip player_id='370224' first='Elias' last='Sherman'] - Defensive Lineman - Booker T Washington<br>[player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] - Quarterback - Deer Creek<br>[player_tooltip player_id='382992' first='Kenneth' last='Page'] - Running Back - Sand Springs<br>[player_tooltip player_id='515901' first='PJ' last='Wallace'] - Running Back - Bartlesville</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='344120' first='Dale' last='Miller'] - Defensive Back - Deer Creek<br>[player_tooltip player_id='241236' first='Devarius' last='Hardy'] - Quarterback - Lawton<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215206' first='Heston' last='Thompson'] - Wide Receiver - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='50786' first='JaKobe' last='Sanders'] - Offensive Lineman - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] - Quarterback - Muskogee<br>[player_tooltip player_id='129399' first='Kayden' last='McGee'] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Muskogee<br>[player_tooltip player_id='98176' first='La'Trell' last='Ray'] - Running Back - Choctaw<br>[player_tooltip player_id='69271' first='Lathan' last='Boone'] - Quarterback - Booker T Washington<br>[player_tooltip player_id='47959' first='Micah' last='Tease'] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Booker T Washington<br>[player_tooltip player_id='199948' first='Noah' last='Roberts'] - Running Back - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='51854' first='RJ' last='Jackson'] - Defensive Lineman - Choctaw<br>[player_tooltip player_id='38780' first='Steele' last='Wasel'] - Quarterback - Choctaw<br>[player_tooltip player_id='287377' first='Taje' last='McCoy'] - Defensive Lineman - Putnam City<br>[player_tooltip player_id='150089' first='Tyron' last='Amacker'] - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Lawton<br>[player_tooltip player_id='407343' first='Zac' last='Tyson'] - Linebacker - Stillwater</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>TOP STORYLINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>A New Era Begins</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was going to be the overall theme of the 2022 season after Bixby finally moved up to Class 6A-1. After capturing seven state championships in eight seasons, the big, bad Spartans moved up to 6A-1 and there was going to be a new era in 6A-2 football. For most of the season, Stillwater and Choctaw would hold the top two places and it seemed like they were on a crash course for one another in the title game and that's how the season played out. But we also saw teams like Deer Creek and Muskogee in the mix and the class overall was much more competitive than what we've seen over the last few years. Stillwater and Choctaw might have been the favorites to make it to Edmond for the majority of the season, but there was still some drama and excitement in the class. That had not been the case for a few years as Bixby was dismantling teams. Moving forward, we believe we'll see more parity in 6A-2, and that leads us to our final section as we take an early look at next season.</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>A new era begun in 2022 with more teams able to contend for the state title. That will continue in 2023 and we believe that a new team will take over the crown. Reigning champion Stillwater and runner up Choctaw will be in the mix once again. But we think that Muskogee will go into the 2023 season as the top team in 6A-2. They took a massive step towards contending in 2022 and they'll go into 2023 as our favorites to get the job done. You also have to consider teams that are always in the mix like Booker T Washington and Deer Creek. They lose quite a bit to graduation but they seem to always end up contending. Some teams to look out for in 2023 based on who they have coming back that might be considered dark horses are Bartlesville, Ponca City and Sand Springs. All three teams bring back some very talented underclassmen and they could end up having a Muskogee-like season where they explode in 2023. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->