Bixby Team Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! It's the month of July and that means it's preview time! Throughout the month of July, we are publishing 100 team previews to get you ready for the 2022 season. This is something that began last year and has become even bigger and better this year. We're looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champs, to top contenders and dark horses, we'll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A down to A. In this post, we take a look at the Bixby Spartans. One of the best teams over the last decade is moving up to 6A-1 after dominating 6A-2 since it's inception. Bixby Spartans (6A-1 Preseason Ranking: #3) A new era begins in 2022 as Bixby moves up to 6A-1 after winning seven 6A-2 state championships in eight years. This move was inevitable as the Bixby community continues to grow every single year. And the Spartans are not only ready to make the move up but they're ready to contend immediately. That might not have been the case five years ago but head coach Loren Montgomery has this program rolling. Coming with the Spartans into 6A-1 is their state record 49 consecutive wins. In their championship win over Deer Creek in December, Bixby broke the record held by Wagoner from just a few years ago. The Spartans haven't lost a game since the season opener in the 2018 season. In addition to moving up to 6A-1, the Spartans will have another challenge of replacing the majority of their starters on both sides of the ball. However, the starters they do return can have an impact on both sides of the ball. Some of the biggest names they'll have to replace are Braylin Presley on offense and Jack Puckett on defense. Those two were two of the absolute best in the state on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Spartans were absolutely dynamic in the rushing attack last season but we expect them to have more of a balance between the run and pass this fall. And on defense, the strength will definitely be in the secondary as they bring back some of their best players in that area of the defense. Bixby's 2023 class is talented and the majority of their returning starters are in that class. Bixby will definitely need some new names to emerge this fall and we're looking forward to seeing who those new faces become. <hr /> 2021 Results (13-0 Record - Class 6A-2 State Champions) Aug. 27 - Beat Mansfield Timberview, TX. 69-14 Sept. 3 - Beat Jenks 23-15 Sept. 17 - Beat Stillwater 42-14 Sept. 24 - Beat Bartlesville 71-0 Oct. 1 - Beat Putnam City West 81-6 Oct. 8 - Beat Choctaw 70-7 Oct. 14 - Beat Sand Springs 58-14 Oct. 22 - Beat Muskogee 56-14 Oct. 29 - Beat Ponca City 66-13 Nov. 5 - Beat Booker T Washington 61-20 Quarterfinal - Beat Putnam City North 78-7 Semifinal - Beat Stillwater 48-6 Championship - Beat Deer Creek 63-14 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Braylin Presley - Running Back Christian Burke - Quarterback Jack Puckett - Linebacker Preston Solomon - Wide Receiver Zach Blankenship - Running Back <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] - 2023 Quarterback After starting the last two seasons at Owasso and being one of the top passers in 6A-1, quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] became one of the first notable move-ins this offseason when he moved into the Bixby district. Havens immediately started working with the Bixby receivers and getting familiar with what the Spartans do on offense. He's had a good offseason and should give the Bixby passing game a boost. Havens can sling it all over the field and is also a decent threat to run the ball as well. [player_tooltip player_id="194066" first="Brody" last="Duffel"] - 2024 Offensive Lineman Bixby 2024 offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="194066" first="Brody" last="Duffel"] has a good shot of being the next standout offensive lineman to come out of this Bixby program. The Bixby coaches were excited about Duffel's potential coming into last season and he definitely lived up to the hype. Because of his strong sophomore campaign, Duffel launched himself into the conversation of the top offensive linemen in the state's 2023 class and is in the top ten for overall prospects. We're looking forward to seeing how Duffel and the Bixby rushing attack looks this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="197183" first="Connor" last="Kirby"] - 2023 Quarterback One of the biggest breakout stars from last season was Bixby 2023 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="197183" first="Connor" last="Kirby"]. As a junior, Kirby actually led the Spartans in rushing touchdowns and was used primarily as another rushing threat within the Bixby offense. But this offseason, Kirby has been working hard on his passing and will be much improved heading into this season. The combination of Kirby and fellow quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"] should give the Spartans plenty of playmaking ability and firepower from the quarterback position. [player_tooltip player_id="91881" first="Dylan" last="Hasz"] - 2023 Defensive Back/Wide