Prague Red Devils OK 2024 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>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 Prague Red Devils!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Prague Red Devils</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR In Class 2A-1<br>Preseason Coaches Ranking: #10 In Class 2A-1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Head Coach: Rafe Watkins - 3rd Season - 21-3 Record At Prague</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 RESULTS (11-1 Record - Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 25th - Beat Luther 29-12<br>Sept. 1st - Beat Meeker 28-14<br>Sept. 8th - Beat North Rock Creek 34-26<br>Sept. 22nd - Beat Henryetta 35-0<br>Sept. 29th - Beat Keys 56-0<br>Oct. 6th - Beat Roland 42-8<br>Oct. 13th - Beat Tahlequah Sequoyah 47-21<br>Oct. 20th - Beat Warner 34-6<br>Oct. 27th - Beat Vian 29-23 (OT)<br>Nov. 3rd - Beat Okemah 42-0<br>1st Round - Beat Spiro 45-0<br>2nd Round - Lost To Victory Christian 52-39</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>2023 Offensive Scoring Average: 38.3 Points Per Game<br>2023 Defensive Scoring Average: 13.5 Points Per Game</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prague Red Devils have quickly become a consistent winner at a very high level under head coach Rafe Watkins. After leading them to a 10-2 season in his first season in 2022, Watkins took the Red Devils to an 11-1 mark in 2023. Prague was probably the most unappreciated team in 2A football last season and we admit, we didn't talk about them enough. You look at what they did and it is certainly impressive. They were unbeaten in the regular season and they knocked off Vian in an overtime classic to capture the district championship. They were dominant in almost every other regular season game. It began with the Red Devils running through the non-district slate. The only close game was a 34-26 win over a North Rock Creek team that would make their first ever playoff appearance last fall. The dominant and winning football would continue in district play. With the exception of the week nine win over Vian, Prague won every other district game by at least 25 points. They would knock off the Wolverines 29-23 in overtime and that put them in a good position for the playoffs. They shut out Spiro in the first round and then had a high-scoring second round game with Victory Christian. Normally, you score 39 points and you're able to win. Especially with a defense that had four shutouts and gave up around ten points per game coming in. But they gave up 52 and the season came to an end for the second straight year in the second round of the playoffs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2024 OUTLOOK</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Devils come into the 2024 season looking to continue their winning ways and at the level they've been winning but they know that it's going to be an uphill battle this fall. The senior class from last season was a special one and they lost a lot of experience off of last year's team. Only one starter is back on the offensive side of the ball so Prague is having to essentially start over with a unit that averaged nearly 40 points per game. The talent level isn't a problem but it's inexperienced as we enter the new season. Defensively, it's not much better as the Red Devils bring back just two starters on that side. Now, the two starters they bring back were two of the best players on last year's team. So if you're going to only get two starters back from last season, you would probably pick those two. But this was a defense that was absolutely dominant last season so it's going to look very different when they take the field in 2024. Then you have the fact that Class 2A is completely different with the split and Prague is one of the smallest schools in the larger division of 2A football. They're in the same division with reigning champion Washington and other contenders like Jones and Millwood among others. So it's not going to be easy. But we think the district is a favorable one for the Red Devils when you consider the lack of experience. It's not going to be as much of a gauntlet as some of the others in the class. But Prague will need those new faces to grow up very fast if they are going to win double digit games for the third consecutive season.</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>Aiden Auld<br>Braden Pickard<br>Joe Fixico<br>Robbie Schiltz</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":["1056540"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a5dc9c8efff"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1056540' first='Jaxon' last='Smith'] is one of the better 2025 prospects in the state and he committed to Illinois State earlier this offseason. Smith is your prototypical “jumbo athlete” because he can be moved around on the line of scrimmage with his unique blend of size and overall athleticism. Smith is listed at 6'7 and 250 pounds and we featured him earlier this year on a film breakdown. He really impressed us with his versatility and he could easily play on either side of the ball. Last season, Smith would finish with nearly 50 tackles and five sacks as a junior. This season, he's going to be leaned on to be Prague's star while the new starters come along and get used to playing at this level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1350633"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a5dc9c8f05e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Out