Grove Ridgerunners 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>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 Grove Ridgerunners. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Grove Ridgerunners</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>There's no doubt that the Grove Ridgerunners are going to look quite different in 2023 when you consider some of the players that they have to replace. They have to replace three and four-year starters and some of the more electrifying players that we've seen over the last few seasons. Grove came into last season making the transition from Class 4A to 5A and they expected to contend immediately with all the firepower they had returning. They would go 12-1 on the season and they lost to eventual state champion Carl Albert in the semifinals. The Ridgerunners got off to a great start with the only close call in the first month coming to former 4A foe Wagoner in week three. They beat the Bulldogs 28-20 and that was the only game in the regular season where the Ridgerunners didn't win by at least 20 points. The Ridgerunners dominated their new district and would run away with the district crown and a perfect regular season. A close call against Guthrie in the quarterfinals almost ended their season but they would make their first semifinal appearance since 2008 and the first ever in Class 5A. But the eventual champs from Carl Albert would end their season the following week.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 Ridgerunners have a few big question marks heading into the season. The first being how they replace the production of their QB/RB duo of Carson Trimble and Emmanuel Crawford. The easy answer is that they don't but they do have multiple players they expect to step up and try to fill that void. Five starters return on the offensive side of the ball and early on in the season, the strength might come from the line of scrimmage as they work in some of those new skill players, as well as their new starting quarterback. The defense brings four starters back and it will be a similar deal on that side of the ball as you can expect there to be some growing pains early on but this is a unit that has the potential to improve throughout the season. Another big question will be the district that the Ridgerunners absolutely dominated last season. We think just about every team in this district has improved and that it's going to look a little different as we head into the 2023 season. The battle for those four playoff spots is going to heat up every single week and the Ridgerunners are going to have to earn their spot on the field.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (12-1 Record - Lost In Class 5A Semifinals)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Beat Miami 41-14<br>Sept. 9 - Beat Jay 49-6<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Wagoner 28-20<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Edison 49-14<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Claremore 63-28<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Will Rogers 48-14<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Nathan Hale 70-6<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Collinsville 49-21<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Pryor 72-7<br>Nov. 3 - Beat Bishop Kelley 41-20<br>1st Round - Beat Sapulpa 70-28<br>Quarterfinals - Beat Guthrie 27-19<br>Semifinals - Lost To Carl Albert 55-21</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>Brayden Casey - Linebacker<br>Carson Trimble - Quarterback<br>Emmanuel Crawford - Running Back<br>Hagen Hacker - Wide Receiver</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":["486287"],"_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":"The first player to watch for Grove is going to be 2025 standout [player_tooltip player_id='486287' first='Jackson' last='Gain'] and the biggest question will be where he lines up on the field this season. Gain was one of Grove's top receiving threats last season with nearly 30 catches for over 450 yards and four touchdowns on the year. But coming into this season, Gain is listed on the roster at the quarterback position and the Ridgerunners could be replacing Trimble with one of Trimble's top targets in the passing game. We mentioned how one of the bigger questions we had for Grove was how they would replace the production from the backfield. Gain could be the answer for at least one of those positions.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["486286"],"_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":"When we got a chance to see Grove in person last season, the usual suspects played incredibly well but it was the first time we got to see 2024 big man [player_tooltip player_id='486286' first='Scott' last='Cox'] on the offensive and defensive lines. We were really impressed with Cox on the defensive side of the ball in their regular season win over Collinsville. He was a two-way starter for Grove last season and he will be that again this year as he looks to anchor both sides of the line of scrimmage. Last year, Cox would finish with nearly 50 tackles on the defensive side of the ball. He turned around and was a force on offense with nearly 50 reported pancake blocks on the season as he will pave the way for Grove's new rushing threat.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64ca799983a3e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hayden McClendon - 2024 Wide Receiver<br>Ian Richard - 2024 Athlete<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1286538' first='Jacob' last='Gain'] - 2025 Wide Receiver<br>Josh Gessell - 2024 Linebacker<br>Kenny Mitchum - 2025 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back</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>Sept. 1 - Miami<br>Sept. 8 - AT Jay<br><strong>Sept. 15 - AT Wagoner</strong><br>- The toughest non-district game certainly comes in week three as the Ridgerunners hit the road to face off with defending 4A champion Wagoner. These two teams used to be 4A district foes and their last district clash was a memorable one in 2021. The Ridgefunners were able to get a win over Wagoner in non-district play last season and it would be the only game during the regular season that was decided by less than 20 points. This season, Wagoner is the favorite to win Class 4A once again but if Grove gets a win, that will give them a ton of momentum in district play.<br>Sept. 22 - AT Edison<br>Sept. 29 - Claremore<br>Oct. 5 - AT Will Rogers<br>Oct. 13 - AT Nathan Hale<br>Oct. 20 - Collinsville<br>Oct. 27 - Pryor<br><strong>Nov. 3 - AT Bishop Kelley</strong><br>- By the time week ten rolls around, the Ridgerunners are going to know exactly where they are in the district standings and what they have to do to defend their district crown, solidify a playoff spot or fight for their playoff lives. On paper, Bishop Kelley appears to be the favorite in the district heading into the season. But as we say every single time we say that, the game isn't played on paper and a lot can change between now and the first week in November. This district is completely wide open but there's no doubt that this match-up will be one of the tougher games on Grove's schedule.&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 Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->