Oklahoma high school football: Three under-the-radar storylines heading into Week 4

Here's a look at some notable Oklahoma high school football storylines heading into Week 4:

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Barnes to lead Yukon against Mustang as head coach for first time

The Mustang-Yukon football rivalry has reached its 50th year, and the latest edition is set for Friday at Mustang’s Bronco Stadium.

Mustang has dominated the series in recent years and hasn’t lost to its Canadian County rival since 2018.

But Yukon first-year head coach Brent Barnes and the Millers will try to change that. Barnes coached in the series as an assistant in 2006 and 2007, so he knows all about this matchup.

“One of the things I remember, just how big of just kind of a rivalry that it was at the time,” Barnes said. “For us to be on a really bad side of it the first year and then to come out with a win on their field the second year was a pretty big deal.”

Barnes has had several stops and led Norman North to the Class 6A-I title game as the head coach in 2016, and he’s been involved in some memorable rivalry matchups.

Mustang vs. Yukon has a way of standing out.

“It’s fun to be a part of rivalries and games like this one just because there’s a lot of interest,” said Barnes, who was most recently the head coach at Scottsdale Chaparral High School in Arizona.

“A lot of community support and pride. The atmosphere at the game is different than other games. It’s important to enjoy that because it’s high school football, and it’s fun to be a part of that.”

Friday’s matchup will feature a pair of quarterbacks coming off solid performances in Mustang junior Trajan Williamson and Yukon senior Holden Kee.

Mustang, ranked No. 7 in Class 6A-I, has had a great start to the year and is 3-0, while Yukon is 1-2.

There’s a lot of anticipation for this one for both teams.

“At the end of the day, it’s still just a football game,” Barnes said. “So I think that’s going to be the big key for us, just trying to get our guys to understand, not get caught up in all that.”

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Crossings Christian starts Jacob Stephenson era 3-0

With a new coach, Crossings Christian carries a flawless record into district play for the second straight season.

The Class 2A Knights opened with a 41-7 romp over Hennessey before defeating Community Christian, 21-13.

Casady, an independent team set to join an Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association district next year, presented the biggest challenge so far. But the Knights escaped with a 26-20 road win last Friday, continuing their early success in the Jacob Stephenson era.

“Our guys are continuing to learn with each game more about our schemes and more about how to play within the scheme,” said Stephenson, the former offensive coordinator at Oklahoma Christian School. “And most importantly, just playing together.

“We are getting a lot of inexperienced guys some experience really quick, and they’re capitalizing on that. With every game, I feel like we get a little stronger.”

Stephenson saw how the Knights contended with OU commit Ace Hodges, a force for Casady on the offensive and defensive lines. He said his team couldn’t neutralize Hodges’ impact, but the lineman didn’t stop Crossings from activating its offense. Senior star Luke Olson accounted for two touchdowns with 124 rushing yards and 43 receiving yards.

After repeating last year’s perfect nondistrict outcome, the Knights are striving to reverse the way they began district play in 2022. Luther vanquished Crossings, 27-0, but the Knights have another chance against the Lions on Friday at home.

“Every single time I’ve matched up against Luther, it’s a hard-fought battle,” Stephenson said. “They’ve got a couple guys that I know right off the top of my head are gonna be tough to deal with, so we got to come to play.”

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Perkins-Tryon anticipates Applegate’s full-strength return

Despite limited playing time against Marlow, Braiton Applegate has established himself as one of the state’s most efficient edge rushers.

The Perkins-Tryon junior has nine sacks through three nondistrict matchups, meaning he has averaged three sacks per game.

With Applegate’s defensive explosiveness, the Class 3A Demons rolled over 4A Tecumseh, 28-0, and defeated rival Cushing, 21-7. But they ran into trouble in overtime against Marlow.

The Outlaws toppled the Demons, 27-21, as Applegate missed the second half. Coach Dawayne Hudson said Applegate, who also plays running back, has “a small hairline fracture” on his right hand, but the coach doesn’t expect the injury to be prolonged.

“That cast should be coming off pretty quickly here next week or so,” Hudson said Monday. “And that will really open up the playbook, even offensively with having him as another weapon back there in the backfield.”

When he returns to full strength, Applegate can share carries with senior defensive end/running back Tre Stevenson, who has the most yards, rush attempts and touchdowns on the team. The Demons open district play Friday night at Kingfisher (0-3), and Hudson hinted at big expectations for P-T with his message of “stay tuned.”

“All our goals are still ahead of us,” Hudson said.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school football: Three storylines heading into Week 4