2A-1 State – Washington Players To Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong><em><strong><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></strong></em></strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Class 2A-1 state championship game is set! #1 Washington will square off with #2 Millwood in Edmond on Friday at 1PM. This is the first season that Class 2A has been split into two divisions but history is repeating itself with this match-up. This will be the third consecutive season that the Warriors and Falcons square off for the gold ball and Washington has walked away with that crown in each of the last two years. The Warriors are used to being in this position as this will be their fifth straight trip to the title game and they've won 43 consecutive games coming into this week. In this breakdown, we're putting the spotlight on eight Washington Warriors to keep an eye on Friday afternoon. These eight players have had terrific 2024 campaigns and will look to impact Friday's game. Keep it locked into Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more state championship preview content!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>RELATED</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/12/2024-2a-1-title-game-first-look/">- 2A-1 State Championship First Look</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2024/12/2a-1-state-millwood-players-to-watch/">- Millwood Players To Watch</a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473879' first='Case' last='Alexander'] - Sophomore Tight End/Linebacker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='473879' first='Case' last='Alexander'] is one of the best overall prospects in the state's 2027 class and he's been that since his freshman season. Alexander got our attention last year when he was one of the team's leading tacklers. This season, Alexander is still incredibly important to the defensive side of the ball but he's also spending more time on offense. The Washington sophomore is lining up more at tight end and he's been productive on offense. He has 22 catches for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns. But when it comes down to what makes Alexander special, at least for now, it's on the defensive side of the ball. But his older brother Cooper was a D1 signee at tight end and his dad Stephen was an NFL tight end. So we can't overlook his potential there. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473891' first='Creed' last='Barrett'] - Freshman Quarterback</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Later this month, we'll start putting out all our postseason content and one of those features is our Freshman Of The Year award. It's going to be incredibly tough to find anyone more deserving than [player_tooltip player_id='473891' first='Creed' last='Barrett'] at the quarterback position. We knew that Barrett had the potential to be special but we didn't think it would be this soon and at such a high level. Barrett has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 37 touchdowns with just one interception. Those stats as a freshman alone put him at such a high level moving forward. But the thing that impresses us the most is Barrett's best performances this season were in some of tightest games against the toughest competition. So needless to say, we cannot wait to see what the freshman does in a state championship game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1109231' first='Dawson' last='Thomas'] - Junior Defensive Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1109231' first='Dawson' last='Thomas'] is a name that we've known about for a little over a year now and he continues to be incredibly valuable to the Warriors on the defensive side of the ball. This season, Thomas has become an absolute ball hawk, he leads the team in interceptions and does a great job in the Warrior secondary. And when you look at this match-up with Millwood, they have the ability to throw the ball and have weapons at wide receiver. So look for Thomas to be a big key to what Washington does, specifically with slowing down the passing game. Thomas has been incredibly consistent for a while now and we're looking forward to seeing how he looks on the big stage of a state championship game on Friday afternoon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='311986' first='Hudson' last='Howard'] - Senior Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='311986' first='Hudson' last='Howard'] has been incredibly consistent and continues to turn heads in this Washington offense. Last season, Howard was a breakout player for the Warriors last season in his first year as a starter. And when you look at Howard's stats in the last two years, you see that consistency. This season, Howard is closing in on 1,200 yards and he has at least 20 rushing touchdowns for the second straight year. And like we mentioned with him coming into the state title game a year ago, Howard was usually done by halftime. Washington has been incredibly dominant this season and most of the starters were pulled by the start of the second half. Howard looks to have another strong showing in the title game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1572513' first='Kale' last='Brakefield'] - Junior Linebacker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This Washington defense is not lacking talent and there are several names you need to know about coming into Friday's game. But junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1572513' first='Kale' last='Brakefield'] might be one of the names that you aren't familiar with. Looking back at our notes from this summer and this fall, we didn't know much about Brakefield. But he comes into this week as one of the team's leading tacklers and he's outstanding in one on one situations. He leads the team in tackles for loss and knows how to cause a lot of problems for opposing quarterbacks. Brakefield has been incredibly productive this season and Washington's defense is going to have their hands full against a Millwood offense that is incredibly balanced and can certainly be explosive at the skill positions. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1572510' first='Kingston' last='Stringer'] - Junior Offensive Lineman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest question marks we had about Washington coming into this season was the offensive line. The Warriors had to replace a lot of experience off the line of scrimmage last season and to make things work, that has been a position group ravaged with injuries this year. But the one consistent player has been junior [player_tooltip player_id='1572510' first='Kingston' last='Stringer'] and he's kept this group together. Stringer starts for the Warriors at center and is their lone returning starter from last year's championship team. Stringer has also been huge in helping some of the new faces that have had to play this season due to injury to others. The Washington offense feels like they are just as explosive as ever and that doesn't happen without players like Stringer setting the tone on the line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1572505' first='Mason' last='Singletary'] - Senior Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When it comes to the Washington offense, it's easy to focus on the three-headed monster of Barrett, Howard and Roberts. But it would be unwise to forget about senior [player_tooltip player_id='1572505' first='Mason' last='Singletary'] at the wide receiver position. Singletary came into this season with a lot of experience but he was still waiting for his breakout moment at the position. That has certainly happened this season as he's emerged as Washington's leading receiver in this explosive offense. He's tied for the team lead in receptions and touchdown catches but he is the only player over 1,000 yards on the year and he has proven to be a very explosive player on the outside. So while defenses have focused on those three names, that has opened things up for Singletary to make plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353411' first='Nate' last='Roberts'] - Senior Tight End</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's a busy week for senior tight end [player_tooltip player_id='353411' first='Nate' last='Roberts'] this week. As we publish this on Wednesday, Roberts is signing to play college ball at Ohio State. 48 hours later, he looks to help guide his team to another state championship. And when it comes to Roberts and the state championship game, there have not been many better than him over the last several years. First, as a sophomore, Roberts would end up catching what would be the game-winning touchdown in the back of the end zone. Last season, he had a massive highlight touchdown run in another dominating performance. This season, Roberts comes into the title game looking to go over the 1,000 yard mark for the year and he's tied with Singletary with 13 touchdowns on the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->