Week Three 6A-II rankings and predictions; a look at this weekend's games

No. 1 Bixby Spartans (Last week No. 1) vs. No. 10 Putnam City Pirates (11)

The defending Division II State Champions (1-1) suffered a 47-28 loss against Arkansas 7A Bentonville (1-1). The Spartans jumped out to 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but the Tigers closed out with five unanswered touchdowns and held the home team scoreless in the second half. Staton King was 18-31-191-2 passing and 17-82 on the ground. The Spartans gave up a full field worth of penalties, but performed well defensively with three fumble recoveries and an interception.

Putnam City (2-0) pulled off a massive victory against 5A El Reno (1-1), utterly dominating the Indians 63-6. AJ Newsome was 15-22-222 passing and scored six touchdowns, three by air and three by land. The Pirates picked up three fumbles, including a 35-yard touchdown return. 

The pick: Bixby 57 Putnam 29.

No. 2 Booker T. Washington Hornets (2) vs. Shawnee Wolves

Booker T. (2-1) dropped their first loss of the season 30-21 to Louisiana 5A State Runners-Up West Monroe (3-0) at the Battle on the Border. Phillip Wheatley was 19-40-310-0 with all three Hornet touchdowns. The ground game was nonexistent with 19 carries for 28 yards. 

5A Shawnee (2-0) is undefeated, but their wins were low-scoring against average teams. They topped Duncan 7-6 with a fourth-quarter 69-yard pass to take the lead. Hunter Heath was 11-21-135-2. The Wolves will be without their head coach, who was ejected in the game against Duncan (1-2).

The pick: BTW 39 Shawnee 10.

No. 3 Midwest City Bombers (3) vs. Del City Eagles

The Bombers (1-1) lost a 27-24 overtime heart-breaker to Booker T. two weeks ago and had a bye week to recover. 5A Del City (1-1) picked up their first win of the season 40-14 over Eisenhower (0-2).

The pick: MWC 32 Del 14.

No. 4 Muskogee Roughers (5) vs. Bentonville West Wolverines

Muskogee (1-1) lost a close 26-20 season opener to Midwest City (1-1), but ended on a high-note. They fell in a 26-0 deficit before getting on the scoreboard, then shut out McAlester 54-0 leaving them with a streak of 74 unanswered points over the last two games. Against McAlester, QB Jacob Medrano recorded 481 yards, finding Diante Crutchfield for 292 and three touchdowns. Defensively they held the Buffalo to less than 100 yards with five sacks. The Roughers are coming off a bye week and are all rested up and ready for action.

Arkansas 7A Bentonville West (2-0) easily handled 5A Pryor (0-2) 49-13 and Central Little Rock (1-1) 48-14. The Wolverines were 10-20-241-0 passing and 35-229 on the ground with zero fumbles and only four penalties. 

Virgil says: Bentonville 42 Muskogee 28.
Scott says: Muskogee 48 Benvontille 35.

No. 5 Lawton Wolverines (6) vs. Eisenhower Eagles

Lawton (1-1) steamrolled their 5A rivals from MacArthur (1-1) 50-20, thanks in part to junior running back Miles Davis who carried 18 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns. This week is another in-town rivalry game against Eisenhower (0-2) who fell 40-14 to Del City (1-1) last week.

The pick: Lawton 58 Ike 17.

No. 6 Choctaw Yellowjackets (7) vs Putnam City North Panthers

For the second-straight week the Yellowjackets (2-0) trailed at the half and came back for the win. This time they were down 13-7 to Sand Springs (0-2) before surging to the 21-20 victory. Hudson Woods was 17-27-222-1 passing and led the ground game with 21 carries for 65 yards. 

Putnam North (2-0) won their in-town rivalry game against Putnam West (1-1) with a hearty 30-7 beat down.

Virgil says: PCN 28 Choctaw 21.
cott says: Choctaw 35 PCN 21.

No. 7 Sand Springs Sandtes (4) vs. No. 13 Putnam City West Patriots (13)

Charles Page High School (0-2) took a 13-0 lead on Choctaw (2-0) last week before the Yellowjackets surged back in the second half for a 21-20 victory. The Sandite passing game improved from the week prior, but was still shoddy at 6-18-39-1. Payton Scott led the ground with 40 carries for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively the Sandites were solid with an interception and nine tackles for loss. 

