After Goldthwaite finished last season winless, AJ Wetzig told himself he wasn’t going to let that happen again.
The senior set goals not only for himself, but Wetzig also set goals for his fellow linemen to be more physical.
“I know that we are going to be a much more aggressive and physical team this year,” Wetzig said. “We told ourselves that the only way we can improve is to work extremely hard in the offseason, and believe me, we have.”
Andy Howard is still looking for his first win as Goldthwaite’s head football coach.
Let’s rephrase that. Howard is awaiting his first win on the scoreboard after taking over the Eagles last year. Even though Goldthwaite went 0-10 against one of the toughest schedules in the state, Howard saw many off-field gains.
“I kept telling the kids every week, we’re not winning on the scoreboard, but we’re winning in our program,” Howard said. “I wanted to see growth daily within our program. You have to learn to overcome the little losses, but we were able to grow throughout the football season.”
DE LEON — Third-year De Leon coach Jacob Marwitz has spent much of his tenure trying to mold his team into a cohesive unit. Everybody on the same page. Everybody has the same goals. Nobody is more important than anyone else.
So it may have been a stroke of luck when the unassuming Heston Jobe emerged as a freshman last year to operate the De Leon offense behind center.
Jobe was too young to feel entitled, too inexperienced to be pretentious and too quiet to hog all of the attention. And best of all, he was productive, rushing for 1,200 yards and 15 scores and passing for 1,100 yards and eight more TDs as a ninth grader.
DE LEON — The biggest word in the De Leon football dictionary for 2023 might be “if.”
If the Bearcats can stay healthy, if they’ve absorbed enough of third-year coach Jason Marwitz’s system and if they can find weapons to supplement sophomore quarterback Heston Jobe, DHS may emerge as a surprise in 2023.
Any mixture of those three, however, and the projections get a bit hazy. But one thing is for certain: De Leon, with only five seniors, must avoid the medical tent if it is to reach its potential this fall.
Over the past two seasons, Coleman’s Jadin Jackson has established himself as one of the most electrifying athletes in the Big Country.
A dual-threat quarterback on offense and a playmaking safety on the opposite side of the ball, the standout senior has helped lead the Bluecats to a combined 20-4 record in his two varsity seasons.
Now entering his final high school campaign, Jackson is hoping to have his best season yet — to fuel Coleman to new heights and prove to college coaches he has something to offer at the next level.
Fresh off their best two-year stretch since 2015-16, the Coleman Bluecats will have some holes to fill in 2023.
Lost among the nine lettermen who graduated last year were star running back/linebacker Ryland Gentry, two-way line standout David Navarro and explosive receiver/cornerback Braxton Smith — and with that trio went a boatload of production and leadership.
But if you think coach John Elder and his Bluecats are bracing for a step back this fall after posting a combined 20-4 record over the past two seasons, you can think again. With a strong nucleus of senior returners, including dual-threat quarterback Jadin Jackson, Coleman is expecting another talented team and hoping for another deep playoff run.
BANGS — When Jason Cole was looking for a new place to call home in the spring of 2022, he had several qualities he was hoping to check off.
The former Thrall and Quanah head coach wanted to stay at the small-school level and find a place with good kids and good facilities. He wanted to be an offensive coordinator and work for a veteran coach.
Guy Powell can’t be replaced. Bangs coach Jason Cole is well aware of that.
While Cole knows there’s not another 2,000-yard tailback waiting in the wings, several Dragons are prepared to pick up the slack as they eye a return to the playoffs.
“They want to show that they can play and contribute,” Cole said of his team’s returning skill players. “We ran the ball 75 percent of the time with Guy because he was so good you’d be crazy not to. Now it’s the other kids’ turn, and they’re excited.”
It’s no secret that the Winters football team has struggled in recent years. Undersized compared to their peers, the Blizzards have won just three games combined over the past two seasons competing in difficult Class 2A Division I districts.
But if you think the WHS players are allowing those struggles to impact their expectations for or excitement surrounding the 2023 season, you would be mistaken.
Led by a feisty group of seniors, whose belief in coach Matt McCarty and each other remains as strong as ever, the Blizzards are hoping to turn some heads and change some minds this fall.
