NOTHING BUT GREEN: Week Zero high school football picks
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Progress sports editor Kevin Green
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Last year's overall record: 75-9 [89.3%]
The Oklahoman's 2025 record: 62-19 [76.5%]
There are plenty of reasons to be thankful we aren't living in the plot of "The Last House."
In the new Netflix sci-fi thriller, a Seattle family wakes up one morning to discover an endless rainstorm has essentially sealed them inside their home.
The doors won't open. The windows won't break. Communication with the outside world disappears. The family eventually spends years trapped inside, desperately figuring out how to survive.
So, yeah, things could be worse, though I wouldn't mind borrowing some of that movie's rain right about now.
Instead, we get to live in a world where the final Friday night of August means high school football.
Is it going to feel like football weather?
Absolutely not. We're still a long way from those crisp October nights when you need a hoodie in the stands.
But high school football is high school football, and after waiting nine months for it to come back, I'm certainly not going to complain.
We've got four games involving Rogers County teams this week. It was supposed to be five.
Claremore Christian was scheduled to open its season against Crossover Prep, which made the move to the OSSAA this year. Unfortunately, the Lions overbooked their schedule, turning what was supposed to be a Week Zero game into a scrimmage.
That is a particularly brutal break for the Warriors.
They had already lost two games when Wesleyan Christian and Billings dropped football because of low numbers. Now, instead of a nine-game regular season, CCS is staring at seven unless it can find replacements [Wesleyan has already been replaced by Wichita HomeSchool Defenders].
That is one of the difficulties of playing eight-man football outside the OSSAA.
Most of Oklahoma's eight-man programs belong to the OSSAA, which doesn't leave a ton of schools sitting around with open dates.
CCS left the Heartland Christian Athletic Association to form the Frontier Christian Athletic Association in large part because regularly traveling to places such as Little Rock and Wichita wasn't feasible.
Neither is losing a third of your schedule.
Hopefully, the Warriors can find somebody with matching open dates and turn what could become a painfully abbreviated season back into something resembling a normal one.
For everybody else, though, it is officially time to play football, and that means it is officially time for me to start making picks again.
Last season, I went 75-9 picking games involving Rogers County teams. That is going to be difficult to improve upon, but that is the goal.
Unfortunately, Week Zero and Week 1 are where this gets dangerous.
We can read preseason questionnaires. We can study returning starters. We can look at last year's results and make educated guesses about which sophomores became dudes over the summer.
Until somebody actually plays a football game, though, we don't really know. So, how I navigate these first couple of weeks could set the tone for the entire season.
I'll also once again be putting my picks alongside those from The Oklahoman for comparison. Last year, The Oklahoman went 62-19 on Rogers County games while not making a pick on three others.
But that is enough rambling. Let's pick some football games.
CLAREMORE AT SALLISAW
Claremore opens the season with a legitimate test against a Sallisaw team that went 7-4 last year and features one of the most dangerous quarterbacks the Zebras will see.
Kase Adams rushed for 959 yards while throwing for more than 1,500, and Claremore’s ability to keep him contained could decide this one.
The good news for the Zebras is they essentially received a dress rehearsal against Coweta quarterback Legend Ellis, who torched them in last year’s playoffs but managed only 5 yards on 7 carries in last week’s scrimmage.
My bigger concern is on the other side of the ball.
Claremore committed 2 turnovers against Coweta, both in scoring territory. The Zebras can survive some early-season offensive inconsistency, but giving away possessions is how Claremore could lose this game.
However, I still think the Zebras have more ways to win.
Claremore is experienced defensively, has plenty of weapons around quarterback Kellen Gaede and should be able to attack a Sallisaw defense replacing six starters. Jaxon Burton’s leg could also become a major factor if this stays close.
Adams will make some plays, especially early, but I expect the Zebras' depth to show over four quarters.
My pick: Claremore 30, SALLISAW 24
The Oklahoman's pick: Claremore 35, SALLISAW 28
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INOLA 31, Sequoyah 24: I think this is competitive into the fourth quarter.
Sequoyah should immediately look much better than the team that lost by 40 last season. Gunner Allison and the RPO offense should create some problems for an Inola defense replacing a huge senior class, and I'd expect the Eagles to hit at least a couple of explosive plays.
But I trust the Longhorns slightly more at this point.
Quarterback Yeshua Rachele's three starts matter. Running back Jayce Kent could be poised for a big sophomore season.
I also think Inola's ability to run the football becomes the difference late. Rather than Rachele winning a shootout with Allison, I can see the Longhorns protecting a one-score lead by leaning on Kent and their offensive line.
Sequoyah makes it far more uncomfortable than last year but doesn't quite finish the comeback.
The Oklahoman's pick: Sequoyah 35, INOLA 13
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Quapaw 38, CHELSEA 22: I don't expect Chelsea to roll over. Caleb Bates gives the Green Dragons an experienced centerpiece, and I like having Khaiden Yarnell and Mason Greene up front.
New coach Tim Robinson can also make his first game much easier on his younger players if Chelsea establishes the run.
But there are too many arrows pointing toward Quapaw.
Ten offensive starters returning is the biggest one.
I think the Green Dragons hang around early. Maybe it is something like 14-8 or 14-12 approaching halftime. Eventually, the Wildcats' experience at the skill positions and depth of returning starters begins producing explosive plays, and Chelsea has to abandon the type of game it wants to play.
The Oklahoman's pick: Quapaw 21, CHELSEA 14
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Bluejacket 44, FOYIL 24: Foyil competes better than the raw matchup might initially suggest.
The Panthers return six starters on both sides. Kolbey Sanders and Virgil Pendergraft give young quarterback Maddox Butler experienced players to lean on. And this is exactly the sort of early nondistrict game that can accelerate the development of a young quarterback.
But Bluejacket looks really dangerous offensively.
The Chieftains return roughly 80% of a playoff roster, six starters on each side and have explosive players at quarterback and running back in Colton Cochran and Gavyn Nair, respectively.
Foyil's defense probably gets some stops. I just don't think it gets enough of them.
The Oklahoman's pick: FOYIL 42, Bluejacket 32