Where are they ranked?

Kingfisher County has two teams ranked atop their class and two more among the top-three as we get set for the January push.

Coaches across the state submit their top-20 teams in their class each week.

Those rankings are compiled and released each Monday on ossaarankings. com.

Why do the rankings matter?

They’re used by OSSAA staff (most notably local OCA Hall of Famer David Glover) when preparing the playoff pairings for each class.

Being in the top-eight of your class truly matters as each of four areas will have two such teams.

The remainder of the pairings are done by a collection of criteria, some of which includes strength of the teams (rankings) and geography.

The final rankings for Class A and B will be released Monday, Jan. 10, 2022.

The playoff pairings for those classes will be released the following Friday. In Classes 2A-4A, the

In Classes 2A-4A, the final rankings are released Jan. 31 and the pairings announced on Feb. 4. (Classes 5A and 6A are split into two areas with 16 teams in each one…a whole different process that we don’t have to worry about here in little ol’ rural Kingfisher County.)

So, the first week of January, which offers the second big tournament weekend of the season, is pivotal for the two smallest classes as their final rankings come out the Monday after those end.

For 2A-4A that weekend obviously matters, but so does the week of Jan. 17- 22, which is the third and largest tournament week. With all that said, let’s

With all that said, let’s look at where some county teams sit in the most current rankings (Note: Coaches get the “week off” this week as far as rankings are concerned. The next release will be Monday, Jan. 3.):

Kingfisher Boys - #1 in 4A

The Jackets moved up a spot this week after the previous No. 1 team, Heritage Hall, was blasted 67-41 at Victory Christian. That bumped the Char

That bumped the Chargers down to No. 4 this week. Victory Christian is No. 2 (ironically, two coaches still voted Heritage Hall No. 1 this week despite the lopsided loss to the Conquerors, but how coaches rank is a completely different column).

Mount St. Mary is ranked third.

The Jackets have been ranked among the top-four all season.

Interestingly, when the Jackets won 42-41 at Newcastle last Tuesday, the Racers were ranked ninth.

That narrow defeat apparently gained Newcastle a little extra respect. The Racers were No. 7 this week.

Also, the Tuttle Tigers, which were ranked second when the Jackets beat them on Dec. 7, are sitting at No. 5.

The Western Athletic Conference - which includes KHS, Newcastle and Tuttle - also features No. 10 Bethany, No. 17 Weatherford, No. 18 Clinton and No. 20 Anadarko.

Cashion Boys - #2 in 2A

I think it’s a widely held belief that Cashion and No. 1 Dale are the two best teams in the class.

Defending champ Oklahoma Union is lurking at No. 3, but it’s likely going to be tough for the Cougars to replicate last year’s run.

In my opinion, fourth ranked Morrison will be really tough in February and March and might need some consideration with Dale and Cashion by then.

But, until then, it’s the Wildcats and Pirates and right now Dale’s quantity (9-1 record) reigns over Cashion’s (1-0). Cashion could help it

Cashion could help itself at the Tournament of Champions (see related story) with a strong showing, but multiple losses also shouldn’t hurt the Wildcats.

As for No. 1 vs. No. 2?

Well, Dale is in the Cashion County Line Tournament Jan. 20-22. It’s a loaded field and you never know how the bracket will play out, but the possibility of them playing is there.

It’s a definite (well, weather permitting) on Feb. 14.

Cashion hosts Dale in its regular season finale (after hosting Morrison four days prior to that).

Okarche Boys - #18 in Class A

After starting the year with two losses, Okarche has made a nice rebound.

Coach Aaron West’s team came back to win six straight and then, after a third loss, won three in a row.

Somewhere along the way, coaches noticed.

The Warriors popped into the rankings a few weeks back and then made their way up to No. 15. They fell a few spots

They fell a few spots after last Friday’s loss to Watonga. Three of the four losses

Three of the four losses - Preston, Calumet and Watonga - are to ranked teams.

