Chandler 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 The Chandler Lions had a season to remember in 2020 as they picked up their first playoff win in over ten seasons. They made it back to the playoffs for the second consecutive year and bring plenty of momentum into 2021. The Lions return nearly everyone off of last year’s team and are one of those teams that were just on the outside looking in on our preseason 2A rankings. We say it all the time with these 2A teams but the class is not only loaded, but it’s incredibly deep. Eight starters return on offense and another eight come back on defense, giving the Lions plenty of firepower to end up ranked by season’s end. Chandler is in a stacked district that features Jones and Millwood. They lost to both teams last season and if they want to go further into the playoffs, they’ll need to start with wins over those two teams to set themselves up with an easier path in the postseason as a district champ. One of those eight returning starters on offense is junior running back [player_tooltip player_id="98175" first="Casmen" last="Hill"]. He was one of the top rushers in the state, regardless of class last year and could do even more damage this fall. One of the biggest keys for the Lions will be how they do in their biggest games of the season. We’ll dive a little further into this in our "Games To Watch" section below. But Chandler will face #2 Jones, #3 Beggs and #6 Millwood during their season. While Hill is without a doubt the star of this team, he was limited in the games against those three last year. He scored touchdowns in every game except for those three games. He was also held to under 100 yards in two of the three games. Those two times were the only times he didn’t eclipse 100 yards. <hr /> 2020 Results (9-4 Record - Lost In Class 2A 3rd Round) Sept. 4 - Beat Stroud 48-0 Sept. 11 - Beat Bristow 41-14 Sept. 18 - Lost To Beggs 28-27 (OT) Sept. 25 - Beat Crossings Christian 36-0 Oct. 2 - Lost To Jones 27-15 Oct. 9 - Beat Star Spencer 41-8 Oct. 16 - Lost To Millwood 36-14 Oct. 23 - Beat Meeker 30-0 Oct. 30 - Beat Kellyville 48-34 Nov. 6 - Beat Prague 60-12 1st Round - Beat Alva 49-19 2nd Round - Beat Meeker 54-19 3rd Round - Lost To Marlow 31-28 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="98175" first="Casmen" last="Hill"] - 2023 Running Back Whenever we write about players, it’s easy to get carried away and drift into hyperbole. However, when we see a kid that isn’t being talked about as much as others, that’s when we tend to go overboard. And all of that is to say this. Chandler junior [player_tooltip player_id="98175" first="Casmen" last="Hill"] is the best running back in Oklahoma that nobody knows about. More people are starting to take notice but it’s not enough as we’re going into his junior season. Hill ran for well over 2,000 yards last year as a sophomore. This game after he nearly ran for 1,000 yards as a freshman. Hill is going to put up monster numbers again this fall and be one of the leading rushers in the state, and that’s not hyperbole. [player_tooltip player_id="38794" first="Kaden" last="Jones"] - 2022 Quarterback Joining Hill in the Chandler backfield will be [player_tooltip player_id="38794" first="Kaden" last="Jones"] returning at the quarterback position. So after everything we wrote about Hill, it should be pretty clear that he’ll be the workhorse within this Chandler offense. But as you’ll see with their 2021 schedule, the Lions face some of the best teams in Class 2A and they could end up getting into a shootout or two, or three. They’ll need their senior quarterback to produce just as much as Hill and Jones showed some of his abilities last year as a junior. We think with most defenses keying in on Hill throughout the season, things are going to open up for Jones to attack with his arm. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="144767" first="Carson" last="Clagg"] - 2024 Linebacker Drake Rodriguez - 2022 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Stefaun Mackey - 2023 Linebacker <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Sept. 3 - AT Stroud Sept. 10 - Bristow Sept. 17 - AT Beggs - It’s the first of three big games against ranked 2A competition. Before they enter a district which features two of the top six teams in the class in Jones and Millwood, they’ll travel to Beggs to square off with the Golden Demons. Beggs has championship aspirations and they were able to prevail over Chandler but the Lions pushed them to overtime. After last year’s close call, Chandler certainly won’t be intimidated by the Golden Demons and they’ll come into this thinking that they belong. We’ll see a great RB match-up with Hill and OSU commit [player_tooltip player_id="38669" first="CJ" last="Brown"] for Beggs. Sept. 24 - Crossings Christian Oct. 1 - AT Jones - The first massive district game will come in week five when the Lions will go on the road to take on Jones. The Longhorns are the favorites to win the district and this match-up will end up be a battle of contrasting styles. Jones has arguably the best quarterback in the state in senior [player_tooltip player_id="38671" first="Carson" last="May"]. The Longhorns are going to throw it all over the field. The Lions will counter with Hill and look to control the game on the ground. The Longhorns were able to contain Hill last season in their 27-15 victory as the standout Lion was held to just 60 yards. Oct. 8 - Star Spencer Oct. 14 - Millwood - We mentioned how the Jones match-up would be a contrast of styles. This one won’t be and if you get to the game late, it might be halftime already. Both teams have incredibly strong running games as Millwood also has one of the top running backs in the state’s 2023 class in [player_tooltip player_id="57205" first="Rickey" last="Hunt Jr"]. Because of that, both teams will look for an X-Factor to put them over the top in a game that will certainly have playoff ramifications. If the Lions are able to go 2-0 against Jones and Millwood, they’ll be in the driver’s seat to capture the district championship. Oct. 22 - AT Meeker Oct. 29 - Kellyville Nov. 5 - AT Prague <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 2005 - Beat Davis 40-7 1984 - Beat Chelsea 30-13