Blanchard 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 Blanchard Lions. The Lions look to take some momentum from their quarterfinal run a year ago. Blanchard Lions (4A Preseason Ranking: #8) The Blanchard Lions have been one of the more consistent teams over the last decade. It seems like they’re always somewhere in the top ten rankings of their respective class and despite losing the majority of their starters, that’s where we find the Lions once again heading into 2022. They come in at #8 in the preseason rankings for Class 4A and they’re coming off a 2021 season in which they went 8-4 and fell to perennial powerhouse Poteau in the 4A quarterfinals. That’s been the biggest hurdle that the Lions have been unable to overcome over the last few seasons. In Class 4A, there’s definitely tiers of teams. You have those perennial powers like Poteau, Tuttle, Wagoner and defending champion Clinton. Nobody has really been able to consistently contend with those programs year after year. Blanchard’s looking to become that team in Class 4A that jumps into the mix. We mentioned losing the majority of their starters from last year’s squad, they do bring back five starters on the offensive side of the ball. And on offense specficially, we think they have the chance to be pretty good. The Lions were at one of the team camps we attended and covered this spring and their offense was clicking. Specifically the passing game was doing a really good job throughout the evening while we were watching. We feel confident that Blanchard’s passing game could be one of the top passing attacks in Class 4A this fall. They’ll need them to be executing because they only bring back three starters on the defensive side of the ball. The combination of a young defense with a tough non-district schedule, and the Lions could find themselves in a shootout or two early on. That should get them ready for what is one of the tougher districts in the state, regardless of class. <hr /> 2021 Results (8-4 Record - Lost In Class 4A Quarterfinals) Sept. 3 - Lost To Noble 41-23 Sept. 10 - Beat Elgin 35-7 Sept. 17 - Beat Newcastle 20-13 Sept. 24 - Beat John Marshall 42-13 Oct. 1 - Beat Ada 41-27 Oct. 8 - Beat Classen 48-20 Oct. 14 - Beat Tecumseh 32-7 Oct. 22 - Lost To Cushing 27-13 Oct. 29 - Beat Harrah 46-20 Nov. 5 - Lost To Tuttle 14-13 1st Round - Beat Bethany 24-21 Quarterfinal - Lost To Poteau 45-14 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Ben Farrell - Linebacker Gabe Barnes - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Hayden Bowles - Linebacker Lincoln Smith - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="268307" first="Brayson" last="Carter"] - 2025 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Our first player to watch is one that the Blanchard coaches are very excited about. Blanchard 2025 wide receiver and defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="268307" first="Brayson" last="Carter"] is a young talent but he’s already on the radar and he’s already one of the top players on the team. As a freshman, he finished with nearly 500 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns on just 25 catches. That production is definitely going to go up this fall with Blanchard being one of the top passing teams in Class 4A. Then you turn around and look at him on defense and he finished with nearly 50 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Blanchard will definitely use Carter, who is the fastest player on the team, in a variety of ways this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="363852" first="Carson" last="Cooksey"] - 2024 Quarterback One of the more accurate 2024 quarterbacks in the state last year was Blanchard’s [player_tooltip player_id="363852" first="Carson" last="Cooksey"]. He didn’t make very many mistakes. He didn’t throw it as many times as some other quarterbacks did but his numbers were still up there among the best in the class. Cooksey would complete 62 percent of his passes and finish with nearly 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions on the season. He simply did not make mistakes. And we mentioned the offense and how dangerous the passing attack could be. It all starts with the 2024 standout. He has a wealth of wide receivers around him so those numbers should go up this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="385677" first="Jaxon" last="Laminack"] - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back We mentioned the hurdle that Blanchard has to overcome this fall when it comes to their defense and the inexperience on that side of the ball. One player that they’ll definitely be relying on, coincidentally he’s the only 2023 prospect on this part of the breakdown, is [player_tooltip player_id="385677" first="Jaxon" last="Laminack"]. The two-way player will also be one of the standout defensive backs for the Lions. They do return a good amount of skill players in their secondary and in the linebacker group. Those players, especially the seniors, will be looked to lead this side of the ball and bring some of those younger players along and get them ready for the tough district run. More Names To Know Caiden Wright - 2023 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="268313" first="Reagan" last="Palmer"] - 2024 Wide Receiver Ross Johnston - 2024 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Trey Spencer - 2024 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="383303" first="Tyler" last="Hughes"] - 2024 Defensive Back <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Sept. 2 - AT Noble - The season opener begins on the road as Blanchard will travel to face off with Noble, who’s ranked in the top ten in our preseason rankings for Class 5A. This also begins a three-week stretch where Blanchard’s complete non-district schedule is made up of teams in Class 5A. They’ll travel to Noble, host Piedmont and then travel to Shawnee. The Lions will definitely be prepared for district play once they get the first three weeks of the season under their belts. This match-up specifically will also feature two strong quarterbacks. Cooksey for Blanchard and Noble will counter with one of the better 2023 quarterbacks in the state. Sept. 9 - Piedmont Sept. 16 - AT Shawnee Sept. 23 - AT Harrah Sept. 30 - Newcastle Oct. 7 - AT Tuttle - No surprise here but the week six game on the road might be the biggest game of the year as Blanchard travels to face perennial powerhouse Tuttle. The Lions nearly upset the Tigers in week ten last season but fell just short, losing 14-13. Blanchard will try to do the same thing this year as a win could put the Lions in the driver’s seat for the district crown. One thing that will be a hurdle for Blanchard this season are the road tests. Arguably their three toughest games of the season will all be away from home. The Lions will need to be ready to hit the road this season, especially in week six when they go to Tuttle. Oct. 13 - Classen SAS Oct. 21 - AT Bridge Creek Oct. 28 - AT Bethany - These two teams are very familiar with one another after Blanchard eliminated Bethany from the playoffs last year in the first round. Now, they find themselves in the same district with one another and the Lions are well aware that the Bronchos will have a little extra in the tank for this week nine match-up. For Blanchard, everything is in front of them as they look at this clash. If they’re unbeaten in district play by the time this match-up comes up, they could win and clinch the district championship. Bethany is hoping to not only hand Blanchard a loss, but they’re hoping that it sends the Lions scrambling for playoff seeding purposes. Nov. 4 - Tecumseh <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 2012 - Beat Kingfisher 28-21 1979 - Beat Hartshorne 37-14