Collinsville Cardinals 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 Collinsville Cardinals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Collinsville Cardinals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: #8</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Collinsville Cardinals are reloading for another run in Class 5A and this is a team that is very hungry to make another run to Edmond and compete for the state championship. At this time last year, the Cardinals were coming off a perfect season in 2021 that ended with them lifting the gold ball. We knew coming into 2022 that the Cardinals might take a step back when you consider the players they had to replace. We were also wrong with that thought. The Cardinals would start the season 7-0 with some impressive wins in September. They would extend their winning streak to 21 consecutive games before a week eight showdown with Grove would see that streak come to an end and so would their district title hopes. But the Cardinals were able to bounce back in the last two weeks to make sure they would lock up the two seed for the playoffs. Collinsville would then see McAlester in a rare championship rematch in the first round of the playoffs. The Buffaloes were able to get a little revenge for their championship loss to Collinsville and after the Cardinals ended McAlester's season in 2021, the Buffaloes returned the favor last season. But as we've mentioned, the Cardinals have reloaded and are ready for another strong season this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Collinsville does have to replace the majority of their starters from last year's team but after the way they reloaded last year, we're not going to doubt the Cardinals and their ability to plug new guys in for some of those losses to graduation. Five starters return on the offensive side of the ball and they'll have a new quarterback for the second straight season. But if last year was any indication, the Cardinals should be pretty good at that position. They've had some good ones over the last four years. And the quarterback and the skill players in general are going to benefit from having a very strong offensive line unit setting the tone for them up front. Collinsville has a few prospects on that line that are already on our radar and that's only going to continue when the season begins. The defense also brings back five starters on that side of the ball. And while there might be a few more question marks on that side, we still are confident that the Cardinals will be able to plug and play and once again be one of the better defensive units in their district. Collinsville is going to definitely be in the mix for the district crown as this district is completely wide open this season. If the Cardinals can snag another district title, that will set them up for a deep playoff run in November and possibly December.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (9-2 Record - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Beat Oologah 41-21<br>Sept. 9 - Beat Skiatook 63-20<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Bartlesville 35-25<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Pryor 42-14<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Bishop Kelley 28-21<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Nathan Hale 63-6<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Will Rogers 50-14<br>Oct. 21 - Lost To Grove 49-21<br>Oct. 27 - Beat Edison 42-21<br>Nov. 3 - Beat Claremore 28-21<br>1st Round - Lost To McAlester 27-14</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>Blake Gilkey - Running Back/Linebacker<br>Kaden Rush - Quarterback<br>Zach Stein - Tight End/Linebacker</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":["376564"],"_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 earlier how the Cardinals were going to be incredibly strong up front along the offensive line and [player_tooltip player_id='376564' first='Colten' last='Christian'] leads that group. The dominant lineman has been a standout for a little over a year now and his work in the offseason and on the field in the fall has paid off. He committed to Tulsa earlier this offseason and is widely considered one of the top offensive linemen in the state's 2024 class. And this is a positional group that is incredibly talented and deep. But Christian has established himself as one of the better guys and we think that he's going to help out the Cardinals as some of their new faces on offense get thrown into the fire early on in the season. We expect Christian to be one of the better OL in Class 5A.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["375219"],"_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":"One of the top breakout stars last season in Class 5A was 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='375219' first='Hudson' last='Henslick'] at the wide receiver position. Henslick became one of the better receivers in the class when he absolutely exploded for well over 1,200 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. It seemed like he was putting up 100 yards and at least one touchdown every single week. Henslick put up big numbers on offense and he was also valuable on defense in the secondary. He finished with over 50 tackles and three interceptions, two of which he took back for touchdowns. Henslick is going to be arguably the top playmaker on this Collinsville team and as the Cardinals work in some of those new offensive players, we anticipate Henslick will put up monster numbers early on in the season.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["402384"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"The Cardinals have had a great run on quarterbacks over the last three or four seasons and the next guy up appears to be 2026 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='402384' first='Skyler' last='Moorman'] this fall. Moorman will replace Kaden Rush, who was one of the breakout stars of the season last year in Class 5A. Moorman is definitely in a good position to follow that up this fall when you consider he has Collinsville's leading receiver coming back and a strong offensive line unit blocking for him. Moorman came to one of our camps this offseason and was one of the top quarterbacks in attendance. He can absolutely sling the ball all over the field and his arm strength is pretty impressive to watch. But that was with no pads, pass rush or anything we'll see on Friday. We'll get a better feel for his game this fall.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c27a3c6e43f"} /--> <!-- 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='1323090' first='Chris' last='Goodman'] - 2025 Defensive Lineman<br>Drake Devore - 2025 Offensive Lineman<br>[player_tooltip player_id='375220' first='Jack' last='Keith'] - 2024 Running Back/Defensive End<br>Nate Davis - 2025 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1018641' first='Scott' last='Rigby'] - 2026 Running Back/Linebacker</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 Oologah<br>Sept. 8 - Skiatook<br><strong>Sept. 15 - Bartlesville</strong><br>- Collinsville's last tune up before they enter a very competitive district schedule comes in week three when they host Bartlesville. This has been a series that has been owned by the Cardinals in the last five years but this is a very improved and talented Bruin team coming to town in week three. It's without a doubt their toughest non-district test and will provide a big test before the district slate. The Cardinals have won five in a row, including last year's 35-25 match-up in week three. But the Bruins bring back the majority of their starters and expect to contend in 6A-2.&nbsp;<br>Sept. 22 - AT Pryor<br><strong>Sept. 29 - AT Bishop Kelley</strong><br>- For the second straight week, the Cardinals will hit the road and in week five they will face the preseason district favorite Bishop Kelley Comets. This district is going to be incredibly competitive so you can make the argument for several teams to be the district favorite. A win here for the Cardinals will put them in a really good position moving forward within the district playoff race. Last year was the first meeting since 2019 and the Cardinals would win a very close and competitive game, beating the Comets 28-21. The winner here will have a leg up for the district crown.&nbsp;<br>Oct. 6 - Nathan Hale<br>Oct. 13 - Will Rogers<br>Oct. 19 - AT Grove<br>Oct. 27 - Edison<br>Nov. 3 - AT Claremore</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another game that Collinsville will definitely have circled on their calendar is the week eight clash on the road against Grove. Last season, the Ridgerunners moved up from Class 4A and made an instant impact, going unbeaten in the regular season and winning the district crown. Part of that was coming to Collinsville in week eight and beating up on the Cardinals with a 49-21 victory. That would end Collinsville's winning streak that had reached 21 games, dating back to their 2021 state championship season. And as we've mentioned a few times, this district appears to be completely wide open right now and every district contest is going to have a pretty significant impact on the district standings and ultimately the playoff race. But the Cardinals certainly haven't forgotten how the 2022 match-up with Grove played out and they'll be looking to get one back this season when they clash in week eight.&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>2021 - Beat McAlester 42-35</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->