Muskogee 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, we are publishing 100 team previews to get you ready for the 2022 season. This is something that began last year and has become even bigger and better this year. We’re looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champs, to top contenders and dark horses, we’ll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A down to A. In this post, we take a look at the Muskogee Roughers. This is a very young and talented team and despite a losing record a year ago, they’ll contend for a playoff spot and more this fall. Muskogee Roughers (6A-2 Preseason Ranking: #4) The last few seasons have been rough for the Muskogee Roughers but with the 2022 season around the corner, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming season. Despite going winless in 2020 and then a 2-8 record in 2021, the Roughers have a good amount of young talent that endured growing pains a year ago and they should be ready to take the next step this fall. Head coach Travis Hill is also going into year two as the man in charge of the Rougher football program and this is a coach that knows how to get the most out of the talent on the field and turn them into contenders. We might be ahead of the game by putting Muskogee so high in our preseason rankings but we believe the Roughers will surprise some teams this fall so why not go ahead and put them in the top five. Muskogee will be returning six starters on the offensive side of the ball, including a young quarterback who might be the top overall prospect on the team. Having him back along with several key pieces in the skill position department could provide the Muskogee offense with some sparks and have them as one of the better offenses in 6A-2. Flip it to the defensive side of the ball and the Roughers will return another five starters on that side of the ball. Muskogee’s main core of talent features mainly 2024 and 2025 prospects so not only do we think that Muskogee will be one of the surprise teams in the state this year, we think that they’ll be primed for a little run over the next few seasons. <hr /> 2021 Results (2-8 Record - Missed Playoffs) Aug. 27 - Lost To Greenwood, AR. 63-21 Sept. 3 - Lost To Bentonville West, AR. 21-13 Sept. 10 - Lost To Rogers 56-12 Sept. 24 - Beat Putnam City West 42-12 Oct. 1 - Lost To Sand Springs 48-34 Oct. 8 - Beat Bartlesville 49-14 Oct. 14 - Lost To Choctaw 49-32 Oct. 22 - Lost To Bixby 56-14 Oct. 29 - Lost To Booker T Washington 54-21 Nov. 5 - Lost To Ponca City 35-28 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Isaiah Givens - Running Back James Moore - Offensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="211556" first="Jamarian" last="Ficklin"] - 2025 Quarterback The 2025 class has a strong quarterback group already and Muskogee features one of them with [player_tooltip player_id="211556" first="Jamarian" last="Ficklin"]. We’ve seen a lot of Ficklin over the last six months. From his freshman tape to playing at several 7v7 tournaments, we’ve gotten a good chance to see what Ficklin can do at the quarterback position. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we’re very impressed with his overall abilities as a football player at a young age. The ceiling is incredibly high with the Muskogee standout. The lefty is a special talent at a variety of positions so it will be interesting to see how he gets recruited and what colleges see as his natural position. But he’ll give the Roughers one of the best QB’s in 6A-2. [player_tooltip player_id="380627" first="Jayden" last="Bell"] - 2023 Wide Receiver One of the first returning starters at wide receiver that Ficklin will be able to throw the ball to is 2023 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="380627" first="Jayden" last="Bell"]. The speedy wide receiver finished his junior season with nearly 1,000 yards receiving and will almost certainly be the main target in the Muskogee passing game. Ficklin got completely comfortable with Bell last season and that connection should continue this fall. Bell will look to surpass his numbers from last year and have at least 1,000 yards receiving. Bell gives the Roughers a big play threat within the offense and he’s looking to become one of the top wide receivers in 6A-2 and in the state this fall. [player_tooltip player_id="129399" first="Kayden" last="McGee"] - 2024 Wide Receiver Bell won’t be the only playmaker at wide receiver for the Roughers this season as he’ll be joined by 2024 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="129399" first="Kayden" last="McGee"]. The Muskogee 2024 prospect is another Rougher that we’ve had the benefit of seeing play in multiple 7v7 events throughout the spring. And this offseason, McGee primarily played defensive back, which was somewhat of a foreign position for him but not only did he catch on fast but he became a playmaker at that position. For Muskogee, he’ll primarily be used at wide receiver and give the Roughers another target in the