Oklahoma Class 5A state championship preview: Undefeated squads Del City, Midwest City Carl Albert collide
Del City and Midwest City Carl Albert have been on a collision course for more than a year.
When the Titans knocked the Eagles out of the 2022 postseason, the two football teams from the same city were destined to face off again the following season.
But it wasn’t until both teams rolled through their semifinal matchups last week that the predictions came to fruition as Carl Albert and Del City secured spots in the 2023 Class 5A state football championship.
“We got a lot of respect for those guys. I think it's cool for Mid-Del that you got two teams from the school district playing in it,” Carl Albert coach Mike Dunn said. “But I also think it's cool that I think the best two teams made it to the finals and sometimes, it doesn't work like that.”
With both Carl Albert and Del City located in Midwest City and part of the Mid-Del School District, their campuses are less than seven miles from each other. Many of the players on both rosters have grown up playing with and against each other in various youth leagues and varsity sports.
Their rosters are nearly mirror images of each other as they both feature a who’s who of the top players in Oklahoma.
Carl Albert sports Xavier Robinson (Oklahoma commit), Kevin Sperry (Oklahoma commit), Marcus James (Oklahoma commit), Trystan Haynes and Trynae Washington (Oklahoma commit).
On the other side of the field, Del City’s may not be as heralded but it is just as impressive with Rodney Fields (Oklahoma State commit), LaDainian Fields (TCU commit), Aaron Carter, River Warren, Braelon Adamah and Darreyl Thomas.
“Our mindset has been getting to state and getting a ring,” LaDainian Fields said. “Do anything to get a ring and right now we are doing good, so let's just keep going.”
However, the biggest difference between Carl Albert and Del City is the championship experience. While the Eagles will be playing for their first title since 1976, the Titans are going for their 18th overall. That includes taking home six out of the last seven gold balls.
Midwest City Carl Albert punches ticket to Oklahoma 5A football title game with resounding win
“People think it's way easy. (Del City) coach (Robert) Jones and I talk probably weekly about it,” Dunn said. “Everyone's going to give you their best shot. Everybody's going to get really high for you and so it's cool.
"It's really awesome to be back. I think people get spoiled and here our coaches and our kids, we get to see the week in, week out. We get to see that what everybody else sees is just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody to see the work that's put in on the weekends, the work that's put in during practices. I think it's really cool that the best two teams are playing in the finals.”
Del City’s season got off to an auspicious start when the Eagles' opener against Choctaw was interrupted when a fight broke out in the stands and a young man ended up losing his life to gun violence. The rest of the game was suspended and never made up.
Yet, instead of letting the incident cast a dark cloud over their season, the Eagles won 12 straight games and outscored their opponents, 637-94, in the process.
“We've been fighting all year,” Jones said. “We overcame adversity, especially because we came back from that Choctaw incident. It's just been a special year for us and we're excited about it.”
Oklahoma football playoffs: Del City downs Claremore to reach 5A championship game
The Titans entered the season knowing they would be on every team’s bulletin board. With a roster full of future Division I athletes to go along with being the defending champion, they were a marked team.
But that didn’t slow Carl Albert down as they ran through their schedule without a loss. They posted 644 points while allowing just 181 in 13 games and now find themselves battling for a second straight championship.
“It feels amazing, but it's definitely not something I'm going to take for granted,” Washington said. “You know what? We're definitely going to go show out."
-- Michael Kinney | @SBLiveOK
