Newcastle 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 4A Preseason Ranking: #8) When the 2020 season was coming to an end, we had a shortlist of teams that weren't exactly title contenders but it was obvious they could be coming into a new season. One of those teams was the Newcastle Racers. Newcastle has had several losing seasons in a row and erased the memories of them by going 7-3 last season and snapping a playoff drought. Covid certainly had an impact on their season as several games were cancelled, others were replaced and they had a stretch where they went nearly a month without playing. It didn't matter. Newcastle went 7-3, earned their way into the playoffs and won a playoff game before losing to Tuttle. Newcastle's season could have gone a few different ways when you look back at it. They had six of their ten games decided by a possession. Both wins and losses. The Racers had played some of the higher ranked teams like Tuttle and Weatherford very close but they got everyone's attention when they flat out dominated Washington in an impromptu week eight game. They would close out the regular season with two more wins and then beat John Marshall in the first round. Coming into this season, the Racers bring back seven starters on offense and another seven starters on defense. They will have a new quarterback but as you'll read in our "Players To Watch" feature, he's one of the better young quarterbacks in the state and he has some playmakers around him. The district is absolutely brutal as four of the top eight teams in our preseason rankings are in the same district, including Newcastle. The Racers come in at #8 in our preseason rankings for Class 4A. They ended the 2020 season with some momentum and we can't wait to see how much they've improved coming into this season. 7 Starters Offense 7 Starters Defense <hr /> 2020 Results (7-3 Record - Lost In Class 4A 2nd Round) Sept. 3 - Beat Mustang JV 14-6 Sept. 11 - Lost To Tuttle 24-21 Sept. 18 - Game VS Blanchard Cancelled Sept. 25 - Game VS Clinton Cancelled Oct. 2 - Beat Cache 41-40 Oct. 9 - Lost To Weatherford 23-17 Oct. 15 - Beat Bethany 26-14 Oct. 23 - Beat Washington 49-16 Oct. 30 - Beat Chickasha 27-20 Nov. 6 - Beat Elk City 49-21 1st Round - Beat John Marshall 28-21 2nd Round - Lost To Tuttle 31-21 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="154215" first="Jackson" last="Bergt"] - 2024 Quarterback Head coach Jeff Brickman has a solid history with quarterbacks and knows what a talented signal caller looks like. Brickman believes that sophomore QB [player_tooltip player_id="154215" first="Jackson" last="Bergt"] is one of the better young QB’s he’s seen. This is the same coach who had Casey Thompson, who’s now at Texas and shattered Oklahoma high school total offense records. We’re not suggesting and neither is Brickman that Bergt will be like Thompson or better. But the young QB does have a chance to be pretty special. With a strong offensive line in front of him and experience returning at the skill positions, things are lining up for Bergt to have a big year. [player_tooltip player_id="91576" first="Justus" last="Conway"] - 2022 Linebacker We switch to the defensive side of the ball with one of the absolute best pass rushers in the state. There’s no debating that as senior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="91576" first="Justus" last="Conway"] was one of the best in Oklahoma at getting after the quarterback and bringing him to the ground. Conway had nearly 20 sacks on the season and even more tackles for loss as a junior last year. He enjoyed his breakout season and is now back as one of the best pass rushers in Class 4A. The Racers will have an offense that can put up some points but the defense, led by Conway, will be one of the better units in 4A as well. [player_tooltip player_id="38711" first="Teagun" last="Jordan"] - 2022 Wide Receiver We mentioned Bergt being primed for a breakout year at quarterback this fall and [player_tooltip player_id="38711" first="Teagun" last="Jordan"] is a big reason why. The senior wide receiver is a welcomed return for this Newcastle offense. Jordan had a big year in 2019 but then missed his junior season due to injury. Had he not missed it, Jordan would be a more widely known name around Oklahoma when it comes to this 2022 wide receiver group. It’s a deep class already and Jordan returning to the field only makes it deeper. We can’t wait to see what Jordan brings to the field in his return and you know after missing last year, he’s going to make the most of the opportunity. More Names Jace Garrett - 2022 Offensive Lineman Quentin Schane - 2022 Defensive Back <hr /> Notable After going 1-9 in back to back seasons in 2015 and 2016, the Newcastle Racers began a new era in 2017 by hiring Jeff Brickman as their head coach. It wasn’t an immediate turnaround as the Racers went 3-7 in 2017 and 2018. They would go 4-6 in 2019 before their 7-3 record in 2020 and return to the playoffs. As mentioned above, it was apparent early on in the season that the Racers would be a contender in Class 4A pretty soon. They were a very dangerous team last year and they could be even better this season. Newcastle snapped their playoff drought by earning their way into the playoffs. A lot of teams made it into the playoffs for the first time in a long time because of the OSSAA’s decision to allow any team that wanted to participate in the playoffs play in the playoffs. However, the Racers earned their way in by being one of the top four teams in their district. The first round game against John Marshall was one of the more anticipated match-up’s that week in a week that would see a lot of blowouts. Newcastle prevailed but would fall to Tuttle the following week. However, the Racers come into this season with the talent to go even further and earn another playoff trip. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Aug. 27 - Cleveland Sept. 10 - AT Tuttle - This early season match-up will be very important for Newcastle for a couple of reasons. First off, in the big picture, it doesn’t count towards playoff seeding, so win or lose, the Racers still have everything in front of them. But, they get a shot at the team that beat them twice last year and ended their season in the playoffs. Newcastle played Tuttle tough in both meetings but just came up short. The other big part of this match-up is it’s the perfect gauge of just how good this Newcastle team is. Tuttle is #2 in our preseason rankings and before Newcastle goes into the gauntlet that is their district, they’ll know where they stand in the 4A title picture. Sept. 17 - Blanchard Sept. 24 - Clinton - If you’ve been reading our team previews on the teams in this district, you should know our feelings by now. It’s brutal. As mentioned at the top, four of the top eight teams in our preseason rankings are all in the same district. Capturing a playoff spot, let alone the district crown is going to feel like a playoff run in itself. Newcastle will open up district play against Clinton. The Red Tornadoes made it all the way to the state championship game before falling to Wagoner. Newcastle should be looking forward to this contest after their game with Clinton last year was cancelled. It goes without saying but a win here will set Newcastle up with a ton of momentum. Oct. 1 - AT Cache Oct. 7 - Weatherford Oct. 14 - AT Bethany Oct. 22 - AT Elgin Oct. 29 - Chickasha Nov. 5 - AT Elk City <hr /> Championship History 1 State Championship 1992 - Beat Marlow 21-11