Throwback Thursday: Class 4A
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We’re getting closer to spring football all across the Oklahoma but it’s still too far away! So we’re taking a look back at the 2022 season every Thursday with a “Throwback Thursday” post. We continue the series today with a look back at Class 4A. We look at the state champion Wagoner Bulldogs and their improbable run to another state championship. We also look at all of the individuals that played a big part in the story of the 2022 season with a breakdown on the 4A Player Of The Year, as well as acknowledging all of the All State selections from Class 4A. Then we finish it off with a look at some of the top storylines from last seasons.
Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma each Thursday for another “Throwback Thursday” post. And check back on Monday when we continue our “Champion Check In” series with an in-depth look at the reigning 4A state champions from Wagoner.
2022 STATE CHAMPION
Wagoner Bulldogs (11-3)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
4A Player Of The Year
Prep Redzone Oklahoma has only been around for three seasons and following every year of our existence, Cushing standout Camden Crooks Camden Crooks 6’0″ | 190 lbs | WR Cushing | 2023 State OK 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.
Highlights
4A All State 1st Team Selections
Alex Shieldnight
Alex
Shieldnight
6'3" | 230 lbs | DL
Wagoner | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Linebacker – Wagoner
Camden Crooks
Camden
Crooks
6'0" | 190 lbs | WR
Cushing | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Athlete – Cushing
Taylor Heim
Taylor
Heim
6'4" | 185 lbs | ATH
Bethany | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Athlete – Bethany
4A All State 2nd Team Selections
Eric Virgil
Eric
Virgil
5'10" | 175 lbs | RB
Hilldale | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Running Back – Hilldale
Evan Keefe
Evan
Keefe
6'3" | 250 lbs | DL
Hilldale | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman – Hilldale
Kenny Wermy
Kenny
Wermy
6'5" | 295 lbs | OL
Cache | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Offensive Lineman – Cache
Riley Matheson
Riley
Matheson
6'0" | 190 lbs | LB
Cushing | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Linebacker – Cushing
Stephen Sisco
Stephen
Sisco
6'0" | 190 lbs | WR
Madill | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Wide Receiver – Madill
4A All State 3rd Team Selections
Malek Murphy Malek Murphy 6'0" | RB Chickasha | 2023 State OK – 2023 Running Back – Chickasha
TOP STORYLINES
4A-2’s Gauntlet Headlines District Races
Back before the season began, we knew that district 4A-2 was going to be one of the tougher ones in the state and it ended up playing out that way. Bethany, Blanchard, Newcastle and Tuttle were all in our preseason top ten and all four made the playoffs with records of 7-3 or better. Every now and then, we see certain districts that just end up playing out like this where the majority of the teams at the top or not only the best teams in the district, they are some of the best teams in the class. It’s not a crazy thing to say that 4A-2 ended up being one of the craziest districts in the state, regardless of class. What was unexpected and something we didn’t see coming was the the four playoff qualifiers falling short in the playoffs. We wouldn’t have been surprised if all four teams ended up sweeping the first round. Bethany fell in overtime on the road to Clinton and Newcastle lost to eventual semifinalist Elk City by a touchdown. Blanchard and Tuttle would move on but they would fall in the quarterfinals to the two teams that made it to the state championship game. Blanchard got beat up by Cushing while Tuttle fell to Wagoner by a field goal.
Miami’s Playoff Drought Ends
So technically, this wasn’t much of a drought as Miami participated in the 2020 Class 4A playoffs. But that has somewhat of an asterisk next to it as because of the Covid pandemic and how different the 2020 season ended up being. The OSSAA allowed all schools to participate in the playoffs, adding an extra round that season. But the 2022 season was the first year since 2008 that Miami has actually qualified for the playoffs, following their 6-4 regular season in a district that featured the two state finalists in Wagoner and Cushing. Miami hit the road in the first round and squared off with a perennial powerhouse in Poteau in the first round and it was a long road trip but short playoff journey as they were one and done. But the future is very bright up in northeastern Oklahoma as we start looking ahead to the 2023 football season. Miami ended that lengthy playoff drought last season and with a very talented 2025 class and more depth behind them with the 2026 group, there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about the future of Miami football heading into this season.
Wagoner’s Walk Off Win
This has been documented quite a bit already 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?