Choctaw storms past Muskogee, advances to Class 6A-II championship

ADA — Steele Wasel just gave Connor Stover a look.

After Cameron Hunt intercepted Muskogee’s pass, Choctaw’s third of the night, Wasel was looking to make another play to his wide receiver.

And so he did.

On the first play of the drive, the Akron signee stepped back and flung a deep pass to Stover, who reached up and caught his second touchdown pass of the night, this time over multiple Muskogee defenders in the end zone.

“He put it up there,” Stover said. “I just jumped up and grabbed it. It was just the plan.”

Wasel walked to the sidelines and slapped his coach's hand as the Choctaw fans were yelling in amazement at the throw and catch.

It was just that kind of night for Choctaw.

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Choctaw stormed to a 45-20 win over Muskogee in the Class 6A-II state semifinals at East Central University on Friday night. With the win, Choctaw advances to the state championship for the second time in three years.

It’s just a manifestation coming through,” Wasel said. “Ever since we lost last year, every single dude on this team has been so committed to get back and leave with a ring this time.”

Choctaw got off to a fast start and never looked back. It started as Choctaw drove down the field, finishing with a La’Trell Ray 7-yard run.

Just 40 seconds later, Choctaw tipped Muskogee's pass and defensive lineman RJ Jackson grabbed an interception and returned it 10 yards for a score. Choctaw scored 2-point conversions on both of the opening scores.

"All of our coaches prepared us extremely well," Wasel said. "We weren't surprised by anything and we did all the same stuff we did in practice and came out and executed really well."

Defensively, Choctaw routinely forced Muskogee into turnovers and that slowed down the usual high-powered Muskogee offense. Jackson, Imari Jones and Hunt all grabbed interceptions while Drake Fittro recovered a fumble.

Muskogee was able to break through with three touchdowns but the first didn’t come until Choctaw had a 23-point lead. Jamarion Ficklin threw a 31-yard pass to Anthony Watson to get the Roughers on the board. Ficklin then ran for a 2-yard score before Brandon Tolbert took a Ficklin screen pass 60 yards for a touchdown.

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But the first-half lead was too much for Muskogee to come back from, ending the Roughers' comeback season.

After a 2-8 record last year, Muskogee finished the 2022 season 10-2 after going on a 9-game win streak to start the season. Its only two losses this year are to Stillwater and Choctaw, the two teams in the state final.

Choctaw will be in the state final for the second time since 1960 (2020, 2022).

“The hardest thing to do in life is to go from losing to winning,” Corbin said. “We’ve been able to do that... and that’s a testament to these kids that believed and they buy in and they just continue to work. We're a program built on effort."

James D. Jackson covers high school sports across the Oklahoma City metro and state. Have a story idea for James? He can be reached at jjackson@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @JamesDJackson15. Support James' work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Choctaw storms past Muskogee, advances to Class 6A-II championship