Lone Grove Longhorns 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 Lone Grove Longhorns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Lone Grove Longhorns</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 Lone Grove Longhorns find themselves in arguably the most competitive districts in Class 3A but the Longhorns expect to be a playoff team for the third straight year. Last year, the Longhorns would go 8-3 and had a really good start to the season and they would also finish the regular season strong. They were 3-0 after non-district play and the offense was looking good as they headed into district play. A week four loss to eventual state champion Heritage Hall would be the first blemish on the schedule. They would bounce back the next week with a win over the 2021 2A champion Marlow. Another district loss the following week would put the Longhorns in a position where they were fighting for their playoff life every week. They would rattle off four straight wins to close out the regular season with an 8-2 record and would face Kingfisher in the first round. They lost a heartbreaker to the Yellowjackets and their season would come to an end in the first round yet again. But as we turn the page to the 2023 football season, we think that Lone Grove will be in the mix again this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Longhorns will have to replace half of their starters from last year's team. They bring back six starters on the offensive side of the ball and they'll be incredibly physical in the running game. On defense, the Longhorns bring back five starters and again, physicality will be the name of the game as their linebacker group has the potential to be pretty special. The biggest question mark we have surrounding the Longhorns is the district schedule. This district features four teams that are in our preseason rankings, including defending champion Heritage Hall. In fact, three of the top five teams are all in the same district. That means the battle for those four playoff spots is going to be intense throughout the season. And unfortunately for Lone Grove, they get all four teams in four consecutive weeks. So on one hand, they'll have a good idea of their playoff fortune after that, but on the other, it could be that they're behind the eight ball. But we like this team to make some noise in a loaded district for the second straight year.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (8-3 Record - Lost In Class 3A 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Beat Anadarko 55-26<br>Sept. 2 - Beat Madill 21-17<br>Sept. 9 - Beat Valliant 50-8<br>Sept. 23 - Lost To Heritage Hall 56-14<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Marlow 41-21<br>Oct. 7 - Lost To Plainview 42-21<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Sulphur 27-20<br>Oct. 20 - Beat Douglass 49-8<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Dickson 13-7<br>Nov. 3 - Beat Pauls Valley 31-7<br>1st Round - Lost To Kingfisher 28-27</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>Caden Gilmore<br>Cale Mclean<br>Dawson Pickens</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":["928481"],"_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 Lone Grove was going to have some experience returning at the running back position. 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='928481' first='Eli' last='Kendall'] is looking to add to his breakout season last year. Kendall would run for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns but he was limited in his production last season. If Kendall has a full season as the go-to ball carrier, the sky could be the limit for Kendall when it comes to the Longhorn running game. Kendall got off to a great start in the first game of the season, with over 150 yards and two touchdowns in their win over Anadarko. But Kendall didn't have any carries following the loss to Plainview in week six. If Kendall is healthy this fall, he could be a gamechanger for the Longhorn offense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["928480"],"_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":"2024 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='928480' first='Sam' last='Harris'] returns to lead a linebacker group that could be one of the better units in Class 3A this season. They have experience, production and overall talent to be pretty stout this season. Harris was one of the leading tacklers on the team last season with well over 100 tackles on the year. We think that Harris could be one of the more underrated linebackers in Class 3A and we'll certainly have an eye on him this season. At 6'0 and 200 pounds, combined with the production that we saw from him last season, we think Harris should be able to match that production and even take it to new heights. Considering some of the teams that Lone Grove has to play, they'll need Harris to be at his A game to take on some of their district foes.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c5cc67739d0"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brandon Heckethorn - 2026 Lineman<br>Brody Harris - 2025 Defensive Back<br>Dmarion Jackson - 2024 Defensive Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1083178' first='Jaxon' last='McClennahan'] - 2024 Athlete<br>Landon Glover - 2024 Offensive 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>Aug. 25 - AT Anadarko<br>Sept. 1 - AT Madill<br>Sept. 8 - Valiant<br><strong>Sept. 22 - AT Heritage Hall</strong><br>- We mentioned this four-week stretch for Lone Grove earlier in the preview and it is no joke. District play begins in week four and the Longhorns will go on the road to face off with defending state champion Heritage Hall. The Chargers handed the Longhorns a 56-14 defeat last season and as we look at 2023, the Chargers are the favorites to lift the gold ball again in Class 3A. This starts a four-week stretch where Lone Grove will play four of the top seven teams in our preseason rankings. One benefit they have is having a bye week in week three before this clash. <br>Sept. 29 - Marlow<br>Oct. 6 - AT Plainview<br><strong>Oct. 12 - Sulphur</strong><br>- The last week of the district gauntlet run comes in week seven when Lone Grove plays host to Sulphur. The Bulldogs had a rare 2022 season where they missed the playoffs but this is a team that is incredibly talented and has high expectations as we look ahead to the 2023 season. But the Longhorns were able to turn things around in the series against Sulphur last year as they won 27-20 and that would snap a seven game losing streak to Sulphur. Following this game with the Bulldogs, the Longhorns will know exactly where they stand in the district standings. <br>Oct. 20 - Douglass<br>Oct. 27 - AT Dickson<br>Nov. 3 - Pauls Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lone Grove has made 18 playoff appearances in school history and the Longhorns are hungry to make another trip to the postseason this year. And if they are able to manage the gauntlet that is their district, making it to the playoffs, they will look to change some history when the playoffs begin. In those 18 playoff appearances, Lone Grove has advanced to the next round in just three instances. They have a total of five playoff victories and their only run to the semifinals came in 2015 when star running back Jeremy Lewis took them to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Heritage Hall. The Longhorns have made two straight playoff appearances as we enter 2023 and they are determined to get out of the first round after losing to Kingfisher in a heartbreaker last year.&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 -->