Vinita 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 Coming off their best finish in the last decade, the Vinita Hornets return a talented and experienced roster that is ready to reload and compete for a district title and another playoff push. Their only losses on the 2020 season were to 4A Grove, 3A quarterfinalist Verdigris, and their 2nd round playoff match against Stigler who advanced all the way to the 3A Semi-finals. They return 9 starters on both sides of the ball including one of 3A’s top playmakers, [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"], who we will hit on multiple times throughout this preview. There is a lot of optimism surrounding the program right now with Head Coach Matt Williams heading into his first season as the lead man for the Hornets. They have the experience and talent to make a nice run through 3A if all goes well, but they have quite the climb to make through their regular season schedule. Between district and non-district games, the Hornets have 4 opponents currently scheduled that are ranked in our pre-season top 10 for their respective classes, including the defending 3A Champion, Holland Hall. Vinita will need to come ready to grind every week in 2021. <hr /> 2020 Results (7-3 Record – Lost In 3A 2nd Round) Sept. 4 – Lost to Grove 42-32 Sept. 11 – Beat Nowata 44-14 Sept. 18 – Beat Dewey 35-14 Sept. 25 – Beat Tulsa Central 41-8 Oct. 2 – Beat Mannford 38-7 Oct. 9 – Game VS Holland Hall Canceled Oct. 15 – Game VS Jay Canceled Oct. 23 – Beat Inola 21-0 Oct. 30 – Beat Berryhill 21-13 Nov. 6 – Lost to Verdigris 35-18 1st Round – Beat Westville 35-0 2nd Round - Lost to Stigler 42-14 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] - 2022 Running Back/ Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] has been a standout for Vinita since he first stepped foot in between the lines as a freshman where he ran for 1500+ yards in his first year as a varsity starter. Fast forward to today and Downing is one of the best playmakers in the state. We have him ranked as one of the best running backs in the class of 2022, but his coaches have him listed as a Wide Receiver heading into the 2021 season, so a position change is possibly on the horizon for Downing. Either way, Kyron is going to make explosive plays whenever and wherever he gets the ball thanks to his speed, versatility, and agility. He is also a player that we will certainly be watching on Saturdays in the not-so-distant future. He currently holds offers from Army, Navy, Air Force, New Mexico, and a few others. Paul Glasscock - 2023 Quarterback Along with a skill position player as talented as [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"], head coach Matt Williams will inherit one of the more productive QBs in 3A from a season ago. Paul threw for over 1600 yards and an impressive 24 touchdowns as a Sophomore in 2020 and will look to improve upon those numbers as a Junior. Glasscock is also a dual-sport athlete who plays on the Vinita basketball team. Having a player like Downing at his disposal will certainly ease his load again this season, but watch for the young signal-caller to come into his own as a playmaker and mature as a quarterback as the 2021 season progresses. Brett Curry – 2022 Offensive Lineman Brett Curry is one of the multiple big men that return for Vinita in 2021 along their offensive line that should be one of the more experienced units in the district this season. Listed at 6’4" 240, Curry started at left tackle for the Hornets in 2020 and appears to be in line for the same role this season. Brett has a high motor that he displays often to drive defenders off the ball along with a nice combination of hand placement and a quick and violent punch off the line to knock rushers off balance before they can get upfield on passing plays. Watch for Brett to be a potential late riser on the recruiting trail when signing day approaches later in the year as schools scramble to fill their 2022 classes. More Names Brian Pifer – 2022 Offensive Lineman Jaxon Eichhorn – 2022 Defensive Lineman Cain Anderson – 2022 Linebacker Ransom Williams – 2023 Linebacker DJ Ramsey – 2023 Wide Receiver Tyler Floyd– 2023 Defensive Back Wil Rife – 2023 Defensive Lineman <hr /> Notable Along with their excellent finish to their season last year, which included their first playoff win since 2007, the Vinita Hornets saw a few other records and streaks come to an end in 2020. The first such occurrence came when their week 7 game against long-time rival Jay was canceled. It marked the first time since 1967 that the two schools did not play each other. The Hornets have won the previous two games against the Bulldogs, but the series has been split 50-50 the last 20 meetings, so we expect to see some fireworks when the two play again this fall. Secondly, a new all-time rushing touchdown leader was crowned for the Vinita Hornets in 2020. After just 3 seasons, [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] broke the school record of 40 career rushing touchdowns which was previously held by Travis Bryant. Kyron then proceeded to leave the record that had stood since 1997 in the dust. Downing finished last season with 51 career touchdowns on the ground and he still has one more year to build onto that total. The previous record stood for 22 years and some change. We have a feeling that Kyron’s record may hold for a lot longer than that. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Sept. 3 – AT Grove - As we mentioned in the overview, Vinita will have quite the journey to get back to the playoffs in 2021. While this one will not count toward playoff seeding or district standings, it will still be one that Vinita will be eager to take after falling to the Ridgerunners in a close one last year. This game will also feature 2 of the top running backs in the state with Grove’s [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] and Vinita’s [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"]. Neither team is heavily reliant on their rushing attack, but this one could easily be decided late with a big play by one of these two backs. Sept. 10 – Nowata Sept. 17 – Dewey Sept. 24 – AT Tulsa Central Oct. 1 – AT Mannford Oct. 8 – Holland Hall - This was one of Vinita’s two regular-season games that were canceled last year due to Covid so 2021 will be the Hornets’ first go at this Holland Hall team that ran the table and took home a gold ball in 2020. There aren’t many defending champions across the state that return more talent or have a better shot at repeating than the Dutch this season. That means there will be little to no room for error on Vinita’s part. Luckily they get them at home, which will make things a little bit easier. Oct. 14 – AT Jay Oct. 22 – Inola Oct. 29 – AT Berryhill Nov. 5 – Verdigris - Verdigris was one of 3 teams to take down the Hornets in 2020 as we mentioned in the overview, so Vinita will be looking to turn the tides against the Cardinals. Vinita’s offensive line will be put to the test in this game against one of the state’s leaders in sacks from a year ago in 2023 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38813" first="Reese" last="Roller"]. If both teams perform as we expect, this might be a showdown that could drastically alter playoff seedings depending on the records of a few other teams such as Berryhill. This will also likely be Vinita’s Senior Night, so we expect to see quite the show from [player_tooltip player_id="38678" first="Kyron" last="Downing"] and the rest of Vinita’s 2022 Senior class that has helped put this program back on the map in 3A. <hr /> Championship History 0 State Championships