Berryhill Chiefs OK 2023 Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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 Berryhill Chiefs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Berryhill Chiefs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: UR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Year in and year out, the Berryhill Chiefs are one of the teams to look out for in Class 3A and the 2023 season will be no different. At this time last year, the Chiefs were coming off a 9-3 season in 2021, where they made it to the quarterfinals in the playoffs. They were in the preseason top ten of our 3A rankings prior to the 2022 season but a brutal September schedule definitely provided some lumps to the Chiefs. They would open up with a dominant win over Fort Gibson, but then it was three straight losses to ranked teams in Cascia Hall, Cushing and Lincoln Christian. The Cascia and Lincoln losses were each by seven points and the Lincoln loss hurt the most with it coming in district play. A loss late in the season to Stigler would drop the Chiefs to 5-4 following the regular season and they would get a first round match-up with Verdigris. Their season came to an end with a shutout loss to Verdigris in the first round. But as we turn the page and start looking ahead to the 2023 season, there are reasons to be optimistic for Berryhill not only this fall, but in the future as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First things first, the Chiefs are going to be more inexperienced than maybe we're used to in 2023. They return just three starters on the offensive side of the ball and they'll be even younger on defense. Only one starter is back on the defensive side of the ball but the reason for optimism is pretty simple. The Chiefs are going to be young this season. The majority of their new starters will be juniors and sophomores and those classes look like they are already pretty deep. Just like last season, the first month of the season is going to be the toughest part of Berryhill's schedule. Because of that, these young players are going to get thrown into the fire and they'll have to grow up quickly. But we think the Chiefs are talented enough to not only punch their ticket back to the playoffs, but they could make some noise when they get there. As long as they stay healthy, this young and inexperienced team is going to grow up throughout the season and the Berryhill team we see in November will be much different than the one we see in September. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (5-5 Record - Lost In Class 3A 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Beat Fort Gibson 48-13<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Cascia Hall 28-21<br>Sept. 16 - Lost To Cushing 54-3<br>Sept. 23 - Lost To Lincoln Christian 14-7<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Muldrow 28-21<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Locust Grove 70-6<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Checotah 63-36<br>Oct. 28 - Lost To Stigler 21-0<br>Nov. 4 - Beat Seminole 41-8<br>1st Round - Lost To Verdigris 28-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Losses To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ethan Stites - Running Back/Linebacker<br>Demarie Davis - Defensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["922962"],"_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 how Berryhill has quite a few young players so while they only have four returning starters, this is a team that is on the rise. 2025 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='922962' first='Connor' last='Payne'] returns at quarterback and while he wasn't the full time starter last season, he got plenty of experience. Payne threw for nearly 900 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He started getting plenty of playing time at the halfway mark of the regular season and showed steady improvement throughout the rest of his sophomore season. Payne is looking to lead the Berryhill offense this season and this is a program that has had a few good quarterbacks come through over the last ten years and Payne definitely showed some promise last season and this fall should be exciting.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["922963"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Berryhill has had a really good run of offensive linemen over the last decade and it seems like they always have one or two really good offensive linemen. This season, we really like the unit as a whole and it looks like they are only going to get better and better over the course of this season and next. Leading the group is 2025 offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='922963' first='Trenton' last='Jordan'] and he is just one of several guys that we're keeping an eye on this season. There are a few younger offensive linemen that appear to have bright futures so it's clear to us that the strength of this Berryhill team, especially on the offensive side of the ball, is going to be along the line of scrimmage. We expect this unit to be one of the better ones in Class 3A this season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c07d655f5c1"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1304608' first='Aiden' last='Martin'] - 2026 Offensive/Defensive Lineman<br>Chase Bivins - 2026 Running Back/Linebacker<br>Chase Reynolds - 2026 Tight End/Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1083184' first='Dalton' last='Barrington'] - 2024 Running Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1161904' first='Harry' last='Vaughn'] - 2026 Offensive/Defensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 Schedule/Games To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 1 - AT Fort Gibson<br><strong>Sept. 8 - AT Cascia Hall</strong><br>- In week two, Berryhill goes on the road to face off with Cascia Hall. These two teams have gotten very familiar with one another. Whether it was district play in 2018 and 2019 or early season match-ups in the last two years, these two teams are usually in the mix in their respective class. This year is no different as Cascia Hall is number nine in our preseason rankings for Class 3A and they are going to be a contender in their district this season. A big road win here will give Berryhill a ton of momentum going into the rest of a very busy September. <br>Sept. 15 - Cushing<br><strong>Sept. 22 - AT Lincoln Christian</strong><br>- Berryhill will hit the road for the third time in the first four weeks and as we mentioned, the September schedule is one of the hardest stretches of the schedule. The Chiefs will open up district play with a short road trip to Tulsa to face 3A powerhouse Lincoln Christian. Last season, the Bulldogs were without a doubt the most dominant team in the district but it was Berryhill that gave them their toughest test in the regular season. Berryhill narrowly lost to Lincoln 14-7 in week four and there's no doubt that this match-up is going to have massive playoff implications. <br>Sept. 29 - Muldrow<br>Oct. 6 - AT Locust Grove<br>Oct. 20 - AT Checotah<br>Oct. 27 - Stigler<br>Nov. 3 - Seminole</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Berryhill is definitely in the conversation for one of the more consistent teams in Class 3A over the last decade-plus. They would make their 14th consecutive trip to the playoffs in 2022 and while the trip was short-lived, that was not the norm for the Chiefs during this streak. The majority of seasons during this playoff streak, they've won at least one game. Berryhill expects to be in the playoffs year in and year out and despite a relatively young team with only four starters returning, the Chiefs expect to contend in the district and then punch their ticket to another playoff appearance. The only time the playoff streak was in jeopardy was in the Covid-plagued 2020 season where Berryhill had several district games canceled. Because of that, they were actually outside of the top four in their district but because everyone was allowed in the playoffs to make up for games being canceled, the streak was able to continue.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>1 State Championship</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2004 - Beat Victory Christian 27-6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->