Bixby Runs Over Owasso 42-16

<!-- 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>For the third time in the last 12 months, Bixby faced off with Owasso and for the third time in the last 12 months, it was a Bixby blowout victory. The top-ranked Spartans opened up their 2023 campaign with a 42-16 victory over #4 Owasso at TU's Chapman Stadium. Last year's "Battle Of The Burbs" was close for the first two quarters but the Spartans ran away with a 49-14 victory. This year, Bixby was rolling from the start and would dominate the game early and often, building an early lead that the Rams would not be able to overcome. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bixby's offense would take the field first and they took their game to another level from last year. In last year's state title run, the Spartans played two different quarterbacks the majority of the year. They would play three on the game's opening possession. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='284114' first='Carson' last='Kirby'], junior [player_tooltip player_id='255022' first='Cooper' last='Parker'] and senior [player_tooltip player_id='966284' first='Clay' last='Peters'] all took snaps at quarterback as the Spartans marched down the field and scored on a Parker touchdown run from a yard out. The Spartans would score on their first four possessions and led 21-0 after one quarter and extended it to 28-0 early in the second.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bixby's defense was intense from the opening snap as well. While the strength of the defense a season ago was in their secondary, this year, there's no doubt that the strength is within the front seven. Owasso struggled to move the ball on the ground and their quarterbacks were under pressure in the pocket. Parker would add another touchdown late in the first quarter and the highlight of the game came halfway through the first quarter. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='110743' first='Kordell' last='Gouldsby'] would go 74 yards on the first play of their second possession. He cut in between two Owasso defenders, raced down the Owasso sideline and stiff-armed an Owasso defender to the ground before strolling the remaining 20 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Parker would add another short touchdown run and Peters would have two rushing scores from the quarterback position. Peters got loose in the third quarter for a 62-yard touchdown run to put the Spartans up 35-0. Bixby extended their lead to 42-0 on the first play of the final frame when Kirby found junior [player_tooltip player_id='1096189' first='Blake' last='Hogshooter'] for a 20-yard touchdown. Owasso would get on the scoreboard with a safety and a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter to avoid the shutout. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>BIXBY'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["194066"],"_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":"Bixby's rushing attack was lights out on Thursday night. It felt like they were doing whatever they wanted to do and that started up front. We knew coming into this season that Bixby's offensive line was going to be one of the better units in the state. They showed why in their dominant win over Owasso. Senior offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='194066' first='Brody' last='Duffel'] was the anchor of an offensive line that paved the way for Bixby to run for around 400 yards as a team. Duffel has firmly established himself as one of the top prospects at his position and this Spartan offensive line is special. At the left tackle position, Duffel opened up holes for some of Bixby's biggest plays Thursday night.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["966284"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"It's hard to put a spotlight on just one of Bixby's quarterbacks because all three had good evenings and brought different things to the Bixby offense. But we're going with senior [player_tooltip player_id='966284' first='Clay' last='Peters'] because of the impact he had on both sides of the ball. Peters also had a really good game from the safety position and he showcased his ability to get loose on offense on that 60+ yard touchdown run. Last year, the Spartans won a state championship while playing two quarterbacks for the majority of the season. This year, we could end up seeing them win again with three and Peters showed his value to not only the offense but on a dominant Bixby defense.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["683730"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Bixby senior [player_tooltip player_id='683730' first='Garrett' last='Vaughn'] feels like a player that is primed for a big senior season after waiting for his opportunity to get on the field for the Spartans. Vaughn has been a 2024 prospect that we've seen quite a bit while he played for Sooner 7 and he was one of the top performers at our last camp in April. On Thursday night, Vaughn was outstanding at wide receiver and then also as a cornerback on defense. Vaughn uses his speed and quickness incredibly well and the Spartans use him well in the screen game on offense. On defense, Vaughn did a good job of defending some of Owasso's better playmakers in 1 on 1 situations from his corner position.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["519610"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Bixby senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='519610' first='Hank' last='Puckett'] was the player of the game in our opinion. It seemed like the Bixby standout linebacker was everywhere for the Spartans, especially in the first half when the Spartans jumped out to an early lead and dominated on defense. Puckett was a tackling machine from his linebacker position and he also did a good job of getting into the backfield and putting pressure on both of Owasso's quarterbacks. The Rams could never find a rhythm on offense in the first half because of the relentless pressure that Puckett and the Bixby front seven put on them. Puckett is one of the top linebackers in the state and he showed why Thursday.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["110743"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Coming into this season, we knew that Bixby's offense was going to be headlined by the return of senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='110743' first='Kordell' last='Gouldsby']. And the expectation and anticipation prior to the season was that Gouldsby was going to be the key playmaker for the Spartans on that side of the ball. He showed why in the win over the Rams. As mentioned earlier, Gouldsby took a handoff 70+ yards for a Bixby touchdown and he got loose for a few other long runs as well. Gouldsby finished with over 150 yards on the ground and he's also a threat in the receiving game. Gouldsby is one of the top offensive playmakers in the Tulsa area and we're looking forward to seeing what he does this fall.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64e8d9d01ed26"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>EXTRA POINTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dominant Defensive Line</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned how the strength of this Bixby defense was in their front seven and while Puckett was a tackling machine from the linebacker position, the Spartans were full of talent along the defensive line with players that made plays throughout the night. Seniors Brandon Hobbs, [player_tooltip player_id='1096187' first='Justin' last='Kirk'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1096181' first='Kason' last='Hatley'] all had really good evenings along the Bixby defensive line. Whether it was shutting down Owasso's running game or causing pressure in the backfield, this three-headed monster did a really good job of causing problems against an Owasso offensive line that has a few future D1 prospects up front. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Special Teams Menace</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another player that stood out on Thursday night was sophomore Trey McGlothlin in the special teams department. We first watched McGlothlin this offseason when he was one of the standouts at wide receiver for Sooner 7. But on Thursday night, McGlothlin felt like he was in on or making every single tackle when Bixby would kick off. It feels like only a matter of time before the Bixby youngster gets on the field on offense or defense. Bixby head coach Loren Montgomery mentioned McGlothlin has the potential to be special in the future. We saw flashes of that this offseason and he shined again on Thursday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->