Week Eleven 6A-II rankings and playoff predictions; a look at this weekend's games

The final eight were already decided going into last week's games, and now we have the final seeds for the fourth installment of the 6A Division Two playoffs.

No. 1 Booker T. Washington Hornets (Last Week No. 1) vs. No. 6 Putnam City Pirates (6)

The District Two Champions from Booker T. Washington (9-1, 6-0) will host Putnam City (7-3, 4-3). The Hornets won a relatively close (by their standards) 42-13 battle in Bartlesville (1-8, 1-5) while the Pirates won a solid 52-14 tuneup game in Enid (3-7, 1-6).

Washington's only loss this season was a 30-21 out-of-state exhibition with West Monroe, Louisiana (10-0). They even topped Midwest City 27-24 in overtime.

Putnam City played the tougher district and fell only 27-21 to Lawton and 39-32 to Stillwater but was dominated 32-14 by Midwest City. In their regular season finale AJ Newsome passed for 246 yards and four touchdowns with 38 yards on the ground for two touchdowns, all in the first half. 

The pick: BTW 46 Putnam 21.

No. 2 Midwest City Bombers (2) vs. No. 8 Sand Springs Sandites (8)

The District One Champions from Midwest City (9-1, 7-0) won a solid 35-21 outing with Stillwater (8-2, 5-2) almost entirely on the ground. The Bombers combined for 151 rushing yards while Preston Colbert was 18-22-234-1 by air. They gave up 95 yards in penalties and had one fumble. The Bombers have lost only one game this season, by an overtime field goal to the top-ranked Hornets. 

Sand Springs (5-5, 3-3) fell 42-21 to the defending State Champions from Bixby (6-4, 5-1) but it was all knotted up at 21-21 going into the fourth quarter. They tied 7-7 in the first, the Spartans won a second quarter 14-0 shutout, and the Sandites did the same in the third. Caden Pennington was 3-12-19-1 by air while Payton Scott carried 29 times for 148 yards and all three Sandite touchdowns. 

The pick: MWC 33 CPHS 19.

No. 3 Lawton Wolverines (3) vs. No. 7 Muskogee Roughers (7) 

Last year's State Runners-Up made their way to the finals with a 35-28 semifinal victory over Muskogee. The Roughers (5-4, 4-2) will get a rematch this year, and they'll need to bring their A-game. The Wolverines (8-2, 6-1) are coming off a dominant 56-28 victory in Deer Creek (4-6, 2-5) that started with a 42-7 lead by the second period. Alihas Hopper was 21-26-238 passing with five touchdowns. Miles Davis had 203 yards and two touchdowns on eighteen carries.

Muskogee rediscovered their typically potent offense after a lackluster 27-14 win in Sapulpa (1-9, 1-5), drubbing Ponca City (1-9, 1-5) 51-19 on the road. Jacob Medrano was 16-18-305 with five touchdowns by air and Kristian Hillmon carried 11 times for 93 yards They gave up 115 yards in penalties, but had no turnovers. 

The pick: Lawton 48 Muskogee 35.

No. 4 Stillwater Pioneers (4) vs. No. 5 Bixby Spartans (5)

The three-time defending State Champions (6-4, 5-1) pulled out a winning season and home playoff game with their 42-21 fourth-quarter stand against the Sandites (5-5, 3-3) but they'll have their work cut out for them against Stillwater (8-2, 5-2) whose season has looked far cleaner and more consistent. 

There have been two Bixbys this season. One Bixby beat Jenks 35-18, Muskogee 38-23, Ponca 68-7, and Sand Springs 21-0. The other Bixby lost three-straight including a 37-35 upset in Putnam City. They only beat Bartlesville 37-21, and they were shutout 21-0 by Booker T. Washington. In their regular season finale they squandered a 21-7 lead and allowed the Sandites to tie it up with a third-quarter shutout before rallying in the fourth. Staton King was 19-29-212-1 passing and Tucker Pawley ran for 229 yards and five touchdowns on 41 carries. 

There's only one Stillwater and they can be counted on to show up. The Pioneers started on a five-win streak before falling 43-29 to Lawton, then went on another three-win streak before falling 35-21 to Midwest City. In their regular season finale they went down swinging with a 263-yard running performance and three touchdowns from Tyler Disidore. They also fumbled three times, turning over two of them.

The pick: Bixby 38 Stillwater 32

No. 9 Choctaw Yellowjackets (9) 

Choctaw (6-4, 3-4) once again missed the playoffs by a hair with a winning record and solid season. They went 3-0 outside of their district, including an impressive come-from-behind 21-20 win against Sand Springs. They shut out Enid 37-0 and drilled Putnam West (1-9, 0-7) 45-17 in the season finale. 

Avg Score: 26-23

No. 10 Deer Creek Antlers (10)

Deer Creek (4-6, 2-5) notched wins against 6A-I Southmoore and Edmond Memorial, as well as a 38-24 district win against Enid and a 34-7 performance against Putnam West. Their season finale was a 56-28 home loss to Lawton. 

Avg Score: 25-34

No. 11 Enid Plainsmen (11)

Enid (3-7, 1-6) won their opening two games 34-23 over Guthrie and 61-34 against Ponca City, and made headlines with a 49-42 double-overtime comeback win against Putnam City West who led 42-7 after three quarters. Despite a potent offense, that would be their only district victory and they closed the season with six-straight losses and a 52-14 finale against Putnam City. AJ Newsome passed for 246 yards and four touchdowns with 38 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the loss. 

Avg Score: 30-44

No. 12 Putnam City West Patriots (12)

Putnam West (1-9, 0-7) won their season-opener 16-15 against Duncan, but wouldn't notch another win this year. They had a few solid performances, putting up 42 points against Enid and only falling 21-11 to Putnam City, but ended the year with a 45-17 loss to Choctaw. 

Avg Score: 15-38

No. 13 Bartlesville Bruins (13)

Bartlesville (1-8, 1-5) found their lone win in game six, 9-2 against Sapulpa. They also defeated McAlester 30-25 in the season debut, but forfeited the game later due to an ineligible player. After the suspension, then resignation of their former head coach, the Bruins were in a holding pattern under interim coach Kyle Ppool. 

Avg Score: 16-39

No. 14 Sapulpa Chieftains (14)

Sapulpa (1-9, 1-5) started the season with seven-straight losses before trouncing Ponca City 42-14. They had several solid performances, including a 27-20 game against Choctaw, and a 27-14 loss to Muskogee, but never could cross the finish line. They ended the year with a 54-13 loss to Broken Arrow and managed 132 rushing yards against 6A-I powerhouse team. 

Avg Score: 13-34

No. 15 Ponca City Wildcats (15)

Ponca City (1-9, 1-5) edged out Bartlesville 14-12 in week five to avert a winless season and ended the year with a 51-19 battle against Muskogee. Justin Andrews was 20-44-254-1 passing for both Wildcat touchdowns. 

Avg Score: 14-44. 

Scott Emigh
Editor-in-Chief
Overall: 68-18 (.791)
Last Week: 8-0 (1.00)
Last Year: 48-21 (.695)

Virgil Noah
Staff Writer
Overall: 58-15* (.794)
Last Week: 8-0 (1.00)
Last Year: 43-26 (.623)

*Virgil missed the first week of picks.