One of the more underrated parts of the 2022 football season were how some prospects had to find new high school homes as their former schools wouldn’t be able to field a football team. That was the case for running back Blaze Baugh Blaze Baugh 5'10" | RB McAlester | 2023 State OK after Talihina wasn’t going to play football in 2022. He would land at McAlester, where they would fall to Carl Albert in the state championship game. The Titans had a few players who moved to the district after their former school also folded on the 2022 football season. But for Baugh, he stepped into a situation where he was a backup to a star in Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK . He played in various moments throughout the season but when McCarty went down with a season-ending injury in the playoffs, Baugh would step up in a big way. He was an absolute star for the Buffaloes and did enough to earn a spot among some of the better running backs.

Without star running back Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK , the Buffaloes turned to fellow senior running back Blaze Baugh Blaze Baugh 5'10" | RB McAlester | 2023 State OK , who was coming off one of the best performances of his career in the semifinal win over Bishop McGuinness. Baugh would be McAlester’s leading rusher with 62 yards on 16 carries. His story is an interesting one to follow and he should get some looks to play college ball. He played at Talihina but with their football program unable to field a team, Baugh had to find a place to get on the field. He found a home with McAlester and shared the backfield with the OU commit until he went down in the quarterfinals against Piedmont. Baugh showed what he could do if he was the feature back in an offense against McGuinness and he had success running the ball on Saturday.

Fresh off a performance in the semifinals where he finished with over 250 yards and three touchdowns, how could you not include senior running back Blaze Baugh Blaze Baugh 5'10" | RB McAlester | 2023 State OK in this feature? While the Buffaloes will miss senior star and Oklahoma commit Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK , Baugh was able to show that the Buffaloes can still run down hill last week against Bishop McGuinness. Before the semifinal game against the Irish, Baugh had 393 yards and three touchdowns in the previous 12 games. His season-high was 80 yards back in week two. He had 258 yards and three touchdowns in the semifinals alone. Baugh will be important to the McAlester offense in the state title game as they try to put a dent in the Carl Albert defense. The Titans are feeling confident after doing a good job containing Grove’s high-powered running attack.

With the status of star running back Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK not looking good going into this week’s semifinal round, that will open things up on the offensive side of the ball for senior running back Blaze Baugh Blaze Baugh 5'10" | RB McAlester | 2023 State OK . The senior is the second-leading rusher on the team and has shown the ability this season to make some big plays. Baugh moved into McAlester after playing at Talihina last year and gave the Buffaloes some much-needed depth on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Baugh is coming off a good performance against Piedmont and he’ll look to continue that this week against Bishop McGuinness. His performance against Piedmont in the quarterfinals was his second best game of the year.