Elgin-Lawton MacArthur Top Performers

<!-- 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>The 2024 football season kicked off Thursday night and there were some big time games all across Oklahoma. We headed to southern Oklahoma for a showdown between 5A and 4A programs that have state title aspirations. 5A's #2 Lawton MacArthur hosted 4A's #1 Elgin and the visiting Owls made quite the statement on Thursday night. Elgin won 28-7 behind a dominant performance from both sides of the line of scrimmage and a relentless rushing attack. Below, we take a look at the players from both teams that stood out to us on Thursday night. And <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PrepRedzoneOklahoma">check out our YouTube channel</a></strong> later today for highlights of Thursday night's game and some postgame thoughts from the Owls!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>ELGIN'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Adam Eaton - Senior Tight End</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior tight end Adam Eaton was a name on our radar prior to Thursday's game but he was definitely one of the standouts in Elgin's passing attack. We don't have the official stats but it definitely felt like Eaton was the team's leading receiver on Thursday night in just about every category. On the first play of the second quarter, he got the scoring started by hauling in a touchdown and then did the same thing to start the third quarter on a trick play from the Elgin offense. He finished with two touchdowns on the night and showed he can beat teams downfield. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='629029' first='Antoni' last='Kade Ogumoro'] - Senior Offensive Lineman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior offensive lineman and Tennessee commit [player_tooltip player_id='629029' first='Antoni' last='Kade Ogumoro'] was definitely on the short list of players that we were excited to see coming into this week. Ogumoro moved into Oklahoma from North Carolina and immediately became arguably the state's top OL prospect. He backed up the hype on Thursday night as he was absolutely mauling opponents on the line of scrimmage. And we mentioned this earlier this week but the combination of Ogumoro and Williams on the left side of this offensive line is going to be a big problem for opponents and that ended up being true Thursday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1836640' first='Braxten' last='Antuna'] - Sophomore Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's only week zero and we don't want to overreact but here we go. Elgin's rushing attack is going to be one of the top units in the state. Between the offensive line and the running backs, the Owls will be tough to stop. Sophomore running back [player_tooltip player_id='1836640' first='Braxten' last='Antuna'] was a new name to us and he definitely provided a spark for the Owls offensively. Antuna would get some carries at various times on Thursday night and it felt like he was the lightning to Meyer's thunder. Antuna also scored a touchdown in the third quarter after catching a pass coming out of the backfield. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='497346' first='Jace' last='Williams'] - Senior Offensive/Defensive Lineman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior lineman and Navy commit [player_tooltip player_id='497346' first='Jace' last='Williams'] is an offensive lineman that we've liked for a while now but on Thursday night, he might have impressed us more with his performance on defense. Either way, Williams is an absolute dominating force on either side of the line of scrimmage. Williams is the other part of the 1-2 punch with Ogumoro that paves the way for Elgin's rushing attack. But then he would turn around and dominate the line of scrimmage on defense. He made multiple plays in the backfield on Thursday. The Navy commit now heads east for a visit to his future home. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='472321' first='Ritson' last='Meyer'] - Junior Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='472321' first='Ritson' last='Meyer'] was another player that was featured earlier this week as a name to watch for the Owls. And with a fantastic offensive line paving the way, Meyer had a big night. He had a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and also had another long touchdown run wiped away by an illegal motion penalty. The thing that really impressed us about Meyer's performance on Thursday night was his ability to pick up an extra yard or two by always falling forward or keeping his momentum moving in a positive direction. He's going to be very tough to stop this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='211570' first='Tres' last='Lorah'] - Senior Quarterback</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='211570' first='Tres' last='Lorah'] was incredibly efficient throughout the night on Thursday night and we don't remember him making many mistakes if any. And as you can see with some of the other players featured here, this is going to be a run-first offense and Lorah will feel like a game manager at times. But you can't just label him as that one thing and he proved it throughout the night on Thursday. Elgin would wear the Highlanders down with their running game and then when Lorah would take shots in the passing game, he rarely missed. He ended the night with a pair of passing touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LAWTON MACARTHUR'S TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1187305' first='AJ' last='Vaughn'] - Senior Defensive Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1187305' first='AJ' last='Vaughn'] has emerged as one of the best at his position in the state's 2025 class and he definitely stood out throughout the night on Thursday. From his cornerback position, Vaughn had a great night in pass coverage as well as coming up and helping the defense in run support. He made some big hits that definitely got our attention. When we've seen Vaughn in person, we've really only seen him in a pass-first setting. It was good to see another element of his game that certainly translates to the next level. Vaughn is one of the top uncommitted 2025 prospects. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1294586' first='Boux' last='DeLong'] - Senior Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We featured senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1294586' first='Boux' last='DeLong'] earlier this week in our Scene Setter and how he provided the Highlanders with a very reliable target in the passing game. That would be a big part of his game on Thursday night. He made a handful of catches and the majority of them were out in space and he looked to do damage after the catch. We were also impressed with his ability to make some tough catches in traffic and absorb contact while holding on to the ball. Moving forward, we think DeLong is going to be incredibly consistent and productive for the Highlanders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gunner Tate - Junior Linebacker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior linebacker Gunner Tate was another new name for us to follow on Thursday night. Now look, Elgin had a lot of success running the football but when they had problems, Tate was usually involved with causing those problems. From his linebacker position, Tate was flying into a strong Elgin line of scrimmage and looking to create chaos. Tate would rack up the tackles throughout the night and he was able to make some big hits in Thursday's showdown. And like we mentioned, Tate wasn't a name that we were familiar with but he is now after a very productive night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1045555' first='Joshua' last='Rushing'] - Junior Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1045555' first='Joshua' last='Rushing'] is another Highlander name that we featured earlier this week. While DeLong is that prototypical inside receiver that excels after the catch, Rushing is that big play guy that can absolutely change the game in the blink of an eye. While he didn't have that big play moment on Thursday, he was very close. He had a couple opportunities where he beat his man deep but the pass was just a little overthrown. Despite that, Rushing was still incredibly productive and was one of, if not the leading receiver in this Lawton MacArthur offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1549990' first='Marquise' last='Harris'] - Senior Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lawton MacArthur has a few different running backs that can provide an impact within the offense but senior [player_tooltip player_id='1549990' first='Marquise' last='Harris'] was the guy that stood out to us on Thursday night. Harris also impressed us with his ability to run hard in the third and fourth quarter when other players were wearing down. The Highlanders would avoid being shutout at home when Harris scored in the second half for Lawton MacArthur's only touchdown. He impressed us last week at the Carl Albert rapid fire scrimmage and then backed that up with another solid performance in week zero. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->