The 2022 All-Phoenix Prep Football Team: Through pain, gain and glory

Dec. 24—When you ask Gunner Dozier who inspires him, you won't get the expected response.

The Gore senior doesn't study pro or collegiate running backs who excel at the position he himself has succeeded at.

His primary inspiration is David Goggins, a retired Navy Seal triathlete, who authors a book "Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds."

"Toughest man alive," Dozier said. "I've watched his show and tried to use some of that."

Maybe that explains his determination when he didn't let a fractured forearm suffered in week nine keep him off the field. Into his fifth playoff game this season, it didn't.

Coming off a 163-yard, three-touchdown performance in a semifinal win, Dozier toted the rock 51 yards to tie the score at 7 on Gore's second series in the Class A championship. On the next series, he fell on the arm the wrong way. Not that it hadn't happened before, even with a protective pad.

This time was different.

But later, with the game hanging in the balance and the Pirates trailing by four, he wanted to be available.

He took one handoff, and after the tackle, his left arm hung by his side like a wet noodle.

"It went numb," he said. "I don't want to make an excuse for myself, but it's the card I got dealt."

So his senior year ended with 1,813 yards rushing, an average of 129.5 yards, and 51 touchdowns. And a silver ball.

And while silver may not feel like much value now, there's another consolation prize — the All-Phoenix Most Valuable Player honor.

"Last year I played my last game with a torn AC joint," he recalled. "This year, my last one was with a broken arm."

From the start of his career, he tried his best to make himself available in any which way.

"He was a running back in junior high," Gore coach Brandon Tyler said. "His freshman year, we're short on guys and I asked him about playing tight end and he was like 'let's go.'" That's the kind of kid he's always been."

Dozier was part of a senior class that left a legacy unmatched in Gore's history — 43-5, four district championships in four years and in the end, a runner-up finish in a 14-1 season.

"You see his start in that game and there's no doubt with me had he been able to go 100 percent, we win that game," said Tyler. "It made others pick up the slack. We got close, we just couldn't close the deal."

His career rushing totals are 4,559 yards and 85 touchdowns, 80 by rush.

He's looking at Oklahoma Baptist, Hendrix (Ark.) or Lyon (Ark.) as options for college ball — the consensus labeling him as an athlete.

"I'll play anywhere," he said. "I'm not picky at all."

His high school coach can attest to that.

Other honors:

Large School Offensive Player of the Year:

Jamarian Ficklin, Muskogee

Ficklin, the Newcomer of the Year a year ago as a freshman, made the kind of strides that brought him this honor as a sophomore.

"Growing from a freshman to a sophomore at a 6A level, the physical, mental and just confidence difference between those years," said Muskogee head coach Travis Hill. "The game slowed down, the guys he was with got better.

"I think until the Booker T game (week seven) he was having as productive a year at any level as anyone out there. We lacked a little protection at that point and it got to him a little."

Still, Ficklin had 2,803 yards in 12 games with 38 touchdowns and rushed for 308 additional yards. Just over 100 of those came against 5A state champion Carl Albert.

He ran when he had to. And otherwise did his thing in offensive coordinator Chris Risenhoover's scheme. Risenhoover had several previous winners of this honor as head coach at Stigler.

And with much of his weapons back, and an offensive coordinator who will expand the playbook even more, the sky is the limit for the soon-to-be junior and bona fide D1 recruit — and that too will heat up.

"I have to stay grounded," Ficklin said. "All but one of our linemen will be back. Everyone will be better. Anything under 3,000 yards passing and 30 touchdowns will to me be unacceptable."

Large School Defensive Player of the Year:

Jayden Bell, Muskogee

He had two of his six interceptions prove to be game-savers — including one against eventual 5A champion Carl Albert.

But it was also Bell's leadership that made him a top choice here — a guy who prefers the offensive side and receiver where he made the team a year ago — called upon to help shore up a defense that was a major reason for a 2-8 mark last year.

At 5-foot-8, it makes him stand tall in this category. With him and others on the defensive side, Muskogee was 10-2 and 6A semifinalists.

"I filled the shoes the coaches wanted me to and it sure worked out for us," he said. "Defense is a different type of fun. To get stops and prevent the offense from doing what you're doing when you're on offense. I wanted to take the load off when needed and if there was a play to me made I wanted that to be my responsibility."

That, even playing through a broken hand late in the season.

His college future is still out there to be decided in the next couple of months — and could still end up in a mid-major.

"People sometimes run away from the 5-8, 5-9 guys, but this guy is a ball player, and if you get him on the field, he'll take care of business anywhere he goes, just like he does in the classroom," said Hill, also noting that both Bell and Ficklin are 3.5 GPA-range students.

Small School Offensive Player of the Year:

Luke Adcock, Eufaula

A team ravaged by graduation coming off a semifinal year, including last year's All-Phoenix MVP receiver, hung in doubt early on. A scrimmage performance by the squad made head coach Larry Newton nervous.

But among those returning was Adcock, a three-year starter at quarterback. In the end, while Eufaula fell two rounds short of where it finished a year ago, the Ironheads nonetheless won their fifth consecutive district title, something that didn't seem possible in that scrimmage.

"He was really the glue on the offensive side," said Newton. "He had to line those guys up out there at the start of the season. Then he had to go both ways. We had him at inside linebacker and moved him outside on the right to protect his right (throwing) side. He was beat up by the end of the regular season and he didn't let us know how bad he was."

Adcock's ribs were aching, but not his heart.

"I had to be better for my team in every part of the game," he said.

The three-time selection threw for 1,978 yards and 26 touchdowns and was intercepted just three times. That's four less yards than 2021, but seven more TDs and two fewer interceptions. He also rushed for 992 yards and 15 touchdowns, over 200 yards more than a year ago and four more scores.

