Class 6A-2 Playoff Preview
Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The 2023 regular season is in the books! And it’s time to start talking playoff football across Oklahoma. It feels like yesterday that we were previewing…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingGet 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!
The 2023 regular season is in the books! And it’s time to start talking playoff football across Oklahoma. It feels like yesterday that we were previewing the 2023 football season and the year was kicking off. Now, teams truly begin their journey on the road to Edmond. Before we know it, we’ll be at UCO crowning state champions to wrap up a fantastic 2023 season. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have you completely covered for the 2023 playoffs. From all the teams and players you need to know about to the best state championship coverage in the state, we’ll have wall to wall coverage of the 2023 playoffs.
In this post, we’re taking a look at Class 6A-2. From the team to beat to the top contenders and storylines to follow and so much more! For a complete breakdown on all the top players on each team heading into the 6A-2 playoffs, CLICK HERE. And check back each day for more playoff preview content ONLY on Prep Redzone Oklahoma!
PLAYOFF BRACKET
TEAM TO BEAT
Stillwater Pioneers
All the way up until week ten, the answer to “who’s the team to beat?” in Class 6A-2 has been Muskogee. Then week ten happened and the Stillwater Pioneers showed why they are defending state champions and knocked off the Roughers to clinch the district championship. This has been anything but an ordinary season for a reigning champ. They lost the majority of their starters from last year’s team. Their longtime head coach left in the summer. They had a slow start to the season, losing back to back games to open 2023. And then they have dealt with injuries to some of their best players. But the Pioneers are playing as well as anyone in the state at the right time. They’ve won eight in a row, including an impressive win over a Muskogee team that had been number one in 6A-2 all season.
TOP CONTENDERS
Choctaw Yellowjackets
Coming into this season, we weren’t sure what to think about the Choctaw Yellowjackets. They have been one of the top teams in Class 6A-2 over the last several seasons but they lost a special senior class. But the Yellowjackets are coming into the playoffs with some momentum after beating Ponca City in the final game of the regular season to earn a first round bye. And that game against Ponca was a first quarter knockout as the Yellowjackets coasted to a win. The Yellowjackets made it all the way to the state championship game a year ago and had to settle for silver. They start their playoff journey looking for their third state title game appearance in the last four seasons but their first gold ball. The Yellowjackets have played good down the stretch and we know what to expect from them now.
Deer Creek Antlers
Deer Creek captured a district championship this season and the Antlers certainly have a team more than capable of making a return trip to Edmond to compete for a state championship. Deer Creek began the season 1-2 with back to back close losses to Edmond Memorial and Mustang. But then district play began and the Antlers flipped a switch and dominated. They had a close game with Choctaw back in week six and ran away with the district crown. The Antlers have one of the best quarterbacks in the state and he leads an offense that can be incredibly explosive. Deer Creek made an unexpected run to the state championship game back in 2021 but ever since that run to Edmond, they’ve been among the best in Class 6A-2. But Deer Creek’s path to the title game is incredibly tough.
Muskogee Roughers
Despite the loss to Stillwater in week ten, Muskogee is still right there in the mix among the best teams in the class. If you’re a Muskogee fan, you can look at the week ten slip up as a blessing in disguise. Last year, Bixby tripped up in the final regular season game against Jenks and went on to win the 6A-1 title. Muskogee is hoping for a similar result this year. If there is a Muskogee-Stillwater rematch, it won’t happen until the state championship game. But the Roughers are one of the best teams in the state and they have multiple players that will be playing college football at a high level. The Roughers are headlined by one of the best quarterbacks in the state, regardless of class. They have been building towards this year. After 2-8 in 2021, they went 10-2 last year and want a state title this year.
DARK HORSES
Bartlesville Bruins & Sand Springs Sandites
Normally we just have one team for a dark horse pick heading into the playoffs. But when you’re talking about Class 6A-2 this season, it’s hard to just go with one team in the argument of Bartlesville and Sand Springs. The two district foes met a few weeks ago and Sand Springs won a game that would not get decided in regulation. The Sandites survived overtime to beat the Bruins and either team has the talented running game to win multiple playoff games. And they are on opposite sides of the bracket. For Bartlesville, the Bruins are hosting PC North and with a win, they would face Deer Creek in the quarterfinals. Sand Springs is hosting Lawton and win a win, they would face off with Choctaw. 6A-2 has been unpredictable at times this season so either team would have a decent shot.
TOP STORYLINES
Can Any Team Emerge Outside The Top Four?
For the second straight season, Class 6A-2 feels like a class that has four contenders and then a rather big gap. Last season, Choctaw, Deer Creek, Muskogee and Stillwater were the top four teams in the class and dominated the quarterfinal round on their way to semifinal showdowns. The four teams won by an average of 32 points per game. The closest contest was an 18-0 win by Muskogee. This season, Choctaw, Deer Creek, Muskogee and Stillwater are once again the top four teams and will get a bye week in the first round. Whether or not those four have the same kind of dominance remains to be seen. But based on how they competed this season, it feels inevitable that we’ll see those four in the final four once again.
Playoff Streak Snapped
Booker T Washington came into this season knowing that it was going to be a tough one considering all of the young players they had starting. They also found themselves in the tougher district in the class. In week ten, they had a head to head match-up with Putnam City West for the final playoff spot and came up short. With the loss, their streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances came to an end. The Hornets will be an interesting program to watch next year as they move down to Class 5A. The last time the Hornets were in Class 5A for football, they were contending for state championships almost every year. With so much young talent and a drop down to 5A, Booker T should bounce back in a big way in 2024.
Putnam City Schools Make History
For the first time in district history, Putnam City Original, Putnam City North and Putnam City West have all made the playoffs. And coincidentally, they’ve all done it while competing in the same class with one another. The three schools have never made the playoffs in the same year and that includes the Covid year where every school could participate in the playoffs as long as they could play. Putnam City Original will host Tahlequah in the first round while Puntam City North and Putnam City West will go on the road. PC North will travel to face Bartlesville while PC West will hit the road to face Ponca City in the marquee match-up of the first round. The odds were in their favor this year with 12 out of the 16 schools in Class 6A-2 making the playoffs.
1ST ROUND MATCH-UP TO WATCH
Putnam City West AT Ponca City
Whenever you’re talking about the marquee first round match-up in Class 6A-2, it’s hard to argue that it comes here as Ponca City hosts Putnam City West. These two teams had opposite seasons from start to finish. Putnam City West began the year 3-0 but then lost five games in a row when district play began. They had to win the last two games of the year to clinch their playoff spot. Ponca City had more of a slow start and then picked it up when district play began. They started 0-4 on the year but would win five straight to have a shot at getting the second place spot in the district in the final week of the regular season. And both teams are looking to make some history. Ponca City is looking for back to back seasons with playoff wins for the first time since 1986 and Putnam City West is looking for their first playoff win in general since 1994.