Lincoln Christian Bulldogs OK 2023 Team Preview
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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 Lincoln Christian Bulldogs.
Lincoln Christian Bulldogs
Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #2
Preseason Coaches Ranking: #2
The Lincoln Christian Bulldogs are once again one of the top teams in Class 3A and that’s not a new position for them. The target continues to get bigger and the Bulldogs are hungrier than ever as they enter the 2023 football season. Last season, Lincoln Christian was one of the top teams in the class and they steamrolled their way to a district championship. After more blowout victories in the first two rounds of the playoffs, they ran into fellow Tulsa-area powerhouse Metro Christian in the semifinals. Turnovers doomed the Bulldogs and their streak of consecutive state championship game appearances would end at three in a row. We mentioned that they are hungrier than ever to make it back to Edmond and after runner up finishes in 2020 and 2021, along with the semifinal loss last year, the Bulldogs certainly feel like they have some unfinished business heading into the 2023 season. However, the Bulldogs will have quite a few new names on both sides of the ball this fall.
The strength will once again be on the offensive side of the ball, where they return five starters from last season, including the majority of their offensive line. They are going to rely on that offensive line as some of the new playmakers emerge within the offense. Having their line, along with their quarterback should keep Lincoln Christian as one of the top-scoring offenses in Class 3A this season. The biggest question mark surrounds the defensive side of the ball. Only four starters return from last year’s team and that was a defense that was absolutely dominant, especially in district play. This team gave up just two touchdowns in district play all season and one of those touchdowns came on a kick return. So the Bulldogs will probably not be able to match that level of dominance on the defensive side of the ball but they will still be one of the top teams in Class 3A. But will they have enough to get the job done in late November and early December?
2022 RESULTS (11-2 Record – Lost In Class 3A Semifinals)
Aug. 26 – Beat Holland Hall 56-7
Sept. 2 – Beat Jones 48-12
Sept. 9 – Beat Vian 42-0
Sept. 16 – Lost To Shiloh Christian, AR. 42-35
Sept. 23 – Beat Berryhill 14-7
Oct. 7 – Beat Checotah 63-0
Oct. 13 – Beat Seminole 49-0
Oct. 21 – Beat Stigler 49-0
Oct. 28 – Beat Muldrow 49-7
Nov. 4 – Beat Locust Grove 56-0
1st Round – Beat Bristow 69-19
Quarterfinals – Beat Kingfisher 48-12
Semifinals – Lost To Metro Christian 49-35
Key Losses To Graduation
Cam Dooley – Wide Receiver
Isaac Autaubo – Offensive Lineman
John Washington – Running Back
Seth Kruse – Wide Receiver
Tyler Johnson – Linebacker
Zane Thrasher – Defensive Lineman
Players To Watch
On an offense that has to replace the majority of their starters, the strength will come up front at the offensive line position. 2024 lineman Caden Ricke Caden Ricke 6’3″ | 255 lbs | OL Lincoln Christian | 2024 State OK leads a very experienced unit that will provide protection for the quarterback as he works in some new players at skill positions into the offense. Ricke has been starting since he was a freshman and he’s an extension of the coaching staff. When you look at Class 3A, it’s hard to find another team that’s going to have a more experienced and talented offensive line than Lincoln Christian. In addition to Ricke, they also bring back David Smithwick David Smithwick 6’4″ | 265 lbs | OL Lincoln Christian | 2024 State OK and Grayson Swafford Grayson Swafford 6’5″ | OL Lincoln Christian | 2024 State OK , who are the pillars of the line at both tackle positions.
2024 quarterback Luke Milligan Luke Milligan 6’2″ | 185 lbs | QB Lincoln Christian | 2024 State OK is back for his second season at QB1 for the Bulldogs and he has the potential to be one of the best at his position in the state’s 2024 class. Last year was his first season as starter and he had some big shoes to fill, replacing Max Brown, who signed with Florida. Milligan quickly erased any doubts about him as he completed over 70 percent of his passes for nearly 3,500 yards and 40 touchdowns. As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs are going to have some new names at the receiver position and the skill positions in general. Having a player like Milligan back is going to provide a steady presence in the huddle as some of those new names come along and begin making plays.
