Christian Heritage Crusaders 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 Christian Heritage Crusaders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Christian Heritage Crusaders</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>The Christian Heritage Crusaders come into this season unranked in the preseason rankings but they are definitely on the short list of teams that could jump up into the rankings with a strong start to the season. At this time last season, the Crusaders had high expectations as they dropped down from Class 2A to A and expected to contend immediately. They started out strong with the only loss and setback coming in the first game against OCS. They would fall to Crescent in district play and that would take them out of the running for the district championship. But the Crusaders would be right there in the mix and despite dropping down to Class A, they would once again punch their ticket to the playoffs. They would win their first round game but then they ran up against Fairview in the second round. The eventual state champs would knock off the Crusaders 46-14 but Christian Heritage is ready to not only make another run to the playoffs but they plan on playing deep into November.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Crusaders bring back half of their starters from last year's playoff team and they expect to build on that as we head into the 2023 football season. The offense brings back five starters and the strength of the team, specifically early on, is going to be on the offensive line. As those new skill players come along, the Crusaders will lean on a defensive unit that brings back seven starters from last season. And this was a defensive unit that was incredibly productive last season. The Crusaders bring back four of their top six returning tacklers this season. Christian Heritage is expecting to contend once again in their district. This is going to be one of the more competitive districts in the state. And Christian Heritage will look to get out to a hot start as the majority of their games are in the first half of the season. So those young players will have to come along quickly before the Crusaders enter district play. But we think that Christian Heritage is definitely going to be a team to look out for in Class A.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (9-3 Record - Lost In Class A 2nd Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Lost To Oklahoma Christian 23-13<br>Sept. 2 - Beat Western Heights 45-28<br>Sept. 8 - Beat OKC Patriots 19-0<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Mount St. Mary 42-27<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Hinton 22-19<br>Sept. 30 - Lost To Crescent 26-13<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Minco 28-7<br>Oct. 14 - Beat Cashion 27-25<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Watonga 49-0<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Casady 49-21<br>1st Round - Beat Stratford 28-6<br>2nd Round - Lost To Fairview 46-14</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>Kye Davis - Athlete<br>Nate Jines - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>Zac Harris - Quarterback</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":["384069"],"_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":"As we mentioned before, the strength of the Crusaders early on this season is going to be on the defensive side of the ball. And that strength is going to start with the return of 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='384069' first='Bryce' last='Graham'] at the linebacker position. We wrote about Graham around this time last year after he had a fantastic sophomore season. Graham had nearly 100 tackles as a sophomore and he absolutely exploded last season. Graham finished the year with 150 tackles, which led the team. He also had over 30 tackles for loss and 15 sacks, which also led the team. Having Graham back at the linebacker position will definitely set the tone for the Crusaders. And as the Crusaders lean on the defense early on in the season, Graham will be able to answer the call.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["412937"],"_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":"Just like Graham, 2024 offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='924310' first='Jonathan' last='Warren'] is one of the more experienced players coming back for Christian Heritage. Warren is one of the bigger maulers up front in Class A and so as the Crusaders work in some of those new faces on offense, especially in the skill position department, Warren is going to be a gamechanger for the Crusaders. Just like with Graham, we think that Warren should be in a position to be one of the best in Class A at his position. And as the Crusaders get more experience in the skill department, we anticipate that the Crusaders are going to be playing some of their best football by the end of the season. And when that happens, we think Warren should get more attention from college coaches moving forward.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c1968e07d56"} /--> <!-- 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='1337328' first='Caleb' last='Gideon'] - 2025 Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1607338' first='Nathan' last='Dinwiddie'] - 2025 Kicker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1337330' first='Tate' last='Campbell'] - 2025 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><strong>Aug. 25 - AT Oklahoma Christian</strong><br>- The season opener should be a good one as Christian Heritage will hit the road to face Oklahoma Christian School in week zero. OCS was able to get the best of the Crusaders in the season opener last year with a 23-13 victory. But we think that Christian Heritage should have the ability to contend right away with some of the players they have coming back this season. Not only does this kick off the season for Christian Heritage, it kicks off a busy time as the majority of their games are in the first half of the regular season. They'll look to turn things around after losing four straight to OCS. <br>Aug. 31 - Casady<br>Sept. 8 - OKC Patriots<br>Sept. 15 - AT Mount St. Mary<br>Sept. 22 - Hinton<br><strong>Sept. 29 - AT Crescent</strong><br>- As we mentioned earlier in the preview, this is going to end up being one of the tougher districts in Class A this season. And if the Crusaders are going to contend for the district championship, they have to get out of the gates hot. They go on the road to face Crescent in week five and it will actually be their sixth game of the season. Crescent appears to be the favorite in the district right now but a lot can change between now and late September. Crescent was the only team to knock off the Crusaders in district play and they'll certainly have this game circled. <br>Oct. 6 - Minco<br>Oct. 12 - AT Cashion<br>Oct. 20 - Watonga<br>Nov. 3 - Western Heights</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Christian Heritage officially joined the OSSAA in 2008 and they've been a pretty consistent playoff team ever since. In the 15 seasons since entering the OSSAA in 2008, the Crusaders have been a playoff team in 12 of those 15 seasons, including last year, when they would make it to the second round before losing to eventual champion Fairview. Christian Heritage is determined to not only make it back to the playoffs this season, but they want to extend their playing time deep into November. It's not that long ago that the Crusaders were playing for the Class A state championship against Tonkawa in 2018. The Crusaders should be able to contend in their district and if they can set themselves up with an easier path in the playoffs, we could see the Crusaders playing deep into the playoffs and potentially contending for the state championship.&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 -->