Beggs Golden Demons OK 2023 Team Preview
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It’s the month of July and that means it’s preview time! Throughout the month of July and into August, we are publishing well over 100 in-depth team previews to get you completely ready for the 2023 football season. This is something that began in 2021 and has continued to get bigger every single year. We’re looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champions, to top contenders and plenty of dark horses, we’ll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A, all the way down to the addition of 8-man coverage this year with Class B and C. In this post, we take a look at the Beggs Golden Demons
Beggs Golden Demons
Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #9
Preseason Coaches Ranking: #10
The 2022 football season was full of plenty of ups and downs but Beggs found a way to make it to the playoffs and they made plenty of noise once they got there. Beggs came into the 2022 season with high expectations but things weren’t looking good after starting 1-2 with the two losses coming by a combined score of 110-22. However, the Golden Demons would bounce back immediately with a week five win over Victory Christian in a shootout with a 72-46 victory. That win would put them in the driver’s seat for the district crown. However, losses later in the district slate to Kiefer and then to Sperry in week ten would drop them to the four seed in the district and set up a first round rematch against a Rejoice Christian team that beat them 70-16 in week two. The Golden Demons completely flipped the script and beat Rejoice 48-28 to advance to the second round before falling to Idabel. Beggs became one of the more unpredictable teams in the state, regardless of class. Because any given week, you never knew what to expect.
Now, as we head into the 2023 football season, the Golden Demons will look to have a little more stability week to week but they also have to reload following the graduation of the majority of their offensive line. Beggs brings back just four starters on the offensive side of the ball and while they will look to run the ball behind their deep group of skill players, they still need to find new names to fill those holes, especially on the line of scrimmage. The Golden Demons also bring back just four starters on the defensive side of the ball. So on paper, it looks like Beggs might not be in the mix as one of the contenders in Class 2A but as we learned last season, just when you write them off, they make you pay in a big way. We think that Beggs will be in the mix once again but their district is going to be competitive with both Kiefer and Victory Christian bringing back the majority of their starters. And like last season, Beggs will be tested early on with a tough non-district slate.
2022 RESULTS (7-5 Record – Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round)
Sept. 2 – Beat Hugo 52-21
Sept. 9 – Lost To Rejoice Christian 70-16
Sept. 16 – Lost To Verdigris 40-6
Sept. 23 – Beat Westville 68-6
Sept. 30 – Beat Victory Christian 72-46
Oct. 7 – Beat Kansas 38-34
Oct. 13 – Beat Okmulgee 46-16
Oct. 21 – Lost To Kiefer 28-14
Oct. 28 – Beat Morris 28-20
Nov. 3 – Lost To Sperry 35-18
1st Round – Beat Rejoice Christian 48-28
2nd Round – Lost To Idabel 24-12
Key Losses To Graduation
Darieon Johnson – Linebacker
Evin Kemp – Offensive Lineman
Kaden Stanton – Offensive Lineman
Tayden Coleman – Defensive Lineman
Players To Watch
After two seasons of splitting carries with CJ Brown, 2024 running back Red Martel Red Martel 5’11” | 195 lbs | RB Beggs | 2024 State OK stepped into the role of starting running back and he was ready for the added workload. As a junior, Martel backed up the hype as one of the top running backs in the state, regardless of class. He finished his junior season with just over 200 carries for 1,905 yards and 22 touchdowns. He was also a threat in the passing game as he finished with over 300 yards and a handful of receiving touchdowns. Martel has also been put out on the field on defense to give the Golden Demons another athlete on the field. He has gotten progressively better every season and will come into this season as one of the best running backs in the state and he’s going to be a match-up nightmare for plenty of opponents.
Highlights
2025 standout Ryan Grayson Ryan Grayson 6’0″ | 160 lbs | DB Beggs | 2025 State OK continues the trend of Beggs having one of the top overall prospects in the state. It started with Kendal Daniels, then CJ Brown and Red Martel Red Martel 5’11” | 195 lbs | RB Beggs | 2024 State OK . And even after Martel graduates, Grayson will still be around ready to make something happen on the offensive side of the ball. Grayson is the “lightning” to Martel’s “thunder” and provides Beggs with a versatile weapon on the offensive side as a running back and a wide receiver. Grayson is also a standout on defense as a cornerback and Grayson is going to be one of the more versatile athletes in Class 2A this season. Last year, he finished with over 500 yards and five touchdowns on the ground and he also had over 700 yards and eight touchdown receptions.
More Names To Know
Aiden Taylor – 2026 Defensive Lineman
Carson Cooper – 2026 Linebacker
DJ Strother
DJ
Strother
6'1" | 210 lbs | LB
Union | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Linebacker
Isaac Taylor – 2025 Linebacker
Jordan Wesley
Jordan
Wesley
5'8" | 150 lbs | RB
Beggs | 2026
State
OK
– 2026 Athlete
Louis Jupiter – 2024 Wide Receiver
2023 Schedule/Games To Circle
Sept. 1 – Hugo
Sept. 8 – Rejoice Christian
– Easily one of the bigger games of the year for Beggs will happen in week two when they host Rejoice Christian. They had not one, but two games up in Owasso taking on the Eagles and they were complete opposite outcomes. In the regular season, they lost 70-16 and then beat the Eagles 48-28 in the first round of the playoffs. It was one of the more unpredictable outcomes from the first round of the playoffs last season, regardless of class. Both teams have high expectations once again this fall.
Sept. 15 – AT Verdigris
Sept. 22 – AT Westville
Sept. 29 – AT Victory Christian
– These two teams have built quite the district rivalry over the last few seasons and nothing will change this season as Beggs goes on the road in week five to face Victory Christian. Last season, the Golden Demons would win a wild shootout with a 72-46 victory. That put them in the driver’s seat for the district championship. Despite losing to Beggs, Victory Christian would bounce back and capture the district crown. The winner here will have a ton of momentum going in the second half of the regular season.
Oct. 6 – Kansas
Oct. 12 – Okmulgee
Oct. 20 – AT Kiefer
– Arguably the two toughest district games on the schedule this season come on the road. And a few weeks after going on the road and facing Victory Christian, they’ll face another team that’s ranked in the preseason rankings for Class 2A when they travel to Kiefer. Beggs tripped up against Kiefer last season in a 28-14 and that took them out of a position to capture the district championship. If they come into this week with an unbeaten district schedule for the second straight year, they’ll look to avoid tripping up.
Oct. 27 – Morris
Nov. 2 – AT Sperry
Notable
There’s no doubt that the 2022 football season ended up being a roller coaster of a ride for Beggs but they were able to find a way to make it back to the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season. They had another streak come to an end as they fell in the second round to Idabel. That meant the Golden Demons would not make it to at least the semifinal round for the first time since the 2016 playoffs. And that also includes some time in Class 3A as well. And as mentioned earlier, the district is going to once again be a challenge for the Golden Demons but this has become a program that expects to not only contend for district and state championships, but they are never out of the fight. They proved that last season and they’ll look to get back to the semifinal round and potentially more this season behind their strong running game.
Championship History
1 State Championship
1975 – Beat Millwood 21-0