Throwback Thursday: Class 5A

<!-- 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>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 5A. We look at the state champion Carl Albert Titans and their journey back to the gold ball. 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 5A Player Of The Year, who was this year's overall Player Of The Year, as well as acknowledging all of the All State selections from Class 5A. Then we finish it off with a look at some of the top storylines from last seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 5A state champions from Carl Albert.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 STATE CHAMPION</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Carl Albert Titans (12-2)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2021 was a “down” year for Carl Albert and when we say down year, we're talking about a team that won their district and lost in the semifinals. But that's what building a dynasty brings. Unimaginable expectations after winning five straight gold balls from 2016-2020. And coming into 2022, the Titans were ready to make it back to the mountain top in Class 5A. Carl Albert was the number one team in Class 5A when our preseason rankings were released back in late June. The Titans were the team to beat with nearly everyone returning on both sides of the ball. But the Titans would not have the start that they would have hoped for.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Facing one of the tougher non-district schedules in Class 5A, Carl Albert would begin the season 1-2 and things started off bad on the very first possession of the season. Facing Coweta on the road in a top five match-up in week one, starting quarterback Reed DeQuasie would go down with a broken collarbone. The Titans wouldn't be able to overcome the injury that week and fell to the Tigers 44-14. Two weeks later, Muskogee star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] couldn't be stopped as the Titans fell at home 35-28. From there, the Titans wouldn't lose again, despite being in arguably the toughest district in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Titans, in our opinion, began their journey to a state championship in week seven. They would go on the road and face rival Bishop McGuinness, who was unbeaten at the time. DeQuasie would come back from that collarbone injury and breathe new life into the Titans. Plus, junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='360239' first='Xavier' last='Robinson'] let the whole state know that he was one of the top players in Oklahoma with one of his many outstanding performances this year. The Titans would roll on from there. They beat up Guthrie the following week and then took care of Piedmont in the regular season finale to head into the playoffs as district champions once again and 8-2 on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was clear that Carl Albert was turning into a snowball going down the mountain and their momentum was only getting stronger and they would not be stopped in the playoffs. Of all the state champions this year, Carl Albert was one of the more dominant teams in the postseason. Their closest game was in the quarterfinals when they met rival Del City and pitched a shutout, winning 19-0. They would then move on to a showdown with unbeaten Grove in the semifinals and that turned into another blowout victory for the Titans as Carl Albert won 55-21. And in the title game, the Titans would have a complete performance on both sides of the ball as they punished McAlester for all four quarters, winning 49-7 to capture their sixth state title in the last seven seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>5A Player Of The Year</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["360239"],"_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":"Carl Albert junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='360239' first='Xavier' last='Robinson'] was one of the absolute breakout stars of the 2022 season and he helped carry the Titans to another state championship, their sixth in the last seven seasons. In the process, Robinson rewrote the record book at Carl Albert for running backs and had some of his best performances in Carl Albert's biggest games of the year. Robinson would finish with nearly 2,600 yards and 39 touchdowns on the ground this season. The Carl Albert standout is a big running back and it's easy to assume that he's just a power runner. But as many opponents found out this season, Robinson could run away from opponents just as easily as he could run them over. Robinson not only became one of the top players in Oklahoma this season, but he became one of the top overall prospects in the state's 2024 class. He was the complete package for the Titans as they captured yet another Class 5A state championship.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6441decd04270"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>5A All State 1st Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='38817' first='Brandon' last='Harper'] - 2023 Wide Receiver - Noble<br>[player_tooltip player_id='353419' first='Caden' last='Davis'] - 2025 Defensive Lineman - Carl Albert<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215197' first='Cannon' last='Wood'] - 2024 Running Back/Linebacker - Piedmont<br>[player_tooltip player_id='57158' first='Emmanuel' last='Crawford'] - 2023 Running Back - Grove<br>[player_tooltip player_id='165365' first='Tashawn' last='James'] - 2023 Defensive Back - Carl Albert<br>[player_tooltip player_id='360239' first='Xavier' last='Robinson'] - 2024 Running Back - Carl Albert</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>5A All State 2nd Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='584540' first='Brogan' last='Hardy'] - 2024 Linebacker - Piedmont<br>[player_tooltip player_id='38793' first='Chaz' last='Bradley'] - 2023 Defensive Back - McAlester<br>[player_tooltip player_id='91049' first='Erik' last='McCarty'] - 2023 Running Back/Defensive Back - McAlester<br>[player_tooltip player_id='57157' first='Jaedon' last='Foreman'] - 2023 Defensive Lineman - Del City<br>[player_tooltip player_id='38778' first='Kanijal' last='Thomas'] - 2023 Athlete - Del City<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215200' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'] - 2024 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back - Southeast<br>[player_tooltip player_id='307902' first='Landon' last='Davis-Barkus'] - 2023 Linebacker - Shawnee</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>5A All State 3rd Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='287378' first='Caden' last='Tahbonemah'] - 2023 Offensive Lineman - Lawton MacArthur</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>TOP STORYLINES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Injuries Slow Down Top Contenders</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Injuries happen every year. That's just the nature of sports in general, let alone a physical sport like football. However, in Class 5A, it felt like injuries really hampered some of the top contenders at various times throughout the 2022 season. Even state champion Carl Albert had to deal with losing their starting quarterback for a little over half of the regular season on the very first possession of the year. Other contenders like Coweta and Guthrie also saw arguably their best offensive players have to miss significant time during the 2022 season. McAlester made it all the way to the state championship game despite missing their star and 2021 Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year, [player_tooltip player_id='91049' first='Erik' last='McCarty'] after he was injured during the playoffs and missed out on the title game. By the time December rolled around, it felt like Carl Albert was without a doubt the best team in 5A. So while injuries didn't impact who raised the gold ball, the impact was certainly felt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>New Teams Have Immediate Impact</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022 season brought along a new district cycle as teams moved up and down and also got placed into new districts. In Class 5A, we saw four new teams as Del City and Midwest City moved down from Class 6A-2 and Elgin and Grove moved up from Class 4A. And all four new teams had an immediate impact on their new class. All four teams not only made it into the playoffs this season, but all four spent time this season in the top ten and two (Grove and Midwest City) were district champions. Before the season, Del City, Grove and Midwest City looked like the best picks for that instant impact on making it to the playoffs in their first season in Class 5A. But Elgin has to be one of the bigger surprise teams this year, regardless of class. Not only are they into the playoffs, but they even battled Midwest City for the district crown in week ten. The new teams entering the mix helped make Class 5A one of the deepest and most competitive classes in the state this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>5A Featured The Toughest District</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sometimes we get some things right in our preseason coverage. We said this back in our Class 5A Preview before the season that Class 5A would feature the toughest district in the state with district 5A-2. Coming into the season, this district featured four teams that were in the preseason top ten and another team in Southeast that was going to be incredibly competitive with the talent they had coming back. And this district played out this way as those four ranked teams (Bishop McGuinness, Carl Albert, Guthrie and Piedmont) were the four teams that made it to the playoffs out of that district. And then they flexed their muscles in the first round of the playoffs as they swept all four first round match-ups. Carl Albert would end up raising the gold ball, McGuinness made it to the semifinals and Guthrie and Piedmont would bow out in the quarterfinals. That district was the toughest in the state in 2022 and there's a good chance that it's near the top during the 2023 season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->