5A Midseason Report

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 this evening with Class 5A Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more midseason reports on each class!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE FAVORITES</h2>   Carl Albert Titans   Defending champion Carl Albert has been pushed to the limits this season but they still enter the second half of the regular season with a perfect record and everyone chasing them in Class 5A. The Titans have now won 59 consecutive games and have wins over top five teams in Bishop McGuinness and Del City. The Titans came into this season with the target squarely on their back and they've passed every test put in front of them so far this season. Carl Albert should roll the rest of the way and all of those early season tests will put them in a good position when the playoffs begin. The Titans are looking for their fifth straight title and what would be their 21st in program history.    Coweta Tigers   You have to put Coweta in this category after they went on the road and beat Pryor and then beat Del City to open up district play. The Tigers are undefeated and looking like a team that could contend for the state championship. They are also in an interesting position because they are coming off a 2025 campaign where they won the district title and brought back the majority of their starters heading into this year. But they have a massive chip on their shoulder after being a district champion that was upset in the first round of the playoffs. They certainly haven't forgotten about that and look forward for some redemption when November rolls around. But they're focused on closing this season strong.    Elgin Owls   It doesn't matter what class Elgin is in at this point, they are always going to be considered a favorite. After making back to back trips to the 4A state championship game, including winning gold in 2024, the Owls are back in Class 5A and just as dominant as ever. This senior class has only lost two games in their careers and both came in the playoffs. Elgin has a big test this week at home against Newcastle but if the Owls take care of business, they could end up rolling to another district championship and a fourth straight undefeated regular season. Elgin has gotten used to playing in Edmond in December. Despite the move up from 4A to Class 5A, the expectation hasn't changed.    McGuinness-Pryor Winner   We could have put both teams here because honestly, regardless of what happens Friday night, both teams are still going to be teams to watch when the playoffs roll around. But we'll just say the winner of this week's Bishop McGuinness-Pryor game because that team will be in the driver's seat for the district championship. Both teams come into this week with one loss and both losses came to other 5A contenders featured in very close contests. Bishop McGuinness is coming off a 5A state title game appearance last year and Pryor went 10-0 and won the district title last year. Both teams came into this season expecting to be in the mix for the 5A crown and they are still in that mindset.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE DARK HORSE</h2>   Del City Eagles   Del City has a 3-2 record but they still need to be taken very seriously in the big picture of Class 5A. Those two losses came to top-ranked Carl Albert on a game-winning field goal with no time left and then to number four Coweta by two points. The Eagles should take care of business the rest of the way, although they do find themselves in a very competitive and deep district. So the tests will keep coming for Del City. But when the playoffs roll around, don't be surprised if the Eagles go on another deep run. We've seen Del City knocking on the door of capturing that 5A gold ball over the last several years and they aren't going anywhere this season. It would be unwise to overlook them moving forward.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON MVP</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='474870' first='Brock' last='Heilmann'] - 2027 Running Back - Coweta   When you're talking about just the first half of the season, it's hard to pick anyone other than Coweta senior [player_tooltip player_id='474870' first='Brock' last='Heilmann'] as the MVP of Class 5A. Coweta is looking like a major state title contender and it's because of the play of Heilmann. In their two biggest wins this season, against Del City and Pryor, Heilmann had some of his best performances. Against Pryor, he ran for over 250 yards and four touchdowns while adding over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown reception. Then against Del City, he ran for nearly 200 yards and accounted for both of Coweta's touchdowns. He's been one of the state's very best.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='1035154' first='Kaleb' last='Blackwolf'] - 2027 Running Back - Del City   Every time Del City's [player_tooltip player_id='1035154' first='Kaleb' last='Blackwolf'] has been on the field this season, he's been one of, if not the best football player on that field. Whether it's at running back, defense or in the return game, Blackwolf has had a significant impact on the season already. he's coming off a game against Glenpool where he ran for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns. His season-LOW this fall was 175 yards in an easy win over Midwest City. Blackwolf came into this season as one of the top athletes in the state and he's done nothing to suggest otherwise as we've reached the halfway mark of the season.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">MIDSEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='1637576' first='Joe' last='Thomas'] - 2027 Defensive Lineman - Carl Albert   Around Carl Albert, they call senior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1637576' first='Joe' last='Thomas'] "crazy Joe" and the nickname fits with his play on the field. He's been going crazy all season and the numbers back it up. On the season, Thomas has 50 tackles but half of those have come behind the line of scrimmage. When we say Thomas has been living in opposing backfields, it's not just a line. He has 25 tackles for loss and nobody has found a way to slow him down this season. Against a very difficult early schedule, Thomas elevated his play to new heights. There was no doubt that he was going to be the pick here for this.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">STORYLINE TO FOLLOW MOVING FORWARD</h2>   Class 5A Is A Running Back Class   There probably isn't another class in the state that has a deeper group of top tier and impactful running backs than Class 5A. We already mentioned Blackwolf and Heilmann and those two outstanding running backs are just the start of the conversation. Carl Albert has perhaps the best running back in the state when he's healthy in [player_tooltip player_id='693905' first='Delijah' last='Matthews'] but his back up Tylir Simmons broke out while Matthews missed a couple games. Pryor running back [player_tooltip player_id='1704643' first='Issac' last='Torres'] is coming off a game where he nearly ran for 500 yards in a win over Tahlequah. Newcastle's [player_tooltip player_id='1837353' first='Ben' last='Rogers'] is emerging as a legitimate star in the state's 2027 RB class. Bishop Kelley's [player_tooltip player_id='1828411' first='Wesley' last='Woody'] has the Comets looking like a serious contender in their district and he's doing it on both sides of the ball. Elgin has a legitimate two-headed monster at running back with [player_tooltip player_id='1836640' first='Braxten' last='Antuna'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1680014' first='Dalvin' last='Clark'] and both have had their moments in 2026. El Reno's [player_tooltip player_id='1839045' first='Grant' last='First'] is a player that hasn't been talked about enough but he's had some massive games in the first half of the regular season. This should come as a surprise to nobody but Collinsville has another emerging playmaker in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1726786' first='Beau' last='Daniels'] and the ceiling for him is high.  And you can't forget about Lawton MacArthur's [player_tooltip player_id='1182029' first='Connor' last='Claborn'] after he ran for 2,000 yards last season and has been just as impactful this season when he's on the field. There might be some names we missed here. But don't be surprised when the running backs on the 2026 All State Teams are mostly guys from Class 5A.

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 this evening with Class 5A Keep it locked in to Prep Redzone Oklahoma for more midseason reports on each class!