Bixby Practice Report

<!-- 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>The Bixby Spartans are looking as dominant as ever and they now shift their focus to district play and it opens up at home on Friday night against #3 Norman North. The Timberwolves come into Friday's game at 3-0 and have been impressive so far this season. But now, they go up against the measuring stick in Oklahoma when it comes to the best of the best. The Spartans are 3-0 and this machine that has been built just south of Tulsa shows no signs of slowing down this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bixby opened up the year with a 42-16 win over Owasso in a rematch of last year's 6A-1 state title game. The Spartans put Owasso down early and cruised to the week zero win. From there, they put 75 up on Springdale Har-Ber and then beat Sand Springs 61-7 in week two before having last week off to prepare for district play. Coming into this season, we knew the Spartans were going to be really good once again but they seem to always find a way to raise the bar year after year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, they had a new challenge of making the transition to 6A-1. After dominating 6A-2, they moved up to 6A-1 and had to win against some of the state's largest and most talented schools week after week. They rolled to another state championship. This season, we were curious how the Spartans would challenge themselves and it appears that they are determined to do things that no other school would even dare. And that's not just in Oklahoma, but nationwide. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Spartans won last year's title using two different quarterbacks for the majority of their season. On the very first possession of this year, they ran three different quarterbacks out there. They proved you can win a state title with two quarterbacks in 2022 and apparently they want to raise another gold ball with three this fall. The offense hasn't missed a beat but we knew that would be the case coming in. The defense has also been dominant as the strength of the unit moved to the front seven after they graduated all of their starters in the secondary. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll host Norman North on Friday night and it's a rematch of their district opener a season ago. Bixby won 63-7. But this might be the last time the Spartans are challenged before their week ten clash on the road against rival Jenks. But if Bixby isn't challenged by opposing teams, they've shown that they can still raise the bar and challenge themselves every single week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>BIXBY'S PLAYERS TO WATCH</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":"We've been saying this for a while now but just in case you're new here, Bixby senior lineman [player_tooltip player_id='194066' first='Brody' last='Duffel'] anchors arguably the best offensive line unit in the state. Duffel has been a standout since he was a sophomore and he continues to get better every time we see him. Not only can Duffel and this Bixby offensive line maul opponents but they are right there in line with the rest of the offense with how creative they get in some of their play-calling. There was a play earlier this month when the Spartans actually put a guard in motion before the play. That has nothing to do with Duffel but it deserves mention. Duffel is one of the best at his position in the state's 2024 class and has been for a while now.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["284114"],"_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":"Bixby has a three-headed monster at quarterback as the Spartans continue to do things that nobody else is doing. But sophomore signal caller [player_tooltip player_id='284114' first='Carson' last='Kirby'] is the signal caller that we have our eyes on heading into week four. Kirby is clearly the top passer when it comes to the position and when he's in the backfield, looks for the Spartans to air it out. Kirby has been incredibly efficient so far this season as he's thrown for nearly 400 yards and eight touchdowns while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes. Kirby is also the younger brother of Connor Kirby, who helped lead Bixby to the title a year ago. We got a chance to see Carson quite a bit this offseason while he played with Sooner 7 and he has a bright future at QB.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["519610"],"_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 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='519610' first='Hank' last='Puckett'] is one of the best linebackers in the state and he's playing like it so far this season. He leads the team in tackles with nearly 40 on the season and he had an explosive start to his senior year with nearly 20 tackles in the season-opening win over Owasso. He was dominant in that game and that's not surprising to anyone who watched him last season or anyone who has seen a Puckett playing linebacker at Bixby. Just like Kirby, Puckett is the younger brother of a former Spartan star. His older brother Jack was one of the best linebackers in the state a few years ago and now Hank has taken that title and looks to continue what has quickly become a family tradition.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1005117"],"_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 has a few players that shine on offense and defense but one that we'll be keeping an eye on this week is senior [player_tooltip player_id='1005117' first='Jett' last='Turner'] at running back and linebacker. On offense, Turner is a physical runner and one of several players that have been able to find success on a consistent basis in the Bixby backfield. But the Spartans are incredibly balanced in that department as five different players have rushing touchdowns so far this season. On defense, Turner leads the team in tackles for loss and sacks. We can't help but be impressed with that production on defense and there's no doubt that Turner, combined with Puckett and several others, make Bixby's linebacker group one of the best in the state.","_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":"Our final player to watch for the Spartans is senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='110743' first='Kordell' last='Gouldsby'] and last week, we added him to our Player Of The Year Watchlist and called him the best player on the best team in the state. That's not an opinion, it's a fact when you look at everything Gouldsby can do on the football field. Gouldsby leads the team in rushing, is one of their top weapons in the passing game, plays defense and also returns kicks and has become one of the top returners in 6A-1. As the Spartans go up against Norman North on Friday night, don't be surprised to see the Bixby senior once again be the best player on the field. And there are quite a few versatile athletes on both sides but Gouldsby will be the best of the bunch.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-650b6cb9d8d7f"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->