Cashion Team Preview

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day as we release more individual team previews as we get closer to the start of the 2021 football season. In case you missed it, you can check out our Preseason Rankings <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/06/2021-preseason-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>RIGHT HERE</strong></a>. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Overview (Class A Preseason Ranking: #1)</strong></span> The <strong>Cashion Wildcats</strong> came into the 2020 season as the preseason favorite to win it all after falling short in 2019. The Wildcats had been dominant all year and then ran into a defensive juggernaut in Ringling and the Blue Devils captured the 2019 title. Cashion certainly felt like they had unfinished business coming into the new year and they showed it week in and week out. They began the season in the top spot and they ended the season in the top spot, beating Thomas convincingly in the state championship game. The Wildcats were not tested in the 2020 regular season, with their closest game being a 40-27 victory over Stillwater’s JV squad in a game that was scheduled on the fly after their original opponent couldn’t play due to Covid. Cashion and Pawhuska were #1 and #2 all season and because of how the districts lay out and the playoff brackets are based off districts, they would meet in the semifinals as opposed to the championship game. It was one of the more anticipated games of the year and everyone expected fireworks. Instead, we got a 7-6 defensive struggle that had fans on the edge of their seats from the start. Cashion would prevail and capture the 2020 gold ball. Fast forward to 2021 and Cashion is our preseason #1 team with Pawhuska right behind them at #2. The Wildcats do return their quarterback and a total of 15 starters combined on both sides of the ball. But they do have to replace one of the top two-way players in the state in running back/linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38609" first="Caden" last="Harrell"]. The Wildcats made history in 2020 and now the target on them is bigger than it’s ever been before. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2020 Results (16-0 Record - A State Champion)</strong></span> <strong>Aug 28 –</strong> Beat Rejoice Christian 47-14 <strong>Sept 5 –</strong> Beat Perry 49-13 <strong>Sept 11 –</strong> Beat Minco 47-0 <strong>Sept 18 –</strong> Beat Thomas 28-7 <strong>Sept 25 –</strong> Beat Watonga 54-12 <strong>Oct 2 –</strong> Beat Oklahoma Christian Academy 64-0 <strong>Oct 8 –</strong> Beat Stillwater JV 40-27 <strong>Oct 23 –</strong> Beat Oklahoma Bible Academy 53-7 <strong>Oct 31 –</strong> Beat Tonkawa 42-0 <strong>Nov 6 –</strong> Beat Crescent 55-7 <strong>1st Round –</strong> Beat Wynnewood 56-6 <strong>2nd Round –</strong> Beat Elmore City-Pernell 42-0 <strong>3rd Round –</strong> Beat Hooker 60-22 <strong>Quarterfinals –</strong> Beat Woodland 41-22 <strong>Semifinals –</strong> Beat Pawhuska 7-6 <strong>Championship -</strong> Beat Thomas 34-7 <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="52273" first="Ben" last="Harman"] - 2022 Quarterback</strong> Arguably the biggest reason why Cashion is the preseason number one team coming into the 2021 season over Pawhuska is this player right here. The Wildcats will benefit from the return of three-year starter [player_tooltip player_id="52273" first="Ben" last="Harman"] at quarterback. The Cashion senior put up monster numbers last year, on his way to becoming one of the top quarterbacks in the state. He threw a ton of touchdowns and barely any interceptions. He will have some new faces to throw to but Harman has taken Cashion to back to back title games, winning one of them. That experience and his abilities as a passer gave Cashion the edge here in July. <strong>Jackson Vandruff - 2023 Defensive End</strong> We mentioned at the start that one of the biggest questions Cashion will need to answer is who replaces the productivity of [player_tooltip player_id="38609" first="Caden" last="Harrell"]. We go to a junior and up front on the line of scrimmage to Jackson Vandruff. The Cashion defensive end doesn’t play the same position as Harrell but he’s a very physical player and has some impressive size to go with that physicality. He won’t be an exact replacement for a guy like Harrell because Cashion will need some players to step up in the linebacker spot, but look for Vandruff to make his presence felt this fall on the defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="53320" first="Landon" last="Lagasse"] - 2022 Wide Receiver</strong> Look for the Harman to Lagasse connection to be one of the top QB-WR combos in the state this fall. We mentioned Harman having some new names to throw to but senior receiver [player_tooltip player_id="53320" first="Landon" last="Lagasse"] is not one of them. He made the biggest play of the year when he caught what would be the game-winning touchdown against Pawhuska. So in terms of confidence, LaGasse will certainly come into his senior season with plenty of that as he’s made huge plays in huge moments. If Harman puts up monster numbers once again that are close to what he did in 2020, look for LaGasse to step up as the leading receiver, replacing the graduated [player_tooltip player_id="52276" first="Brexten" last="Green"] who was their leading receiver last year. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Names</strong></span> <strong>Camden Maroney</strong> - 2023 Lineman <strong>Max. Brown</strong> - 2023 Wide Receiver <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> Covid led to a lot of cancelled games, rescheduled games and other match-up’s that were made within a week. The 2020 season was tough for everyone but it also led to a bit of history for Cashion. As far as we know, the 2020 Wildcats were the first team in state history to go 16-0 and unless we have another global pandemic, we probably won’t see it again. The Wildcats were able to play all ten regular season games. They weren’t the scheduled games at the start of the year but they got ten games in. The OSSAA announced that every team would qualify for the playoffs in this special season and that added an extra playoff game. Cashion also played the teams they were supposed to play in the playoffs. A six week stretch where they went 1-0 every week, ending with the elusive gold ball in Edmond. Head coach Lynn Shackelford made a point following the title game to talk about how special the team was and how they’ll go down in the history books forever. The first and potentially only team to ever go 16-0 during a season. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Schedule/Game To Watch</strong></span> Aug. 27 - Rejoice Christian Sept. 3 - AT Perry Sept. 10 - Minco <strong>Sept. 17 - AT Thomas</strong> - It's part three of the Cashion-Thomas saga in the last two years. In week three, it'll be the fourth game of the year for Cashion as they hit the road to face a Thomas team that will certainly be waiting for this showdown. Both teams are in our preseason top five and will more than likely still be in the top five when this game rolls around in mid-September. After beating Thomas twice last year, Cashion will get everything they want and then some from a Thomas team that will still have a sour taste in their mouth following last year's state title loss. The biggest question is whether or not this meeting in September will be a playoff or even state championship preview later on in the year. Sept. 24 - Watonga Oct. 1 - AT Oklahoma Christian Academy Oct. 8 - Hinton Oct. 22 - Oklahoma Bible Academy Oct. 29 - AT Tonkawa Nov. 5 - AT Crescent <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Championship History</strong></span> <em><strong>4 State Championships</strong></em> 2020 - Beat Thomas 34-7 1981 - Beat Oklahoma Christian 44-14 1979 - Beat Lone Wolf 17-14 1977 - Beat Kremlin 40-14