Class 3A Title First Look

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   The Class 3A state championship game is set for Thursday night at 7PM in Edmond and we'll see #2 Metro Christian squaring off with #3 Heritage Hall. Metro looks to complete the perfect season and win their third state title in the last four seasons. Meanwhile, Heritage Hall looks to capture their first gold ball since 2018. Prep Redzone Oklahoma will have plenty of content throughout the week, previewing the state title game and then plenty to check out during and following Thursday's game. But up now, we take our first look at the 3A state championship game.   #2 METRO CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS (13-0)   Sept. 2 - Beat NOAH 41-9 Sept. 9 - Beat Poteau 35-31 Sept. 16 - Beat Prairie Grove, AR. 41-21 Sept. 23 - Beat Mount Saint Mary 50-14 Sept. 30 - Beat Perkins-Tryon 63-28 Oct. 7 - Beat McLoud 35-0 Oct. 13 - Beat Kingfisher 42-7 Oct. 21 - Beat Mannford 55-6 Oct. 28 - Beat Anadarko 45-6 Nov. 4 - Beat North Rock Creek 41-12 1st Round - Beat Pauls Valley 41-14 Quarterfinals - Beat Cascia Hall 49-19 Semifinals - Beat Lincoln Christian 49-35   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 2-0 (3rd Title Appearance)   For just the third time in school history, Metro Christian is playing for the state championship. Despite being one of the more consistent winning programs in the Tulsa area, Metro has only made it to the title games two times and they came in the last four years. They first found their way to Edmond in 2019 and then went again the following year and raised the gold ball each time. Those two championships were in Class 2A and this is their first year after moving up to Class 3A. That has been one of the themes for Metro Christian over the last decade. They consistently move up and down the various classes and we've seen the Patriots play in 2A, 3A and 4A in the last ten years.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 45.2 Points Per Game   On the offensive side of the ball, Metro Christian has one of the best passing attacks in the state, regardless of class. And because of that passing attack, the Patriots are averaging 45.2 points per game heading into this week. Their offense played a flawless game in the semifinals as they put up 49 points on a very strong Heritage Hall defense. A big reason the Patriots are unbeaten and one win away from the state title is the firepower they have on the offensive side of the ball. They'll lean on that offensive firepower one more time on Thursday.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 15.3 Points Per Game   While the offense gets a lot of headlines, and that's been the case for a long time now with Metro Christian, the defense has been outstanding throughout the season as well. They are giving up an average of 15.3 points per game. The Patriots don't have a ton of star power on the defensive side of the ball but they have experience and they do a good job of forcing turnovers. In their semifinal win over Lincoln Christian, it was two turnovers early on that helped put Metro Christian up early. And from there, they were going to roll to the semifinal win.   NOTABLE   We'll have much more on this later in the week during our "Players To Watch" post but Metro Christian is playing for the state championship this week in large part due to senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='38790' first='Kirk' last='Francis']. The Metro starter has been one of the best quarterbacks in the state since bursting onto the scene as a sophomore, helping lead the Patriots to a second straight state title in 2020. Francis has put up monster numbers all year and it seems like he always plays at his best in the biggest games of the year. In their semifinal win over top-ranked Lincoln Christian, Francis accounted for nearly 500 yards of total offense and played a flawless game from start to finish.   #3 HERITAGE HALL CHARGERS (12-1)   Sept. 1 - Beat Millwood 35-28 Sept. 9 - Lost To Clinton 28-7 Sept. 16 - Beat John Marshall 43-0 Sept. 23 - Beat Lone Grove 56-14 Sept. 30 - Beat Pauls Valley 56-20 Oct. 7 - Beat Douglass 41-8 Oct. 13 - Beat Dickson 58-20 Oct. 21 - Beat Plainview 50-14 Oct. 28 - Beat Sulphur 41-6 Nov. 3 - Beat Marlow 31-7 1st Round - Beat Anadarko 42-14 Quarterfinals - Beat Stigler 55-23 Semifinals - Beat Verdigris 41-20   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: 7-1 (9th Title Appearance)   Heritage Hall is back into the state championship game for the ninth time in school history and the first time since winning it all in 2018. The Chargers made and won four state championship games from 2014-2018 but haven't been back since and there's been one program standing in the way. The Chargers lost to Lincoln Christian in the 3A semifinals three years in a row and for the first time since moving back down to Class 3A, the Chargers were on the opposite side of the bracket from the Bulldogs. They almost saw Lincoln again this year but Metro Christian took them out in the semifinals on Friday night. This Charger group is hungry to go out as a state champion.   OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 42.8 Points Per Game   Heritage Hall comes into this week averaging 42.8 points per game and they have a balanced attack on the offensive side of the ball. The Chargers have been playing some of their best football on that side of the ball in the last few weeks. The Chargers have an outstanding backfield that can dominate the run game. But Heritage Hall maintains a strong balance on that side of the ball with the pass and the run. While they might lean to the running game this week, don't overlook Heritage Hall's abilities to create big plays with the passing game.   DEFENSIVE PRODUCTION: 15.6 Points Per Game   Heritage Hall's defense is right there with Metro Christian in terms of the points given up this season. The Chargers have given up on average 15.6 points per game this season. The Chargers have been one of the more consistent defensive teams in the state this season. The most points they've given up this year came in the season opener to Millwood when the Chargers won 35-28. Heritage Hall will lean on that defense to slow down a Metro Christian offense that has scored at least 30 points in every game. Something has to give.   NOTABLE   Similar to the note on Metro Christian, we'll have much more on this later in the week in our "Players To Watch" feature, but leading the Chargers this season has been senior running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='155875' first='River' last='Faulkner']. The senior standout was one of the more consistent players for the Chargers last season as a junior, despite battling some nagging injuries throughout. This season, Faulkner had to watch from the sidelines throughout non-district play. But when he returned, he quickly made up for lost time. Faulkner and this senior group is hungry for the gold ball. They're looking to avoid becoming the first senior class to come through Heritage Hall and not win a title during their time.

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