Thomas 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 A Preseason Ranking: #5) </strong></span>Coming into the season at #5, the <strong>Thomas Terriers</strong> will enter 2021 with their sights aimed at another deep run in Class A after settling for silver in 2020. The Terriers were near perfect last season with their only losses coming to Cashion. In between those losses Thomas was dominant on both sides of the ball. They scored 28 points or more in all but 2 games leading up to the state championship and they did not give up more than 14 points in all but 3 games in that same stretch. Their playoff run featured wins over a one-loss Pawnee team and a 28-27 win over undefeated Ringling who had not given up more than 14 points to any opponent in 2020. However, when Thomas went to battle against Cashion for the second time, the game was never close and the Wildcats would run away with the title. Thomas only returns 4 starters on each side of the ball in 2021, but as they have proven over their long history as a program, you can never count them out of contention in Class A. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2020 Results (12-2 Record – Lost In Class A State Championship)</strong></span> <strong>Aug. 28</strong> <strong>– </strong>Game VS Watonga Canceled <strong>Sept. 4</strong> <strong>– </strong>Beat Alva 47-26 <strong>Sept. 11</strong> <strong>–</strong> Lost to Cashion 28-7 <strong>Sept. 28</strong> <strong>–</strong> Beat Mooreland 28-7 <strong>Oct. 2</strong> <strong>–</strong> Beat Fairview 34-13 <strong>Oct. 9 –  </strong>Beat Hooker 17-14 <strong>Oct. 15</strong> <strong>–</strong> Beat Sayre 28-6 <strong>Oct. 23</strong> <strong>–</strong> Beat Merritt 42-13 <strong>Oct. 30</strong> <strong>–</strong> Beat Burns Flat-Dill City 38-14 <strong>Nov. 6</strong> <strong>–</strong>  Beat Texoma 13-7 <strong>1st Round –</strong> Beat Cordell 49-22 <strong>2nd Round -</strong> Beat Tonkawa 44-8 <strong>Quarterfinals –</strong> Beat Pawnee 35-34 <strong>Semifinals –</strong> Beat Ringling 28-27 <strong>State Championship –</strong>  Beat Cashion 34-7 <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> [player_tooltip player_id="101404" first="Camden" last="Billy"] <strong>- 2022 Offensive Lineman </strong>When we saw the first Cashion vs Thomas game last fall we were excited to get a closer look at OSU signee Aden Kelly but left the game impressed and excited about the potential of their Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="101404" first="Camden" last="Billy"]. Billy is a quick and explosive guard who plays the game fast and aggressively at all times. There’s a good chance that Billy kicks out to tackle for his senior season to help replace [player_tooltip player_id="38503" first="Aden" last="Kelley"], but we can’t help but love his potential at the next level from the interior of the offensive line. It will be interesting to see how their front line will look without Kelley and Billy lining up on the same side giving Class A defenses hell each week. <strong>Parker Payne - 2023 Offensive Lineman </strong>Speaking of the Thomas front line, another player that the Terrier coaches are super high on coming into the 2021 season is Junior lineman Parker Payne. Payne played a little bit on both sides of the ball in 2020 and should do so again this season but with a heavier workload. On offense, Payne was used at just about every spot along the O-Line and was an absolute wrecking ball when working to the second level against linebackers and safeties. On defense, Payne was used mainly as a bull-rushing defensive end to stuff the run before it could get going. Look for Parker to have a breakout season in 2021 as his role increases. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> Thomas enters 2021 as one of the oldest and winningest programs in state history, but a whole lot has changed since their first run of championships began. When Terriers won their first state title in 1947, just a few years after World War II, there were only three classes of teams in Oklahoma. When they played for their 3rd title in 1951, the game against Davis was tied up at the end of regulation, but Thomas was crowned as state champions thanks to the penetrations rule used back then. This rule stated that each team was to be awarded a penetration every time they cross the opponent's 20-yard line during regulation, and in the result of a playoff tie, a winner would be decided based on these stats rather than extending the game. Fast forward to today and the landscape of football in the state looks completely different. There are now 9 classes in Oklahoma and teams play overtime when a game is tied instead of relying on red-zone trips to be the decider. One thing that has remained fairly constant though is Thomas' prestige in the sport. Their trip to the 2020 championship appearance was the 13th in their school's history, which is up there for the most by any program. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Schedule/Games To Watch</strong></span> Aug. 27 – Watonga Sept. 3 – AT Alva <strong>Sept. 17 – Cashion </strong>- Thomas probably would have liked for this game to be a little later in the season with all the new starters they will have in 2021. Nevertheless, they will still come into this game fired up as ever after losing to them twice just a season ago. However, winning this one will not be any easier than it was in 2020. Cashion returns 15 starters from last year’s championship team, including their quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="52273" first="Ben" last="Harman"]. Sept. 24 – AT Mooreland Oct. 1 – Fairview <strong>Oct. 8 – AT Hooker </strong>- If the rankings hold to this point, this will be a top 10 matchup in Class A and should be another close one. Outside of Cashion, Hooker was the closest to defeating Thomas in the 2020 regular season and was one of only 3 opponents to hold the Terriers under 28 points in the regular season. Had it not been for Cashion, Hooker may have had a legit shot at the Class A semi-finals based on the way they had been playing up to that point. With [player_tooltip player_id="68609" first="Gavynn" last="Parker"] and a few other playmakers back for Hooker, we expect this one to come down to the wire once again in 2021. Oct. 14 – AT Sayre Oct. 22 – Merritt Oct. 29 – AT Burns Flat-Dill City Nov. 5 – Texhoma <hr /> <strong>Championship History</strong> <strong><em>10 State Championships (7th Most All-Time)</em></strong> 2014 - Beat Cashion 28-0 2002 - Beat Ringling 21-0 1969 - Beat Marietta 8-6 1961 - Beat Weleetka 34-0 1957 - Beat Alex 34-0 1956 - Beat Morris 21-19 1955 - Beat Hennessey 21-12 1951 - Beat Davis 25-25 1950 - Beat OSD 21-14 1947 - Beat Kiefer 28-7