District Champs Collide In 4A Semifinals

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   It's week two of the semifinal round across the state and Prep Redzone Oklahoma will get you ready for all of the games coming up this week. Now, as a reminder, we had our first week of semifinals last week and while a lot of attention this week will be on the state championship games at UCO, we'll see some great semifinal football in classes 4A-A this week. Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma all week for in-depth looks at every semifinal contest. And we begin today with Class 4A.   #1 ELGIN (12-0) VS #5 CUSHING (11-1) Friday - 7:00PM - Putnam City North H.S.   It's #1 Elgin facing #5 Cushing with a spot in the state championship on the line Friday night. The Owls are defending state champions and they're one win away from getting a chance to defend that title. Prior to their 2024 title run, Elgin had never been out of the quarterfinal round. Now, they're a win away from back to back trips to the state championship. Similar to last season, Elgin has been absolutely dominant from start to finish this season. They've won every game by at least 18 points and show no signs of slowing down as they head into this match-up with Cushing. The Tigers have been borderline perfect all season as well. Their only slip up was in week one, losing on the road to Bristow by four points. They haven't lost since and that includes dominating their way to a district championship. They have one of the more explosive offenses in the state and that's been on full display during this playoff run. We're only a few years removed from Cushing playing for the state title in 2022 and they're hungry to return.   ELGIN PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='1680012' first='Cayden' last='Belletto'] - Junior Quarterback   Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1680012' first='Cayden' last='Belletto'] was stepping into a unique situation this year, where he was replacing arguably the school's best quarterback in program history. Not an easy position to be in but Belletto was ready for the challenge and he's certainly lived up to it. He has Elgin one win away from making it back to the state championship game and he's been incredibly productive all season, including taking care of the ball and leading this offense up and down the field. Our next Elgin player to watch is Belletto's backfield running mate and he certainly helps but the Elgin junior signal caller has exceeded all preseason expectations as we head into the semifinal round Friday night.   [player_tooltip player_id='472321' first='Ritson' last='Meyer'] - Senior Running Back/Linebacker   Senior running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='472321' first='Ritson' last='Meyer'] was one of the breakout stars from the 2024 football season. So there was no doubt that he was coming into this fall as one of the state's very best players. And he's certainly lived up to all the preseason hype and then some. Simply put, he's an absolute workhorse who can carry a team on his shoulders all season. With a win on Friday night, Meyer and the Owls return to Edmond, where the last time we saw him, he was carrying the ball 40+ times and leading Elgin to the gold ball. In addition to what he's able to do on offense, he's also been a big part of the defense, lining up at linebacker and making plays there as well.   CUSHING PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='1292085' first='Kellen' last='Fry'] - Senior Running Back/Lineabcker   Cushing has some of the most underrated and productive players in Class 4A and we start with senior [player_tooltip player_id='1292085' first='Kellen' last='Fry'] at running back and linebacker. Offensively, Fry has been a solid running back, coming into Friday's semifinal with over 1,000 yards on the ground. But it's on defense where Fry is an absolute monster. Last season, the Cushing standout finished the year with over 150 tackles and 25 tackles for loss. As we head into Friday's semifinal clash with Elgin, Fry is ten tackles away from 200 on the season and he has 28 tackles for loss. Simply put, he is always around the football. And with Elgin having one of the best workhorse backs in the state. That will be a fun match-up to watch when these two collide.   [player_tooltip player_id='1719591' first='Roman' last='Tucker'] - Senior Quarterback/Defensive Back   Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1719591' first='Roman' last='Tucker'] had a very solid junior season but he's been one of the most improved players this year. Based on the numbers alone, Tucker has to be considered one of the best players in Class 4A this season. He's thrown for over 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns while also adding over 800 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. It seemed like Tucker was included in our weekly Top Performer feature every week because of the performances he was having. Throw in the fact that he's a standout on defense, coming into this week with over 100 tackles and he's one of the team's top ball hawks in the secondary and you have perhaps the most underrated star player in the state.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   #2 TUTTLE (12-0) VS #3 BROKEN BOW (11-1) Friday - 7:00PM - East Central University   #2 Tuttle faces #3 Broken Bow Friday night and this is a match-up featuring two of the best quarterbacks in the state. Arguably the best pocket passer and arguably the best dual-threat QB will square off with a spot in Edmond on the line. Tuttle is looking to make it back to the state title game for the second straight year. They haven't forgotten what happened last year and have been dominating every team standing in the way of making a return trip to Edmond next week. The Tigers have won every game this season by 20+ points and they haven't really been challenged since week one. On the other side is Broken Bow and the Savages have earned their way here. They've been challenged week after week, playing in the toughest district in Class 4A. They're back in the semifinals for the first time in 15 years and they've earned their way here, capturing the district title and taking care of business in the first two rounds. Their only slip up was a week five loss to Sallisaw and they've been very impressive ever since.   TUTTLE PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='473754' first='Cruz' last='Campbell'] - Senior Quarterback   You can make a strong argument that senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='473754' first='Cruz' last='Campbell'] is the state's top traditional pocket passer. From the start of last season to now, Campbell has been flawless in the Tuttle backfield. And we've watched a lot of Campbell over the last two years at Tuttle and in various 7v7 tournaments. He's surgical in the backfield, slicing up defenses with ease. He has one of the best deep balls in the state and it seems like he never gets rattled. He's executing this offense to near perfection and there's a reason why every team this season hasn't been able to hold the Tigers down offensively. It starts with the quarterback and Campbell has been one of the best all season long.   [player_tooltip player_id='1400727' first='Shawn' last='Rounsaville Jr'] - Senior Running Back   Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1400727' first='Shawn' last='Rounsaville Jr'] is another player that should be getting more pub than he has this season. But again, when you're sharing the backfield with one of the best quarterbacks in the state, that can make things difficult. But it hasn't mattered if we've watched him in person, on film or just looked at his production. Rounsaville is one of the more reliable running backs in Class 4A. When teams have done whatever they can to take away Tuttle's passing game, Rounsaville has been right there to make them pay. And let's face it. At Tuttle's core as a program, they are a physical team that will line up and smack the team in front of them and that's how Rounsaville plays.   BROKEN BOW PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='1525562' first='Greydon' last='Howell'] - Junior Quarterback   We've been on the record multiple times this year that we believe that junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1525562' first='Greydon' last='Howell'] is the most electric football player in the state. At various times this season, Howell has been equally likely to throw for 300 yards and five touchdowns as he is to run for 200-250 yards and five touchdowns. A play is simply never dead when Howell is running around in the Broken Bow backfield. While Tuttle has the more traditional pocket passer, Broken Bow will counter with a highlight machine at the quarterback position. But there is no doubt when you look at this match-up that Howell and the Savages will be facing one of their toughest tests against Tuttle Friday night.   [player_tooltip player_id='1171160' first='Kade' last='Pratt'] - Junior Linebacker   Nobody has been able to slow down the Tuttle offense but Broken Bow will give them everything they got. Led by junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1171160' first='Kade' last='Pratt'] the Savages have been playing aggressive defense all season. Pratt has become one of the top linebackers in Class 4A this season, coming into this week's semifinal game with over 150 tackles and over 30 tackles for loss. Pratt joined the Savages this offseason and it has ended up being incredibly beneficial for both sides. Pratt has become the leader of this defense and the Savages have a captain in the middle of their defense that has a motor that doesn't slow down. Pratt and Broken Bow will do whatever they have to do to slow Tuttle down.

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!