Jones 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 Jones Longhorns. There will be plenty of new faces for the Longhorns but this is a program that reloads instead of rebuilds. Jones Longhorns (2A Preseason Ranking: #7) While the Jones Longhorns aren’t a program that rebuilds, they will certainly have some new faces on both sides of the ball with only seven starters returning from last year’s team. That was a squad that had high expectations coming into the season but they played a tough non-district schedule and that gave them some lumps early on. They would begin the year 0-2 but would rally to win seven of their next eight games and head into the playoffs with some momentum. However, that momentum would be shut down by Washington in the second round of the playoffs as they would fall to a Warrior team that would end up playing for the state championship. Jones finished the season 8-4 and will look to improve on that mark in 2022 and get back to contending for state championships. The Kevin Witt era will officially begin this fall as he takes over the Longhorn football program and he’ll bring back three starters from last year’s team. The biggest hurdle for the offense will be an almost completely retooled offensive line after graduating four starters along the line. Jones seems to always have one of the top quarterbacks in the state and this year is no different. He’ll have almost a completely new cast of skill players around him but he has the talent to keep Jones as one of the top offenses in Class 2A. Then you turn around and look at the defensive side of the ball where they return four more starters. The front seven of the defense has the chance to be the strength of this unit and they’ll need them to play strong, especially early on in the season where the non-district schedule is brutal. The Longhorns play a top ten team in Class 4A, followed by games against the #1 teams in Class 3A and Class 2A. The Longhorns will be tested in September, but they’re hoping that those tests will help them in November. <hr /> 2021 Results (8-4 Record - Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round) Aug. 27 - Lost To Bethany 27-14 Sept. 3 - Lost To Lincoln Christian 31-29 Sept. 10 - Beat Luther 50-12 Sept. 23 - Beat Star Spencer 56-6 Oct. 1 - Beat Chandler 29-26 Oct. 8 - Lost To Crossings Christian 38-29 Oct. 14 - Beat Kellyville 62-19 Oct. 22 - Beat Millwood 34-12 Oct. 29 - Beat Prague 49-42 Nov. 5 - Beat Meeker 55-30 1st Round - Beat Luther 35-28 2nd Round - Lost To Washington 52-21 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Cadyn Karl - Wide Receiver Carson May - Quarterback Emmett Murphy - Wide Receiver Jack Corbin - Offensive Lineman TJ Thompson - Defensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="215199" first="Clayton" last="Creasey"] - 2024 Quarterback Jones has been one of the top programs in the state when it comes to producing quarterbacks and despite losing the top quarterback prospect in the state’s 2022 class, the Longhorns are reloading at the position with 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="215199" first="Clayton" last="Creasey"]. We first saw Creasey last offseason it was apparent that the Longhorns were going to have another top quarterback when Carson May graduated. Last fall, Creasey played running back for the Longhorns as it was a need and he filled it. This year, he moves over to quarterback and looks to continue Jones’ history of producing top level quarterbacks in the state. [player_tooltip player_id="287379" first="Kameron" last="Estrada"] - 2023 Defensive Lineman The Longhorns only return four starters on the defensive side of the ball but one of the returning starters that we like is 2023 defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="287379" first="Kameron" last="Estrada"]. because the Longhorns also lose four offensive linemen from last year’s team, Estrada will also play offense but he’s an absolute bull along the defensive line. Last year, he finished with over 50 tackles and also had five sacks. Estrada is one of the better defensive linemen in the state’s 2023 class and we think that with a strong senior season, his recruitment should absolutely take off. He’s a 2023 prospect that is flying somewhat under the radar right now but we don’t think that lasts moving forward. More Names To Know Jack Mendoza - 2026 Offensive Lineman Luke Debusk - 2026 Running Back/Linebacker <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Bethany Sept. 2 - AT Lincoln Christian - Jones and Lincoln Christian have developed a very strong non-district rivalry over the last five seasons and we hope that it’s one that continues moving forward. It’s a great chance to see two of the better teams in Class 2A and 3A respectively and for the Longhorns, they’ll be traveling to Tulsa, looking to play spoiler against the Bulldogs. Two straight years, Jones has let Lincoln steal one from them. Two years ago, they led 21-7 at halftime and would be shut out in the second half. Then last year, they scored with less than a minute left but Lincoln would drive down and kick a game-winning field goal as time expired. Sept. 9 - Washington - Not only is this a rematch of Jones’ playoff loss from a season ago, not only is this the final non-district game of the season before a much needed week off in week three. This is is also the second straight week where Jones faces a #1 team. The Lincoln Christian match-up will be good but this clash at home with 2A’s #1 Washington will be the marquee match-up of the non-district schedule. This is the perfect measuring stick game as Jones wants to contend for the 2A title and the Warriors are currently the favorite to win 2A after making it to back to back title games. The Longhorns will know exactly where they stand after week two. Sept. 23 - Star Spencer Sept. 30 - AT Crossings Christian - In week five, the Longhorns wrap up a tough September schedule where they will be challenged almost every week. This is only the halfway mark of the regular season and there’s still plenty of football left but the Longhorns will have this game circled on their calendar. This was one game that they lost last season as they were stunned by Crossings a year ago. That cost them a chance at capturing the district championship and setting themselves up with an easier path once the playoffs rolled around. Fast forward to this year and it’s hard to argue that these two teams won’t be two of the top teams in this district. The winner here will be in the driver’s seat for the district crown. Oct. 7 - Luther Oct. 13 - AT Meeker Oct. 21 - Chandler Oct. 28 - AT Kellyville Nov. 4 - Bethel <hr /> Notable A talented senior class wasn’t the only thing the Longhorns lost from last season. After leading the Jones Longhorns for years, head coach Dave Martin announced late last year that he was resigning as head coach of the Longhorn football program to head back to college. He would be joining long time friend Joey McGuire on the staff at Texas Tech. Martin had turned the Jones program into one of the more consistent teams in Oklahoma and one of the top talent producers, specifically at the quarterback position. Whether they were in Class 3A or 2A, it never really mattered as they were one of the top programs in the state. Jones hired within and promoted Martin’s assistant Kevin Witt into the head coaching spot and he’ll look to continue that long history of successful Jones football teams. <hr /> Championship History 1 State Championship 2016 – Beat Plainview 16-6