Week 10 Roundup

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The last week of regular-season football was no less exciting than the rest of the season, and the rankings haven't changed much going into the playoffs.

#1 Booker T Washington (9-0, 7-0) District 1

#7 Muskogee (3-7, 3-4) District 1

The Roughers never really had much of a chance to stop the Hornets from a perfect season--not after Bixby, Bartlesville, and Sand Springs failed to. But they certainly played with heart. Without lead running back Molijah Gilbert, the Roughers resorted to an aerial offense and senior quarterback Quintahj Cherry managed to surpass the 2000 yard mark for the season. It was nowhere near enough to overcome OSU-commit Justice Hill, however. The soon-to-be Cowboy ran up 135 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 9 carries before retiring to the bench after the first half. 

The pick: BTW 56, Muskogee 14

Results: BTW 46, Muskogee 21

#2 Bartlesville (9-1, 6-1) District 1

#15 Claremore (2-8, 0-7) District 1

The Zebras actually managed to lead the Bruins, briefly. Then Colton Penrod dropped touchdown bombs of 65, 65, and 55 on his way to a 237 yard finish. The run game was strong as well as Jarron Hilger picked up 124 rushing yards and scored on the first Bruin drive. 

The pick: Bville 48, Claremore 13

Results: Bville 56, Claremore 22

#3 Charles Page (5-4, 5-2) District 1

#4 Bixby (6-4, 4-3) District 1

Sand Springs got their payback against the Spartans for last season. Bixby was dealt their first shutout in seven years and was held to negative rushing yards by the top defense in the state which ran up 5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. 

The pick: CPHS 41, Bixby 35

Results: CPHS 20, Bixby 0

#5 Lawton (8-1, 6-0) District 2

#9 Choctaw (5-5, 2-4) District 2

The Wolverines were without their leading defensive player, and it showed, but they were still able to hold off the Yellowjackets for their third consecutive undefeated district championship. 

The pick: Lawton 48, Choctaw 24

Results: Lawton 33, Choctaw 25

#6 Midwest City (6-3, 4-2) District 2

Midwest City elected not to play a fourth non-district game and took a week off before the playoffs.

#8 Stillwater (5-5, 3-3) District 2

#12 Eisenhower (1-9, 1-5) District 2

The Eagles didn't fail to impress, but they did fail to bump the Pioneers down from the #2 seed. It was a battle royale at Pioneer Stadium as Ike tied things up 21-21 late in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Jace Brownlee ran in a 61 yard touchdown on the ensuing drive to take the final lead. 

The pick: Stilly 35, Ike 21.

Results: Stilly 33, Ike 27.

#10 Ponca City (3-6, 2-5) District 1

#11 Sapulpa (2-7, 1-6) District 1

The Chieftains had a rough start this year, but managed to work their way up a few spots due to some solid late-season performances. This loss came down to the first ever field goal miss of Sapulpa kicker Paige McCracken, but considering what Sapulpa had to overcome from last year, they should all be proud.

The pick: Ponca 35, Sapulpa 21

Results: Ponca 30, Sapulpa 28.

#13 Putnam City West (4-6, 2-4) District 2

#14 Enid (2-8, 2-4) District 2

The Patriots' post-season dreams came to an end, but they still won three more games than anyone thought they would. It looks like the losing-streak for PCW may finally be reaching its end, so District 2 better keep a wary eye going into next season. Enid narrowly pulled off the upset to avoid the bottom ranking in the division.

The pick: PCW 47, Enid 35

Results: Enid 49, PCW 42

My Record

• Week 1: 10-2 (.833)
• Week 2: 12-2 (.857)
• Week 3: 6-3 (.666)
• Week 4: 6-2 (.750)
• Week 5: 5-3 (.625)
• Week 6: 8-0 (1.00)
• Week 7: 8-0 (1.00)
• Week 8: 7-1 (.875)
• Week 9: 6-2 (.750)
• Week 10: 6-1 (.857)
• Overall: 74-16 (.822)

Week 5 Predictions

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

#1 Booker T Washington (4-0, 2-0) District 1

#13 Sapulpa (1-3, 0-2) District 1

Booker T is off to a great start this year, putting up more than 60 points in each of their last three games and totally dominating both sides of the ball. Still undefeated two weeks into districts, their next big challenge will come in week 7 against Bartlesville.

