Friday Night Highlights: Oklahoma State commits season update

The first edition of Friday Night Highlights recapped how each Oklahoma State Cowboys recruit and their squads had performed through the first six weeks. This week will include recaps for Weeks 7 and 8, with a look-ahead to Week 9 action this weekend. As a side note, the Class 5A and 6A players from Texas are entering Week 5 because they didn’t start until Sept. 24. As usual, all stats used are according to MaxPreps.

Collin Oliver — ILB — Santa Fe HS (Edmond, OK)

Santa Fe started the year with a tough schedule resulting in a 3-2 record entering its game against 4-1 Yukon on Oct. 9. Oliver had another great game, finishing with nine tackles (three for loss) and a fumble recovery in a 42-21 win.

Santa Fe had a bye week last weekend as the Wolves prepare to host 4-2 state powerhouse Broken Arrow. A win would go a long way toward proving the Wolves are a legitimate state title contender.

And as something else to look out for, Oliver’s teammate Tayln Shettron will announce his commitment Friday. The four-star junior receiver will choose between Texas, Oklahoma and OSU, with OU considered to be the favorite.

Jaden Nixon — RB — Lone Star HS (Frisco, TX)

Lone Star was upset by North Forney before a narrow loss to two-time defending state champion Aledo. Sitting at 0-2 before district play even kicked off, Lone Star needed to find some answers. Enter: Jaden Nixon.

The explosive back went off for 147 yards and two scores on 14 carries in a 73-21 thrashing of Frisco Heritage. Nixon averaged 10.5 yards-per-carry and his longest run was 38 yards, and tacked on a 20-yard touchdown catch as well.

Lone Star’s next game was set to be against Frisco Independence last weekend, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 on Independence’s side. Lone Star has a bye for this weekend, so it will have two weeks off before a showdown with Frisco Reedy on Oct. 29. Despite the 0-2 start, Lone Star will be favored in each game until its regular season finale against Denton Ryan, which is the overwhelming favorites to win state.

I couldn’t find any highlights of Nixon specifically, but here are some cool cinematic-style highlights that include Nixon.

Jaden Bray — WR — Norman High School (OK)

The Tigers fell 42-13 to Jenks on Oct. 8 before losing 39-35 to Westmoore on Oct. 16. Bray was productive in each game, finishing with two catches for 33 yards and a score against Jenks, and three catches for 74 yards and a score against Westmoore.

The consecutive losses puts Norman at 1-4; the Tigers have been blown out by quality teams and lost some close games as well. This week will be a good measuring stick for the Tigers as they go up against 3-4 Enid at home, looking to get their season back on track.

Bray made it look too easy on this go route.

Cam Smith — ATH — Braswell HS (Denton, TX)

Braswell had a nice 69-63 win over Richardson Pearce, with Smith going for 199 yards and three scores on eight catches. Smith then had six catches for 92 yards in a trilling 44-37 win over Eaton.

Braswell is 3-1 heading into a district showdown this weekend at McKinney Boyd. Unfortunately, Braswell shares a district with Allen, Denton Guyer and Prosper, but the Bengals should still make the playoffs — and they may surprise people in 6A Division II.

News and notes for other commitments

• Allen (TX) and Blaine and Bryson Green get quite a bit of time off due to bye weeks and COVID-19 cancellations. The Eagles beat Atascocita on Oct. 2, and won’t play again until Oct. 30 against McKinney Boyd. Allen’s current regular season holds eight games.
• John Paul Richardson and Ridge Point (TX) are off to an 0-2 start after a 31-21 loss to C.E. King. Richardson had three receptions for 34 yards. The Panthers had a bye week last week and will kick off district play against Clements this week.
• Raymond Gay and Red Oak (TX) lost to Ennis on Sept. 25. The Hawks will play their first game since then this weekend in their district opener against Mansfield Legacy.
• Aden Kelley and Thomas-Fay-Custer (OK) continued a dominant start with wins against Hooker and Sayre in the past two weeks. The 5-1 Terriers will take on Merritt this weekend.
• Ty Williams and Muskogee (OK) are off to an 0-6 start, losing to Bartlesville 52-24 and Choctaw 26-10 in the last two weeks.
• Donovan Stephens and Del City (OK) are 0-5 with a 19-10 loss to Midwest City and a 10-6 loss to Putnam City North in the past two weeks. They take on Deer Creek this weekend.
• Logan Nobles and Jenks (OK) beat Norman 42-13 on Oct. 8. A bye week leads the Trojans into this weekends’ showdown against Yukon.
• Makale Smith and Midwest City beat Del City before a 53-0 win against Deer Creek last week. The 5-1 Bombers get 6-0 Putnam City North this week.
• Silas Barr and Pottsboro (TX) picked up a COVID-19 win against Commerce on Oct. 9. District rules call for a 17-0 victory for teams who can’t play with COVID cases. Then, the Cardinals fell to Mineola 57-49 and will pick up a 17-0 win against Bonham this weekend as a COVID-19 cancelled game. The Cardinals will face district leader Mount Vernon next week as they look to make a return trip to the 3A Division I state championship game.