Cushing 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 Cushing Tigers. For the second straight year, the Tigers come into a season as our #1 team in the 4A preseason rankings. Cushing Tigers (4A Preseason Ranking: #1) With nearly all 22 starters back, the Cushing Tigers come into the 2022 season as the preseason #1 team in Class 4A and one of the main contenders for the state championship. All 11 starters return to an offense that was one of the best in Class 4A a season ago. They bring back another 9 starters on the defensive side of the ball. It’s hard to not include Cushing as one of the serious contenders in Class 4A as we head into the season when you consider all of the players they return on both sides of the ball. Not only does Cushing bring back just about everyone but they come into this season with a very sour taste in their mouth after being upset by Elk City in the first round of last year’s playoffs. The offense will definitely be the strength of this team once again as they not only have everyone back but it’s an offense that features some of the best players in the state’s 2023 class. Whether it’s the explosive passing game, the balanced rushing attack or the fact that they bring back their entire offensive line, Cushing will be able to light up scoreboards all across Oklahoma throughout the season. The Tigers will be moving districts and will face new opponents this season as they move over to one of the east side districts in Class 4A. This is a class that has been dominated recently by perennial powers like defending champion Clinton, new district foe Wagoner and several others. Cushing appears ready to take that next step and contend with those powerhouses. <hr /> 2021 Results (9-2 Record - Lost In Class 4A 1st Round) Sept. 3 - Beat Bristow 35-26 Sept. 10 - Beat Perkins-Tryon 48-14 Sept. 17 - Beat Berryhill 55-14 Sept. 24 - Lost To Tuttle 22-7 Sept. 30 - Beat Classen 53-16 Oct. 8 - Beat Tecumseh 49-6 Oct. 14 - Beat John Marshall 49-22 Oct. 22 - Beat Blanchard 27-13 Oct. 29 - Beat Ada 63-14 Nov. 5 - Beat Harrah 35-16 1st Round - Lost To Elk City 21-14 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Caleb Peery - Linebacker <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] - 2023 Quarterback Every Sunday during the football season, we put out our top performers from that week and every week, it seemed like Cushing quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="54349" first="Blaze" last="Berlowitz"] was one of those top performers. The 2023 quarterback was one of the best quarterbacks in the state last year and he had the numbers to back it up. He threw for over 3,000 yards and 32 touchdowns and also added plenty of numbers in the running game. Berlowitz definitely benefitted from having plenty of talent around him but he still performed every single week. He’s part of a 2023 quarterback class in the state that is incredibly deep. [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Since his breakout season during his freshman year, Cushing 2023 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="38715" first="Camden" last="Crooks"] has been one of the best overall playmakers that not enough people in the state know about. We’ve made this comparison before and we’ll make it again but Crooks is this year’s version of Heritage Hall’s Gavin Freeman. Crooks is a dynamic athlete and his recruitment should absolutely blow up this fall as he belongs at the Power 5 level. Last year, Crooks finished with over 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns in just 11 games. He’s also a dynamic player on defense as well as in special teams. [player_tooltip player_id="208017" first="Noah" last="Jones"] - 2023 Running Back Coming into last season, we knew that Cushing was going to have one of the top passing attacks in the state but they would need more to truly contend in Class 4A. They enjoyed the emergence of 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="208017" first="Noah" last="Jones"], who finished with over 800 yards and 8 touchdowns on just over 100 carries throughout the season. When we got a chance to see Jones in person, he was impressive coming out of the backfield. He isn’t the biggest running back but power is actually a big part of his game. He was like a pinball when Cushing faced Tuttle as he would just bounce off would-be tacklers throughout the night. [player_tooltip player_id="149337" first="Riley" last="Matheson"] - 2023 Linebacker At this time last year, we were writing about Cushing’s 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="149337" first="Riley" last="Matheson"] being a breakout star candidate for Cushing’s defense and he lived up to the preseason hype. As a junior, Matheson was all over the field and finished the year with 165 tackles on the season. Now, as he goes into his senior year, we expect the same, if not more production from Matheson on a Cushing defense that brings back just about everyone. The offense will be getting plenty of headlines this fall but look out for Matheson and the Tiger defense to do a great job limiting what opponents do this season. More Names To Know Brady Matheson - 2024 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Brock Bales - 2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="149336" first="Brody" last="Berlowitz"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Brody Todd - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman John Hilligoss - 2024 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="98177" first="Lane" last="Yaunt"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Nicolas Flores - 2023 Offensive Lineman <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Sept. 2 - Bristow - This season opener is unique in a couple ways as Cushing welcomes in Bristow for week one. First, is the contrast of styles as Bristow brings in their option offense to go against Cushing’s high-powered passing attack. The Pirates will attempt to control the clock and keep Cushing’s offense off the field. Another note about this match-up is Cushing is replacing Bristow in the 4A district. The Pirates are heading down to Class 3A and they were in this district for the last several years, including winning a district championship a few years ago. The Tigers are now one of the main contenders for the district crown. Sept. 9 - AT Perkins-Tryon Sept. 16 - Berryhill Sept. 23 - AT Miami Sept. 30 - AT Catoosa Oct. 7 - Wagoner - If neither team loses between the start of the season and week six, this will be a 1 VS 2 match-up in Class 4A as #1 Cushing welcomes in #2 Wagoner. It goes without saying but this match-up will almost certainly have district championship implications. And the Tigers are hoping for a better outcome this year. Last year, they had another 1 VS 2 match-up as the top-ranked team and fell to Tuttle at home. Cushing is hoping to finish the job against another perennial powerhouse in Class 4A this time around. A win here will put Cushing in the driver’s seat for the district crown and will set up a smoother path in the playoffs. Oct. 13 - McLain Oct. 21 - AT Cleveland Oct. 28 - Oologah Nov. 4 - AT Skiatook <hr /> Notable This is the second straight year that Cushing has come into a season as our preseason #1 team in Class 4A. After being upset by Elk City in the first round of the playoffs a year ago, the Tigers are hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself this year. Cushing coming in at #1 and having just about everyone back are the only things that are similar to this time last year. The Tigers are moving districts and will now play in one of the east side districts where they’ll have to contend with perennial powerhouse Wagoner as well as other new faces. Cushing couldn’t make that championship run last year but they’re looking forward to a fresh start this fall. <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 1961 - Beat Harding 15-14 1958 - Beat Ada 9-7