He'll heal up now and go play his primary sport — baseball, where he's already set to play collegiately at Seminole State.

Small School Defensive Player of Year: Carson Parks, Warner

The senior linebacker is a repeat selection here here.

Before tearing his ACL in week nine, he had 139 tackles with 32 coming for losses. He forced two fumbles, had one interception and also a safety and five sacks.

It was also a year in which he and the Eagles had a coaching change at the top entering week one with Cooper Mitchell taking over, after losing their second coach in two seasons last spring. But his dad, Charlie Parks, has been a fixture on staff for five seasons.

"Having Carson out there was like having another coach on the field. I can tell him what I want in terms of adjustments we need to make." said the elder Parks.

The senior who hopes to have a college shot once he heals up said that ability came from strides in practice.

"Paying attention to what the coaches put in and being able to recognize plays we ran in practice, you're game-ready," he said. "By then you're just reacting and moving.

"It feels pretty good (repeating as winner of this honor). We moved up a class, the level of play went up. I think I was able to rise to the occasion."

Newcomer of Year:Kale Charboneau, Wagoner

The sophomore did play a portion as late as week two last year as the starting linebacker but a torn ACL ended his year with the exception of emergency duty in a second-round playoff game that ended Wagoner's 2021 season.

He ended the 2022 season with 110 yards in the quarterback run game in leading the Bulldogs to an upset over No. 1 Cushing and their sixth state championship.

"He was the Kaledozer," Wagoner head coach Dale Condict said, a spin from the similar name given former Oklahoma quarterback "Belldozer" Blake Bell. "Rewinding through the playoff run and especially the championship game he had, that was who he was. His best position is middle linebacker but he has that mentality as quarterback. He was determined to win that (championship) game."

Charboneau said the difference between his freshman and sophomore year was simple.

"I got way bigger (35 pounds from the beginning of last season to now) and got better mentally," he said. "I took 42-0 (the loss to Cushing at midseason) out of my mind. The only game that mattered was the championship."

But the evolution didn't happen late.

"He put a lot of time in the weight room and was more physically ready to take on the quarterback spot, which helped us to move Gabe Rodriguez to a position that fit our team better," Condict said. "And at team camp this summer we saw this was the best way to move forward."

Rodriguez will be mentioned later in this.

Coach of Year:Dale Condict, Wagoner

It went right to the end. Condict, who has won this six times, never has won it as an underdog in a title game. He might have been an underdog in the last three playoff games after going 7-3 in the regular season.

Condict edged by one voting point Gore's Brandon Tyler, and just behind Tyler was Hill, who had an eight-win turnaround from 2021. Voting was from Phoenix sports writers and correspondents.

"I've been a part of Muskogee football (an assistant under Ron Freeman) and I remember how much pride those kids had in being a Rougher," he said. I consider Travis and Brandon both friends. I said when they hired Travis if he can't win there, they can't win, then he goes and gets (Chris) Risenhoover who I think is one of the best offensive minds around.

"Brandon had a great year, and I've felt that pain being on the other side of a championship game. It's tough to think that early on but you eventually reflect back on the success you had."

The turnaround in the Cushing game from the first meeting "was one of the greatest wins of our run here," he said.

"It was a lot to overcome for everyone. You experience that kind of loss and you wonder if you're good enough to go forward and meet your goal. For the kids to keep buying in to what we were telling them was a big accomplishment."

The spread that highlighted Charboneau in the run game kept time of possession well in Wagoner's favor and going to a nickel coverage scheme neutralized arguably the state's best passer in Blaze Berlowitz, both happening in the second half of the title game.

"We felt all along if we could get to the fourth quarter in a close game there would be some level of panic on their side because no one had been close to them all year, which is a tribute to them but it's also a tough thing not to have experienced before finding yourself in it in a championship," Condict said.

Others

On the offensive side, Gore's Noah Cooper was a selection after making it two years ago as Newcomer of the Year. Hilldale running back Eric Virgil made it for the third time, with Kreed Hall of Checotah and Preston Cannon of Warner also named as running backs. Muskogee tight end Anthony Watson and all four receivers — the Roughers' Kayden McGee, Elijah Thomas of Checotah, Haskell's Lucas King and Kaden Rice of Eufaula — made it as first-timers.

Up front, Evan Keefe of Hilldale is a repeat selection and Gore's Gabe Dozier is also a second-timer but switches this year from defense. Eufaula's Draven Gragg, Hilldale's Grayson Gaddy and Muskogee's Bradyn Henry also made it.

On defense, selections included Garrett Douthit of Gore, Haskell's Junior Faul, Wagoner's Roman Garcia and Alex Shieldnight and Hilldale's Wyatt Branscum on the line. Gore's Jackson Duke is one of four linebackers and a repeat selection, joined by Muskogee's Brandon Tolbert and Trayveon Houston and Fort Gibson's John Lewis.

In the secondary, Wagoner's Rodriguez is a repeat team member but last year's Large School Offensive Player of the Year. He's joined here by Gore's Christian O'Connor, Muskogee's Deyonn Bowler and Eufaula's Brett Pippenger.

Hilldale's Cash Schiller was selected as kicker. Dayne Perryman of Gore punter and Haskell's Brannon Westmoreland, Wagoner's Matson Swanson and Keyton Cole, and Logan Harper of Hilldale were picked as athletes/reserves.

THE ROSTER: 2022 ALL-PHOENIX

SPECIALS

Coach: Dale Condict, Wagoner

11-3 and won his sixth state title by upsetting the No. 1 team in Class 4A.