Union 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 6A-D1 Preseason Ranking: #2) The Union Football Team is ready for a fresh start in 2021 after the 2020 season was a massive roller coaster ride. To their credit, they finished the season in style, making it all the way to the semifinals before falling short to Edmond Santa Fe. However, a program like Union expects to contend for state championships year after year. And Union has now gone four years without winning a state championship. This fall would make five and it’s safe to say that five years without a gold ball would be a drought for a program like Union. However, with a total of 18 starters returning, Union comes into this fall as the number two team in our preseason rankings and one of the serious threats to win it all. That wasn’t the case going into last season and it showed as Union went through some serious growing pains to start the season. They would go 0-4 to start, with two of those four losses coming in shutout fashion. Then the offense started to click and they found their identity. It should be mentioned that schedule also lightened up and the competition wasn’t nearly as tough as it was in the first month of the year. Union would finish off the year 6-5 with the last loss coming to Santa Fe in the semifinals. However, it was pretty obvious at the end of the season that Union would be one of the top teams in 6A-D1 as we headed into the new year. 2020 was an abnormal year for Union but 2021 looks like they’ll be getting back to normal. <hr /> 2020 Results (6-5 Record - Lost In 6A-D1 Semifinals) Aug. 28 - Lost To Bixby 34-0 Sept. 4 - Lost To Broken Arrow 14-7 Sept. 11 - Lost To Jenks 28-0 Sept. 25 - Lost To Owasso 34-14 Oct. 2 - Game VS Putnam City Cancelled Oct. 9 - Beat Mustang 66-10 Oct. 15 - Beat Moore 62-12 Oct. 23 - Beat Norman North 50-25 Oct. 30 - Beat Southmoore 48-7 Nov. 6 - Game VS Edmond North Cancelled 1st Round - Beat Enid 55-0 Quarterfinals - Beat Broken Arrow 26-14 Semifinals - Lost To Edmond Santa Fe 21-14 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="67771" first="Antonio" last="Smith"] - 2022 Running Back One of the players we feel is primed to take the next step to being one the elite players in the state is [player_tooltip player_id="67771" first="Antonio" last="Smith"]. We saw a glimpse of it last year when Smith was the third option in a backfield that featured fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="38703" first="Rovaughn" last="Banks"] and 2021 star [player_tooltip player_id="38488" first="AJ" last="Green"]. Now that it’s just Smith and Banks in the backfield, both have the ability to make fireworks happen every single time they touch the ball. Expect Smith to take more of a workload in the Union offense and if last season was any glimpse. And while Banks is more of a versatile running back, with the ability to be used as a receiver, Smith is going to be the workhorse back in this offense. [player_tooltip player_id="57208" first="De’Marion" last="Thomas"] - 2023 Defensive Lineman Leading things on the defensive side of the ball is 2023 defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="57208" first="De’Marion" last="Thomas"]. The Union big man is an absolute force on the line of scrimmage and we were very excited to see him up close during spring ball and team camps. However, we saw something that made us even more excited about his potential when we checked him out. Thomas was taking plenty of reps on the offensive line as a guard. In addition to his work on the defensive line, he was helping out a very talented offensive line group, making them even stronger. That just gives Union yet another weapon to the strength of the team, which is the running game. [player_tooltip player_id="61138" first="Jayden" last="Rowe"] - 2022 Defensive Back Union’s [player_tooltip player_id="61138" first="Jayden" last="Rowe"] first got onto our radar around this time last year as he was preparing for his junior season. We liked his size and his speed and saw plenty of potential for him in the secondary. After his junior season at cornerback, it was clear that Rowe was one of the top prospects in this 2022 class. He had joined the elite of the elite. Rowe is continuing the Union DB pipeline to OU after committing to OU earlier this year. This spring, Rowe was hands down one of the fastest prospects in the state, regardless of position and regardless of class. He was outstanding in the 100M dash [player_tooltip player_id="38703" first="Rovaughn" last="Banks"] - 2022 Athlete The other half of the dangerous 1-2 punch for Union is fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="38703" first="Rovaughn" last="Banks"]. The talented playmaker made the transition from quarterback to running back last year and now comes into 2021 ready to make even more fireworks happen. From the start of last season to right now, he’s continued to grow as a receiver and will provide Union with yet another weapon to use on the offensive side of the ball. Banks is one of the fastest prospects in this 2022 class and speed has always been the thing that has made him special. Now that he’s grown into a more natural position, the sky is the limit for what he will be able to do this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="38675" first="Will" last="Thomas"] - 2022 Offensive Lineman In every class, we end up finding a few prospects that are being criminally under recruited and because of that, we feel the need to bring it up as much as possible. In the 2022 class, and specifically with the offensive line position, one prospect that certainly deserves more respect is Union’s [player_tooltip player_id="38675" first="Will" last="Thomas"]. We got a chance to see him in person and again with his junior film and we were blown away by both. In person, Thomas is a towering presence and knows how to use his size to simply overpower opposing defenders. Thomas might have been slowed down this offseason by a surgery that limited what he could do as far as camps and different outings. Thomas will be the key to Union’s potent rushing attack. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="98181" first="Bennett" last="Ringleb"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="112477" first="Da’Monn" last="Sanders"] - 2022 Tight End [player_tooltip player_id="67773" first="Jamori" last="Ray"] - 2022 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="38694" first="Makhai" last="Belt"] - 2022 Athlete Mathias Roberson - 2022 Defensive Lineman <hr /> Notable Union had to hit the road more than they would like in 2020 as they only had a handful of home games due to their stadium undergoing a complete renovation. Because of that, the home side of the stands were completely demolished during the 2020 season and that meant fans had either sit on the away side or in the end zone seats for the home games that they had. All of the bigger games got moved to away stadiums and now that 2021 is here, Union is ready to keep the busses in the barn for the majority of the season as seven of their ten regular season games will be at home this fall. When the renovations are done and all of the construction is over, Union will have arguably the nicest stadium in the state. A conversation and a debate like that is all subjective. But if the real life stadium looks like any of the artist’s renderings when this project was first announced, it will be an absolute palace for high school football. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Aug. 27 - Mansfield Lake Ridge, TX. Sept. 3 - Broken Arrow Sept. 10 - Jenks - Any time you're making a list of games to watch, you have to include Jenks VS Union in the annual Backyard Bowl. The rivalry game is just as competitive as ever, even if other games and match-up's have started to catch up to the appeal of this one. Until two rivals combine to win two decades-worth of state championships, this will be the gold standard for rivalries in Oklahoma. Union will be ready for this annual clash against their rival after not just losing to Jenks last year but being shut out. The Trojans are defending champs and Union wants to take that crown. Sept. 24 - Owasso - It's the district opener and this match-up has turned into quite the rivalry since Bill Blankenship took over as Owasso's head coach. The Rams have had the edge in the series since then but Union is looking forward to hosting the Rams and getting their first shot at taking over the top spot in 6A-D1. If the rankings hold true until week four, we'll see #1 vs #2 in 6A-D1 as the Rams travel to face Union. This match-up will be one of the best in the state as Union's stellar running game and offensive line will go up against a stout Owasso front seven in a battle of best vs best. Oct. 1 - AT Putnam City Oct. 8 - Mustang Oct. 14 - AT Moore Oct. 22 - AT Norman North Oct. 29 - Southmoore Nov. 5 - Edmond North <hr /> Championship History 9 State Championships (Tied For 8th Most In State History) 2016 - Beat Norman North 57-43 2011 - Beat Broken Arrow 23-22 2010 - Beat Jenks 50-47 2009 - Beat Jenks 52-19 2008 - Beat Jenks 34-20 2005 - Beat Mustang 33-7 2004 - Beat Jenks 27-17 2002 - Beat Broken Arrow 52-3 1963 - Beat Mooreland 24-14