Highlights
Last season, one of the breakout stars in Oklahoma was Lincoln’s John Washington at the running back position. He ended up leading the team in rushing and was third in receiving as well. His replacement is 2024 running back and defensive lineman Moses Fullingim Moses Fullingim 6’0″ | 195 lbs | RB Lincoln Christian | 2024 State OK and he’s going to bring something different to the Lincoln offense. He’s bigger than Washington and has the ability to be a workhorse running back within the Lincoln offense. The Lincoln coaches like to get creative within their offense so they’re going to do some unique things with him moving forward. Look for him to be the next breakout star from Lincoln’s high-powered offense. He’s going to blow up as a running back and turn around and cause problems at defensive end.
Highlights
More Names To Know
Connnor Rowlett – 2026 Tight End/Linebacker|
David Smithwick
David
Smithwick
6'4" | 265 lbs | OL
Lincoln Christian | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Offensive Lineman
Grayson Swafford
Grayson
Swafford
6'5" | OL
Lincoln Christian | 2024
State
OK
– 2024 Offensive Lineman
Luke McCants – 2025 Defensive Lineman
Malakai Dillard
Malakai
Dillard
6'0" | ATH
Lincoln Christian | 2026
State
OK
– 2026 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back
Mason Torres
Mason
Torres
6'1" | LB
Lincoln Christian | 2025
State
OK
– 2025 Linebacker
Micah Kruse
Micah
Kruse
6'1" | LB
Lincoln Christian | 2025
OK
– 2025 Linebacker
2023 Schedule/Games To Circle
Aug. 25 – Holland Hall
Sept. 1 – AT Jones
– This has become one of the more marquee non-district games between 3A and 2A teams over the last several years. Lincoln Christian routinely plays a very difficult non-district schedule and this year is no different. After opening the season against Holland Hall, they’ll hit the road to face off with a Jones team that is one of the top teams once again in Class 2A. This will also be Lincoln’s first trip back to Jones after stunning the Longhorns on a field goal as time expired to steal a win in 2021.
Sept. 8 – Vian
Sept. 15 – Shiloh Christian, AR.
– The only blemish on the regular season schedule last season was when they went to Arkansas and fell to private school powerhouse Shiloh Christian. The Springdale, Arkansas program will now come to Tulsa to face off with Lincoln Christian in week three as the Bulldogs wrap up this non-district gauntlet run of a schedule. We mentioned how Lincoln always plays a brutal non-district schedule and here’s another example of that. They’ll try to avenge last year’s 42-35 loss before jumping into district play in week four.
Sept. 22 – Berryhill
– On paper, Lincoln Christian looks like the top team once again in this district. This was a district that they absolutely dominated last season. With the exception of one game, that was against Berryhill in the first district match-up of the season. The Bulldogs would survive a scare from Berryhill with a 14-7 victory. But the rest of the district slate was a breeze. They would go on to outscore the remaining five district opponents 266-7 to run away with the district title. Will they be that dominant again? Only time will tell.
Oct. 6 – AT Checotah
Oct. 12 – AT Seminole
Oct. 20 – AT Stigler
Oct. 27 – Muldrow
Nov. 3 – AT Locust Grove
Notable
Lincoln Christian has easily been one of the top football programs in the state over the last five years and even beyond that. But not for that long. In 2008, the Bulldogs officially became an OSSAA member school and that was their first year competing against other OSSAA schools. The 2022 football season was their 15th season as an OSSAA member and it featured their 15th consecutive trip to the playoffs. Since becoming a member, the Bulldogs have never missed out on the postseason, despite playing in multiple classes. No matter where Lincoln Christian has been slotted, they make it to the playoffs. They spent the first four years in Class 2A before moving up to 3A and have made the playoffs every single season. In fact, out of the 15 trips to the postseason, 5 ended with them playing for the state championship and 8 of those trips saw Lincoln make it to the semifinals. That’s a pretty unique stat when you think about it. A third of the time, Lincoln has made it all the way to the title game and more than half the time, they’ve made it to at least the semifinals. The 2012 season was the only year in which Lincoln did not win at least one playoff game.
Championship History
2 State Championships
2019 – Beat Plainview 42-21
2009 – Beat Kingfisher 35-0