Edmond Memorial Dominates In 21-6 Victory

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   #7 Edmond Memorial improved to 3-1 on the season with a 21-6 victory on the road against Norman North on Thursday night. Two stories that came out of this game was the dominance of Edmond Memorial's defense. They shut out Norman North for over 47 minutes but the Timberwolves scored on the final play of the game. And Kansas quarterback commit [player_tooltip player_id='209872' first='David' last='McComb'] was outstanding in the pass game as well as the running game and he certainly lived up to the hype. The Bulldogs were also missing a key piece to the offense on Thursday but you couldn't tell as they moved up and down the field and had a very balanced attack. For Norman North, the Timberwolves will look at what they can improve as they are now 0-4 but have a road game with Westmoore next week.   Below, we take a look at some of the top players from each side of this match-up. And for complete highlights and postgame reaction, check out our <a href="https://youtu.be/JLhosTRUiXs">YouTube Channel!</a>   EDMOND MEMORIAL TOP PERFORMERS   [player_tooltip player_id='353412' first='Billy' last='McDown'] - Senior Wide Receiver   Edmond Memorial senior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='353412' first='Billy' last='McDown'] was on the shortlist of players we were excited to see in person on Thursday night. We've seen him on film and in person in the spring but this was our first chance to really watch him under the bright lights of a Friday night. And we came away impressed with him as an overall playmaker at the wide receiver position. We don't have his complete stats but we know he finished the night with a handful of catches, including some very tough receptions and he had a third quarter touchdown that put the Bulldogs up by two possessions. And it could have been worse. McDown did a good job of beating his man consistently throughout the evening and is going to be a threat moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id='216547' first='Colton' last='McComb'] - Sophomore Linebacker   We've known about sophomore standout [player_tooltip player_id='216547' first='Colton' last='McComb'] for a while now and we've known that he has a lot of potential but for us, Thursday night was a gamechanger. McComb was that hybrid athlete where he could be a tight end or a linebacker at the next level. We LOVED what McComb brings to the table on the defensive side of the ball. He'll still put in work on the offensive side of the ball but the instincts and ferocity that he plays with on the defensive side of the ball has us excited about his future. There are some good linebackers in the state's 2027 class and guys who already have offers. McComb should be next up on that list. He has a nose for the football and he always finds a way to be around the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='209872' first='David' last='McComb'] - Senior Quarterback   Senior quarterback and Kansas commit [player_tooltip player_id='209872' first='David' last='McComb'] is one of the best quarterbacks in the state of Oklahoma so it's no surprise that he finds himself on this breakdown. We were really happy to see McComb's resiliency on Thursday night because it was somewhat of a slow start for him and this Edmond Memorial offense. But it looked like he and the rest of this offense fed off the energy from the defense and once they got the ball rolling, it was tough to slow them down. McComb can absolutely sling the ball all over the field and he finished with nearly 200 yards and a touchdown. But he also added over 100 yards on the ground and a 58-yard touchdown where he ran over a defender and raced the rest of the way untouched.   Diantre Bennett - Junior Defensive Back   When we look back at Thursday night's game, Edmond Memorial junior defensive back Diantre Bennett was right there with McComb on the defensive side of the ball for breakout star. We didn't know much about Bennett coming into Thursday night's game but that changed fairly quickly. Bennett was locked up with Norman North's star receiver all night and he held his own. Bennett also finished the night with two interceptions and he could have had a third pick in the fourth quarter but it slipped through his hands. Bennett really impressed us and he's going to be a name that we keep an eye on moving forward. Not many cornerbacks are going to be able to have as much success as he had against that star player.   [player_tooltip player_id='1346490' first='Leland' last='Smith'] - Senior Defensive Lineman   As we mentioned with McComb, we were very impressed with what Edmond Memorial was able to do in the front seven. Senior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1346490' first='Leland' last='Smith'] also had a solid performance where he was causing absolute mayhem on the line of scrimmage. The thing that stood out to us about Smith on Thursday night was his ability to impact so many different plays, regardless of if he made the actual tackle. And he made plenty of those but his pressure on the quarterback caused plenty of chaos and he also did a good job of getting his hands up on pass plays, even getting his hands on one pass. Smith did a really good job on Thursday night and we definitely came away impressed with his performance.   