Pawhuska 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 A Preseason Ranking: #2) When it comes to Class A, technically, the Pawhuska Huskies are #2 in our preseason rankings behind defending champion Cashion. However, just like with last year, those teams are really 1 and 1A. They are right there with one another and they were hands down the top two teams last year and it appears that we’re in the same boat as we head into the new season. Pawhuska was historically dominant in 2020 and they’ve reloaded for even more fireworks this fall. The Husky offense was one of the best we’ve ever seen in Oklahoma history. They averaged nearly 70 points per game in the regular season. That’s not a typo. The AVERAGE was nearly 70 points. They also flirted with the century mark on a few occasions. They scored 95 points in the final week of the season. They also scored 92 and 86 in two other outings. Week after week, we almost got used to seeing these monstrous numbers from the Huskies and wouldn’t even question it when you’d see them putting up 90+ points. The Huskies bring back the majority of their starters with seven on offense and eight on defense coming back. And these returning starters have a very sour taste in their mouth with the way their 2020 season ended. Everyone knew that Cashion and Pawhuska would meet up but it would have to be in the semifinals and not the championship. That’s how it played out and the Huskies, after averaging nearly 70 points per game in the regular season was held to just 6 in a surprising defensive battle. Cashion won 7-6 and would win the state title the next year. The Huskies are determined to not let that happen again. <hr /> 2020 Results (12-1 Record - Lost In Class A Semifinals) Aug. 28 - Beat Perry 64-7 Sept. 4 - Beat Victory Christian 60-47 Sept. 18 - Beat Hominy 64-24 Sept. 25 - Beat Commerce 48-14 Oct. 2 - Beat Fairland 92-0 Oct. 9 - Beat Quapaw 52-19 Oct. 15 - Beat Rejoice Christian 68-35 Oct. 23 - Beat Afton 66-0 Oct. 30 - Beat Wyandotte 86-0 Nov. 6 - Beat Ketchum 95-7 1st Round - Bye Week 2nd Round - Bye Week 3rd Round - Beat Warner 58-0 Quarterfinals - Beat Mooreland 44-6 Semifinals - Lost To Cashion 7-6 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="160661" first="Lesharo" last="Wildcat"] - 2022 Defensive Lineman A lot of talk around Pawhuska is centered around the offensive side of the ball and the numbers they put up on that side. However, the Huskies have some ball players on the defensive side of the ball that will make them a tough team to score on in 2021. Leading a dominating defense up front is defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="160661" first="Lesharo" last="Wildcat"]. With great size, speed and quickness, Wildcat has the chance to be one of the top pass rushers in Class A football this fall. The Huskies have several standout linebackers as well but Wildcat starts it all on the line of scrimmage and opens things up for them. [player_tooltip player_id="59991" first="Mason" last="Gilkey"] - 2022 Wide Receiver No receiver has caught more touchdowns in the last two seasons than Pawhuska’s [player_tooltip player_id="59991" first="Mason" last="Gilkey"]. The Oklahoma State commit was one of the more dominant players at his position in the state last year. Nothing should change this fall as GIlkey heads into his final year. The Huskies put up monster numbers, especially in the passing game so they’re going to have a receiver that benefits from that. However, Gilkey is more than a stat sheet stuffer. He has size, speed and very reliable hands that makes him a near guarantee in any jump ball situation. Expect another big year from the future Cowboy. [player_tooltip player_id="157511" first="Todd" last="Drummond"] - 2023 Quarterback We go from one Drummond to another at the quarterback spot for the Huskies. 2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id="157511" first="Todd" last="Drummond"] will replace his older brother Bryce, who’s now going into his freshman year at North Texas. [player_tooltip player_id="38509" first="Bryce" last="Drummond"] was a Player Of The Year finalist and the top quarterback in the state’s 2021 class. However, we’ve heard from reliable sources that Todd could be the better natural quarterback. He’ll get his shot running the show this fall as QB1 and we have no doubt that he’ll be able to put up some numbers. But the ultimate goal is a state championship and the stats feel less important if the Huskies come up short again. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="101411" first="Dalton" last="Hurd"] - 2022 Wide Receiver Hagen McGuire - 2022 Defensive Lineman Jack Long - 2022 Linebacker Tyrel Richardson - 2023 Linebacker <hr /> Notable It should be mentioned and noted that what head coach Matt Hennesy has done this decade is quite impressive. He’s turned around two losing programs in a matter of two seasons. He’s done it twice! First, he took over a Locust Grove program in 2012 after they went 2-28 in the three seasons before that. He would go 5-5 in his first season and then had a three year stretch where the Pirates went 37-3 and were championship contenders. Of course, Mason Fine being the Pirate quarterback during that time certainly helped. Then he did it again at Pawhuska. The Huskies went 0-10 in 2017. Hennesy took over in 2018 and had a 6-5 record. The last two years they’ve gone a combined 23-3 and are going to be in the hunt for the state title once again this fall. Just like at Locust Grove, Hennesy has had some help from having a star quarterback with [player_tooltip player_id="38509" first="Bryce" last="Drummond"] and now younger brother Todd taking the lead this fall. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Game To Watch Aug. 27 - Perry Sept. 3 - AT Victory Christian - We’re not going to have a lot of hyperbole here and act like the Pawhuska schedule features some heavy hitters. It was easy last year and led to blowout after blowout and the schedule this year looks pretty similar. However, one of the closest games of Pawhuska’s season came early on against Victory Christian. The Conquerors will be even more improved coming into this season and this will be a nice road test for the Huskies. Pawhuska’s 2021 schedule should feature a lot of blowouts yet again but the Conquerors will push Pawhuska early on in the season. Sept. 17 - AT Hominy Sept. 24 - Commerce Oct. 1 - AT Fairland Oct. 8 - Quapaw Oct. 14 - Oklahoma Union Oct. 22 - AT Afton Oct. 29 - AT Wyandotte Nov. 5 - Ketchum <hr /> Championship History 0 State Championships