A Year in Review: Jenks Football’s 2023 Season
Photo credit: StadiumConnection.com
By: Jack Denney
It is November in Jenks High School which can only mean one thing: It’s playoff time for the football team. However, before we enter into the realm of the ‘yoffs, it’s best to take a moment and reflect on just how good this team has been in 2023. My name is Jack Denney, the president of the Jenks Superfans, and I have had a front-row seat to every single football game that the Jenks Trojans have played in my senior year. However, not everything was sunshine and rainbows this season for the Trojans and I am here to review and grade just how well our Trojans have done.
Week 0: Edmond Santa Fe @ Home
The Trojans took on Edmond Santa Fe in their home opener on August 25th and put on a very good matchup for Trojan fans and Wolves fans alike. Edmond Santa Fe dominated the ground throughout this game putting up over 250 rushing yards, and still came away with a win without putting up much of anything through the air, going for less than 100 yards. However, for the Trojans, this game proved to be harsh on the offense, with a rotation of quarterback plays it was difficult to get anything going and forced a field goal to win the game with the score sitting at 26-27. The field goal was blocked, and the Trojans lost their first game and home opener of the season. I give the Trojans a B in this performance simply because the game was easily in our grasp for a victory, and the opponent is actually underrated.
Week 1: Trojans @ Owasso
The Trojans went into this game still holding a question mark at the quarterback position, and playing an opponent in Owasso who was coming off of an absolutely staggering loss against the Bixby Spartans in the “Battle of the Burbs”, at Tulsa University. Owasso came into the game and punched the Trojans in the mouth by kicking off the game with an interception and lighting up the scoreboard. However, the entire second half was all Trojans with the second-longest recorded touchdown in school history coming off the run of senior wide receiver Conner Thompson. However, the Trojans still held a mixed quarterback room and couldn’t complete the comeback against the Rams. Rams’ wide receiver Deuce Chalk posted a career night with well over 100 yards and sent our Trojans packing and a 0-2 record. I would grade this game a B as well just because of the resilience in the second quarter and finally having junior Quarterback Owen Jones emerge as the starter which helped out the entire team.
Week 2: Union @ Home
An absolute legacy game for all parties involved. A storied tradition of hatred between each other in the famous “Backyard Bowl” which has only grown with the amount of Trojan to Redhawk transfers, brought upon one of the best games the two teams have ever played. The Trojans absolutely dominated this game in all facets although the score might read differently at 31-24 in favor of the Trojans. Former Trojan Quarterback Shaker Reisig was simply outperformed by a newly found quarterback for the Trojans; Owen Jones and sophomore running back Kaydin Jones rapidly added to his mounting resume. The Trojans receive an A+ on this game for beating a rival in their first win and ultimately kick-starting this team into what we know as the Jenks Trojans.
Week 3: Trojans @ Enid
The Enid Plainsmen were for a lack of better term, the worst team that the Trojans had faced throughout the first four games of the season, and it wasn’t particularly close. The Trojans traveled 2 hours away to shut out Enid who finished the season 3-8 and posed zero threat to the Trojans at any point in the game. Although only 45 points were scored for the Trojans, it was easily the most potent the offense had looked all season, and the starting lineup was out of the game halfway through the third quarter. There’s simply not much to say about this game considering the absolute blowout, so I will be giving the Trojans another A+ for shutting out an opponent and finally unleashing the offense.
Week 4: Westmoore @ Home
The Hometown Huddle took place moments before this game against Westmoore at home and was expected to be an easy win. However, Westmoore popped Jenks in the mouth with a 75-yard bomb down the sideline to open up this game, and Westmoore never looked back. The final score was 16-12 and a complete 180-degree turn of the team we had seen the week before which dismantled the Plainsmen. The Trojans receive a C due to losing to simply a lesser opponent at home, but simultaneously, a loss like this is much better to have in September, rather than late November so it isn’t the end of the world for the Trojans.
Week 5: Trojans @ Norman North
Once again, the Trojans traveled to the OKC area to take on Norman North, and once again the Trojans dominated the OKC team they were playing. Jenks won 42-14 and looked very dominant, with the second unit taking the field before the game had concluded. Owen Jones was slinging the ball down the field all game, despite the numerous penalties the team heralded during this game. Backup Quarterback Simian Gilkey finally carved out a role as virtually a Wildcat position and also a Safety, making some nice plays in the secondary. The Trojans receive a B+ from me for showing the ability to bounce back, and to bounce back in dominant fashion, but the number of penalties drop this from an A.
Week 6: Moore @ Home
The Moore Lions presented the most trap game of all time for the Trojans heading into the Homecoming weekend. The Trojans easily could have lost this game, however, they came out and performed in front of the home crowd as they took down the Lions 31-6. The Trojan’s defense was truly spectacular in this game and proved to be one of if not the best in the entire state. Although Trojan fans would probably like to see the offense put up a little bit more points on such an eventful night, the Trojans added to their win streak and got the win which is the penultimate goal. I give the Trojans a B+ once again simply because I would like to see two more touchdowns against Moore, but a win is a win and I’m not going to discredit them for winning a trap game.
Week 7: Trojans @ Southmoore
The Southmoore Sabercats went winless in the 2023-2024 season and this game was simply an indication of just how bad this team was. However, the Sabercats were leading this game at one point. This game was probably the weirdest of all of the games for the Trojans, being at 1:00 in the afternoon, 2 hours away, and it was about 90 degrees in the middle of October. However, the Trojans fought through these elements and scored 40 unanswered points in a 40-7 victory. Once again, the Trojans were penalized heavily on the road which called back numerous touchdowns and missed field goals left points on the field. This game was close for about ten minutes until the Trojans pulled away and dusted the Sabercats. The Trojans once again got a B+ just because it felt like there was a lot left to be desired for the offense because of the penalties. A long, long road game at 1 pm is weird conditions and the Trojans stomped out the Sabercats so I have to give credit where credit is due. As a side note, one of the Sabercat players was carted off of the field so we are hoping for his health!
Week 8: Trojans @ Broken Arrow
A game full of animosity no doubt. The Broken Arrow Tiger and Jenks Trojan student body both participated in a large amount of trash talk prior to this game. Kaydin and Owen Jones were both Tigers and clearly, their transfer left Tiger fans with a sour taste in their mouth. The opening drive for the Trojans started off with an interception, but after that, the Trojans absolutely took off and cleaned up the Tigers. Clearly, the Tigers should have never been in any position to talk any type of trash, and they were left in the dust and after losing 42-14, they fell to 3-8. I give the Trojans an A+ for blocking out all the noise and annihilating the Tigers in their own stadium.
Week 9: Bixby @ Home
Easily the most anticipated game of the regular season came at home versus the
Bixby Spartans. The Trojans opened up the game on top coming from a flea-flicker 50-yard touchdown pass from Owen Jones, followed up by numerous defensive stops. Headed into halftime, the Trojans were maintaining the lead. However, Bixby bounced back in the second half and won 31-14. Although the score might seem one-sided, the Trojans were extremely banged up and couldn’t field their entire starting lineup so I will give them a B for showing Bixby’s weaknesses, which will help the Trojans out when they meet once again in the state championship.
Thank you everyone for reading this, this is completely subjective and I am simply just a Super fan of the Jenks Trojans who wants to see them win a championship! Root for the Trojans heading into the playoffs and let's go win another gold ball! Let's go Trojans.
#jhstrojantorch
