Cushing Tigers 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 Cushing Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Cushing Tigers</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 Cushing Tigers are definitely on the short list of teams that we're interested in watching this season after the way last year ended. And it's going to set up an interesting dynamic throughout the year. While on one hand, Cushing will feel like they have unfinished business after losing a heartbreaker to Wagoner in the state championship game, they also were hit hard by graduation and a lot of the talent they had on both sides of the ball are now gone. At this time last year, Cushing was the number one team in our preseason rankings and they played like it throughout the season. They were one of the more dominant teams throughout the regular season and that play only continued when the playoffs began. They won their three playoff games by a combined score of 146-21. That set up a championship match-up with a Wagoner team they beat 42-0 in week six. The Bulldogs would stun Cushing with a 24-21 victory on a field goal as time expired. The Tigers had to settle for bringing home a silver ball and finished the year with a 13-1 mark. So it's easy to see why the Tigers will feel like they have unfinished business in 2023.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But as we mentioned, the 2023 Cushing Tigers are going to look a lot different than last year's version. Cushing brings back just seven starters from last year's state runner up team and the majority of their offensive firepower graduated. This was a team that made scoring 50+ points look routine and now they bring back only four starters on offense and the skill position players will almost all be different names. The defensive side of the ball brings back three starters so this is a Tiger team that is going to have some new faces all over the field and there's no doubt that they'll have some growing pains along the way. But on the other side of that argument, these new starters aren't completely lacking experience. The Tigers had a lot of blowout victories in 2022. They were able to get plenty of players into the game so this is going to be a group that isn't completely green when it comes to experience. And the district is certainly one that the Tigers can contend in. While Wagoner is defending state champ, Cushing is the defending district champ. The Tigers will definitely be in the mix for one of the four playoff spots and will expect to get at least one of those playoff games at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (13-1 Record - Class 4A Runner Up)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Beat Bristow 63-20<br>Sept. 9 - Beat Perkins-Tryon 43-27<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Berryhill 54-3<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Miami 54-13<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Catoosa 63-7<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Wagoner 42-0<br>Oct. 13 - Beat McLain 63-8<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Cleveland 70-7<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Oologah 70-21<br>Nov. 4 - Beat Skiatook 75-0<br>1st Round - Beat Broken Bow 48-0<br>Quarterfinals - Beat Blanchard 42-7<br>Semifinals - Beat Elk City 56-14<br>Championship - Lost To Wagoner 24-21</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>Blaze Berlowitz - Quarterback<br>Brody Berlowitz - Wide Receiver<br>Camden Crooks - Athlete<br>Lane Yaunt - Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>Noah Jones - Running Back<br>Riley Matheson - 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":["633075"],"_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":"Cushing's offense was an absolute juggernaut last season and they lost a lot of that firepower. But one player they bring back is 2024 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='633075' first='Brady' last='Matheson'] after he finished last fall with nearly 700 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season. Matheson is stepping into a new role this season with the graduation of star receiver Camden Crooks. Matheson will now be the top offensive weapon in the offense and will look to be the go-to wide receiver in the Cushing offense. Matheson was incredibly productive last season but it's going to be a little different now that all eyes are on him as some of the younger wide receivers come along. But Matheson is a player that we think is ready for the challenge. He had a really good junior campaign and should keep that momentum going this fall.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["922913"],"_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 Matheson is becoming the top offensive weapon in the offense as he replaces Crooks, 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='922913' first='John' last='Hilligoss'] is stepping into a new role as QB1 this season. Hilligoss replaces Blaze Berlowitz, who was one of the top quarterbacks in the state over the last two seasons. As we mentioned earlier in the preview, some of these new starters aren't going to be thrown into the fire for their first action this fall. Hilligoss was the primary backup for Berlowitz last season and as the Tigers would have a lot of games in the books by halftime, Hilligoss got into the games most weeks. He will benefit from having a player like Matheson back to have some firepower on offense. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do with the Cushing offense this fall.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c07b2bcf7eb"} /--> <!-- 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='1358822' first='Brock' last='Bales'] - 2025 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>Conner Morlen - 2024 Defensive Lineman<br>Kellen Fry - 2026 Running Back/Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='110741' first='Lane' last='Wood'] - 2025 Wide Receiver<br>Lonnie Schuler - 2024 Offensive Lineman<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1719591' first='Roman' last='Tucker'] - 2026 Athlete<br>Wyatt Heisler - 2025 Tight End/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 Bristow<br><strong>Sept. 8 - Perkins-Tryon</strong><br>- These two rivals will face off in week two as Cushing will play host to Perkins-Tryon. This has been a series that has been dominated by the Tigers as of late but for the most part, it's been a pretty evenly matched series. Cushing won 43-27 last season in week two and that would actually be their closest game before falling in the state championship game. This season, the roles might be flipping as Perkins-Tryon expects to contend for state in Class 3A. In between road games against tough teams is the annual rivalry game. Cushing's non-district slate is not an easy one.<br>Sept. 15 - AT Berryhill<br>Sept. 22 - Miami<br>Sept. 29 - Catoosa<br><strong>Oct. 6 - AT Wagoner</strong><br>- There isn't much analysis needed here to show why the week six clash with Wagoner is going to be the top game on the schedule for Cushing this season. At this time last year, we were circling the Cushing-Wagoner regular season match-up because it featured the top two teams in our Class 4A preseason rankings. We know the rest of the story from the regular season to their rematch in Edmond. Cushing will get their first crack at the defending champs in week six and while this match-up will have plenty of storylines, the frontrunner should be that these are the top two teams in the district. <br>Oct. 12 - AT McLain<br>Oct. 20 - Cleveland<br>Oct. 27 - AT Oologah<br>Nov. 3 - Skiatook</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we mentioned a few times already, this might be a rebuilding year for Cushing. While they came into the 2021 and 2022 season as the top-ranked team in the preseason rankings, this year, they are unranked heading into the new season and looking to climb their way back into contention. But there's no doubt that the Tigers have been one of the top teams in Class 4A over the last three seasons so they aren't going to just go away quietly. They've made twelve consecutive trips to the playoffs and that's the longest streak in school history. With their district once again being top-heavy, we think that the Tigers are going to extend that streak and once they get to the playoffs, those young players they have coming up will have experience and won't shy away from the big moments we see time after time when the playoffs roll around.&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>2 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1961 - Beat Harding 15-14<br>1958 - Beat Ada 9-7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->