At Union and Jenks and now BA, football is a way of life and every kid in that district grows up wanting to play for those schools. The buy in from boosters and parents is rivaled nowhere else in the state. It’s a total program OKC area schools have yet to figure out. Instead of developing that type of atmosphere in their schools, they are more concerned about the unfairness of the size other schools.

There is just as much talent at schools in the OKC area, if not more. I watched Santa Fe warm up on the same field as Jenks and Santa Fe by far had the better looking athletes. I would be willing to bet that Norman and MWC have as many D1 prospects this year as Jenks. Union’s Defensive line is the size of an 8th grade team. Out of all the East Side Schools, Owasso has the most size and talent. It takes more than sheer numbers to be successful. It does help to have more bodies but your fooling yourself if you believe that’s the answer.

The OSSAA classifications are determined by Average Daily Membership numbers. The full list is available here: http://www.ossaa.net/docs/classifications/2011_12_adm815.pdf

The difference between Jenks and Union and the other 30 teams in 6A goes far beyond sheer numbers (just ask Broken Arrow, who hasn’t broken through the Union-Jenks stranglehold despite being bigger than both of them).

Rick,
I thought they were able to throw the ball effectively, though they had to against Lawton because the Wolverines were stopping their running game. I liked the adjustments they made on both sides of the ball in the second half of that one. They’ve got to keep that going against Santa Fe this week.

Look at the enrollment of each one of these four schools. Midwest City is half the size of the other three high schools. Therefore, they don’t have the sheer numbers of student body to choose from that these other 3 schools have to pick from, looking at the 2011-2012 enrollment figures. Even if Midwest City doesn’t win, they have nothing to be ashamed of since they are playing schools twice their size. They are the size of a 5A school. These figures have been the same for years. It’s basically like a Class 6A school playing a 4A or 5A school. You put Carl Albert and Midwest City in the same school, they still wouldn’t be as large as Jenks, Union or Broken Arrow. The combination of MCHS and CAHS would beat the pants off any of the east side schools.

They have a ton of talent that has completely under-impressed, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Their defense has been decimated by injury to some degree but it has what should be the two most dominant defensive linemen in the state. However, they seem to be a little out of shape or lazy at times. A decent passing team can light them up and Smoore proved they can be run on as well.

It is true that Jenks is not the same team that got thumped by Union in week 2. The QB play is 100 percent better and the WRs that could’nt catch a pass in week 2 have developed into big time playmakers. Barr’e is a budding star and they seem to have found some combinations on the O-line that have allowed them to push people around. Although, without Ross, this team is human and can be beat in about any round in the playoffs, save round 1. With A healthy Ross, they are the best team in the state. Just have concerns whether he will ever be healthy again.

Look for Jenks to go down to BA this week and rebound against Norman. Their championship hopes ride on the shoulders of Alex Ross.

Suprised Norman was left out of the top 10. Not sure what happened against Smoore but they have a ton of talent. They would easily finish 1 or 2 in any other district in the state but just happen to play in one with BA and Jenks.

I also like Santa Fe based upon what I saw of them against Jenks in the Preseason. I think they may have the confidence to make a run but it depends upon the match up they get from district 4. Like I said though, Don’t expect more than one one team from the OKC area to make it past the qtr finals.

KDTII,
I appreciate it. That’s why I try to lay out my reasoning as much as possible and answer any inquiries I get about the rankings. I think once people see that there is a process and a reason I rank teams the way they do, they feel better about it (even if they don’t agree).

Also have to ask how Trimble has won all of those gold balls but according to parents and fans he didn’t know he had the wrong kid in at QB instead of Collins. Hmmm. OK.

Playoffs will settle everything so look out.

There’s a lot to like about Lawton but I don’t think they have quite the firepower that they did last year, especially at the skill positions, to compete with Jenks and Union. They have Demarious Little back healthy now, which really helps, but losing RB Ivan Thomas a couple weeks ago really hurts them. He was a big back with some speed that presented a lot of matchup problems. The RBs they run out there now are quick but don’t have much size, so I wonder about their durability.

I lean toward Santa Fe in a very close one but haven’t settled for sure yet on what I’m going to pick.

I think there’s no doubt that playing at least a few tough games during the regular season helps prepare teams for the playoffs. Midwest City hasn’t had those experiences, outside of playing a pretty good Edmond Santa Fe team in non-district play. That certainly could hurt them when they need to play deep into a game in the postseason.

Thanks for the comments.

As usual? I picked Jenks to win the title before the season. I’ve maintained since I came back to Oklahoma several years ago that I won’t pick against either Jenks or Union once the playoffs come around, at least until someone knocks them both off. But taking a look at what’s happened to this point of the season, Midwest City is my pick for the top spot. That doesn’t mean I pick the Bombers to win the title. I do think, though, they have a better resume than the other teams. They’ve done what they should’ve done against opponents they should’ve crushed. The one really good team they’ve played, Edmond Santa Fe, they beat by 21.

You say you don’t know if Jenks or Union can play against Stillwater’s offense? If this was a offense vs. defense 7 on 7 camp, maybe. But Stillwater has to play defense too and that will hurt them. They’ve given up 27 or more points five times. Midwest City’s done it once. And I appreciate how good Jerame Littell has been but Joe Namath? Settle down a bit.

I do think if Ross gets back to 100 percent (or not even, as his backup us putting up huge numbers, though I’ll be interested to see what he does against BA), and Union gets back healthy, that those are still the teams to beat in 6A. The next two weeks will lay out a clearer picture in 6A.

I really like the job Trey’Vonne Barr’e has done filling in for Ross but still wonder how he’ll be able to perform against some of the top defense in 6A. Of course, I thought the same thing when Ross took over for Langer as well, so take that for what it’s worth.

If Jenks beats the Tigers this week and does it in impressive fashion, I’ll certainly reconsider their ranking.

Just curious, what do you think of Hunter Collins’ progression throughout the season?