Checotah Wildcats 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 Checotah Wildcats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Checotah Wildcats</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>After a 3-7 season and seeing their playoff streak come to an end, the Checotah Wildcats are very happy to put the 2022 season behind them and start focusing on 2023. At this time last year, the Wildcats were coming off their third consecutive trip to the playoffs. And while the 2020 and 2021 postseason trips ended with losses to eventual champion Holland Hall, the Wildcats had quite a bit of momentum coming into the 2022 season. That momentum continued with a good start in non-district play as the Wildcats would beat East Central and Haskell to start 2-1 on the season. But a four-game losing streak would put the Wildcats behind the eight ball in terms of the district standings and then losses to Berryhill and Stigler in the final two weeks of the regular season would end any hope of a playoff trip for the Wildcats. Checotah found themselves in quite a few shootouts last season and they'll look to avoid that in 2023. Those two losses in the final two weeks to Berryhill and Stigler, Checotah scored a combined 70 points but gave up a combined 126 points. But the Wildcats are ready to turn the page and focus on the new season this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Checotah will be able to start a new chapter this season with some familiar faces as they bring back the majority of their starters from last season's team. They bring back seven starters on the offensive side of the ball but all eyes will be on defense. They bring back another seven starters on that side and Checotah fans will look for that side to improve after giving up 50+ points in half of their games last season. The offense wasn't a problem as they would light up the scoreboard in several weeks and they bring back one of the top wide receivers in the state, regardless of class. Having that kind of playmaker and some experience at the quarterback position is going to put Checotah in a good spot on that side of the ball. The biggest question will be how much the defense can improve for the Wildcats to make it back to the postseason. The district will once again provide a challenge but Checotah will catch a break with a couple of the playoff teams from last season getting hit by graduation and will be much younger this year. That could open the door for the Wildcats to return to the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five seasons.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (6-5 Record - Lost In Class 4A 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Beat East Central 42-9<br>Sept. 2 - Lost To Claremore Sequoyah 63-18<br>Sept. 9 - Beat Haskell 39-29<br>Sept. 16 - Lost To Eufaula 45-7<br>Sept. 23 - Lost To Muldrow 28-13<br>Sept. 30 - Lost To Seminole 52-26<br>Oct. 7 - Lost To Lincoln Christian 63-0<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Locust Grove 39-32<br>Oct. 21 - Lost To Berryhill 63-36<br>Nov. 3 - Lost To Stigler 63-34</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>Isaiah Vargas - Defensive Lineman<br>Kreed Hall - Running Back<br>Michael Grider - 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":["353415"],"_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":"Earlier in the preview we talked about how Checotah had one of the top wide receivers in the state. 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='353415' first='Elijah' last='Thomas'] is that player and he's firmly established himself as one of the top prospects in Oklahoma's 2025 class and not just at wide receiver, but any position. Last year, Thomas would finish with 50 catches for nearly 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's an absolute playmaker with the ball in his hands and it's no surprise that major colleges across the country are recruiting him and want him to come to the next level. Thomas absolutely showed out this offseason at various camps and has become a sought-after wide receiver prospect. We heard about Thomas before he was even a freshman and he has certainly lived up to the hype.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["926217"],"_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":"We mentioned how the biggest question mark we had surrounding Checotah this season was the improvement they can have on the defensive side of the ball. One of the things that will help that is the return of 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='926217' first='Nathan' last='Gray'] in the middle of the defense at linebacker. Gray led the team in tackles last season with nearly 100 tackles on the season. He would also get into the backfield quite a bit with 13 tackles for loss. The Wildcats graduate their second and third leading tacklers so we anticipate Gray's production to go up this season, especially early on. The Wildcats are experienced for the most part on defense but they do have to replace some key defensive linemen from last year. While those guys get worked in, we think Gray will have a strong start to the season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c331f983345"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bronson Bouher - 2025 Athlete<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1031234' first='Jacob' last='Jones'] - 2024 Quarterback<br>Jaydin Bray - 2024 Wide Receiver</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>Aug. 25 - East Central<br><strong>Sept. 1 - Claremore Sequoyah</strong><br>- If Checotah's defense has that improvement that we've talked about a few times, we'll see it early on in the season when the Wildcats host Claremore Sequoyah. The Eagles are one of the top teams in Class 2A this season and they put it on Checotah 63-18 in their meeting last season. So needless to say, the Wildcats will be ready to get another crack at a Sequoyah team that is still experienced from last year's breakout season but at the same time, there are some playmakers they had last season that need to be replaced. We'll learn a lot about Checotah in this match-up. <br>Sept. 8 - Haskell<br>Sept. 15 - Eufaula<br>Sept. 22 - Muldrow<br>Sept. 29 - AT Seminole<br>Oct. 6 - Lincoln Christian<br>Oct. 12 - AT Locust Grove<br>Oct. 20 - Berryhill<br><strong>Nov. 3 - AT Stigler</strong><br>- By the time week ten rolls around, Checotah is going to know exactly what they need to do in order to make it to the playoffs. On one hand, they might already have a spot locked up. On the other, they could already be eliminated. Or, they could still have a lot to play for when they hit the road in week ten to face Stigler. They've lost three straight to Stigler but there are reasons to be optimistic. The offense has had plenty of success against the Panthers during those meetings. If they can get a win here in the final week of the regular season, they might be able to punch their ticket back into the playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As Checotah looks to make a return to the playoffs, the schedule really sets up nicely for the Wildcats to have a great start to the season and the home fans are going to get their money's worth on season tickets. As you can see above, the Wildcats play seven of their ten games this season at home, including the first five games in the regular season. They don't hit the road until week five, when they travel to Seminole, and then they are right back home the following week against 3A powerhouse Lincoln Christian. Sometimes, the scheduling just sets up in a perfect way, that allows a team to have an unbalanced schedule work out in their favor. And that's the case for the Wildcats this season. Checotah will get the benefit of playing the first month of the season in front of their home fans before finally going on the road. We like Checotah to bounce back this season and the schedule is certainly a key part of that thought with the Wildcats.&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>0 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->