McAlester Practice Report

<!-- 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 biggest two week stretch of McAlester's season as the #6 Buffaloes hit the road on Friday to face off with #3 Del City. Then they go on the road again next week to take on top-ranked Coweta on a Thursday night. McAlester is 4-0 on the season and determined to make it back to the state championship game in December. They had to settle for the silver ball last season and they look like they have a team that could get the gold ball. In this post, we break down the start to McAlester's season, Friday's big game with the Eagles and then we take a look at three players who have gotten off to fantastic starts to their 2022 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Buffaloes began their 2022 season with three games at home and a road trip to Louisiana. They kicked off the season with a 34-24 win over Broken Bow in week zero. And as we've seen from Broken Bow over the last few weeks, they are going to end up being a strong team in Class 4A. The following week, the Buffaloes hit the road and traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana to take on Scotlandville. They would win 35-20 and Scotlandville is now 1-3 on the season. McAlester wrapped up the non-district slate with a very impressive shutout win over Ada, another team in Class 4A to take very seriously. The Buffaloes opened up district play last week at home with a shutout win over Memorial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite a roster with plenty of new faces on the defensive side of the ball, the Buffaloes have looked strong so far after a month of football. They have back to back shutouts but that streak will more than likely come to an end on Friday against Del City. While the wins over the 4A foes Ada and Broken Bow were impressive, Friday's game with Del City will without a doubt be the toughest test to date for the Buffaloes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eagles are 4-0 on the season in their first year in dropping down from 6A-2. We knew the Eagles were going to fit right in as a contender but they've exceeded preseason expectations. The Eagles won a shootout over Choctaw in week zero and have been dominant in their three other wins. The Eagles bring a balanced offense that is averaging 42.5 points per game. Their defense also has legit stars with a pair of Big 12 commits in DL [player_tooltip player_id='57157' first='Jaedon' last='Foreman'] (Oklahoma State) and DB [player_tooltip player_id='38778' first='Kanijal' last='Thomas'] (Kansas State) along with linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='98180' first='Tango' last='McCauley'], who is a rising 2023 prospect. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Because this district is so top-heavy, the reality is that one of the three teams, Coweta, Del City and McAlester, will end up in third place or lower in the district standings. And because of that, they'll have to hit the road for 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:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63345fa008108","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["460524"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Last year, one of the more consistent players was quarterback Trent Boatright. The Buffaloes needed to find a replacement coming into this season after Boatright graduated and [player_tooltip player_id='460524' first='Caden' last='Lesnau'] has emerged as that player. He was Boatright's backup last season and saw some playing time but the games were over at that point. This year, Lesnau is the guy and he's been incredibly accurate with the football as McAlester continues to improve on that side of the ball. He's completing over 60 percent of his passes with over 500 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. Lesnau has a certified superstar in the backfield with him so that certainly takes some of the pressure off the junior quarterback. But as McAlester's schedule gets tougher, Lesnau will be asked to make a few more plays in the next two weeks.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a580893fef7"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63345fbc08109","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["38793"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"It's hard to argue with production and McAlester's senior defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='38793' first='Chaz' last='Bradley'] has emerged as one of the best ball hawks in the state this season. Bradley leads the team with four interceptions through the first four games. The rest of the team as a whole has only one interception. And as if that wasn't enough, Bradley has also become an added playmaker on the offensive side of the ball. he's McAlester's second leading wide receiver. Bradley has moved around a bit over the last few years. He was at Yukon as a sophomore, Mustang last year before settling with McAlester this season. He's given the Buffaloes an impact player on the defensive side of the ball. And that's a defense that has put back to back shutouts together. Over the next two weeks, the Buffaloes will lean on Bradley to slow down Del City and Coweta's athletic quarterbacks.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a580893ff38"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_63345fde0810a","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["91049"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"We mentioned that certified superstar in the McAlester backfield and that would be none other than OU commit and reigning Prep Redzone Oklahoma Player Of The Year, [player_tooltip player_id='91049' first='Erik' last='McCarty']. The OU commit doesn't have the offensive production that we've gotten used to seeing from him during his sophomore and junior seasons. However, the Buffaloes haven't needed it and McCarty has far less wear and tear through the first four games. He's only had one game where he's had double digit carries and that means he'll have fresh legs as the Buffaloes go into the most difficult stretch of their schedule. And it seems like McCarty always plays his best in McAlester's biggest games. That's bad news for Del City this week and Coweta next week. And we haven't even mentioned the defense. McCarty is one of McAlester's leading tacklers once again.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview","anchor":"acf-block-68a580893ff6a"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->