Jays and Antlers highlight district 5A-1 in Week 4

 

Week 4 of the high school football season is here and every single coach in the state is telling his team that this week begins the “new season”. Regardless if you are currently 3-0 or 0-3, the first three weeks of the season will have no reflections on the playoffs.

The final seven games of the season will determine a district champion, who will have home playoff games, and how the playoffs will look like come mid November.

Looking at Class 5A’s district one, it appears it may once again be the toughest in 5A with the likes of Ada, Carl Albert, Deer Creek, and Guthrie leading the pack going into district play. El Reno, Noble, Southeast, and Western Heights will be looking to sneak a spot away from the top four.

Here are the games in Week 4 of 5A-2:

Deer Creek (2-1) at Guthrie (2-1)

This is the most intriguing match-up in the first week of district play. The Jays have district championship on their mind and the Antlers are wanting a home play-off game. A win for either team puts them in the right direction to do so.

Guthrie leads the series 3-2 and have won the last two meetings.

Prediction: You can listen to the game on 105.1 FM, or on Guthrie Sports Page

Ada (1-2) at Southeast (3-0)

Don’t look now, but Southeast is only one of two undefeated teams in Class 5A with the other being the McAlester Buffalo’s. Meanwhile, Ada has played a tough non-district schedule and nearly took down McAlester after giving up a 15-point lead with 4:00 to play.

Prediction: Ada 34, Southeast 13

Carl Albert (2-1) at Western Heights (0-3)

The Jets will be looking for their first win of the season and Carl Albert begins their new season with Taylor Hawkins at quarterback after Dillian Dansby suffered a season ending knee injury.

Prediction: Carl Albert 44, Western Heights 6

Noble (0-2) at El Reno (1-2)

This is a big game for both programs as the winner still hold their own cards in trying to sneak into the playoffs. The loser falls back and will need help from others to maybe pull them into the playoff hunt.

Prediction: El Reno 27, Noble 12

Next Week district games are: Guthrie at Ada, El Reno at Carl Albert, Western Heights at Noble, and Southeat at Deer Creek.

District opener to be without running backs

 

The Guthrie and Deer Creek series will be renewed Friday night when the Antlers pay the Jays a visit in Jelsma Stadium, Friday night, but neither team will have their starting running back.

The Jays and Antlers will look for additional help in the running game in the district opener.

Both teams enter the first district game of the season with 2-1 records. Deer Creek has wins over Piedmont (35-14) and Tecumseh (35-13). Their only loss came on the road in Week 2 to Shawnee. The Wolves, much like Enid did to Guthrie last week, scored late in the game to pull out the win over the Antlers.

Deer Creek’s senior running back Colten Sander was lost for the year when he tore his ACL for the second straight year in last week’s game with Tecumsheh. The 3-year starter was averaging 116 yards a game on the ground with 46 carries for 349 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Guthrie’s senior running back Alphonso Wilcots took a helmet to the knee in last week’s game with Enid. The hit came on the opening series of the second half. The diagnosis on Wilcots knee has not been determined, but is likely out for Deer Creek.

The speedy Wilcots averaged 107 yards rushing and has carried the ball 54 times for 323 yards and two touchdown scores. In his sophomore season, Wilcots was hampered with a severe ankle injury that lingered into his junior year before returning to 100% this season.

Deer Creek may explore with Joel Blumenthal at quarterback and Alex Christensen at fullback. Also, sophomore Brennan Miyake is likely to have his role increased on the offensive side of the ball. Christensen leads the team with 392 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Blumenthal is 15-of-30 for 146 yards with two interceptions.

The Antlers offense averages 248 yards on the ground per game while passing for 72 yards a game. For the Jays, they have been more balanced offensively with 197 on the ground and 188 in the air. Both teams have scored 96 points in the three non-district games.

Guthrie’s defense will be put to the test with Christensen running the ball, but the Jays have done well in holding their opponents rushing game by allowing an average of 76 yards on the ground. The Jays passing defense is allowing 156 yards in the air, but that number may be deceiving a bit with Enid’s offense having to go through the air for the majority part of the second half.

The Antlers defense also saw a pass happy offense in Shawnee and allow 161 yards through the air and allow 140 on the ground.

Deer Creek is just a hand full of teams to give the Jays a home field lost in the Rafe Watkins era and the only team to have taken the same Jays down in multiple games. Guthrie has won the two previous match-ups, in 2008 and 2007, by a combined score of 93-0 and leads the overall series 5-2.

More injuries

Week 3 was not very friendly to talented players in the state. Not only did Wilcots and Sander suffer knee injuries, but so did two quarterbacks. Lawton’s Cody Miller and Carl Albert’s Dillian Dansby both suffered season ending ACL injuries.