Class 6A-1 Championship Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 6A-1 state championship game is set! #1 Bixby will square off with #5 Jenks in Edmond on Friday at 7PM. The Spartans have been atop the 6A-1 rankings all season and are looking to defend their 6A-1 crown and bring home their sixth consecutive state championship. Jenks had a rocky regular season but have been playing their best football at the right time and will get another crack at putting a stop to the Bixby dynasty. In this post, we have everything you need to know about the 6A-1 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-6a-1-title-first-look-2/">– 6A-1 Championship First Look</a>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/6a-1-state-bixby-players-to-watch-2/">– Bixby Players To Watch</a>   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/11/6a-1-state-jenks-players-to-watch-2/">- Jenks Players To Watch</a>   HOW THEY GOT HERE   #1 BIXBY SPARTANS (12-0)   Aug. 24 – Beat Owasso 42-16 Sept. 1 – Beat Springdale Har-Ber, AR. 75-18 Sept. 8 – Beat Sand Springs 61-7 Sept. 22 – Beat Norman North 60-2 Sept. 28 – Beat Southmoore 66-0 Oct. 6 – Beat Enid 79-7 Oct. 13 – Beat Broken Arrow 51-7 Oct. 20 – Beat Westmoore 78-28 Oct. 27 – Beat Moore 68-5 Nov. 3 – Beat Jenks 31-14 Quarterfinals – Beat Norman 59-20 Semifinals – Beat Owasso 56-14   The Bixby Spartans came into this season as the top-ranked team in Class 6A-1 and nothing has changed in the last three months. Fresh off winning another state championship, the Spartans have been the team to beat in the class all year. They opened the season with another win over Owasso and kept it rolling from there. From week zero to week nine, the Spartans were never threatened. In week ten, they had a showdown with Jenks for the district championship. Bixby would finally get challenged early on. They trailed 14-7 at halftime. The game was tied at 14 halfway through the third quarter but the Spartans would pull away to win 31-14.   After winning another district title and earning a first round bye, the Spartans opened up their playoff journey with a 59-20 win over Norman in the quarterfinals. That set up a semifinal clash with Owasso in a rematch from week zero and from last year's state championship game. Just like in week ten, this game was tied at 14 at one point. Then Bixby kicked it into overdrive. They scored three touchdowns in the blink of an eye and rolled to a 56-14 victory. With the win, Bixby made even more history. They became the first team in state history to make it to ten consecutive state championship games. They're looking for their sixth straight gold ball and the ninth in school history.   #5 JENKS TROJANS (8-4)   Aug. 25 – Lost To Edmond Santa Fe 27-26 Sept. 1 – Lost To Owasso 34-28 Sept. 8 – Beat Union 31-24 Sept. 22 – Beat Enid 45-0 Sept. 29 – Lost To Westmoore 16-12 Oct. 5 – Beat Norman North 42-14 Oct. 13 – Beat Moore 31-6 Oct. 20 – Beat Southmoore 40-7 Oct. 27 – Beat Broken Arrow 42-14 Nov. 3 – Lost To Bixby 31-14 Quarterfinals – Beat Edmond Santa Fe 24-10 Semifinals – Beat Union 33-27   The Jenks Trojans came into this season at #3 in the 6A-1 rankings behind Bixby and Jenks. The first five weeks of the regular season was about as rocky as it gets and the Trojans were arguably the most unpredictable team in the state. On one hand, they beat rival Union in week two and were clearly one of the top teams in the state. On the other hand, they lost to Edmond Santa Fe and Westmoore at home and began the season 2-3. But the Trojans would turn things around immediately and closed out the regular season at 6-4 after coming up short to Bixby in week ten. But despite the 6-4 record, the Trojans were just as dangerous as the other top contenders in the class.   And Jenks showed that immediately in the quarterfinal round. After earning a first round bye, the Trojans squared off with Edmond Santa Fe in a rematch of that week zero clash. Jenks got payback with a 24-10 victory and punched their ticket to the semifinals. The Trojans would see rival Union yet again in the semifinal round. After spotting the Redhawks 21 points, trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Trojans started chipping away. They would eventually score the game-winning touchdown with 30 seconds left to win 33-27. Now, Jenks is one win away from their 19th state championship in school history. That would tie Ada for the most in state history.   HOW THEY MATCH UP   We got a chance to see this match-up back in week ten and that gives us an idea of just how these two teams stack up against one another. For Bixby, the Spartans are incredibly resilient and despite trailing 14-7 at halftime, and despite the starters having to play all four quarters for the first time this year, they outscored Jenks 24-0 in the second half. For Jenks, turnovers and penalties played a big part of opening the door for the Bixby comeback. On Friday night, the Trojans will look to limit both against a Bixby team where you have to be flawless.   The Trojans will rely on a dominating running game like we saw from them on Friday night in the semifinals. Whether it's the traditional running game or a wildcat offense, that, combined with a dominant defense helped Jenks rally to stun rival Union. The defense will look to continue that dominance this week against a Bixby offense that is averaging just over 60 points per game. But Jenks fans shouldn't get hung up on the scoring average. Jenks held Bixby to their season-low in points this season back in week ten.   For Bixby, it's business as usual. This program feels like a machine at this point and it doesn't seem like anyone can slow them down. Even when Bixby makes mistakes, teams can't capitalize all the way and put the Spartans down for good. Bixby will do what they do and that's try to confuse the Jenks defense on the offensive side of the ball with unique motions and schemes. And like they proved in the week ten showdown, the Spartans have quite a few players on offense that can produce in a major way.   BIXBY-JENKS HISTORY   For years and years, Bixby and Jenks were non-district foes and Jenks absolutely dominated the match-up, year after year. But when the Spartans moved up to Class 6A-1, they landed in the same district with the Trojans and became district rivals. Last year, the Trojans beat Bixby in week ten, snapping their 58-game winning streak. Bixby would get the last laugh with a win over Jenks in the semifinals a few weeks later. This season, Bixby ran away from the Trojans in the second half to win 31-14 in week ten. From 1970-2016, Jenks had won 33 of 34 games against the Spartans. But ever since the Spartans knocked off Jenks in 2017, Bixby has completely turned the tide in this series. They've won six of the last eight match-ups with the Trojans. On Friday night, they look to beat Jenks for the second straight year in the playoffs.   CRYSTAL BALL   Bixby Over Jenks   Until someone beats Bixby when it matters the most, it's so difficult to pick against the Spartans. That's not a cop out, just admitting how the game is being played right now. It feels like you have to play a perfect game to beat the Spartans at this point. You can't turn the ball over. You can't have penalties putting you behind the chains and not getting points on the board. If you do those things, the Spartans are likely to rattle off two or three touchdowns in the blink of an eye and nobody has been able to climb out of that hole. Jenks is capable of beating the Spartans. But can they be perfect? Or at the very least, can they avoid those flood gates opening that have swept away team after team when they face the Spartans. In the end, we're going with the Spartans to capture yet another state championship on Friday night.

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