Another great question from one of our readers.

Q – What’s the best single game performance you have seen this football season?

Chris Cox – Ryan High – Shawnee Wolves

The best single game performance came from the Guthrie defense in Week 10 against Shawnee. They completely shut down Shawnee, holding the Wolves to -17 rushing yards and just 38 yards total. They also got their 7th shutout of the season in that game. It was the most dominant performance I saw this season.

If you want an individual performance, it was Shawnee’s Ryan High (Jr, LB) in Week 2 against Ardmore. He had 19 total tackles and a pick 6 to seal the win for Shawnee.

Those were the best performances I saw this past season.

Brad Heath – Semaj Stanford – Jenks Trojans

It’s rare for freshmen to make an impact at Jenks. Through the Trimble and Riggs eras, it’s hard to find players who made an impact in their first year of varsity football. But for those who did make an impact, their names are etched in the program’s history as some of the best players to ever wear the maroon and white. Names like Chase Beeler (02-05), Tanner Shuck (03-06), Tony Gillispie (04-07), Jake Alexander (06-09), Trent Martin (07-10), Ashton Henderson (08-11), Treyvonne Barre (09-12), Cooper Nunley (12-15), Austin Quillen (12-15), Stephen Kittleman (17-20), and now Semaj Stanford adds his name to a list of players who all made significant contributions in their first season.

If you have not seen Stanford play, then you are missing a two-way player who is one of the best cover corners in Class 6A. His ability to recover and spot the ball makes him dangerous to throw against. On offense, he is electric with the ball at tailback. He also returns punts and kicks. This kid has done it all in his first year of varsity play.

Jenks may not have a Hall of Fame (that’s another story), but if they did everyone before Stanford would be in…Stanford is following in their footsteps.

Bill Huddleston – Jamarian Ficklin – Muskogee Roughers

My “season’s best” effort is twofold involving the talents of Muskogee quarterback Jamarian Ficklin. In game four against Sand Springs, it was “see me run” as he rushed for nearly 200 yards and had five rushing touchdowns as the Roughers defeated Sand Springs 51-13. Then a week later in game five on the road against the Putnam City West Patriots, it was “see me pass” as “Byrd” tossed eight, no, not a misprint, eight touchdown passes and had 348 yards through the air using nine different receivers in the process while only playing two and a half quarters as the Roughers shutout the Patriots 69-0. Through nine games, Ficklin has compiled 3,510 yards total offense in 2023 including 30 touchdown passes as part of his 2,834 yards through the air. Now with 89 touchdown passes in his first three seasons, Ficklin has completed 464 passes for 8,077 yards in his career.