Rankings preview: Nov. 8

Sorry for the delay from my usual late Friday night posting. Combination of a long drive back from Glenpool and trying to piece together the playoff brackets left me too tired to think straight last night by the time I would’ve been able to work on them So here they are in all their glory with a little different format this week (and I hope to do Class A-C in a similar format a bit later):

Class 6A
1. Jenks (1)#10-0
Why they’re not lower: Because the Trojans are the only team to go 10-0 in Class 6A.

2. Tulsa Union (2)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: Because the Redskins lost head-to-head to Jenks.
Why they’re not lower: Because their only loss is to Jenks (a two-point win) and they beat Broken Arrow — and everyone else — on their schedule.

3. Broken Arrow (3)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Because the Tigers only two losses came to Jenks and Tulsa Union.
Why they’re not lower: They beat everyone else, including Bartlesville last night. They also own wins over Owasso, Claremore and Tulsa Washington.

4. Southmoore (4)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: Because they’re the only team of these top four to lose to a lower-ranked team. The SaberCats have also found themselves in more close games than any of the top four.
Why they’re not lower: An impressive list of wins in non-district and 6A-1: Edmond Memorial and Midwest City in non-district and Del City, Lawton and Mustang in district play. Other than Jenks, Southmoore has the best list of wins.

5. Midwest City (5)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: The only thing keeping the Bombers this low is non-district losses to Del City and Southmoore and its hard to vault them over the SaberCats with their previously discussed credentials.
Why they’re not lower: They’ve gone through a relatively weak district and done exactly what a really good team should — destroy everyone. The Bombers closest district game was a 22-7 win over 6A-2 runner-up Edmond Memorial. None of the others were decided by less than 29 points.

6. Mustang (7)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: Losses to now-lower ranked Edmond North and Lawton.
Why they’re not lower: I originally had Mustang No. 7 before going back and doing a side-by-side comparison with Bartlesville. Mustang has wins over playoff teams Yukon and Putnam North and you’ve still got to consider their win over Del City as a good win. Since Daniel Farrow’s return, Mustang has been among the top teams in 6A, even considering last night’s close loss.

7. Bartlesville (6)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Because other than their two losses, Bartlesville played just two playoff teams (Claremore and Enid) and the Enid game was close, as was the Muskogee game (35-30).
Why they’re not lower: The Bruins played Jenks and Broken Arrow respectably in losses and have wins over Claremore and Enid. The schedule might not have been super-tough outside of the two losses by the Bruins did what they needed to do.

8. Lawton (9)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Back-to-back losses to Del City and Southmoore in the sixth and seventh weeks and, for better or worse, they beat Mustang before Daniel Farrow got going for the Broncos. The loss to the Wolverines came in Farrow’s first game back. That doesn’t change how I view Lawton and it was still a great win but it does change how I viewed the loss for Mustang, which affects the rankings as a whole.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over Mustang, Putnam North and Mustang (and 5A Lawton MacArthur, which has looked a lot more like the top-level 5A team they are recently). Finishing second in a brutal 6A-1 is enough to justify a top-eight ranking.

9. Edmond Memorial (10)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: A 1-3 start, with losses to Southmoore, Del City and Midwest City. The Bulldogs also haven’t shown the offensive explosion the teams ahead of them have, only scoring more than 28 points once — even with some teams on the schedule that should’ve turned into Memorial blowouts.
Why they’re not lower: Defense. Three shutouts, the only teams scoring 20 or more points against them were Southmoore and Midwest City and just some flat-out dominant defensive performances. Neither of those teams, though, scored more than 22. The Bulldogs will go as far as their defense takes them.

10. Putnam North (NR)#7-3
Why they’re not higher: The loss to Norman North, given the Timberwolves late-season struggles when they started playing the top part of 6A-1, holds the Panthers down.
Why they’re ranked: The Panthers turned right around from that loss to Norman North and pulled off the biggest upset of the season in 6A when they knocked off Southmoore 30-28. They also closed the season with a dominating performance in a 34-7 win over a Del City team that had been pretty good this season.

Others:
Owasso (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: They probably would’v’e been back in the rankings if not for a 7-3 loss to Stillwater last night.

Del City (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Back-to-back losses to end the season including a blowout loss to Putnam North to end the season. The Eagles are, far and away, the best team not going to the playoffs.

