Favorite Games Covered In 2022
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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 begin our postseason coverage. We continue things today by taking a look back at some of the favorite games we covered in 2022. I rank the top five games I covered this season. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma throughout the next three weeks for more postseason coverage. From season in review features, to All State teams and plenty of awards, we’ll have you covered!
DISCLAIMER. The following games are games that I covered from start to finish this season. It does not include games that I did not cover like the six-overtime thriller between Owasso and Union in the semifinals and the Southeast Hail Mary victory during the regular season against Cache. If I was at either of those games, they would make the list. And that’s just scratching the surface on the great finishes from this season.
1) WAGONER 24, CUSHING 21
4A State Championship
I mean this had to be number one right? A state championship that ended with a game-winning kick from the team that had lost to the other 42-0 in the regular season? When you consider everything involved, there’s no doubt that the 4A state championship game was the best game that I covered this season in Oklahoma. Wagoner captured their second state championship in three years and did it in dramatic fashion with a game-winning field goal as time expired against a team that had been absolutely dominant all season.
Cushing had been the top-ranked team in Class 4A all season. They had beaten Wagoner when the two squared off in week six by a score of 42-0 and they were massive favorites heading into the championship rematch. Going into the game, it was understood that we weren’t going to see another 42-0 outcome as Wagoner had steadily improved ever since that week six clash and it would be much closer this time around with a state championship on the line. Despite being the underdog, Wagoner still had the championship pedigree and experience and they were going to be ready.
Cushing controlled the first half of the game until the closing seconds. Wagoner would first convert on fourth down near midfield on a tipped pass that fell into a Wagoner receiver’s hands. They would then score with just six seconds left on a Kale Charboneau Kale Charboneau 6'0" | 210 lbs | ATH Wagoner | 2025 State OK pass to Witt Edwards Witt Edwards 6'6" | 200 lbs | WR Wagoner | 2024 State OK to make it 21-14 in favor of Cushing at halftime. Going into the fourth quarter, the game was tied at 21. Cushing would then go for it at the Wagoner 38, facing 4th and 6 and came up short. Wagoner would then take over with just over five minutes left and Cushing would never get the ball back. Ethan Buehlenleg would kick a 36-yard field goal and the Bulldogs stunned the Tigers.
2) JENKS 38, BIXBY 35
Week Ten
It was pretty obvious that this one was going to make the list as we ended up seeing a piece of history as well as a well-played game in front of a nationally televised audience. Jenks would go on the road in the final week of the regular season and beat Bixby 38-35, snapping Bixby’s state-record 58-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the nation at the time. The Trojans would pull off the upset behind a strong running game and big plays throughout the night as the two-time state champion Trojans sent a reminder to the rest of the state that you shouldn’t forget about them.
Now, we know how the story ended. A few weeks later, they met again in the 6A-1 semifinals and Bixby took care of business with a 28-14 win in the rematch. The Spartans limited the big plays and quarterback Connor Kirby Connor Kirby 6'2" | 190 lbs | ATH Bixby | 2023 State OK played outstanding from start to finish. The Spartans would then go on to smash Owasso in the championship game to capture their fifth straight gold ball and their eighth title in the last nine years. But nevertheless, you can’t talk about the 2022 season without mentioning that week ten match-up where the Trojans ended the streak.
But in week ten, it was the Jenks duo of Ike Owens Ike Owens 6'2" | QB Jenks | 2023 State OK and Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5'10" | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK that got the job done as the Trojans sent shockwaves all across the state. This game not only had a lot of historical significance because of the streak coming to an end, but it also was a very important moment for Oklahoma high school football. With a national audience as the game was played on ESPN2, two of Oklahoma’s top football powerhouses squared off and played an incredibly entertaining game from start to finish. It was a great night for the Jenks Trojans but it was an even better night for the entire sport of high school football in our state.
3) HERITAGE HALL 72, METRO CHRISTIAN 56
3A State Championship
Points and points and points and points. In the first of seven state championship games played at UCO over the course of ten days, we got an absolute shootout as Heritage Hall took down Metro Christian 72-56 in one of the crazier shootouts in recent memory. First off, there’s never been a shootout like that in the title game. The previous record for most combined points in a title game was 100 and that record came crashing down. Heritage Hall also set the record for most points by a team in the title game with 72 as their rushing attack could not be stopped.
