Lincoln Christian 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 Lincoln Christian Bulldogs. They are in a familiar spot as the top ranked team in the 3A preseason rankings. Lincoln Christian Bulldogs (3A Preseason Ranking: #1) The Lincoln Christian Bulldogs are used to having a big target on them every season so coming into this year, being the #1 team in the 3A preseason rankings will be nothing new. Lincoln is on top of the ranks in 3A with 18 starters back from last year’s state runner up team. The Bulldogs made it all the way to the state championship game for the third consecutive season but for the second straight year had to settle for silver and each time coming against Holland Hall. Despite losing one of the best players in the state in quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="375967" first="Max" last="Brown"] to graduation, the Bulldogs are absolutely loaded for another run at the state championship. They expect to be back at UCO when December rolls around. A big reason behind that is the eight starters that they return on offense and another ten starters back on defense. They return all but one starter on defense and that unit has some really strong prospects in the state’s 2023 class. They will be working in a new quarterback and replacing a quarterback like Brown isn’t easy but Lincoln has had an unbelievable run of quarterbacks over the last decade so we’re not going to worry about that position as much as we would for other programs. One of the biggest hurdles that Lincoln Christian will have to overcome is the first half of their schedule. Their first five games are against teams that are either ranked or are perennial powerhouses from out of state. And four of those five games are going to be on the road. So while Lincoln Christian definitely benefits from having so much experience back this year, they’ll also be challenged and challenged immediately with a very tough tough schedule in the first five weeks. <hr /> 2021 Results (13-1 Record - Class 3A Runner Up) Aug. 27 - Beat Beggs 52-14 Sept. 3 - Beat Jones 31-29 Sept. 10 - Beat Vian 49-13 Sept. 17 - Beat Cedar Hill Trinity, TX. 58-13 Sept. 24 - Beat Tahlequah Sequoyah 63-0 Oct. 1 - Beat Locust Grove 68-19 Oct. 8 - Beat Westville 56-14= Oct. 14 - Beat Seminole 35-7 Oct. 22 - Beat Checotah 55-13 Nov. 5 - Beat Stigler 55-14 1st Round - Beat Vinita 56-6 Quarterfinal - Beat Sulphur 35-7 Semifinal - Beat Heritage Hall 27-20 Championship - Lost To Holland Hall 24-16 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Carson East - Offensive/Defensive Lineman Logan Farris - Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="375967" first="Max" last="Brown"] - Quarterback <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="157518" first="Cam" last="Dooley"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Lincoln Christian always has a very high-scoring offense and they will once again this season. One of their top playmakers at the wide receiver position is 2023 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="157518" first="Cam" last="Dooley"]. Last year was Dooley’s first year with the Bulldogs after transferring from Coweta and he fit right into the offense. This year, he has a chance to be the top wide receiver for the Bulldogs and their explosive passing attack. Dooley is a player that we’ve seen quite a bit of over the last few years while playing 7v7 with Sooner 7. Dooley is an explosive wide receiver who does his best work after the catch. [player_tooltip player_id="155258" first="Easton" last="Rogers"] - 2023 Running Back/Linebacker One of the top two-way players in Class 3A is going to be Lincoln Christian’s 2023 running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="155258" first="Easton" last="Rogers"]. This is a versatile prospect that we like a lot moving forward after he had a very productive junior season. On offense, he’s going to provide reliability and consistency as they break in a new quarterback. Not only in the running game but he’ll be a receiving threat out of the backfield. Then you turn around and see what he can do on defense and he’s another impact player for them along the front seven. Rogers is an athlete that we expect to have a very productive senior season. [player_tooltip player_id="127357" first="Luke" last="Milligan"] - 2024 Quarterback We mentioned that Lincoln Christian passing attack and the quarterback that will be stepping into that role is 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="127357" first="Luke" last="Milligan"]. Because Lincoln Christian dominated a lot of their opponents last season, Milligan got into many games throughout the year, even if it was after the game was already decided. So this won’t be his first action under center for Lincoln but it will be his first time being THE