2A Season In Review
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The 2021 football season has come and gone. Once again, the football season has just flown by. A little over a week removed from the final football games of the 2021 season, we officially begin our postseason coverage. We continue things today with our season in review series. Every day, for the next week, we’ll be taking a look back at the 2021 football season in each class. We continue the series today with Class 2A. Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma throughout the next three weeks for more postseason coverage. From season in review features, to All State teams and plenty of awards, we’ll have you covered!
STATE CHAMPION
Marlow Outlaws
For the first time since 1964, the Marlow Outlaws are state champions. Marlow came into this season as the #8 team in our Class 2A preseason rankings. Goes to show you how things end up shaking out in between July and December. The Outlaws were simply perfect on their way to that state championship, finishing off the season with a perfect 15-0 record. We knew that the Outlaws had one of the best players in the state with senior
Jace Gilbert
Jace
Gilbert
6'2" | 205 lbs | K
Marlow | 2022
State
OK
and he showed once again that in some of the smaller classes, all it takes is having that one truly special talent to make a run at the title.
The Outlaws were the heavy favorite in their district and opened the season with dominating wins in the non-district schedule and got impressive wins over Chickasha and Anadarko in back to back weeks. Marlow would not be tested during district play as they absolutely dismantled every opponent during the regular season. Marlow would finish off the regular season at 10-0 and were one of the favorites in Class 2A going into the playoffs.
Nothing would really change as the Outlaws entered the playoffs as they dismantled every team they came across. They would have to travel to Tulsa to face Cascia Hall and the Outlaws ended the Commandos’ season, winning 38-7 and punching their ticket to the semifinal round. From there, Marlow would knock off Eufaula in the semifinals in what ended up being their closest game other than the championship and even that was a 12-point victory for the Outlaws.
In the state championship, Marlow would square off with Washington in a battle between two teams that were undefeated. Marlow would use turnovers, timely scoring and excellent punting to control the field position battle. And in the end, it was another costly Washington turnover that would give Marlow the ball with less than two minutes remaining and they were able to run out the rest of the clock to capture that elusive state championship.
CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jace Gilbert Jace Gilbert 6'2" | 205 lbs | K Marlow | 2022 State OK – 2022 Quarterback/Kicker – Marlow
Few players can say they are responsible for just about every point scored during the season but that’s what you can say about Marlow senior Jace Gilbert Jace Gilbert 6'2" | 205 lbs | K Marlow | 2022 State OK . One of the state’s best kickers, Gilbert showed he’s just an overall athlete by helping lead the Outlaws to their first state championship in decades. Gilbert was outstanding at quarterback with a 28-2 TD-INT ratio and also added 17 touchdowns on the ground. Gilbert was about as automatic as it got when it came to PAT’s and he was 9-12 on field goals. He was also a weapon on kick offs and as a punter. As a punter, Gilbert was special in their state championship victory over Washington. During their playoff run, Gilbert also stepped in and played on defense at the safety position. Gilbert gave just about everything he had to help the Outlaws capture that elusive state championship. As a prospect, Gilbert is one of the best kickers in the country but he showed this year he’s one of the state’s best football players.
BREAKOUT STARS
Alan McKeefry
Alan
McKeefry
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
Spiro | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Spiro
Braden Browning
Braden
Browning
5'10" | QB
Luther | 2022
OK
– 2022 Athlete – Luther
Cole Scott
Cole
Scott
5'11" | 190 lbs | RB
Washington | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Running Back – Washington
DeSean Mays
DeSean
Mays
6'0" | 160 lbs | RB
Vian | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Running Back – Vian
Red Martel
Red
Martel
5'11" | 195 lbs | RB
Beggs | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Running Back – Beggs
OTHER TOP PLAYERS
Bai Jobe
Bai
Jobe
6'5" | DL
Community Christian | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Defensive Lineman – Community Christian
Carson May
Carson
May
6'5" | QB
Jones | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Jones
Chance Wilson
Chance
Wilson
6'3" | 185 lbs | QB
Rejoice Christian | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Quarterback – Rejoice Christian
CJ Brown
CJ
Brown
6'1" | RB
Beggs | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Running Back – Beggs
Collin Matteson
Collin
Matteson
6'0" | 180 lbs | WR
Oklahoma Christian School | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Athlete – Oklahoma Christian School
Corey Metscher
Corey
Metscher
6'0" | 205 lbs | LB
Bethel | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Running Back/Linebacker – Bethel
Khelil Deere
Khelil
Deere
6'2" | WR
Eufaula | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back – Eufaula
Kirk Francis
Kirk
Francis
6'1" | 185 lbs | QB
Metro Christian | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Quarterback – Metro Christian
Luke Adcock
Luke
Adcock
6'3" | 205 lbs | QB
Eufaula | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Quarterback – Eufaula
Triton Chandler
Triton
Chandler
6'2" | 195 lbs | QB
Victory Christian | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Athlete – Victory Christian
TOP STORYLINE
Class 2A Continues To Be The State’s Deepest Class
Marlow and Washington were both perfect coming into the Class 2A state championship game and the Outlaws came away with their first state championship since 1964. However, throughout the season, Class 2A was incredibly competitive and ended up being one of the deepest classes in the state. It’s been that way since Class 3A went to just 32 teams and instantly made 2A much more difficult to navigate throughout the season. Week in and week out, you had teams knocking off top ten opponents and beating up on each other. The four semifinalists, Beggs, Eufaula, Marlow and Washington all earned their spots in the final four with massive wins both at home and on the road.
EARLY LOOK AT 2022
After making it to the state championship for two consecutive seasons and having to walk away with the silver ball, the Washington Warriors are one of the very early favorites to win it all in 2022. And on the plus side, the last two teams that beat Washington in the title game are headed up to Class 3A as Marlow and Metro Christian move up next season. The Warriors bring back enough talent to once again be in the mix as the calendar flips to 2022. They’ll have plenty of company from some usual suspects as well. Their semifinal foe Beggs will be in the mix with a high-powered rushing attack. Millwood might have missed the playoffs in 2021 but the Falcons were incredibly young and should bounce back in a big way. Rejoice Christian will be right there once again with the majority of their starters returning and Class 2A will also see the addition of Pawhuska starting in 2022. Then you have teams like Jones, OCS and Vian who have found their way into the mix every single year. Like we always say when it comes to Class 2A, it’s going to be a very competitive and fun class to watch.