Throwback Thursday: Class 6A-2

<!-- 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 6A-2. We look at the state champion Stillwater Pioneers and their run to a perfect season and 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 6A-2 Player Of The Year as well as acknowledging all of the All State selections from 6A-2. 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 6A-2 state champions from Stillwater. </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>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>6A-2 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-6436e1aa7c1ba"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>6A-2 All State 1st Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='344120' first='Dale' last='Miller'] - 2023 Defensive Back - Deer Creek<br>[player_tooltip player_id='370224' first='Elias' last='Sherman'] - 2023 Defensive Lineman - Booker T Washington<br>[player_tooltip player_id='50786' first='JaKobe' last='Sanders'] - 2023 Offensive Lineman - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='287377' first='Taje' last='McCoy'] - 2023 Defensive Lineman - Putnam City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>6A-2 All State 2nd Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='157517' first='Gage' last='Gundy'] - 2023 Quarterback - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='407340' first='Joseph' last='Kim'] - 2023 Kicker - Lawton<br>[player_tooltip player_id='51854' first='RJ' last='Jackson'] - 2023 Defensive Lineman - Choctaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>6A-2 All State 3rd Team Selections</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='38728' first='Gabe' last='Gaines'] - 2023 Offensive Lineman - Choctaw<br>[player_tooltip player_id='215206' first='Heston' last='Thompson'] - 2024 Wide Receiver - Stillwater<br>[player_tooltip player_id='38780' first='Steele' last='Wasel'] - 2023 Quarterback - Choctaw<br>[player_tooltip player_id='407343' first='Zac' last='Tyson'] - 2023 Linebacker - Stillwater</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>TOP STORYLINES</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>A New Era Begins</strong></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 year in and year out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Muskogee's Turnaround</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned Muskogee as part of the new "big four" in Class 6A-2 during the 2022 season and that might have been somewhat unpredictable heading into last fall. In 2021, Muskogee went 2-8 and missed out on the playoffs. But if you watched the Roughers that season, you could see young talent all over the field on both sides of the ball. Going into the 2022 season, Muskogee was a top five team in our preseason rankings for 6A-2 but even we didn't expect a 10-2 turnaround that featured a win over eventual 5A champion Carl Albert and a trip to the semifinals. The Roughers bring back some of their top names once again as we start to look ahead to 2023. You can certainly argue right now that they are the favorites to win the gold ball in 6A-2 this season but there's a lot of football between now and when the hardware gets handed out in December. Head coach Travis Hill has completely transformed this Muskogee program into a consistent contender once again. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Youth Movement</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In addition to all of the parity in Class 6A-2 during the 2022 season, we also saw quite the youth movement. We saw 2025 and even 2026 prospects emerge and become some of the top players in 6A-2 and in the state overall. We mentioned Muskogee and Deer Creek earlier and they were both led by 2025 quarterbacks [player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] respectively. Then you look at the 2026 class and Sand Springs had quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='449993' first='Easton' last='Webb'] and offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='467408' first='Ryley' last='Kester'] become some of the top prospects in the current freshman class. Those were just a few examples of top prospects that enjoyed breakout seasons last year and there were plenty of other players that had good years and the future is very bright. It's a very exciting time in 6A-2 football when you look ahead to the 2023 season. Even though out of all the All State selections, only one will return this fall. But there were plenty of new players that emerged and are ready to take the next step this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->