Midwest City Bombers 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 Midwest City Bombers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Midwest City Bombers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: #9</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Midwest City Bombers are hungry for another district championship and a deeper run in the playoffs as we head into the 2023 football season. At this time last year, the Bombers were making the transition from Class 6A-2 down to Class 5A. The Bombers made an immediate impact in their first year by winning the district championship but the 2022 season didn't start smoothly for Midwest City. They would lose their first two games to rivals Carl Albert and Del City and began the season with an 0-2 mark. But the Bombers wouldn't lose another game for the rest of the regular season. They were rather dominant the rest of the way until a week ten showdown with Elgin on the road where the district championship was on the line. Some late game heroics that some might call “Bomber Magic” allowed Midwest City to pull off the 23-21 victory and with that came the district crown. The Bombers had won eight straight after the 0-2 start but the playoffs featured an early exit as all four playoff teams from Midwest City's district would get swept in the first round. In a snowy first round game against Piedmont, the Bombers lost a 60-41 shootout.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But that was the story of the 2022 season. Fast forward to now and the Bombers have some unfinished business in regards to the 2023 season. They want to get off to a better start this year against their Mid-Del rivals but that start is going to challenge Midwest City. Carl Albert and Del City are #1 and #2 respectively in the preseason rankings. But all eyes will be on Midwest City as they go into district play as the defending champs. They bring back about half of their starters from last year. Six starters return on the offensive side of the ball and another six starters are back on defense. We think that the biggest question mark surrounding the offense will be the quarterback position as they have to replace a four-year starter who was a bonafide star for the Bombers. The defense bringing back six starters on defense will certainly help out some of those new players on offense. We think that this district is going to be incredibly competitive from top to bottom this season. The Bombers won the district title in 2022 but all four playoff teams from this district bring back the majority of the starters. For Midwest City, it's not going to be how they start but how they finish.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (8-3 Record - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sept. 2 - Lost To Carl Albert 39-25<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Del City 41-0<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Putnam City North 38-6<br>Sept. 23 - Beat Altus 46-14<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Duncan 46-26<br>Oct. 6 - Beat El Reno 34-0<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Lawton MacArthur 37-14<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Ardmore 32-6<br>Oct. 28 - Beat Noble 61-39<br>Nov. 4 - Beat Elgin 23-21<br>1st Round - Lost To Piedmont 60-41</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Loss To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>DeAngelo Irvin - Quarterback</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":["937792"],"_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 got a chance to see Midwest City in person at the Bixby team camp in early June and one of their standouts that day was 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='937792' first='Jacob' last='Brunson'] along the offensive line. Brunson was also a standout at a camp we attended in June as one of the top players at his position. At the team camp, Brunson was putting in work at the center position and will anchor an offensive line that has some decent experience and production returning. Brunson graded out as Midwest City's top offensive lineman last year as a junior. As they look to work in a new quarterback to the offense, we anticipate Brunson will be a big part of the success on the offensive side of the ball.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["857392"],"_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":"We mentioned earlier how the biggest question mark surrounding the Bombers coming into this season centered around the quarterback position. How do the Bombers replace a player like DeAngelo Irvin who was so important to them for four seasons? The answer appears to be 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='857392' first='Kenneth' last='Colston'] and the early reports from Midwest City are that the Bombers expect him to move into that position just fine this season. Colston was a quarterback for years before moving to wide receiver with Irvin at the quarterback spot. Colston looked good in the spring when we watched him and he's going to have help around him with a strong running game returning.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64cdcb2027f9d"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='403974' first='David' last='Arriaga'] - 2024 Kicker<br>Derrion Rogers - 2024 Running Back/Linebacker<br>Devin Session - 2024 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back<br>Lasier Laviolette - 2024 Running Back/Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='294260' first='Santanna' last='Landon'] - 2025 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 - Carl Albert<br>Sept. 2 - AT Del City<br>Sept. 15 - AT Putnam City North<br>Sept. 22 - Altus<br>Sept. 29 - AT Duncan<br><strong>Oct. 6 - El Reno</strong><br>- The first half of the regular season brings challenges from the top two ranked teams in the preseason rankings. The second half of the regular season brings match-ups against the three other playoff teams from this district and it starts here in week six against El Reno. The thing we like about the Bombers' schedule this fall is that all three games against El Reno, Lawton MacArthur and Elgin are going to be at home. But if the Bombers are going to go back to back as district champs, they will look to start this stretch off strong with a win over El Reno. <br>Oct. 13 - Lawton MacArthur<br>Oct. 19 - AT Ardmore<br>Oct. 27 - AT Noble<br><strong>Nov. 3 - Elgin</strong><br>- This game was an instant classic last season as the Bombers went on the road and stole one from Elgin. Fast forward to this season and the Owls are a top five team in the preseason rankings and appear to be the favorites in the district. But if Elgin wants to win the district title, they'll have to take it away from Midwest City. There's a good chance that we see another week ten head to head clash for the district championship in week ten. At this point in the season, the Bombers are going to know exactly where they are in the district standings when they host Elgin. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we mentioned earlier, the 2022 football season saw Midwest City dropping down to Class 5A and immediately capturing the district championship. The Bombers had either been a 6A team or were in 6A-2 when the state's largest class split into two divisions for about three decades. But the Bombers dropped down to Class 5A last season and they will stay there for at least the next two seasons. It looks like Class 5A might be the permanent home for the Bombers moving forward but it's also expected that they will always be near that line of the biggest 5A school or the smallest 6A-2 school. The recent ADM numbers were released in late July and the Bombers are still in Class 5A. Now, what district they compete in for the 2024-2025 seasons haven't been decided as of now. It will be interesting to see how much playoff success the Bombers have while they are in Class 5A.&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>5 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1995 - Beat Putnam City North 31-14<br>1994 - Beat Union 21-13<br>1988 - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 31-27<br>1985 - Beat Muskogee 40-36 <br>1960 - Beat Lawton 19-0</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->