For three Okmulgee County varsity football teams, the quest for a state championship continues tonight, as the third phase of the 2018 high school season - postseason - begins around the state.

The Beggs Golden Demons, Dewar Dragons, and Morris Eagles will join the other 173 playoff teams from Classes 6A-C in a four-week (five in A, B, 2A, three in 6A-I and 6A-II) hunt for the prestigious Gold Ball.

The Demons and Eagles will battle 30 other teams for a chance at playing for the Class 2A state championship, while the Dragons will be a part of the 32-team Class B postseason bracket.

Beggs and Dewar will get the opportunity to open postseason play in front of their hometown fans, as both the Demons and Dragons will host their first-round contests tonight after capturing the championship in their respective district. Morris will be on the road for its opening-round game after the Eagles finished fourth in 2A-3, which means the Morris squad will have to travel to the 2A-4 district champion, which is the Adair Warriors.

Winning their respective districts means the Demons and Dragons will face the fourth-seeded team in 2A-4 and B-5, respectively. Beggs will welcome the Wyandotte Bears in a Class 2A playoff opener, while Dewar will play host to the Canadian Cougars in a Class B postseason opening-round contest.

The last time there were at least three county teams competing in the playoffs in a single season was in 2016 when four county teams punched their tickets to the postseason. The last time just three county teams played in the playoffs was 2015 when Beggs, Henryetta, and Dewar reached the postseason.

The Demons are making their 11th-straight playoff appearance, while the Dragons are in the playoffs for the sixth-straight season.

The Eagles are in the postseason after a 6-year absence, earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2012, which was the end of a string of four-straight playoff appearances for the Morris squad.

Beggs is seeking its second-straight trip to the state championship game after finishing runner-up to John Marshall last year in Class 3A.

Dewar is looking to get past the second round for the first time since 2015 when the Dragons reached the quarterfinals of the Class B playoffs.

Morris is looking for their first playoff victory since 2011 when the Eagles knocked off Hartshorne 34-6 in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

The Demons' first obstacle in their journey back to the state championship game will be the Wyandotte Bears, who enter tonight's first-round game with a 6-4 record. Wyandotte finished with a 4-3 district record and tied Salina in the district standings. Salina, who is coached by former Beggs coach Matt Williams, was awarded the third seed in 2A-4 after defeating Wyandotte 27-20 in Week 9 in Salina.

Wyandotte began the 2018 season with back-to-back wins over Fairland (15-8) and Quapaw (19-2), then dropped a 43-0 decision to Inola in its final non-district contest.

The Bears began district play September 21 with a 32-20 victory over Chouteau-Mazie, then dropped back-to-back contests to Adair (48-21) and Metro Christian (47-13) to sit at 1-2 in district play after three games. Wins over Kansas (20-0) and Chelsea (54-14) put Wyandotte at 3-2 in district play with two games remaining in the regular season. The loss to Salina evened the Bears' district record at 3-3 and needed a win over Nowata in their regular-season finale last Friday to punch their ticket to the postseason. Wyandotte routed Nowata 42-7 in front of the Bears' home crowd to finish with the fourth seed in the 2A-4 standings.

The Dragons' first speed bump in their journey towards the Class B state championship is the Canadian Cougars, who were a district opponent of Dewar the past four seasons. The Cougars come into tonight's first-round battle with a 6-4 record - 2-3 in district play.

Canadian kicked off the 2018 campaign with back-to-back wins over Foyil (28-8) and Cave Springs (52-6) before suffering a 52-26 loss to Keota in Week 3. After the loss to Keota, the Cougars finished their non-district schedule with wins over Arkoma (48-0) and Porum (64-14), then began district play with a 50-20 victory over Caddo.

Canadian's next three district contests went against the Cougars, suffering defeats to Weleetka (50-14), Strother (60-30), and Wetumka (60-14), respectively, to put their playoff dreams in jeopardy, heading into last Friday's regular-season finale at home against Maud. Canadian earned a 38-18 victory over the visiting Tigers to secure the fourth seed in the 6-team district.

Morris will look to play spoiler tonight, as they travel to Adair and a first-round showdown with the Class 2A-4 district champion Adair Warriors, who enter the playoffs with a 9-1 record - 7-0 in district play. Adair's only loss of the 2018 season came in Week 2 - a 59-16 defeat at the hands of Locust Grove.

The Warriors began the 2018 campaign August 24 with a 60-0 thrashing of Dewey, then followed the shutout win with a 46-10 victory over Commerce.

After the non-district loss to Locust Grove, the Warriors edged Metro Christian 20-19 in their district opener.

The other six-straight district wins for Adair came against Wyandotte (48-21), Chouteau-Mazie (46-8), Salina (38-21), Kansas (46-12), Nowata (44-7), and Chelsea (48-12).