Putnam West (1-1) was hammered 30-7 in a rivalry game against Putnam North (1-1). The Patriots also relied primarily on the ground game, carrying 48 times for 231 yards.

The pick: CPHS 31 CPW 14.

No. 8 Bartlesville Bruins (8) - Bye Week

Bartlesville (1-1) kicked off the season with a 30-25 victory over 5A McAlester (0-2), but dropped their past two games 56-14 to 6A-I Owasso (3-0) and 48-29 to 4A Cascia Hall (1-1). Noah Sunday threw 15 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. The Bruins fired their Head Coach last week, putting the reigns in the hands of interim coach Kyle Ppool. They will have some down time to adapt to the changes before returning to action against Muskogee next week. 

No. 9 Enid Plainsmen (9) vs. Bishop McGuinness

Enid (2-0) is off to a hot start with their best record since 2012, topping Guthrie (0-2) 34-23 and Ponca City (0-2) 61-34. Junior QB Mason Skrimager passed for 191 yards and three touchdowns against the Bluejays, then recorded 290 yards and two strikes against the Wildcats. 271 yards came in the first half alone. Marlo Hughes ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns, while Seth Ellis set a single-game record for the Plainsmen with four interceptions, including a 99-yard return. Enid jumped to a 21-0 first quarter lead and was up 34-14 at halftime. The Plainsmen are all rested up after a bye week.

5A Bishop McGuinness (2-0) is also on a strong start to the year, handling Del City (1-1) 32-23 and Bishop Kelley (1-1) 42-21. Sophomore running back Dominic Richardson carried 26 times for 273 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Brennan Mullins scored twice on the ground. 

Virgil says: Enid 32 McG 31.
Scott says: McG 42 Enid 35.

No. 11 Deer Creek Antlers (10) vs. Edmond Memorial Bulldogs

Deer Creek (1-1) started the season with a 21-13 win over Southmoore (0-1), but fell 38-21 to Edmond Santa Fe (2-1). Dylan Diaz had a marvelous 97-yard kick return, while quarterback Hunter Freese found Logan Huslig for a pair of scores through the air. Freese was 18-28-170-1, but the ground game went negative at 21 carries for negative seven yards. 

Edmond Memorial (1-2) dropped a 25-17 decision to Edmond North (1-1). Memorial was 11-22-94-0 passing and the dogs combined for 91 yards on 30 carries. 

The pick: DC 35 EDM 30.

No. 12 Stillwater Pioneers (12) vs. Mustang Broncos

Stillwater (2-0) easily handled Edmond Memorial (1-2) 23-7 in their season opener then topped Moore (0-2) 14-7. Gunnar Gundy was 7-8-188-0 passing for both touchdowns. The game was sloppy on both sides. Moore had three fumbles but recovered each, while Stillwater lost three of their four fumbles, but picked off two passes from the Lions. Stillwater won the first half 14-0 while Moore scored the lone points of the second half with a fourth quarter run. 

6A-I Mustang (2-0) is off to a dominating start with a 31-14 victory over Yukon (1-1) and a 48-14 win against Norman (0-2). Brayden Garrett was 9-18-171-0 through the air and the Bronchos combined for 241 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. 

The pick: Mustang 43 Stillwater 18.

No. 14 Sapulpa Chieftains (14) vs. Bishop Kelley Comets

Sapulpa (0-2) got off to a rough start this year, falling 28-12 to Duncan (1-2) and 27-20 to Choctaw (2-0). The Chieftains took a bye week to recover and will return to action against 5A Bishop Kelley (1-1). The Comets fell 42-21 to Bishop McGuinness (2-0) but rolled over Edison (1-1) 48-14 in week one.

The pick: Kelley 30 Sapulpa 18.

No. 15 Ponca City Wildcats (15) - Bye Week

Ponca (0-3) will get a much needed bye week after being brutalized 48-0 by Guthrie (1-2), 61-34 by Enid (2-0), and 28-7 by Edmond Memorial (1-2). Justin Andrews was 14-28-116 against the Bluejays, but the ground game was practically nonexistent with 26 carries for a mere 44 yards. 

Scott Emigh
Editor-in-Chief
Overall: 15-7 (.681)
Last Week: 5-5 (.500)
Last Year: 48-21 (.695)

Virgil Noah
Staff Writer
Overall: 4-6* (.400)
Last Week: 4-6 (.400)
Last Year: 43-26 (.623)

*Virgil missed the first week of picks.