Class A Title First Look

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class A state championship game is set for Saturday afternoon at 7PM in Edmond and we'll see #1 Gore face off with #2 Fairview. These two have been the top two ranked teams since the preseason rankings were released in June and nothing has changed. Now they square off for the gold ball. 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 A state championship game.   #1 GORE PIRATES (14-0)   Aug. 26 - Beat Wilburton 60-0 Sept. 2 - Beat Keys 47-0 Sept. 9 - Beat Mounds 55-21 Sept. 16 - Beat Savanna 54-0 Sept. 30 - Beat Canadian 61-0 Oct. 7 - Beat Pocola 61-12 Oct. 13 - Beat Central Sallisaw 65-0 Oct. 21 - Beat Panama 62-0 Oct. 28 - Beat Haskell 51-0 Nov. 4 - Beat Porter 55-0 1st Round - Beat Fairland 63-6 2nd Round - Beat Woodland 55-20 Quarterfinals - Beat Crescent 69-13 Semifinals - Beat Hominy 48-12   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 0-0 (1st Title Appearance)   Before head coach Brandon Tyler took over the program at his alma mater, this was a program that had struggled mightily the previous several seasons. They had several losing seasons, including years where they would not win a single game. Now Tyler has turned this program into one where the records are flipped and they only suffer one or two losses and win the rest, with the exception of this year, where they are unbeaten. Prior to this season, Gore had never made it to the semifinals, let alone the championship game. So they'll continue to make more history this weekend when they play for the state title and try to go wire to wire as Class A's top team.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 57.6 Points Per Game   Gore has had one of the best offenses in the state this season and it hasn't been remotely close. The Pirates come into Saturday averaging nearly 58 points per game this season. The lowest output they've had this season is 47. Read that one more time. The LOWEST amount of points they've scored was in a 47-0 win back in week one. And the running game has been something you can only do on video games after you adjust all the settings to make it easy. As a team, they've run for 80 touchdowns this season. Read that one more time as well. Gore's offense is rolling into Edmond.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 6 Points Per Game   There's a reason why Gore has been so dominant all season and while that rushing attack has been one of the best in the state, you also have to consider Gore's defense as being one of the best in the state this year as well. The Pirates are giving up just six points per game coming in and the majority of points they have given up came in the last four weeks. They rolled into the playoffs with eight shutout wins in ten games. And they have shut down or severely limited some explosive players and offenses in the last few weeks, notably Hominy and Woodland.   NOTABLE   Gore has had a memorable season and there's no doubt about that. They made it to the state title game for the first time in school history this season. They played in the semifinals for the first time in school history as well. And to keep their perfect season alive, they would have to take down a familiar name in the second round. The Pirates would host Woodland in the second round of the playoffs, the same team that had eliminated them from the postseason the last few years. That includes last year when the Cougars stunned the Pirates and ended their perfect season prematurely. This year, the Pirates left no doubt with a 55-20 win.   #2 FAIRVIEW YELLOWJACKETS (14-0)   Aug. 26 - Beat Hobart 49-2 Sept. 2 - Beat Chisholm 68-15 Sept. 9 - Beat Alva 60-28 Sept. 23 - Beat Hooker 55-12 Sept. 30 - Beat Thomas 70-12 Oct. 7 - Beat Sayre 63-14 Oct. 13 - Beat Mooreland 30-6 Oct. 21 - Beat Texhoma 41-6 Oct. 28 - Beat Burns Flat 47-6 Nov. 4 - Beat Merritt 40-19 1st Round - Beat Snyder 60-0 2nd Round - Beat Christian Heritage 46-14 Quarterfinals - Beat Stroud 27-21 Semifinals - Beat Colcord 38-22   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 2-0 (3rd Title Appearance)   Fairview is back into the state championship game for the third time in school history and they have a perfect 2-0 record once they've made it there. But it's been a while since the Yellowjackets have played for a gold ball. The last time was 1999 when they beat Nowata for the gold ball. Fairview has a little more championship experience than Gore but they also have similar turnaround stories. The Yellowjackets would go 5-16 in 2019 and 2020. They followed that up last year with a breakout season, going 11-1 before falling in a close game to Tonkawa. This year, they're playing for the state championship.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 49.6 Points Per Game   Fairview's offense has averaged just under 50 points per game this season as the Yellowjackets have been dominant on that side of the ball. While Gore's numbers are incredibly impressive in terms of the run game, Fairview is much more balanced on the offensive side of the ball. Fairview has a great blend of the run and pass game and they mix the two incredibly well with playmakers at all the different skill positions. The Yellowjackets definitely benefit from having experience and balance on offense as they try to put a dent in the Gore defense.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 12.6 Points Per Game   Fairview's defense has also been incredibly consistent throughout the season and they'll need them to step up one more time on Saturday when they try to slow down that Gore rushing attack. Fairview's defense has only given up more than 20 points in three games this season. Two of those games have come in the last two weeks as the competition has gotten stronger during Fairview's playoff run. The Yellowjackets will be looking to slow down the Gore run game that has been so successful all season. They'll want to force Gore into long yardage situations on third down.   NOTABLE   Fairview has had only one game this season that was decided by single digits and that came in the quarterfinal round against Stroud. They were able to come back and win 27-21 to advance to last week's semifinal round. But when you look at the majority of Fairview's games this season, similar to Gore, most of them have been over by halftime. That element is always fascinating to us when you go into a game like this. More than likely, we will not see a blowout on Saturday night. So how will Fairview (and Gore for that matter) respond when they have to play all four quarters and they face pressure and stress that they have rarely felt on a football field this year.

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