Our First Look At The 6A-1 Title Game

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 6A-1 state championship game is set! #1 Bixby will square off with #3 Owasso in Edmond on Saturday night at 7PM. It will be the third time in the last four years that these two meet with the state championship on the line. Of course, it's a rematch of last year's overtime thriller that was won by the Spartans on a two-point conversion. Bixby has been on top of 6A-1 ever since they entered the class in 2022. This year, they've been considered the best team in the country as well. So it's not surprising to see the Spartans making their 12th consecutive appearance in the state championship game. On the other side you have the Owasso Rams and they've won ten straight since dropping their first two games to Bixby and Jenks. It's the return of Bill Blankenship to a state championship game stage, one that he's very familiar to stand on. In this post, we take our first look at both teams prior to their title clash on Saturday night. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma later in the week, when we take a deep dive into the match-up by putting a spotlight on all of the players to watch for both teams. And be sure to check out our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PrepRedzoneOklahoma">PRZ-Oklahoma YouTube Channel</a> for exclusive (and free) video content, including interviews with both head coaches!   #1 BIXBY SPARTANS (12-0)   Aug. 28th - Beat Owasso 49-21 Sept. 5th - Beat Sand Springs 56-7 Sept. 19th - Beat Choctaw 57-7 Sept. 26th - Beat Jenks 66-35 Oct. 3rd - Beat Moore 81-6 Oct. 9th - Beat Edmond North 64-7 Oct. 16th - Beat Enid 92-0 Oct. 24th - Beat Mustang 38-22 Oct. 31st - Beat Deer Creek 79-15 Nov. 7th - Beat Norman 72-3 Quarterfinals - Beat Union 51-14 Semifinals - Beat Broken Arrow 49-17   HOW THEY GOT HERE   After winning a seventh consecutive state title game in 2024, Bixby came into this season as the top-ranked team and nothing has changed as we head into another state championship game. The Spartans dominated their way through the non-district schedule, which featured the other 6A-1 finalist and the two 6A-2 finalists. They opened up district play with a runaway road win over Jenks. After blasting three straight opponents, they had another top five showdown on the road, this time in Mustang. The game was delayed by two hours because of weather and it was much closer for all four quarters than the final score would suggest. The Spartans would finish up the regular season with back to back dominant wins. They opened the playoffs with a 51-14 victory over Union in the quarterfinals before beating Broken Arrow 49-17 in the semifinals. The Spartans have only been really challenged on two occasions this season. They will certainly be expecting a third challenge on Saturday night when they take on the Rams.   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 10-8 All Time - 19th Title Appearance   The Bixby Spartans continue to make history and add to this already historic run. The Spartans are playing in the state championship game for the 19th time in school history but it's the 12th consecutive year. Let that sink in for a moment. This Bixby senior class, from the time they were in first grade on, every single Spartan football team made the state title game. Last year, they won their tenth state championship in the last eleven years and it was their seventh consecutive gold ball. The new history that Bixby is chasing is eight consecutive gold balls. Only one other program (Morrison as an 8-man program) won seven straight titles so Bixby could be the first to win eight. There's a reason why this Bixby dynasty is considered the best in state history and the numbers continue to be mind blowing.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 62.8 Points Per Game   The Spartans are once again back to being one of the more dominant offenses in high school football. Not just in Oklahoma, but in the nation. The Spartans come into the title game averaging 62.8 points per game. They've executed at a high level every single week this season. They scored a season-high 92 points in a week seven win over Enid. They scored 70+ points on four different occasions this season. With a three-year starter at quarterback, plenty of weapons in the skill position department and one of the better offensive line units in the state, they're hard to slow down.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 12.8 Points Per Game   When your offense is averaging 60+ points per game, it takes a lot of stress off the defense. But this Bixby defense has been playing lights out football all season as well. They come into the championship game giving up just 12.8 points per game. This was a defensive unit a year ago that was very inexperienced but they grew up in a hurry. This year, almost everyone came back and the Spartans had D1 talent at all three levels of their defense. They've also seen the emergence of new faces throughout the season. They're coming off a semifinal win where they had four interceptions.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   #3 OWASSO RAMS (10-2)   Aug. 28th - Lost To Bixby 49-21 Sept. 5th - Lost To Jenks 31-21 Sept. 12th - Beat Sand Springs 45-17 Sept. 26th - Beat Broken Arrow 28-14 Oct. 3rd - Beat Union 49-15 Oct. 10th - Beat Westmoore 52-7 Oct. 16th - Beat Edmond Memorial 31-21 Oct. 24th - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 42-8 Oct. 31st - Beat Norman North 45-14 Nov. 7th - Beat Yukon 47-27 Quarterfinals - Beat Yukon 45-7 Semifinals - Beat Jenks 39-36   HOW THEY GOT HERE   Owasso was one of several marquee programs that entered 2025 with a new head football coach. Sort of. Shortly after the end of the 2024 season, Bill Blankenship came out of retirement to lead the Rams once again. It was a rocky start for the Rams this season as they dropped their first two games of the season. Granted, it was to the top two teams in the class. From there, the Rams haven't lost. They've won ten straight games, including wrapping up non-district play with a win over 6A-2 finalist Sand Springs. They opened district play with decisive wins over Broken Arrow and Union. From there, the Rams went on a roll. They ran through the district on the way to another district title. The closest call coming in week seven when they beat Edmond Memorial by ten. They opened the playoff run with a quarterfinal win over Yukon. Then they had a semifinal showdown with Jenks. The Rams jumped out to a big lead and then held on for a 39-36 win. Now, the Rams look to avenge their only other loss this season when they face Bixby.   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY 3-2 Record - 6th Title Appearance   For the sixth time in school history, the Owasso Rams are playing for the state championship. Five of the six title game appearances have come in the last decade. The first, in 2017, when Bill Blankenship took over the Ram football program. He's won two state championships with Owasso and is looking to do it again on Saturday night. The Rams are 3-2 all time in the state championship game. We mentioned earlier how this will be the third time int he last four years that Owasso squares off with Bixby with the state title on the line. Both of Owasso's championship losses were in those two previous meetings to the Spartans. And nobody in Owasso needs reminding but last year's heartbreaker in overtime will certainly be something that this year's Owasso squad looks to erase.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 38.8 Points Per Game   Owasso has been incredibly steady on offense and to nobody's surprised, they've been very balanced. That's what happens when you have a returning starter at quarterback, one of the top running backs in the state and an outstanding wide receiver group. The Rams are averaging just shy of 40 points per game this season. And when you look at the last two months, you see steady play week in and week out from the offensive side of the ball. And we can't stress enough (we'll dive into this more later in the week) how special the running back is and has been for the Rams this season.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION - 20.5 Points Per Game   The Rams were in a position similar to what Bixby was in last season. They were incredibly young coming into the 2025 season. While they had a handful of players that are going to play P4 football at the next level, they had a lot of new faces. So this group went through some growing pains early on in the season, giving up 80 points combined in those first two games. But they've steadily improved and are playing some of their best football right now. They'll have their work cut out for them against a potent Bixby offense but they won't back down from a fight Saturday night.

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