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Elijah Wright puts on Heckuva Show in State Championship Loss

Vian linebacker and all purpose offensive player Elijah Wright was maybe the best player on the field in the Class 2A State Championship.

EDMOND – Kenyatta Wright was one of those players that played not only with his mind and body, but the All-Big 12 linebacker at Oklahoma State played with his heart and his soul. Wright was a give-it-all guy all the time and that is a big reason is football career took him from Stillwater to the NFL playing for both the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills.

Now, Wright is coaching defense for Vian and the Class 2A Wolverines battled in one of the most exciting state championship games over the last two weeks on Saturday night losing 42-34 to Tulsa Metro Christian. Wright had his two sons playing for him in senior linebacker Elijah and junior defensive tackle Solomon.

The younger Solomon is 6-0, 285 pounds, but moves like he is 185 and is a really talented player with scholarship offers having already started, including Oklahoma State. Elijah is listed at 6-0, 225 pounds, but looks more like 5-11, but don’t let that inch sway you in his future participation or that he doesn’t have the offers that his younger brother is getting.

Elijah was one of the two best players on the field in the game along with Metro Christian quarterback Asher Link. Link was the difference in the game for the Patriots, but Wright may have been the best overall player.

Wright was active sideline to sideline from his linebacker position, also blitzing and dropping back in coverage. At times, it looked like he was trying to cover the entire field. On offense, he switched back and forth from fullback to tailback to wildcat quarterback.

On defense, he was his usual force and on offense he made a devastating block for cousin Javyn Wright’s 35-yard touchdown run. He scored himself on a 77-yard run that gave Vian the lead in the third quarter. Wright finished with 149-yards rushing on 13 carries. He also threw out of the “wildcat” formation for a 27-yard touchdown. He caught two passes for 48-yards.

“Yes sir,” Wright answered when I asked him that he knows he is going to play more football. “Just being a part of this community has been so special and more than I could ever ask for. Losing sucks, but I know that God is in control has a bigger plan. Maybe we needed this to show that we could get through it all together. At the end of the day winning and losing doesn’t define who you are.”

I don’t care, as I wrote earlier in this story, about that inch below being six-foot. Elijah Wright is a football player. Army has offered a scholarship and he would be a tremendous player in that program, but I think he would be the same in a lot of programs. His season numbers are pretty amazing as he had 133 tackles with 37 tackles for loss, and 16 sacks. On offense he rushed for 515-yards and six touchdowns.

Yet on Saturday night in this game, it was the block he made in the open field to secure the running lane to the end zone for his cousin that made the greatest impact on me. I would think it would do the same to any coach out there that watches the video.

“I knew Javyn could do great things if he had space, so I gave him some room and he got in the end zone,” Wright said. “I’m happy to lead these brothers of mine, I call them. I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other group and I’m so happy to be here.”

That was his last high school game. It won’t be, as I told him at the beginning of the interview his last football game. Elijah Wright has a lot more football ahead of him and it is fun to see that he plays with that same spirit and charisma that a lot of us saw his dad play with back around 20 years ago.