Laverne 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 two-time defending Class B state champion Laverne Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Laverne Tigers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #1</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: #1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Laverne is once again on top of Class B after capturing a state championship in 2021, they went back to back with another gold ball in 2022. The Tigers come into this season on top of the Class B preseason rankings but just like last season, they will certainly be challenged along the way. Last season, they began the year 2-1 with a close loss to Seiling and a close win over Waurika. But the rest of the season featured blowout after blowout as they would finish the regular season with an 8-1 mark. They would get a scare from Weleetka in the quarterfinals but had no problems the rest of the way, punching their ticket to another state championship game and they would defend that title against the Seiling team that handed them their only loss of the season. Laverne would put Seiling in a big hole in the first half that they couldn't overcome. The Tigers would have to hold off the Seiling comeback, wait out multiple lightning delays but they would lift another gold ball after beating Seiling 36-28, avenging that only blemish on the regular season record.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite losing the majority of their starters, including almost the entire offensive line, the Tigers are still the consensus number one team in Class B. And that makes sense considering they are back to back champions and have the best player in Class B and one of the top overall playmakers in the state. But more on him later on in our “Players To Watch” section. Four starters are back on the offensive side of the ball and the Tigers will have to grow up quickly, especially on the offensive line to help out some of their more dynamic players. On defense, they bring back just three starters from last year's team so they will have a bit of a youth movement going on this season as new faces start filling those roles with the expectations remaining the same. This group has won back to back state championships and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. And as we'll mention a few times in this preview, they have one of the best players in the state and at this level, one player can carry you to that gold ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (13-1 Record - Class B State Champion)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Beat Waurika 38-30<br>Sept. 2 - Beat Pioneer-Pleasant Vale 54-22<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Seiling 40-38<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Okeene 52-12<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Alex 48-0<br>Oct. 6 - Beat Hollis 46-14<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Shattuck 56-8<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Turpin 62-40<br>Nov. 4 - Beat Balko/Forgan 54-8<br>1st Round - Beat Pond Creek-Hunter 62-16<br>2nd Round - Beat Covington-Douglas 22-0<br>Quarterfinals - Beat Weleetka 30-26<br>Semifinals - Beat Velma-Alma 52-36<br>Championship - Beat Seiling 36-28</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>Carson Lovell - Running Back/Defensive Back<br>Colton Miller - Offensive Lineman<br>Emilio Juarez - Offensive Lineman<br>Kaiden Knight - Offensive 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":["294264"],"_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 Laverne has one of the best players in the state and arguably the best athlete in 8-man football this season. 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='294264' first='Felix' last='Teal'] is that guy and was one of the more dynamic players in Oklahoma last season. After a breakout freshman season, where he helped Laverne win the state title in 2021, Teal came back and took his game to another level last fall. He moved to quarterback and was absolutely dynamic at that position and helped carry the Tigers to another state championship. Last fall, Teal would account for well over 3,000 all purpose yards and had nearly 50 total touchdowns. We're looking forward to seeing what the next chapter of his career holds. We anticipate he'll be right back in the conversation of the best of the best.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["901721"],"_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":"There's a lot of excitement around the playmakers returning on the offensive side of the ball. But 2024 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='901721' first='Tayte' last='Dome'] returning on defense is going to provide a huge spark for a defense that has to replace the majority of their starters. Dome is one of only three starters returning on that side of the ball and he's their leading returning tackler. Last season, Dome finished with well over 100 tackles on the season and the Tigers are going to lean on him, especially early on in the season as the new starters come along on the defense. Dome will also line up at tight end on offense and last season he finished with over 200 yards and three touchdowns. But there's no doubt that Dome is a big help to that young defense.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["901722"],"_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":"A lot of eyes are going to be on Teal on the offensive side of the ball. But he's not alone in the Laverne backfield and won't be the only one producing at a high level. 2026 running back [player_tooltip player_id='901722' first='Wyatt' last='Tillery'] enjoyed a breakout season as a freshman as he accounted for nearly 1,700 all purpose yards and 23 touchdowns on the season. Tillery was the perfect running mate with Teal and for the second straight season, the Tigers enjoyed a freshman making plays all over the field. Whether Tillery has to produce as a running back or a wide receiver, he gives the Tigers a lot of versatility and he forces opponents to not just focus on slowing down Teal. If they do that, Tillery and the rest of the Laverne offense will make them pay as they look to defend that Class B crown.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64ad934eca4b1"} /--> <!-- 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 - Waurika<br>Aug. 31 - AT Pioneer-Pleasant Vale<br><strong>Sept. 8 - AT Seiling</strong><br>- This one is a no-brainer when you're talking about games to circle on your calendar before the season begins. Laverne will hit the road in week two to face off with Seiling for the third time in the last year. They met each other in the regular season and Seiling was able to knock off the Tigers 40-38. But as mentioned earlier, the Tigers got the last laugh as they met Seiling again with the state championship on the line and they would win a second straight gold ball at Seiling's expense. When we take a look at the Class B state championship picture early on in the season, there are few games that will be more important than this week two clash. <br>Sept. 15 - Okeene<br>Sept. 22 - Alex<br>Oct. 6 - AT Hollis<br><strong>Oct. 12 - Shattuck</strong><br>- Last year was anything but normal for Laverne's district foe Shattuck. They would have a rare season in which they missed out on the playoffs all together. It's an easy bet to say that won't happen again in 2023. In the previous seven playoff appearances, Shattuck made it to at least the semifinal round and had five championship game appearances in that stretch. And these two 8-man powerhouses are very familiar with one another. In addition to being district foes, these two met in the 2021 semifinals as well as the 2017 and 2016 championship games. These are two of the very best 8-man programs in the state going head to head in week seven. <br>Oct. 20 - AT Beaver<br>Oct. 27 - Turpin<br>Nov. 2 - AT Balko/Forgan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You can certainly make the argument that Laverne has been one of, if not the top 8-man program in Oklahoma over the last 15 years. And they show no signs of slowing down. They made their first state championship appearance in 2008 and would go on to appear in eight more, including the last three consecutive championship games. All in all, Laverne has won five state championships and has had four runner up finishes. All coming since the 2008 season. Since that 2008 season, the Tigers have made it to the playoffs every single season and there was only one instance when they didn't win at least one playoff game and that was in 2015. For an 8-man football program to not only have that kind of dominance, but that it's been so consistent is a good argument for Laverne as one of the top 8-man programs over the course of the last 15 years. And unfortunately for the rest of Class B, the Tigers are once again on top of the class as the favorites to win a third straight gold ball.&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>5 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2022 - Beat Seiling 36-28<br>2021 - Beat Balko 48-12<br>2016 - Beat Shattuck 40-34<br>2013 - Beat Pond Creek-Hunter 42-12<br>2012 - Beat Pond Creek-Hunter 50-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->