Sapulpa Chieftains 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 Sapulpa Chieftains!   Sapulpa Chieftains   Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #6 In Class 6A-2 Preseason Coaches Ranking: #7 In Class 6A-2   Head Coach: Tim Holt - 4th Season - 20-13 Record At Sapulpa   2023 RESULTS (7-4 Record - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round)   Aug. 25th - Lost To Sand Springs 64-54 Sept. 1st - Beat Tahlequah 41-38 Sept. 8th - Beat Bartlesville 44-36 Sept. 22nd - Beat Durant 56-0 Sept. 29th - Lost To Coweta 24-19 Oct. 6th - Lost To Del City 30-0 Oct. 13th - Beat Glenpool 50-0 Oct. 19th - Beat Memorial 55-10 Oct. 27th - Beat McAlester 27-22 Nov. 3rd - Beat East Central 56-13 1st Round - Lost To Claremore 48-47   2023 Offensive Scoring Average: 40.8 Points Per Game 2023 Defensive Scoring Average: 25.9 Points Per Game   For the second straight season, the Sapulpa Chieftains would go 7-4 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. But the road to get there was certainly a memorable one. This was a team that played multiple games that went down to the wire, high-scoring and back and forth games. There was no shortage of excitement with Sapulpa football in 2023. The Chieftains opened the season with a rivalry loss to Sand Springs but they bounced back with a win in the final minutes over Tahlequah. They would also beat Bartlesville the following week in another high-scoring game. They began the season 3-1 but lost two in a row to Coweta and Del City. The Coweta loss was another single possession outcome. Following the loss to Del City, the Chieftains would win four straight games to close the season at 7-3. That included a massive week nine victory over McAlester. That helped the Chieftains avoid the four seed and having to play a district champion in the opening round of the playoffs. Instead, they went on the road and played Claremore and once again, we saw the cardiac Chieftains in a game that lit up the scoreboard and went down to the wire. Claremore prevailed 48-47 and the Sapulpa season came to an end but like we mentioned, it was a memorable one. Now, the Chieftains find themselves back up in Class 6A-2 after four seasons in Class 5A and the possibilities moving forward are very exciting.    2024 OUTLOOK   At this time last year, we had Sapulpa as a preseason top five team in Class 5A heading into the 2023 season. Now, they're knocking on the door of the top five in Class 6A-2, checking in at number six in our preseason rankings. The Chieftains were originally supposed to stay in Class 5A but the April redistricting shuffle bumped them back up to Class 6A-2 and we actually think that could result in some more wins for the Chieftains in 2024. Five starters are back on an offense that averaged north of 40 points per game in 2023. They will have new faces at the skill positions but having the majority of their offensive line returning is going to help those new skill players. And this is a group that Sapulpa is excited about but right now they are mostly unproven. On defense, that's where you could see the strength of this Sapulpa team. They bring back eight starters on that side of the ball and we really like the level of experience and talent that they have at all three levels of the defense. This was a team that got into a lot of high-scoring games in 2023. We think the defense is going to make a significant improvement this fall. And when you look at the new district for the Chieftains, they could definitely make some noise here. It's headlined by the defending state champion in Muskogee and Highway 97 rival Sand Springs. But they won't face those two until the final two weeks and that should give Sapulpa's new starters some runway to get acquainted with 6A-2 competition.    KEY LOSSES TO GRADUATION   Colton Howard - Quarterback Kylen Edwards - Wide Receiver Marco Smith - Running Back   PLAYERS TO WATCH    There is no doubt that senior [player_tooltip player_id='315662' first='Dakota' last='Chaney'] is the Sapulpa player that we've seen the most in person over the last several years. Chaney has been a player that we've liked each offseason while he's played on the 7v7 circuit. Last season, he had a solid junior campaign with the Chieftains on both sides of the ball. He finished the year with well over 300 yards receiving and then turned around and had a strong showing at the cornerback position. Chaney finished with over 30 tackles and double digit pass break ups throughout the season. Like we mentioned earlier, we think Sapulpa's defense could make a massive jump this fall and Chaney will be a big part of that.     Junior standout [player_tooltip player_id='1332248' first='DeShon' last='Koch'] is a player that we're very excited to watch this season and he should be important to the Chieftains on both sides of the ball. Koch has about four different positions listed next to his name and you could see him impacting offense just as much as defense. Last season, Koch was a dominant force on the defensive line as well as backing up to the linebacker position. He finished with nearly 60 tackles on the season and he also finished the year with eight sacks and four fumble recoveries. On offense, Koch also logged a pair of receiving touchdowns. Sapulpa's coaches are high on him and we're excited to see what he does.     Senior defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='268321' first='Isaac' last='Shelton'] is another reason why we think this Chieftain defense makes a big jump in 2024. Shelton is going to come into this fall as one of the more experienced players on this Sapulpa roster and we've gotten a chance to watch him up close and in person at our Prep Redzone camps in the last two offseasons. Each time, he's routinely been one of the top guys at his position and last season, he took his game to new heights. He would finish the year with over 70 tackles and nearly ten sacks on the season. This year, it's not crazy to think that Shelton is going to be one of the top defensive ends in Class 6A-2 and can absolutely wreck the line of scrimmage.     Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1332250' first='Logan' last='Hicks'] is another player on our shortlist of guys to watch following season-ending injuries in 2023. Hicks was enjoying a monster season in the secondary for the Chieftains when his junior year was cut short with a knee injury in the district opener. Hicks would log 60 tackles in just four games and was well on his way to becoming that breakout star on this Sapulpa defense. The knee injury happened and he's been itching to get back on the field ever since. The Sapulpa coaches were excited about his potential at this time last year and he certainly lived up to the hype in the first month of the season. Now, he'll be looking to make up for lost time.     One big area of concern coming into this season is the skill positions as they lose a lot of production to graduation. But Sapulpa's coaches are very excited about the potential of senior [player_tooltip player_id='1160233' first='Rashaud' last='Reynolds'] at the running back position. He got his feet wet last season but this year, he'll be the main back in the Chieftain offense and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do with a significant upgrade in his workload. But as we mentioned earlier, the Chieftains do have a decent amount of experience and talent returning on the offensive line. That will definitely help Reynolds as he looks to establish himself as one of the top running backs in Class 6A-2 this fall.    MORE NAMES TO KNOW   [player_tooltip player_id='1152748' first='Beau' last='Redwood'] - 2025 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1035272' first='Braddox' last='Broughton'] - 2027 Quarterback Deuce Glazier - 2025 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='490744' first='Jaxon' last='Stone'] - 2026 Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Jayce McIntosh - 2026 Linebacker Jaylen Friday - 2026 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id='858875' first='Jordan' last='Clark'] - 2025 Wide Receiver Kamdin George - 2026 Defensive Lineman Logan Mason - 2027 Tight End Michael Bennett - 2027 Running Back/Defensive Back   2024 SCHEDULE/GAMES TO CIRCLE   Sept. 6th - AT Tahlequah - Sapulpa will kick off the 2024 season with two straight road games and we're looking forward to this one. The Chieftains stunned Tahlequah in the final minutes a year ago, winning 41-38. This came after the Tigers jumped up 17-0 on the Chieftains but Sapulpa rallied. And when these two teams square off, they usually play instant classics. The two teams have met in each of the last four years and each of those games were decided by ten points or less. We can only hope this match-up lives up to that. Sept. 13th - AT Yukon Sept. 20th - Grove Sept. 27th - Capitol Hill Oct. 4th - AT Bartlesville Oct. 11th - Putnam City West Oct. 17th - AT Ponca City Oct. 25th - Putnam City North Nov. 1st - AT Muskogee - To be the best, you have to beat the best. And Sapulpa will get that opportunity in week nine. With the way the district schedule lines up, arguably their two toughest district contests come in the last two weeks so they might still be in the race for the district championship when they travel to Muskogee. The Roughers are the preseason number one team and they're also the defending state champs. The Chieftains will have their work cut out for them but they definitely won't be shying away from the opportunity. Nov. 8th - Sand Springs - After squaring off in the season opener in each of the last four seasons, the Highway 97 rivalry shifts to the end of the regular season with the Chieftains hosting rival Sand Springs. This game is definitely one to circle for multiple reasons. It's going to have a playoff feel as district seeding will be impacted by the outcome. And the Chieftains want to get some revenge as the Sandites have won eight in a row in the series. But lately, they've been playing some very entertaining and high-scoring contests, like last year's 64-54 Sandite win.   NOTABLE   The Chieftains would punch their ticket to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season a year ago. However, Sapulpa is still looking to end another streak when it comes to the postseason. The Chieftains have lost their last nine playoff games in a row. The last playoff win came nearly two decades ago. It was the memorable first round victory that saw the Chieftains take down Jenks. Fast forward to this year and this Sapulpa team definitely has what it takes to finally end the streak. They've been knocking on the door of ending that losing streak during their stint in Class 5A. Last year, they played that high-scoring classic with Claremore. They also lost to Shawnee in the first round back in 2020 by a point. As we mentioned earlier, Sapulpa was originally slated to be in Class 5A but the April bump up to 6A-2 might benefit the Chieftains. They should certainly extend their playoff appearance streak and depending on the playoff seed, they could end that losing streak in the process. And if that happens, look out for the Chieftains.    LAST FIVE SEASONS   2023 - 7-4 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2022 - 7-4 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2021 - 6-5 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2020 - 5-5 - Lost In Class 5A 1st Round 2019 - 6-5 - Lost In Class 6A-2 Quarterfinals   CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY   0 State Championships

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