The Oklahoman sports team delivers the key players, moments and more from the area's top high school football games in Week 0 .
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Three key takeaways from Deer Creek’s 53-17 win over Bishop McGuinness in the season opening Week 0 matchup on Friday night.
Player of the Game: Grady Adamson. The Antlers' senior quarterback, a Georgia Tech commit, was pulled midway through the third quarter after a triumphant performance. Adamson threw for 192 yards and four touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes. His ground game was equally impressive. He rushed for 58 yards and an additional touchdown to lead Deer Creek to victory.
Key moment: Deer Creek junior receiver Jaylen Davis returned a punt 42 yards to the Irish 8-yard line, setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mason Smith. The end zone fade to Smith served as the first of three goal-line touchdowns for the 6-foot-3 Army West Point commit, who caught six passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Read option: Bishop McGuinness honored late athlete Zach Tawwater in their home opener by painting his jersey No. 88 on the field. Tawwater’s best friend, senior WR Nate Steiner, wore his jersey tonight. Coaches, friends, and family were also sporting black and white shirts with his number on the back.
—Jordan Davis, Staff writer
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Here are three takeaways from Class 6A-I Edmond Memorial’s 35-0 win at Class 5A No. 2 Del City on Friday.
Player of the game: Riley Baptiste. The Edmond Memorial senior running back led the Bulldogs offensively, finishing with 17 carries for 106 yards and one touchdown. Listed at 5-foot-8. 185 pounds, Baptiste has great quickness and is tough to bring down, and he caused problems for Del City throughout the night. He led the rushing attack, while senior quarterback and Kansas commit David McComb was efficient through the air, completing 6 of 9 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. He also scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
Top moment: Just after Baptiste scored on a 1-yard run to give Edmond Memorial a 14-0 lead with 59 seconds left in the first half, Bulldogs defensive back AJ Roberts intercepted a pass thrown by Del City sophomore quarterback Cash Koertner and returned it for a 33-yard touchdown. That came with 42 seconds left in the half and gave Edmond Memorial an extra boost heading into the break.
Justin Merideth gets big win in return as Edmond Memorial’s head coach. This is Merideth’s second stint as the Bulldogs’ head coach. Merideth, who led the program from 2009-2017, was promoted from an assistant position in the offseason. “I feel like if you’re physical, if you’re tough and you execute, you win a lot of ball games,” Merideth said, “and that’s what we did tonight.”
-Nick Sardis, Staff writer
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Three key takeaways from Moore’s 35-3 win over Westmoore in the season opening Week 0 matchup on Thursday night:
Player of the game: Malikai Miller. The Lions’ senior quarterback powered the Lions to a Moore War victory after throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Miller was also electric on the ground as a runner, rushing for 67 yards to help lead the Lions to a season-opening win. Miller additionally lined up in the secondary for Moore and forced several pass breakups.
Key moment: Shortly after forcing Westmoore’s very first three-and-out of the contest, Lions junior wide receiver Maverick Gardner took the field to return his first punt of the season. That return ended with Gardner maneuvering past Jaguars defenders for a 65-yard touchdown, giving Moore an electrifying early 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. This play start seemed to give the Lions early momentum, which they sustained throughout the game.
Read option: With the win, the Lions earned just their second win against Westmoore in the past 24 seasons in the long-standing rivalry. The Jaguars' dominant 20-year win streak over Moore ended in 2021, and they previously won the past two matchups with the Lions.
—Jordan Davis, Staff writer
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Here are three takeaways from Class 4A Bethany’s 40-21 win over Class 5A Noble on Thursday at Southern Nazarene University’s football stadium in Bethany.
Player of the game: Wyatt Geissler. The Bethany senior receiver had a terrific game, finishing with nine catches for 130 yards and three scores. He was senior quarterback Jackie Payne’s top target as Payne picked apart Noble’s defense, completing 18 of 22 passes for 212 yards.
Top moment. One play after Bethany recovered a muffed kickoff, Payne hit Geissler for a 27-yard touchdown with 4:42 left in the second quarter. The Bronchos took a 21-7 lead, and it was their third unanswered touchdown in the quarter.
Judson Gilliland has strong performance for Bethany. The junior running back was Bethany’s workhorse throughout the night. He carried the ball 25 times for 120 yards and three touchdowns and also played a role as a pass catcher, finishing with five receptions for 49 yards.
-Nick Sardis, Staff writer
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Three and out: How Oklahoma high school football's top Week 0 games were won
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