Enid (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: Losses to Owasso and Choctaw, with one win against playoff-bound teams (10-7 over Yukon) doesn’t make for a top-10 team.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa Kelley (1)#10-0
Why they’re not lower: The Comets win over Tulsa Washington to begin district play was an eye-opener. That’s whne they vaulted to No. 1. But since, the Comets have kept things rolling, with wins over Bixby, Pryor and Tulsa Hale among their perfect record. And their 10-9 win over Class 4A McGuinness turned out to be a pretty good win as well.

2. El Reno (2)#10-0
Why they’re not higher: Hard to argue with El Reno’s resume. Kelley’s just wound up being a bit better with more wins over quality opponents. But the Indians did beat Guthrie (18-0), Lawton MacArthur (42-17) and Duncan (14-7 last night) so that does give me pause.
Why they’re not lower: 10-0. The blowout win over Lawton MacArthur turned out to be very impressive. El Reno’s defense is the toughest in 5A, having allowed no opponent to score more than 21 (and that was in a 47-21 win).

3. Shawnee (3)#10-0
Why they’re not higher: Part of it has to do with where Shawnee started the season ranked and that Tulsa Kelley turned in a signature win that vaulted them ahead of the Wolves. There’s certainly an argument to be made for Shawnee as No. 1 (and Tulsa Kelley and El Reno as well).
Why they’re not lower: Like El Reno, 10-0. With only one other Class 5A team with as many as nine wins, third is as low as you can justify the Wolves, especially with wins over Carl Albert and Guthrie on the resume.

4. Tulsa Washington (4)#5-5*
Why they’re not higher: Losses to Broken Arrow and Tulsa Kelley back-to-back earlier in the season. They then had to forfeit three more games that ended any playoff hopes.
Why they’re not lower: First of all, let’s address the forfeits. In each one of those games, Tulsa Washington would’ve won anyway. The player in question didn’t make the kind of difference that would’ve changed the outcome. That’s not to say the forfeits are unfair. They absolutely make sense and the rule as its written is the way to enforce it. To on-the-field performance, the Hornets started the season with a win over then-No. 2 Carl Albert and ended with a win over Bixby. They also handed Tulsa East Central its only loss of the season. The Hornets, even at 5-5, are deserving of a No. 4 ranking. They’re also deserving of the asterisk that goes along with the forfeits that are keeping them out of the playoffs.
*Record includes three forfeits of games won by Tulsa Washington.

5. Carl Albert (5)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: Losses to Tulsa Washington and Shawnee, plain and simple. If you take only on-the-field performance into the equation, as I’ve said I was doing with Tulsa Washington, fifth is the highest you can make an argument for Carl Albert.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over Duncan (38-6), Guthrie (40-7) and Ardmore (47-14), all playoff teams and none particularly close. The Titans weren’t challenged in any of their eight wins during the regular season. Just as an argument can’t be made for Carl Albert to be higher when you take BTW’s on-the-field performance into the equation, an argument can’t be made for the Titans to be lower. They did get beat soundly by Washington but led Shawnee late.

6. Tulsa East Central (6)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: A 28-7 Week 2 loss to Tulsa Washington. If the Cardinals find a way to win that game and everything else is the same, its probably East Central who sits atop the rankings. They did, though, also have close calls against Tulsa Central (trailed into the second half before they wore the Braves down), Tulsa Edison (17-6 final) and Ada (24-21).
Why they’re not lower: Wins over playoff-bound Tulsa Hale, Wagoner, Tulsa Central, Ada and McAlester. The Cardinals are also one of only five 5A teams to register nine or more regular-season wins.

7. McAlester (7)#9-1
Why they’re not higher: A 22-6 loss to Tulsa East Central. That’s the only reason.
Why they’re not lower: Wins over 4A Broken Bow and 5A playoff-bound Ardmore in non-district play and wins over Tulsa Central and Ada in district play helped the Buffaloes cap an impressive regular season.

8. Tulsa Central (9)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: A pair of close losses to teams ranked ahead of them — Tulsa East Central and McAlester.
Why they’re not lower: The Braves stayed close in both of their losses and beat Ada to finish third in their district. They also have one of the state’s top playmakers in Demarco Cobbs.

9. Bixby (8)#6-4
Why they’re not higher: The Spartans 6-4 record is by far the worst on-the-field record of the ranked teams. Bixby lose to Jenks, Glenpool, Tulsa Kelley and Tulsa Washington. Not a bad loss among them but they still lost.
Why they’re not lower: They did beat Claremore, Pryor and Tulsa Hale and played both Kelley and Washington close. Bixby is still a top 10 team.

