Oklahoma Class C football: How Tipton & Ryan match up in state championship
Here’s how Tipton and Ryan match up in the Class C football state title game.
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No. 1 Tipton Tigers (13-0) vs. No. 3 Ryan Cowboys (12-1)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Southern Nazarene University Football Stadium, N. Stinchcomb Ave. and NW 50th St., Bethany
Live streaming: Available via the NFHS Network, requires a subscription
Tickets: $11.50 via GoFan mobile ticketing app (accessible through the ossaa.com homepage and “FOOTBALL” page) or $13 cash at the gate
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Coaches
Tipton: Travis White (10th season)
Ryan: Tony Tomberlin (sixth season)
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How they got here
Tipton: 56-8 against Buffalo, 56-6 against Graham-Dustin, 54-0 against Waynoka
Ryan: 42-28 against Tyrone, 56-36 against Wilson-Henryetta, 48-40 against Timberlake
All-time record: Tipton leads 13-2
Previous meeting: Tipton beat Ryan, 40-32, in Week 5 of this season
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State championship history
Tipton: Eight state titles in 10 appearances, last appearance in 2022, last title in 2022
Ryan: No state titles in five appearances, last appearance in 1991
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Player to watch
Tipton: Johnny Fernandez, junior running back. Travis White said the Tigers are balanced this year, but Fernandez is undeniably one of the most prominent stars. His stat line features 1,705 rushing yards, 23 rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns. At safety, he has 58 tackles and three interceptions. Fernandez played one of his best games this season against Ryan, propelling Tipton to a win with about 180 rushing yards and a touchdown pass.
Ryan: Carsen Rodriguez, junior running back. Rodriguez leads the Cowboys with 1,293 rushing yards on 159 attempts. In the state quarterfinals, he rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns, the most for any Ryan running back in playoff history. He was also active on defense with 10 tackles.
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Keys to victory
Tipton: Limit Ryan’s run game. Several standouts fuel the Cowboys on the ground. While Carsen Rodriguez is their leading rusher, freshman Noah Torrez has 990 rushing yards, and senior quarterback Racen Williams has 624. To bottle up Ryan’s dynamic offense, the Tigers can’t just zero in on one guy.
Ryan: Control the pace. Tipton has a speedy offense, and once the Tigers start zooming, they’re difficult to stop. Tipton has overwhelmed its playoff opponents with an average margin of victory of 50.7 points, so Ryan needs to prevent the Tigers from building an early lead and running away with it.
Hallie Hart covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Hallie? She can be reached at hhart@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@halliehart. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Hallie's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Class C football: Tipton vs. Ryan championship preview
