John Marshall Team Preview
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Overview
After a run of dominance for the John Marshall Bears over the last few seasons, capped off by a state championship in 2017, 2021 was considered a bit of a down year. They were plenty talented on both sides of the ball and they hung around with many of the state’s best teams, but they were never able to put it all together at once. They came within 3 of Vian, 7 of Tuttle, held Cushing’s explosive offense to just 21 points, took down Heritage Hall, and came within one score of beating Newcastle in the playoffs. Fast forward to today and the Bears are ready to grind out another season and win some of these games that they came so close to last season. They only return 3 offensive starters but keep their quarterback
Kane Donovan
Kane
Donovan
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
John Marshall | 2022
State
OK
and will reload with plenty of talented playmakers who are ready to step up to the plate. On defense, however, they return 9 of their starters from 2020 and figure to be even better than they were a year ago. Some may think that last year’s team looks a hair better on paper in terms of prospects compared to this year’s, but with more experience at key positions, John Marshall looks primed for a bounce-back season in 2021.
2020 Results (4-6 Record – Lost In 4A 1st Round)
Sept. 4 – Beat Bethany 51-20
Sept. 11 – Lost to Vian 32-28
Sept. 18 – Beat Heritage Hall 14-12
Sept. 24 – Lost to Blanchard 46-33
Oct. 2 – Game VS Harrah Canceled
Oct. 9 – Lost to Ada 7-6
Oct. 15 – Lost to Cushing 21-6
Oct. 23 – Beat Classen SAS (Forfeit)
Oct. 30 – Lost to Tuttle 27-20
Nov. 6 – Beat Tecumseh 54-14
1st Round – Lost to Newcastle 28-21
Players To Watch
Kane Donovan
Kane
Donovan
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
John Marshall | 2022
State
OK
– 2022 Quarterback
John Marshall does not return many starters on offense from 2020 but they do get the biggest piece to this unit back in quarterback
Kane Donovan
Kane
Donovan
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
John Marshall | 2022
State
OK
. Kane started his first varsity season in 2020 with mixed results but flashed the ability to take over games with both his arm and legs. Since the end of 2020, Kane has fine-tuned his game at both college camps and during the 7on7 season where we watched him make some ridiculous throws. If he performs to the level he’s capable of in 2021 he has a chance to burst into the elite category that some of the QBs ranked above him in the 2022 class have already reached. He currently holds offers from NWOSU, SWOSU, Missouri S&T, and a few others.
Dorien Middleton
Dorien
Middleton
5'10" | 170 lbs | WR
John Marshall | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back
Another starter that returns for the Bears in 2021 is wide receiver
Dorien Middleton
Dorien
Middleton
5'10" | 170 lbs | WR
John Marshall | 2023
State
OK
. Middleton is a speedy wideout that the Bears used often on screens and deep routes last season where he ate up yards after the catch. He racked up a little over 200 yards receiving and snagged a few touchdowns in a crowded wide receiver core in 2020 but do not expect those numbers to be that low this year. He will certainly be one of
Kane Donovan
Kane
Donovan
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
John Marshall | 2022
State
OK
’s primary targets. Middleton will also play on defense in 2021 at cornerback where he was very sticky and efficient as a man-to-man cover guy in 2020.
Tango McCauley
Tango
McCauley
6'2" | 245 lbs | LB
Del City | 2023
State
OK
– 2023 Defensive Lineman
Unlike their offense, John Marshall’s defense returns a wealth of talent in 2021 and at the top of that list is defensive lineman
Tango McCauley
Tango
McCauley
6'2" | 245 lbs | LB
Del City | 2023
State
OK
. Tango isn’t the biggest defensive lineman we have covered in these previews but he is strong as hell and has the athleticism and technique to play just about every spot on the defensive line. When we saw him at I4’s trenches showcase in early June he was making a lot of the top offensive lineman in attendance look silly no matter what position he lined up at along the defensive front. We expect that to carry over to the field on Friday nights this fall.
More Names
Charles Carter – 2022 Linebacker/ Running Back
Shayne Richard – 2022 Linebacker
Davien Taylor – 2024 Quarterback/ Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back
Notable
Although they lost more games by one score than they would have liked to in 2020, John Marshall had to be happy to get a win over rival Heritage Hall. The Chargers do not lose many each year, especially outside of the playoffs or their district. Heritage Hall had won eight straight games over the Bears prior to 2020 and they have not lost more than 2 games in a season since 2013. John Marshall’s defense was as stout as they were all season in that matchup. They were able to hold a Heritage Hall offense that averaged over 40 points a game in district play to just 12, a feat that no other team on their schedule was able to duplicate or come close to. After sitting on it for a year, the Chargers will be eagerly waiting for John Marhsall to make the short drive over to Charger Stadium for what could be one of the top week 3 games in 2021.
2021 Schedule/Games To Watch
Sept. 3 – AT Bethany
Sept. 10 – AT Northwest Classen
Sept. 17 – AT Heritage Hall
– As we said above, 2020 was John Marshall’s first victory over Heritage Hall in quite some time. It was no fluke though. The Bears were able to hold some of the best offenses on their schedule well below their season average in 2020. Heritage Hall will return plenty of talent on offense, but with
Brigham Evans
Brigham
Evans
6'2" | 190 lbs | LB
Heritage Hall | 2022
State
OK
and
River Faulkner
River
Faulkner
5'11" | 205 lbs | ATH
Heritage Hall | 2023
State
OK
still manning the Chargers front 7 and with John Marshall’s wealth of talent defensively, this one could be another low scoring affair. If the Bears can escape Charger stadium with a 2nd consecutive win over Heritage Hall then they will have a good chance of going into their week 7 game against Cushing without a loss.
Sept. 24 – AT Blanchard
Oct. 1 – AT Harrah
Oct. 8 – Ada
Oct. 14 – Cushing
– If John Marshall can do as we described in the Heritage Hall game then this one has the potential to be the game of the week in 4A. Cushing comes into the season ranked #1 after their 2023 class broke out big in 2020, and they have all improved immensely since last season ended. The Bears held Cushing to just 21 points the last time they played, but this one has a chance to be a track meet offensively. Look for this matchup to be one of the best QB duals of the regular season with
Blaze Berlowitz
Blaze
Berlowitz
6'3" | 195 lbs | QB
Cushing | 2023
State
OK
and
Kane Donovan
Kane
Donovan
6'4" | 190 lbs | QB
John Marshall | 2022
State
OK
trying to one-up each other all night.
Oct. 21 – AT Classen SAS
Oct. 29 – Tuttle
– This will likely be John Marhsall’s last big test before the playoffs if they can win a few of the close games that slipped away from them in 2020. Tuttle comes in at #2 in our pre-season rankings but they just barely edged out the Bears last year by a touchdown. They do not have the star power that John Marshall does at certain positions but if the Bears come in with the mentality that they will win based on talent alone then they might get into some trouble. In their semi-final game last season, Tuttle took defending state champion Wagoner down to the wire in what would be the Bulldog’s only close call of 2020, so you know they will be eyeing that Gold Ball heavily in 2021. Especially this late in the season.
Nov. 5 – Tecumseh
Championship History
3 State Championships
2017 – Beat Beggs 14-7
1995 – Beat Lawton MacArthur 21-7
1963 – Beat Stillwater 26-14