Player Of The Year – Erik McCarty
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Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! The 2021 football season has come and gone. Once again, the football season has just flown by. Several weeks removed from the final football games of…
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The 2021 football season has come and gone. Once again, the football season has just flown by. Several weeks removed from the final football games of the 2021 season, we continue our postseason coverage. Tonight, we announce the winner of this year’s Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year. In the next few days, we’ll also announce our All State teams. Two weeks ago, we named the eleven finalists for this year’s award. It was without a doubt a tough decision after some of the seasons that these players had. However, at the end of the day, only one player stood out above the rest.
Congratulations to this year’s Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year, McAlester junior running back Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK !
McCarty was the most complete and dominant football player in the state of Oklahoma this season. On offense, McCarty was an electric running back and one of the best in the country, not just Oklahoma. McCarty carried the ball a little over 200 times and finished with over 2,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. He continues to rewrite the record book at McAlester, breaking his single season touchdown record from his junior season. McCarty shined brightest in McAlester’s biggest games. He helped lead the Buffaloes to the 5A state championship game and was a one-man wrecking crew that the Cardinals could simply not stop.
But the McAlester junior wasn’t just an offensive machine, he was also one of McAlester’s leading tacklers on defense, finishing with over 100 tackles on the season. He was a heat-seeking missile from the safety position and because McAlester had another running back that had some carries this season, McCarty was able to do more for the McAlester defense. As if that wasn’t enough, McCarty was also one of the more electric players in special teams. Not in the return game, but in blocks. McCarty blocked six kicks this season and showed that in all three phases of the game, this McAlester standout is truly elite.
McCarty becomes just the second ever winner of the award as we are in our second full season of high school football in Oklahoma. And for the second straight year, a junior running back wins the award. Last year, it was Bixby running back Braylin Presley Braylin Presley 5'9" | RB Bixby | 2022 State OK (who was also a finalist this year) who took home the first ever award. McCarty will now look to defend his crown as the state’s top football player in 2022 and more importantly, he’ll look to lead the Buffaloes back to the state championship and lift that elusive gold ball.
Congratulations again to McAlester running back Erik McCarty Erik McCarty 6'2" | 175 lbs | DB McAlester | 2023 State OK !
Stay Tuned To Prep Redzone Oklahoma Over The Next Three Days As We Release Our All State Teams!