Oklahoma Class 6AII state championship preview: Familiar district rivals Stillwater, Muskogee square off
The four semifinalists in Class 6AII arrived there to the surprise of no one.
And one could basically flip a coin on which two would make it to the finals.
In the end, the two survivors - Stillwater and Muskogee - won by a yard, literally.
Playing in Edmond, Stillwater defensive back Trace Clark wrapped up Choctaw's Deshawn Smith at the 1 with five seconds left to play and the Yellowjackets couldn't get another play off, falling to the Pioneers, 33-29.
At Ponca City, Edmond Deer Creek quarterback Grady Adamson took the snap and reversed out, and Muskogee defensive end Anthony Watson latched on, spun him around, and got a late assist from linebacker Treyvon Houston with 25.2 seconds left on a two-point conversion from the 1. That was after the Roughers had been penalized for being offsides twice while the Antlers were lined up for an extra point to simply tie the game, as Muskogee held on for a 36-35 win.
The Roughers and Pioneers sport 10-2 marks and represent the two best teams from District 6AII-1. Stillwater beat Muskogee, 30-20, in Week 10. They clash at 1 p.m. Friday at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond for the 6AII championship.
"It's kind of ironic that both games came down to the last play of the game on the goal line," Muskogee head coach Travis Hill said. "It was unique and I think you know it just goes to show you got to play and finish it up until you see (zeroes on the scoreboard clock)."
“All four teams are really good teams and it could have gone either way, and we’re both fortunate to be the ones to have made it to this week,” said Chad Cawood, the Stillwater boss in his first year at the helm after having served over 26 seasons there, mostly on the offensive side of the football and as the offensive coordinator since 2016.
There’s a significant degree of familiarity between the two programs, and not just due to them being district rivals.
Cawood has had to scheme against Hill dating back to the first time around when Hill was the Roughers’ defensive coordinator in stints under former head coach Rafe Watkins and before that, in matchups when Hill was head coach at Tulsa East Central.
“Simply put, we’ve had to bring our A-game going against (Hill) and this time is no different,” Cawood said. “They haven’t changed at all since we last played them, except we saw the quarterback run game a little more in their game last week.”
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The Roughers have ridden the arm and, especially lately, feet of third-year starting quarterback Jamarian Ficklin.
Ficklin just moved past the 3,000-yard passing mark with 246 last week, giving him 8,327 yards in three seasons with 90 touchdowns. He had 194 yards rushing on 23 carries last week, scoring four touchdowns on the ground, and has 870 yards on the season.
His primary target is Kayden McGee (1,138 yards), who is headed to UNLV but still getting offers including Tulsa and Colorado State.
“When you look at them, yeah, Ficklin is special, and he’s got weapons all over the field,” Cawood said. “Up front, they are big and physical and I look at 50 (Vernon Pepiakitah) being special on both sides of the football. Defensively, it starts up front with him and 28 (Anthony Watson) and 27, that mike linebacker (Treyveon Houston), was a playmaker for them in Week 10.”
One weapon out in the first meeting and who also missed the matchup last year with the Pioneers, Ondraye Beasley, is back in the receiving corps for Muskogee. He’s also a run threat.
Beasley wears No. 15 and while he’s ready to go, 15 remains a cursed number in this matchup – Heston Thompson was Stillwater’s leading receiver last year, but is out for the year with an ankle injury.
Not that the Pioneers are lacking offensively.
Stillwater running back Holden Thompson has 1,970 yards rushing, including 156 in the initial clash between the finalists. Chance Acord followed Oklahoma State University coach Mike Gundy's youngest son Gage into the quarterback spot this season and has thrown for 2,345 yards. Tight end Josh Ford has committed to OSU.
"We didn't attack the RPOs (run-pass options) really well and they kept tempoing us and came at us really fast," Hill said. "Their offensive line coach (Charlie Johnson, OSU ex and nine-year NFL veteran) is one of the best out there. You'd better be disciplined defensively."
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Hill also finds challenging the Stillwater defensive scheme built by Clarence Holley, who left Stillwater for Tulsa Union after last season. Dan Nickles has taken over and maintained the system.
"They don't line up in any particular formation, just a cluster of people who bounce around and have assignments when the ball is snapped," Hill said. "We had some coaches who worked with Holley over at Broken Arrow when I left there. We stole bits and pieces from it and now, we know a little bit more because we've played against it with them.
"It's defensively what the wishbone would be offensively. Teams use it to offset a lack of good players. But in their case, they have good players and still run it. "
Stillwater will be looking to repeat as champions, winning last year for the first time since 1967. They reached this point, but lost to Bixby in 2018 and 2019.
For Muskogee, it's their first finals trip since winning it all in 1986, one year after losing a heartbreaker to Midwest City - quarterbacked by Mike Gundy.
“We graduated a ton of kids who were really important parts of last year’s group and this was a new team coming in,” Cawood said. “We hadn’t talked about winning a championship but the kids have, and they want it.
"There’s all kinds of distractions leading up to this and you want the main focus being about Friday at 1, and they’ve done a good job making it that.”
A bit of irony for Muskogee - in winning its last title, the Roughers had to stop a two-point conversion with 43 seconds left to hold off Tulsa Washington, 14-12, at Stillwater.
But that was 37 years ago.
“When these guys came in on Sunday and I looked at them, I saw a group that was comfortable where they’re at,” Hill said. “No rah-rah was done.
"Their expectations were, let’s go play another football game at 1 p.m. Friday.”
Photo of Stillwater RB Holden Thompson by Nathan J. Fish, The Oklahoman
-- Mike Kays | @SBLiveOK
