CCS Royals 2023 Football Preview

Community Christian kicks off the 2023 football season looking to improve on a 2022 campaign where the Royals went 7-5 and lost in the second round of the playoffs. CCS is in a tough 2A-3 district that includes Crooked Oak, Comanche, Frederick, Lindsay, Little Axe, Purcell and Washington, the 2022 State Champion.

“Every preseason thing will have (Washington) picked as the favorites to repeat. We know that’s the monster in our district,” head football coach Mat McIntosh said. “After them, it’ll probably be the way it was last year - Lindsay, Purcell and Frederick will be three teams we’ll have to beat to go to the playoffs.”

OFFENSE

On the offensive side, CCS is keeping business as usual regarding their style of play.

“We are a shotgun spread,” McIntosh said. “We’ll always be a three-or-four wide with what we’ve got up front. We may do more two-back or a tight-end look and only three wide.

“We’ll definitely be a run-first team to control things and set up our passing by how we’re able to run the ball.”

The Royals will once again have a first-year signal caller. Tyndale McIntosh, who is taking the challenge of leading the team at QB1, has really impressed the staff throughout the offseason.

“He’s had a good spring and good summer for us,” McIntosh said. “With the guys we have coming back, we just need somebody who is going to take care of the ball and manage the game.”

One of the advantages CCS feels like they bring to the 2023 season is experience on the offensive line. Four returning starters will help the first-year starting quarterback, along with the running game as well. Two junior linemen who will bolster the offensive line are AJ Shadid and Justin Montgomery.

“We return quite a bit of experience,” McIntosh said. “We really feel like we’re probably going to be as good as we’ve ever been up front on the offensive line.”

Another position the Royals are not too worried about is the receivers and that is due to the multiple returning starters. Three seniors to keep your eye on are Braxton Hartsock, Tag Holt and Asher Jennings.

“Asher’s had as good spring and summer as any player we’ve had,” McIntosh said. “We expect production from all three seniors, but we really expect a big jump from Asher who is going from role player to a key player for us offensively.”

Running back duties are split by two seniors - Drew Bradley and Grayson McGuire. Both should be poised for a big season as they work behind an experienced line.

DEFENSE

The Royals are running a 3-4 base defense that blitzes often. The strength of the defense comes from the linebacker position.

“We blitz as soon as we get off the bus,” McIntosh said. “We send at least one, sometimes two, of our linebackers on every snap of the ball.”

CCS returns seniors Drew Bradley and Kole Gilleland, juniors Grayson McGuire and Layton Teichroeb, and sophomore Grant Haney. All have significant snaps from last season and look to keep the rotation fresh.

One of the spots on the team that is lacking experience is the defensive line. CCS is only bringing back one player who was a full-time starter and another who started at various times throughout the season. While the defensive line is very young, there is one junior who wreaked havoc on opposing offenses.

“Dax Crawford is really the leader for us up front,” McIntosh said. “He is really hard for other teams to block, and he does a great job in run support and getting after the quarterback.”

In the secondary, there is a bit of iron-man football being played. Hartsock, Jennings and Holt will all be back to man the defensive backfield. Another name to look out for is senior Jace Samples, as he is expected to spend a lot of time in the back end.

“We try to manage the depth… to keep guys fresh,” McIntosh said. “At the 2A level, at the end of the day, the best thing for us is to get the best eleven guys on the field as often as possible.”

Many high schools have difficulty finding a kicker, but CCS does not have this problem. The Royals are returning senior Carter Lowry, a four-year starter who handles all kicking duties.

“He’s a great weapon for us,” McIntosh said. “Very dependable on field goals and extra points, a strong leg that helps us pin guys deep.”