Potential Bracket Busters: Class 6A and 5A

Well, it is November, and somehow with all the chaos that has been 2020, we made it to the playoffs. This year, believe it or not, the format is a little different. Essentially every team that wanted to play received the chance to make the playoffs, so there are a lot of extra matchups we wouldn’t usually get. Some may end up being blowouts as some of the lesser teams in the state have to match up against traditional powerhouses in the play-in round, but we could see some upsets from good teams who are in a stacked district and would not have made the playoffs in previous years. Many classes in the state are expected to be chalk across the board for the playoffs, meaning the top teams do what they’re supposed to, but there are a few teams in each class that I think have an outside chance of shocking some people and upsetting their way to a few wins and maybe even a state championship appearance for some. Here are the teams that I think have a chance at doing so in 6A1, 6A2, and 5A. <strong>Disclaimer:</strong> Before I pick my teams for 6A I want to clarify that 6A is much different than the rest of the state. There are only 16 teams in 6A-I and 15 in 6A-II with 2 districts in each class, so most of these teams have already played each other in the regular season. Due to that, the teams I picked may not seem like huge underdogs, but it was hard to choose a team who finished 4th or 5th in either of these districts to make it far when they have already lost by double digits to some of these teams at the top. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Class 6A-I</strong></span> <strong>Broken Arrow - 3rd Place in District 1</strong> They have not performed up to the level they probably wanted to coming into the season, but the Tigers are in prime position to make a big run. With close, one-possession losses to Jenks and Edmond Santa Fe, BA finished third in their district and is fortunate enough to not have Owasso on their side of the bracket. With experienced playmakers <span style="font-size: 1rem;">on both sides of the ball</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> such as [player_tooltip player_id="38672" first="Maurion" last="Horn"], [player_tooltip player_id="38550" first="Sanchez" last="Banks"], and [player_tooltip player_id="38511" first="Darryan" last="Moss"], BA is more than capable of taking down Putnam City and most likely Union in the second round to set up a rematch with Santa Fe (barring an upset) where it will be anybody’s ball game with a shot at the state title game on the line.  </span> <strong>Norman North - 3rd Place in District 2</strong> This is the more unlikely team to make a run and the bigger underdog of the two teams I chose in this class, but crazier things have happened. Norman North has a couple of ugly losses this season and would have a less than ideal matchup against Jenks in the second round if both teams win this week, but believe it or not, they are the only team in the state to come within 14 of Owasso this season. That’s right, the final score of their game was 33-22 and if it wasn’t for a slow start to the second half of that game, the Timberwolves might have had a chance. It is not the most likely of outcomes, but if they can start fast and get their playmakers such as Gabe Trevillson going early, Norman North has a chance to shock the state and make a run to the semifinals for a rematch with Owasso. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Class 6A-II</strong></span> <strong>Midwest City - 2nd Place in District 1</strong> While they are the highest-seeded team in their quadrant, Midwest City will likely have to go through Booker T and Bixby to get to the title game, so the odds are against them. However, with stars such as [player_tooltip player_id="38499" first="Makale" last="Smith"], the Bombers have one of the better and more athletic defenses in the state that can keep them in most games. If they can get hot and stay hot on offense, they have shown that they can score consistently on just about anyone in the state. I don’t know if I’m ready to pick anyone over Bixby before the state championship game, but I won’t be surprised if Midwest City keeps things close with Bixby and makes the Spartans earn their 8th straight title game birth. <strong>Putnam City North - 3rd Place in District 1</strong> Coming into the season we liked PC North as and up and coming team and they have outperformed what I personally thought they would. They have looked dominant in their wins, allowing no more than 14 points in all 7 of them, but have looked lackluster in their losses, where they surrendered at least 35 points in their 2 defeats. They have the offensive firepower to compete with and potentially beat Choctaw in the second round, the question will be if their playoff inexperience at key positions such as QB will take effect, but the same could be said for the Yellow Jackets as they roll out a Sophomore QB. Based on the results of their week 10 game against the Pioneers, I don’t think PC North will be making it to the state championship, but I think it is well in the cards for them to make a run to the semis if their defense can step up and make some plays when they matchup against Choctaw. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Class 5A</strong></span> <strong>Pryor - 2nd Place in District 4</strong> <strong>McAlester - 3rd Place in District 3</strong> I’m going to bunch these two together because they are in the same quadrant and will likely play each other in the second round. For Pryor, their only loss in 5A this year came to district champion Collinsville who is on the opposite side of the bracket, and other than an overtime win over Claremore in week 10, Pryor has averaged over 40 points per game on offense, including their loss to Collinsville. With Senior transfer QB [player_tooltip player_id="38570" first="Ben" last="Ward"] at the helm, this Pryor offense has enough talent and big-game experience to compete with any team on their side of the bracket. For McAlester, they are one of the scarier 3 seeds in the state. They are 8-2 on the year with both of their losses being decided by 3 points to Coweta and Bishop Kelley. Outside of those 2 losses, most of their games have been blowouts where their offense has dropped over 30 points against some talented teams. With the emergence of <strong>Junior QB Trent Boatright</strong> and <strong>Sophomore RB Erik Mccarty</strong>, the Buffaloes have one of the most underrated backfields in 5A. This matchup between Pryor and McAlester will likely be one of the best in the state next week if both teams take care of business this week. I like [player_tooltip player_id="38570" first="Ben" last="Ward"]’s talent and playoff experience, so my money, for now, is on Pryor to win this one. Regardless of the outcome next week, either one of these teams has the resume and the talent to shake up the 5A bracket in a huge way. With Carl Albert and Collinsville on the other side of the bracket, don’t be surprised if one of these teams ends up in the semi-finals. &nbsp; &nbsp;