Deer Creek Practice Report

<!-- 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>We got a showdown in Class 6A-2 looming this week that could end up deciding the district championship. #3 Deer Creek will host #2 Choctaw and it's hard to imagine at this point that the winner here won't go on to win the district title. This has been a storyline in 6A-2 but only three teams from this district are in the 6A-2 rankings and the other is #10 Ponca City. Last year, Deer Creek and Choctaw were hands down the top two teams in this district and it doesn't appear that much has changed in 2023. In this post, we're looking at Deer Creek as they get ready for the massive home game against a Choctaw team that got the best of them last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that Deer Creek has reached district play, the Antlers have been on a roll. They played a non-district slate against all 6A-1 competition and went 1-2 in the process. They lost to Edmond Memorial by three points as the Bulldogs scored with less than a minute to play to stun the Antlers. Then they fell to Mustang by three points as the Broncos scored the go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes to play. Needless to say, the 3-2 record doesn't tell the whole story here as the Antlers lost both by a combined six points in the final minutes of the game. In their last two games, Deer Creek has outscored their two district opponents by a combined 73 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Antlers now shift their focus to the toughest game on the rest of their schedule. They host a Choctaw team that got the best of them in last year's meeting 28-16 and that ended up deciding the district crown. The Antlers went on the road and stunned Choctaw in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 playoffs. They would go all the way to the state title game that year. These two teams are very familiar with one another and it should make for a very entertaining game on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Yellowjackets had a tough start to the season. Their season opener ended in the third quarter because of a fatal shooting that took place in the parking lot. The following week their game with Edmond Santa Fe was cancelled. Last week's game against Capitol Hill was Choctaw's first game back at home since late August. Now they hit the road once again and the district title will more than likely be on the line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below, we put a spotlight on several players to watch from the Antlers not only this week but throughout the season. From some of the top prospects in the state to other names you should know about moving forward, these players should be impactful players on Friday. The Antlers are still looking for some consitency in their lineup as they've had injury problems to key players already this fall. And there's also a theme here. The Deer Creek 2025 class is loaded. This class has a lot of potential and we're looking forward to seeing what they do on a big stage this week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>DEER CREEK'S PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["242231"],"_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 kick off this portion of the article with QB1 of the Antlers. Junior signal caller [player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] is one of the top quarterbacks in the state and he's been playing really well over the last few weeks. Two weeks ago, he did a great job of torching Ponca City with his arm and his legs. He had over 250 passing yards and nearly 100 rushing yards. Last week, Adamson went over 300 yards passing and has some legitimate weapons at the wide receiver position. In last year's meeting against Choctaw, Adamson struggled at times against the aggressive Yellowjacket secondary. Coming into this week, Adamson is playing polished football and the junior will look to continue that on Friday night. If Adamson has success as a passer and on the ground, the Antlers will be in good shape.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["310131"],"_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":"Every weekend, we have a u0022top performeru0022 article and two of the three Deer Creek standouts on this portion of the article have been featured there. But offensive linemen don't have u0022statsu0022 to get the spotlight on them so we do it here. Junior offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='310131' first='Jenkins' last='Wells'] has had a strong start to the season. Wells is your prototypical interior offensive lineman. He can get out of his stance and has some power behind him. After checking him out on film this week, our favorite aspect of his game is when he pulls and finishes a block. We're interested to see what's next for Wells this season. He's had a lot of success against some good defenders. But he will be tested once again this week against a Choctaw defense that has a few standouts in their front seven.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["894347"],"_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":"We mentioned that weekly u0022top performeru0022 article and junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='894347' first='Mason' last='Smith'] is another player from Deer Creek that has been featured there. He's coming off a game against Putnam City last week when he had nearly 250 receiving yards and a touchdown on ten catches. He also had a rushing touchdown. Smith was a player that we got a chance to see in person this offseason at a team camp. We were impressed with some of the size and athletic ability that the Deer Creek wide receivers had and Smith is a good example of that. Adamson is clearly one of the top quarterbacks in the state and Smith has emerged as one of the better receivers in Class 6A-2 this year. Smith and the Antler offense will look to continue to roll on Friday night at home.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-651c92042ec6a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->