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

It's the last week of the regular season, and the eight playoff-bound teams have all clinched their berths. From District One it'll be Midwest City, Lawton, Stillwater, and Putnam City. District Two will advance Booker T. Washington, Bixby, Muskogee, and Sand Springs. The teams still have one last game to try and improve their seed. 

No. 1 Booker T. Washington Hornets (Last Week No. 1) vs. No. 13 Bartlesville Bruins (13)* District 2

Booker T. (8-1, 5-0) clinched the District 2 Championship last week with a 21-0 shutout of the defending State Champions from Bixby (5-4, 4-1). The Hornets held Bixby to 115 total yards, including 11 yards on 33 runs, thanks in part to seven sacks. Thomas Grayson ran 20 times for 131 yards and all three Hornet touchdowns came in the first half. Both teams gave up two interceptions apiece with no fumbles. 

Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4) was part of a record setting night, but at their expense. The Sand Springs Sandites (5-4, 3-2) dealt the Bruins a 55-13 loss, running for over 500 yards. Noah Sunday was 22-36-227-1 passing but their run game was held to 77 yards on 25 carries and they gave up one fumble. 

The pick: BTW 58 BHS 7.

No. 2 Midwest City Bombers (2) vs. No. 4 Stillwater Pioneers (5)* District 1

The Bombers (8-1, 6-0) are one step closer to a District title after scoring a 46-25 win over Enid (3-6, 1-5). Their defense was slow-starting as both teams scored on their initial drives before the Bombers jumped ahead with five-straight touchdowns. Preston Colbert was 11-16-222-0 passing and Austin Anderson carried 19 times for 186 yards.

Stillwater (8-1, 5-1) is still in contention for the title after a 39-32 win against Putnam City (6-3, 3-3), but they'll need some help to get there. Not only will they need to beat Midwest City, but they'll also need Lawton to lose. It's impossible for the Pioneers to pass the Bombers in point-differential, so even with a fifteen-point win, they'll need the Wolverines to win by less than two points for Stillwater to host a playoff game. Tyler Disidore ran 18-110, Qwontrell Walker ran 17-111, and Garrett Leming was 11-74 in the back-and-forth affair. 

The pick: MWC 38 SHS 29.

No. 3 Lawton Wolverines (3) vs. No. 10 Deer Creek Antlers (10)* District 1

Lawton (7-2, 5-1) is still in the running for the district title, but it's almost entirely out of their hands. Even with a fifteen-point win over Deer Creek (4-5, 2-4), they'll still need Stillwater to upset Midwest City by at least eight points. Last week they throttled Putnam City West (1-8, 0-6) 44-7. Deer Creek is coming off a 34-21 loss to Choctaw (5-4, 2-4).

The pick: LHS 47 DC 14.

No. 5 Bixby Spartans (4) vs. No. 8 Sand Springs Sandites (8)* District 2

The three-time defending State Champions (5-4, 4-1) suffered a 21-0 shutout at the hands of Booker T. (8-1, 5-0). Staton King was 7-21-104-2 passing and Tucker Pawley was held to 38 yards on 19 carries. All 21 of the Hornets' points came in the first half. The Spartans will clinch a home playoff game with a win. 

Sand Springs (5-4, 3-2) did what they do best and fed the ball to Payton Scott all night long against Bartlesville (1-7, 1-4). The senior star ran for 506 yards and seven touchdowns in the 55-13 beat down. The Sandites won the turnover battle with one pick and one fumble. The Sandites can still earn a home playoff game with an upset of Bixby and a Ponca City upset of Muskogee. 

The pick: BHS 38 CPHS 29.

No. 7 Muskogee Roughers (6) vs. No. 15 Ponca City Wildcats (14)* District 2

Muskogee (4-4, 3-2) is coming off a lackluster 27-14 performance against Sapulpa (1-8, 1-5). Jacob Medrano was 18-27-203-0 passing and the Roughers were 37-139 on the ground. They'll clinch third place with a win and a Sandite loss, but if the Sandites upset Bixby it'll come down to point-differential and the Roughers have the lowest spread of the four post-season qualifiers. 

Ponca City (1-8, 1-4) is effectively out of contention, but they could still play the spoiler when it comes to post-season seeding. The Wildcats are coming off a 28-14 loss to Norman (1-8) and should theoretically be an easy win for the Roughers. However, the Wildcats have had some impressive offensive outings this season, scoring 34 against Enid and 21 against Booker T. 

The pick: MHS 39 PoHi 19.

No. 6 Putnam City Pirates (7) vs. No. 11 Enid Plainsmen (11)* District 1

Putnam City (6-3, 3-3) lost a 39-32 heart-breaker in Stillwater to seal them in at fourth in districts. The Pirates are bound for Booker T. in the post-season, but first they get a tuneup game against Enid (3-6, 1-5). A.J. Newsome was 19-33-268-0 passing while Keylhan Henderson led the ground game with 109 yards on 17 carries.

Enid (3-6, 1-5) is coming off a 46-21 loss to Midwest City (8-1, 6-0). Mason Skrimager was 27-37-191-2 passing.

The pick: PHS 40 EHS 23.

No. 9 Choctaw Yellowjackets (9) vs. No. 12 Putnam City West Patriots (12)* District 1

Choctaw (5-4, 2-4) won a 34-21 bout with Deer Creek (4-5, 2-4), but is out of playoff contention and shooting to end the year with a winning record. Putnam City West (1-8, 0-6) is coming off a 44-7 beat down from Lawton (7-2, 5-1) and is just hoping to avoid a winless district record.

The pick: CHS 35 PCW 21.

No. 14 Sapulpa Chieftains (15) vs. Broken Arrow Tigers

Sapulpa (1-8, 1-5) wrapped up their district season with a 27-14 loss to Muskogee (4-4, 3-2) and will end the year against 6A-I Broken Arrow (5-4). The Chieftains were 24-106 on the ground and 8-16-76-1 by air against the Roughers. Broken Arrow is coming off a 49-7 victory over Edmond Memorial (1-8) led by Noah Cortes with 231 yards on the ground and Kejuan Tolbert with 173. 

The pick: BAHS 56 SHS 10.

Scott Emigh
Editor-in-Chief
Overall: 60-18 (.769)
Last Week: 7-1 (.875)
Last Year: 48-21 (.695)

Virgil Noah
Staff Writer
Overall: 50-15* (.769)
Last Week: 8-0 (1.00)
Last Year: 43-26 (.623)

*Virgil missed the first week of picks.