McAlester Team Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! Stay tuned to Prep Redzone Oklahoma every day as we release more individual team previews as we get closer to the start of the 2021 football season. In case you missed it, you can check out our Preseason Rankings <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/06/2021-preseason-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RIGHT HERE</a>. Overview (Class 5A Preseason Ranking: #1) For the first time in quite a while, a new team finds themselves on top of the 5A rankings as opposed to Carl Albert. The McAlester Buffaloes will have to go out on the field and earn it this fall but they have the talent and the firepower to do so. Make no mistake about it, Carl Albert is still the team to beat in Class 5A as the five-time defending state champions. The Buffaloes return close to everyone on both sides of the ball and will be able to make a deep run in the playoffs once again. Seven starters on offense and seven starters on defense highlight a Buffalo team that is ready to contend for the state championship. They came into the 2020 season as the preseason #8 team last year. They would go all the way to the 5A semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to Bishop McGuinness. With that loss in the back of their mind and with some of the most electric players in the state returning, McAlester will have a chance to make a trip to Wantland Stadium in Edmond. Head coach Forrest Mazey is going into his third year leading the Buffaloes and has his system in place. McAlester's schedule is once again tough and unfortunately some of their tougher games are away from home. However, the expectations are to contend for a gold ball and they got incredibly close in 2020 and they appear ready to kick the door down in 2021. <hr /> 2020 Results (10-3 Record - Lost In 5A Semifinals) Aug. 28 - Beat Broken Bow 21-13 Sept. 12 - Beat Shawnee 34-13 Sept. 18 - Beat Tahlequah 21-13 Sept. 25 - Lost To Bishop Kelley 17-14 Oct. 2 - Beat East Central 57-14 Oct. 9 - Beat Durant 42-6 Oct. 15 - Lost To Coweta 20-17 Oct. 23 - Beat Edison 21-0 Oct. 30 - Beat Shawnee 52-18 Nov. 6 - Beat Will Rogers 47-8 1st Round - Bye Week 2nd Round - Beat Pryor 47-0 Quarterfinals - Beat El Reno 43-41 (OT) Semifinals - Lost To Bishop McGuinness 28-21 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="38690" first="Chase" last="Faber"] - 2022 Linebacker McAlester might have made an improbable run to the semifinals in 2020 but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have high expectations coming in. One player we knew about coming into the 2020 season and were excited to see was linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="38690" first="Chase" last="Faber"]. You put on his film and it was apparent from the start that he was a physical backer who enjoyed hitting. Faber has had another good offseason and should come back and have an even better senior season. He’s already established himself as one of the best linebackers in the state’s senior class. [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] - 2023 Running Back Running back [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] was one of just two sophomores to earn First Team All State honors from us last season after his breakout year. McCarty was one of the best running backs in the state and was a big reason the Buffaloes made a run to the semifinals. McCarty finished with nearly 2,000 yards and north of 30 touchdowns. He also had nearly 100 tackles on defense. McCarty might have surprised a few opponents in 2020 but all eyes will be on him this fall. We can’t wait to see what he does for an encore as a junior this season. [player_tooltip player_id="154211" first="Malachi" last="Wrice"] - 2024 Athlete A young player that has the coaches at McAlester fired up is 2024 standout [player_tooltip player_id="154211" first="Malachi" last="Wrice"]. The Buffalo big man plays a variety of positions right now for McAlester but head coach Forrest Mazey believes he’ll eventually be an elite offensive lineman, once he grows a bit and gets used to putting his hand in the dirt. Right now, Wrice is more of a tight end on the offensive side of the ball and a defensive end on defense. You can see by just looking at him that he has the physical tools to be an impact player. He’s raw in some areas but that won’t be the case soon. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="160657" first="Avion" last="Simon"] - 2022 Offensive Lineman Trent Boatright - 2022 Quarterback <hr /> Notable Late game heroics saved McAlester’s season in the 5A quarterfinals but then doomed them the next week against Bishop McGuinness in the semifinals. The Buffaloes trailed El Reno 35-13 late in the third quarter and it looked as if the higher seeded and ranked Indians would have no problems moving on to the semifinals. That was wrong. The Buffaloes scored 22 unanswered, including in the final seconds on an [player_tooltip player_id="91049" first="Erik" last="McCarty"] two-point conversion to send the game into overtime. In OT, McAlester would score and convert a two-point conversion. El Reno would answer but a pass in the end zone for the two-point conversion was incomplete and the Buffaloes escaped. The following week, the Buffaloes were the ones leading and on the verge of upsetting Bishop McGuinness in the semifinals. The Irish scored with 19 seconds left to escape with the semifinal victory. In back to back weeks, McAlester played two of the more entertaining games we saw in 5A football. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Aug. 27 - AT Broken Bow Sept. 3 - Sallisaw Sept 10 - AT Ada Sept. 24 - AT Bishop Kelley - The very first district game will be one of the toughest for McAlester as they travel up to Tulsa to face Bishop Kelley in week four. After having week three off, the Buffaloes will hit the road again for what will be their third road game in four outings. The Comets gave McAlester their first loss of the season in 2020 when they prevailed by a field goal. The Comets come into the 2021 season as a preseason top ten team but they also have to replace some of their star players. The Comets always get the most out of their talent year after year and they'll certainly give McAlester an early test as the preseason number one team. Oct. 1 - East Central Oct. 8 - Durant Oct. 14 - AT Coweta - After facing Bishop Kelley in late September, the Buffaloes should take care of business in early October and then it's a Fall Break showdown on a Thursday night in Coweta. The Tigers were the other team that knocked off the Buffaloes and just like with Bishop Kelley, it was decided by a field goal. McAlester and Coweta are #1 and #5 in our preseason rankings and this could end up deciding the district championship if things play out the way we're projecting. We'll see plenty of playmakers in this match-up and the Buffaloes will have to continue to be road warriors with their two toughest games coming away from home. Oct. 22 - Edison Oct. 29 - AT Shawnee Nov. 5 - Will Rogers <hr /> Championship History 2 State Championships 1988 - Beat Altus 13-3 1968 - Beat Stillwater 42-14