A Look Back At 2024 In Class 6A-2

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The 2024 football season is in the books and was certainly a memorable one. This week, our postseason content really kicked into high gear and today, we continue our “Looking Back” series for each class. In this breakdown, we're taking a look back at the 2024 football season in Class 6A-2. Muskogee came into the season as the defending champion but it was Choctaw that finished off the season with that crown. We look back at the season as a whole, crown the 6A-2 Player Of The Year and take an incredibly too early look at 2025.   CHOCTAW CLIMBS THE MOUNTAIN   The Choctaw Yellowjackets came into this season as the #3 team in the class behind Muskogee and Stillwater. They finished the year on top after beating Stillwater in the regular season and then knocking off Muskogee in a championship game classic. The Yellowjackets have been knocking on the door of becoming a state champion over the last five years. This season, they finally kicked the door down and got the job done. When they made it to the title game in December, it was their third trip to Edmond in the last five seasons and despite going down 25-7 with under four minutes to play in the third quarter, the Yellowjackets would rally, survive a last second Muskogee field goal and they captured their first state championship since 1960.   The Yellowjackets began the season with one of the toughest non-district schedules in Class 6A-2. And as it turns out, it would get them ready for making a run to the state championship. First, Choctaw went up to Kansas to face off with Gardner-Edgerton and lost a shootout. That was a team that ended up winning the state championship in the largest class in Kansas. The Yellowjackets also fell to Bixby and that was another eventual state champion in the largest class. Choctaw started 1-2 but they wouldn't lose again. They beat Stillwater in a critical game to capture the district title. They would have to rally in the semifinals after dropping down 21-6 in the second quarter. But they scored 25 unanswered points to beat Sand Springs and punch their ticket to the title game.   In that championship game, Muskogee jumped up 25-7 with under four minutes to play in the third quarter and things didn't look good for the Yellowjackets. Senior Juju Smith returned the ensuing kick off nearly 100 yards for a score and just like that, Choctaw had life. That was just the start of their rally and they would take the lead on a [player_tooltip player_id='402379' first='Landon' last='Gatson'] to [player_tooltip player_id='1035103' first='Titus' last='Hawk'] trick play for the score. But as we mentioned, the game wasn't over at that point and the Roughers were able to drive all the way down the field with time ticking away. The Roughers lined up for a short field goal but it missed to the right and the Yellowjacket faithful rejoiced with their first state championship in over 60 years. For the last five seasons, Choctaw has routinely been in the conversation of 6A-2 contenders and now, they are the team to beat after climbing to the mountain top of 6A-2.   MUSKOGEE HAS ANOTHER MEMORABLE SEASON   Things didn't end the way Muskogee wanted as they left Edmond with the silver ball in December. But for the Roughers, it was still another memorable season. After capturing their first state championship in nearly four decades in 2023, the Roughers came into this season as the team to beat. The target was bigger than ever before but Muskogee responded with a perfect regular season. That hasn't happened in quite some time. The Roughers continued to dominate, all the way to another appearance in the state championship game. Led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] at quarterback and [player_tooltip player_id='515901' first='PJ' last='Wallace'] at running back, the Roughers had arguably the best backfield in the state. And things looked great in Edmond for three and a half quarters but it just wasn't there night.   Now, things have gotten very interesting in the land of the Roughers following the end of the season. Head coach Travis Hill left to become Broken Arrow's new head coach and Muskogee responded with quite the splash hire. They hired Wagoner head coach Dale Condict, who is one of the winningest football coaches in state history following the last two decades of dominating at Wagoner. Not only will the Roughers look new on the sideline from a coaching perspective, they'll also look different on the field after losing some serious firepower on both sides of the ball. The Roughers aren't lacking talent by any means but it's not easy to replace players like Ficklin and Wallace along with several others on offense and defense.   NEW TEAMS PUNCH PLAYOFF TICKETS   Before the season began, we talked about Class 6A-2 getting some new teams and how they could have immediate impacts. Lawton Eisenhower, Piedmont, Sapulpa and Southmoore were the four teams mentioned and all four teams made it to the playoffs and finished the season in the top ten. Piedmont and Sapulpa each won their playoff games. For Sapulpa, that was their first playoff victory in nearly two decades. Southmoore turned things around in a major way after multiple losing seasons and coming up short of the playoffs in the state's largest class. Piedmont moved up to Class 6A-2 for the first time in school history and they didn't back down from the challenge. Lawton Eisenhower was also a fun team to watch but they came up short against Sapulpa in the first round.   