Jenks 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 two-time defending champions in 6A-1 with the Jenks Trojans. Jenks Trojans (6A-1 Preseason Ranking: #2) Jenks heads into the 2022 football season as the two-time defending champions in 6A-1. They beat Edmond Santa in the 2020 title game and rival Union last December. The Trojans will be looking for state championship number 19 this year and with it, some history. They currently trail Ada for the most state championships in state history and can move into a tie for first place with another gold ball in December. Before we get there, the Trojans will have to take care of business from August to November. Jenks returns seven starters on offense but the defensive side of the ball will have eight new faces in the starting lineup. Another big storyline going into the season is once again the quarterback position. 2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id="374628" first="Ike" last="Owens"] and 2026 QB [player_tooltip player_id='283619' first='Jackson' last='Presley'] will be battling for the job this fall. Whoever QB1 ends up being, he's going to have some serious talent around him and a strong offensive line in front of him. As for the defense, despite only returning three starters, the faith is there that the Trojans won't be taking a step back. They have some good players returning and new faces that are ready to step into bigger roles this fall. Not to mention that they have one of the better defensive coordinators in the state in Adam Gaylor. He will absolutely get everything he can out of this group. Jenks will also do something that they're very used to doing by using some of their offensive weapons on the defensive side of the ball, playing them both ways. In addition to all of the new faces on defense, the other big challenge will be the schedule. The non-district slate is tough once again and the district isn't much easier with the addition of a Bixby team who currently holds a 49-game winning streak. Jenks has won the last two state title in 6A-1. They'll once again be a contender for the gold ball this year. But the road to Edmond in December will be anything but smooth. <hr /> 2021 Results (12-1 Record - Class 6A-1 State Champions) Aug. 27 - Beat Mansfield Summit, TX. 20-14 Sept. 3 - Lost To Bixby 23-15 Sept. 10 - Beat Union 22-0 Sept. 24 - Beat Enid 49-6 Oct. 1 - Beat Broken Arrow 31-14 Oct. 8 - Beat Norman 49-21 Oct. 14 - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 35-14 Oct. 22 - Beat Yukon 48-14 Oct. 29 - Beat Edmond Memorial 44-0 Nov. 5 - Beat Westmoore 49-14 Quarterfinal - Beat Norman North 41-14 Semifinal - Beat Mustang 17-10 Championship - Beat Union 30-15 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation AJ Brown - Defensive Lineman Cade Stacy - Defensive Back Colemon Thurber - Defensive Lineman Glenny Jones - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Trey Gibbs - Offensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="374628" first="Ike" last="Owens"] - 2023 Quarterback Jenks quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="374628" first="Ike" last="Owens"] began last season as the starter for the Trojans and despite losing that distinction after the first two games, Owens never lost confidence. He still played throughout his junior season and even saw meaningful time in last year's state championship game. During our limited time watching the Trojans this spring, Owens appears to have taken another step towards being one of the better quarterbacks in 6A-1. He's confident, he's prepared and ready to lead the Trojans to another gold ball but will have to beat out highly-regarded 2026 QB [player_tooltip player_id='283619' first='Jackson' last='Presley'] in August to take back his spot at QB1. [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"] - 2023 Running Back/Defensive Back Whoever ends up being the starting quarterback for the Trojans will be sharing the backfield with one of the best running backs in the state in 2023 back [player_tooltip player_id="47955" first="Jaiden" last="Carroll"]. Since he was a freshman, Carroll has been an impact player. Last year, in his first season with the Trojans, Carroll proved that he was one of the more dependable backs in the state as they fed him and he always produced in a big way. One of his best games last year came in the state championship game against Union. In addition to running back duties, Carroll is expecting to spend time at cornerback this fall and has been training this offseason for his second position. [player_tooltip player_id="157457" first="Jalyn" last="Stanford"] - 2023 Running Back/Defensive Back Joining Carroll as a two-way star for the Trojans is 2023 running back and safety [player_tooltip player_id="157457" first="Jalyn" last="Stanford"]. While Stanford is more of a defensive-first player while Carroll was offensive-first last season, Stanford still provided plenty of highlights at the running back position. We refer to Stanford as “lightning” to Carroll's “thunder”. While Carroll can carry the ball 30 times in a game, Stanford only gets five to ten carries but he makes them count with his explosiveness and ability to make a highlight every time he touches the ball. Stanford is also one of the veterans returning to a Jenks secondary that will have several new faces this fall. Those new faces will lean on his experience. [player_tooltip player_id="370214" first="Landon" last="Zaldivar"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman Go ahead and add the name [player_tooltip