Heritage Hall had not one but two different players finish with over 200 yards on the ground as quarterback Andy Bass Andy Bass 6'0" | 195 lbs | ATH Heritage Hall | 2024 State OK and running back River Faulkner River Faulkner 5'11" | 205 lbs | ATH Heritage Hall | 2023 State OK put on a show in the 3A title game. Bass finished with over 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Faulkner would finish with over 200 yards and five touchdowns on the night. Metro countered with one of the best quarterback performances I can remember as senior Kirk Francis Kirk Francis 6'1" | 185 lbs | QB Metro Christian | 2023 State OK went down swinging and finished the night going 37-62 for well over 600 yards and five touchdowns.
While the story of the night was the shootout and the records falling, the game started out with quite a bit of controversy. After Heritage Hall scored a defensive touchdown on a play that probably should have been whistled dead because of movement on the line of scrimmage, they kicked off to the Patriots. The ball rolled into the end zone and the Chargers fell on it and the officials signaled a touchdown. It should not have been a touchdown. It was suggested that the ball made contact with the Metro return man before going into the end zone and was a live ball. That’s not the rule. If the ball is not possessed before going into the end zone, regardless of what happened prior, it’s a touchback. That part is tough if you’re a Metro fan but what happened after that was some of the best offensive football I watched all season.
4) CARL ALBERT 31, BISHOP McGUINNESS 24
Week Seven
This game makes the list for a few different reasons. First, it was a great game start to finish with players making big plays on both sides. These two teams have been two of the best in Class 5A for the last six years and it showed again in week seven. And then finally, we think that this game was the moment that Carl Albert junior running back Xavier Robinson Xavier Robinson 6'2" | 225 lbs | RB Carl Albert | 2024 State OK truly became one of the best players in the state. Carl Albert would go on the road and knock off previously unbeaten Bishop McGuinness 31-24 with a touchdown in the final two minutes to steal the road win.
The finalists for our Player Of The Year award will be coming out on Thursday but we’ll give you a sneak peak at one of them. It’s Xavier Robinson Xavier Robinson 6'2" | 225 lbs | RB Carl Albert | 2024 State OK . The Carl Albert standout was one of the best running backs in the state this season and while he had some big performances before the McGuinness game, we think that his performance in this match-up took him from being a name you needed to know to an absolute superstar. He would finish with over 200 yards and four touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown with a little over a minute to play.
This game also featured the return of Carl Albert senior quarterback Reed Dequasie Reed Dequasie 6'2" | DB Carl Albert | 2023 State OK following a collarbone injury in the first game of the season. Prior to the game, the plan was for both quarterbacks to play but pretty soon, it was apparent that Dequasie found a rhythm within the offense immediately and the Titans were off and running. This also has to be considered the turning point of Carl Albert’s season and the beginning of their trek towards a sixth state championship in seven years. Robinson turning into a superstar, Dequasie returning, if neither of those things happen, we don’t think the Titans are state champions today. Unfortunately for rival Bishop McGuinness, it came at their expense.
5) CLINTON 34, BETHANY 27 (OVERTIME)
1st Round
The final game on this breakdown came in the first round of the playoffs and had several other firsts that help it make the list. It was the first (and only) overtime game I covered this season. It was also my first time ever watching a game at the Tornado Bowl, which seems absurd as I’m writing that considering the history and tradition there. It was also my first time seeing Bethany standout Taylor Heim Taylor Heim 6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH Bethany | 2023 State OK in person. And this first round match-up lived up to the hype of being one of the top overall games that week as the defending 4A champs would outlast the visitors from Bethany.
Heim also lived up to the hype as he was dominant from start to finish and had a massive impact on the game in all three phases. He would account for all four Bethany touchdowns on the night. He truly is one of the most versatile prospects in the state’s 2023 class and has the talent to play at a high level in college at multiple positions. Clinton flexed their championship muscles and would survive in overtime with a goal line stand to send Heim and Bethany home early.
It was all Clinton in the first half as they would lead 20-6 at halftime and extended that lead in the third quarter. Bethany trailed 27-13 halfway through the final quarter and would score on Heim touchdowns to tie things up with just over a minute to play in regulation. Clinton would score first in the extra period and then their defense would come up with a stop to keep the defending champs alive in the playoffs and moving on to the quarterfinal round.