Southmoore Sabercats 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 Southmoore Sabercats.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Southmoore Sabercats</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Preseason Prep Redzone Ranking: UR</strong><br><strong>Preseason Coaches Ranking: UR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southmoore Sabercats went through some growing pains in 2022 and they are hoping that leads to success as we begin the 2023 football season this fall. The 2022 season featured a lot of young Sabercats being thrown into the fire as first time starters. Head coach Jake Monden was entering his first season with the program and he's looking to continue that culture change that started last season. Southmoore opened up the year with a 28-14 win over Putnam City North in week zero. But the Sabercats would go winless the rest of the way. And district play was brutal at times for Southmoore as they hit a stretch from week four to week eight where they gave up 63, 80, 70, 64 and 90 points in consecutive weeks. But Southmoore is looking to erase the memories of 2022 as they head into the 2023 football season. The Sabercats return the majority of their starters and the Southmoore faithful are hopeful that translates to success this fall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sabercats found themselves in the tougher of the two districts in 6A-1 last season and that certainly had an impact on the end result for the season. Unfortunately for the Sabercats, it appears that their district will once again be the tougher of the two. But Southmoore does bring back the majority of their starters and quite a few young players that we are keeping a close eye on moving forward. Seven starters return on the offensive side of the ball, including a young quarterback that has a lot of people excited. He has a few skill players returning around him but the strength of the offense will more than likely come up front along the line of scrimmage. Then you turn and look at the defense and this is a unit that brings back six starters and has a great mix between young talent and experience on that side of the ball. But with the defense, this is a group that is hungry for improvement after the way last season went, especially in district play. The Sabercats have that sour taste in their mouth and there is only one way to get rid of it. They'll get their shot to do so this season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>2022 RESULTS (1-9 Record - Missed Playoffs)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aug. 26 - Beat Putnam City North 28-14<br>Sept. 2 - Lost To Mustang 57-26<br>Sept. 16 - Lost To Edmond Memorial 35-12<br>Sept. 22 - Lost To Broken Arrow 63-7<br>Sept. 30 - Lost To Bixby 80-0<br>Oct. 7  Lost To Moore 70-28<br>Oct. 13 - Lost To Norman North 64-10<br>Oct. 20 - Lost To Jenks 90-9<br>Oct. 28 - Lost To Enid 45-14<br>Nov. 4 - Lost To Westmoore 28-0</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>Brennon Mason - Wide Receiver<br>Kris Stonebreaker - Offensive Lineman<br>Kyan Blackwell - Linebacker<br>Markus Means - Running Back</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":["478923"],"_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":"We mentioned earlier in the preview that the Sabercats bring back some serious talent in the younger classes that seems primed for big seasons. 2026 standout [player_tooltip player_id='478923' first='Anthony' last='Johnson'] is in that conversation and we think he's going to provide quite a bit of versatility to the offensive side of the ball. Johnson has good size and seems to only be getting better every time he steps on the field. He's had a very busy offseason, improving his overall game and it is going to be interesting to see how the Sabercats utilize him on the offensive side of the ball. Whether he's lining up at running back or wide receiver, Johnson is going to give the Sabercats a potential playmaker when he gets the ball in his hands. There is a lot of potential here with Johnson.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["473754"],"_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":"The 2022 season saw several freshmen take the reins at the quarterback position and run with it and Southmoore's [player_tooltip player_id='473754' first='Cruz' last='Campbell'] is another example of just that. We knew about Campbell prior to the season but it took a little while before he got into the game and made an impact. He would start taking the majority of the reps at quarterback late in the regular season and he carried that momentum over into the offseason. Campbell had a really good offseason when you combine camps and 7v7 tournaments. We were fortunate enough to see him a handful of times at both and each time, his arm was fun to watch as he could put the ball in places that you just don't see often from a freshman. Now, heading into his sophomore year, Campbell appears to be the guy.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["713282"],"_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":"While Campbell appears to have a lot of raw and natural talent at the quarterback position, he's going to have quite a few new wide receivers this season. Southmoore loses their top four receivers from last year's team and 2024 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='713282' first='Skyler' last='Mayer'] has the most experience returning at the position coming into this season. Similar to Johnson, we anticipate that Mayer is going to elevate his production this fall and he will end up having a much larger role within the offense this season. Mayer has had a really good offseason, putting in work to not only improve, but to get on the radar for college coaches prior to his senior season. We think that Mayer certainly could be a late blooming prospect when you talk about the state's 2024 class.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":3,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-64c70f9eb53c8"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>More Names To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>James Thompson - 2024 Offensive Lineman<br>Kai Hooks - 2025 Offensive Lineman<br>Kasen Rinehart - 2025 Wide Receiver<br>Landen Wilson - 2024 Defensive Lineman<br>Zephaniah Davison - 2024 Wide Receiver/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>Sept. 1 - AT Mustang<br>Sept. 8 - Putnam City North<br>Sept. 15 - AT Edmond Memorial<br>Sept. 22 - AT Broken Arrow<br>Sept. 28 - Bixby<br><strong>Oct. 6 - Moore</strong><br>- The annual rivalry game with Moore has some major playoff implications this season. The Lions have dominated the last two meetings with Southmoore, winning 42-0 in 2021 and 70-28 last season. But when you look at this district, the top five teams appear to be pretty solid so the fight for that last playoff spot is going to be fun to watch week after week. Both teams are benefitting from 6A-1 adding two more playoff teams per district. The winner of this week six match-up is going to be in a good position but there will still be work to do. <br>Oct. 12 - AT Norman North<br>Oct. 20 - Jenks<br><strong>Oct. 27 - Enid</strong><br>- The other critical district contest comes in week nine as Southmoore will play host to Enid. The Plainsmen beat the Sabercats 45-14 last season but they were hit hard by graduation, losing the majority of their production on offense. At this point in the season, Southmoore will know exactly what they need to do in order to punch their ticket back to the playoffs. They won't be able to afford to lose this game unless they've pulled a few upsets or have gotten some help from other teams. This should be a must-win before another rivalry clash with Westmoore in week ten. <br>Nov. 3 - AT Westmoore</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Notable</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southmoore's first season as a program came back in the fall of 2008 and they've been in the state's largest class ever since. Even when the Class 6A split happened, the Sabercats remained in the higher division but that could be changing in the very near future. The updated ADM numbers have come out and one noticeable change in 6A-1 is Southmoore is now the smallest school in 6A-1 with Bixby continuing to climb in terms of their enrollment. Deer Creek is now the largest school in 6A-2 and that is a community and school that is experiencing the rapid growth that saw Bixby shoot up the charts and eventually into 6A-1. If they continue at their current pace, Deer Creek will be in 6A-1 before too long and when that happens, someone has to drop down and that could be Southmoore. It won't be happening in 2024 or 2025 but we could see Southmoore drop down in 2026.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Championship History</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>0 State Championships</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->