PC-Hunter Panthers 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 Pond Creek-Hunter Panthers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Pond Creek-Hunter Panthers</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>Pond Creek-Hunter is hungry to return to contending for state championships like we saw for the majority of the last decade. The Panthers aren't far removed from a perfect season and state championship in 2019 but 2022 brought another losing season and although they made the playoffs, they are hungry for much more in 2023. The season began with a 2-1 mark but they would lose back to back games to fall to 2-3 at the halfway mark of the regular season. They would get back to back wins over Garber and Kremlin-Hillsdale and that would do enough to lock up a playoff spot. And despite losing their last three games to close out the regular season, the Panthers still found their way into the postseason. It was a first round exit after being matched up with Laverne, who went on to win a second consecutive state championship. So the 2022 season as a whole was one to forget but the 2023 season definitely has the potential to be a memorable one for the Panthers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pond Creek-Hunter brings back the majority of their starters with five returning on offense and another six starters coming back on the defensive side of the ball. But there's no doubt that the biggest question mark with the Panthers coming into this season is centered on the quarterback position as they have to replace a very productive QB from last season. But whoever ends up taking that spot is going to have the benefit of having some pretty talented players around him at the skill positions so it won't all be on him to carry this offense. And we like the experience that the defense brings back with the six starters and they'll look to improve from last season. The Panthers lost their last four games in a row to close out the 2022 season and the lowest point total they allowed was 48 so they'll certainly need to improve to get back to contending. But as we mentioned at the top, this is a program that isn't far removed from being one of the top 8-man programs in the state. The district should be pretty wide open and that could open the door for the Panthers to make some noise in November.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (4-7 Record - Lost In Class B 1st Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Lost To Okeene 20-14<br>Sept. 1 - Beat Deer Creek-Lamont 50-0<br>Sept. 16 - Beat Medford 48-24<br>Sept. 23 - Lost To Waukomis 36-26<br>Sept. 30 - Lost To Seiling 46-12<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Garber 44-40<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Kremlin-Hillsdale 56-6<br>Oct. 20 - Lost To Ringwood 70-24<br>Oct. 28 - Lost To Cherokee 54-44<br>Nov. 4 - Lost To Oklahoma Bible Academy 48-0<br>1st Round - Lost To Laverne 62-16</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>Ethan Ensminger - Quarterback<br>Kaden Craig - Wide Receiver<br>Zander Cambron - Athlete</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":["936631"],"_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":"Pond Creek-Hunter 2025 two-way player [player_tooltip player_id='936631' first='Cole' last='Mitchell'] leads off the players to watch for the Panthers and we really like the production he had on both sides of the ball last season. As a sophomore, Mitchell would run for nearly 300 yards and four touchdowns but it's really what he did on defense that got our attention and is why he's listed as a linebacker. Mitchell would be one of the team's leaders in that department with over 90 tackles on the season with over 70 of them being solo tackles. In fact, the top three returning tacklers from last year were all sophomores so this is a young but talented defense and Mitchell is a big part of that.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["268362"],"_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 Mitchell might be known more for his defense, 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id='268362' first='Harrison' last='Stapleton'] is arguably the top weapon returning on the offensive side of the ball. Last year as a junior, Stapleton would finish the year as the team's leading receiver in receptions with over 40. The next two receivers combined didn't have as many receptions as Stapleton and he finished with over 400 yards and four touchdowns on the season. We think his production could go up this fall and as the Panthers work in a new quarterback, we think that Stapeleton will once again establish himself as the leading receiver in the offense. He's also valuable on defense in the secondary.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":2,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64cc55eb3dc4e"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ashton Banks - 2025 Athlete<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1830506' first='Blayne' last='Tefft'] - 2026 Quarterback/Linebacker<br>Hunter Simpson - 2026 Tight End/Linebacker<br>Lucas Stoll - 2024 Offensive/Defensive Lineman<br>Teagan Howell - 2024 Offensive/Defensive 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 Okeene<br>Aug. 31 - AT Deer Creek-Lamont<br>Sept. 15 - AT Medford<br>Sept. 22 - Waukomis<br><strong>Sept. 29 - Seiling</strong><br>- Because Pond Creek-Hunter's district only features six teams, that makes the first half of their season against non-district opponents while the second half is all district games. Week five brings a home game against a Seiling team that beat the Panthers 46-12 last season and they would go on to make it all the way to the state championship game before losing to Laverne. Seiling is going to be right back in the mix in Class B again this season and PC-Hunter wants to return to that elite level. A win here will give PC-Hunter a ton of momentum into district play. <br>Oct. 6 - AT Garber<br>Oct. 12 - Kremlin-Hillsdale<br>Oct. 20 - Ringwood<br>Oct. 27 - AT Cherokee<br><strong>Nov. 3 - Oklahoma Bible Academy</strong><br>- By the time week ten rolls around, Pond Creek-Hunter is going to know exactly where they stand in the playoff race and if they have already locked up a playoff spot or still have a shot at the district championship. Last season, Oklahoma Bible Academy beat the Panthers 48-0 on their way to a perfect regular season and district championship. So as we head into the 2023 season, the Trojans appear to be the favorites in this district, but if things go well for the Panthers, this could be a week ten head to head clash for the district championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned earlier how it wasn't that long ago that Pond Creek-Hunter was winning state championships and was one of the top 8-man football programs in the state. From 2010-2019, they made the playoffs nine out of the ten seasons with 2015 being the lone outlier. During that ten-year stretch, the Panthers would play in five state championship games, winning the 2019 gold ball with a perfect season. You can certainly put Pond Creek-Hunter in the conversation with other 8-man powerhouses like Laverne, Shattuck and Tipton as the best of that decade. But since 2020, the Panthers haven't had much extended playoff success. They've made the postseason all three years but they've been bounced out of the playoffs in the first round each time with the last two first round exits coming to those fellow 8-man powerhouses in Shattuck in 2021 and eventual champion Laverne 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>4 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2019 - Beat Waynoka 54-8<br>2002 - Beat Forgan 21-12<br>2001 - Beat Medford 32-6<br>1985 - Beat Cave Springs 20-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->