Below are offensive and defensive keys to the game for the three Okmulgee County teams that will be competing in playoff openers tonight.

Beggs vs Wyandotte

Beggs Offensive Keys

The main objective for the Demon offense this week will be to find a way to continue moving the ball down the field effectively, keeping the Wyandotte defense off-guard with a mix of run and pass plays throughout the contest. The Demons will need to find a way to jump out to an early lead and not allow Wyandotte the opportunity to keep the game close. The Beggs offensive line, which features seniors Baylor Christy (6-6, 295), D.J. Terry (6-2, 320), Austin Neal (5-11, 200) and Andrew Price (5-10,

260) and juniors Matthew Pierce (6-3, 300) and Tafv Sanders (6-2, 300), will need to find ways of opening running lanes for running backs Jared Sutter and T.J. Austin, while also providing time in the pocket for senior quarterback Dalton Spring to find one of his many aerial targets, such as senior wideouts Shaidan Jordan and Jaidan Grayson, downfield in the passing game. If the Demons are to come away with a first-round win tonight, they cannot afford to have promising drives stall due to penalties, turnovers, or negative yardage plays.

Beggs Defensive Keys

The aggressive Beggs defense will need to find a way to get into the backfield and disrupt the offensive rhythm of senior quarterback Zach Garrett (5-10, 145), not allowing the Wyandotte signal caller time in the pocket to find his favorite target - senior wide receiver Helawa Williams (5-10, 150) - downfield. Head coach Zac Ross could very well use Garrett at either running back or wide receiver, depending on the situation, meaning the Beggs defense will need to know where the senior athlete is at all times when Wyandotte has the ball on offense. The Beggs defense will also need to come away with takeaways or stop the Bear ballcarriers for short or negative yardage that gets the ball back into the hands of the high-powered Beggs offense.

Morris at Adair

Morris Offensive Keys

The Eagles will need to find a way to be balanced offensively this week if they are to come away with the upset win in their playoff opener. In the past two weeks, the offensive workhorses for Morris have been sophomore running back Jeremiah Ramos, sophomore quarterback Kolby Burgess, and sophomore wide receiver Kolby Adams. The Morris offensive line will need to find a way to open up running lanes for Ramos, while giving Burgess time in the pocket to complete passes downfield to Adams, as well as other receivers. The Morris squad will need to avoid penalties, turnovers, and negative yardage plays that take away scoring chances if they are to continue their journey through the postseason.

Morris Defensive Keys

The main focus for the Morris defense will be to find a way to contain senior quarterback Austin Hines (5-10, 185), who is a very dangerous dual threat at the signal caller position. Hines will look to complete passes to junior tight end Brock Borin (6-4, 230) and junior wide receiver Barrett Bradbury (6-0, 160), as well as sophomore receivers Holden Yoder (6-0, 165) and Garrett Long (5-11, 160). When the Warriors run the football, Hines will more than likely hand the ball to junior running back Jacob Lappe (5-9, 180) when the signal caller is not scrambling on a QB keeper. The Morris defense will also need to find a way to come away with takeaways, as well as attempt to force several three-and-out situations that gets the high-powered Adair offense off the field without any points being put up on the scoreboard by the Warriors.

Dewar vs Canadian

Dewar Offensive Keys

The Dragons will need to find a way to continue moving the ball downfield effectively in both the run and pass games. Sophomore QB Joey Fowler continues to impress head coach Josh Been in his second year of leading the Dewar offense. If the Dragons are to have any chance of competing for a state championship this year, Fowler will need to continue moving the ball with both his arm and legs, making it hard for opponents to focus on stopping the Dewar signal caller. Running backs Kameron Wadley and Tristan Melder will also need to be more involved this week if the Dragons are to be successful in the postseason. The offensive line will need to continue to open up running lanes for Fowler and the running backs to pick up sizeable gains, while allowing Fowler time to find one of his many talented receivers, such as seniors Rhett Whitlow and Braxton Loyd, downfield in the passing game. The Dragons will need to avoid turnovers, penalties, and negative plays that result in drives stalling without points being put on the scoreboard.

Dewar Defensive Keys

The main focus for the Dewar defense this week will be to find a way to get into the backfield and bring down the ballcarrier for negative yards. The offense for Canadian is being guided by Carson Thompson (5-10, 170, Jr.). Thompson is a dual-threat quarterback, who has the ability to throw the football downfield with effectiveness and can also tuck the ball and scramble for positve yardage if not contained at the line of scrimmage. Thompson' favorite targets in the passing game are senior Dalton Lenox (6-1, 205) and junior Terrell Crawford (5-11, 180) at the tight end position. The other running threat in the backfield for Canadian is junior fullback Jackson Rousey (5-10, 185). The Dragons will need to force several three-and-out situations, as well as create turnovers and negative-yardage plays on defense, if they are to continue their journey towards a state championship in 2018.