Playoff preview for December, 2008

You heard Dorothy say, "There's no place like home." That's where teams wanted to be in week one of the playoffs. Some playoff teams found home to be a cozy environment to while others found their neighborhood turned out to be not so neighborly. In Class 6A, Muskogee, Owasso and Putnam City were all upset at home. In Class 5A, East Central went out early along with Collinsville in Class 4A. Stillwater, Broken Arrow, Edmond Santa Fe, Miami and Wagoner all overcame road trips to earn an additional week of playoff ball. The beginning of November saw some interesting story lines develop. Charles Page in Sand Springs fought their way into the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, mainly behind the solid play of quarterback Johnny Deaton. Lincoln Christian Academy made the most of their first year in the OSSAA by winning their district and the first playoff game in school history with a convincing 63-6 win over Keys. Muskogee won a close battle to finish second in district 6A-3 and gain home field advantage, but the Pioneers from Stillwater sent their wagons east to win a close victory in overtime 16-9. Other stories sounded familiar as perennial powers Union and Jenks won yet another district championship. For Jenks, the maturing of their offensive and defensive units allowed them to retain their district title. Sophomore quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen emerged as the leader of the offense that benefitted from the development of junior running back Cory Jones and the explosiveness of three-year starter Tramaine Thompson. Thompson was a threat to go the distance whenever he touched the ball as his opening kickoff return against round one victim Enid and a 53-yard touchdown pass that was caught near the line of scrimmage demonstrated. The defense continued to stiffen against top offensive producers like Deaton and Enid's Clint Chelf around the leadership of defensive back Gabe Lynn. Union moved easily through their district 6A-4 foes and made short work of the Sandites by racking up an amazing 70 points. The dynamic duo of Tracy Moore and Jeremy Smith continued to wreak havoc on opposing defenses as quarterback Chase Boyce gained confidence as the signal caller. Outstanding defensive performances from Luke Snider and Daniel Hausher strengthened the argument for Union as the team to beat in this year's title chase. A much-anticipated second-round matchup with Norman North looked to be a test of the strength of the west's teams versus the number one ranking of the Redskins. For the second round, Stillwater won a trip to Rose Field in Midwest City, Norman North headed to Union Tuttle Stadium, Broken Arrow went to Mustang, and Edmond Santa Fe went to Hunter-Dwelley in Jenks. In Class 5A, Miami's victory over the incredible athleticism of David Gordon and East Central gave them the opportunity to criss-cross the state to El Reno. Booker T. Washington won a tough 28-14 game over Bixby the last week of the regular season and started the playoffs with a 46-14 trouncing of Ada. The Hornets then hosted Edmond Deer Creek, Bixby faced a matchup with their western nemesis, Carl Albert, and Lawton MacArthur made the long trip to face the Coweta Tigers. In Class 4A, Wagoner faced the awe-inspiring Glenpool Warriors who outscored opponents 444-19 through the first week of the playoffs. Star Spencer traveled to face the Ridgerunners of Grove and their potent offense. Sallisaw ended Oologah's season with a score of 40-6 and ended the high school career of standout Colten Barnes. The Black Diamonds then headed to face Bishop McGuinness in week two. Broken Bow also closed out the incredible season for McLain quarterback Shawn Jackson to face the Trojans of Douglass. Class 3A powerhouse Cascia Hall continued to roll over opponents with a 41-7 win over Roland and faced the Blanchard Lions. Checotah and Claremore-Sequoyah extended their playoff runs with victories over Dewey and Hugo respectively. Metro Christian's victory over Perkins sent them to Tuttle for the second round. For the Holland Hall Dutchmen, November brought the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championship game for the sixth straight year. The Dutch hosted a familiar foe, but an earlier barnburner in October was not to be repeated as the wind, weather and tough defenses held the game against Dallas St. Mark's to a 10-7 struggle. The Dutch finished as conference runners-up. NOAH also finished up their season with a homeschool championship game. Coach Joe Blankenship saw his son, Malachi, pass for 274 yards and a touchdown. The offense got help from Eric Thornton's four touchdowns and 383 all-purpose yards to defeat Dallas HSSAA 41-34. November was as full of spectacular football performances as grandpa after Thanksgiving dinner. The matchups in December's state championship games will give fans plenty to be thankful for.