10. Duncan (10)#8-2
Why they’re not higher: In the end, the resumes of Bixby and Tulsa Central wound up being slightly better. They also didn’t blow out some teams that maybe they should’ve, beating Altus by just one and Deer Creek by three. Like it or not, style points matter sometimes.
Why they’re ranked: The Demons beat Lawton MacArthur 35-34 and stayed closes than anyone against El Reno last night. I considered dropping them out but in the end, Duncan deserves to be in the top 10.

Others:
Lawton MacArthur (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: The loss to Duncan wound up keeping the Highlanders out.

Guthrie (6-4)
Why they’re not ranked: Just one win over a playoff-bound team (Ardmore). The Bluejays were only blown out once (a 40-7 loss to Carl Albert) but lost all their key games other than the Ardmore win.

Ada (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Lost three of their last five games, all to ranked teams. Like Guthrie, Ada’s lone win over a playoff-bound team came against Ardmore.

Class 4A
1. Weatherford (2)#10-0
Why they’re not ranked lower: Easiest answer since Jenks. The Eagles are the lone undefeated team in 4A and won the district with the most serious title contenders in the state.

2. McGuinness (3)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Head-to-head loss to a Weatherford team that went undefeated.
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Irish beat Douglass head-to-head and had impressive wins over Guthrie and Millwood in non-district play. Even in the loss to Weatherford, McGuinness fell just one point short. The Irish’s only other loss was to 5A No. 1 Tulsa Kelley, also a one-point loss.

3. Douglass (4)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Head-to-head losses to Weatherford and McGuinness.
Why they’re not ranked lower: Their losses came 14-7 to the two top teams in 4A and by six to a Millwood team that then had Trayvon Henry, they beat Star Spencer 34-28 (which wound up being the tiebreaker for the third spot).

4. Star Spencer (6)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Non-district losses to Millwood and Douglass. That’s it. Since, the Bobcats have been nothing short of dominant.
Why they’re not ranked lower: 34-20 against Glenpool, ending the Warriors’ 23-game winning streak and scoring more than anyone had on Glenpool since 2006.

5. Glenpool (1)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked higher: See Star Spencer.
Why they’re not ranked lower: Wins over Bixby and Berryhill in non-district and an altogether dominating run through district play before running into Star Spencer.

6. Sallisaw (5)#9-1
Why they’re not ranked higher: A 35-16 loss to Wagoner in Week 9. Although Matt Oberste was injured early in the game, such a decisive win by Wagoner pushed Sallisaw way down.
Why they’re not ranked lower: The Black Diamonds did beat Poteau and Broken Bow to win another deep 4A district.

7. Broken Bow (7)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Three consecutive losses to McAlester, Metro Christian and Sallisaw early in the season. Can’t really make a an argument to go ahead of Sallisaw with the record disparity.
Why they’re not ranked lower: All of those losses were close (7 points in the first two and 13 to Sallisaw) and the Savages beat Wagoner in a close game and blew out Poteau.

8. Wagoner (8)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Losses to Tulsa East Central, Poteau and Broken Bow. The Poteau loss is what really pushed the Bulldogs down at the time.
Why they’re not ranked lower: They did hand Sallisaw its only loss, Matt Oberste injury or no. The losses, also, were all against good teams and the two district losses came by a combined four points.

9. Poteau (9)#8-2
Why they’re not ranked higher: Back-to-back blowout losses to Sallisaw and Broken Bow after the Pirates pulled off an impressive upset over Waoner.
Why they’re not ranked lower: 15-14 win over Wagoner. Its by far the Pirates’ signature win. Other than that, Poteau beat just one Oklahoma playoff bound team and that was 2A Spiro.

10. Oologah (10)#7-3
Why they’re not ranked higher: Oologah lost to eventual district-winner Jay 33-16. The other two losses were too damaging, as they lose to 6A playoff team Claremore and a pretty good 3A Sequoyah Claremore team.
Why they’re ranked: Wins over district rivals Collinsville, Catoosa and Grove. That and Jay’s shutout loss to Catoosa last week.

Others:
Jay (7-3)
Why they’re not ranked: Non-dsitrict losses to Gravette, Ark., and Pryor kept Jay out early and a 9-0 loss to Catoosa kept it from entering the rankings last week.

Tecumseh (8-2)
Why they’re not ranked: Tecumseh entered the rankinigs twice and prompty got throttled by a combined 89-6 by Glenpool and Star Spencer. No shame there but they did need overtime to beat Cleveland last night and played Noble, Harrah, McLoud and Seminole close. That’s way too many close calls to be ranked with the blowout losses.