Grove 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 Grove Ridgerunners. As they move up to Class 5A, they look to make an immediate impact. Grove Ridgerunners (5A Preseason Ranking: #6) The Grove Ridgerunners are one of many teams that will be moving classes going into the 2022 season as they move up to Class 5A from Class 4A. Despite the move up in competition, the Ridgerunners come in at #6 in our preseason rankings for Class 5A and they immediately become a team to look out for within their district. Other teams will have something to say about it but the Ridgerunners might be the favorite to take that district crown. That would be their second straight district championship after winning one last year in Class 4A. They went 10-2 on the season but they would get upset in the quarterfinals by Elk City. Grove is hoping to not only make it to the 5A playoffs this fall but they’re not going to be satisfied with just making it to the dance. With 15 starters returning, there are plenty of reasons to be confident that Grove has what it takes to move up to Class 5A and immediately become a team to look out for in the state championship race, let alone their district. Seven starters return on offense, including one of the top running backs in the state and a Player Of The Year finalist from a season ago. Then you flip to the defensive side of the ball and the Ridgerunners bring back another eight starters on that side. The district will absolutely be tough, full of opponents that Grove hasn’t seen in years. But with all the talent that they return, and several of those teams in district going thru a rebuild this fall, this might be the perfect storm for Grove to make a deep run in their first year in 5A football. <hr /> 2021 Results (10-2 Record - Lost In Class 4A Quarterfinals) Sept. 3 - Beat Vinita 55-32 Sept. 10 - Beat Jay 44-6 Sept. 17 - Beat Pryor 57-34 Sept. 24 - Beat Oologah 59-35 Oct. 1 - Beat Catoosa 56-27 Oct. 8 - Beat Bristow 34-28 Oct. 14 - Beat Skiatook 48-0 Oct. 22 - Beat Cleveland 56-7 Oct. 29 - Lost To Wagoner 22-20 Nov. 5 - Beat Miami 42-20 1st Round - Beat Fort Gibson 42-35 Quarterfinal - Lost To Elk City 45-24 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Ben Johnston – Offensive Lineman Jaydon Hill - Tight End Nick Jackson – Offensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="38818" first="Carson" last="Trimble"] - 2023 Quarterback Grove quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="38818" first="Carson" last="Trimble"] has been on our radar since the end of his freshman season when we got our first look at his film. He was impressive as a freshman and that’s only continued throughout the last several years. Trimble completed 70% of his passes for over 2,100 yards and 22 touchdowns. Most people would assume that the Ridgerunners never really threw the ball because of their star running back but Trimble kept this Grove offense incredibly balanced. He was also a threat to run himself. He finished the year with over 400 yards and seven touchdowns and is a very underrated athlete that can make plays happen with his legs. [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"] - 2023 Running Back Every week during the season, we put out a top performer list over the weekend and it seemed like every week we were spotlighting Grove running back [player_tooltip player_id="57158" first="Emmanuel" last="Crawford"]. He put up numbers that you only see in video games as a junior. He finished with nearly 2,500 yards and 38 touchdowns on the ground alone. He also had over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns receiving. Crawford has had this potential all along and it was only a matter of time before he had that kind of superstar-like season. It will be interesting to see if Crawford can match or even eclipse those spectacular numbers from a season ago. [player_tooltip player_id="383020" first="Hagen" last="Hacker"] - 2023 Wide Receiver And our final part of a three-headed monster on this Grove offense is 2023 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="383020" first="Hagen" last="Hacker"]. You have something like this every now and then where the classes just line up perfectly and you get three or more playmakers all within the same class. These three have been playing together for a while and they have the potential to be one of the better offenses in Class 5A. Hacker will be Trimble’s top target within the passing attack and he has the potential to join the first two standouts as legitimate 2023 prospects to play at the next level. The wide receiver class in Oklahoma is deep and Hacker is looking to become one of the next names to watch out for. More Names To Know Cooper Edwards - 2023 Defensive Lineman Jackson Gain - 2025 Wide Receiver Jacob Gain - 2025 Wide Receiver Scott Cox - 2024 Offensive/Defensive Lineman <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Sept. 2 - AT Miami Sept. 9 - Jay Sept. 16 - Wagoner - It’s hard not to have a big circle around this match-up as Wagoner will travel to Grove in week three and it’s the final non-district test before Grove heads into district play. This one was a huge district clash in 4A last season and the ending of the game definitely grabbed headlines across the state. Despite losing to Wagoner, Grove was able to still capture the district championship a season ago. This week three test will have zero playoff implications and no district points will be on the line as these two square off. You know that the Ridgerunners will be ready for this one and we can safely guarantee you won’t see an intentional safety on the final play of a tie game this year. Sept. 23 - Edison Sept. 30 - AT Claremore Oct. 7 - Will Rogers Oct. 13 - Hale Oct. 21 - AT Collinsville - For the first time since they were district foes in 2015, Grove will square off with Collinsville. The Cardinals come into this season as the defending state champions in Class 5A after a perfect 2021 season but they have a big rebuild on their hands after losing nearly everyone to graduation. The Ridgerunners have lost five in a row to the Cardinals but they could have the edge when these two square off in week eight. And it should go without saying but with Collinsville coming in as defending state champs, a win here for Grove will go a long way in terms of confidence and potentially capturing a district championship. Oct. 28 - AT Pryor Nov. 4 - Bishop Kelley - It’s been almost two decades since these two teams have squared off but now it’s week ten and they’ll face off in the regular season finale. The Ridgerunners will be hosting Bishop Kelley in the final game of the regular season and there will definitely be playoff implications in this one as Grove looks to hand Bishop Kelley a tough loss right before the playoffs. If Grove takes care of business throughout this season, the district championship could be on the line here as Grove, Collinsville and Bishop Kelley are all going to be in the mix for the district championships. The Ridgerunners are hoping that a district title can set them up for playoff success. <hr /> Notable We mentioned how one of the biggest hurdles for the Grove Ridgerunners heading into this season was the move up from 4A to 5A football and it will be nothing new to this program. Since the turn of the century in 2000, the Ridgerunners have gone back and forth between being a 4A school and a 5A school and for at least the next two seasons, they’ll be in Class 5A. They expect to not only make the playoffs but contend for the district championship but once they’re in the postseason, they’ll be looking to make history. Grove has never won a playoff game while being in Class 5A. They’ve only made the playoffs in Class 5A on three occasions but the belief is there and the talent is certainly there to not only make the playoffs but win a game or two in November. <hr /> Championship History 0 State Championships