Elgin, Tipton will strike gold Saturday

Before the high school football season began back in late August, there were high expectations for several area programs but from the outset, Elgin and Tipton seemed to be the teams with the best chance of bringing home a gold ball.

Thursday afternoon the Tigers get their shot at a Three-peat when they face Timberlake in the Class C eight-man championship at Central Oklahoma’s Richison Field at 1 p.m.

Then Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. the Owls will tangle with Tuttle for the Class 4A state title. All four of the teams involved are perfect at 13-0 and most of the coaches in those two classes feel the best teams are left to fight it out.

Class C

First, let’s look at the Class C matchup and as is often the case, Tipton has a strong group of athletes who know what it takes to win a title since they’ve already accomplished it twice over the past two seasons. Winning three straight is never easy and Timberlake has a talented group as well trying to break Tipton’s recent domination.

Tipton benefits from having a good staff with Travis White leading the program while long-time coach Robert Babcock has been a head coach and won a good many games himself. Throw in defensive coordinator Gerald White and these guys have pretty much seen everything in eight-man football.

One thing that seems to always become a factor in the eight-man game is having that speed edge and Tipton’s track program is one of the most successful among the smallest classifications and that will be a critical edge for the Tigers this afternoon.

We’ve stuck with Tipton for the past three seasons and we see no reason to change now: Tipton 42, Timberlake 26.

Class 4A

Saturday’s 4A title game is part of an amazing day of high school football with Elgin and Tuttle fans ready to turn out in droves for that afternoon battle.

Saturday night it will be Carl Albert going for another title against Guthrie. Talk about a couple of huge crowds; the OSSAA and UCO better have plenty of help because these two matchups are as good as they get.

Our focus is squarely on the 4A battle and depending on which media outlet you use to get your sports coverage, that may affect the prediction. Will the Oklahoman pick Tuttle? Probably.

Will yours truly pick Elgin? Probably, but it goes beyond circulation figures. We have seen both teams this season and to be honest, we feel the Owls have the better defense and like they say, “offense wins games, defense wins championships”.

Shay Spencer, Jace Williams and Tristan Kephart provide a strong defensive front for the Owls and they have been able to pressure quarterbacks without bringing linebackers. That leaves Elgin’s four really good linebackers led by Colyn Donnelly who calls the signals and is like a coach on the field to fill the gaps and make tackles.

The group that we feel has improved the most for Elgin is the secondary with Brice Martin, Hunter Jackson, Josh Adesola and Brody Morrison doing a great job disrupting passes, intercepting passes and rallying to the ball when an opponent finds a gap and gets a completion.

Mighty Wagoner was able to rush for just 36 yards last week and once Elgin shut down the run, Jack Baker and his defenders turned up the pressure and forced errant throws by the Bulldogs.

However, Tuttle is a better team than Wagoner and with several talented receivers taking the field, the Owls have to pressure the quarterback and not allow him to escape the pocket and throw on the run.

Both offenses are good but we feel the Elgin offensive line is just a bit better and with Ritson Meyer leading the rushing attack, that only opens up the passing game for Tres Lorah and his receivers.

With so many good athletes on both sides, this will go down to the wire. However, this Elgin team has been on a mission and it ends Saturday: Elgin 28, Tuttle 21.