Playoff Travel Log (Nov. 10th)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday night, the playoffs began and I couldn't pick just one game to attend so I took in football at three different schools in Tulsa and then ended the night in Coweta. In this breakdown, I dive into what I saw at each stop when I got there and how the game turned out. And Friday night was so fun that we're doing it again next week but in the Oklahoma City area. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Holland Hall 38, Checotah 13</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I started the night at Holland Hall as the Dutch hosted Checotah. It was my first chance to see Checotah's star wide receiver and OU commit [player_tooltip player_id='353415' first='Elijah' last='Thomas'] in person but it was another wide receiver that would end up stealing the show. On the very first play from scrimmage, Checotah would go deep to Thomas but Holland Hall sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='911962' first='Julius' last='Wilson'] would come over from the safety position and come down with the interception. That set up their first scoring drive which would end in a touchdown pass to Wilson from 33 yards out. Wilson finished the night with three touchdown receptions, all in the first half as the Dutch would roll to a 38-13 win. It was also my first chance to see Wilson in person. I knew that he was a special athlete coming into Friday's game but he exceeded all previous expectations. Wilson and the Dutch now head to the quarterfinals against Perkins-Tryon on the road. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marlow 28, Metro Christian 14</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From Holland Hall to Metro Christian for another 3A first round showdown as the Patriots hosted Marlow in a battle of top ten teams. This was our marquee first round match-up in Class 3A but the Outlaws would take care of business, winning 28-14 on the road. When I got to Metro Christian, the Patriots punted and pinned Marlow deep in their own territory. The Outlaws had no problems and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='897727' first='Cade' last='Gilbert'] would break a few tackles on a 79-yard touchdown for the game's opening score. The Outlaws were never really threatened as the defense would contain Metro Christian on Friday night. It was a long road trip for the first round and the Outlaws will return to Tulsa for the quarterfinal round. They'll face Cascia Hall on the road and the Commandos were the next stop on our Friday night trip.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cascia Hall 32, Stigler 21</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got to Cascia Hall right as the second quarter was beginning and the Commandos were on the move. Running back [player_tooltip player_id='916762' first='Owen' last='Darby'] would scoot into the end zone to put Cascia Hall up 13-7. Cascia would then stop Stigler and shut down a fake punt that set them up with good field position. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1083187' first='Barrett' last='Mullen'] found freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1067472' first='Fisher' last='Lai'] in the end zone for a touchdown to put Cascia up 19-7. From there, the Commandos would be in control and ended up winning 32-21. It was my first chance to see Cascia Hall in person this season and several things stood out. The defense once again looked like a "Blue Swarm" defense and the offense was incredibly efficient. They've definitely opened things up more in the passing game with a young talented quarterback in Mullen. But they can also lean on the run game when they need to do so. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Collinsville 23, Coweta 20</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The night ended in Coweta and I'm glad it did. After Cascia Hall, it was a coin flip of heading to Coweta for their game with Collinsville or to Claremore for their game with Sapulpa. Turns out, either answer would have been the right one. But I made it to Coweta in time to see the second half with Coweta on top 13-10 and the final two quarters were good. The Tigers were in control for the majority of the second half. They extended their lead to 20-10 and Collinsville could never gain momentum because of penalties and negative plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After getting down to the Coweta 1 early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals were pushed back and had to settle for a field goal but that's when the defense came up big. Coweta turned the ball over on downs at the Collinsville 28 and the Cardinals scored less than a minute later. It was the sophomore connection of QB [player_tooltip player_id='402384' first='Skyler' last='Moorman'] and WR [player_tooltip player_id='805100' first='Ben' last='Daniels'] on a 70+ yard score to tie the game at 20. Collinsville's defense would again come up big, forcing a Coweta three and out and the Cardinals would start their final march at their 35 with 3:18 left. That was plenty of time to get down to the Coweta 15-yard line with just one second to go. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1085256' first='Justice' last='McMath'] would then come on the field and kick a 32-yard field goal to send the Cardinals to the quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collinsville's 23-20 victory send them to quarterfinals where they'll go on the road to face off with defending champion Carl Albert. That match-up will put the last two Class 5A state champions squaring off against one another after Collinsville won it all in 2021 and Carl Albert got the gold ball back last year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->