by Ben Johnson (@BenJohnsonTUL)7/6/2018 1:14:49 AM
posted in: Articles | 2,897 views
Look back at 2017
2017 district champs
3A-1: Oklahoma Christian School - Kingfisher gave OCS a run for its money in district play, but the Saints marched to a 28-22 victory against the Yellowjackets to close out the regular season. In the playoffs, Mason Arnold, who rushed for 1,368 yards his senior season, and the Saints almost knocked off Beggs, but the Demons moved on an eventually made the 3A championship game.
3A-2: Jones - The Longhorns were machine-like in 2017. It was a near cakewalk to 13-0, and it was the same story in the first three rounds of the playoffs. But then John Marshall got in the way. That's when Jones' season came to a half at 13-1.
3A-3: John Marshall - The Bears had weapons for days on their way to the 3A-3 title and the Class 3A crown. Both Devonte Lee and Trey Eason rushed for more than 1,000 yards, but it was Lee who amassed 2,175 yards and 35 touchdowns before heading off to Nevada to start his collegiate career.
3A-4: Sulphur - The only blemish the Bulldogs endured in the season's first 13 weeks was a loss to John Marshall out of district play. Beyond that, the Bulldogs rolled right up until the 3A semifinals. There, Beggs derailed Sulphur and its plans to advance to the title game.
3A-5: Berryhill - Had all the makings of a team poised to make a run at the title in 2017. The Chiefs pulled out a seven-point win over Sperry in district play for the crown, and Berryhill's defense was stout all season long. But then Tahlequah Sequoyah pulled off a 32-30 upset in the second of the 3A playoffs to stun Berryhill.
3A-6: Beggs - The Demons had no problem scoring points last season. Quarterback Dalton Spring and all his weapons put up 592 points in 14 weeks, including eight performance of 40-plus points. Beggs stormed its way to the 3A finals, but there points were hard to come by in a 14-7 loss to John Marshall.
3A-7: Jay - No one pegged as the 3A champion before the 2017 season started. That's when Gabe Simpson and company steamrolled their way to a 9-1 regular season, including an unbeaten run through district play. But in the second round of the playoffs, Sperry ousted the Bulldogs from the playoffs.
3A-8: Idabel -Offering up stout defense all year long, the Warriors only slip-up in district play was against Eufaula. Idabel did, however, knock off Muldrow, who tied with the Warriors atop the district standings. In the playoffs, Idabel beat Bristow in the second round of the postseason, but John Marshall ended the Warriors' season in the quarterfinals.
Talking title game: John Marshall 14, Beggs 7
Both John Marshall and Beggs could put up points at will in 2017, but neither succeeded in doing so in the championship game. The two teams combined for six turnovers in the title game, but it was Devonte Lee's 51-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to put the Bears ahead for good. Lee rushed for 223 yards on 25 carries in John Marshall's first championship since 1995.
On to 2018...
Players to watch
- Jett Sternberger (Kingfisher): The Yellowjacket quarterback was instrumental on offense all year long in 2017. Sternberger completed 183 of his 282 passes for 2,398 yards and 35 touchdowns.
- Trey Kiser (Sulphur): Bulldog tailback is gaining traction on the recruiting scene, thanks to his monster junior year in 2017. He rushed for 1,937 yards and 25 touchdowns on 195 carries, and he mixed in 100 tackles on defense.
- Jamon Dennis (Seminole): In 2017, Dennis was one of two 1,000-yard rushers for the Chieftains. Dennis racked up 1,121 yards and 12 touchdowns on 184 carries.
- Cameron Gunville (Seminole): Gunville joined Dennis in the 1,000-yard rushing club with 1,067 yards and 10 touchdowns on 167 carries.
- Chase Ricke (Lincoln Christian): Emerged on the scene last year as a sophomore and immediately took command of the Bulldogs' passing attack. Ricke passed for 3,055 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 222 of 367 attempts.
- Cody Ross (Berryhill): The Chiefs were led on offense by Ross, who completed 132 of 211 passes for 2,319 yards and 29 touchdowns.
- Jerod Leviston (John Marshall): Leviston takes over the Bears' offense with the departure of Devonte Lee. Last season, Leviston passed for 1,698 yards and 19 touchdowns.
- Kaysen Fisher (Mount Saint Mary): The leader of the Rockets' defense last season with 106 tackles and five sacks.
- Aaron Wolcott (Mannford): Landry
Wasson was the key cog for Mannford on offense last season, but now
Wolcott will look to build on his 919 yards and six touchdowns on 180
carries last season.
- Billy Ross (Heritage Hall): A
situational tailback during his freshman and sophomore years, Ross
emerged as a key playmaker for the Chargers in 2017. He had 1,388 yards
and 22 touchdowns on 168 carries, and he also caught 31 passes for 380
yards and four touchdowns. Then on defense, he added 49 tackles.
