3A Midseason Report

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second half of the regular season kicks off this week and the hunt for district championships, favorable playoff seeding and a spot in the playoffs in general really heat up. This week, we're taking a look at each class with a breakdown on the midseason MVP, favorites to win it all and much more! We continue today with Class 3A Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more midseason reports on each class!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE FAVORITES</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heritage Hall Chargers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heritage Hall might be the quiet assassin&nbsp;in Class 3A this season. Despite the rich history, there hasn't been much chatter around this program. They started 0-2 with losses to Shiloh Christian and Lincoln Christian but have won their last three and look to continue that momentum into district play. And the Chargers rarely lose district games. Let's face it, Heritage Hall no longer has to worry about Lincoln Christian and that's been their main roadblock in the playoffs over the last several years. Don't be surprised if Heritage Hall goes on a run, finds their way to Edmond and is right there in the mix for the gold ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jones Longhorns</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jones came into this season as the top-ranked team in Class 3A and they still sit in the top spot, despite a week zero loss to Lincoln Christian. The Longhorns have been dominant the rest of the way and their offense looks like a unit that is not going to be slowed down anytime soon. And moving forward, it will be an interesting dynamic because on one hand, this is a team that won the 2A-1 state title a year ago. But they also have plenty of new faces this year on the field and on the sidelines. But when the playoffs roll around, it would be unwise to overlook this team as they could be the favorite to win it all.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mount St. Mary Rockets</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest question we have about Mount St. Mary moving forward is can they do it in the playoffs? The Rockets are playing with as much momentum right now as they've ever had in program history. They rallied from a 21-0 deficit to beat Marlow on the road a few weeks ago and backed that up with a dominant win over Plainview last week. But they also lost at home to Jones by 21 points. So when the playoffs roll around, which Mount St. Mary team will show up? And when the playoffs get here, the Rockets will be in a position they've never been in before as a true title contender but there is a first time for everything.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sulphur Bulldogs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sulphur is in a similar position to Heritage Hall as we head into the second half of the regular season. The only blemish on their record came in non-district play to a Texas program. And the Bulldogs have reloaded to make another run at the 3A state title after finishing as Runner Up the last two seasons. Just like Heritage Hall, the Bulldogs no longer have to worry about Lincoln Christian after falling to Lincoln in the last two state title games. Perhaps there is a Heritage Hall-Sulphur showdown coming, which would have plenty of storylines. But Sulphur expects to be playing in Edmond in December and have looked the part in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE DARK HORSE</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marlow Outlaws</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marlow looked as good as you can look in the first three games and then the first half of the district opener. The Outlaws rolled to a 3-0 start and had Mount St. Mary down 21-0. But they let that one slip away but we don't think the Outlaws are going to let the season slip away. We think that Marlow is going to be right back in the mix when the playoffs roll around. They will look to close out the regular season strong in arguably the toughest district in the state. The playoff path might be more difficult but on paper, this Marlow team looks like they can play with just about anybody. And the Outlaws are used to playing deep into the postseason.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON MVP</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1164601' first='Jett' last='Frankum'] - 2028 Running Back/Defensive Back - Plainview</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a lot of good options in Class 3A but we're giving the nod to Plainview junior [player_tooltip player_id='1164601' first='Jett' last='Frankum'] because he's been an absolute maniac in the first half of the regular season in all three phases of the game. Offensively, he's been one of the best running backs in the state, regardless of class. In last week's match up against a physical MSM run defense, he provided a second quarter spark. Showing off long speed and amazing tackle breaking ability. Defensively, he's always around the football and has emerged as one of the top tacklers. And he's shown the ability to be an impact player as a return man. Frankum has exceeded all preseason expectations and even in games that the Indians have come up short, he still finds a way to be one of the best players on the field.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1667339' first='Jeymon' last='Reed'] - 2029 Quarterback - Jones</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This shouldn't be a surprise as Jones quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1667339' first='Jeymon' last='Reed'] was last year's PRZ-Oklahoma Freshman Of The Year and he's only gotten bigger, faster and stronger heading into his sophomore season. It was a rough start for Reed and the Longhorns back in week zero but you can see they've turned the page and he's really found a groove in this offense over the last few weeks. We mentioned earlier how the Longhorns have held on to the top spot in the Class 3A rankings and Reed is a major reason why. This is going to be a very fun offense to watch with him leading the way down the stretch and heading into the playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON&nbsp;DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1838499' first='Michael' last='Morris'] - 2028 Linebacker - Sulphur</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one was a tough one as there have been some really good defensive performances so far this season. But we're giving the nod to Sulphur junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1838499' first='Michael' last='Morris'] as he's emerged as one of the top tacklers in Class 3A and has taken a major step forward as a leader on this Sulphur defense. And when we think of Sulphur football, we think of a physical run game and a defense that wants to hit you hard and hit you often. That's been Morris' game and with him stepping into a bigger role this season, he's been able to answer the call. It looks like Morris has the Bulldogs in a position to make another deep run in 3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">STORYLINE TO FOLLOW</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What Happens In District 1?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PRZ-Oklahoma talked a lot this summer about district 1 in Class 3A and how it looked like the toughest district in the state. Through the first few games of district play, nothing has changed that opinion. There are currently four teams from this district in the top ten rankings with Kingfisher, Marlow, Mount St. Mary and Plainview. That doesn't even include North Rock Creek, who is 4-1 on the season. And like we've said for the last three months, there is going to be a good football team that gets left out of the postseason. Kingfisher and Mount St. Mary are the only teams with unbeaten district records. Watching this district from week to week is definitely something we'll be doing in the next month as teams battle for playoff positioning and looking to avoid being on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around. But when the playoffs begin, the four playoff teams from this district will be battle-tested heading into the postseason. It wouldn't be crazy to see those four teams end up making runs in November.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->