Familiar foe, unfamiliar week: Thanksgiving football vs. Choctaw first for MHS since 2007

Nov. 22—For Muskogee, it's a familiar foe, but not a familiar week of football.

The Roughers and Choctaw Yellowjackets have played three consecutive seasons. In 2019, Muskogee"s last year in the conventional postseason (2020 was an all-comers playoff year due to COVID issues) the Roughers fell 29-21 at home in the first round.

In 2020, the 26-10 loss at Choctaw turned out to be Muskogee's final regular season game in week 6, as COVID forced four consecutive cancellations. In 2021, Muskogee lost 49-32 at Indian Bowl.

But this year is a different year, one that brings the two teams together in the Class 6AII semifinals Friday night at East Central University in Ada.

It's the first game beyond Thanksgiving for Muskogee (10-1) since the end of a three-year run of such holidays in 2007. The 2016 outfit made the semfinals, but the playoff road for 6A during that time had the semifinals the week prior to Thanksgiving followed by a holiday week off preceding the championship game.

The last three teams on Choctaw's schedule all were part of Muskogee's schedule, and all those comparative results were similiar. Winners of 10 straight since losing their opener 38-34 to 5A Cel City, the Yellowjackets (10-1) have in succession beat Putnam City (37-6), Ponca City (42-13), and Sand Springs (49-29). Muskogee beat Putnam City 47-6 in non-district, Sand Springs 48-26 to start distict play and last week blanked Ponca City 18-0.

"Every year is a different year, but as we began to break down things for this week there's things we can refer back to that are somewhat advantageous. There's some of the same personnel and yet some of the same things they do schamtically, and when you do look it does reinforce in certain ways what they're going to do," Hill said.

La'Trell Ray is back at running back. He has 905 yards and 11 touchdowns. A year ago, he had 207 of Choctaw's 282 yards and two touchdowns — both coming after Muskogee turnovers. In 2020, he had 160 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Hill expects the Yellowjackets will try to at least test the run game Friday, which Stillwater had some success with and Ponca City attenpted to. But the Yellowjackets have perhaps to a greater degree gone more to the air this year.

While Akron commit Steele Wasel is 19-of-31 for 364 yards and four touchdowns in the two meetings he's had with the Roughers, this year's numbers have him 144 of 202 for 2,674 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions in 11 games.

In beating Sand Springs last Friday he was 23-of-33 for 453 yards and six touchdowns.

"He's as talented as they come, he has a 70-yard arm that will stretch the field, but you can't get too deep when he scrambles," Hill said. "The tailback (Ray) is the fastest we've seen, runs great downhill and if he creases you he'll hurt you because he's going 100 miles an hour."

Against that same Sand Springs crew in September, Roughers quarterback Jamarian Ficklin was 9-of-15 for 232 yards and, like Wasel, six touchdowns.

Against Choctaw a year ago and as a freshman, Ficklin was 14-of-29 for 211 yards and four touchdowns. While he and his offense was outgained 406-401, that MHS defense was also different — it shut Ponca out. Last year, it yielded 35 against the Wildcats, and several other teams.

Last week's offensive outcome was thwarted by three Muskogee turnovers inside the red zone, two inside the 5. That part frustrated Hill, and it's one area he is fully expecting improvement in this week, particularly handling the ball.

"I coached one team three years that did not fumble one time and that's because of the way we went about our business," he said. "It can be done (that way) and it will be done."

Kayden McGee, Muskogee's leading receiver, emerged last season against Choctaw. He had five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. So far this season, he has just over 700 yards in receiving with a fairly balanced spread of tosses to he along with Jayden Bell, Ondraye Beasley and Anthony Watson.

"I've been keyed on because I've done pretty good this year, but I know I can still get in the end zone," McGee said. "I'm not really worried about their DBs, or our line holding up, like they've been doing. I think we're set and it's impossible to stop me, Bell, Ondraye and Anthony at one time."

Meanwhile, there's a week of practices during fall break including an 8 a.m. practice Thanksgiving Day. Hill is making a couple of requests, other than be at practice.

"They can sleep in some but I want them getting up no later than 8, but at 8 get up, put something down (breakfast) and get a glass of water in you and if you want, go back and sleep but just don't go to bed and sleep in until 11 or 12," he said, describing the instructions.

The other item of priority is setting a required communication with at least one other player at 7 p.m., each night, cued by the coaches.

McGee is all over this item.

"I've got my alarms set," he said, "and I will be calling teammates each day and I'll be getting them pumped, because I want this bad. I don't want no seniors going home with an L."

Hill wants that kind of approach among all.

"I don't think we have to sell any magic or special plays. It's about how bad you want it," he said. "We just need to take care of the football when we have it and when they have it, they're explosive as hell, so let's minimize their snaps to 50 instead of 7 0. That kind of stuff may be the differnce in the game."

It's an expeirence he's had multiple times as a coach, including his 2005 state championship year at East Central and a title as a coordinator at Broken Arrow in 2017.

"I've had my fair share of success and been fortunate to get into some state finals," Hill said. "The semifinal is the toughest game because it is the one you want to get you to that final game."

They'll have a 2 1/2 hour drive to get that done.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at East Central in Ada — a little more than an hour closer for Choctaw. The OSSAA had to work with the sites that were made available. An OSSAA official told the Phoenix over the weekend that a couple of more centrally located places, Sand Springs and Sapulpa, were not offered up by those locations this year.

Earlier on Friday at East Central, Wagoner will take on Tuttle in a 1 p.m. semifinal in Class 4A.

The 6AII title game will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 at the University of Central Oklahoma.