SAND SPRINGS TAKES NEXT STEP   Another storyline before the season began was Sand Springs and how the Sandites appeared to be ready to take that next step as a true contender in the class. For the last few years, Class 6A-2 has been a four-team class with Choctaw, Deer Creek, Muskogee and Stillwater. With Deer Creek moving up to 6A-1, that opened the door for another team to move in and the Sandites ended up becoming that team. Behind junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='449993' first='Easton' last='Webb'] and several emerging playmakers at wide receiver, the Sandites ended up a semifinal team. They played a brutal non-district schedule, starting the year against Bixby and Owasso, the two teams that met in the 6A-1 title game. But the Sandites used that to prepare them for a run at the 6A-2 semifinals. They came up short against Choctaw. But Webb and some of those wide receiver playmakers will be back so they'll be one of the top teams in 2025.   STILLWATER'S YOUTH MOVEMENT   The Stillwater Pioneers knew that they would be somewhat young in areas this season but they also knew that that youth featured some of the best young players in the state, specifically at the wide receiver position. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='492378' first='Deakon' last='Jones'] took the next step as an overall playmaker and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1214367' first='David' last='Thomas'] introduced himself to the state as a name to know moving forward. On the defensive side of the ball, junior defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='467410' first='Nehemiah' last='Kolone'] endured an injury-plagued season but was still incredibly productive. All three guys will be back for the Pioneers in 2025 and they'll go from being a somewhat young team to a very experienced squad. If the Pioneers can figure out how to replace an outstanding quarterback in [player_tooltip player_id='655747' first='Mason' last='Schubert'] then they'll be in a good spot for 2025.   6A-2 PLAYER OF THE YEAR   [player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] - Quarterback - Muskogee   For the second straight year, Muskogee quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='211556' first='Jamarian' last='Ficklin'] finds himself as the top player in Class 6A-2. Ficklin is also a finalist for PRZ-Oklahoma Player Of The Year for the second straight year after leading the Roughers to an unbeaten regular season and another trip to the state championship game. This season, Ficklin threw for well over 2,300 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also added nearly 700 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. But an underrated part about Ficklin's game that hasn't been discussed enough was his work at safety. Ficklin made some big plays on the defensive side of the ball throughout the 2024 season, including in the state championship game, on the biggest stage. For his career, Ficklin is one of a handful of quarterbacks in state history with over 10,000 passing yards and over 100 passing touchdowns. He won a lot of games as QB1 of the Roughers, including the school's first state title in nearly four decades in 2023. He's headed to Utah to play college football.   WAY TOO EARLY LOOK AT 2025   Choctaw is going to be going into the 2025 season as the defending champs and they should certainly be listed as the team to beat. The Yellowjackets bring back the majority of their best players from this championship team. Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='402379' first='Landon' last='Gatson'] is back and will be the full time starter. Running back [player_tooltip player_id='476091' first='Mayor' last='Morgan'] returns after a breakout season. Tight end [player_tooltip player_id='1035103' first='Titus' last='Hawk'] made big plays in the title game and he returns. Then defensively, they also bring back [player_tooltip player_id='1179994' first='Da'Jon' last='Green'] in the secondary and emerging star [player_tooltip player_id='1176238' first='Israel' last='Hammons'] from the 2027 class, who played at all three levels on the defense. Sand Springs will also bring back an offense that can light up the scoreboard in 2025. Same can be said about Stillwater. Muskogee has a ton of question marks but it would be unwise to overlook them. Then after that it's a complete toss up, similar to what we saw from 6A-2 this season. In the three seasons since Bixby moved up to 6A-1, we have had three different state champions. Could that trend continue and we see a fourth team emerge? Will this class ever become one where teams outside of the top four in any given year can break through and contend for that gold ball? Only time will tell but the 2025 season should be exciting.

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