Jenks Team Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! 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">RIGHT HERE</a>. Overview (Class 6A-D1 Preseason Ranking: #3) The Jenks Trojans come into the 2021 season in a familiar spot to this program and that is as defending champions. For the 17th time in school history, Jenks captured the gold ball and now they have the challenge of defending the crown. They ended the 2020 season as dominant as ever, beating their four playoff opponents by an average of 32.5 points per game. They beat all four by at least 20 points and ran away with the state championship. Defending that title will be a challenge for the Trojans this fall as they lose some special players with a ton of experience. Having said that, they won’t be lacking talent with 14 starters returning off last year’s team. However, they will have a new quarterback after the graduation of two-year starter [player_tooltip player_id="38530" first="Stephen" last="Kittleman"]. They also have to find new playmakers to replace arguably their two best players from 2020 in [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"] and [player_tooltip player_id="38514" first="Jayden" last="Patrick"]. But let’s be honest. This is Jenks. The Trojans are one of the few programs in the state that reload and never rebuild. The Trojans have the target on their back and Jenks is a unique program that is used to having that target on their back and having to defend a title rather than chase it. <hr /> 2020 Results (11-1 Record - 6A-D1 State Champion) Aug 28 – Beat Springdale Har-Ber, AR. 31-15 Sept 4 – Lost To Bixby 42-35 Sept 11 – Beat Union 28-0 Sept 25 – Enid Game Cancelled Oct 2 – Beat Broken Arrow 38-30 Oct 8 – Beat Norman 42-13 Oct 15 – Edmond Santa Fe Game Cancelled Oct 23 – Beat Yukon 38-7 Oct 30 – Beat Edmond Memorial 48-6 Nov 5 – Beat Westmoore 49-21 1st Round – Beat Moore 51-19 Quarterfinal – Beat Norman North 63-16 Semifinal – Beat Owasso 39-15 Championship - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 41-14 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="38697" first="AJ" last="Brown"] - 2022 Defensive Lineman Senior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="38697" first="AJ" last="Brown"] is a player we have circled as a potential breakout star for the Trojans. He has playing experience but 2021 could be the year he becomes one of the best defensive tackles in the state. He’s incredibly powerful but he also has a very quick first step that will put opposing offensive linemen on their heels. At that point, Brown can use his power to keep them moving backwards into the backfield as he absolutely wrecks shop. [player_tooltip player_id="101263" first="Cade" last="Stacy"] - 2022 Defensive Back Trojan defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="101263" first="Cade" last="Stacy"] has just continued to get better and better over the last few years. We first saw Stacy as a sophomore and you could tell that he had some potential based on his size alone. Fast forward to today and it looks like he’s realizing that potential and could be one of the top cover corners in 6A-D1 this fall. Stacy has size and plays very physical with opposing receivers. He can also run and stay in coverage longer than most corners. [player_tooltip player_id="160658" first="Glenny" last="Jones"] - 2022 Athlete Jenks senior standout [player_tooltip player_id="160658" first="Glenny" last="Jones"] certainly has the genetics to be a Jenks superstar. He’s related to former Jenks running back phenom Kejuan Jones and will attempt to add to the family legacy this fall. We like what Jones brings to the table as an athlete on offense and defense. Jones will bring an explosive dynamic to the receiver position but then he can turn around and play cover corner and stay with just about any wide receiver he lines up against. [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"] - 2023 Running Back After spending his first two high school years at Booker T Washington, junior running back [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"] moved to Jenks in the offseason and will give the Trojans an immediate boost this fall. Carroll is a typical workhorse back who can handle 20-25 carries a game with ease and is a very consistent runner. He’s also shifty enough to make defenders miss and turn a short run into a long run. He’s just what Jenks needs on offense, especially early on in the year. [player_tooltip player_id="157457" first="Jalyn" last="Stanford"] - 2023 Athlete Don’t be surprised to see Carroll splitting carries with this junior in [player_tooltip player_id="157457" first="Jalyn" last="Stanford"]. Few 2023 prospects had a better spring than Stanford. He showed that he can be an impact player on offense at running back and on defense in the secondary. We mentioned at the start that the Trojans had to find replace key pieces like [player_tooltip player_id="48281" first="Grant" last="Lohr"]. Well they might have found that guy this spring in Stanford. He’s more explosive than Lohr but he also brings that hard-hitting physicality. