Week Six Players To Watch
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Every single Thursday on Prep Redzone Oklahoma, we’ll take a look at five players that you need to know about heading into the week of games. This week, we have several top ten teams squaring off in Class 4A, the top four teams all facing off in Class 5A and much more! Be sure to check back every Thursday for the Players To Watch feature and then again every Sunday for our Top Performers!
Hilldale senior running back Eric Virgil Eric Virgil 5’10” | 175 lbs | RB Hilldale | 2023 State OK is enjoying a career year as he wraps up his high school career with the Hornets. Through five games, Virgil is already over 1,100 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season. He’s well on his way to going over 2,000 yards and over 30 touchdowns at the pace that he’s currently on. He was certainly helped earlier this year with not one, but two different games where he ran for more than 300 yards. Even in Hilldale’s lone loss this season to Claremore, Virgil still went for over 100 yards and still got into the end zone. However, Virgil and the Hornets face their toughest test of the season this week as they travel southeast to Poteau to take on their district foe and the perennial power in Class 4A. Poteau has had Hilldale’s number and they’ve had Virgil’s number. In each of the last two meetings, they kept Virgil under 50 yards. Virgil and the Hornets are determined to turn their luck around this week.
Gore has been flat out dominant so far this season. They came into the year as the #1 team in Class A and they’ve held on to that ranking ever since. The closest game was a 34-point win while the other four victories featured shutouts. Leading the way for Gore’s explosive offense has been senior running back Gunner Dozier Gunner Dozier 6’2″ | 195 lbs | RB Gore | 2023 State OK . He’s been one of the more consistent running backs over the last three seasons and he’s well on to his way to having a career year. And because the Pirates have been so dominant, Dozier doesn’t have as big of a workload as some of the other top backs in Oklahoma. In only one game this season, Dozier had more than ten carries. Despite having only 45 carries on the season, Dozier has run for nearly 700 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. He’s averaging over 15 yards per carry and one touchdown every three carries. Gore’s toughest test comes this week when they travel to Pocola.
Now that we’re heading into the second half of the season, we expect two-time defending champion Jenks to flip that switch and turn into the contender we expected at the start of the season. The injuries and setbacks around Jenks have been well documented but the Trojans are ready to turn the page. And leading the way is senior running back Jaiden Carroll Jaiden Carroll 5’10” | 180 lbs | RB Jenks | 2023 State OK , who is one of the best running backs in the state. After having to sit out two games in September, including their loss to rival Union, Carroll is ready to dominate on the field and breathe new life into this Jenks offense. On Friday night, the Trojans play host to Norman North and Carroll has to be excited about the match-up after seeing last week’s outcome. Broken Arrow had three different players finish with over 100 yards rushing. Carroll and the Jenks rushing attack will look to take advantage of that match-up as they try to gain momentum down the stretch of the regular season.
Last season, Stillwater saw the emergence of Noah Roberts Noah Roberts 5’7″ | 155 lbs | RB Stillwater | 2023 State OK at the running back position. But he was splitting carries with Holden Thompson Holden Thompson 5’10” | 180 lbs | RB Stillwater | 2024 State OK . This year, with Thompson out with a knee injury, Roberts is the leading rusher and he’s taken full advantage of it. He’s run for well over 650 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season so far. He’s had at least two rushing touchdowns in every single game as the Pioneers are 5-0 on the season. The only game where Roberts didn’t have at least 100 yards was the 85-0 win over US Grant, where all three of his carries went for touchdowns. Roberts should continue to put up big numbers over the next month. This week, they hit the highway again heading into the Tulsa area to face off with Sand Springs. But as of right now, it looks like all eyes are starting to look ahead to the week ten showdown with Muskogee. Roberts is looking to lead Stillwater back to the 6A-2 championship game.
Highlights
In one of this week’s biggest games, Choctaw will play host to Deer Creek in a 6A-2 playoff rematch. Deer Creek knocked the Yellowjackets out of the playoffs last year. This time around, the winner here will more than likely capture the district championship. Leading the way for Choctaw’s offense is senior quarterback and Akron commit Steele Wasel Steele Wasel 6’4″ | 210 lbs | QB Choctaw | 2023 State OK . The Choctaw QB has been one of the best quarterbacks in Oklahoma over the last three seasons and he’s shown steady improvement with his accuracy and playmaking ability. However, Friday’s test against Deer Creek will be one of the toughest challenges to date for the top QB in the state’s 2023 class. He’s facing a Deer Creek secondary that forces plenty of turnovers and has several players that should play at the next level, including North Carolina commit Dale Miller Dale Miller 5’10” | 165 lbs | DB Deer Creek | 2023 State OK at cornerback. If Wasel and the Yellowjackets dominate, it’s time to consider them the favorite for the 6A-2 crown.