Poteau Pirates OK 2026 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 2026 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 Poteau Pirates!   RELATED   <a href="https://youtu.be/lDaigydtQns" type="link" id="https://youtu.be/lDaigydtQns">- Poteau Video Preview With HC Jake Hayes</a>   Poteau Pirates   Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #6 In Class 4A   Head Coach: Jake Hayes - 2nd Season - 7-3 Record At Poteau   2025 RESULTS (7-3 Record - Missed Playoffs)   Aug. 29th - Beat Booneville, AR. 28-0 Sept. 5th - Beat McAlester 21-14 Sept. 12th - Beat NOAH 64-27 Sept. 26th - Beat Stilwell 31-30 Oct. 3rd - Lost To Ada 49-35 Oct. 10th - Beat Glenpool 28-17 Oct. 16th - Beat McLain 43-28 Oct. 24th - Beat Sallisaw 28-13 Oct. 31st - Lost To Hilldale 36-22 Nov. 7th - Lost To Broken Bow 36-14   2025 Offensive Scoring Average: 31.4 Points Per Game 2025 Defensive Scoring Average: 25 Points Per Game   A new era of Poteau football began in 2025 as Jake Hayes took over as head coach of the Pirate ship. Hayes came to Poteau after time at Deer Creek. It would be his first head coaching gig and he was taking over one of the marquee programs in Class 4A football. Things could not have gotten off to a better start. Poteau opened the season with four straight wins, including a 21-14 win over 5A's McAlester. They dropped a tough week five game to Ada but then rallied to win three straight games, including an emphatic 28-13 win over Sallisaw. The Pirates headed into week nine with a 7-1 record, the district title hopes were still alive and things fell apart in a way that you rarely see in Oklahoma high school football. Poteau led Hilldale in week nine but lost key players to injury and the Hornets rallied to beat the Pirates 36-22. They would follow that up with a tough loss to Broken Bow in the season finale. But they still finished 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the district. Almost every single year you have that record combination, you're fine and you're a playoff team. 2025 wasn't one of those years. Poteau actually found themselves on the outside looking in on the postseason and that has certainly stuck with them throughout this offseason. Now, they look to turn the page and leave no doubt that they are one of the best teams in this district and one of the best teams in Class 4A. The Pirates are used to being in that position and they look to get back there this fall.    2026 OUTLOOK   The Pirates come into this season as a borderline top five team in our Class 4A preseason rankings and there is a lot to be excited about this team, not only this year but in the future. You look up and down this roster and you see a lot of young talent in the 2028 and 2029 classes. Now, this will be a team that goes through some growing pains early on because they do lose a pretty special and more importantly, a very experienced senior class. Only three full time starters return on the offensive side of the ball. But the Pirates bring back more players that got playing time last season either because of injuries or because the Pirates had the game in hand. This will be year two in the new offensive system and things are starting to click for this group. Defensively, that's where the strength is going to be on this year's team. That shouldn't surprise anyone when it comes to Poteau football. The Pirates bring back seven starters on that side of the ball and you look at some of the dudes they have in the front seven and this group has a chance to be one of the better front sevens in Class 4A this season. While the offense gels together and finds their rhythm, the Pirates are going to be able to rely on this defense to make things happen for them this season. Poteau finds themselves in one of the toughest districts in the state, regardless of class. But that's been the case the last several years. Good teams get left out of the playoffs in this district. Poteau is determined to not let it happen to them again in 2026.    KEY LOSSES TO GRADUATION   Sam Tecla - Quarterback Spencer Perry - Running Back (2025 All State Honorable Mention)   PLAYERS TO WATCH    2027 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1727589' first='Brycen' last='Waugh'] is one of several guys that you need to know about in this Poteau front seven. We mentioned earlier in the preview how the Pirates would be led early on by that group they have coming back on the defensive side of the ball. Waugh was very productive last season and he feels like another example of that prototypical Poteau defender that just gets the job done, time after time. Last season, he finished with nearly 70 tackles on the season. It also feels like he's primed for a bigger and better senior season this fall. He certainly comes into this season as one of the senior leaders on this ball club.     2029 wide receiver and defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1261479' first='Evan' last='Adams'] is a player that we're fired up to watch this season. Adams missed some significant time during his freshman season with an injury but we've gotten a chance to watch Adams a couple times in person this offseason and he looks as good as ever. Adams is one of those prospects that we first watched in person when he was in middle school. He's always been a precise route runner and reliable receiver. As he's grown physically and continued to add muscle, he's turned himself into a 2029 prospect that you need to know. With a healthy season this fall, Adams could emerge as one of the better receivers in this class.     2027 wide receiver and defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='1830934' first='Logan' last='Waymire'] is another senior to keep an eye on this season. Waymire has the potential to be one of the better two-way players on this Poteau roster this season. Last year, he showed flashes of what he could do on both sides of the ball. Offensively, there is potential for Waymire to emerge as the top threat in the passing attack for the Pirates. He was productive last season when he got those opportunities at the wide receiver position. Then he turns around and can be a lockdown cornerback for this Poteau defense. While Poteau's front seven has gotten a lot of love, don't forget about the dudes they have in the secondary.     