Sapulpa looks to be better than last year, but is still rebuilding from the ground up. We may see a solid state contender in years to come, but this year I’ll be impressed if they win a single game in district play.

Thursday night results: BTW 63, Sapulpa 24.

#2 Bixby (3-1, 1-0) District 1

#3 Bartlesville (4-0, 1-0) District 1

Bixby doesn’t look quite as hot as last year, and in last week’s game against Claremore we saw how much of a difference maker Nic Roller is. He’s expected to be back this week against Bartlesville, otherwise my pick would be quite different. Bixby better hope nothing happens to him this season or they may find themselves in the same spot Sand Springs did last year.

Bartlesville definitely overcame my expectations last week against Sand Springs. Their offense has been touted as the best in the division, and it definitely overcame the Sandites’ famous defense. What hasn’t been talked about as much is the Bruin defense. While the Spartans are lightyears beyond anything Bartlesville has encountered thus far, the Bruins still managed to hold Sand Springs to 117 yards of total offense. I expect a shootout, but I said the same thing last week.

The pick: Bixby 47, Bartlesville 35.

#4 Sand Springs (0-3, 0-1) District 1

#9 Claremore (2-2, 0-1) District 1

Don’t let the Sand Springs record fool you. Two of those games were won on the field and forfeited this week due to the discovery of an ineligible transfer student. The week 3 game was almost a certain Sandite victory, had it not been cancelled halfway through the second quarter due to lightning. The Sandite offense may not be as good as last year, but the defense is as good as ever.

Last week we saw why the Claremore Zebras are red, and the reason is because they’re out for blood. They put up 27 points last week against the defending state champs, and this week they’re looking to avenge the 17-0 homecoming shutout we hit them with last year.

The pick: Sand Springs 21, Claremore 13

#5 Midwest City (3-1, 1-0) District 2

#15 Stillwater (1-3, 0-0) District 2

If there was a single safe-bet game this week, it would be this one. The Bombers are dropping bombs all over their opponents and the Pioneers are easy targets. MWC’s only loss is to top ranked BTW and they had the closest game of any of the Hornet’s opponents. Stillwater’s only win is against a team that’s only won six games in the last twelve years.

The pick: Midwest City 41, Stillwater 10.

#6 Lawton (2-1, 1-0) District 2

#12 Enid (1-3, 0-1) District 2

All I have to say about these teams is that Enid’s only win was a forfeit that was lost on the field 33-7. They haven’t gotten within a touchdown of a single opponent thus far and Lawton’s won by a minimum of 20 points in every game but their hometown rivalry loss to MacArthur.

The pick: Lawton 52, Enid 12.

#7 Choctaw (3-1, 1-0) District 2

#10 Putnam City West (1-3, 0-1) District 2

Choctaw failed to put the hurting on Enid that I expected and PCW’s actually putting up some decent numbers despite their losses. I wouldn’t call it a toss-up per se, but if I had to pick an upset for this week, this would be it.

The pick: Choctaw 28, PCW 21.

#8 Muskogee (1-3, 1-0) District 1

#11 Ponca City (1-2, 0-1) District 1

Muskogee’s doing about the same as last season and probably nowhere near as good as they were hoping to do in their second year under 4-time 5A State Championship-winning coach Rafe Watkins. Luckily for them, Ponca City’s doing about as bad as Ponca City always does.

The pick: Muskogee 35, Ponca 14

#14 Eisenhower (0-4, 0-1) District 2

5A #69 Canyon, Texas (3-1)

I don’t know jack diddly squat about Texas football, but I do know that Eisenhower is nothing to worry about this year. I’m definitely jealous that District 2 has one less week of district games. I love getting to take on new teams and see our boys travel a bit.

The pick: Canyon 35, Ike 6.

My Record

• Week 1: 10-2 (.833)
• Week 2: 12-2 (.857)
• Week 3: 6-3 (.666)
• Week 4: 6-2 (.750)
• Overall: 34-9 (.790)