Midseason Breakout Stars

<!-- 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>It's hard to believe but we're at the halfway point of the 2023 regular season. Fortunately, we have a little over two more months of football before we're crowning champions in Edmond in early December. This week, we're taking a wide look at the state as we're now at the midseason point. We'll be looking at some of the surprise teams to teams that might have bad records but will still be in the mix when the playoffs roll around. Then we'll put a spotlight on some of the best players in the state. From midseason MVPs to midseason breakout stars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In this post, we're taking a look at several players that were either unknown to us prior to the season or had yet to have that breakout moment on the varsity level. Each year, we see new players emerge but this group feels like they went from unknown to some of the better players in their class within the first month of the season. We take a look at some of the breakout stars in each class so far in the 2023 season below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["284117"],"_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":"Norman North sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='284117' first='Mason' last='James'] was one of the players that was already on our radar prior to this season. We got a chance to see James quite a bit this offseason at our camp and then playing in various 7v7 tournaments. He seemed to be primed for this breakout season and you can make the argument that he's Norman North's most electric player on the offensive side of the ball. Whether it's as a receiver or if he's helping out in the rushing department, James has proven that he can be a versatile playmaker on the offensive side of the ball. We're going to get our first chance to see James in person this fall on Thursday night when Norman North hosts Jenks in a big 6A-1 clash. James had a really strong freshman season and he's carried that momentum over to his sophomore season. James is one of several sophomores on this breakdown that are shining early on in the season. We're looking forward to seeing what James can do the rest of the way this fall.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["992746"],"_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":"Sand Springs junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='992746' first='Ali' last='McCoy'] has not only earned his playing time but he's earned it with the Sandites already having one of the better running backs in Class 6A-2. We knew about Page returning at running back for the Sandites but McCoy has been a surprise player for us. We first saw him back in August when the Sandites were at the Jenks scrimmage and mini games. McCoy performed well that day and he's continued that throughout the fall. McCoy is right there with Page in terms of rushing as the Sandites have firmly established the best two-headed monster at running back in Class 6A-2 this fall. McCoy has put up some monster numbers already despite splitting carries. McCoy was not a player on our radar back in the summer but he's firmly there at this point. Sand Springs plays in one of the best games this week as they travel to face defending champion Stillwater on Thursday night. That's an opportunity for McCoy and Sand Springs to make more noise.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["994657"],"_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":"Guthrie's defense has been arguably the best unit in the state, regardless of class so far this season. The Blue Jays are 5-0 on the season and they've had four shutouts and given up just three points total. They've had multiple games where the defense gave up negative yards rushing to the opponent. Leading the way has been senior [player_tooltip player_id='994657' first='Eli' last='Moroney'] along the defensive line. Prior to last week's win over Piedmont, Moroney already had double digit sacks and then he had another stellar performance against a good Piedmont rushing attack. The Blue Jays shut them down and gave up just one first down all night. Moroney was a violent tackler on Friday night and with Piedmont running the flexbone option offense, he didn't get many opportunities to add to his sack total. We got a chance to see his dominant play first hand last week and he looks like a pure linebacker at the next level. He's excellent in the open field and we're fired up to see how he and this Guthrie defense play the rest of the year.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["988903"],"_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":"Weatherford came into this season with high expectations of contending in Class 4A and all of their goals are still ahead of them. The Eagles have won four of their last five and are unbeaten in district play. One player that has really shined for the Eagles has been junior [player_tooltip player_id='988903' first='Stone' last='Chism'] at the quarterback position. He's a strong and physical quarterback that feels like he's at his best when he's tucking the ball and running. He helped carry the Eagles to a big win earlier this season over 5A's El Reno. And maybe we should have known about Chism prior to this season beginning. He's just one part of a set of triplets at Weatherford that are incredibly talented. His brother Steele is a starting linebacker and his sister Harlie is a softball star that just committed to Florida State. The schedule is going to start heating up this week. They have their annual rivalry game with perennial power Clinton on Friday night. If Chism can help lead the Eagles to another win over Clinton, they'll control their destiny in the district.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["979658"],"_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":"We got a chance to see 3A contender Lincoln Christian back in week one when they traveled to Jones. Prior to the game, head coach Jerry Ricke talked to us about some of his younger players that he was excited about. Sophomore two-way player [player_tooltip player_id='979658' first='Malakai' last='Dillard'] was one of the players and that night, he was one of the more impactful players on the field. On offense, he was one of Lincoln Christian's top wide receivers and on defense, he came up with an acrobatic interception. This season, Dillard has been lights out as Lincoln Christian's top weapon at wide receiver. He's already put up some monster numbers in those categories and we're fired up to see how he does this week against Checotah, who also has one of the top wide receivers in the state. Coming up this month, we're updating all of our prospect rankings and Dillard is a player that is going to go from not on the radar to in the rankings and one of the better players at his position. He's just scratching the surface.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_player":["402373"],"_player_evaluations_5_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Victory Christian sophomore running back [player_tooltip player_id='402373' first='Dallas' last='Dyer'] has certainly grabbed headlines already this season with fantastic play on the offensive side of the ball. Dyer had a fast start to the season as the Conquerors rolled in their first two games. They tripped up to Shiloh Christian in week two and Dyer was hurt in that game. He missed the following game with Okmulgee and then returned with a vengeance in week five against Beggs. The Conquerors got a big district win over the Demons as Dyer ran for well over 150 yards in the win and was also a target in the passing game. Last year, Dyer was a freshman at Broken Arrow and saw limited playing time on the varsity level. But he moved to Victory Christian this offseason and from the opening game, it appeared that he was going to be an instant impact player for Victory Christian this season. Just like with Dillard at Lincoln Christian, Dyer is going to jump in the 2026 prospect rankings as one of the top newcomers in the class.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["998365"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"Finally in Class A, it's hard to overlook what Apache junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='998365' first='Houston' last='Herrin'] has been able to accomplish over the last few weeks. The Warriors have won three games in a row with two of them coming over ranked opponents in Ringling and Mangum. And as it stands right now, Herrin has been featured on our weekly u0022Top Performeru0022 post for outstanding individual performances in three straight games. Herrin has been a run-first quarterback for Apache but over the last two weeks, he's been able to beat defenses with his arm when it's necessary. In the last three weeks alone, Herrin has totaled over 700 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. He's also added over 200 passing yards and a handful of touchdowns through the air. We say it every year but it deserves repeating. Class A is a class that a team can go on a championship run if they have at least one star, specifically at the quarterback position. Herrin might be just that for Apache this season.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":7,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-651d8aaf330d5"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->