Collinsville Team Preview
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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 RIGHT HERE.
Overview (Class 5A Preseason Ranking: #2)
We knew at the end of the 2020 season that the Collinsville Cardinals would be in the conversation for being one of the favorites going into the 2021 season. The Cardinals dominated all season but ran into the eventual state champion Carl Albert Titans in the semifinals. We mentioned it last year before and during the playoffs but we believed that Carl Albert and Collinsville were the top two teams in Class 5A and that semifinal would almost be a defacto championship game with the winner going on to raise the gold ball the next week. That’s what ended up happening as the Titans captured a fifth consecutive state championship. The Cardinals are ready to topple the Carl Albert dynasty and are one of the top teams in 5A as they head into the new year. They come in at #2 in our Class 5A preseason rankings and a big reason behind that is the return of their “Big Three”.
Andrew Carney
Andrew
Carney
6'2" | LB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
,
Brayden Gilkey
Brayden
Gilkey
6'0" | 215 lbs | RB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
and
Oscar Hammond
Oscar
Hammond
6'3" | WR
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
are three of the better players in Class 5A and they all return for the Cardinals this fall. More on them and what makes them special in our “Players To Watch” feature below. All in all, the Cardinals return 11 total starters with 7 of them coming on the offensive side of the ball. That’s a good sign moving forward as one of the strengths of Collinsville last season was their explosive offense and they bring nearly everyone back. Another bonus for the Cardinals is the district schedule lines up favorably for them. They’ll have some tough tests but out of the four districts in 5A, you can make the argument that Collinsville’s district is the easiest. Several teams will have something to say about that, but Collinsville does come in as the heavy favorite.
2020 Results (11-1 Record – Lost In 5A Semifinals)
Sept. 4 – Beat Oologah 34-23
Sept. 11 – Beat Skiatook 49-7
Sept. 18 – Beat Bartlesville 34-30
Sept. 25 – Beat Nathan Hale 77-7
Oct. 2 – Beat Sapulpa 42-17
Oct. 9 – Beat Claremore 34-6
Oct. 15 – Beat Glenpool 56-13
Oct. 22 – Beat Memorial 70-6
Oct. 30 – Beat Pryor 63-41
Nov. 6 – Beat Tahlequah 55-20
1st Round – Bye Week
2nd Round – Bye Week
Quarterfinals – Beat Guthrie 41-24
Semifinals – Lost To Carl Albert 45-28
Players To Watch
Andrew Carney
Andrew
Carney
6'2" | LB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Athlete
Quarterback and linebacker
Andrew Carney
Andrew
Carney
6'2" | LB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
was one of several juniors who were finalists for our Player Of The Year award last season. He threw for over 1,500 yards and 20+ touchdowns and also added over 1,500 yards and 20+ touchdowns on the ground. Last year, we also saw a 5A quarterback in McGuinness’
Luke Tarman
Luke
Tarman
6'2" | ATH
Bishop McGuinness | 2021
State
OK
finish with 2,000+ passing yards and 2,000+ rushing yards and helped lead the Irish to the state title game. If Carney can join Tarman in that very rare “2K2K” club, the Cardinals will have a legitimate shot to not only make it to the title game but win the entire thing.
Brayden Gilkey
Brayden
Gilkey
6'0" | 215 lbs | RB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Linebacker
Collinsville’s
Brayden Gilkey
Brayden
Gilkey
6'0" | 215 lbs | RB
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
has been a two-way star for the Cardinals for multiple years now. He’s one of those players that have district opponents counting down the days until he graduates. He impacts so much of the game that it feels like he’s been around for much longer than he has. On offense, he’s the workhorse running back that is capable of carrying the ball 20-25 times and he runs the ball like a linebacker on offense. On the defensive side of the ball is where he’s in his zone at linebacker. He can play all over the field and run sideline to sideline. He never seems to get tired, despite the workload and will be a big reason behind Collinsville’s success this fall.
Oscar Hammond
Oscar
Hammond
6'3" | WR
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Wide Receiver
Our final player that is a part of Collinsville’s “Big Three” is wide receiver
Oscar Hammond
Oscar
Hammond
6'3" | WR
Collinsville | 2022
State
OK
. At this time last year, Hammond was going through a growth spurt and all of a sudden he showed up fall camp as a 6’3 game changer at the wide receiver position. He also plays safety and returns kicks for the Cardinals. But what he brings to the table that is the most important is his ability to stretch the field as a wide receiver. He’s tall, he can run and he can catch anything Carney puts close to him. In terms of recruiting, we actually think that Hammond might be the best overall prospect that the Cardinals have.
More Names
Caleb Tehee – 2022 Wide Receiver
Cannon Howard – 2022 Offensive Lineman
Seth Kickapoo – 2023 Defensive Back
Zach Stein – 2023 Linebacker
Notable
The Cardinals haven’t had the best of luck in the playoffs over the last decade or so. In fact, you’re better off being an opponent of Collinsville in the playoffs because you just increased your shot of winning a state championship. We’ll preface the following by saying that a lot of this is by coincidence but it is crazy to put the numbers down. During the last seven trips to the playoffs, Collinsville has lost to the eventual state champion on five different occasions. One of those occasions was in the state championship game where they lost to Altus on a last second field goal. In 2020, they fell to eventual champ Carl Albert in a semifinal showdown featuring #1 vs #2. We mentioned at the top how those were the two best teams in 5A but they happened to be on the same side of the bracket. That won’t be different this year. If the Titans and the Cardinals both win their district championship, they’ll end up being on the same side of the bracket again. However, the Cardinals appear ready to not only take down the Titan dynasty, but to end this little curse of being eliminated by the eventual champs.
2021 Schedule/Games To Watch
Sept. 3 – AT Oologah
Sept. 10 – Skiatook
Sept. 17 – AT Bartlesville
Sept. 24 – Nathan Hale
Oct. 1 – AT Sapulpa
– Sapulpa has an experienced and talented group coming back and this could be a dangerous game for the Cardinals if they’re not ready for it. They’ll be tested in the first month of the season but this will be the first real gauge of if this Cardinal team can contend for a state championship. If they go on the road and beat Sapulpa down like they did last year, Collinsville fans should be excited about the goals of this season. The Chieftains will be one of those teams in this district that will give the Cardinals everything they want and then some under first year head coach Tim Holt.
Oct. 8 – Claremore
Oct. 14 – AT Glenpool
Oct. 22 – Memorial
Oct. 29 – Pryor
Nov. 5 – AT Tahlequah
– The other big game on the Collinsville schedule is yet another road game. You can make the argument that the three toughest games on the schedule this year are Bartlesville, Sapulpa and Tahlequah and they are all on the road and a long way from home. The regular season finale features a road test against the only other ranked team in the district in our preseason rankings with Tahlequah. If the rankings play out as they are now, the district championship will be on the line when these teams square off in week ten. Collinsville might already have it wrapped up but the Tigers could end up playing spoiler before the playoffs.
Championship History
0 State Championships