Receiver We wrote this about Bixby standout [player_tooltip player_id="91881" first="Dylan" last="Hasz"] in June when we updated all of our 2023 rankings but I believe that Hasz is one of the more underrated players in the state. The two-way playmaker had a big season as a sophomore when it came to interceptions on defense. Last year, Hasz gave the Spartans just as much of an impact on the offensive side of the ball. As he heads into his senior year, we expect for him to give Bixby a boost on offense but when it comes down to it, he'll be the leader of a very talented Bixby secondary. [player_tooltip player_id="55156" first="Luke" last="Hasz"] - 2023 Tight End The other Hasz twin is one of the top overall prospects not only in Oklahoma but in the country. Following his breakout season as a sophomore, Bixby's [player_tooltip player_id="55156" first="Luke" last="Hasz"] became one of the top tight end prospects in the country and was recruited as such. We expect the Bixby big man to have a huge senior season as the Spartans become more of a balanced team on offense. The Spartans were able to run the ball at will last season but we expect Hasz and the passing game to have a big impact as the Spartans head into this fall. More Names To Know Braeden Presley - 2026 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="194065" first="Cale" last="Fugate"] - 2023 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="98179" first="Jakeb" last="Snyder"] - 2023 Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id="157509" first="Jersey" last="Robb"] - 2023 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="116023" first="Joshua" last="Newkirk"] - 2023 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="110743" first="Kordell" last="Gouldsby"] - 2024 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="115219" first="Tyson" last="Williams"] - 2023 Defensive Back <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 25 - Owasso (TU's Chapman Stadium) - We're kicking things off with a bang as Bixby and Owasso will square off in week zero and not only will they face off to kick off the season, they'll meet on Thursday night at TU's Chapman Stadium on a night that not many other games will be taking place. They'll have a big stage for their season opener as Bixby attempts to win their 50th consecutive game when they face Owasso. Another storyline in the match-up is Bixby quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="51037" first="Austin" last="Havens"], who started the last two years for Owasso will be facing off with his old team. This marquee match-up between top five teams will kick off the 2022 season. Sept. 2 - AT Springdale Har-Ber, AR. Sept. 9 - Sand Springs Sept. 23 - AT Norman North - After a bye week in week three, the Spartans will officially be welcomed into 6A-1 in week four as they open up district play on the road against Norman North. There are a few other district match-ups that will be games to watch but this first one is going to be interesting as it's the start of a new era. Bixby is coming off a season in which they absolutely demolished the other teams in their district and 6A-2 overall. While the Spartans are still going to be one of the top teams, it's unlikely that we'll see that kind of dominance from the Spartans every single week in 6A-1. But then again, the Spartans might still be dominant in this one. Sept. 30 - Southmoore Oct. 7 - AT Enid Oct. 14 - Broken Arrow Oct. 20 - Westmoore Oct. 27 - AT Moore Nov. 3 - Jenks - We mentioned this in the Jenks Preview how this district match-up falling to week ten was incredibly lucky from a media standpoint. The storylines and the hype around the match-up pretty much takes care of itself. But let's be honest, this would be one of the top match-ups in Oklahoma regardless of where it fell on a calendar. Jenks was the only team to push Bixby last season and they'll meet in week ten and the district championship will more than likely be on the line. Another question is whether or not the Spartans have their winning streak in tact when these reigning state champions face off? <hr /> Notable Bixby is not only going into this season with a 49-game winning streak and just had one of the more dominant runs in Oklahoma history, they're coming off an absolutely dominant 2021 season. Bixby beat their opponents by an average margin of 50 points per game. The closest contest was early on in the season when they went on the road and beat Jenks 23-15. They were simply not tested against in 6A-2 opponents as just about every single game was over by halftime, including their state championship victory over Deer Creek, which was one of the more lopsided championship games in state history. The Spartans have made a lot of history over the last eight seasons but as we all know, things are about to look a little different heading into this fall. <hr /> Championship History 7 State Championships 2021 - Beat Deer Creek 63-14 2020 - Beat Choctaw 17-14 2019 - Beat Stillwater 40-36 2018 - Beat Stillwater 34-13 2016 - Beat Lawton 39-31 2015 - Beat Sand Springs 38-28 2014 - Beat Lawton 35-21