Deer Creek Antlers OK 2024 Team Preview

Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!   It's the month of July and that means it's preview time! Throughout the month of July and even into August, we are publishing well over 100 of the most in-depth team previews that you'll find anywhere to get you completely ready for the 2024 football season. This is something that began for us at PRZ-Oklahoma in 2021 and it continues to get bigger and better every single year. We're looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state in every class. From defending champions, to the top contenders and plenty of dark horses and other teams to know, we'll have complete coverage every single day. There will be multiple previews dropping every single day! In this post, we take a look at the Deer Creek Antlers!   Deer Creek Antlers   Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #9 In Class 6A-1 Preseason Coaches Ranking: #9 In Class 6A-1   Head Coach: Wade Standley - 8th Season - 46-31 Record At Deer Creek   2023 RESULTS (9-3 Record - Lost In 6A-2 Semifinals)   Aug. 25 - Beat Edmond North 39-14 Sept. 1 - Lost To Edmond Memorial 34-31 Sept. 8 - Lost To Mustang 26-23 Sept. 22 - Beat Ponca City 65-26 Sept. 29 - Beat Putnam City 34-0 Oct. 6 - Beat Choctaw 25-20 Oct. 13 - Beat Lawton 49-7 Oct. 19 - Beat Northwest Classen 43-6 Oct. 27 - Beat Capitol Hill 52-8 Nov. 2 - Beat Putnam City North 45-13 Quarterfinals - Beat Bartlesville 35-7 Semifinals - Lost To Muskogee 36-35   2023 Offensive Scoring Average: 39.7 Points Per Game 2023 Defensive Scoring Average: 16.4 Points Per Game   The Deer Creek Antlers came into the 2023 season as a top four team in Class 6A-2. They had firmly established themselves as one of the top teams in the class and were ready to take that next step and contend for the 6A-2 state championship. And we liked the way Deer Creek challenged themselves with a tough non-district schedule, completely made up of 6A-1 teams. They would start the year with a 1-2 record but the two losses happened in the final two minutes of the game. They beat Edmond North in the opener and then lost to Edmond Memorial in the final 15 seconds. The following week they lost to Mustang in the final two minutes. It was a 1-2 start but Deer Creek was still one of the teams to beat in 6A-2. They had a week off before district play and then kicked it into a new gear. They would absolutely dominate their way to the district championship. They won seven straight games to capture the district title. The week six game with Choctaw was the only close contest. The Antlers won 25-20. The rest of the district games were decided by at least 30 points. After a bye week in the first round, the Antlers opened the playoffs against Bartlesville and rolled to a 35-7 win. That set up a semifinal showdown with Muskogee. The Antlers would score with less than a minute left and were going to kick the PAT and send it to overtime. After back to back procedure penalties on Muskogee, they went for two and the win but the Roughers had a goal line stop and won. They would go on to capture the 6A-2 state championship. For the second straight season, Deer Creek's year ended with a heartbreaker in the semifinals. Now, they find themselves in a new class and the bar for competition has been raised to all new heights.    2024 OUTLOOK   Deer Creek was prepared to climb that mountain and compete for the 6A-2 state championship. But in April, several OKC-area private schools won a decision against the OSSAA that threw the football classes and districts into upheaval. The Antlers went from being one of the top teams in Class 6A-2 and all of a sudden they were up in Class 6A-1 after the April redistricting. It was apparent that the Antlers were going to move up to 6A-1 eventually, they just thought they had at least two more seasons before that happened. Now, they are the small fish in a big pond but they won't shy away from the competition. And the Antlers come into this season as a ranked team in our preseason 6A-1 rankings. They are no strangers to competing with some of the better teams in this class and we really like what they have coming back for the move up to 6A-1. That conversation has to start on the offensive side of the ball as the Antlers bring back the majority of their starters. It begins up front with the majority of their offensive linemen returning in 2024. They'll set the tone for Deer Creek's quarterback, who will be a three-year starter and is one of the best quarterback prospects in the state. His top weapon at wide receiver is back and the Antlers got a big move in at the running back position to make this offense very explosive. Defensively, the Antlers bring back a good amount of starters that were very productive last season. Looking at their personnel, the strength could come from the linebackers and in the secondary. Most of their returning players come from those two groups. The Antlers find themselves in a district that features the top two teams in Class 6A-1. So they will definitely be challenged but we think they should be a playoff team and maybe much more in year one.   KEY LOSSES TO GRADUATION   Colton Neal - Wide Receiver Mason Miller - Running Back Toran Smith - Offensive Lineman   PLAYERS TO WATCH    As we mentioned earlier in the preview, we like what Deer Creek has coming back on the defensive side of the ball, specifically from the linebackers and defensive backs. Leading the way this season will be senior [player_tooltip player_id='1343743' first='Brady' last='Brewer'] at the linebacker position. Brewer is the leading tackler that returns for the Antler defense and they'll need Brewer and this Deer Creek defense to elevate their play this fall. Class 6A-1 is full of offenses that can absolutely light up the scoreboard. Brewer was very productive last season, finishing his junior season with a little over 100 tackles. If this defense plays like it did a year ago, they could make a lot of noise in 6A-1.     