Oklahoma High School Weekly

Hilldale sophomore Hayden Pickering plays both kinds of football. He's a wider receiver and cornerback on the Hornet football team, and he's a high scoring forward on the soccer team. He's on pace to easily surpass 50 goals in his second year on the varsity. He would love to win a state championship, break the state career scoring record and earn a scholarship to play collegiately.

Junior Midfielder Roman Hemphill is one of the state's best soccer players. Roman and his Edmond Memorial Bulldog teammates share a family atmosphere that has helped put them in position to contend for the 6A Boys Soccer State Championship. Roman plays for his Father, Edmond Memorial Coach Jake Hemphill who has helped build and nurture Roman's soccer skills. Roman's next goal will be a Division I scholarship.

Deion revisits his conversations with Booker T. Washington Athletics historian La'mar Burks and Don King, the voice of the Jenks Trojans. Coach Burks grew up near BTW and fulfilled his childhood dream of playing for the Hornets. He was on the BTW state football championship team in 1973. He's made a vocation of compiling and curating BTW's amazing athletic history. He shares more tales from BTW's historic legacy. Don King has a long history of covering high school sports in Oklahoma. He talks about the current state of athletics in Oklahoma.

Stailee Heard is a Senior Combo Guard for the Sapulpa Lady Chieftains. She scored 41 points, including the game winning basket in the waning seconds of Sapulpa's 75-74 win over Holland Hall in the 5A Girls State Basketball Championship Game. Stailee grew up in a basketball family but has competed in volleyball and track as well. Her parents, Tony and Lila played college basketball at the University of Tulsa. Stailee and her sister Tyla have been teammates at Sapulpa where you might say they've exhibited 'Heard Mentality' in their play. Stailee is headed to Stillwater to play collegiately with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls.

Brandon Garrison is the 6'9" Center of the 5A Boys Basketball State Champion Del City Eagles. He will be continuing his basketball career at Oklahoma State. Brandon is a McDonald's All-American who loves his Mother's cooking, English class and basketball. You'll want to hear about his interesting connection to Jay-Z.

Elle Papahronis is a Senior on the Edmond North Huskies 2023 6A Girls State Championship Basketball team. Elle credits the success of her basketball career and the success of their team to the rigorous coaching of her father, Head Coach Pete Papahronis.

Under the guidance of Coach Papahronis the Huskies have won their second 6A Girls title in a row. They successfully defended their title in a season where fans expected them to win again. Elle will be going to the University of San Francisco to play college basketball. Elle and Pete share a love of Greek island vacations, Corvettes and championship basketball.

Ford High School Weekly has all the action of the 6A and 5A Girls and Boys State Basketball Championships. Deion Imade reports from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman as the best teams in the state battle for the right to be called a state champion.

Catch the big plays and hear what the coaches and players have to say about hoisting that Gold Ball.

Choctaw's Peyton Hand became Oklahoma's first 4-time state champion in Girls Wrestling. When she began competing as a young child most of her opponents were boys. Now that Oklahoma girls have their own division, Peyton has taken full advantage with four championships and a commitment to Ottawa University. History is one of her favorite subjects so it's appropriate that Peyton's championship excellence is now a part of Oklahoma High School Wrestling history.

The Prep Redzone Sooner State Shootout drew 65 Seven on Seven football teams from the region surrounding Oklahoma to Broken Arrow's Nienhuis Park for two days of competition. 7 on 7 offers players the opportunity to improve their skills and get seen by college recruiters. Doug Rasmussen is the Program Director for Sooner7, an Oklahoma based group that has several teams in 7 on 7 competition. He joins Deion to talk about the origin and growth of 7 on 7 and Prep Redzone Oklahoma's Michael Knight talks to Deion about the success of the inaugural Prep Redzones Sooner State Shootout.

Sophomore Marcayla Johnson and the BTW Hornets are planning a playoff drive that could lead them to the State Tournament and a State Championship. Basketball is a game that suits her athletic ability. Combine that with lots of hard work and practice and it's no surprise that Marcayla has been under the eyes of recruiters since the seventh grade. Marcayla is committed to Baylor for college but right now her eyes are on the Hornets' State Tournament dream.