Plainview 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 3A Preseason Ranking: #4) Fresh off their 2019 State championship appearance, the Plainview Indians were ready to jump into 2020 and finish what they had started. However, with a tough non-district schedule that included two 4A teams and a solid squad from Texas, they would get off to a rough start at 0-3. Things did not fare much better in their district opener against Kingston as you can see below, but once the Indians limped through the month of September they started to figure things out and returned to more of their 2019 form. After the midway point of October, they began to truly hit on all cylinders as they scored 40 points or more and held their opponents to 13 points or less in every game other than a quick hiccup to Sulphur and in their eventual demise against a Heritage Hall team that came within a touchdown of making the 3A title game a few weeks later. Prior to that matchup, Plainview was peaking at the perfect time. With 9 starters returning on both sides of the ball, they should be able to carry that same momentum into the 2021 season. <hr /> 2020 Results (5-7 Record – Lost In 3A Second Round) Aug. 28 – Lost to Pilot Point (Texas) 30-20 Sept. 4 – Lost to Tuttle 23-12 Sept. 11 – Lost to Cache 20-0 Sept. 25 – Lost to Kingston 49-14 Oct. 2 – Beat Dickson 48-7 Oct. 9 – Beat Madill 32-24 Oct. 15 – Lost to Lone Grove 15-14 Oct. 23 – Beat Little Axe 42-6 Oct. 30 – Lost to Sulphur 41-13 Nov. 6 – Beat Pauls Valley 41-7 1st Round – Beat McLoud 41-6 2nd Round – Lost to Heritage Hall 49-21 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="38782" first="Morgan" last="Pearson"] - 2023 Wide Receiver A dual-sport star who has multiple offers to play football and baseball at the Division 1 level, Pearson enters 2021 as one of the most experienced players on this team and as one of the best WRs in the entire state regardless of class. Pearson is a big-bodied WR who uses his large frame well at all levels of the field and you won’t find many wideouts in Oklahoma who have stronger hands than he does. If the Indians are wanting to make a deep run towards Wantland this season they will certainly need Pearson to be on top of his game. [player_tooltip player_id="38767" first="Caden" last="Pickens"] - 2022 Linebacker Pickens is one of many Oklahoma stars we got to see up close and personal this spring on the 7v7 circuit. Due to his size and physical nature, we thought he may struggle a little in pass coverage but that was simply not the case. While he was not asked to be a lockdown man-to-man cover guy, he was very impressive in his zone drops and was constantly in the right place at the right time to make a play on the ball or minimize the damage. With his skills and instincts in the run game, it is a recipe for bad news in 3A if Pickens can translate what he learned on Saturdays this spring to Friday nights this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="38762" first="Reis" last="Taylor"] - 2022 Athlete We already said that Plainview is going to need big things from [player_tooltip player_id="38782" first="Morgan" last="Pearson"] this fall and while that remains true, the Indians will also need some big time throws from [player_tooltip player_id="38762" first="Reis" last="Taylor"] to ensure that Pearson has a chance to shine. Plainview’s quarterback play wasn’t the most consistent in 3A in 2020, but with another year under his belt and based on what his coaches have told us, Reis seems primed to make a big jump in 2021. Additionally, Reis is a pretty impressive athlete, hence the athlete tag next to his name rather than QB, so expect him to make a number of plays with his legs instead of relying purely on the pocket passing game. More Names Jeston Gilliam - 2022 Fullback/Defensive Lineman Lane Johnson - 2022 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Garrett Keith - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Ethan Douglas - 2023 Defensive Lineman Tyler Winchester - 2023 Defensive Back <hr /> Notable Similar to Lincoln Christian, who we previewed earlier this week, Plainview football has been going up and up as of recently. Since 2016, Plainview has made 2 state championship appearances and one quarterfinal appearance in the 3A playoffs. During that same timeline, the Indians have not lost more than 3 games in any season other than 2020 where they lost a few close games in non-district play and stumbled early in the district opener against Kingston before turning the corner in October. In fact, Plainview's 2020 season nearly matched their total losses from the previous 4 seasons combined. Prior to last year, they had compiled an impressive record of 42-8 dating back to 2016. There are no certainties in football, but with the way they ended the season last year and with the talent they return it is safe to say that Plainview has pretty good odds of returning to their winning ways in 2021 if they can avoid another slow start. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Aug. 27 – Pilot Point (Texas) - Plainview will get one more shot at Texas 3A Pilot Point this season after taking a 10 point loss to them in 2020. Pilot Point returns one of the best RBs in the state in Texas A&M commit Ish Harris, but that shouldn’t scare the Indians too much. While they allowed plenty of rushing yards as a team, they held Ish to under 90 yards in last years contest. That should be looked at as a minor victory considering that Harris averaged over 125 yards per game in 2020 and had multiple games of 200+ yards on the ground. While it won’t do anything for playoff consideration, a win here would be huge for the Indians as they move towards their district schedule. Sept. 3 – AT Tuttle - Will 2021 be the year Plainview can top Tuttle once again or will history repeat itself? Since 2016, the Indians are 1-4 against Tuttle and have lost to them 3 years in a row. This will also likely be one of the top non-district games among the lower classes as Tuttle comes into 2021 at #2 in 4A and Plainview enters as #4 in 3A. This game has also only been decided by more than 9 points one time in the last 4 seasons, so expect a battle from start to finish. Sept. 10 – Cache Sept. 24 – Kingston - Once again in 2020, Plainview will open up district play against Kingston. While they are not the only district opponent that took them down in 2020, they will likely be the biggest test for Plainview until late October or early November. With stars like [player_tooltip player_id="101416" first="Brandon" last="Watson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="112478" first="Brycen" last="Ellisor"] returning for Kingston, Plainview will certainly have their work cut out for them if they do not want to end this game like they did in 2020. A win here would without a doubt be the biggest of the season to this point since it would send them into the heart of their schedule with the upper hand on a Kingston team that figures to be one of the top teams in this district. Oct. 1 – AT Dickson Oct. 8 – AT Madill Oct. 14 – Lone Grove Oct. 22 – AT Little Axe Oct. 29 – Sulphur Nov. 5 – AT Pauls Valley <hr /> Championship History 0 State Championships