Scene Setter – Owasso AT Union

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   Each week on Prep Redzone Oklahoma, we'll put a spotlight on one of, if not the very best game of the week. And once again, all eyes will be on Class 6A-1 this week as top-ranked Owasso goes on the road to face #3 Union. The Rams have already taken out #2 Bixby and #4 Jenks to kick off the season, now they look to take out another state championship contender on Friday night. Whoever wins this game will be in the driver's seat for the district championship as these are the two teams that were the favorites coming into the season. There's a lot of football left to be played but this game will definitely have major playoff implications.   The top-ranked Rams have been one of the top stories of the 2024 football season and they look to continue their impressive start with a road win Friday night. Things began at home in week zero with a win over Bixby and they followed it up with another impressive win the next week over Jenks on the road. In both games, the Rams dominated the second half and they have been about as close to perfect as you can get through four games. In fact, they are really starting to remind us of last year's Bixby squad that would win a state championship. You have to be perfect to beat Owasso with the way they are playing right now. They dominate both lines of scrimmage. They have a solid running game with multiple guys and a sophomore quarterback that has not made mistakes. And the Rams have capitalized on every mistake an opponent has made this season, running away with game after game and it hasn't mattered who they were playing.   For Union, the 2024 football season hasn't been quite as smooth as the start that Owasso has gotten off to. The season began with back to back overtime games where Union needed late game heroics in regulation just to force overtime. They beat Bentonville in the season opener but fell to Stillwater in week one. They bounced back the following week with another dramatic victory, this time at home against rival Jenks in a very low-scoring affair. After a week off, Union went on the road last week and overcame penalties and turnovers to beat Edmond Santa Fe. We're a month into the season but we still haven't seen Union at full strength. Union has gotten off to a 3-1 start despite missing key starters on both sides of the ball. Slowly but surely, guys are getting back into the lineup and once this team gets close to 100 percent, the door will open for them to make a run. That could start this week against the top-ranked Rams.   For a long time, this series was incredibly one-sided in favor of Union. From 2004-2016, the Redhawks held a 9-2 record against the Rams. Former Union head coach Bill Blankenship took over in 2017 and since then, Union's advantage has been knocked down to just a 5-4 record against Owasso. And since 2017, they've met twice in the playoffs and the Rams won both times. And in both instances, Union had won the regular season meeting but Owasso won the postseason rematch. Will Friday night's game be the first of two meetings between these two district rivals? Only time will tell but with all the talent on the field for both sides, we wouldn't mind seeing them lock up again in November or December.   Below, we take a look at three players to watch for both sides of this significant district clash.   OWASSO PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='1235926' first='Drew' last='Frankenfield'] - Sophomore Quarterback   We've already said this a time or two in the last month but it definitely deserves to be repeated here. Sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1235926' first='Drew' last='Frankenfield'] has not looked like a sophomore who made his first two varsity starts against the top-ranked teams in Class 6A-1 in back to back weeks. We knew that the sophomore had a lot of potential but prior to August it was all potential. Now, it feels like the Owasso signal caller might be the best quarterback in the state's 2027 class. He's been absolutely flawless this season. he's completing 81 percent of his passes for nearly 1,000 yards and ten touchdowns. His "worst" passing performance was against Jenks, when he went 16-21. It has been incredible to watch over the last month. But now, he faces a Union secondary that is playing with a lot of confidence and at a very high level right now.   [player_tooltip player_id='1045556' first='Jayson' last='Moll'] - Junior Running Back   Owasso will compliment their sophomore quarterback with a three-headed monster at running back. They have two guys that they will mainly use and then a short yardage specialist that comes in as well. Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1045556' first='Jayson' last='Moll'] is the guy to watch for us because he's simply electric with the football in his hands and he has legit speed in the open field. The junior is Owasso's leading rusher this season with nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns. He's scored at least one touchdown in the last three games and the only game this year he didn't reach the end zone, he went for over 100 total yards against Bixby in the season opener. But another underrated part of his start is when you have a very talented offensive line paving the way, it makes things a little easier. But Moll and the Owasso rushing attack will get the very best from this Union defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='1179991' first='Tajh' last='Overton'] - Junior Defensive Lineman   Owasso's defense has done a great job of forcing teams into bad situations throughout the season. Whether it's turnovers or just limiting scoring opportunities, there aren't many criticisms for this side of the ball. Owasso's defensive line is nasty but you have to start the conversation with junior [player_tooltip player_id='1179991' first='Tajh' last='Overton'] as he's emerged as one of the state's very best prospects along the defensive line. It really began this offseason after his sophomore film started making the rounds and the offers started rolling in. He's carried that momentum into this season where he's been an absolute nightmare for opposing offensive lines. And he's gone up against some good ones and has continued to dominate the line of scrimmage. Overton is a good representative of this entire Owasso defense because he is aggressive, relentless and that's the way this entire defense plays.   UNION PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='439153' first='Jordan' last='Schelling'] - Senior Running Back/Linebacker   Senior [player_tooltip player_id='439153' first='Jordan' last='Schelling'] is one of those Union players that has been battling that injury bug this season. But he's also a player that continues to surprise us because we knew him strictly for what he can do on the offensive side of the ball as a running back. But Schelling has become just as valuable to the Redhawks on the defensive side of the ball as one of the linebackers. Now don't get us wrong, Schelling is still incredibly valuable on offense. He's leading the team in rushing touchdowns with six on the year and he can still get the job done on the ground. But Schelling has also emerged as one of the team's leading tacklers on the defensive side of the ball. And when you're going up against an Owasso offense that can do so many different things well, we think that Schelling could end up becoming more valuable as a linebacker this week against Owasso.   [player_tooltip player_id='846614' first='Josiah' last='Hammond'] - Senior Defensive Lineman   There's no doubt that the biggest strength for the Rams is their offensive line. Union has to find a way to get pressure on the young sophomore quarterback and limit the steady big plays in the run game. Senior defensive lineman and Kansas commit [player_tooltip player_id='846614' first='Josiah' last='Hammond'] will be one of the first players that try to slow down this Owasso offense that can just wear opponents down. A few weeks ago, Union's defense did a great job of limiting Jenks and making the Trojans work for everything they got offensively. Even if Hammond is making plays himself, if he can make Owasso send more guys at him, that opens the door for Union's linebackers to go to work. Hammond is a high-ceiling prospect and looking to have that breakout moment for the Redhawks.   [player_tooltip player_id='188014' first='Shaker' last='Reisig'] - Senior Quarterback   Whenever you're talking about players to watch for Union, it's hard not to mention senior [player_tooltip player_id='188014' first='Shaker' last='Reisig'] at the quarterback position. And for Reisig, he's definitely a player that we want to watch this week to see how he looks following last week's game against Edmond Santa Fe. The Boston College QB commit threw three interceptions but Union got out of Edmond with a win last week. And like we mentioned earlier in this breakdown, Owasso has been playing at a high level where you can't afford to make those mistakes because they will make you pay. If Reisig can settle in and get into the rhythm that we've seen so many times over the last four seasons, Union should be in good shape. Reisig has the reputation by us and many others that he's the most accurate quarterback in the state. The Redhawks will need that accuracy this week against Owasso.

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