2024 Player Of The Year – Elijah Thomas

<!-- 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>Checotah senior wide receiver and Oklahoma signee [player_tooltip player_id='353415' first='Elijah' last='Thomas'] is this year's winner of the Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year award. There were plenty of dominant and outstanding players across the state this season but when it came down to it, Thomas was the best of the best. The Checotah senior would finish the year with 72 catches for a little over 1,800 yards and 26 touchdowns. He was also a threat in the running game with a little over 400 yards and ten touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, Thomas would finish the year with 82 tackles and four interceptions. He also took a kick back for a score. Thomas also earned the state's Gatorade Player Of The Year award last month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomas helped lead the Wildcats to their most memorable season in recent memory. Checotah lost three straight district games down the stretch and were put into an unfavorable playoff position as a four seed. They started their playoff journey on the road against Cascia Hall and knocked off the district champion Commandos. The following week, they went on the road and beat Bristow in a memorable finish. Trailing 32-28 with less than a minute to play, Thomas would catch a short screen pass and take it 75 yards for the game-winning touchdown. On that night, Thomas had arguably the best game of his career. He finished with eight catches for 270 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the win over Bristow, Checotah was playing in the semifinals for the first time in three decades and it was just their second semifinal appearance since 1950. They ran into an absolute monster with Sulphur in the semifinal round but Thomas still could not be contained. In the semifinal loss, Thomas accounted for all three of Checotah's touchdowns and had six catches for 241 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thomas racked up over 100 yards in 10 of their 13 games. He scored 37 total touchdowns on the year and had at least two touchdowns in all but two of their games this season. He accounted for ten touchdowns in the playoffs alone. One opposing coach told us that Thomas reminded him of former Plainview and Oklahoma State star Justin Blackmon. And that same coach said that Thomas was already better than Blackmon when the Hall Of Famer was in high school. High praise for a player that could be an absolute star when he gets to Norman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before Thomas entered high school, Checotah head coach Zac Ross told us that Thomas had the chance to be pretty special. There were signs that the Checotah standout could be the next big thing but he hadn't even taken a snap at the varsity level yet. Four years later and we have to agree with Ross. Thomas was incredibly special and capped off a memorable career with a monster season. Congratulations to [player_tooltip player_id='353415' first='Elijah' last='Thomas'] for being this year's Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year! He becomes the first wide receiver to win the award in the five years of our website. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>PREVIOUS WINNERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>2023 - Andy Bass - Quarterback - Heritage Hall</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>2022 - Xavier Robinson - Running Back - Carl Albert</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>2021 - Erik McCarty - Running Back/Defensive Back - McAlester</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>2020 - Braylin Presley - Running Back - Bixby</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->