player_id="370214" first="Landon" last="Zaldivar"] to the long list of Jenks offensive linemen that end up playing D1 college football. Zaldivar has already committed to Memphis and his recruitment exploded earlier this year after a solid junior season. We're looking forward to seeing how the Jenks big man will look this fall as the Trojans have to replace several other offensive linemen and Zaldivar will step into more of a leadership role with some of the new linemen. It's probably perfectly clear that Jenks will once again be a run-first offense this fall with all the weapons they have coming back at the running back position. So Zaldivar is going to be able to do what he does best. Fire off the ball and absolutely maul opposing defensive linemen. [player_tooltip player_id="98178" first="Ty" last="Walls"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Jenks was going to be a run-first team in 2021 but they also needed weapons to step up at the wide receiver position after the graduation of Jayden Patrick. The leading receiver would end up being [player_tooltip player_id="98178" first="Ty" last="Walls"] and he added his name to a bit of Jenks history last year as a junior. Walls became the latest Jenks receiver to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a single season and that list is not very long. Walls became a breakout star last fall for the Trojans and he'll go into this year as the go-to receiver in the Jenks offense. Now, that makes us very interested to see how teams try to defend Walls and defend the Jenks passing attack. But one thing is for sure. The Trojans will still be a run-first offense but Walls is one fantastic weapon to use in the passing game when they need it. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="349831" first="Ashton" last="Cunningham"] - 2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="205531" first="Boston" last="Carrasco"] - 2025 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="294445" first="Cash" last="Jacobsen"] - 2025 Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id='403811' first='Cooper' last='Crissup'] - 2023 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id='283619' first='Jackson' last='Presley'] - 2026 Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="110751" first="Jett" last="Calmus"] - 2024 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38806" first="Milton" last="White"] - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Edmond Santa Fe Sept. 2 - Owasso - These two Tulsa-area powers will meet up in non-district play for the first time since 2017. Since then, they've met three times with all three occasions coming in the playoffs. That 2017 meeting was the first game for Owasso head coach Bill Blankenship and the Rams absolutely put it on the Trojans on their way to a state championship later that year. The Rams also beat Jenks in the 2019 state championship game before the Trojans rattled off the last two state titles. Jenks snapped a three-game losing streak to Owasso in the 2020 playoffs but the two teams have not met since then. Sept. 9 - AT Union - It doesn't matter what year it is, this one is always a game to circle when the schedule comes out. The Jenks-Union rivalry is one of the best in the country and it's definitely grabbed some headlines this offseason with a little player movement over the last few months. But despite the drama and the easy storylines that the drama creates, this is still one of the top match-ups year in and year out. Throw in the fact that these two met for the state championship and Jenks took home another gold ball at the expense of their rivals, this will be one of the more anticipated meetings in recent memory. Sept. 23 - Enid Sept. 30 - AT Westmoore Oct. 7 - Norman North Oct. 14 - AT Moore Oct. 20 - Southmoore Oct. 28 - Broken Arrow Nov. 3 - AT Bixby - We know that the scheduling of district match-ups and where they fall on the calendar is completely random but man does this one feel just right. The Trojans will hit the road in their regular season finale and face Bixby in a meeting between defending champs. And while other teams have a chance, these two are the favorites to win the district title so it might all come down to this week ten clash. These two teams are very familiar with one another after playing in the non-district schedule but this week ten clash will be for much more than bragging rights. <hr /> Notable It isn't easy following a coaching legend but Jenks head coach Keith Riggs has made it look easy. After legendary head coach Allan Trimble retired in 2018, Riggs took over this Jenks juggernaut of a program. All he's done since then has led the Trojans to the state championship game every year in his four seasons with championship victories in the last two. Going into year five, Riggs has a 45-9 record and his teams have never fallen short of playing for a championship. It is very impressive to say the least that this Trojan football program hasn't missed a step after their legendary coach retired. <hr /> Championship History 18 State Championships 2021 - Beat Union 30-15 2020 - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 41-14 2015 - Beat Broken Arrow 35-14 2014 - Beat Union 21-14 2013 - Beat Union 38-22 2012 - Beat Norman North 55-20 2007 - Beat Union 42-24 2006 - Beat Enid 28-7 2003 - Beat Edmond Santa Fe 17-10 2001 - Beat Putnam City North 38-28 2000 - Beat Union 31-12 1999 - Beat Union 14-7 1998 - Beat Union 41-28 1997 - Beat Yukon 56-8 1996 - Beat Midwest City 28-17 1993 - Beat Edmond 21-14 1982 - Beat Midwest City 10-7 1979 - Beat Ada 16-15