Del City 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-D2 Preseason Ranking: #8) The Del City Eagles came into 2020 with hopes of making another deep playoff run after finishing 2019 at 9-3 with an appearance in the 6A-D2 Semi-Finals. With the wealth of future division 1 talent that Del City returned last season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, they were expected by many, including us, to be one of the top contenders in the class. We had Del City as our #2 team in the class prior to 2020 and even had the Eagles advancing to the state title game in our preseason predictions. While we were not wrong about their defense being stout and super athletic, the Eagles were never able to find much offensive consistency against the top teams on their schedule. As a result, Del City lost a lot of close, low-scoring affairs to start the season. They eventually went on a late-season rally and made a run to the quarter-finals but were ultimately outmatched in that game by the eventual Champions in Bixby. Del City will look to redeem themselves in 2021 after an odd and disappointing 2020, but that may be easier said than done as the Eagles once again have one of the hardest schedules in the state. <hr /> 2020 Results (4-6 Record – Lost In 6A-D2 Quarter-Finals ) Sept. 4 – Lost to Booker T Washington 15-13 Sept. 11 – Lost to Carl Albert 21-14 Sept. 18 – Game VS Bishop McGuinness Canceled Sept. 25 – Game VS Northwest Classen Canceled Oct. 2 – Lost to Stillwater 47-28 Oct. 9 – Lost to Midwest City 19-10 Oct. 15 – Lost to Putnam City North 10-6 Oct. 22 – Beat Deer Creek 28-14 Oct. 30 – Beat U.S. Grant 47-8 Nov. 6 – Beat Lawton 35-22 1st Round – Beat Ponca City 41-7 Quarterfinals – Lost to Bixby 63-27 <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="61130" first="Jayson" last="Smith"] - 2022 Linebacker Although Del City will not have the linebacker depth they boasted in 2020 with Boise State signee [player_tooltip player_id="38498" first="Rejhan" last="Tatum"] and Oklahoma State signee [player_tooltip player_id="38497" first="Donovan" last="Stephens"] gone, the Eagles will still have plenty of star power at the position with [player_tooltip player_id="61130" first="Jayson" last="Smith"] returning for his senior season. Smith is bigger than Stephens and about the same size as Tatum and thrives more in the run game and as a blitzer where he can come downhill and lay a big hit in a hurry. He currently holds 2 scholarship offers, but that list should easily grow in 2020 if Jayson has the kind of season we believe he is capable of. [player_tooltip player_id="38778" first="Kanijal" last="Thomas"] - 2023 Defensive Back Kanijal has been one of the top prospects in the state’s 2023 class since his first year starting for the Eagles as a Freshman in 2019, and that remains the case today. Thomas’ most frequent position and likely best fit at the next level is at safety, but after seeing what he was capable of in man coverage as a corner this spring it is hard to imagine that he won’t slide down on occasion to lock up some of the talented wide receivers that Del City will go up against in 2021. Kanijal has gotten better and better every time we see him, which is crazy considering he still has 2 full seasons left before jumping to the college ranks. [player_tooltip player_id="57157" first="Jaedon" last="Foreman"] - 2023 Defensive Lineman/ Linebacker Coming into the season as a top 15 prospect in the 2023 class, [player_tooltip player_id="57157" first="Jaedon" last="Foreman"] will look to improve upon his excellent 2020 campaign to help lead this deadly Del City defense and defensive line that has a chance to be one of the best in the state. Foreman is listed by his coaches as a defensive lineman and linebacker but based on his usage last season, defensive end is looking like the most natural fit for Foreman moving forward. The 6’4" Junior is incredibly athletic and he uses a great blend of speed and strength to beat up opposing offensive linemen. [player_tooltip player_id="110735" first="David" last="Stone"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman The hype around [player_tooltip player_id="110735" first="David" last="Stone"] has been pretty extreme to this point and for good reason. Stone was able to start for Del City as a Freshman in 2020, which is impressive in and of itself when you look at the talent the Eagles deployed across the board last season. However, Stone was not just a guy used to fill a spot for Del City in 2020, he ended the season as one of the top defensive linemen on the team and is currently the only 2024 prospect to hold a Division 1 offer as a result. It is still too early to know for sure, but Stone could very well end up as the top prospect on Del City’s All-Star defense by the time he is finished playing for the Eagles if he continues on the trajectory he is on right now. More Names [player_tooltip player_id="51882" first="Virgil" last="Yates"] - 2022 Quarterback/Linebacker Darius Hampton – 2022 Tight End/ Defensive Lineman Brian Stocker – 2022 Tight End/ Linebacker Jaylen Sweet – 2023 Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back Rayvon Swindall – 2023 Offensive/ Defensive Lineman Omarr Brown – 2023 Wide Receiver/ Defensive Back <hr /> Notable After steadily improving from year to year since jumping up to 6A-D2 in 2018, the Del City Eagles took a step back in 2020 and also took a big hit to their coaching staff after losing Head Coach Mike Dunn to their rival, Carl Albert. Since Dunn joined the program in 2017, the Eagles consistently improved their record by at least one win and continued to advance further and further in the playoffs each year. Even with their odd and disappointing season in 2020, Del City looked like a program that was being led in the right direction by Dunn until Titan head coach Mike Corley called it a career after winning 4 state championships in 4 seasons at Carl Albert. Dunn’s departure from Del City was definitely a hard pill to swallow for the Eagles faithful, but after hearing from some of the players returning in 2021, it is evident that they are excited about the man who is taking Dunn’s place. Their new coach, Robert Jones, was an assistant on the Del City staff prior to his promotion this offseason and will inherit a roster that remains loaded with college prospects. <hr /> 2021 Schedule/Games To Watch Sept. 3 – Booker T Washington Sept. 10 – AT Carl Albert - As we highlighted a couple of weeks ago, this will be a big game for both teams. This is both a rivalry game and the first time these two will match up since Del City’s former coach Mike Dunn left the Eagles to take over at Carl Albert, his alma mater. We hit on this more in Carl Albert’s team preview which you can check out <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/07/carl-albert-team-preview/">Right Here</a>. Sept. 17 – Bishop McGuinness Sept. 24 – Northwest Classen Oct. 1 – AT Stillwater Oct. 8 – Midwest City Oct. 14 – AT Putnam City North - Del City will certainly be out for revenge in this matchup after losing to the Panthers last season despite only giving up 10 points. This game will also signify the end of a long and brutal 7 week stretch for the Eagles. Besides their matchup against Northwest Classen in week 4, all of their opponents in the first 7 weeks of the season are preseason top 10 teams in 6A-D2 or 5A. If they can come out of that treacherous stretch with 4 or 5 wins then they will be set up nicely for another potential playoff run. However, if they struggle out the gate like they did in 2020, they could be in for another long season in 2021. Oct. 22 – AT Deer Creek Oct. 29 – AT U.S. Grant Nov. 5 – AT Lawton <hr /> Championship History 1 State Championship 1976 - Beat Putnam City West 27-13