of the three players on this part of the breakdown, senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1350633' first='Luke' last='Linville'] is the only player that didn't start for Prague last season. In fact, he wasn't on the Red Devil roster last fall because he was at Davis. He moved into the program this offseason from southern Oklahoma and is ready to have an immediate impact on this Prague offense. Like we've mentioned earlier, this is an offense that was really good last season so Linville is looking to get close to that production that they became accustomed to last fall. How Linville fits in with the rest of this Prague offense is going to be an interesting storyline to follow early on this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["806178"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66a5dc9c8f0a3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Smith is one of the two starters returning and fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='806178' first='Ronan' last='Martin'] is the other. Simply put, Martin has been one of the more underrated linebackers in Class 2A football over the last few seasons and we can't wait to see what kind of impact he has. He doesn't have the prototypical size that Smith has but he more than makes up for it with his production on the field. As a sophomore, Martin was one of the team's leading tacklers with 123 tackles on the year. Last season, he would bump that number up and finish his junior campaign with 133 tackles. We can't wait to see if he's able to outdo himself again and be one of the top tacklers in 2A-1 football. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>MORE NAMES TO KNOW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Keano Henley - 2027 Athlete<br>Rhett Quary - 2027 Offensive/Defensive Lineman<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1626574' first='Tate' last='McClendon'] - 2026 Running Back/Defensive Back<br>Weston Setzer - 2027 Athlete</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2024 SCHEDULE/GAMES TO CIRCLE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 30th - Classen SAS<br><strong>Sept. 13th - AT North Rock Creek<br></strong>- In week two, Prague goes on the road for the first time this season to face North Rock Creek. This is a Cougar team that is coming off their first ever trip to the playoffs and they have the majority of their starters coming back. This will be the first major challenge for Prague and their young squad. They've met North Rock Creek in non-district play in each of the last two seasons. They won both but last year's meeting was a 34-26 victory while in 2022, they prevailed 62-12. <br>Sept. 20th - Meeker<br>Sept. 27th - Bethel<br>Oct. 4th - AT Heavener<br><strong>Oct. 11th - Kiefer<br></strong>- It's a new district slate for Prague as six of their seven district opponents are different from last year's slate. Kiefer came up just shy of making it to the state championship game a year ago but they are in a similar position as the Red Devils. They lost a very special and experienced senior class so on paper, the 2024 season looks like one where they are going to have to reload. But the winner of this match-up is going to be in a very good position moving forward in October. <br>Oct. 17th - AT Okmulgee<br><strong>Oct. 25th - AT Kingston<br></strong>- In week eight, Prague hits the road for the toughest district contest as they travel to face Kingston. The Redskins are a preseason top five team coming into this season. They are in the opposite position of Prague where they have almost everyone coming back from last year's team. Fortunately for the Red Devils, they don't have to worry about this game until the end of October. Which means those young players that are lacking experience should be ready to go when this clash comes up. <br>Nov. 1st - Roland<br>Nov. 8th - AT Hugo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>NOTABLE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Rafe Watkins returned to coach his alma mater in 2022 and he has immediately raised the bar of what Prague football can be. He went 10-2 in his first season and followed that up with going 11-1 last year. The next step is going further in the playoffs but Watkins having immediate success at a high level should not have surprised anyone. He's won everywhere he's been and he's done it at a high level. He won over 100 games and multiple state championships at Guthrie. He also won some big games during his stint at Muskogee before winning at the small school level at Warner. He was only there for a season before taking over at Prague. According to the numbers we've researched, it looks like Watkins is two wins away from 200 career victories. There's only a handful of active coaches in the state that have 200 wins. Watkins will be joining that club very soon and adding another reason why he's been one of the best coaches in Oklahoma over the last two decades.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>LAST FIVE SEASONS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 - 11-1 - Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round<br>2022 - 10-2 - Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round<br>2021 - 7-4 - Lost In Class 2A 1st Round<br>2020 - 6-3 - Lost In Class 2A 2nd Round<br>2019 - 3-7 - Missed Playoffs</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 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->