Week Three’s Ten Best Games

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 football season is in full swing as we head into week three this week and it's the final week of non-district games across the state. Every single Monday, we're taking a look at the week's ten best games across the state and a few others to keep an eye on this week. 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. And another disclaimer, there are a lot of teams that are not playing this week. 30 teams in our various class rankings have this week off as they prepare for district play in week four. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 also feature practice reports on Guthrie on Tuesday, as well as Sand Springs on Wednesday. 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!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6A-2 #6 BARTLESVILLE (0-2) AT 5A #10 COLLINSVILLE(2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the sixth straight year, Bartlesville will square off with Collinsville in non-district play and these are two teams that have had very different starts to the year. Collinsville has looked great in their first two games as they've averaged around 60 points per game. Bartlesville has lost a pair of close games to ranked teams from Class 5A and now they have another 5A ranked team this week on the road. The Bruins are led by their star running back [player_tooltip player_id='515901' first='PJ' last='Wallace'] but we could see another shootout coming because nobody has been able to slow down Collinsville with QB/WR connection of [player_tooltip player_id='402384' first='Skyler' last='Moorman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='375219' first='Hudson' last='Henslick'] so far this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CHANDLER (2-0) AT 4A #2 POTEAU (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a rare 4A/2A match-up this week as 4A's #2 Poteau will host a Chandler team that is off to a 2-0 start. These two teams met last season and the Pirates had to fight and claw for a 30-21 victory. The Lions will now go on the road and try to slow down Poteau's rushing attack. The Pirates are led by star running back and Tulsa commit [player_tooltip player_id='215196' first='Dax' last='Collins'] on offense and defense. The Lions have gotten off to a 2-0 start behind senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='360243' first='Alec' last='Jackson'] and he has been lights out so far this season. He's one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2024 class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CUSHING (1-1) AT 3A #9 BERRYHILL (1-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berryhill bounced back from a season-opening loss by beating Cascia Hall in week two and with the win, they jumped into the top ten in Class 3A. Berryhill improved to 1-1 on the season and now shift their attention to Cushing. They've lost three straight to the Tigers but had won four in a row prior to this recent slump. Cushing is showing that they don't plan on taking a step back after making it to the 4A title game a year ago. They beat Bristow in week one but lost a close and competitive game to Perkins-Tryon last week. Both teams expect to be playoff teams and more this fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5A #4 ELGIN (2-0) AT 4A #6 WEATHERFORD (2-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Out in western Oklahoma, we get a great 5A/4A match-up where 5A's #4 Elgin will go on the road and face 4A's #6 Weatherford. The Eagles stole a win from a 5A ranked team in El Reno on Friday when quarterback junior [player_tooltip player_id='988903' first='Stone' last='Chism'] scored his fourth rushing touchdown with less than a minute to play. The Eagles have certainly been challenged in the non-district slate and it doesn't slow down against an Elgin team that has been absolutely dominant. They have a balanced offense that has lit up the scoreboard, led by [player_tooltip player_id='449039' first='Matt' last='Lund'] at the running back position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>3A #4 MARLOW (2-0) AT 3A #3 PERKINS-TRYON (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can make the argument that this is the top game in Oklahoma this week. Not only does it feature two teams ranked in the top five, they are both in Class 3A. #3 Perkins-Tryon will host #4 Marlow on Friday night in a game featuring teams that have district and state title aspirations this year. Both teams have looked like contenders early on in the season, winning their first two games in convincing fashion. Marlow will look to quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='897727' first='Cade' last='Gilbert'] to keep the offense moving while Perkins-Tryon will lean on senior standout [player_tooltip player_id='231981' first='Tre' last='Stevenson'] at running back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6A-2 #5 SAND SPRINGS (1-1) AT 6A-2 #10 PONCA CITY (0-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6A-2 teams have taken it on the chin so far this season and now they will start to square off with one another. Fresh off a bye week, #10 Ponca City will look for their first win of the season when they host #5 Sand Springs. The Sandites won a high-scoring affair with rival Sapulpa in week zero but then lost to Bixby last week. Ponca City was shut out by Guthrie in week zero and then lost a heartbreaker to Enid in week one. After these two teams were district foes for years, they met last year for the first time as non-district opponents in over a decade. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SHILOH CHRISTIAN, AR. (2-0) AT 3A #2 LINCOLN CHRISTIAN (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3A's #2 Lincoln Christian welcomes Arkansas powerhouse Shiloh Christian to Tulsa on Friday night and the Bulldogs finish off their tough non-district schedule with arguably their toughest test this season. Shiloh Christian has been dominant so far this season under first year head coach and former Stillwater head coach Tucker Barnard. The Bulldogs fell to the Saints in a shootout last season 42-35. Lincoln Christian will look for their high-scoring offense to remain balanced and if they get into another shootout, the Bulldogs have the firepower to light up the scoreboard. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6A-2 #4 STILLWATER (0-2) AT NORMAN (0-2) (Thurs.)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday night, we'll see one of these two teams get their first win of the season after losing heartbreakers in week two. Defending 6A-2 champion Stillwater fell on a last minute field goal against Yukon. Meanwhile Norman lost a shootout to Moore when the Lions scored and then went for two in the final minute to steal the win. Despite the loss, Norman was led by their star running back [player_tooltip player_id='386658' first='Devin' last='Alexander'] as he ran for over 250 yards and six touchdowns. The Pioneers are still looking for their identity on offense but they are led by the twins [player_tooltip player_id='215207' first='Holden' last='Thompson'] at running back and [player_tooltip player_id='215206' first='Heston' last='Thompson'] at wide receiver. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>4A #4 TUTTLE (2-0) AT 5A #3 GUTHRIE (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game has been circled on the calendar for a while now as we get this match-up of perennial powerhouses and it's only the second time these two have squared off. They first met last year when Guthrie rallied in the second half to win on the road. Now, 5A's #3 Guthrie will welcome 4A's #4 Tuttle to "The Rock" in Guthrie and we should see another competitive game. The Tigers have gotten off to a good start with junior standout [player_tooltip player_id='215570' first='Brady' last='Mcadoo'] at running back. Guthrie counters with senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='448519' first='Jaylen' last='Harper'] and a defense that has three straight shutouts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>YUKON (1-1) AT 6A-1 #3 NORMAN NORTH (2-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams in this match-up made pretty loud statements last week and now they square off on Friday night. Norman North jumped into the top five of the most recent 6A-1 rankings after going on the road and beating Edmond Santa Fe. Yukon made their statement on Friday by bouncing back from a loss to Westmoore by beating the reigning 6A-2 champion Stillwater. Yukon quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='955229' first='Holden' last='Kee'] is having a great start to his senior season. And Norman North sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='284117' first='Mason' last='James'] is turning into a versatile weapon on the offensive side of the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->