(FREE) Gridiron Classic Recap

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The 2021 football season is upon us and scrimmages opened up this week. Prep Redzone Oklahoma was on the scene in Tulsa as Union hosted five other schools for scrimmages and three mini games. Among the schools participating were Bentonville, Edmond Santa Fe, Owasso, Springdale Har-Ber, Union and Westmoore. Check out our mini game recaps below and be sure to stay tuned in as we release a scouting report later today on some of the standouts from each team. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 35, WESTMOORE 7 Springdale Har-Ber owned this mini game from their first possession. After stopping Westmoore in Wildcat territory, the Arkansas program would turn around and score on a 62-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Luke Buchanan. That would be the first of five passing touchdowns from Buchanan as he threw for nearly 250 yards in just two quarters of action. In fact, he didn’t even play all of the possessions but still put up monster numbers. Westmoore struggled on their next three possessions but would put together a solid drive to start the second quarter of the two-quarter mini game. The 9-play drive would end in a 1-yard touchdown run from Kaibren Grant. That would be their only touchdown of the evening as the Wildcats went back to Arkansas with a 35-7 blowout victory. TURNING POINT Westmoore had the ball first and they put together a decent drive that got into Springdale Har-Ber territory. They had a nice blend of running the ball and passing. However, the drive would stall and Springdale Har-Ber would score just a few plays later. That began the scoring outburst from the Wildcats and Westmoore just got into a deeper and deeper hole. PLAYER OF THE GAME Luke Buchanan - 2023 Quarterback - Springdale Har-Ber Buchanan played flawless football on Thursday evening as he threw for nearly 250 yards and five touchdowns. Not only was he putting up big numbers in the passing game, he was able to distribute the ball to several different receivers. Multiple Har-Ber receivers ended up catching touchdowns and it was very apparent that this Har-Ber offense, specifically the passing game, would be pretty salty this fall over in Arkansas. WHAT’S NEXT Westmoore AT McKinney North, TX - August 28th @ 2PM The Jaguars will have some time to regroup before they kick off their season down in the Lone Star state for week zero. On Saturday afternoon, the Jaguars will travel south to face McKinney North. From all of our research, this appears to be the first time that Westmoore has played an out of state opponent. These two teams were supposed to play last year but because Texas delayed the start of their season, Westmoore opened the 2020 campaign against Midwest City instead. McKinney North is coming off a 2020 season in which they went 3-7 on the year.

OWASSO 28, BENTONVILLE 21 Despite not having arguably their top offensive weapon in 2023 wide receiver , the Owasso offense did not show any signs of weakness as they would beat Bentonville 28-21. Bentonville would get the ball first and after converting a pair of third downs, the drive would end in a punt. After a special teams blunder by the Rams, Owasso’s first possession would start at their own 2-yard line. It didn’t matter. Owasso would execute a 8 play, 98-yard drive that would end in a 38-yard touchdown pass from 2023 quarterback to 2022 wide receiver . Havens was a perfect 5-5 on the drive. Despite not having Adams, Havens and backup 2023 quarterback had no problem finding receivers. Austin had over 100 yards receiving. Also getting in on the scoring was 2022 wideout , he took a short pass from Willingham and went 80 yards for a score on the first possession of a drive to give the Rams the 28-14 lead. 2022 receiver had a big night as well. However, towards the end of the mini game, Carney was hit hard near the Owasso sideline and would have to leave the game. 2022 running back also had a short touchdown run as he and 2022 running back and 2023 running back shared the reps at running back. Willingham also added a 10-yard touchdown run to go with his passing touchdown to Thomas. Bentonville would make it interesting and their passing game was very successful at times against Owasso’s secondary, but the end result was never really in doubt as the Rams took care of business. TURNING POINT We’ll go with the very first possession for the Rams as the turning point of the game. Owasso had to start at their own 2-yard line and within a few plays they were already across midfield. It was very apparent that the Rams’ offense was executing on all cylinders and it’s scary to think what they’ll look like when they have all of their weapons on the field as Adams was not suited up for the game. Owasso’s offensive line is also brand new with five new starters and that didn’t seem to be a problem either. The Rams might have one of the best offenses in the state this fall. PLAYER OF THE GAME Austin Havens Austin Havens 6'3" | 205 lbs | QB Bixby | 2023 State OK - 2023 Quarterback - Owasso Following up on the turning point, it was obvious from the start that 2023 quarterback was completely comfortable in the Owasso backfield. He led the 98-yard drive on their first possession where he completed all five of his passes, including his 38-yard bomb to . And overall, Havens just looked like a seasoned vet behind a completely new offensive line. He’ll be running the ball a little more this fall but throwing it to all of these weapons was his first priority and he did that very well. Havens went 10-12 and threw for nearly 150 yards on the day. QUOTABLE Owasso Head Coach Bill Blankenship On His Offense’s Success "I thought it was really good. We never really got stalled. Even on that last drive, I thought we were pretty close to finishing it up. Overall, I’m really pleased. But I still don’t think we executed as well as I would like. I think methodical is a pretty good description of it." WHAT’S NEXT Owasso AT Edmond Santa Fe - August 27th The top ranked Rams will open up their 2021 season against Edmond Santa Fe for the second straight year. Owasso will travel to Edmond for this opener after beating the Wolves 48-21 in the season-opener a year ago. Edmond Santa Fe comes into this season as the #4 team in our 6A-1 preseason rankings, coming off a state championship appearance a year ago. They were blown out by Owasso in the opener a year ago as they trailed 35-7 after just one quarter. Owasso’s offense scored on five of their first eight plays on the evening. It will be #1 VS #4 in 6A-1 to open up the season next week.

