Choctaw 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 Choctaw Yellowjackets. They come in at #1 in our preseason rankings in Class 6A-2. Choctaw Yellowjackets (6A-2 Preseason Ranking: #1) The Choctaw Yellowjackets have been knocking on the door of that state championship over the last several seasons. Head coach Jake Corbin led the Jackets there in 2020 and they fell short to powerhouse Bixby. Last year, they were stunned in the first round. And this goes without saying but Choctaw is one of several teams that immediately benefit from Bixby moving up to 6A-1. That move alone puts several teams truly in the contender category and Choctaw is one of those teams. That’s why they come in at #1 in our preseason rankings for 6A-2. We think this team is experienced, talented and ready to go after a gold ball that has been eluding them for the last several years. Granted, you can say that same statement about several teams within the top ten that have been close but have had to settle for silver. The Yellowjackets bring back ten starters total with the majority of returning starters coming on the offensive side of the ball. We really like the talent that Choctaw brings back on offense and it starts with the quarterback position. In fact, the QB-RB duo in the backfield is one of the more experienced backfields in Oklahoma and that’s definitely going to pay off as the Yellowjackets look to be one of the top scoring teams in 6A-2. On defense, they only return three starters but Yellowjacket coaches are not necessarily worried about that as they have some younger players that are not only ready to emerge in the starting lineup, but they’re ready to enjoy breakout seasons and that could start this fall. <hr /> 2021 Results (8-3 Record - Lost In 6A-2 Quarterfinals) Aug. 27 - Beat Beacon Hill, VA. 66-0 Sept. 3 - Beat Springdale, AR. 63-6 Sept. 10 - Lost To Dallas Jesuit, TX. 36-29 Sept. 24 - Beat Booker T Washington 29-20 Oct. 1 - Beat Ponca City 36-0 Oct. 8 - Lost To Bixby 70-7 Oct. 14 - Beat Muskogee 49-32 Oct. 22 - Beat Sand Springs 41-28 Oct. 29 - Beat Putnam City West 60-27 Nov. 5 - Beat Bartlesville 55-21 Quarterfinal - Lost To Deer Creek 36-29 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Cade McConnell - Offensive Lineman Deshawn Brown - Defensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="98176" first="La’Trell" last="Ray"] - 2023 Running Back Choctaw 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="98176" first="La’Trell" last="Ray"] is one of the more underrated playmakers in the state. We’ve watched him for over two years now and he’s just as dangerous taking a hand off as he is catching a pass out of the backfield or even lining up at one of the receiver positions. We like Ray to have a dominating senior season where he’ll be able to put up numbers in the rushing and receiving game. We like the versatility that Ray plays with and with all of his experience, he has to have some confidence going into this season. Look for the Choctaw speedster to be one of the top performing running backs in 6A-2. [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] - 2023 Tight End Choctaw’s 2023 tight end [player_tooltip player_id="51854" first="RJ" last="Jackson"] is similar to a few other Choctaw prospects where we’ve liked them since having breakout seasons as sophomores. Jackson fits into that category as he performed incredibly well in the playoffs during their 2020 run to the championship game. He made big catch after big catch and his combination of size and speed was going to be a problem for most defenses. We’re interested to see how Jackson looks this fall as he’s going into his last season with the Yellowjackets. We think the recruitment is about to take off because Jackson has consistently been one of the top tight end prospects in the state’s 2023 class. [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"] - 2023 Quarterback One of the more experienced quarterbacks in the state returning this fall is Choctaw’s 2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id="38780" first="Steele" last="Wasel"]. An Akron commit, Wasel has been an impact player since his first season as a sophomore where he led the Yellowjackets to the state championship game. Wasel’s career has been very entertaining to watch as he had an outstanding breakout season as a sophomore, followed by a very accurate season last year as a junior. He’s been the top quarterback prospect in the state’s 2023 class since we started doing the 2023 rankings. He will attempt to finish off his high school career with a gold ball this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="291011" first="Will" last="Smith"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman Above we mentioned younger players that are ready to enjoy breakout seasons on the defensive side of the ball and we were specifically talking about 2024 defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="291011" first="Will" last="Smith"]. The Yellowjackets have to replace one of the more disruptive players in the state in Deshawn Brown and they might have found that replacement with Smith. We’ve written about Smith and his athleticism and the raw mix of speed and power several times this offseason. We think he’s a prospect that you need to know about and colleges are starting to agree. He was offered by OSU within the last month and that should just be the start for him. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="347452" first="Brody" last="Hofen"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="211555" first="Cash" last="Williams"] - 2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="211559" first="Deshawn" last="Smith"] - 2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="38728" first="Gabe" last="Gaines"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="133447" first="Jax" last="Smith"] - 2023 Wide Receiver <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Del City - We’ll have a note on Choctaw’s non-district schedule a little later in the preview but the season gets underway in week zero as the Yellowjackets won’t be traveling very far to take on Del City. These two used to be 6A-2 rivals but with Del City moving down to Class 5A for the next two years, this becomes a non-district match-up. The Eagles will provide an early test for Choctaw, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Del City’s defense has multiple guys that will be playing D1 football in the future so the Yellowjackets and their explosive offense will have their work cut out for them. Sept. 2 - Edmond Santa Fe Sept. 9 - AT Westmoore Sept. 23 - Putnam City North Sept. 30 - AT Capitol Hill Oct. 7 - Deer Creek -The top two teams in the westside district of 6A-2 coming into this season are Choctaw and Deer Creek. These two will square off in week six and the district championship could very well be decided in this head to head clash. Choctaw has had this date circled on the calendar for months now as the Antlers are the team that came into their house and put them down in the first round of the playoffs. Deer Creek would go on to punch their ticket to the state championship game before falling short to Bixby and the Yellowjackets certainly believe that they should have been the team in Edmond. They get their shot at a little revenge here. Oct. 13 - AT Northwest Classen Oct. 21 - Lawton Oct. 28 - AT Putnam City Nov. 4 - Ponca City <hr /> Notable Choctaw’s non-district schedule this year will require far less travel for everyone involved. They play three OKC-area schools to kick off their season before going into district play. That was not the case last season. The Yellowjackets played teams from Arkansas, Texas and Virginia. The Virginia team, Beacon Hill, came to Oklahoma to get dominated 66-0. Choctaw would also play Springdale out of Arkansas and Dallas Jesuit down in Texas. The Yellowjackets have made playing out of state competition a normal thing over the last several years but this year they’re focusing on dominating other local competition outside of Oklahoma City. <hr /> Championship History 1 State Championship 1960 - Beat Stigler 32-6