Champion Check In – Stillwater Pioneers

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!   We're deep into the offseason but spring football is right around the corner and it'll be good to get back on the field and seeing the pads come on. But we wanted to take a look around the state at some of the top programs in Oklahoma today. And who better to feature than the reigning state champions. This article is the second installment of what we're calling our “Champion Check In” as we check in with the reigning state champions across the state of Oklahoma. Up next is Class 6A-2 state champion Stillwater following their perfect season.   2022 SEASON RECAP   Stillwater came into the 2022 season as the #3 team in our preseason rankings for 6A-2 behind Choctaw and Booker T Washington. It wouldn't take long before the Pioneers would take over the top spot in the rankings and they would never let it go. Stillwater was boosted behind the majority of their starters returning on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Pioneers got out to a fast start with a 3-0 start in non-district play. The Pioneers would get their closest call of the season in week three when they hosted Norman and they won 36-33. From there, the Pioneers would go into district play and absolutely dominated.   After a blowout win over US Grant, the Pioneers would go on the road to face Booker T Washington and they won 38-6. In fact, the Pioneers had to be road warriors in the second half of the season. After four straight home games to start the season, the Pioneers would have to go on the road five times in the final six weeks, including their three toughest district games. But that wouldn't stop the Pioneers from completing a perfect regular season. They would beat up on Booker T Washington and then in week ten, they won a showdown with unbeaten Muskogee for the district title with a 38-21 win.   The Pioneers would punch their ticket to the semifinals once again after beating district foe Bartlesville in the quarterfinals. The Pioneers would then have to hold off Deer Creek in the semifinals to punch their ticket to Edmond. Stillwater jumped out early and often against the Antlers but Deer Creek would have a massive comeback that came up just short in the second half. This set up a state championship showdown with Choctaw in the first meeting between these two teams since the Yellowjackets stunned the Pioneers on a field goal as time expired in the 2020 semifinals.   In that title game, the Pioneers would rely on the running game and a defense that forced turnovers all year to get the job done in a 26-21 victory over Choctaw. Coming into the game, the Pioneers had forced nearly 40 turnovers on the season. The Pioneer defense would come away with three interceptions on the afternoon and the Pioneers would complete a perfect 13-0 season, giving them their first state championship in decades.   STATE OF THE PROGRAM   Last week, our "Champion Check In" was centered around the Bixby Spartans and we mentioned how the split in Class 6A was one of the main reasons the Spartans had turned into arguably the most dominant football program in the state today. Another program that the 6A split helped is reigning 6A-2 champion Stillwater and not just because they captured their first state championship since 1967. They've been one of the more competitive teams in 6A-2 since the split began and near the top of the class over the last five seasons.   When head coach Tucker Barnard took over the Stillwater program in 2011, the Pioneers were still a few years away from the split in 6A becoming a benefit to their program. From 1990 to 2017, the Pioneers had only made it to the state semifinals just once. Starting in 2018, the Pioneers have been to the semifinals every year and have made three appearances in the state championship game in the last five seasons. But unlike Bixby, the split in Class 6A didn't give Stillwater immediate success in the new division. They had some serious growing pains before they became a consistent contender.   Barnard took over in 2011 and led the Pioneers to an 8-3 season in the 32-team Class 6A. They went a combined 5-15 in 2012 and 2013 before the split happened in 2014. Stillwater would get bounced out of the first round of the 6A-2 playoffs in the first four seasons of the new division. But they would finally break through in 2018 and make it all the way to the state championship game. They ran into Bixby in two straight championship games and settled for the silver ball.   There might not be another program in the state that was as happy to see Bixby get bumped up to 6A-1 in 2022 as Stillwater. The Pioneers made eight straight playoff appearances from 2014-2021 and ran into the Spartans on five out of eight occasions. Bixby came out on top each time, including those state championship contests.   But now that the Spartans are terrorizing a new class, that opened the door for Stillwater to become the new big dog in 6A-2 and they took the crown immediately with the perfect 13-0 season in 2022. The Pioneers have built a very consistent program over the last five years that has become a team that year in and year out you have to consider as one of the top teams in 6A-2. And that leads us to the look into the future. Because Stillwater will be right back in contention with some big names returning and reloading at some of the other positions.   A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE   The Pioneers will go into the 2023 season as defending state champions but they are going to look quite different as they attempt to defend that crown. The Pioneers lose quite a bit on both sides of the ball, including starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='157517' first='Gage' last='Gundy'] and running back [player_tooltip player_id='199948' first='Noah' last='Roberts'], who made up one of the better and more productive backfields in the state. They also have to rebuild the offensive line and find some new faces on a defense that was absolutely elite at taking the ball away from an opponent. Last year's Stillwater team was one of the better teams that we can remember in terms of turnover ratio and they will look to recreate some of that magic this fall.   This won't be a complete rebuild for the Pioneers as they return their leading receiver in 2024 wideout [player_tooltip player_id='215206' first='Heston' last='Thompson'] along with his twin brother [player_tooltip player_id='215207' first='Holden' last='Thompson'] at running back. Holden missed nearly all of the 2022 season with a knee injury while Heston became one of the highest producing receivers in the state. They also bring back 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='611314' first='Talon' last='Kendrick'], who was used in a variety of ways within the Stillwater offense and he has the chance to have an even larger role this fall. Arguably their top returning player is 2024 tight end [player_tooltip player_id='349796' first='Josh' last='Ford'], who is committed to Oklahoma State and is a 2024 prospect that we've been talking about for nearly a year now.   While the Stillwater offense does return some production that should give them a boost into the 2023 season, the defense will be overhauled with new starters almost everywhere. They do bring back 2024 defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1086230' first='Trey' last='Tuck'] to lead a secondary that was outstanding in terms of forcing interceptions in 2022. The Pioneers will have a quarterback battle replace Gundy and at this point, we have no doubt that Stillwater will be able to reload on the defense to once again be in contention this fall. District foe Muskogee will be the favorite in 6A-2 going into the season with all the talent they return but until they take the crown from Stillwater, everyone is still chasing the Pioneers.   RELATED   <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/04/champion-check-in-bixby-spartans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">- Champion Check In: Bixby Spartans</a>

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