MORE NAMES OF NOTE   [player_tooltip player_id='1637567' first='Isaac' last='Woodard'] - Sophomore Wide Receiver   We mentioned how Edmond Memorial's offense couldn't really get into a rhythm early on. That was until McComb would hit sophomore wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1637567' first='Isaac' last='Woodard'] on back to back plays, setting them up with first and goal and they scored on the next play. Woodard is going to be an intriguing name to watch moving forward.   [player_tooltip player_id='1045568' first='Nick' last='Booker'] - Junior Running Back/Linebacker   With the Bulldogs missing their starting running back, it was running back by committee and we came away very impressed with junior [player_tooltip player_id='1045568' first='Nick' last='Booker'] on both sides of the ball. He scored Edmond Memorial's first touchdown on a short run but then was also so productive on the defensive side of the ball at lineabcker.   [player_tooltip player_id='598832' first='Parker' last='Howell'] - Senior Offensive Lineman   The Bulldogs might have had running back by committee but whoever was running the ball had some good running lanes because of the offensive line. Senior offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='598832' first='Parker' last='Howell'] performed very well on Thursday and he was going head to head with a very talented defensive lineman from Norman North.   Teagan Lesh - Junior Defensive Lineman   Junior defensive lineman Teagan Lesh was another part of the Edmond Memorial front seven that really impressed us on Thursday night. Just like some of the other guys, Lesh really impacted the game even on plays where he wasn't making the tackle. And he made some big hits on the quarterback late in the game.   [player_tooltip player_id='294263' first='Ty' last='Ackerman'] - Senior Kicker   We say this all the time but "kickers are prospects too" and Edmond Memorial has one of the best in the state. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='294263' first='Ty' last='Ackerman'] was a weapon that could change field position in the blink of an eye in the punt game. The Bulldogs also didn't have to worry about Norman North returning any kicks as he put them in the end zone.   NORMAN NORTH TOP PERFORMERS   [player_tooltip player_id='1530058' first='Ben' last='Kolar'] - Sophomore Tight End   Norman North has another Kolar at tight end and that definitely deserves a mention here. Sophomore tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1530058' first='Ben' last='Kolar'] got on our radar last year as a freshman but you can tell that he's taken a giant step forward in his development this season. On Thursday night, Kolar became one of the top targets in the passing game. Edmond Memorial was determined to limit Norman North's top playmaker on the outside so that opened things up for Kolar to make plays over the middle and he was able to answer the call.   Carter Hammer - Senior Wide Receiver   Just like with Kolar, because of Edmond Memorial's defensive game plan, things opened up in the pass game for senior Carter Hammer at the wide receiver position. And we can't write about Hammer without mentioning how spot on his last name is. He isn't the biggest player on the field by any means but he definitely played like it on Thursday night. He was making tough catches and bullying his way forward, even running over a Bulldog defender in the first half. Overall, Hammer definitely had a solid performance.   [player_tooltip player_id='284117' first='Mason' last='James'] - Junior Wide Receiver   So it wasn't the easiest night for junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='284117' first='Mason' last='James'] and it was pretty clear that Edmond Memorial was going to do what they could to limit his impact on Thursday night. Despite that, James was still able to make some very impressive plays and when you see him get out into the open field, that speed is an impressive thing to see. While his opportunities were limited on Thursday, he's still one of the top playmakers in 6A-1 and in the state's 2026 class. It's very hard to completely shut down a player like James.   [player_tooltip player_id='595685' first='Owen' last='Eshelman'] - Senior Quarterback   Senior quarterback and South Dakota State commit [player_tooltip player_id='595685' first='Owen' last='Eshelman'] had a very busy night on Thursday night. Eshelman was trying to get the pass game going but the Bulldogs had a very good game plan coming in. But that opened things up for Eshelman to use his legs and like we've mentioned in the past, he is a very good athlete and more than capable of beating defenses with his legs. We don't have the official numbers but we think he carried the ball nearly 20 times and definitely had well over 100 yards and the one Norman North touchdown.   Rhett Zimmerman - Senior Defensive Back   There was definitely some serious hitting on Thursday night and Norman North senior safety Rhett Zimmerman was doing a lot of it. Zimmerman is another new name for us to know but we really like the energy that he plays with and when he gets to the ball carrier, he has bad intentions every time. On a big play late in the game, Zimmerman punched the ball out from an Edmond Memorial ball carrier inches away from the goal line, he then was able to race over and pick it up for a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

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