- Cole Crosswhite (Kingfisher): His rushing totals were down last year, but his effectiveness wasn't. Crosswhite is a true dual threat with lightning-quick moves and surprising power packed into his smaller frame.
District debriefs
(Note: Class 3A has only four districts for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.)
3A-1:
Things could get interesting here. First off, there's Heritage Hall,
who faced limited resistance en route to a 14-0 season and the 4A title
in 2017. The Chargers drop down a class and now share district space
with the reigning 3A champion, John Marshall. Then mix in a solid
Kingfisher team and 3A-1 offers up plenty of intrigue from start to
finish. Also vying for the 3A-1 crown the next two seasons will be
Blackwell, Bridge Creek, Mount Saint Mary, Mannford and Perkins-Tryon.
3A-2: Shades
of 3A-4 from the last couple of seasons. Sulphur and Plainview will
again clash for district supremacy, and they're once again joined by
Pauls Valley and Lone Grove. Bethel, Douglass, Purcell and Marlow round
out the rest of the district.
3A-3:
Break out the gas card for this group of eight, which spans from the
far southeast corner of the state up through east Tulsa. Idabel, Stigler
and Roland all stick together in the move from 3A-8. The rest includes a
mixture of Checotah, Seminole, Okmulgee, Webster and Lincoln Christian.
3A-4: Berryhill,
Claremore Sequoyah and Verdigris will all be familiar with one another,
while Inola, Locust Grove and Jay move in from 3A-7. Then there's
Cascia Hall and Vinita who both shift down from Class 4A.
What’s new? (coaching moves)
- Dusty Raper is now in charge at Pauls Valley, taking the place of Matt Weber.
- Speaking of Matt Weber, he's now in charge at Marlow.
- Former Roland coach Jeff Streun left, and assistant coach Waymon Potts was elevated to head coach.
-
Tragedy struck Okmulgee in the offseason when head coach Carl Lee died
due to complications with kidney cancer. The Bulldogs' new head coach is
Bruce Munden, who was recently the head coach at Hale.
- Dennis Parker retired at Idabel, and Jeffrey Gibson is now the head coach.
- Matt Hennesy led a resurgence at Locust Grove, and he took over at Pawhuska this summer. Now David Blevins is the head coach for the Pirates.
- Rob Gilbreath
spent eight seasons as the head coach at Claremore, and now he's back
in Claremore again -- this time as the head coach at Claremore Sequoyah.
Fun facts:
-
Brett Bogert took over for his dad, Andy, prior to the 2015 season. In
three years at the helm for the Chargers, Brett Bogert is 40-1 -- the
only loss being a quarterfinal setback against Cascia Hall in 2016.
- Cascia Hall head coach Joe Medina has been in charge of the midtown Tulsa school since 1999. During that time, Medina has gone 202-39.
- Then there's Mike Snyder at Seminole. Snyder has led the Chieftains since 1980 and has a record of 352-113.
Prediction time
Swisher - You know about Kingfisher's Trey Green and his basketball exploits. You'll read more about him and football this year | Captain Obvious: 3A-1 is a bit top-heavy | Defending champ John Marshall lost a lot of talent and its OC, but coaches tell me they don't expect a huge drop-off on the field | The class is loaded with quality teams. Maybe not "great" teams, but really good ones that will make the top-10 tough to pick each week | I can't go against Heritage Hall until someone beats the Chargers. Tough pre-district schedule will help prepare them for two anticipated district games and then a strong playoff run.
Whitt Carter - Sulphur's Trey Kiser is Oklahoma's best-kept secret | No, seriously. He might just be the best player in the class | Although 3A looks much different now, the smaller-sized class is loaded with good teams | And it's even tougher with the addition of Heritage Hall and Cascia Hall, both down from Class 4A | Familiar programs like Kingfisher, Lincoln Christian, Berryhill and Plainview will certainly be tough to beat | But can anyone beat the aforementioned Chargers? | They won it all in a class above last year and are the clear favorite to win their fourth state title in five years.
Ben - Yowza, 3A-1 is loaded at the top -- of course, like Swisher said, that's plainly obvious | Sulphur will lay low and rack up victory after victory and then start wrecking havoc on the rest of the field come playoff time | Always feel like Mike Snyder and Seminole are overlooked, and I'm guilty of that nearly every year. But shocker, the Chieftains will be good yet again | Lincoln Christian's statkeeper will be one of the hardest-working individuals on Friday nights this season | Cascia Hall returns to 3A and wins District 4 | Going chalk here with Heritage Hall to win the 3A crown. No reason to doubt Brett Bogert, so why start now?
Guest picker - Hall of Fame coach Randy Turney - Gotta go with Heritage Hall here.
*Photos courtesy of Joey Johnson & Russell Stitt