Edmond Santa Fe 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 Edmond Santa Fe Wolves. With the Wolves having to replace the majority of their offense, look for the defense to lead Santa Fe early on. Edmond Santa Fe Wolves (6A-1 Preseason Ranking: #7) After making it all the way to the 6A-1 state championship game in 2020, the Wolves came back in 2021 with plenty of firepower to make another run. Things got off to a bumpy start as they went 0-2 but would quickly turn things around with four straight wins. The Wolves would lose to Jenks and also a heartbreaker to Broken Arrow and have to go on the road in the first round of the playoffs. They were absolutely blitzed by Mustang in the quarterfinals and just like that, the season was over. Now the Wolves look to turn the page and potentially enter a new era with a strong rushing attack and a very experienced defense coming back. After the redistricting shake up, the Wolves will also see quite a few new opponents on this year’s district slate. Santa Fe’s combination of quarterback and wide receivers was among the best in Oklahoma last season and all of them have graduated and moved on to the next level. That will mean that the strong rushing attack that Santa Fe brings back will have a bigger work load this fall, at least while some of the new playmakers get used to performing at the highest level. Four starters return on the offensive side of the ball while the defense brings back six starters. The Wolves will have plenty of new faces in the starting lineup but the talent is there for the Wolves to make it back to the playoffs and contend for the district championship. They’re currently looking up at a lot of teams, coming in at #7 in the 6A-1 preseason rankings. But don’t be surprised if the Wolves knock off a few of those teams ranked ahead of them. <hr /> 2021 Results (6-5 Record - Lost In Class 6A-1 Quarterfinals) Aug. 27 - Lost To Owasso 45-22 Sept. 3 - Lost To Stillwater 30-20 Sept. 10 - Beat Edmond North 35-7 Sept. 24 - Beat Edmond Memorial 49-21 Oct. 1 - Beat Westmoore 48-10 Oct. 7 - Beat Yukon 27-20 Oct. 14 - Lost To Jenks 35-14 Oct. 22 - Lost To Broken Arrow 47-42 Oct. 29 - Beat Enid 34-25 Nov. 5 - Beat Norman 41-6 Quarterfinal - Lost To Mustang 37-17 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation ElTramane Neal - Wide Receiver Scott Pfieffer - Quarterback Tabry Shettron - Tight End Talyn Shettron - Wide Receiver <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="154213" first="Bergin" last="Kysar"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman Our first Santa Fe Wolf to watch this season is one of the hottest 2024 prospects in the state right now and that’s defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="154213" first="Bergin" last="Kysar"]. The Santa Fe defensive end has had an outstanding offseason from camps to spring drills, Kysar put all of his skills on display and his recruitment is about to explode. It’s already taken off earlier this summer and should continue with a strong junior season this fall. Kysar was one of the top campers at our showcase, regardless of position. The thing that impresses us most about Kysar is his deep bag of tricks. He doesn’t just use one move to beat his opponent, he has a deep list that keeps his opponent guessing. [player_tooltip player_id="61242" first="Chris" last="Fitzpatrick"] - 2023 Linebacker While Kysar are causing a lot of problems for opponents up front, that’s going to free up 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="61242" first="Chris" last="Fitzpatrick"] to do a lot of good things for the Santa Fe defense. Fitzpatrick is a very experienced linebacker coming into his senior season and has been a big part of the Santa Fe defense over the last few seasons. Fitzpatrick does a good job of playing the run but also dropping back in coverage. He definitely looks the part physically and should be a linebacker on the rise this fall in a 2023 class that is very deep at that position. With six starters back on defense, Fitzpatrick and the defense will look to lead the Wolves this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="188013" first="Demarius" last="Robinson"] - 2025 Running Back It was obvious from the start of last season that Edmond Santa Fe 2025 running back [player_tooltip player_id="188013" first="Demarius" last="Robinson"] was going to be special. You don’t normally start at running back in 6A-1 as a freshman but that’s exactly what Robinson did and he showed why almost every week. Robinson ran for nearly 1,500 yards last season and there’s no reason to think he can’t hit that number and then some this fall. With Santa Fe losing a lot of production from their passing game, they’ll rely on Robinson to help carry the load of the offense early on in the season while the new players at quarterback and wide receiver come along. [player_tooltip player_id="38779" first="Jonathan" last="Ashford"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman Our final player to watch has a few things in common with [player_tooltip player_id="188013" first="Demarius" last="Robinson"]. He’s going to be blocking for him and he also stood out as a freshman. Santa Fe 2023 offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="38779" first="Jonathan" last="Ashford"] has been on the radar since having a breakout season as a freshman. Also committed to Air Force, Ashford has been one of the top offensive linemen in this 2023 class since his freshman season. Ashford’s strengths along the line work perfectly with what the Wolves are wanting to do on offense. They want to run the football and Ashford is at his best when he’s pushing forward and mauling the defensive lineman in front of him. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="215201" first="Alex" last="Jones"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman Cade Nelson - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Daniel Newton - 2025 Quarterback Isaiah Fields - 2023 Linebacker Jason Wilson - 2024 Defensive Lineman Jaylen Kariuki - 2023 Defensive Lineman Josh Aisosa - 2024 Offensive Lineman Kyus Henry - 2024 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="211565" first="Malikai" last="Miller"] - 2025 Quarterback <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - Jenks - These two teams have developed a nice rivalry over the last few seasons, including facing off in the 2020 state championship game. However, the redistricting shuffle has put Edmond Santa Fe and two-time champion Jenks in different districts for at least the 2022 and 2023 seasons. However, that rivalry will continue but in non-district play as the Wolves will host the Trojans in the season opener. Edmond Santa Fe is going to find out immediately what kind of team they have in week zero as they host a Jenks team that is gunning for a third straight gold ball. In terms of measuring stick games, there aren’t many others bigger. Sept. 2 - AT Choctaw Sept. 9 - AT Norman North Sept. 23 - AT Edmond Memorial Sept. 30 - AT Edmond North Oct. 6 - Mustang - Edmond Santa Fe and Mustang might be the top two teams on the west side of 6A-1 and will battle it out in week six for the unofficial title of "best in the west". The Wolves will be looking forward to this one after back to back rivalry games with Edmond Memorial and Edmond North. Mustang is a team with a lot of momentum after their run to the semifinals a year ago and to punch their ticket to the semifinals, they beat up Santa Fe 37-17 in the quarterfinal round and ended their season. Needless to say, the winner here is in good shape for the playoffs while the loser is going to need a lot of help the rest of the way. Oct. 13 - Norman Oct. 21 - AT Union Oct. 28 - Owasso - The two-week stretch in week eight and week nine will do a lot in deciding the fate of Edmond Santa Fe in terms of playoff seeding. If the Wolves can steal a road win over Union and then return home the following week and take out the Rams, they’ll put themselves in a great position to win the district championship. If they go 0-2 during this stretch, they’ll be clawing for playoff seeding and would be in danger of missing the playoffs depending on how the rest of the district slate shakes out. The Wolves are familiar with Owasso after playing the Rams in non-district play over the last few seasons but this one is much more important. Nov. 4 - AT Yukon <hr /> Championship History 0 State Championships