passing game. But it’s clear that McGee has the ability to move around to a few positions. [player_tooltip player_id="154218" first="Teyon" last="Brewer"] - 2024 Defensive Lineman Another 2024 prospect on this year’s Muskogee team is defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="154218" first="Teyon" last="Brewer"]. While the Muskogee offense has some serious skill on that side of the ball, the defense is lacking potential stars either. Brewer could end up being one of the better defensive linemen in 6A-2 this fall as he has a lot of experience coming into this season. Head coach Travis Hill is excited about his potential when you consider the on field production to go along with his size and his explosiveness. The Roughers struggled on defense last year but now that the growing pains are over, we expect them to be a much better unit in 2022. [player_tooltip player_id="360246" first="Wesley" last="Harvey"] - 2024 Offensive Lineman On the other side of the line of scrimmage, you have another 2024 standout and that’s offensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="360246" first="Wesley" last="Harvey"]. The Muskogee big man absolutely looks the part when you look at him physically. He towers over the rest of the offensive line and he’s going to be a match-up nightmare for most opposing defensive linemen. He’s big, strong and will manhandle you if he gets his hands on you. As he continues to improve his quickness and foot speed, that’s going to be an even bigger problem for opponents. The Roughers could have one of the better offenses in 6A-2 and it starts up front with Harvey and the O-Line. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="202153" first="Anthony" last="Watson"] - 2024 Tight End Ayden Kemp - 2023 Defensive Back Brandon Tolbert - 2023 Running Back Jase Garrett - 2023 Offensive Lineman Vernon Pepiakitah - 2024 Defensive Lineman <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - AT Enid Sept. 2 - Putnam City Sept. 9 - AT Carl Albert - Before Muskogee takes a week off and then opens up district play, they’ll wrap up the non-district portion of their schedule in week two on the road against 5A powerhouse Carl Albert. While this match-up doesn’t count towards playoff seeding, this is a really good measuring stick game to see exactly how serious the Roughers can be this season in 6A-2. Carl Albert is the #1 team in our 5A preseason rankings and the favorites to win another gold ball. If Muskogee can go into Midwest City and take down the Titans, that will give them all the momentum they need with a brutal district schedule ahead of them. Sept. 23 - AT Sand Springs Sept. 30 - Putnam City West Oct. 7 - AT US Grant Oct. 13 - Tahlequah Oct. 21 - AT Booker T Washington - In week eight the Roughers will travel to Tulsa to face off with Booker T Washington. Head coach Travis Hill is very familiar with the Hornets after his time at East Central and he knows what kind of talent they have year in and year out. The Roughers are building something and week eight might be the perfect time to show the state that they are a sleeping giant and with a win on the road in Tulsa, they could send shockwaves throughout the state and also put themselves in a great position for the playoffs. The Hornets will have some serious talent on display but the Roughers won’t be a pushover in this district clash. Oct. 28 - Bartlesville Nov. 4 - Stillwater - This regular season finale all depends on how the previous six weeks have gone for Muskogee. They could either be on the verge of capturing a district championship, scratching and clawing for playoff positioning or out of the playoff hunt once again. But the final home game of the regular season will see Muskogee hosting Stillwater. The Pioneers are a new district foe and give the Roughers another big challenge, in addition to the Booker T Washington challenge. Right now in 6A-2, we see Booker T Washington, Choctaw and Stillwater as the top teams. Muskogee is trying to crash the party and be the fourth team in that conversation. <hr /> Notable With Class 6A splitting into two divisions back in 2014, the Roughers were primed to be one of the top teams in the class year in and year out. It hasn’t worked out that way, especially in the last few seasons. Muskogee made it to the semifinals during the 2016 season but that was the only year in which they won a playoff game since the 6A split. As you can tell with our preview above, we think the Roughers could end that drought this season and really be a contender over the next two seasons. Muskogee has some strong talent in their younger classes and head coach Travis Hill knows how to build a winning program and he’s in the process of doing that right now in Muskogee. The Roughers have a rich football history and it’s time to add some more pages to that book and it could start as soon as this fall. <hr /> Championship History 3 State Championships 1986 – Beat Booker T Washington 14-12 1950 – Beat Capitol Hill 19-14 1948 – Beat Chickasha 27-6