Week Five’s Ten Best Games
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The 2023 football season is in full swing and now it gets cranked up as we head into week five and district play heats up. Every single Monday, we’re taking a look at the week’s ten best games across the state. Disclaimer, these games are listed in alphabetical order. There is no specific order for the ten best games every single week. But they feature the best match-ups and all of the top teams and players.
Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma throughout the week for more preview content of this week’s top games and players to watch. This week, we’ll have three practice reports with updates on Collinsville, Del City, and Heritage Hall. We’ll also have a spotlight on this week’s players to watch on Thursday and we’ll update the Player Of The Year Watchlist on Friday. And be sure to check back every Monday for another breakdown on the week’s top games across Oklahoma!
#10 BEGGS (3-1) AT #5 VICTORY CHRISTIAN (3-1)
Coming into this season, we knew that that 2A-7 had the potential to be a very competitive district. It’s gotten even deeper as four of the ten teams ranked in Class 2A are from this district and now they start squaring off against one another as #5 Victory Christian hosts #10 Beggs. There’s going to be a very good team that ends up being the 4 seed once again and both teams will be hungry for wins. Beggs is led by some explosive playmakers in Red Martel Red Martel 5'11" | 195 lbs | RB Beggs | 2024 State OK at running back and Ryan Grayson Ryan Grayson 6'0" | 160 lbs | DB Beggs | 2025 State OK at wide receiver. Meanwhile, the Conquerors have one of the more underrated dual-threat quarterbacks in Class 2A with Ayden Hamilton Ayden Hamilton 6'1" | 180 lbs | QB Victory Christian | 2024 State OK and a tackling machine in Teyton Chandler Teyton Chandler 6'1" | 200 lbs | LB Victory Christian | 2024 State OK at linebacker. These two have played some very competitive games over the past several seasons with a lot at stake. Friday will not be different.
#3 BLANCHARD (3-1) AT #5 NEWCASTLE (4-0)
Speaking of districts that are incredibly tough. Here’s our weekly check in with 4A-2 and another showdown between top ten teams. Last week, it was #4 Tuttle beating #10 Bethany and now #3 Blanchard hits the road to face #5 Newcastle. Both of these teams have been outstanding on the offensive side of the ball and we’re very excited about the potential shootout that could be brewing here in this one. Blanchard’s offense is triggered by quarterback Carson Cooksey Carson Cooksey 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Blanchard | 2024 State OK and he has been putting up serious numbers already. Newcastle has a very balanced offensive attack led by quarterback Jackson Bergt Jackson Bergt 6'3" | 195 lbs | QB Newcastle | 2024 State OK and TJ Bradford TJ Bradford 6'0" | RB Newcastle | 2026 State OK at running back. Both teams already have some marquee wins and have been tested and that should help as their district schedule gets tougher.
#10 COLLINSVILLE (4-0) AT BISHOP KELLEY (2-2)
We had this match-up circled on the calendar prior to the season and we’re fired up that it’s here as Bishop Kelley will play host to #10 Collinsville in a big district showdown. The Comets have won the last two games, including a dominant rivalry win over Bishop McGuinness. They had a brutal start in the first two weeks and they’ve completely bounced back and are playing good football heading into week five. They’ll look to keep that momentum going against a Collinsville team that has been excellent so far this season. They have one of the more underrated players in the state with senior wide receiver Hudson Henslick Hudson Henslick 5'9" | 155 lbs | WR Collinsville | 2024 State OK and he can and has beat teams in a variety of ways. Both teams expect to be in contention for the district championship. This game will move us one step closer to that.
#2 DEL CITY (3-0) AT #9 McALESTER (3-1)
#2 Del City hits the road to face #9 McAlester in a rematch of a game that was an instant classic a season ago. This game went down to the wire and McAlester escaped Del City with a win behind a Superman-like performance from Erik McCarty, who’s now a freshman at OU. Both teams were dominant last week against Tulsa Public programs as McAlester beat up Memorial and Del City routed East Central. The Buffaloes will be locked in on slowing down Del City star running back Rodney Fields Rodney Fields 6'0" | RB Del City | 2024 State OK but it’s easier said than done. Fields has been one of the best players in the state and he’s not the only star in this Del City offense. McAlester has made back to back trips to the state title game and Del City wants to compete for the state title this year. It doesn’t get much better than this.