guy for Lincoln’s offense. Milligan looked good last year while working in "garbage time" but he’ll definitely be tested more this season, especially early on as Lincoln’s toughest stretch is in the first five weeks. [player_tooltip player_id="276646" first="Tyler" last="Johnson"] - 2023 Linebacker A linebacker that we’re very excited about as a potential breakout star when it comes to his recruitment is 2023 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="276646" first="Tyler" last="Johnson"]. The Lincoln linebacker had a strong junior season and is part of a linebacker group within the state that is very deep. The linebackers that are in the top ten and even a little outside of the top ten are not separated by much as they all have talent and all appear primed for big seasons this fall. Lincoln Christian isn’t primarily known for their defense but with ten starters back and with Johnson leading that experienced defense, they’ll be grabbing more headlines this fall. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="110744" first="Caden" last="Ricke"] - 2024 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="154216" first="David" last="Smithwick"] - 2024 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="193143" first="Dylan" last="Baldridge"] - 2024 Wide Receiver [player_tooltip player_id="268330" first="Griffin" last="Dyer"] - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="193142" first="Isaac" last="Autaubo"] - 2023 Offensive/Defensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="268323" first="John" last="Washington"] - 2023 Wide Receiver Seth Kruse - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Zane Thrasher - 2023 Defensive Lineman <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Holland Hall - Lincoln Christian routinely plays one of the more difficult non-district schedules every year and nothing has changed. It’s a test for Lincoln’s kids but it’s awesome for the fans and media to see marquee match-ups almost every week to start a season and it doesn’t get much bigger than this season opener. Lincoln will travel across town to face Holland Hall in a rematch of the last two state championship games in Class 3A. The Dutch have won the last two state championships at the expense of the Bulldogs and you know Lincoln has had this date circled on their calendar since they walked off the field in Edmond last December. Sept. 2 - Jones Sept. 9 - AT Vian Sept. 16 - AT Shiloh Christian, AR. - As mentioned with the Holland Hall match-up, Lincoln Christian routinely plays an absolutely brutal non-district schedule and this year is no different. In fact, three out their four non-district games will be on the road and for this week three clash, they’ll be heading out of state. Lincoln will take on one of Arkansas’ top private school powerhouses in Shiloh Christian in Springdale, Arkansas. Lincoln hasn’t made a habit to go out of state to play teams but they will this year. They did a home and home series against Shiloh a little over a decade ago and went 0-2. This will be another tough test before district play opens up. Sept. 23 - AT Berryhill - Things don’t get much easier the following week after non-district play wraps up. The Bulldogs will open up their district schedule, once again on the road, as they take on Berryhill. This gives the Bulldogs yet another top ten team and will provide the Bulldogs with an immediate test going into district play. Lincoln and Berryhill are the top two ranked teams in this district and the district champion could very well be one of these two teams. Lincoln has dominated this district but Berryhill is new after being in the other district that featured Holland Hall and Verdigris. These two haven’t played each other since 2015. Oct. 7 - Checotah Oct. 13 - Seminole Oct. 21 - Stigler Oct. 28 - AT Muldrow Nov. 4 - Locust Grove <hr /> Notable On the outside looking it, everything was business as usual for Lincoln Christian last fall. They made it back to the championship game and had one of the best teams in Class 3A. But they had a very scary moment early on in the season. In Lincoln Christian’s season opener against Beggs, head coach Jerry Ricke did not return to the sideline for the second half. The Lincoln coach had a heart attack that evening and would be in the hospital for several days. Ricke would eventually return to the coaching booth and then to the sideline and Lincoln would once again make the trip to Edmond to play for a state championship. Ricke talked to us before that championship game and mentioned changing his diet and exercising to help get in better shape. We saw him again this spring at team camp and he looked even better than at the end of last season. <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 2019 - Beat Plainview 42-21 2009 - Beat Kingfisher 35-0