By the time it's all said and done, 2028 standout [player_tooltip player_id='1522522' first='Ryder' last='Waddell'] is going to be one of the best players in Poteau football history. Waddell started for the Pirates as a freshman and then absolutely exploded last season. He finished the year with over 100 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss. Whether he's lining up as a linebacker, closer to the line of scrimmage or anywhere quite frankly, Waddell is a threat to cause absolute chaos. But he wasn't done there last season. He also turned around and was a huge target for the Poteau passing game. And as they work in a new QB this season, don't be surprised if Waddell becomes a huge target (literally) for that new quarterback.   (2025 All State Honorable Mention)     When we look at the Poteau roster coming into this season, the two biggest question marks are in the offensive backfield with new starters at the quarterback and running back positions. 2029 running back [player_tooltip player_id='2249288' first='Wrigley' last='Downs'] is a young prospect that the Pirates are excited about. He checks a lot of boxes from a physical standpoint and it will be interesting to see how much they use Downs on the offensive side of the ball this season. As of this summer, the Pirates still have some positional battles going on. If Downs emerges as that guy, he's a good-looking prospect to watch. Defensively, he also provides the Pirates with some depth on that side of the ball in the secondary.    MORE NAMES TO KNOW   Dax Neal - 2028 DL [player_tooltip player_id='1830937' first='Eddie' last='Cobb'] - 2028 DL [player_tooltip player_id='1833866' first='Hunter' last='Montez'] - 2028 OL/DL Jake Perry - 2027 DB [player_tooltip player_id='1833870' first='Nic' last='Burgos'] - 2028 K [player_tooltip player_id='946189' first='Talyn' last='Phillips'] - 2027 DL   2026 SCHEDULE   Aug. 28th - AT Metro Christian - The 2026 season will open up with a road trip to Tulsa to square off with Metro Christian in week zero. These two met in non-district play in 2022 and 2023 but did not play in either of the last two seasons. They split that series and now we get the grudge match to kick off the 2026 season. Poteau won the last meeting 24-7.  Sept. 4th - AT Tahlequah - The Pirates go back on the road in week one but it's a shorter trip as they'll face Tahlequah in week one. Tahlequah is definitely a new team on the Poteau schedule as these two teams haven't met on the gridiron in decades. In fact, this will be the first time that the Pirates face the Tigers since the 1990 playoffs.  Sept. 11th - Grove - The Pirates wrap up non-district play with the home opener in week two. They host Grove and this is another match-up that is new for the Pirates on the schedule this season. Similar to Tahlequah, you have to go back a couple decades to find the last meeting and it came in the playoffs as well. Grove beat Poteau in the 2006 playoffs.  Sept. 25th - Mannford - After a week off, Poteau opens district play at home against Mannford in week four. It will be a rare “battle of the Pirates” in this district opener as Mannford is a newcomer to this district, coming up from Class 3A. Not only are they a newcomer to this district, they are a newcomer to Poteau's schedule as these two teams have never played prior to this season.  Oct. 2nd - AT Broken Bow - The Pirates go back on the road to face Broken Bow in week five. These two have met in district play for the last three decades and the overall series has been incredibly even. Broken Bow won last year's meeting but Poteau won the two meetings before that. The Savages are coming into this season as the preseason number one team in 4A. Oct. 9th - Ada - Poteau will certainly have this game circled as they return home to host Ada in week six. The Pirates dropped a shootout to the Cougars last season and that was their second straight loss to Ada. These two started playing in 2022 and each team has two wins against the other. We'll see another “grudge match” in week six.  Oct. 15th - AT Stilwell - On a Fall Break Thursday night, Poteau hits the road and faces Stilwell in week seven. This is another district match-up that has been played for over a decade. The Pirates have won every meeting after 2007 and they'll look to keep that streak intact this season. But Stilwell is definitely a program and team on the rise heading into 2026. Oct. 23rd - Hilldale - Poteau hosts Hilldale in week eight and there might not be another game on this schedule that the Pirates are looking forward to more this season. The loss to Hilldale pushed Poteau out of the playoffs in 2025. They've also lost two straight to the Hornets after winning six in a row before that. Hilldale will have a new head coach this season.  Oct. 30th - AT McLain - The Pirates head to Tulsa for the second time in 2026 when they face McLain in week nine. These two teams have been district opponents for the last two seasons and both meetings have been controlled by the Pirates. You look at the series history and it's all been in the last decade. Poteau is 5-0 all time against the Titans.  Nov. 6th - Sallisaw - The regular season wraps up with a home game against Sallisaw. By the time the Pirates hit week ten, they are going to know exactly where they stand in the district standings and there's no doubt that this game will have a big impact on that. They beat the Black Diamonds 28-13 and have controlled this series over the last decade.    NOTABLE   We mentioned it earlier but Poteau experienced something that very few teams have experienced in state history. We don't know this number for sure, but we would assume that 95% (or more) of teams that finished a season at 7-3 and 4-3 in the district made the playoffs. But for Poteau, they had a streak come to an end. Just a few years removed from making it to the semifinals or beyond, seemingly every year, the Pirates had their playoff streak come to an end in one of the more unexpected ways. Prior to last season, Poteau had made the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons. Now, they get prepared for a season where they will attempt to start a new streak. And one thing is for sure as they kick off the 2026 season, they will look to leave no doubt during district play. They won't want their fate in anyone else's hands as they look to make it back to the 4A playoffs and beyond this season.   LAST FIVE SEASONS   2025 - 7-3 - Missed Playoffs 2024 - 6-5 - Lost In Class 4A 1st Round 2023 - 12-1 - Lost In Class 4A Semifinals 2022 - 10-3 - Lost In Class 4A Semifinals 2021 - 11-2 - Lost In Class 4A Semifinals   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY   1 State Championship   2019 - Beat Weatherford 9-7

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