Muskogee 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>. <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Overview</span> </strong>2020 was a season that the Muskogee Roughers want to forget about and move on from quickly. The season began with a lot of optimism. They entered at #5 in our pre-season rankings after coming within one score of reaching the 6A-D2 semi-finals in 2019 and with some of the top playmakers in the state such as [player_tooltip player_id="38491" first="Ty" last="Williams"] back for another season. They matched up with 5A power Bishop McGuinness in week one and kept it close but came up just short against the Irish. What Muskogee did not know after that game though is that they would not come any closer to winning a game the rest of the season. They went into district play on a 3 game losing streak, had a cancelation in week 4, went on another 3 game losing streak, and then had the last 3 games on their schedule canceled before getting shut out by Midwest City in the playoffs. Such a season for the Roughers forced the hand of the athletic director to a certain extent and as a result, Muskogee will welcome Travis Hill as their new head coach in 2021. With Bixby, Choctaw, Booker T Washington, Greenwood (the defending 6A Arkansas State Champion), and others standing in their way, bouncing back in 2021 will be no easy task. However, returning 14 total starters, including 9 on defense will certainly help. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2020 Results (0-7 Record – Lost In 6A-D2 1st Round)</strong></span> <strong>Aug. 28 – Lost to Bishop McGuinness 20-13</strong> <strong>Sept. 4 – Lost to Bentonville West (Arkansas) 41-0</strong> <strong>Sept. 18 – Lost to Coweta 42-21</strong> <strong>Sept. 25 – Game VS Putnam City West Canceled</strong> <strong>Oct. 2 – Lost to Sand Springs 45-14</strong> <strong>Oct. 9 – Lost to Bartlesville 52-24</strong> <strong>Oct. 15 – Lost to Choctaw 26-10</strong> <strong>Oct. 23 – Game VS Bixby Canceled</strong> <strong>Oct. 30 – Game VS Booker T Washington Canceled</strong> <strong>Nov. 6 – Game VS Ponca City Canceled</strong> <strong>1st Round – Lost to Midwest City 39-0</strong> <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="38685" first="Isaiah" last="Givens"] - 2022 Running Back/ Defensive Back </strong>If Muskogee wants to bounce back and return to contention in 2021 they will need [player_tooltip player_id="38685" first="Isaiah" last="Givens"] to have another big season. Givens will start both ways for Muskogee at Running Back and in the Secondary. As a runner, Givens showed great vision and contact balance as the primary workhorse back in 2020. On defense, Givens will start at Muskogee’s strong safety position that they’re calling the "Rougher" position because they expect him to be a huge contributor in both the run game and pass game as he was in 2020. We expect Givens to build on his 2020 breakout campaign and move up a few spots in our rankings before the season is over. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="154218" first="Teyon" last="Brewer"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman </strong>Though 2020 was a down year for Muskogee, a few young players emerged for them and look to be future stars for the Roughers. [player_tooltip player_id="154218" first="Teyon" last="Brewer"] is certainly one of them. Teyon started for Muskogee on the defensive line as a Freshman in 2020 where he was a force to be reckoned with coming off the edge in the run game despite being double-teamed on a lot of possessions. Listed at 6’2" 245, Teyon has the size and athletic profile to be quite the defensive lineman at the next level in a few years if he continues on the path he blazed as a Freshman. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge guys like Del City’s [player_tooltip player_id="110735" first="David" last="Stone"] and McAlester’s [player_tooltip player_id="154211" first="Malachi" last="Wrice"] for the top DL spot in the class of 2024 by the time they graduate. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Names</strong></span> <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Devin Whitfield - 2022 Defensive Lineman </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="119726" first="James" last="Edward Moore"] <strong>– 2022 Offensive Lineman </strong><strong>Kenan Adams – 2022 Defensive Lineman</strong> <strong>Ronald Warren</strong> <strong>– 2023 Linebacker</strong> <strong>Jace Garrett – 2023 Offensive Lineman</strong> <strong>Jayden Bell – 2023 Wide Receiver</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="129399" first="Kayden" last="McGee"]<strong> – 2024 Athlete</strong> <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> 2020’s winless season was the first such season in school history for Muskogee. One of the themes of the season was a lack of scoring. Muskogee only scored more than 14 points twice all season long and was held scoreless in 2 of their 7 losses. However, with a brand new coaching staff this season, the Roughers will look much different offensively in 2021. Along with head coach Travis Hill, Muskogee brings former Stigler head coach Chris Risenhoover to be their offensive coordinator. Risenhoover plans to completely redesign the Muskogee offense in 2021 to accommodate for the speed and athleticism the Roughers will have. Stigler, Risenhoover’s former team, averaged just over 39 points per game in 2020 and finished 11-2 with a trip to the 3A Semi-finals. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Schedule/Games To Watch</strong></span> Aug. 27 – Greenwood (Arkansas) Sept. 3 – Bentonville West (Arkansas) Sept. 10 – AT Rogers (Arkansas) Sept. 24 – AT Putnam City West <strong>Oct. 1 – Sand Springs </strong>- Though they were blown out by Sand Springs last season, 2020 was Muskogee’s first loss to the Sandites since 2016. With a district that features Choctaw, Bixby, and Booker T Washington, the fight for 4th place in this district will likely come down to these 2 teams plus Bartlesville who comes into 2021 at #10 in our pre-season rankings. Additionally, other than their game against Choctaw, this will be Muskogee’s last home game of the season until early November, so a win here may be mandatory if the Roughers want to get back to the playoffs in 2021. Oct. 8 – AT Bartlesville <strong>Oct. 14 – Choctaw </strong>- Though they were only able to put up 10 points, this game was the closest one that Muskogee had in 2020 during 6A-D2 play. They lost by just 2 scores. However, Choctaw will return a star-studded lineup that will be chomping at the bit to get back to Wantland after coming within one drive of winning it all in 2020. This game also marks the halfway point of a brutal stretch of games where they will have to play 5 straight teams ranked in our pre-season top 10 including the top 3 teams in consecutive weeks. Oct. 22 – AT Bixby Oct. 29 – AT Booker T Washington Nov. 5 – Ponca City <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Championship History</strong></span> <em><strong>3 State Championships</strong></em> 1986 - Beat Booker T Washington 14-12 1950 - Beat Capitol Hill 19-14 1948 - Beat Chickasha 27-6