Lawton MacArthur Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 Lawton MacArthur Highlanders. After a run to the semifinals, the Highlanders are hungry for more in 2022. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>Lawton MacArthur Highlanders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't take very long for Lawton MacArthur to get on the radar last season. After struggling from 2017-2020, the Highlanders ended all of that in 2021. They would make a run all the way to the Class 5A semifinals and went 11-2 on the season. They nearly finished off the regular season with a perfect record but would fall in the final seconds to Ardmore in week ten. Lawton MacArthur rolled to that 9-1 record behind the emergence of an absolute star at running back in Isaiah Gray. He could not be stopped until the Highlanders ran up against McAlester in the semifinals and the Buffaloes would put the Highlanders down, one game shy of the state title game. But with half of their starters returning, the Highlanders are one of those programs that expect to be in the conversation year in and year out and this year is no different. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's no doubt that the biggest question mark with the Highlanders coming into the season will be on the offensive side of the ball and how they replace their star running back from a year ago. The Highlanders bring back five starters from last season on offense and that includes a star on the offensive line and a very underrated quarterback. We think that the Highlanders will be just fine on that side of the ball. They'll be helped by a defense that brings back six starters and they have some serious talent on that side. And the Highlanders have a schedule that works to their favor. The second half of the schedule is much tougher than the first so while some of those new faces get worked in, they'll be playing in very winnable games before things get cranked up in week six and going down the stretch to the playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2021 Results (11-2 Record - Lost In Class 5A Semifinals)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 3 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 42-28<br>Sept. 10 - Beat Lawton 41-21<br>Sept. 17 - Beat Enid 28-21<br>Sept. 24 - Beat Duncan 42-7<br>Oct. 1 - Beat El Reno 49-8<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Southeast 61-13<br>Oct. 15 - Beat Noble 47-37<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Altus 50-6<br>Oct. 29 - Beat Capitol Hill 73-6<br>Nov. 5 - Lost To Ardmore 41-40<br>1st Round - Beat Piedmont 14-10<br>Quarterfinal - Beat Pryor 40-0<br>Semifinal - Lost To McAlester 42-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Losses To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Devin Bush - Linebacker<br>Eperone Taito - Defensive Lineman<br>Isaiah Gray - Running Back<br>Vaughn Poppe - Wide Receiver/Linebacker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='393471' first='Alex' last='Brice'] - 2023 Linebacker<br></strong>The Highlanders bring back six starters on defense and they'll benefit from having their leading tackler in 2021 back this fall with 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='393471' first='Alex' last='Brice']. The Highlander defense looks to be much improved from last season and Brice is looking like the leader of that side of the ball as we head into this season. He's incredibly experienced and he showed last season that he can absolutely produce. The defense was pretty stout last year, especially during district play and Brice is hoping to lead the Highlander defense to new heights this fall. It will be fun to watch and see if Brice can outdo his 2021 production.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='287378' first='Caden' last='Tahbonemah'] - 2023 Offensive Lineman<br></strong>We mentioned how Lawton Mac was bringing back one of the more dominant offensive lineman prospects within the 2023 class and that's [player_tooltip player_id='287378' first='Caden' last='Tahbonemah']. Whether it was watching him person last season or at various camps and training events, every time we see Tahbonemah, it's no surprise that the Highlanders could run the ball at will last season. This is a mack truck of an offensive lineman and when he gets going forward, the defenders are going to move backwards. He's part of a very deep 2023 offensive line group in the state and we think he definitely has the ability to play at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='393470' first='Gage' last='Graham'] - 2023 Quarterback<br></strong>Lawton Mac's 2023 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='393470' first='Gage' last='Graham'] might have been the most underrated quarterback in Class 5A last season. Because of the emergence of running back Isaiah Gray, the Highlanders were a very run-heavy team. However, they had a very experienced and skilled quarterback in the backfield along with Gray. So now that the dynamic running back has graduated, this is an opportunity for Graham to show that he truly is one of the top quarterbacks in 5A football. This will be his third year under center for the Highlanders and he's determined for this offense to not even remotely take a step back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adam Austin - 2026 Running Back/Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1187305' first='AJ' last='Vaughn'] - 2025 Wide Receiver<br>Chris Fiailoa - 2025 Offensive Lineman<br>Dominic Collins - 2024 Defensive Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='328946' first='Fontane' last='Molett'] - 2023 Linebacker<br>Jeremy Hutchison - 2024 Defensive Lineman<br>Xavier Booth - 2024 Defensive Back</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 Schedule/Games To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - AT John Marshall<br>Sept. 2 - Lawton Eisenhower<br><strong>Sept. 9 - AT Lawton<br></strong>- This has been a rivalry that was dominated by Lawton until the turn of the century. Since 2000, the Highlanders are almost dead even with their Wolverine rivals, with a 10-12 record. Lawton had won four in a row before the Highlanders beat them by 20 points a year ago. For Lawton MacArthur, they'll look to wrap up the city title but then get a much needed week off in week three before opening up district play. We'll know exactly where the Highlanders are at when they wrap up non-district play against their rivals.<br>Sept. 23 - AT Duncan<br>Sept. 30 - Altus<br><strong>Oct. 7 - AT Ardmore<br></strong>- One of the best finishes came last season with Lawton MacArthur hosting Ardmore in week ten. The Tigers spoiled Lawton MacArthur's chances at a perfect regular season. But despite the 41-40 loss to Ardmore in week ten, the Highlanders still walked away with the district championship. Going into this week six clash, this is a huge game for the Highlanders in terms of their district title hopes and playoff hopes all together. This district is going to be very competitive and the Highlanders can't afford too many slip ups or they'll be in danger of sitting at home in November. <br>Oct. 13 - Midwest City<br>Oct. 21 - AT El Reno<br>Oct. 28 - Elgin<br><strong>Nov. 4 - AT Noble<br></strong>- As mentioned earlier, the Highlanders nearly pulled off a perfect regular season a year ago. They lost to Ardmore in the final seconds of week ten. We can only hope for a game just as competitive in week then this year as the Highlanders travel to Noble. When Lawton Mac beat Noble last year on the road, they did so behind a dominating rushing attack. Noble had success throwing the ball and it turned into a shootout. A win here will keep the Highlanders alive for the district title. At this point, they'll know exactly what they need to win the district crown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before they won it all in 2014, we would categorize Lawton MacArthur as one of the top Oklahoma football programs that hadn't won a title. It seems like you can always pencil them in for an appearance in the top ten and a run in the playoffs. However, the Highlanders struggled prior to their 2021 run. They missed the playoffs all together in 2018 and 2019 and then got bounced out in the 2020 first round. But the Highlanders returned to prominence last season and were very close to going into the playoffs with an unbeaten record. While Lawton Mac will look a little different this season, the expectations haven't changed. Making semifinal and championship appearances have always been the standard at a program like Lawton MacArthur and it looks like the Highlanders have got their swagger back. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>1 State Championship</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2014 - Beat Skiatook 39-12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->