Gore Team Preview

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> 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 Gore Pirates. With nearly everyone returning, the Pirates are #1 in Class A. <span style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Gore Pirates (A Preseason Ranking: #1)</strong></span> The Gore Pirates might be the most experienced team in Oklahoma coming into the season. That’s a big reason why they’re the #1 team in our preseason rankings for Class A. The Pirates came into last season with all 22 starters back and this year, they return 20 starters. And this season will be one of "unfinished business" as the Pirates absolutely dominated during the regular season and finished off the regular season with an undefeated record. Despite the perfect record, the Pirates were tripped up in the second round of the playoffs, losing to Woodland in a close game where the Pirates felt like they should have advanced further into the playoffs. And with two-time champion Cashion getting hit hard by graduation and the Pirates returning almost everyone, the Pirates should be considered a serious contender. On offense, the Pirates return ten starters and on defense they bring back an additional ten starters. The only player they’ll have to replace is their quarterback. Their running game is not only going to be the strength of their team this season but they bring back some serious production from that spot. On defense, the Pirates will look to be just as stout as they were last season. They had a streak of three straight games where they shut out their opponent and kept the majority of their opponents to single digits. We expect the Pirates to once again be stingy on that side of the ball. All signs point towards them running the table again in the regular season. But the biggest question will come in the playoffs and whether or not they can go further than ever before. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Results (11-1 Record - Lost In Class A 2nd Round)</strong></span> Sept. 3 - Beat Waldron, AR. 51-6 Sept. 10 - Beat Mounds 48-16 Sept. 17 - Beat Panama 56-6 Sept. 24 - Beat Warner 14-8 Oct. 1 - Beat Central Sallisaw 61-6 Oct. 8 - Beat Colcord 35-26 Oct. 14 - Beat Porter 74-14 Oct. 22 - Beat Hulbert (Forfeit) Oct. 29 - Beat Canadian 67-0 Nov. 4 - Beat Talihina 49-0 1st Round - Beat Wewoka 61-0 2nd Round - Lost To Woodland 20-19 <hr /> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Key Loss To Graduation</span></strong> Zane Craighead - Quarterback <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="189918" first="Gunner" last="Dozier"] - 2023 Running Back/Linebacker</strong> Gore 2023 running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="189918" first="Gunner" last="Dozier"] (pictured above) is one of the more underrated running backs in the state. The small school standout just produces and has produced over the last two seasons and is expecting to have a big senior campaign. Last year, Dozier ran for over 1,200 yards as the Pirates had multiple backs making an impact but it was Dozier that led the team with 23 touchdowns on the ground. As the Pirates replace their quarterback, look for the running game to be an important part of the Gore offense. And look for Dozier to have another productive season and be one of the top backs in Class A. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="189920" first="Jackson" last="Duke"] - 2023 Athlete</strong> Another Gore 2023 prospect that we really like is [player_tooltip player_id="189920" first="Jackson" last="Duke"]. The 2023 standout truly impacts all three phases of the game. Last season, Duke was outstanding in all three areas. On offense, Duke ran for over 500 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, he finished with nearly 70 tackles and four interceptions. Then on special teams, Duke went 29-31 on PAT attempts. You see that kind of production at the smaller schools but Duke has a chance to be the most important part of Gore’s team this fall. If he produces like that once again this fall, or even more production, look for the Pirates to truly contend for the Class A title. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="376931" first="Noah" last="Cooper"] - 2024 Quarterback</strong> As mentioned above, the only starter that doesn’t return for the Pirates this fall is the quarterback Zane Craighead. The Pirates will have a new player under center and that will be 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="376931" first="Noah" last="Cooper"]. The 2024 QB is coming off a sophomore season where he got into the lineup but had his season cut short due to an injury. Cooper only played in four games last season and missed the rest of the year. Cooper steps into a Gore offense that is loaded on offense and the strength will definitely be the running game with the return of Dozier and all five offensive linemen. But Cooper will also be asked to make plays as well to provide balance in the offense. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></span> Blue Steward - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="189921" first="Dayne" last="Perryman"] - 2023 Linebacker Gabe Dozier - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="189919" first="Garrett" last="Douthit"] - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Journey Shells - 2024 Wide Receiver <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2022 Schedule/Game To Circle</strong></span> Aug. 26 - AT Wilburton Sept. 2 - Keys Sept. 9 - AT Mounds Sept. 30 - Canadian <strong>Oct. 7 - AT Pocola</strong> - Gore was dominant during the 2021 regular season and finished off the year undefeated and was not really challenged in district play. The only two teams that challenged them during the regular season were Colcord and Warner and neither are on their schedule going into this season. With redistricting, the Pirates have a new foe that could cause some problems for them this fall and that’s Pocola, another team in the top ten of the Class A preseason rankings. Gore will travel to Pocola to square off in week six and it’s hard to imagine that the winner here won’t go on to capture the district championship. Oct. 13 - Central Sallisaw Oct. 21 - Panama Oct. 28 - AT Haskell Nov. 4 - Porter <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> Before head coach Brandon Tyler took over the program at his alma mater, this was a program that had struggled mightily. They had several losing seasons, including years where they would not win a single game. Now Tyler has turned this program into one where the records are flipped and they only suffer one or two losses and win the rest. Last year, the Pirates went into the playoffs with an undefeated record but fell short of their ultimate goal as they were upset in the second round of the playoffs. As they go into this season, as they embrace a bigger target as one of the top teams in Class A, they’ll be looking to go further than they’ve ever gone before. Gore has never made it to the semifinals but they expect to be playing deep into November and into December this season. <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Championship History</strong></span> <em><strong>0 State Championships</strong></em>