Putnam City North Team Preview

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> 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"><strong>RIGHT HERE</strong></a>. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Overview (Class 6A-D2 Preseason Ranking: #6)</strong></span> In 2020, the <strong>Putnam City North Panthers</strong> dropped down from 6A-1 to 6A-2 and had an immediate impact. They would start off the year 6-0 and looked like a team that could end up pushing some of the elite teams in the class. However, the would finish the regular season by losing two of their last three games in convincing fashion to Midwest City and Stillwater. They would have to settle for third place in the district and they eventually lost to Choctaw in the quarterfinals. As the Panthers enter the 2021 season, we look back at 2020 and treat it as a building block. It was PC North’s first year in 6A-2 after being beat up by heavy hitters in 6A-1. The Panthers also return the majority of their starters this season with seven offensive starters and six defensive starters coming back this fall. The Panthers will have to find some new skill players after the graduation of wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="63286" first="Jeff" last="Nwankwo"]. But the Panthers feel like they have a good group of receivers that can step up for returning quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"]. The biggest key will be the offensive line and whether or not they’ll be improved as a unit going into the new season. The Panthers struggled in keeping opposing defenses out of the backfield in the biggest games of the year. On the defensive side, giving up the big plays really hurt the Panthers last year and if they clean up those two things, they could make a deep run into the playoffs. For now, they come in at #6 in our preseason rankings and are the third highest team in their district. <hr /> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2020 Results (8-3 Record - Lost In 6A-D1 Quarterfinals)</span></strong> <strong>Sept. 4 -</strong> Beat Putnam City 31-6 <strong>Sept. 11 -</strong> Beat Piedmont 39-3 <strong>Sept. 18 -</strong> Beat Putnam City West 47-0 <strong>Sept. 25 -</strong> Beat U.S. Grant 60-0 <strong>Oct. 5 -</strong> Beat Deer Creek 35-14 <strong>Oct. 9 -</strong> Game VS Lawton Cancelled <strong>Oct. 15 -</strong> Beat Del City 10-6 <strong>Oct. 23 -</strong> Lost To Midwest City 35-14 <strong>Oct. 30 -</strong> Game VS Northwest Classen Forfeited <strong>Nov. 6 -</strong> Lost To Stillwater 40-14 <strong>1st Round -</strong> Beat Bartlesville 31-6 <strong>Quarterfinals -</strong> Lost To Choctaw 20-7 <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101407" first="Amaurion" last="Norment"] - 2022 Running Back</strong> While PC North has to replace some skill guys at the wide receiver position, one advantage they will have on offense is the return of running back [player_tooltip player_id="101407" first="Amaurion" last="Norment"]. The dynamic Panther runner will give the PC North plenty of versatility, especially early on as the new wide receivers get used to playing on Friday nights. Norment will give PC North balance with the running game but he also showed last year that he could be an option to catch the ball out of the backfield. We expect Norment to have a strong start to his senior season, putting up big numbers in the first month of the year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] - 2023 Quarterback</strong> PC North quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51055" first="Carson" last="Laverty"] came into his sophomore season with some hype around him. He was rated by an outside recruiting service and we were excited to see what he would do in year one as QB1 for the Panthers. Laverty backed up some of the hype by putting up some big numbers, especially early on in the season when PC North was taking care of business. We’ve seen Laverty this offseason and spring and were very impressed with the leap that he’s made since the end of his sophomore season. He should put up even bigger numbers this fall. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101400" first="Jaleel" last="Johnson"] - 2022 Defensive End</strong> On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers bring back a good amount of talent, especially in the front seven with the line and the linebacker group. However, the biggest star on the defensive side of the ball is defensive end [player_tooltip player_id="101400" first="Jaleel" last="Johnson"]. We’ve seen defensive ends absolutely wreck shop here recently and help their team make runs to potential championships. Johnson has the ability to be that guy for the Panthers. In 6A-2 alone, we watched Choctaw’s [player_tooltip player_id="61127" first="Desean" last="Brown"] lead the Yellowjacket defense and they made a run to the title game. If Johnson has a season like that, watch out for the Panthers. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Names</strong></span> <strong>Dazjuan Matthews</strong> - 2022 Defensive Back <strong>Haydn Thornton</strong> - 2022 Linebacker <strong>Phill Jackson</strong> - 2023 Wide Receiver <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> We mentioned at the top that the move down from 6A-1 to 6A-2 was very beneficial to Putnam City North. The Panthers would not only make it to the playoffs but they had a very successful season in 2020. For the first time since 2004, the Panthers won a playoff game and survived and advanced. The Panthers’ program is turning into a playoff contender year after year. They made it into the playoffs two of the last three years. Before that, they had a drought from 2013-2017 where they missed the playoffs each season. The Panthers certainly benefitted from moving down to 6A-2 but they had a talented roster that would have contended last season, even in 6A-1. The Panthers should be in 6A-2 for a while as there are several programs ahead of them in enrollment, including communities like Bixby and Deer Creek that are building and growing rapidly. This could be the start of a new age of Panther football where they’re making successful trips to the playoffs and contending for gold balls. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Schedule/Games To Watch</strong></span> Sept. 3 - Putnam City Sept. 10 - AT Piedmont Sept. 17 - AT Putnam City West Sept. 24 - AT U.S. Grant Oct. 1 - Deer Creek Oct. 8 - AT Lawton Oct. 14 - Del City <strong>Oct. 22 - AT Midwest City</strong> - In a rematch of PC North’s first loss of the season, the Panthers expect to be unbeaten once again as they head into this week eight match-up against the Bombers. The two biggest keys to this clash will be PC North’s ability to protect Laverty against the Bombers and their front seven. They also have to find a way to contain Midwest City quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51855" first="DeAngelo" last="Irvin Jr"]. The winner here will still have a shot to win the district title and the loser will be in danger of not having any home playoff games. Oct. 29 - Northwest Classen <strong>Nov. 5 - Stillwater</strong> - If everything goes to plan for the Panthers, they can lock up the district championship in the final week of the regular season as Stillwater comes to town. The Pioneers have dominated this district and they will once again be the favorites coming into this season. The Pioneers will look a little different this season but the expectation is still to win the state title. If the Panthers are able to beat Stillwater, that will be step one to truly contending for the state championship in a loaded 6A-2 this fall. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Championship History</strong></span> <em><strong>1 State Championship</strong></em> 1991 - Beat Westmoore 17-14