Midwest City Team Preview

<em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em> 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"><strong>RIGHT HERE</strong></a>. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Overview (Class 6A-D2 Preseason Ranking: #4) </strong></span>Across the board in 6A-D2, the <strong>Midwest City Bombers</strong> may have taken the biggest leap as a team in 2020. After going 4-7 in 2019, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Bombers team heading into last season. That uncertainty did not last long though as Midwest City completely flipped the script and returned to their winning ways, finishing the regular season at 7-2 with their only losses coming at the hands of <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Stillwater and </span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">eventual 5A state champion Carl Albert. That momentum from the regular season would carry them all the way to the semifinals where they made things interesting against Bixby for a while before the Spartans eventually pulled away en route to their 6th title in 7 years. Last year’s team was fairly Senior heavy and has only left Midwest City with 4 returning starters on offense and 5 on defense. However, the Bombers have plenty of key pieces returning from the 2020 roster, as well as a few multi-sport athletes who are ready to step in and compete in what should be a pretty deep class from top to bottom in 2021.       </span> <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2020 Results (8-3 Record – Lost in 6A-D2 Semifinals)</strong></span> <strong>Aug. 28</strong> <strong>– Beat Westmoore 27-20</strong> <strong>Sept. 4</strong> <strong>– Lost to Carl Albert 41-26</strong> <strong>Sept. 11</strong> <strong>– Beat Noble 41-6</strong> <strong>Sept. 25</strong> <strong>– Beat Lawton 34-9</strong> <strong>Oct. 1</strong> <strong>– Game VS US Grant canceled</strong> <strong>Oct. 9 –  Beat Del City 19-10</strong> <strong>Oct. 15</strong> <strong>– Beat Deer Creek 53-0</strong> <strong>Oct. 23</strong> <strong>– Beat Putnam City North 35-14</strong> <strong>Oct. 30</strong> <strong>– Lost to Stillwater 31-10</strong> <strong>Nov. 6</strong> <strong>– Game VS Northwest Classen canceled</strong> <strong>1st Round – Beat Muskogee 39-0</strong> <strong>Quarterfinals – Beat Booker T Washington 26-7</strong> <strong>Semifinals – Lost to Bixby 49-20</strong> <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></span> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="51855" first="DeAngelo" last="Irvin Jr"] - 2023 Quarterback </strong>Entering his 3rd year as the starter for Midwest City, Irvin is just one of many multi-sport stars that will carry quite a bit of the workload for the Bombers in 2021. DeAngelo is a standout for the Midwest City baseball team and you see the translation to football immediately when he throws the ball. He plays the QB position a lot like a middle infielder as he is excellent at extending plays with his feet and throwing on the move, and he has quite an arm that he shows off often on awkward or crossbody throws. Irvin has plenty of big-game experience and finished the 2020 season strong with 2 of his best games coming against Booker T Washington in the quarterfinals and Bixby in the semifinals. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="61142" first="Shamaur" last="Edwards"] - 2022 Defensive End </strong>Shamaur was one of the biggest breakout stars of 2020 across the state and has a chance to solidify himself as one of the premier pass rushers in 6A if that is where Midwest City chooses to use him full time. Edwards has the size and athleticism to be moved around a variety of spots for the Bombers, which contributed heavily to his double-digit sack season just a year ago where he took snaps at linebacker, both inside and outside, and on the defensive line coming off the edge. If the coaches choose to use him exclusively on the defensive line in 2021 we could be talking about him potentially as the best edge rusher in the class. <strong>Juwan Dancy - 2022 Defensive Back </strong>With [player_tooltip player_id="38499" first="Makale" last="Smith"] gone to Oklahoma State, Juwan Dancy seems to be next in line as one of Midwest City’s top DBs in 2021. Juwan plays outfield and pitches for Midwest City’s baseball team and just like with [player_tooltip player_id="51855" first="DeAngelo" last="Irvin Jr"], you see the crossover traits immediately. Juwan played a lot of safety for Midwest City in 2020 but looked more like a centerfielder at times with his range and ability to quickly close on the ball and ball carriers with authority. Dancy is also listed as a wide receiver for the Bombers, so don’t be surprised if he plays both ways and is one of their leading receivers with his long frame and vertical ability/ ball skills. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>More Names</strong></span> <strong>Artez Young - 2022 Athlete </strong><strong>Dylan Sebock - 2022 Defensive End/ Tight End </strong><strong>Quincy Kornegay - 2022 Defensive Lineman </strong><strong>Jacob Brunson - 2024 Offensive Lineman </strong><strong>Kaleak Knighten - 2023 Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman</strong> <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Notable</strong></span> Though Midwest City has been at or near the top of 6A-D2 since the class split, they have never quite gotten over the hump, and the reason for that is mainly due to 2 schools: Booker T Washington and Bixby. Prior to last year's quarterfinal game, Booker T had defeated Midwest City in 10 of their last 11 matchups with Midwest City's only win coming in 1996. Things felt a little different after the Bombers finally took down Booker T to advance to the semifinals, but that feeling faded quickly as Bixby eliminated them from the playoffs for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. If Midwest City wants to get into the Gold Ball conversation they will have to go through one or possibly both of these schools to do so. Is 2021 the year that the Bombers break through the Tulsa barrier that Booker T and Bixby have put up in 6A-D2? <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021 Schedule/Games To Watch</strong></span> <strong>Sept. 3 – Carl Albert </strong>- Midwest City's chance to come out firing and reclaim supremacy among the Mid-Del schools starts here. Carl Albert has controlled this rivalry the last few years but they've lost plenty of pieces from their 2020 team that won a 5th straight state title, so this game may be a lot closer than it has been in a long time. If the Bombers can take this week 1 battle they will be set up nicely going into district play and the next Mid-Del matchup with Del City in early October. Sept. 10 – Noble Sept. 24 – AT Lawton Oct. 1 – US Grant Oct. 8 – AT Del City Oct. 14 – Deer Creek Oct. 22 – Putnam City North <strong>Oct. 29 – AT Stillwater </strong>- This game will be a chance for Midwest City to avenge one of their 2 regular season losses from a year ago and it will be the end of a treacherous stretch of their schedule where they will play 3 of our preseason top 10 teams in 4 weeks. If Midwest City can come out of that stretch with at least 3 wins then they will likely be set up nicely for another playoff appearance, but if they can manage to sweep Del City, Putnam City North, and Stillwater then they will most definitely be eyeing that Gold Ball that has slipped away from them time and time again in recent years. Nov. 5 – AT Northwest Classen <hr /> <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Championship History </strong></span><strong><em>5 State Championships</em></strong> 1995 - Beat Putnam City North 31-14 1994 - Beat Union 21-13 1988 - Beat Eisenhower 31-27 1985 - Beat Muskogee 40-36 1960 - Beat Lawton 19-0