Jones Longhorns OK 2023 Team Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's the month of July and that means it's preview time! Throughout the month of July and into August, we are publishing well over 100 in-depth team previews to get you completely ready for the 2023 football season. This is something that began in 2021 and has continued to get bigger every single year. We're looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champions, to top contenders and plenty of dark horses, we'll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A, all the way down to the addition of 8-man coverage this year with Class B and C. In this post, we take a look at the Jones Longhorns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Jones Longhorns</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: #3<br>Preseason Coaches Ranking: #3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kevin Witt era began in 2022 as the Longhorns were led by someone other than Dave Martin for the first time in a long time. Nothing really changed as the Longhorns would once again make a deep run when the playoffs began as they were one of the final four teams remaining in Class 2A. The Longhorns would bounce back from a slow start against an absolutely brutal non-district schedule. Following week two, the Longhorns were 0-3 but would rattle off ten straight wins, capturing another district championship and making a run to the semifinals, before losing to eventual state champion Washington. The Longhorns come into this season with high expectations once again and they are hungry to get another gold ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Longhorns will be boosted this fall by the return of nearly all 22 starters on both sides of the ball. All eleven starters return on offense and the Longhorns have the chance to be one of the higher scoring teams in Class 2A this fall. The defense returns nine starters and while they will miss some of the game-wreckers they had up front, they also benefit from having some serious young talent at the linebacker positions. Jones will challenge themselves again early on in the season with a brutal non-district schedule. But this time, with so much experience returning, they should contend every single week. They are the favorites in their district and are looking for another deep run into November and December.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (10-4 Record - Lost In Class 2A Semifinals)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Lost To Bethany 37-26<br>Sept. 2 - Lost To Lincoln Christian 48-12<br>Sept. 9 - Lost To Washington 33-14<br>Sept. 22 - Beat Star Spencer 69-6<br>Sept. 30 - Beat Crossings Christian 20-10<br>Oct. 7 - Beat Luther 29-7<br>Oct. 13 - Beat Meeker 50-35<br>Oct. 21 - Beat Chandler 34-7<br>Oct. 27 - Beat Kellyville 43-14<br>Nov. 3 - Beat Bethel 49-7<br>1st Round - Beat Newkirk 21-20<br>2nd Round - Beat Community Christian 27-20<br>Quarterfinals - Beat Kiefer 27-19<br>Semifinals - Lost To Washington 49-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Key Losses To Graduation</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kameron Estrada - Defensive Lineman<br>Mason Cruz - Linebacker</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Players To Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["894159"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"With all eleven starters returning on offense, that means the Longhorns return the top ten players in receiving yards from last season. 2024 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='894159' first='Braydon' last='Scott'] led the Longhorns in receiving last season with 50 catches for 1,111 yards and 14 touchdowns. Scott ended up being without a doubt the biggest playmaker within the Jones passing attack. He finished with 14 receiving touchdowns while the rest of the team finished with 12 combined touchdowns. With Scott back along with his QB1, this Jones offense will be one of the best units in Class 2A this fall.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["215199"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='215199' first='Clayton' last='Creasey'] lived up to the hype in his first season as QB1 for the Longhorns. In 2021, he was a running back and a backup to Carson May. Last season, Creasey threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns. And as a dual-threat quarterback, Creasey ended up leading the Longhorns in rushing as well. He would finish with over 600 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Creasey is a prospect that we first saw towards the end of his freshman season. We anticipate him taking the next step this fall and leading a very explosive Jones offense","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["587272"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"We mentioned earlier in the preview how the Jones defense has some young talent that we are really impressed with, specifically with the linebacker position. And 2026 linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='587272' first='Luke' last='DeBusk'] is the perfect representation of that statement when you look back at his production from last season. As just a freshman, DeBusk made an immediate impact for the Longhorn defense, even early on in the season against the tough non-district slate. DeBusk would finish with over 100 tackles on the season and he emerged as one of the better prospects at his position in the 2026 class.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["590336"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='590336' first='Mason' last='Weiher'] is a 2024 DB that we're going to be keeping an eye on this fall after the very productive season he had a year ago. He turned into an absolute ball hawk last season with eight interceptions on the season and if the Longhorns can get some of that production from him again, this defense has the chance to be pretty special. As we mentioned with DeBusk, we really like some of the young talent that the Jones defense has coming back this fall and the unit could end up being special. Weiher was also the second leading receiver on the Jones offense behind Scott.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":4,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64a59faae9668"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1179996' first='Acyn' last='Hansen'] - 2026 Quarterback<br>[player_tooltip player_id='867295' first='Creighton' last='Jones'] - 2025 Linebacker<br>[player_tooltip player_id='505619' first='Jack' last='Mendoza'] - 2026 Offensive Lineman<br>Mason Templeton - 2025 Defensive Back</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2023 Schedule/Games To Circle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 25 - Bethany<br><strong>Sept. 1 - Lincoln Christian<br></strong>- Jones will renew their 2A/3A showdown with Lincoln Christian in week one after a week zero showdown with Bethany. The Longhorns have lost five straight against the Bulldogs as both teams are no strangers to really challenging themselves with very tough non-district opponents. This is always one of the marquee non-district clashes between teams from  different classes and this year is no different as both are serious contenders in their respective classes. The Longhorns will welcome the Bulldogs to their home field this year. The last time they hosted Lincoln Christian was in 2021 when the Bulldogs had a game-winning field goal as time expired. <br><strong>Sept. 8 - AT Washington<br></strong>- When you talk about “games to circle” there isn't another game that's going to be circled more than this Class 2A showdown as the Longhorns travel to face defending champion Washington in week two. The Warriors got the best of Jones twice last season. They met in the regular season and then again in the semifinals. This very well could be the first of two meetings once again as both teams anticipate contending for the Class 2A gold ball. And for the Longhorns, this match-up serves as an opportunity to get the monkey off the back in a sense. The Warriors have had their number, ending their season in three straight years with playoff losses in 2020, 2021 and 2022. <br>Sept. 22 - AT Star Spencer<br><strong>Sept. 29 - Crossings Christian<br></strong>- This has been one of the more competitive districts in Class 2A over the last few seasons and it looks to remain the same this fall. Jones is building a nice little rivalry with Crossings Christian as the Knights handed them a loss in 2021 and then the Longhorns got a competitive win over the Knights last season. The district title race could come down to this late September match-up. Other teams like Chandler, Luther and others will have something to say about that down the stretch but if the Longhorns can get a win here in week five, they should set themselves up for another run at the district championship. And that will set them up for a lengthy playoff run. <br>Oct. 6 - AT Luther<br>Oct. 12 - Meeker<br>Oct. 20 - AT Chandler<br>Oct. 26 - Kellyville<br>Nov. 3 - AT Bethel</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we mentioned earlier, the Longhorns have without a doubt, one of the toughest non-district schedules in the state, regardless of class. But this is nothing new to the Longhorns. They've been playing both Bethany and Lincoln Christian for several years and they do not shy away from scheduling tough games, like against Class 2A's preseason #1 team and defending champion Washington. The Longhorns started the 2022 season with an 0-3 record and we were very vocal that we did not care at all. The Longhorns remained in our top ten in Class 2A because there were a lot of teams that would have the same record if you put them up against that schedule. Jones is a team and program that never shies away from competition and that's something that we've really respected about them. Jones is once again going to go into district play this fall as one of the more battle-tested teams in the state, regardless of class.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>1 State Championship</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2016 - Beat Plainview 16-6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->