by Ben Johnson (@BenJohnsonTUL)9/11/2018 12:03:34 AM
posted in: Articles | 2,719 views
Week 3 is upon us. I'd be lying if I said there were a lot of stellar games. But there are some solid matchups here and there.
Here are this week's top 10 games:
1. 3A No. 5 Cascia Hall (2-0) at 2A No. 1 Millwood (2-0): This is becoming a mainstay in the non-district landscape. Millwood owns a 3-2 edge in the matchup, which was a title game showdown in 2001. Since then, they've met every year since 2014 with Millwood winning the last two.
2. 4A No. 5 Bethany (2-0) at 3A No. 9 Kingfisher (1-1): Former district mates earlier this decade, but now they're meeting for the fifth straight season. Bethany won last year's matchup, 30-13.
3. 2A No. 9 Metro Christian (2-0) at 2A No. 6 Holland Hall (1-1): Metro Christian running back Ryan Johnson against Holland Hall's defense should be one entertaining chess match. The two teams have split two games in the past two seasons with Holland Hall winning 45-14 last year.
4. Crescent (2-1) at A No. 2 Cashion (3-0): Cashion's track record against Crescent is remarkably successful. Since 2008, the Wildats have won nine of the 10 games between the two; the only slip-up was last season when Crescent won 54-14 in District A-5 action on its way to a state runner-up finish later in the year. Now they shift their district game to A-3, and it'll be Cashion's defense -- which has only allowed 12 points in three games -- against Crescent's offense, led by quarterback Hunter Bowers. Oh, and Skordle will be there for all the fun.
5. B No. 4 Alex (2-0) at B No. 2 Davenport (2-0): Davenport has been busy doing Davenport things in its first two games of the season, blowing out both Weleetka and Wetumka. Now, though, comes a top-10 clash with Alex, which has hammered both Laverne and Central Marlow. Davenport won last year's game against Alex, 26-16, and it leads in the series, 4-1.
6. A No. 6 Rejoice Christian (2-0) at Haskell (2-0): First time these teams are squaring off, and Haskell quarterback Tayden Lucero against Rejoice Christian's defense will be vastly compelling.
7. 6AII No. 7 Choctaw (2-0) at 6AI No. 9 Putnam City North (2-0): PC North enters on the heels of sweeping through its fellow Putnam City cohorts, and it did so by only allowing six points in two games. Meanwhile, Choctaw is unbeaten after taking down Lawton Eisenhower last week. This series has belonged to PC North over the years (18-4), but Choctaw picked up a 42-14 win over PC North last season.
8. 6AII No. 5 Del City (1-1) at Bartlesville (1-1): First time these two are ever seeing each other, and the Bruins will have their hands full with Del City quarterback Quinlan Ganther. But the same goes for the Eagles' defense when Bartleville's DeAndre Young touches the ball. The senior tailback rushed for almost 300 yards against Collinsville last week.
9. 5A No. 9 Duncan (2-0) at Ada (1-1): Javion Dangerfield, a Week 2 player of the week candidate, has been a weapon all over the field for the Demons in their unbeaten start to this point. Meanwhile, Ada rebounded nicely with a win over Noble after a season-opening loss to Ardmore.
10. 5A No. 10 Piedmont (1-1) at Noble (1-1): These two started squaring off in 2014, and they've met every year since. Not once has it gone Piedmont's way. Noble's wins over Piedmont in 2016 and 2017 were by a combined 15 points.
Honorable mention
Lawton MacArthur at Clinton: Highlanders are 6-0 against Clinton since 1972.
Westmoore at Mustang: Westmore leads 12-5 in the series, including a 55-42 win in the most recently showdown in 2011.
Catoosa at Coweta: Catoosa beat Coweta 19-0 last season to stop a seven-game losing streak against the Tigers.
Barnsdall at Hominy: Two Osage County rivals with Hominy owning a 15-0 record against Barnsdall since 2000.
So who wins all the matchups? Check back for our weekly picks on Thursday.