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="61129" first="Colemon" last="Thurber"] - 2022 Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="160663" first="Max" last="Paskvan"] - 2022 Kicker [player_tooltip player_id="38806" first="Milton" last="White"] - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Trey Gibbs - 2022 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="98178" first="Ty" last="Walls"] - 2023 Wide Receiver <hr /> Notable After two Runner Up finishes in 2018 and 2019, Jenks brought home the 2020 state championship and ended what has to be considered a championship drought. The Trojans had gone four years without a gold ball and that hasn’t happened very often in the last three decades. Since 1990, Jenks has only had one other four-year stretch where they did not win a state championship and that came from 2008-2011 where rival Union captured four straight titles. The championship was also the first for head coach Keith Riggs, who took over for the late great Allan Trimble before the 2018 season and has brought the Trojans to the title game in all three years as head coach. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Aug. 27 - AT Mansfield Summit, TX Sept. 3 - Bixby - Normally, the biggest game on the Jenks schedule is the annual rivalry clash with Union, which comes a week after this week one showdown. However, the Bixby-Jenks match-up has turned into a bit of a rivalry over the last five years. While these two teams are in different classes, the Spartans have evened the playing field and have even won the last two meetings against the Trojans, including a 50-point rout in 2019. The 2020 meeting was much closer but Bixby prevailed with a 42-35 victory at home. This will be the home opener for the Trojans after opening the season down in Texas during week zero. The Spartans will have Jenks’ full attention after the last two years. Sept. 10 - AT Union - It’s been the marquee rivalry in Oklahoma for over two decades now. Normally, the regular season meeting is just round one as these two usually meet up in the playoffs. From 2007-2016, they met in the playoffs every year. Since then, they’ve only had one battle in the playoffs. After the Trojans not only beat Union but shut them out last season, a rare shutout in the series, Union will be ready for the rematch. This has been a series that has seen some very dramatic finishes and this year might not be any different. Both teams are serious championship contenders and this is the first real gauge of who the heavy hitters will be in 6A-D1 this fall. Sept. 24 - Enid Oct. 1 - AT Broken Arrow Oct. 8 - Norman Oct. 14 - AT Edmond Santa Fe - Similar to what we wrote about Bixby, the marquee district game has always been Broken Arrow but that is certainly not the case this year. Not only is this a rematch of last year’s state championship game, but the Trojans will be hungry to get another crack at the Wolves after last year’s regular season meeting was cancelled due to Covid. Because of that cancellation, Santa Fe captured the district championship, giving them two straight district titles after beating Jenks in 2019. While the main goal is a state championship, the first one is that district crown and Santa Fe has something that Jenks wants and the Trojans will hit the road on a Fall Break Thursday to get it. Oct. 22 - AT Yukon Oct. 29 - Edmond Memorial Nov. 5 - Westmoore <hr /> Championship History 17 State Championships (2nd Most In State History) 2020 - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 41-14 2015 - Beat Broken Arrow 35-14 2014 - Beat Union 21-14 2013 - Beat Union 38-22 2012 - Beat Norman North 55-20 2007 - Beat Union 42-24 2006 - Beat Enid 28-7 2003 - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 17-10 2001 - Beat Putnam City North 38-28 2000 - Beat Union 31-12 1999 - Beat Union 14-7 1998 - Beat Union 41-28 1997 - Beat Yukon 56-8 1996 - Beat Midwest City 28-17 1993 - Beat Edmond 21-14 1982 - Beat Midwest City 10-7 1979 - Beat Ada 16-15