#8 ELK CITY (2-2) AT #9 CLINTON (2-2)
A lot of attention might be on the 4A-2 gauntlet when it comes to Class 4A. But out in western Oklahoma, we’ll see #9 Clinton hosting #8 Elk City and these two teams are very familiar with one another and it’s one of the more underrated rivalry games in Class 4A. And we put it that way because these two teams have routinely been two of the more underrated teams in Class 4A as a whole. Both teams have suffered losses this season against defending state champions but both expect to be in the district title picture. It wouldn’t be crazy to see the district title being decided here although Weatherford will have something to say about that. We expect a back and forth game where the running game will be key and taking care of the football will a high priority for both teams.
#6 METRO CHRISTIAN (3-1) AT #4 PERKINS-TRYON (3-1)
This is the game of the week in Class 3A this week as #4 Perkins-Tryon hosts #6 Metro Christian. The Demons bounced back from a tough loss in a top five match-up with Marlow by winning last week. And we said it prior to the season, but it would be hard to imagine the district champion not being decided here. These two teams are the only in the district that have a winning record heading into week five and they’ve both been ranked in the top ten since the start of the season. Metro Christian put it on the Demons in last season’s match-up but they don’t have quarterback Kirk Francis anymore and he torched the Demon defense. Perkins-Tryon will lean on their senior Tre Stevenson Tre Stevenson 6'0" | ATH Perkins-Tryon | 2024 State OK on both sides of the ball but we think he’ll be at his best on offense at the running back position.
#7 MUSTANG (4-0) AT #3 OWASSO (2-2)
It’s bounce back time for Owasso after falling in the district opener against Union and the Redhawks made quite the statement in that one. The Rams will not only look to bounce back but get a little payback for a district loss to Mustang a year ago. Because of that, the Rams were lower in the district standings and had a tougher road to Edmond. They overcame that and still made it to the title game. For Mustang, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year but nobody told the Broncos. They are 4-0 on the season and have been impressive to watch with some serious talent in the younger classes and upperclassmen that have been waiting to have an impact. Mustang will come into Owasso and expecting to win. The Rams need to avoid another loss while the Broncos will still be in contention for the district with a win.
#5 PIEDMONT (5-0) AT #3 GUTHRIE (4-0)
For us, this is the game of the week in Oklahoma as #3 Guthrie hosts #5 Piedmont and we’re fired up for this one. Both teams have been playing great football to start the 2023 season. You can make the argument that Guthrie has been the most dominant team in the state, giving up just three points so far this season. But Friday’s game with Piedmont will be their toughest match-up to date. The Blue Jays will lean on running back Jaylen Harper Jaylen Harper 5'11" | RB Guthrie | 2024 State OK while the Wildcats will counter with a high-powered rushing attack and arguably the best group of linebackers in Class 5A. The combination of Brogan Hardy Brogan Hardy 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Piedmont | 2024 State OK and Cannon Wood Cannon Wood 6'1" | 215 lbs | ATH Piedmont | 2024 State OK might make up the best linebacker duo in the state. If they can slow down Harper and the Blue Jays, they’ll be in a good spot. The winner here has a good shot to contend for the district crown.
#1 TIPTON (4-0) AT #2 RYAN (2-0)
Down in Class C it doesn’t get much better than this as you get #1 Tipton hitting the road to face #2 Ryan on Friday night. The defending champion Tigers have picked up right where they left off last season and they certainly feel like a team that could win another state championship in Class C. But this will be their first real test on Friday night while the Cowboys are coming off a win last week that opened up plenty of eyes in the 8-man ranks. Ryan jumped into the top ten last week following a 3-0 start and then followed it up with a dominant win over #2 Mountain View-Gotebo. The Cowboys knew that the last two weeks in September were going to show what kind of team they are. The schedule doesn’t get much tougher than facing the number two and number one teams in back to back weeks.
#8 WESTMOORE (2-2) AT #4 JENKS (2-2)
#4 Jenks has won two in a row after an 0-2 start and the Trojans will attempt to keep it going as they welcome in Westmoore. The Jaguars are coming off a big rivalry win over Moore and quarterback Micheal Graham Micheal Graham 6'0" | ATH Del City | 2024 State OK had a performance for the memories. The dual-threat quarterback was absolutely electric with the football in his hands and he’s going to give this Jenks defense problems this week. The Trojans will look to make him one-dimensional with a defense that’s led by Jett Calmus Jett Calmus 6'1" | 200 lbs | LB Jenks | 2024 State OK at linebacker. And they’ll attempt to keep their win streak going and keep building that momentum into the rest of district play. The Jaguars will try to follow Edmond Santa Fe’s blueprint as the Wolves were able to come over to Jenks and pull off a win in week zero. Not many west side teams have been able to accomplish that.