State Preview: 4A

Addam Francisco

March 8, 2021 @ 11:32 PM

Kingfisher is the last team to win the 4A State Championship, and it was a dominant win over 4A’s other powerhouse program, Heritage Hall. At the time, [player_tooltip player_id="535632" first="Bijan" last="Cortes"] and [player_tooltip player_id="535628" first="Matthew" last="Stone"] were sophomores, who were clearly talented and played a vital role in Kingfisher’s victory, but they weren’t who they are now. Granted, Kingfisher had other seniors carrying the load, but they aren’t as dominant as Cortes and Stone are now while they were dominant. Kingfisher is the clear favorite to repeat as 4A State Champs.

Heritage Hall:

For the most part, Heritage Hall has been dominant against their 4A competition since losing the State Championship in 2019. The only thing that’s left for them to accomplish is winning the State Title once again, which hasn’t happened since senior [player_tooltip player_id="535625" first="Trey" last="Alexander"] was a freshman. Alexander and Kingfisher’s Cortes have been compared since that State Championship game in 2019, and now, Alexander may have the upper-hand one-on-one. However, that’s not what matters. Heritage Hall’s supporting cast will have to step up and continue to compliment what Alexander does on the offensive end while continuing their superb defense that we’ve seen throughout the playoffs.

The three teams that may sneak up on Heritage Hall and Kingfisher are Daniel Webster, Mount St. Mary, and Classen SAS @ NE.

Daniel Webster:

Webster is one of the biggest unknowns because they don’t play many teams from the Oklahoma City area. People who have watched them play boast that they’re the real deal, and they’ve backed that up with a 15-6 record with big wins against 5A’s No. 2 Tulsa Memorial, 5A’s No. 6 Sapulpa, and 6A’s No. 8 Tulsa Union. Webster did lose to Classen SAS in the Area tournament championship, though. Still, Webster’s body of work through the regular season can’t go unnoticed, and they’re a legit contender in the State Tournament.

Mount St. Mary:

Mount seemingly came out of nowhere this season. While one may say they haven’t played a tough schedule, you could still make the argument that they’ve exceeded expectations with a very young team. Mount is peaking at the right time, and they’re winning games on the backs of their defense, not their scoring, and not necessarily because of an elite scorer, although [player_tooltip player_id="981285" first="Diante" last="Palmer"], Luke Harstad, and C.J. Johnson are all capable of lighting it up.

Mount lost to Heritage Hall by 16 points in the Area Championship game, but it wasn’t that wide of a gap. They kept the game within 10 points until trash time.

Classen SAS:

Classen’s first game of State is against Mount St. Mary, a team that closely resembles them. As an OKCPS school, Classen also flies under the radar a bit, but the noise they’ve made this season makes them an undeniable threat.

Classen’s best quality is their chemistry. Between [player_tooltip player_id="953451" first="Anthony" last="Turner"], [player_tooltip player_id="953448" first="Camari" last="Smiley"], and [player_tooltip player_id="967403" first="Tony" last="Palma"], the Comets are a well-oiled machine, coached excellently by Kendall Cudjoe. They’re definitely the most intense team in 4A’s State Tournament and have the ability to stress opponents out with their stifling defense.

While these three teams are expected to be a threat to 4A’s favorites, there are three other teams in this tournament that have the potential to upset their way to the State Championship game.

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s first-round matchups.

#1 Kingfisher vs. #13 Blanchard.
#5 Mount St. Mary vs. #7 Classen SAS.
#3 Daniel Webster vs. #4 Victory Christian.
#2 Heritage Hall vs. #8 Holland Hall.