Coweta 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: #5)
The Coweta Tigers entered the 2020 season with a lot of confidence and motivation thanks to a run to the 5A Quarterfinals in 2019 after shocking the state and dropping 42 points en route to a massive upset over a 9-1 Tahlequah team that had held them to 7 points in their previous matchup in September of 2019. Though the Tigers were not able to find that same magic in the Quarterfinals against Piedmont, they carried their opening round momentum with them into the 2020 season. After a shutout loss to the eventual 4A Champion Wagoner in week 1, Coweta would not lose another regular-season game and only failed to score under 34 points one time the rest of the season. After a 1st round blowout of East Central, the Tigers were unable to put much together offensively in the quarterfinals against the eventual 5A runner-up Bishop McGuinness. However, with 8 returning starters on offense, 7 returning on defense, and with a lot of the previous top teams such as Carl Albert and Bishop McGuinness coming back with much different teams in 2021, this may be Coweta’s best shot at making a run to Wantland in recent memory.
2020 Results (10-2 Record – Lost In 5A Quarterfinals)
Sept. 4 – Lost to Wagoner 28-0
Sept. 11 – Beat Frontenac (Kansas) 34-13
Sept. 18 – Beat Muskogee 42-21
Sept. 25 – Beat Edison Prep 56-7
Oct. 2 – Beat Will Rogers 56-0
Oct. 9 – Beat East Central 61-20
Oct. 15 – Beat McAlester 20-17
Oct. 23 – Beat Shawnee 34-7
Oct. 30 – Beat Bishop Kelley 42-27
Nov. 6 – Beat Durant 49-13
1st Round – Bye
2nd Round – Beat East Central 44-14
Quarterfinals – Lost To Bishop McGuinness 39-12
Players To Watch
Gage Hamm
Gage
Hamm
6'4" | QB
Coweta | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback
A lot of Coweta’s recent success on offense is definitely due to the ascension of their star QB,
Gage Hamm
Gage
Hamm
6'4" | QB
Coweta | 2022
State
OK
. Entering his 3rd year as the starter, Hamm is a great athlete but he isn’t your typical pocket passer. He often works better on the move and is an excellent improviser when a play breaks down. However, he is also no stranger to letting the ball fly when necessary. He throws one of the better deep balls in all of 5A. With nearly all of his weapons returning this season, it appears that Hamm is in for another monster year on the stat sheet both in the air and on the ground. But we know that Gage has always been a team-first guy and the stat he cares about the most is the checkmark in the Win column, especially come playoff time.
Mason Ford
Mason
Ford
5'11" | DB
Coweta | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back
After experiencing a breakout sophomore season in 2020,
Mason Ford
Mason
Ford
5'11" | DB
Coweta | 2023
State
OK
seems primed to be Coweta’s go-to guy in the passing game on offense, but he may also be one of their best players in coverage on defense as well. Ford is not the biggest WR or DB on the field, but that should be of no concern. Ford is a very natural athlete and an incredibly easy mover in space. He has excellent short-area burst and some very fluid hips that allow him to both create separation from defenders early and easily, and to turn, run, and stick with wide receivers fairly easily when he’s on the other side of the ball. It will be very interesting to see if Coweta chooses to use Ford more on one side than the other, or if they will allow him to just go out and do his thing in all phases of the game as he also has dangerous potential as a return man.
Cadence Denton – 2022 Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back
Cadence Denton is another burner on this team that will be looking to break out in a big way for his Senior year. Denton was used mainly as a safety in the Tigers secondary in 2020 where he patrolled the field well and wasn’t afraid to come downhill and deliver a hard hit on the ball carrier. In addition to football, Denton also runs track for the Coweta Tigers where he is one of the top sprinters for the school and placed 4th at the 5A state track meet in the 200-meter dash this past spring. The track speed is definitely there on Friday nights, if Coweta can get him more involved in the passing game and unlock that game-breaking speed it would add yet another vertical threat/offensive weapon to this already explosive Tiger attack.
More Names
Brody Rucker – 2022 Kicker/Punter
Na’Kylan Starks – 2023 Athlete
Will Mason – 2023 Runningback/Linebacker
Wyatt Holmes – 2023 Defensive Lineman
Maverick McCollough – 2022 Defensive Lineman
Notable
Despite only having 2 seasons over .500 since 2016, Coweta has made it to the playoffs each year and has recently stirred up some trouble in the opening rounds. The Tigers have reached the 5A quarterfinals 3 years in a row entering this season with a combined record of 21-15. During that span, they have pulled off a pair of massive upsets over a couple of 9-1 Tahlequah teams in 2018 and 2019. However, it has truly been a tale of two teams when we look at the box scores from their first-round matchups and their quarterfinal matchups. It seems as though their magic has run out every year once they get to that second playoff game. In the first round since 2018, Coweta is 3-0, has scored just over 37 points per game, and has won by an average of 23 points. In the quarterfinal round, they have gone 0-3 while scoring only 15 points per game and losing by an average of 34 points per game. Call it whatever you want. Maybe they’ve hit a wall each year, maybe the increase in competition from round to round has been too tough an adjustment for them, or maybe they just play really well against Tahlequah in the playoffs. Regardless of what is holding them back each year, Coweta has the team and experience to break through to the semifinals, and potentially beyond in 2021, it’s just a matter of preparation and execution when the time comes.
2021 Schedule/Games To Watch
Aug. 27 – AT Bishop McGuinness
– Coweta opens up their 2021 season against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs in 2020 so you know they will come out ready for revenge in this one. However, Coweta may come in as the favorite this time. While it is the same school as last season, the 2021 Bishop McGuinness team will look a lot different than 2020’s squad with a bunch of guys such as
Luke Tarman
Luke
Tarman
6'2" | ATH
Bishop McGuinness | 2021
State
OK
graduated and moved on. Make no mistake though, this should be a close game from wire to wire as this will still be a top 10 5A matchup to kick off what should be a very competitive year in the class.
Sept. 3 – Wagoner
Sept. 10 – Frontenac (Kansas)
Sept. 24 – AT Edison
Oct. 1 – AT Rogers
Oct. 8 – East Central
Oct. 14 – McAlester
– All the marbles will likely be on the table for this one in terms of district placing. If the pre-season rankings hold to this point we are looking at a #1 vs #5 matchup with just 3 weeks to go in the season, so the margin for error will be very small. Though Coweta took down the Buffaloes in a close game last October, McAlester didn’t truly hit their groove as a team until later in the season, so don’t expect this one to be a walk in the park for Coweta just based on last year’s results. McAlester’s star running back
Erik McCarty
Erik
McCarty
6'2" | 175 lbs | DB
McAlester | 2023
State
OK
ran for over 100 yards and a TD against the Tigers in 2020. It will be interesting to see if Coweta’s defense can slow McCarty down this late in the regular season, especially considering the potential stakes.
Oct. 22 – AT Shawnee
Oct. 29 – Bishop Kelley
Nov. 5 – AT Durant
Championship History
0 State Championships