Del City 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 Del City Eagles came into this season as our #2 team in the Class 5A rankings behind defending champion Carl Albert. The Eagles have held on to that position and have given us zero reason to doubt that they are among the best teams in a Class 5A that has become absolutely stacked. The Eagles are 3-0 (officially) on the season and have been dominant in those three wins over Booker T Washington, Midwest City and last week's district opener against East Central. Del City's first game of the year against Choctaw ended in the third quarter when a shooting took place in the parking lot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But on Friday night, the schedule gets taken up a notch when the Eagles hit the road and face #9 McAlester. In fact, these next two games are going to do a lot for the Eagles in their desire to capture the district championship. They face the Buffaloes on the road this week and travel to face #6 Sapulpa next week. Back to back wins will put Del City in full command of the district race. The race won't be over as other teams will have something to say about it but the Eagles will be in a good position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the McAlester game brings up memories of last season's overtime epic that ended with the Eagles on the losing end. Erik McCarty scored with a little over a minute left in regulation to give the Buffaloes the lead. Del City marched down and kicked a game-tying field goal with just a few seconds left. After the Eagles scored first in overtime, McAlester responded and went for two and the win. McCarty went up the middle and into the end zone to give McAlester a 34-33 win in overtime on the road. While some of Del City's best players are newcomers this year, there are plenty of Eagles that have had this one circled for a while now. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles have been lighting up the scoreboard with a very dangerous offense that has one of the best QB/RB duos in the state. But this is also a team that has not been challenged since that week zero game against Choctaw that ended abruptly. Friday's game against McAlester will be our first chance to see the Eagles against some strong competition in about a month. They look like a team that could potentially dethrone top-ranked Carl Albert but these next two games will give us a better idea of just how serious the Eagles are as a contender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>DEL CITY'S PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1018923"],"_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":"When you talk about Del City, it's real easy to get caught up in the three-headed monster of Fields, Fields and Warren that moved in this offseason. But the Eagles were going to be one of 5A's better teams prior to the move. Senior running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1018923' first='Aaron' last='Carter'] is a player that we think is flying too far under the radar in the state's 2024 class. We got a chance to see Carter in person back in late August and he immediately passed the eye test. On offense, Carter is a great power back to give Fields some rest. And then on defense, Carter is a game-wrecking linebacker and he's in the middle of a big 2023 season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["215200"],"_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":"The first of that three-headed monster that moved into the district is senior [player_tooltip player_id='215200' first='Ladainian' last='Fields'] and he might be the team's best two-way player. Fields, a TCU commit, has been one of the state's best two-way players when it comes to the 2024 class for a few years now. He first got on our radar as a game-changing wide receiver and he's leading the Eagles in receiving this season. But last year, he was outstanding in the secondary and this fall, he's been a complete player in all three phases as he's had success in the return game in special teams. Fields is a truly dynamic weapon with the ball in his hands and can impact the game in so many ways.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["215198"],"_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":"Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='215198' first='River' last='Warren'] has been the state's top quarterback prospect in the 2024 class for a while now. And so far after one month of football, we haven't seen anything to suggest he's losing that title anytime soon. There's no doubt that Warren benefits from having some serious talent around him that will end up playing not only D1 football but at the power five level. But Warren himself is an outstanding talent and is at that level. He had a shaky start to the season against Choctaw but he has bounced back in a big way in their last three games. Warren has been flawless, putting up big numbers and Friday's game will be just another test.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["393974"],"_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":"Oklahoma State commit [player_tooltip player_id='393974' first='Rodney' last='Fields'] was one of the breakout stars of the 2022 season as he established himself as one of the top running backs in the state. He carried that momentum into the offseason and then it continued into the fall. Right from the start, it was apparent that Fields was going to be one of the best players in the state. It didn't take long for him to land on the PRZ-Oklahoma Player Of The Year Watchlist and we're fired up to see what he does against a McAlester team that prides themselves on defense. Fields has already put up some big numbers this season but this is an opportunity to do it again on a big stage in one of the bigger games in the state.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65147aaa514f3"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->