3A 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 3A. 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
Holland Hall Dutch
For the second straight year, Holland Hall knocked off Lincoln Christian in the Class 3A state championship game. The Dutch captured their first ever state championship in 2020 and came into the 2021 football season as the favorites to win it all this year. Despite losing some key pieces from last year’s championship team, the Dutch were still loaded with the firepower necessary to make another run at the championship game. Because of that, they came into this season as our #1 team in the 3A preseason rankings and they finished in that spot for the second consecutive season.
The Dutch would back up all of the preseason hype with dominating wins in the non-district schedule. However, it would be all about the district slate as Holland Hall was in arguably the toughest district in Class 3A with Berryhill and Verdigris being borderline top five teams throughout the season along with the Dutch. While the Dutch would have no problems beating Berryhill halfway thru the district slate, they would trip up in week nine, losing on the road to Verdigris. Injuries plagued the Dutch in that week nine showdown but despite the loss, the Dutch would still win the district title thanks to a three-way tiebreaker.
Despite the injuries, Holland Hall’s defense was stout all season and was one of the best units in the state, regardless of class. Holland Hall would absolutely steamroll their opponents on the way to a return trip to Edmond, including a dominating win over Verdigris in the semifinals to punch their ticket to the state championship game. The Dutch turned to senior standout Ethan Roush Ethan Roush 6'3" | 180 lbs | WR Holland Hall | 2022 State OK to fill in at quarterback for the final five games and they also relied on a strong running game to go with the stout defense to capture another gold ball.
In their championship clash with Lincoln Christian, the Dutch would make Lincoln Christian one-dimensional and took away the passing game from Lincoln and star quarterback Max Brown Max Brown 6'2" | 200 lbs | QB Lincoln Christian | 2022 State OK . The Dutch would go into their bags of tricks to score on offense and would knock off the Bulldogs in an exciting 24-16 victory. The Dutch came into this season as the top team in Class 3A and would fight through some adversity to get out of the season as the top team in Class 3A. Going into the offseason, the Dutch have to replace a very strong senior class but this has become a program that expects to contend year in and year out.
CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gavin Freeman Gavin Freeman 5'10" | WR Heritage Hall | 2022 State OK – 2022 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back – Heritage Hall
The Player Of The Year race in Class 3A was a tough one but when it came down to it, we couldn’t deny Heritage Hall senior and Texas Tech commit Gavin Freeman Gavin Freeman 5'10" | WR Heritage Hall | 2022 State OK . What put him over the top compared to a few other worthy candidates was his playmaking ability. Freeman was on the short list of players in Oklahoma that once he got the ball in his hands, you just knew he was going to make something special happen. The Texas Tech commit was one of the top playmakers in Oklahoma this season and helped lead the Chargers back to the semifinals. He put up monster numbers as a wide receiver but also made an impact on defense and in special teams. Freeman is certainly at the very top of the conversation when you talk about true game-changing athletes. And we can’t help but think about what could have been if Heritage Hall made it to the title game. We would have had a chance to see Freeman potentially matching up against Holland Hall’s NuNu Campbell NuNu Campbell 5'11" | DB Holland Hall | 2022 State OK , one of the state’s absolute best lockdown corners. What could have been. Nevertheless, very few players were as dynamic as Freeman was this season and he was one of the easier picks to be a finalist for this year’s Player Of The Year award. And because of all of that, Freeman is this year’s Player Of The Year in Class 3A football.
BREAKOUT STARS
Caden Parnell – 2023 Athlete – Verdigris
Parker Jenney
Parker
Jenney
6'1" | LB
Holland Hall | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Linebacker – Holland Hall
Tre Stevenson
Tre
Stevenson
6'0" | ATH
Perkins-Tryon | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Running Back – Perkins-Tryon
Tyler Johnson – 2023 Linebacker – Lincoln Christian
William Paque
William
Paque
6'3" | 185 lbs | QB
Heritage Hall | 2022
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Heritage Hall
OTHER TOP PLAYERS
Caden Pickens
Caden
Pickens
5'11" | LB
Plainview | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Linebacker – Plainview
Ethan Roush
Ethan
Roush
6'3" | 180 lbs | WR
Holland Hall | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Athlete – Holland Hall
Gunnar Thrash
Gunnar
Thrash
6'0" | 185 lbs | QB
Perkins-Tryon | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Perkins-Tryon
Jaxon Watie
Jaxon
Watie
6'3" | QB
Berryhill | 2022
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Berryhill
Kyron Downing
Kyron
Downing
5'10" | 175 lbs | RB
Vinita | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Athlete – Vinita
Max Brown
Max
Brown
6'2" | 200 lbs | QB
Lincoln Christian | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback – Lincoln Christian
NuNu Campbell
NuNu
Campbell
5'11" | DB
Holland Hall | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Defensive Back – Holland Hall
Reese Roller
Reese
Roller
6'0" | 210 lbs | LB
Verdigris | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Linebacker – Verdigris
River Faulkner
River
Faulkner
5'11" | 205 lbs | ATH
Heritage Hall | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Running Back/Linebacker – Heritage Hall
Zane Woodham
Zane
Woodham
6'0" | ATH
Holland Hall | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Running Back/Linebacker – Holland Hall
TOP STORYLINE
Private Schools Remain On The Mountain Top
In August, there was only one storyline surrounding the Class 3A football season and it played out that way throughout the year. The private schools absolutely own Class 3A football. And that’s just putting schools into groups together. But to be more specific, Heritage Hall, Holland Hall and Lincoln Christian currently own Class 3A football. For the second straight year, we had two private schools facing off for the state championship as Holland Hall swept the two meetings with Lincoln Christian. For the fourth straight year, Heritage Hall and Lincoln Christian faced off in the semifinals. These three teams came into the 2021 season as three of the favorites to win it all and nothing changed throughout the year and their dominance continued during the playoff run. We know this is a storyline that many fans of public schools will be outraged at. Actually, those fans are probably already outraged and didn’t need to read this article to get to that point. There is quite a contingent in the state that believes private schools should be in a league of their own. We’re not here to settle that debate or even take part in it. But one thing is for sure, Heritage Hall, Holland Hall and Lincoln Christian are the best of the best in 3A and that’s been consistent for a few years now.
EARLY LOOK AT 2022
Coming into the 2021 football season, it was easy to somewhat predict who the top contenders were going to be. As mentioned earlier, the three main private schools were loaded once again and Verdigris was going to be in the conversation. However, as we take a look towards the future in 2022, it’s hard to predict who the favorite is at this point. The easy answer would be Holland Hall as they come off back to back championships but the Dutch lose a lot. In fact, the Dutch, Heritage Hall and Lincoln Christian all lose players who are Player Of The Year finalists to graduation. So needless to say, they’ll look a little different in 2022. Verdigris returns the majority of their players and will certainly have some unfinished business on their minds. Anti-fans of private schools might be upset at this as Metro Christian is ready to make the move up to Class 3A and could potentially be a fourth private school into the championship mix after winning back to back 2A titles in 2019 and 2020. In fact, the 2A champs in 2019, 2020 and 2021 will be in 3A next season as current 2A champion Marlow is also moving up to Class 3A. So 2022 could be very interesting in Class 3A but chances are, the private schools will once again be in the mix and lead the way.