Noble 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 Noble Bears. With one of the top offenses in Class 5A, look out for the Bears to be one of the top teams in Class 5A.   Noble Bears (5A Preseason Ranking: #9)   The Noble Bears are looking to take that next step to becoming a true contender in Class 5A and they should have one of the better passing attacks throughout the fall. If the rest of the team around that part can come together, the Bears are in a district that they can contend for the district title in and that would set them up for a favorable road in the playoffs. Last year, the Bears fell to Midwest City in non-district play and now that game will be within the same district this fall. But following that loss, the Bears would rattle off four straight wins before losing a shootout to Lawton MacArthur. After beating Ardmore in overtime, the Bears would face Guthrie in the first round and things did not go well. An offense that had scored at least 40 points on seven occasions was shut out as the Blue Jays rolled to a 40-0 win. The Bears remember the way last season ended and are determined to not let history repeat itself.   The Bears bring back one of the best QB-WR duos in Class 5A but they only return two other starters and will have seven new starters this fall. That duo will need to bring those new faces along as Noble looks to be one of the higher scoring offenses in Class 5A this fall. Bringing that duo back will give them a good start in accomplishing that. On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears bring back five starters. We anticipate the Bears to be improved on defense as well after getting into a few shootouts last season. Noble is also in a tough district in Class 5A with Ardmore and Lawton MacArthur, along with newcomer Midwest City. The battle for playoff positioning each week will be intense.   2021 Results (8-3 Record - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round)   Sept. 3 - Beat Blanchard 41-23 Sept. 10 - Lost To Midwest City 14-12 Sept. 17 - Beat Piedmont 49-35 Sept. 24 - Beat El Reno 46-21 Oct. 1 - Beat Duncan 63-27 Oct. 7 - Beat Altus 42-7 Oct. 15 - Lost To Lawton MacArthur 47-37 Oct. 21 - Beat Southeast 48-28 Oct. 29 - Beat Ardmore 36-35 (OT) Nov. 5 - Beat Capitol Hill 60-8 1st Round - Lost To Guthrie 40-0   Key Losses To Graduation   Austin Tener - Offensive/Defensive Lineman Bryson Crawley - Linebacker Cayden Dominey - Tight End/Linebacker Chili Lorenz - Wide Receiver Trenton Hickock - Offensive/Defensive Lineman Trevor Wardrip - Wide Receiver   Players To Watch   [player_tooltip player_id="38817" first="Brandon" last="Harper"] - 2023 Wide Receiver We mentioned that QB-WR duo and here's the wide receiver with 2023 wideout [player_tooltip player_id="38817" first="Brandon" last="Harper"]. After finishing his junior season with nearly 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, it's hard to argue that Harper isn't one of the top wide receivers in the state's 2023 class. Harper had an outstanding junior season and then had a great offseason on top of that. Harper is turning into one of the top playmakers at the wide receiver position within this 2023 class. He's a prototypical slot receiver at the next level and can turn a short pass into a long play in the blink of an eye. He's going to be one of the top playmakers to watch in Class 5A this fall and he is definitely helped by having one of the top quarterbacks throwing the ball to him.   [player_tooltip player_id="219070" first="Colin" last="Fisher"] - 2023 Quarterback That quarterback is Noble's 2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id="219070" first="Colin" last="Fisher"], who's arguably the top southpaw quarterback in the state, regardless of class. Fisher is one of the higher ranked quarterbacks in the class but he has been committed to play baseball at Arkansas for over a year now. Fisher threw for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. While Harper was his main target last season, he could also throw the ball all over the yard. We've seen Fisher a couple times in person in the last year and every time we see him, we're convinced he's one of the top quarterbacks in the state. He just hasn't been recruited like it because of the future in baseball. We expect him to be one of the top quarterbacks not only in 5A but in the state overall this fall.   More Names To Know   Jackson Stewart - 2024 Linebacker LT Taylor - 2023 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Luke Conley - 2023 Linebacker Mason Crawford - 2024 Offensive/Defensive Lineman Max Sauvageau - 2023 Defensive Lineman   2022 Schedule/Games To Circle   Aug. 26 - Piedmont Sept. 2 - Blanchard Sept. 9 - AT Tuttle Sept. 23 - Ardmore - After a tough non-district schedule, things don't get easier for Noble as they open up the district slate at home against Ardmore. The Tigers are the top ranked team in this district going into the season and this is also a fantastic quarterback match-up. Both teams have top ten quarterbacks in the state's 2023 class so we could see plenty of fireworks in this week four clash. Noble's new starters will hopefully be ready for the bright lights of Friday night after the non-district schedule tested them. The Bears also benefit from having week three off in between non-district play and the Ardmore game. Noble won an overtime thriller over the Tigers last year. Sept. 30 - AT El Reno Oct. 7 - AT Duncan Oct. 14 - Elgin Oct. 21 - AT Altus Oct. 28 - AT Midwest City - The Bears will host Midwest City in week nine in a big district clash. This was a match-up that we saw early in the 2021 season as they faced off in non-district action and the Bombers got a low-scoring and close win, 14-12 over the Bears. Midwest City is one of several teams from 6A-2 to drop down to Class 5A this year. And for at least the next two seasons, Noble will see the Bombers in district play as opposed to early on in the season. Midwest City will certainly provide a challenge for Noble's high-powered offense. With the exception of the shutout loss to Guthrie, Midwest City did the best job containing Noble's offense, holding them to just 12 points. Nov. 4 - Lawton MacArthur - In the final game of the regular season, Noble hosts Lawton MacArthur in a game that could clinch the district title for the Bears or drop them in the district standings, forcing them to go on the road in the playoffs. This was a match-up last year that we caught in person and the Bears could not keep Lawton MacArthur's ground game contained in a 47-37 loss. Noble's offense did their part, scoring on the Highlanders at will. But Lawton Mac might have a new offensive attack after losing their star running back to graduation. Both teams have playoff aspirations and Noble will treat this match-up like the playoffs are starting a week early.   Notable   We mentioned that Noble's star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="219070" first="Colin" last="Fisher"] is also a star baseball player and it doesn't look like football is in his future. Well, after talking with some Noble coaches, college might not be in his future either. He's currently committed to Arkansas and has been committed to the Razorback baseball program for a long time. However, he's also a top ten prospect in Oklahoma's 2023 class and one of the top left-handed pitchers in this part of the country. We just had the MLB draft last week and two Oklahomans were drafted in the first round and one of them going #1 overall. It's not impossible to think that Fisher might opt to go straight to pro ball if he's picked high enough, which as of right now, it looks like he might.   Championship History   0 State Championships

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