A look at our first-round playoff picks

While all of us picked the 15 games in the Upickem contest, myself, Bob and Scott picked every game in the state. Here’s a look at the highs and lows of the first week of the playoffs:

Records:
Ryan: 65-15 (6A, 6-2; 5A, 7-1; 4A, 8-0; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-2; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Scott: 64-16 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 6-2; 3A, 5-3; 2A, 11-5; A, 14-1; B, 8-0; C, 6-2)
Bob: 63-17 (6A, 7-1; 5A, 6-2; 4A, 7-1; 3A, 6-2; 2A, 11-5; A, 13-3; B, 8-0; C, 5-3)

Bob’s Best Call: I don’t have much to brag about, so I’m going with Douglass and its impressive performance at Glenpool. The way Glenpool was shell-shocked against Star Spencer had me believing the Warriors would have no answers for the Trojans. I have three 4A-1 teams in the semis (Weatherford vs. Douglass, McGuinness vs. Star Spencer).
Ryan’s Best Call: Guthrie over Duncan in 5A. I picked 26-22. The score ended up being a bit lower than that but the margin was relatively close and the Bluejays won. I knew Guthrie’s defense was close to the level of a top-tier 5A team and their offense had been consistently improving through disitrict play, minus the blowout at the hands of Carl Albert. I also correctly predicted road teams Douglass, Wagoner, Sequoyah Claremore, John Marshall, Kiefer, Covington-Douglas and Deer Creek-Lamont to win.
Scott’s Best Call: I’m somewhat proud of picking 6-4 Laverne over 8-2 Caddo in a game that pitted two top-10 teams against each other. But based on Laverne’s super-challenging district schedule, that one wasn’t as big a shocker as the records would indicate. So the pick I was most excited about would have to be Carnegie over Healdton. Yes, both teams were 8-2 and it seemed like a toss-up type of game. But I had already written Healdton on the line, then went back at the last second and changed it. I typically trust my first instinct, but it worked out for me this time.

Bob’s Bonehead Call: Easy one. Even worse than calling Madill the 3A champion (because that wasn’t that crazy) was keeping the belief that Oklahoma Christian was going to make it to the Class A finals. I just felt the Saints were going to always put it together when they needed to. I truly never thought OCS was in trouble this season. They had lost by one point to Watonga and two points to Cashion. But give credit to Oklahoma Bible for the 7-0 win. Honorable mention to Vian beating Valliant in the second round since neither won their first-round contest.
Ryan’s Bonehead Call: Temple 51, Waynoka 6. Actual score: Waynoka 48, Temple 14. I had close picks one way turn into blowouts the other and a couple (Vian-Pawhuska) that I picked as blowouts wind up blowouts the other way. But none as bad as this one. (Dis)Honorable mention: Plainview 42, Washington 6. I’m not going to lie, I looked at Washington’s 1-4 start and basically wrote them off. But the losses aren’t so bad looking back on it and even that lone win (8-7 over Jones) stands out as a pretty impresssive one. The Warriors proved that their five-game win streak to end the regular season was no fluke.
Scott’s Bonehead Call: There were three upsets I desperately wanted to pick, but backed off on all three for reasons I can’t explain. And all three — Guthrie, Washington and Covington-Douglas — won. All three of those teams came into the playoffs at 6-4, but all three programs have an understanding of how to play and win in the postseason, whether it be from recent or long-standing success.