Copan Hornets OK 2023 Team Preview
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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 Copan Hornets.
Copan Hornets
Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR
Preseason Coaches Ranking: UR
The Copan Hornets are ready to get a new season started after struggling during the 2022 campaign. But when you dive into the roster and look at some of the outcomes from last fall, you see plenty of reason to be optimistic about their future over the next few seasons. On the outside looking in, a 4-6 record is a losing mark but for the Hornets, it showed improvement throughout the program. It’s been over a decade since they’ve had a winning season and the previous high mark in wins was three back in 2011. So the Hornets winning four games was a step up. They would win back to back games at two different points in the season and actually won three district games. They were in a win or go home game in the final week of the regular season against Oaks. Win and you’re in or lose and the season comes to an end. They would fall 80-36 in that regular season finale but the fact that Copan was fighting for a playoff spot in the final week of the season says a lot about this program.
Now, we mentioned reasons to be optimistic about the Hornets moving forward and you start with the experience factor. Last year’s 4-6 team was full of freshmen that were starting for the first time. The 2022 Copan Hornets were incredibly young and those growing pains were obvious. But as we head into a new season, this young and inexperienced team now has depth and experience on their side. They bring back seven starters on offense and another seven back on defense. They graduated just one player who started both ways for them last season and they bring back all of their production in the backfield and overall skill department. Now, the next step is competing in the district, punching their ticket to the playoff and potentially clinching their first winning season since 2009. The turnaround that Copan is having right now is real and we won’t be surprised to see the Hornets playing meaningful football when November rolls around. How far can they go in Class C? That’s up for debate because the district will still be competitive. But we think the Hornets have the pieces to be really talented, especially on offense.
2022 RESULTS (4-6 Record – Missed Playoffs)
Aug. 26 – Lost To Barnsdall 60-14
Sept. 2 – Lost To Welch 56-6
Sept. 8 – Beat Foyil 44-32
Sept. 23 – Beat Bluejacket 66-50
Sept. 30 – Lost To Wesleyan Christian 61-12
Oct. 7 – Lost To Wilson 76-34
Oct. 13 – Beat South Coffeyville 52-6
Oct. 20 – Beat Watts 54-36
Oct. 28 – Lost To Coyle 66-28
Nov. 5 – Lost To Oaks 80-36
Key Loss To Graduation
Noah Cobb – Offensive Lineman/Linebacker
Players To Watch
Leading a massive group of returning 2026 prospects is Kane Foreman Kane Foreman 6’2″ | QB Copan | 2026 OK at the quarterback position. Foreman leads a group of five players that started last year as freshmen, got thrown into the fire and are ready to lead the team to new heights in 2023. Last fall, Foreman threw for nearly 2,400 yards and 28 touchdowns. He put up some really strong numbers and as his confidence continues to grow, we think his production is going to skyrocket. Foreman is also going to benefit from having all of the skill players that were productive last season returning as well in the starting lineup. We think Foreman can help Copan get near the top of the charts offensively in Class C.
Our next player to watch for the Hornets is going to be Foreman’s top target at the wide receiver position. 2025 wide receiver Karson Woodworth Karson Woodworth 5’11” | WR Copan | 2025 OK returns after having a very strong sophomore campaign. He emerged as the top target in the passing game with nearly 40 catches for over 800 yards and 14 touchdowns. And we really like the way Woodworth finished off his sophomore season. He caught at least two touchdowns in every game during the last three games of the regular season. Woodworth could end up being one of the top wide receivers in Class C this season and based on his numbers from last year, that’s not an exaggeration.
More Names To Know
Franco Sharp – 2024 Offensive/Defensive Lineman
Jaxon White – 2026 Offensive/Defensive Lineman
Shooter Brewington – 2026 Linebacker
Teegan Caron – 2026 Wide Receiver
Weston O’Rourke – 2026 Running Back
2023 Schedule/Games To Circle
Aug. 25 – Barnsdall
– The season opener for any team and program is always one to circle and the Hornets are going to be fired up to get their season underway at home against Barnsdall. These two teams have met each other early on in the season in each of the last three seasons. It has been a completely one-sided series as Barnsdall has won all three meetings with the last two match-ups ending in 46-point wins for Barnsdall. But as we’ve mentioned a few times in this preview, we are optimistic about the Hornets and we’ll find out first hand how they’ll look here.
Sept. 1 – Welch
Sept. 8 – AT Foyil
Sept. 22 – Bluejacket
Sept. 29 – AT Wesleyan Christian
– Anytime we’re doing these previews and we’re talking about some of the marquee match-ups, we tend to use the phrase “measuring stick game” for certain games. This is one for Copan when it comes to stacking them up against the best of the best in their district. Wesleyan Chrisitan ran away with the district crown a year ago and they bring every starter back and have their sights set on the state title this year. When the Jackets travel to face off with Wesleyan Christian in week five, we’ll know exactly where they stand compared to some of the best in Class C.
Oct. 6 – Wilson
Oct. 13 – AT South Coffeyville
Oct. 19 – Watts
Oct. 27 – AT Coyle
Nov. 3 – Oaks
Notable
Copan has playoff expectations when you consider all of the players they have returning on both sides of the ball and the team would be making some history if they were able to punch their ticket to the playoffs. 2009 was the last time the Hornets qualified for the playoffs and it was also their last winning season. Copan played in the 2020 playoffs but that was the season impacted by Covid where the OSSAA allowed every school to play in the playoffs if they wanted to. If the Hornets get to the playoffs, they won’t be satisfied with just making it to the party, they want to stick around for a while. And that’s where they can make even more history. In the last three decades, the Hornets have made eleven playoff appearances but have just one playoff win and that came in the 2008 first round. They’ve never made it past the quarterfinal round. But first thing is first, they have to get there first, and then they can worry about playing deep into November.
Championship History
0 State Championships