Waynoka Railroaders 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 Waynoka Railroaders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Waynoka Railroaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #2</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: T1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Waynoka Railroaders came into last season with high expectations and those were nearly realized to the max as they would play for the state championship. They had to settle for silver after losing to Tipton but that capped off a 13-1 season and Waynoka was one of the more dominant teams in the class from start to finish. The Railroaders would enjoy a perfect regular season where the offense was putting up 50 points or more in the majority of their games. The closest contest in the first two months came in week six when they beat district foe Timberlake 44-32. Waynoka would enjoy a little bit of revenge in the semifinal round as they would knock off Mt. View-Gotebo 50-0 after losing to them in the semifinals back in 2021. But Tipton would win the battle of unbeaten Class C teams and raise another gold ball. But as we head into the new season, there's a strong feeling that Waynoka is the team to beat in the state's smallest class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Six starters are back on offense and another seven starters are back on defense. The Railroaders will look similar in terms of playmakers on the field but they will also have a new head coach this fall. John Barnes takes over the Waynoka program and he inherits a team that has championship expectations after the way last season ended. We saw first hand how explosive this offense could be last season and with a more experienced defense returning, that combination could carry the Railroaders all the way to the championship game for the second straight year and for the third time in five seasons. Waynoka's offense is going to be headlined by one of the more productive players in the class at running back and wide receiver. As we've seen plenty of times before in 8-man football, if you have a star that produces at a high level every single week, you have a really good chance to compete for the state championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (13-1 Record - Class C Runner Up)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Beat Balko/Forgan 48-14<br>Sept. 2 - Beat Okeene 48-6<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Ringwood 58-32<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Boise City 56-8<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Buffalo 50-14<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Timberlake 44-32<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Sharon-Mutual 46-0<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Medford 72-26<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Deer Creek-Lamont 54-8<br>Nov. 4 - Beat Tyrone 62-6<br>1st Round - Beat Ryan 46-0<br>Quarterfinals - Beat Thackerville 64-14<br>Semifinals - Beat Mt. View-Gotebo 50-0<br>Championship - Lost To Tipton 62-36</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>Jace Dunn - Running Back<br>Teegun Allison - Quarterback<br>Wyatt Atwood - Offensive/Defensive 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":["898601"],"_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":"Earlier in the preview, we mentioned how Waynoka was going to have their offense headlined by a versatile athlete. 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='898601' first='Landon' last='Seiger'] is going to be one of the top offensive playmakers in 8-man football, combining Class B and Class C. On offense, Seiger was a big play waiting to happen as he totaled over 2,000 all purpose yards and 31 touchdowns. Whether it was at running back or split out at wide receiver, Seiger was one of the top playmakers in Class C last season. As if that wasn't enough, Seiger also turned around and totaled 125 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Seiger is a big reason why Waynoka is one of the favorites in Class C this fall.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["898600"],"_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":"While quite a few of Waynoka's starters are underclassmen, 2024 defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='898600' first='Michael' last='Solomon'] is one of the seniors that brings back plenty of experience to this year's team. When we put on the film of Solomon from last season, we saw a very disruptive defensive lineman that caused a ton of problems in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Solomon is a good-looking athlete that has the ability to move around and cause problems from different spots in the defense. It seems like a good bet that Seiger is going to be one of the top offensive weapons on this year's team but Solomon feels like the easy pick for the top defensive standout for the championship contenders.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64aa1909c72b7"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brac Long - 2026 Tight End/Linebacker<br>Daycen Cunningham - 2025 Quarterback/Defensive Back<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1831932' first='Kolin' last='Bechard'] - 2026 Running Back/Defensive Back<br>Max Porter - 2025 Offensive/Defensive Lineman<br>Xhalin Flores - 2025 Offensive/Defensive Lineman</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 Schedule/Game To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 25 - AT Balko/Forgan<br>Sept. 1 - Okeene<br>Sept. 15 - AT Ringwood<br>Sept. 22 - Boise City<br>Sept. 29 - At Buffalo<br><strong>Oct. 6 - Timberlake</strong><br>- When we're looking at Waynoka's 2023 football schedule, no game is more important than the week six clash against Timberlake. As we mentioned earlier in the preview, this was the closest game that the Railroaders had in 2022 and based on the preseason rankings, these two teams are the top two in the district once again. It goes without saying, but this match-up could very well decide the district championship this season. Both teams expect to contend for the state championship but first, they'll need to take care of the district to set themselves up for a deep run in November. <br>Oct. 12 - At Sharon-Mutual<br>Oct. 20 - Medford <br>Oct. 27 - AT Deer Creek-Lamont<br>Nov. 3 - Tyrone</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Waynoka has reached another level in terms of success in the playoffs. The Railroaders not only made a trip to the Class C state championship game in 2022 but they also made one in 2019. The Railroaders have made four consecutive playoff appearances and have won a total of ten playoff games during that stretch and at least two games in each appearance. Since 2000, the Railroaders won just five playoff games and only had one semifinal appearance during that stretch. The Railroaders are once again one of the teams to watch for in Class C. And with the majority of their starters back and plenty of winning experience in those big games, it's only a matter of time before Waynoka captures their first state championship in nearly three decades.&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>1996 - Beat Medford 24-12<br>1976 - Beat Cashion 32-27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->