Senior quarterback and Georgia Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id='242231' first='Grady' last='Adamson'] comes into this fall looking to lead Deer Creek back to the state championship game. And he's going to be ready for the challenges of 6A-1 football because he has never shied away from a challenge. Adamson put up some really strong numbers last season. He would throw for over 2,500 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. The pleasant surprise in 2023 was Adamson's ability to run the football. He also added nearly 600 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Adamson has been one of the state's top quarterbacks since his sophomore season and we can't wait to see him this season.     Deer Creek's skill players will get a lot of the attention this season but it can't be overstated enough how the experienced offensive line will be a big part of what they do. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='310131' first='Jenkins' last='Wells'] is one of the more experienced guys on this offensive line for the Antlers. Wells has been a player that we've liked over the last 18 months. He is a very physical offensive lineman that always plays with a chip on his shoulder. So as the Antlers move up to 6A-1, Wells is going to be ready for a fight every single week and he's not going to back down from the largest schools in the state. Wells and this Deer Creek offensive line will set the tone for how successful this offense can be.     Deer Creek's offense was really explosive last season with Adamson and the passing game. They could also run the ball at a high level but we mentioned how they got a key move-in at the running back position and junior [player_tooltip player_id='402380' first='Lemar' last='Davis'] is that guy. Davis is going to be like adding gasoline to an open fire. This offense is already explosive and now with Davis in the backfield at running back, they've gone up a level. Davis broke out last season when he was a sophomore at Millwood. He was a part of their team that made it to the title game. This offseason, he stole the show at one of our camps, confirming that he's one of the guys you need to know about in his class.     Just like Adamson is going into his third season as a starter, so is wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='894347' first='Mason' last='Smith'] and we're fired up to see how his game looks this season. Smith broke out alongside Adamson during their sophomore seasons. He would finish his sophomore year with over 700 yards and nearly ten touchdowns. Going into his junior season, we thought that Smith would be able to take that next step and he did just that. He solidified himself as the top target in the Deer Creek passing game. He led the team in receiving, finishing with nearly 900 yards and ten touchdowns. He gives Adamson a major target in the passing game and his numbers could explode this fall.    MORE NAMES TO KNOW   Drew Lykes - 2025 Tight End [player_tooltip player_id='1549155' first='Evan' last='Odom'] - 2025 Offensive Lineman Jack McKinsey - 2025 Offensive Lineman Jaden Bradshaw - 2025 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id='1626563' first='Jalen' last='Davis'] - 2026 Wide Receiver Junior Youmbi - 2025 Running Back Owen Akin - 2025 Offensive Lineman Ryan Hubble - 2026 Linebacker Sam Amanis - 2025 Defensive Back Scout Hanna - 2025 Defensive Lineman   2024 SCHEDULE/GAMES TO CIRCLE   Aug. 30th - AT Bishop McGuinness Sept. 6th - AT Edmond Memorial - This week one game on the road against Edmond Memorial is definitely one that the Antlers have had circled on the schedule for a while now. In last year's meeting, Edmond Memorial prevailed 34-31 in a game that Deer Creek let slip away. The Antlers led 31-14 late in the third quarter but the Bulldogs would rally with 17 unanswered points to win, including the game-winner with 16 seconds remaining. The Antlers get their next crack at them here in week one. Sept. 13th - Norman North Sept. 27th - Enid Oct. 4th - AT Edmond North Oct. 11th - Moore Oct. 17th - AT Jenks Oct. 25th - AT Norman Nov. 1st - Bixby - We believe that Deer Creek is ready for the challenge of 6A-1 football. In week nine, they'll reach the boss level of 6A-1 football. In week nine, they host two-time defending 6A-1 champion Bixby and this is actually a rematch of the last game that Bixby ever played in 6A-2. The two met in the 6A-2 championship in 2021 before the Spartans moved on up to 6A-1. Bixby will be the favorite in this one but the Antlers won't be afraid of the challenge and they'll know exactly how they stack up with the best in 6A-1 after this game. Nov. 8th - Mustang - In the final week of the regular season, Deer Creek will host Mustang in a game that will no doubt have playoff seed implications. A win here could be the difference between playing at home or going on the road in the playoffs. And these two have played some classics over the last two seasons. Mustang stunned Deer Creek in the final two minutes in last year's meeting while the Antlers held on to win in 2022. Both games were decided by three points. We can only hope this one is as close.   NOTABLE   As Deer Creek moves up to Class 6A-1 this fall, it could certainly be a tough transition as the new kids on the block and the smallest school in the class. But head coach Wade Standley has turned this program into one of consistency over the last several seasons. And his numbers on the roster continue to grow and they won't shy away from the fight that's coming this season. Standley is going into his eighth season at the helm of this Deer Creek program and he has it rolling. In his first four seasons as head coach, the Antlers went 17-23 and only made the playoffs once. They made the transition from 5A to 6A-2 and Standley tore it down to build it back up for what was ahead. In the last three seasons, the Antlers have had much more success. They are 29-8 during that time with one championship game appearance and two other semifinal appearances. The Antlers were certainly thrown a curve ball in April when all of a sudden they were in 6A-1. But when the 2024 season kicks off, they'll be ready.    LAST FIVE SEASONS   2023 - 9-3 - Lost In 6A-2 Semifinals 2022 - 10-2 - Lost In 6A-2 Semifinals 2021 - 10-3 - Class 6A-2 Runner Ups 2020 - 4-6 - Lost In 6A-2 1st Round 2019 - 5-5 - Missed Playoffs   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY   1 State Championship   2000 - Beat Seminole 24-13

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