Class 5A Championship Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 5A state championship game is set! #1 Carl Albert will look to defend their 2022 state championship when they square off with #2 Del City in Edmond on Saturday at 1PM. These two teams have been #1 and #2 all season and they will finally clash on Saturday. It's a renewal of the Mid-Del rivalry with the 5A gold ball on the line! In this post, we have everything you need to know about the 5A title game. From links to the “Players To Watch” articles for both teams, to a complete breakdown on the match-up, Prep Redzone Oklahoma has you covered! Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day for more championship preview content!   RELATED   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/class-5a-title-first-look-2/">– 5A Championship First Look</a>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/5a-state-carl-albert-players-to-watch-2/">– Carl Albert's Players To Watch</a>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/5a-state-del-city-players-to-watch/">- Del City's Players To Watch</a>   HOW THEY GOT HERE   #1 CARL ALBERT TITANS (13-0)   Aug. 25 – Beat Coweta 38-10 Sept. 1 – Beat Midwest City 40-13 Sept. 8 – Beat Muskogee 43-20 Sept. 15 – Beat Elk City 56-14 Sept. 22 – Beat Lawton Eisenhower 58-9 Sept. 28 – Beat Shawnee 70-0 Oct. 6 – Beat Southeast 76-0 Oct. 13 – Beat Bishop McGuinness 49-7 Oct. 19 – Beat Guthrie 24-21 Nov. 3 – Beat Piedmont 38-24 1st Round – Beat El Reno 49-21 Quarterfinals – Beat Collinsville 52-14 Semifinals – Beat Bishop McGuinness 51-28   Ever since they walked off the field at UCO nearly a year ago, Carl Albert was already tabbed as the Class 5A favorite in 2023. Not only did the Titans bring almost everyone back, but they got two terrific move ins during the offseason that are now committed to Oklahoma. So the question then became not whether Carl Albert was the favorite, but would anybody get within two or three scores of Carl Albert? Nobody did for the first two months. The Titans rolled through the non-district schedule, including an impressive 43-20 win over Muskogee on the road against a Rougher team that's playing for the 6A-2 crown this week.   A showdown with #3 Guthrie loomed in October and we finally saw it in week eight. The Blue Jays had been dominant all season and that defense was ready for the fight again as the champs came to town. But Carl Albert would not be denied and they won 24-21. After a week ten scare from Piedmont, the Titans wrapped up the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. In their three playoff games so far, Carl Albert has continued their dominance. They beat El Reno by 28 points, Collinsville in the quarterfinals by 38 points and then in a rematch against rival Bishop McGuinness in the semifinals, they won by 23. And now the Titans are one win away from state championship number 18. Which would put them in a tie for second most all time in Oklahoma.   #2 DEL CITY EAGLES (12-0)   Aug. 31 – Beat Booker T Washington 48-0 Sept. 7 – Beat Midwest City 53-14 Sept. 22 – Beat East Central 73-0 Sept. 29 – Beat McAlester 35-21 Oct. 6 – Beat Sapulpa 30-0 Oct. 13 – Beat Memorial 68-0 Oct. 19 – Beat Glenpool 67-0 Oct. 27 – Beat Coweta 43-14 Nov. 2 – Beat Durant 43-10 1st Round – Beat Pryor 48-8 Quarterfinals – Beat Guthrie 47-14 Semifinals – Beat Claremore 34-13   Like Carl Albert, Del City was boosted this offseason with the move ins of three terrific players from Oklahoma City. The three immediately made the Eagles one of the teams to beat in Class 5A and they have been right behind Carl Albert at #2 all season long. They opened the year in Choctaw and while things went well on the field, the game was called in the third quarter when a fatal shooting occurred in the parking lot. After that, the Eagles got back on the field and went on a roll. They were perfect in the regular season and were dominant in just about every game.   The only game that was close came in week five against McAlester. After suffering a heartbreaking loss to the Buffaloes at home last season, the Eagles were not going to let history repeat itself. They won on the road but the 35-21 win was the closest game Del City played all season. The Eagles rolled to a district title and after the brackets came out, all eyes shifted to a quarterfinal showdown with #2 Del City and #3 Guthrie. And that game ended up being a first round knockout. The Eagles led by 30+ points by halftime and cruised to a 47-14 win. A statement made to the rest of the state that Carl Albert wasn't going to just cruise to another gold ball. They followed that up with a decisive 34-13 win over Claremore in the semifinals. Now, the Eagles shift their focus to bringing home their second state title in school history.   HOW THEY MATCH UP   It's going to be strength on strength in this championship clash. These two teams have been the top two in Class 5A for a reason and one is going to finish off a perfect season on Saturday. Both teams are averaging nearly 50 points per game and have standouts on offense that are going to be playing not only at the D1 level but high power five college football. Defensively, Del City has the slight edge, giving up less than ten points per game but the Titans are no slouches on that side of the ball. Saturday's championship game has the makings to being the best championship game this week when you look at these two teams on paper.   For Carl Albert, the Titans proved earlier this season that they can beat you in a variety of ways. The firepower they have on offense make it difficult for teams to slow them down. If you take away or at least limit their running game, they will gash you in the air. Defensively, the Titans have been able to step up when they need to get stops. But on Saturday, they'll be playing arguably the toughest passing offense they've faced this season. But if the Titans can force Del City into mistakes like in week two against Muskogee, they'll be in a good position on Saturday afternoon.   For Del City, the Eagles are very similar offensively to Carl Albert. They have an outstanding passing attack and a running back that will end up at the power five level. So if you take one thing away, they beat you with the other. Del City's defense also might have an edge coming into this week. They have shut down just about everybody this season. They do a fantastic job of forcing turnovers and the front seven has been an absolute terror, racking up the numbers in the sack category. If the Eagles can force Carl Albert into uncharacteristic mistakes and take advantage of their opportunities on offense, they'll have a good shot on Saturday.   CARL ALBERT-DEL CITY HISTORY   Despite being less than ten miles away from each other, these two Mid-Del programs don't have as deep of a history as you might think. They were non-district foes from 2018-2021 and the Titans went 3-1 during that stretch but it also featured some close games. This is the second straight year that they've met in the playoffs and you know that Del City hasn't forgotten about the 19-0 loss to the Titans in last year's quarterfinal round. Prior to the four-year stretch of non-district games, they also faced off in the first round of the playoffs in 2012 and again in 2013. But before that 2012 meeting, Carl Albert and Del City hadn't played each other since 1979. All in all, the Titans hold a 9-4 record against the Eagles and are 3-0 against their Mid-Del foe in the playoffs.   The two head coaches are very familiar with one another. They played high school ball together at Carl Albert. They coached together in Texas and then in Oklahoma when Mike Dunn came up and took over the Del City program, Robert Jones came with him. And when Dunn had the opportunity to take over his alma mater, Jones would replace Dunn at Del City.   CRYSTAL BALL   Carl Albert Over Del City   This is a brutal pick to make when you consider all the talent that will be on the same field at the same time. This game has the makings to be the best game of this week's title clashes. But when it comes down to it, there's a reason Carl Albert has been our team to beat and top-ranked team in Class 5A this whole season. As we mentioned earlier, since the Titans walked off the field at UCO last year, they were already the favorites in 2023. Nothing has changed between now and then. While Del City is right there with Carl Albert, we just can't pick against the champs at this point. But both teams have so many things going for them. If you try to stop one aspect of the other's game, they can beat you in other ways and have proven that this season. This game has all the makings of an instant classic. But we're going with Carl Albert to capture a second consecutive state title and bring back championship number 18 to Post Road.

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