Piedmont Wildcats OK 2025 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 2025 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 Piedmont Wildcats!   Piedmont Wildcats    Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #8 In Class 6A-2   Head Coach: Jeff Hall - 7th Season - 43-27 Record At Piedmont   2024 RESULTS (7-5 Record - Lost In Class 6A-1 Quarterfinals)   Aug. 30th - Beat Midwest City 13-0 Sept. 6th - Beat El Reno 27-14 Sept. 20th - Lost To Norman 41-14 Sept. 27th - Lost To Choctaw 56-40 Oct. 4th - Beat Northwest Classen 61-6 Oct. 11th - Beat U.S. Grant 62-0 Oct. 18th - Beat Lawton Eisenhower 49-31 Oct. 25th - Lost To Southmoore 29-28 Oct. 31st - Lost To Stillwater 49-7 Nov. 8th - Beat Putnam City 21-14 1st Round - Beat Ponca City 48-7 Quarterfinals - Lost To Sand Springs 44-14   2024 Offensive Scoring Average: 32 Points Per Game 2024 Defensive Scoring Average: 24.3 Points Per Game   The Piedmont Wildcats made their first trek up to Class 6A-2 in 2024. This was a move that many had seen coming just based on enrollment numbers and community expansion. The Wildcats would come out swinging in 2024, winning their first two games. They ran into a buzzsaw in Norman to wrap up non-district play and then came up short in a high-scoring, back and forth game with Choctaw to open up district play. Following their 2-2 start, the Wildcats won three straight games before being upset by Southmoore and then losing in a Halloween rout to Stillwater. They bounced back by beating Putnam City in the regular season finale to get a more favorable seed in the playoffs. Piedmont expected to be a playoff team coming into the season and they were able to accomplish that in year one in Class 6A-2. But what's more impressive is the fact that even in the old playoff model, which had four teams from a district get in, they still would have been in. They beat Ponca City in the first round before the season came to an end against Sand Springs in the quarterfinals. They went 7-5 in their first year competing in Class 6A-2 and there is plenty of room for optimism for the Wildcats moving forward. They got a taste of what the competition looks like in their new class and now they should be ready to take the next step in 2025.    2025 OUTLOOK   Bringing back the majority of your starters will give you plenty to celebrate coming into a new season and that's the position the Wildcats are in. Offensively, they bring back nine starters from last year's unit that averaged just north of 30 points per game. They'll continue to run that flexbone offense that can wear defenses down and plenty of opponents just can't prepare to defend it as well. One big question mark is the quarterback position as they will have a new triggerman under center but Piedmont's coaches are confident in his abilities. It will help that they basically have the entire offensive line returning and plenty of playmakers ready to step up around him to keep this offense humming. Defensively, they will bring back six starters from last year's squad and the front seven has the potential to be incredibly tough. And Piedmont needs the front seven to handle business because the Wildcats have to replace the majority of the secondary. They aren't lacking talent in that department but they don't have as much experience as we've seen from them over the last few years so we could see some growing pains in that area. The schedule is the same from last season so the Wildcats will test themselves in the first month of the year. And this district is definitely the tougher of the two in Class 6A-2. Three district opponents are in the top four of our 6A-2 preseason rankings. If Piedmont wins the district title, they will have earned it against some of the best of the best.    KEY LOSSES TO GRADUATION   Ethan Shelton - Defensive Back Jayden Fuston - Running Back - All State Honorable Mention Lane Whitworth - Defensive Back - Signed With NSU - All State 3rd Team Selection   PLAYERS TO WATCH    We mentioned earlier how the secondary would be an area that Piedmont needs new names to step up as they replace three starters. One player to watch there is senior [player_tooltip player_id='595751' first='Brogan' last='Dietz'] as he returns this season at one of the cornerback spots. The Wildcats are going to lean on Dietz and his experience and overall leadership as they continue to work new players into the starting lineup and in the secondary. Dietz has the potential to be a breakout player for the Wildcats this season. He's been waiting for his opportunity to shine and this year might be his moment to do just that.     Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1719485' first='Carter' last='Hainrihar'] is another player that could really elevate his game and overall production this season. The Wildcats lost their leading rusher from last year to graduation and they will be looking to Hainrihar to fill that void this year. Last season, Hainrihar was third on the team in rushing, with a little over 400 yards and he was second on the team with six touchdowns on the ground. But as we get head into a new season, Hainrihar is the leading returning rusher. The expectation going into the season is for him to carry the ball four or possibly five times as much this fall.     Whenever you're talking about the flexbone offense, the quarterback position becomes incredibly important. Earlier in the preview, we talked about one of the holes Piedmont has to fill on offense is at quarterback. The Wildcats feel like they have their guy with junior [player_tooltip player_id='1719482' first='Jordin' last='Holman'] as he'll go into this season as the starter. You have to have a great understanding of the system to run this offense with efficiency and all signs point to Holman being able to do just that. He can also throw it when the Wildcats get into those situations. But Holman should be good when you see all the talent lined up around him.     Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1599209' first='Knoxtyn' last='Rallo'] is heading into his second season as a complete game changer for the Wildcats. Whether it's on offense, defense or special teams, Rallo has that overall talent and athletic ability to change the game in a variety of ways. Rallo was one of the state's first 2028 prospects to pick up a D1 offer and that should continue as he heads into the fall. Rallo will be able to help the Wildcats in all three phases of the game. We saw his overall athleticism and speed first hand earlier this year at one of our camps. The speed is real and makes him a very fun player to watch in the open field.    MORE NAMES TO KNOW   Brooks Baccus - 2028 Running Back/Linebacker Noah Ward - 2027 Kicker [player_tooltip player_id='595691' first='Scott' last='Logan'] - 2026 Offensive Lineman Sean Maguire - 2027 Offensive Lineman Tatym Stahlman - 2027 Linebacker Willie Cruz - 2027 Defensive Lineman   2025 SCHEDULE   Aug. 29th - Midwest City - For the second straight season, Piedmont will open the year by facing off with Midwest City. The Wildcats beat the Bombers in the season opener a year ago and they also beat them in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Midwest City will have a first year head coach this season.  Sept. 5th - El Reno - In week one, Piedmont will host El Reno and these old 5A rivals will go head to head once again. The Wildcats won 27-14 last season and they've won six out of the last seven meetings. This has been a solid non-district series for Piedmont since these two started facing each other in 2016.  Sept. 19th - AT Norman - The non-district schedule comes to an end with a road trip to Norman. The Tigers beat the Wildcats 41-14 last season and they ended up being one of the surprise teams in Class 6A-1. This one is an easy one to circle as Piedmont's former QB will be on the Norman sideline.  Sept. 26th - AT Choctaw - There's no easing into the district schedule when you have to go on the road to face the defending state champs. Piedmont heads to Choctaw in week four to kick off district play. The Yellowjackets beat the Wildcats 56-40 last year, on their way to the state championship.  Oct. 2nd - Northwest Classen - After back to back road games, Piedmont returns home in week five to host Northwest Classen. Last season, the Wildcats rolled to a 61-6 victory. These two were district foes from 2016-2019 in Class 5A and it was a one-sided series then as well so Piedmont expects to win this one. Oct. 10th - AT U.S. Grant - Piedmont will face off with U.S. Grant in week six and this was another new district opponent and a new opponent in general for the Wildcats. They beat the Generals 62-0 last season and that would be their largest margin of victory in 2024. Another win like that is probable this fall. Oct. 16th - Lawton Eisenhower - On a Fall Break Thursday night, Piedmont will host Lawton Eisenhower in week seven. Out of the seven district opponents, Lawton Eisenhower was without a doubt the one that Piedmont had the most familiarity with. They won 49-31 last year and have now won six straight in the series. Oct. 24th - AT Southmoore - In week eight, Piedmont goes on the road to face off with Southmoore. The Sabercats got a 29-28 victory over the Wildcats in their first ever meeting last season. This is a game that Piedmont can't afford to slip up for seeding purposes. Southmoore has a first year head coach. Oct. 31st - Stillwater - For the second straight year, Piedmont faces Stillwater on Halloween and they hope this year is more of a treat and not a trick. Last season, the Pioneers beat the Wildcats 49-7 behind a high-powered passing attack. This is a game that you have to win if you want to contend for the district and state title.  Nov. 7th - AT Putnam City - The regular season finale comes with a road game against Putnam City in week ten. Last season was the first meeting between these two and Piedmont got the 21-14 victory. And just like last season, there is no doubt that this year's match-up will have major playoff implications.    NOTABLE   At this time last year, we were talking about Piedmont's move up from Class 5A to Class 6A-2 and how it's been inevitable for several years. The growth of this community is off the charts and they'll continue to climb the enrollment numbers. But on the football field, Piedmont held their own in their new class and they took a step up in competition. They continued their playoff streak and won a game. The ultimate goal is to contend for a state championship and Class 6A-2 has been a class (since big bad Bixby moved up to 6A-1 that has had three different champions in the last three years. Choctaw, Muskogee and Stillwater have all captured gold balls so it's something that can be done. At the top, this class is incredibly competitive and now the Wildcats need to get to the top. Piedmont took their first steps in the class last season and now they look to take another. They made it to the quarterfinals a year ago and now they want to go further into the playoffs. The Wildcats have played in the semifinal round just once in their program's history but they are working to make that just as common as simply making the playoffs.   LAST FIVE SEASONS   2024 - 7-5 - Lost In Class 6A-2 Quarterfinals 2023 - 7-4 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2022 - 7-5 - Lost In Class 5A Quarterfinals 2021 - 5-6 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2020 - 5-4 - Lost In Class 5A 2nd Round   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY   0 State Championships

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