by Steven Reese (@stevenreese33)12/3/2021 8:04:00 AM
posted in: Articles | 10,414 views
As we close out the football season and the fall semester, I just wanted to say how thankful I am that this got to be my first ever internship.
The staff at Skordle is incredible and extremely professional.
I will always remember this semester and how special it was.
Now to football…It is officially championship week.
I’m so thrilled to close out the season by giving you my top three state championship games that you won’t want to miss.
I will also provide my predictions for each of these three games. You can also see all of our predictions in the blog section provided by Whitt Carter of Skordle.
Let’s get to it!
1. 6A-I State Championship: Union 11-1 (1st in 6AI-2) vs Jenks 11-1 (1st in 6AI-1) Dec. 4, 1 p.m. at UCO
This is the top game of the week. A big shocker, right?
It probably would’ve been at the beginning of the season when Jenks shutout Union 22-0.
But Union has fought back ever since the shutout loss by winning nine straight heading into Part 2 of this rivalry.
This is the fourth straight championship appearance for the defending state champion Jenks Trojans while this is the first championship appearance for Union since 2017.
Jenks leads the series, known as the Backyard Bowl, 42-23-1 with the tie coming in 1923 where the score of the first ever matchup is still unknown to this day.
The Trojans’ only loss this season came to Bixby, 23-15, which is impressive considering it’s Bixby.
Union will score on the Trojans, but I think the Trojan defense will still be too much and Jenks will come out with its 18th state championship in school history.
2. 5A State Championship: Collinsville 13-0 (1st in 5A-4) vs McAlester 13-0 1st in 5A-3) Dec. 4, 7 p.m. at UCO
McAlester running back Erik McCarty did not disappoint in last week’s semifinal matchup against MacArthur.
The junior had 20 carries for 203 yards and four touchdowns. If you look at the 10.2 yards per carry, he basically had a first down every time he carried the ball. This guy is a machine.
The Cardinals are a bunch of machines as well.
They have literally rolled through their schedule with their offense. Their two huge wins may have been their past two games.
They scorched the Irish of McGuiness at home, 56-35, in the quarterfinals and then dethroned the defending state champion Carl Albert Titans, 27-20.
So both squads have high flying offenses, but which offense will come out on top?
I’m still high on McCarty and I think he and the Buffalo defense will make the difference in the ball game. McAlester will get the job done by one possession.
I predict that the defense will hold the Cardinals on the final possession. This will be a thriller for sure.
3. 4A State Championship: Tuttle 13-0 (1st in 4A-2) vs Clinton 12-1 (1st in 4A-1) Dec. 3, 7 p.m. at UCO
Here is a crazy fact.
Before this game, both teams have finished their seasons with exactly 461 points.
The odds of that happening are very slim.
And the points allowed for the whole season is a 32-point difference with Tuttle allowing 90 points and Clinton 122 points.
Clinton has one loss, but to a 3A Heritage Hall team that came close to beating top-ranked Lincoln Christian last week in the semifinals. You have to admit that a loss to Heritage Hall is nothing to be ashamed about.
Tuttle may be impressive with its gut punching defense, but Clinton had to rely on its defense to pull away last week in the semifinals against 4A Cinderella squad Elk City, 17-7.
This will be another 4A slugfest, but Tuttle’s defense is simply just too dominant.
Last week was the first time all year that the Tiger defense gave up more than 13 points and giving up 21 points still isn’t all that bad.
Tuttle managed to beat Poteau in the semifinals last week 28-21.
Tuttle and Clinton will each score less than 24 points this weekend, but Tuttle will still get the job done with the defense.
I think the Tigers will win their second state championship in three years.