UNION 28, EDMOND SANTA FE 19 It was lights out for Edmond Santa Fe as Union rolled over the Wolves in the final mini game of the evening. Union would beat Edmond Santa Fe 28-19. The Wolves ended Union’s season last year in the 6A-1 semifinals. Union jumped on Santa Fe early and often and led 28-6 at one point. They got the scoring going on their first possession that ended in a 39-yard touchdown run from 2023 quarterback Grayson Tempest. Union would score on their next possession when 2022 standout went 31-yards for the score to make it 14-0. The Wolves would score on their first possession of the second quarter but Union quickly erased all doubts of a comeback as they went on a nine play drive that ended in Banks’ second touchdown of the game. On the very next Santa Fe play, the wolves would fumble the ball right into the hands of Union 2022 defensive back and he would scamper into the end zone to give Union the 28-6 lead. The Wolves would score a defensive touchdown and also a 40-yard touchdown pass to but it would not be enough. Shettron ended the game with well over 100 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns. The combination of Union 2022 running backs and , along with a powerful offensive line has Union as one of the top teams in 6A-1. Smith carried the ball seven times for 53 yards and also had a 35-yard reception. Banks scored on both of his carries and finished with 40 yards rushing along with a 4-yard reception. TURNING POINT Without a doubt the turning point here was the back to back plays that ended in Union touchdowns. Union scored on Banks’ second rushing touchdown to give them a 21-6 lead. And on the very first play of Santa Fe’s next possession, Union put the game away on a scoop and score to go up 28-6. After that, the Wolves would score twice but the hole was too much to overcome. PLAYER OF THE GAME Grayson Tempest - 2023 Quarterback - Union While the Union rushing attack will be their strength throughout the season, don’t sleep on their junior quarterback Grayson Tempest taking advantage of defenses that might be too aggressive. Tempest was very efficient, especially working the playaction passing game. He threw for over 150 yards and a touchdown and only had four incompletions on the evening. Tempest also showed that they don’t just weapons at running back, he also added the 39-yard touchdown to get the scoring going for Union. QUOTABLE Union Head Coach Kirk Fridrich On Where His Team Is At Right Now "I feel like we’re lightyears ahead of where we were a year ago. We feel like we have a lot more offense and defense installed than maybe we would have last year. What you’re seeing now is some kids executing some high-level stuff. We played well and had great effort. But I’m excited to see the film and see where we can correct mistakes. So now we get a chance to talk to our kids about correct angles to be at or their blocking or whatever it might be and not just that they didn’t know the play. And that’s what I’m most excited about." WHAT’S NEXT Edmond Santa Fe VS Owasso - August 27th As mentioned above in the Owasso breakdown, Edmond Santa Fe is opening their season against the Rams. Just like last year, the Rams come in as the preseason #1 team in 6A-1. The Wolves have to be excited to get another shot at the Rams after last year’s opening week blunder. Turnovers and quick 3 & out possessions doomed the Wolves from the start. They were beaten 48-21 but if Owasso doesn’t have the first quarter they had, it would have been a different game. Once Santa Fe settled in, they played well against the Rams, but at that point, it was too late. We expect both teams to rely on the passing game as they both excel in that department. We could see a shootout in this one. Union VS Mansfield Lake Ridge - August 27th While the Owasso-Santa Fe game will be a marquee match-up, another Oklahoma VS Texas battle will happen as Union hosts Mansfield Lake Ridge. The Mansfield schools have played several Tulsa-area schools for a few years now but the series was paused last year due to Covid. However, it’s back on and Lake Ridge will come up to Tulsa as both teams will be starting their 2021 season. Last year, Lake Ridge went 0-10 during the 2020 season. These two teams have played twice in the past. Union won 36-30 in 2018 and Lake Ridge would win another close and high-scoring game in 2019 with a 47-44 victory.