Deer Creek 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 Deer Creek Antlers. After falling to Bixby in the title game a year ago, the Antlers are ready to make another run in 2022. Deer Creek Antlers (6A-2 Preseason Ranking: #5) Coming into the 2021 season, not many expected the Deer Creek Antlers to be one of the final two teams standing in 6A-2 but that’s exactly what happened as the Antlers made it all the way to the state championship game and would walk away with the silver ball. The Antlers will be much higher on radars as they come into this season and they come into the year as the #5 team in our 6A-2 preseason rankings. When you look back at the season the Antlers had, maybe we should have seen the playoff run coming. The only two losses they suffered in the regular season were to Stillwater in double overtime and Del City in overtime. Those games go the other way and you’re looking at an unbeaten Deer Creek, winning a district championship and being one of the top teams in 6A-2 heading into the playoffs. Now, as we look towards the new season, the Antlers won’t be sneaking up on anyone but they’re ready to contend once again. With seven starters returning on offense, the Antlers have the potential to be pretty explosive on that side of the ball. They have to find replacements for big names on the offensive line and will have a new quarterback but everyone else is back and the Antlers have a favorable schedule once they get to district play. The Antlers also bring back seven starters on the defensive side of the ball and one defensive back who wasn’t a starter for Deer Creek moved in from out of state and is rated as one of the top players in the country so he’ll give them a big boost in the secondary. As we mentioned, the district is rather light this year with only two teams from the district being in the top six of the 6A-2 rankings. This can set up the Antlers for a deep run in the playoffs once again as they try to make it back to UCO and capture a gold ball. <hr /> 2021 Results (10-3 Record - Class 6A-2 Runner Up) Aug. 27 - Beat Edmond North 35-7 Sept. 3 - Beat Southmoore 44-0 Sept. 10 - Beat Yukon 35-14 Sept. 24 - Lost To Stillwater 35-28 (2OT) Oct. 1 - Beat Putnam City North 38-13 Oct. 8 - Beat Northwest Classen 70-0 Oct. 14 - Beat Midwest City 23-6 Oct. 22 - Lost To Del City 35-28 (OT) Oct. 29 - Beat Lawton 67-20 Nov. 5 - Beat US Grant 65-7 Quarterfinal - Beat Choctaw 36-29 Semifinal - Beat Sand Springs 20-17 Championship - Lost To Bixby 63-14 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Brett Pense - Quarterback Jacob Sexton - Offensive Lineman Jevion Jones - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Matthew Wade - Offensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="223037" first="Bryson" last="Rouse"] - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back The state championship game did not go well for Deer Creek as they went up against the Bixby dynasty. However, one bright spot in the game was the play of 2023 standout [player_tooltip player_id="223037" first="Bryson" last="Rouse"]. It didn’t matter where Rouse was lining up on the field, running back, wide receiver or defensive back, Rouse found a way to make plays in the season’s biggest game. Rouse should use the momentum from that performance and carry it with him into his senior season. The Antlers have some very talented players on both sides of the ball but returning Rouse is going to be very important towards have a versatile athlete who can help on offense and defense. [player_tooltip player_id="344120" first="Dale" last="Miller"] - 2023 Defensive Back Transfers and move ins were a big conversation piece this offseason and Oklahoma even saw some out of state talent enter the state and that’s where we find 2023 defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="344120" first="Dale" last="Miller"]. After playing at Alabama powerhouse Hoover, Miller is now in Oklahoma and will finish his high school career at Deer Creek. Miller recently committed to North Carolina and is considered one of the top cornerbacks in the country. He’s going to give the Antlers an immediate boost on the defensive side of the ball and it’ll be interesting to see whether or not he plays any offense. Miller is a lockdown corner who is going to be a big name this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="382112" first="Deontaye" last="Wilson"] - 2023 Running Back One of the more underrated players returning in 6A-2 is Deer Creek’s 2023 running back [player_tooltip player_id="382112" first="Deontaye" last="Wilson"]. Last season, Wilson would run for more than 1,000 yards and he’s going to come into this season as one of the top running backs in the class. More people should be talking about him as one of the top running backs in the class and he should be primed for a big senior season. With Deer Creek having to replace Brett Pense at the quarterback position, don’t be surprised if Wilson ends up getting a bigger work load this fall, especially early on in the season while the new quarterback gets comfortable running the Antler offense. [player_tooltip player_id="242231" first="Grady" last="Adamson"] - 2025 Quarterback Our final prospect to watch is the most unknown of the bunch and that’s 2025 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="242231" first="Grady" last="Adamson"]. He’s replacing a quarterback in Brett Pense that was outstanding last year and simply did not make many mistakes. However, Adamson definitely has the potential to be better and he’s already showing signs of that before his sophomore season even begins. The 2025 quarterback class in Oklahoma is already very impressive and Adamson looks like yet another name that fans need to know. He’s had an outstanding spring and offseason and appears to be primed to have a breakout season this fall for the Antlers. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="192677" first="Adrian" last="Holman"] - 2023 Defensive Back Berkley Dalton - 2023 Wide Receiver Brady Brewer - 2025 Defensive Back Colton Neal - 2024 Wide Receiver Jaden Bradshaw - 2025 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="268312" first="Mason" last="Miller"] - 2024 Tight End Mason Smith - 2025 Wide Receiver Teddy Amorosi - 2023 Defensive Back <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - Edmond North Sept. 2 - AT Edmond Memorial - Deer Creek’s non-district schedule is completely made up of 6A-1 schools. They’ll be tested before they go into district play in late September. After opening the year against Edmond North, they’ll hit the road to take on another Edmond school in Edmond Memorial. This is a game to circle because of the quarterback match-up. The Bulldogs also have one of the better 2025 quarterbacks in the state and this will be a great match-up to see who comes out on top when they go head to head. After the Antlers face the Bulldogs, their toughest non-district schedule comes the following week when they travel to face 6A-1’s #5 Mustang. Sept. 9 - AT Mustang Sept. 23 - Ponca City Sept. 30 - Putnam City Oct. 7 - AT Choctaw - The toughest district game comes in week six as the Antlers hit the road to face off with Choctaw. Deer Creek and the Yellowjackets are the two heavy favorites in this district as we head into the season and it’s pretty easy to connect the dots and say that the district championship could very well be on the line when the two teams clash in early October. The Yellowjackets will certainly have this game circled on their calendars after Deer Creek came into Choctaw in the first round a year ago and walked away with a 36-29 victory. Both teams have state championship aspirations but they have to take care of business in the regular season first. Oct. 14 - AT Lawton Oct. 21 - Northwest Classen Oct. 28 - AT Capitol Hill Nov. 4 - Putnam City North <hr /> Notable Deer Creek appears to have turned the corner as a football program. The Antlers moved up to 6A-2 in 2016 and it’s been a struggle for them ever since. Prior to 2021, the only playoff appearance in 6A-2 came in 2020 when every team was eligible for the playoffs. However, the Antlers were one of the best teams in 6A-2 a season ago. As mentioned above, they were a few overtimes away from having a perfect 10-0 regular season record as they entered the playoffs. Now, as they head into the 2022 season, the Antlers are once again one of the top teams in 6A-2. The only question about the Antlers moving forward is how much longer do they have in this class? This is a district that is absolutely booming and their numbers keep getting higher and higher. It appears to be apparent that eventually, the Antlers will be joining 6A-1. <hr /> Championship History 1 State Championship 2000 – Beat Seminole 24-13