Bentonville West and Owasso will meet on opening weekend in one of the biggest out-of-state matchups of the year. Defending Oklahoma 6A-I state champion Owasso will host Bentonville West, who is an early favorite to win the Arkansas 7A title.
The game will be broadcast live on Yurview Oklahoma for customers of Cox Communications and will also stream live on Yurview.com.
Beginning of the title defense
Owasso will open the year as the defending state champions for the first time since 1974, but rather than beginning the 2018 season with rival Jenks or Bartlesville, Owasso will face Bentonville West for the first time. Owasso enters the game with an eight-game winning streak and is ranked #25 in the nation in the USA Today Super 25.
The crowd of the defending champions would overwhelm most teams, but it will take a lot to rattle Bentonville West. In addition to posting a 4-2 road record in 2017, Bentonville West beat both Oklahoma teams it faced last season.
Although this will be the first meeting of the schools, there’s a lot of familiarity on the sidelines. Bentonville is coached by former Ram assistant Bryan Pratt and the Wolverines have faced Blankenship before; when he coached at Fayetteville in 2016.
Players to Watch
QB Will Kuehne – Owasso
Throwing for more than 2,700 yards, 24 touchdowns and just three interceptions as a junior last season, Kuehne leads the high-powered Owasso offense that scored nearly 600 points in 13 games last season. Kuehne is the No. 19 recruit for the 2019 class in Oklahoma and committed to North Texas on June 19.
COMMITTED✅✅✅ #GMG #F19HTCLUB pic.twitter.com/9H3YOLDxwt
— Will Kuehne (@Will_Kuehne17) June 19, 2018
RB Isaiah Jacobs – Owasso
The junior has big shoes to fill, replacing the departed Bryce Cabrera and his single season school-record 34 rushing TD’s. Jacobs has the talent and the bloodlines (older brother Josh plays at Alabama).
Despite being a backup last season the younger Jacobs has already gotten offers from Memphis and Tulsa and is starting to get interest from programs like Arkansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. One question for this game is his health – he recently suffered a leg injury at the Union Gridiron Classic and it’s unknown if he’ll be 100%.
OKLAHOMA STOCK RISER: Owasso Isaiah Jacobs 5-10 193 (@isaiahj2020 ) (2020) Big time RB prospect in Oklahoma
✅ out his HL https://t.co/Spv1ejA7KS— Six Star Football OK (@6starfootballOK) May 29, 2018
TE Mario Kirby – Owasso
Kirby is the only other returning starter on offense, along with Kuehne. He’s expected to be Kuehne’s primary target, especially if Jacobs is hobbled, and will see time at defensive end as well.
Owasso’s Defense
Defense was a major factor in Owasso’s championship run, four graduates moved on to play at the D1 level, and the Rams have a nice mix of youth and experience.
There’s no replacing all-everything safety Josh Proctor (now at Ohio State), but Blankenship brings back starters in the defensive backfield, Duece Mayberry and Dawson Adams, returning DL starters Hilton Moseby and Aiden O’Dell and senior KeJuan Hay to lean on while the newcomers find their footing.
This dude is going to have a monster season ! Don’t sleep on this one out of Oklahoma . BUY STOCK NOW ! https://t.co/2JX5kRK0ug
— Coach Flight (@FlightSkillz) August 17, 2018
WR Jadon Jackson – Bentonville West
Bentonville West’s top playmaker, Jackson sits as the No. 6 recruit on the 247Sports 2019 class rankings. He’s also the 54th ranked receiver in the country.
Jackson has received offers from most of the top football programs in the southeast. He recently cut his list to a final 5 that includes Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma State.
TOP5️⃣‼️ @coachbpratt @BVille_West_FB @RivalsJohnson pic.twitter.com/DUXZuGWa0X
— JJack¹ (@jadon_jackson1) June 24, 2018
LB Kendall Young – Bentonville West
Standing at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, Young roams the entire field and is the No. 12 2019 prospect in Arkansas. Per his Twitter acccount he’s cut his list of college choices to a final 3 of Arkansas, Missouri & Vanderbilt but recently told Whole Hog Sports that “it is definitely between them (Arkansas) and Mizzou.”
Top 3‼️ #SEC Thankful for every college that has recruited me!Respect The Decision‼️💯🎒 pic.twitter.com/whfCGY4G4l
— KY²⁴ (@kendallyoung33) July 30, 2018
QB Will Jarrett – Bentonville West
Jarret’s put up big numbers for the Wolverines. Last season he completed 207 of 309 passes for 3,514 yards and 28 touchdowns with just three interceptions. While he hasn’t gotten any major offers yet, keep an eye on senior. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette recently profiled Jarrett as one of their Under The Radar players to watch and Coach Pratt said said: “In my 23 years, he’s the best quarterback I’ve ever had.”
UNDER THE RADAR: Bentonville West’s Will Jarrett: Each Wednesday we feature an in-state prospect that could be flying under the radar of college coaches. https://t.co/CfmuFNMWFU pic.twitter.com/T9G4PMKyFT
— Richard Davenport (@ArRecruitingGuy) May 30, 2018
How to Watch
Watch Bentonville West vs Owasso at 7:30pm CT on August 24th on Yurview Oklahoma for customers of Cox Communications or live on YurView.com.