In Classes B through 4A, the boys and girls teams are tied together when it comes to playoff pairings.

So, the Okarche boys’ fate will somewhat be shaped by the Lady Warriors who, you’ll later see, will be wrestling for one of those top-eight spots.

As for the boys, they’re exactly the type of team you won’t want to see in the playoffs.

They’re going to run. They’re going to press. They’re going to make you play faster than you want to play. And, if they can get hot

And, if they can get hot in the process, they’re going to beat some pretty good teams.

Kingfisher Girls - #8 in 4A

Those of us who follow things closely - you know, experts such as myself (don’t roll your eyes) - strongly believed the Lady Jackets’ ascent in the rankings was very possible, if not probable.

The Lady Jackets had a strong core of returning talent and also had the likes of Rayland Garner and Kina Frost - both of whom didn’t play last year - coming back to the team.

The experience combined with new coach Taylor Young and what she brings to the table as well as the landscape of 4A girls right now all offered the possibility for KHS to at least make some early noise.

The Lady Jackets have done just that.

Their lone loss is to the No. 1 team in the class.

Outside of that, they’ve dominated teams they should dominate and probably in a more dominant way than expected.

They beat two top-15 teams by double digits at the Cleveland tournament.

And, all the while, they’ve inched up the rank ings.

They were rewarded this past week by bumping up into the top-eight, which as we stated, is a coveted spot.

A strong showing this week in Mustang will only help the Lady Jackets’ image.

However, even a couple of losses shouldn’t see them penalized too much.

To stay in the top-eight, though, will be a feat the Lady Jackets will have to earn.

Before the cutoff date of Jan. 31, KHS will play No. 10 Blanchard, No. 9 Bethany, their own Buckle of the Wheatbelt Tournament, 5A No. 3 El Reno and No. 8 Anadarko.

If nothing else, that slate will help KHS get ready for the playoffs.

Okarche Girls - #3 in Class A

The Lady Warriors have a better-than-good chance to stay in one of those topeight spots.

They’re going to play four times before the final pairings are released: Hosting Cordell and then the Three Rivers Conference Tournament.

Okarche will be the top seed in that tournament and already has wins over the No. 2 (Watonga), No. 3 (Cashion) and No. 4 (OBA) seeds, among others in the field.

I continue to be impressed with Haley Mitchel and the job she’s doing as a second-year head coach.

Being the daughter of Cherie Myers obviously has a lot of advantages, but it also carries with it the burden of monumental expectations to live up to.

Last season, her team was hit hard by COVID at a tough time, but still made it within one game of the state tournament.

This year’s team is on that path.

Like Cherie’s teams, Haley’s teams play extremely hard and excellence is demanded of them.

More of than not, they deliver.

Just look at this year’s results: Wins over Preston, Lomega, Turner, Ripley, Cashion and Watonga speak to that.

When it comes playoff time, Okarche is just a team you don’t want to play, historically speaking. I see nothing this year

I see nothing this year that would cause me to think differently.

Lomega Girls - #1 in Class B

Oh look, guys. Lomega’s girls are really good in basketball.

The worst thing that has happened to Lomega so far this season is arguably the best thing.

The Lady Raiders lost.

When Okarche knocked off Lomega 66-61 in overtime on Nov. 12, it put an end to Lomega’s 56-game win streak.

Now, the weight of such an impressive run has been removed from the shoulders of this team.

The Lady Raiders can now concentrate on what they do better than any girls program in Oklahoma: Winning state championships.

If Lomega suffers a loss or two this week (see related story), it’s doubtful coaches will punish the Lady Raiders.

The worst, in my opinion, would be seeing them drop one spot should they meet up with - and lose to - No. 2 Hammon down in Ada.

Outside of that, it would take some major collusion by coaches to move Lomega out of the top-eight by the cutoff date. It’s just not going to

It’s just not going to happen.