Playing in one of the state’s toughest Class 2A Division I districts with limited numbers, the Winters Blizzards will have their work cut out for them if they hope to reach the playoffs in 2023.
But with the bulk of his talent back from last year’s 1-9 team, coach Matt McCarty is hoping for noticeable improvement this fall.
WHS returns 16 of its 20 letterman from last year’s squad, including eight offensive and nine defensive starters. And it’s that experience that has a Blizzards squad still light on size and depth optimistic heading into the season.
Those who remember Wayne Hutchinson’s first stint at Stamford no doubt remember the high-flying spread offenses he put on the field.
And if you’re a fan of the Bulldogs, that’s likely a cause for great excitement as the two-time state championship coach returns.
Not only does Hutchinson bring with him back to Stamford an elite offensive pedigree, he does so while inheriting a stable of skill players who have already established themselves as playmakers on Friday nights. And while it’s too early to call it match made in heaven, Hutchinson is certainly excited by the possibilities that exist on that side of the football.
With 18 of 27 lettermen back from last year’s 8-3 squad, including the bulk of their skill production on both sides of the ball, the Stamford Bulldogs were going to be an intriguing team in 2023 regardless of who was leading them.
Add in the return of coach Wayne Hutchinson, who guided SHS to back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013, and the excitement surrounding that program may be as high as anywhere in the Big Country.
Sharing District 4-2A Division I with defending state champion Hawley, the Bulldogs will have their share of obstacles to clear this fall. But the optimism in Stamford is very real and would appear to be well justified.
HAWLEY — With starting quarterback Rodey Hooper having graduated in the spring, the Hawley Bearcats may have been left scrambling in search for his successor, if not for a stroke of good luck.
As fate would have it, junior Keagan Ables, the son of head coach Mitch Ables, has completed two seasons as Hooper’s backup and at least four years of consistent film study dating back to his middle school years.
Add the fact that Keagan has spent the entire offseason packing on 17 pounds of muscle in the weight room, and the Bearcats essentially have a 6-foot 207-pound assistant coach behind center.
HAWLEY — Where do Mitch Ables and the Hawley Bearcats go from here?
After posting a 16-0 record and a Class 2A DI state title win over Refugio last season, the prospect of improvement offers little margin for error. The Bearcats are 31-1 over the last two years, they’re 64-7 mark over the last five and one may wonder if expectations at HHS can remain realistic in the wake of such remarkable success.
This season, however, could offer a glimpse of how the program will adapt to both a lack of experience and size. The end result may reveal if the Hawley faithful have been able to keep things in perspective.
To say Colorado City senior Christian Ashby casts an imposing shadow would be an understatement.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive lineman is a mountain of a young man with three state powerlifting meet appearances attesting to the strength that comes with that size.
But as big and strong as Ashby is physically, his presence in the Wolves’ football program as a leader and general positive influence may loom even larger.
Monty Leaf’s first year as the Colorado City football coach was a learning experience for the Wolves.
A late hire, Leaf had limited time to get to know his players and vice versa before the start of fall camp, forcing him and his team to play catch-up throughout the season against a brutally tough schedule.
With 21 lettermen back from that 1-9 outfit and a full offseason in the rearview mirror, Leaf feels this group will be much better equipped to compete than his first. And while the schedule doesn’t get any easier in Year 2, the Wolves are hoping for better results this fall.
CISCO — Decent numbers backed by an unwavering work ethic have helped Cisco maintain one of the most successful football programs in the Big Country for more than two decades.
It is a tradition that extends back to 2002 under then second-year coach Brent West, who reached five state championship games in a 19-year tenure that included 13 double-digit win seasons. And let’s not forget a 2A DII state title in 2013.
That tradition has continued under West’s successor, Kevin Stennett, who has notched three straight double-digit-win campaigns and three straight regional championship game appearances since taking over in 2020.
There is, however, a speed bump ahead.
CISCO — After a successful three-year run that has seen his Cisco Loboes post a 32-10 overall record with three straight appearances in the Region I-2A DI title game, coach Kevin Stennett has a problem on his hands.
The 2023 Loboes are young, with only two starters returning on both sides of the football and just 10 lettermen back from last year’s 11-3 team that fell in the regional championship. Add the fact that Cisco didn’t post its customary 10-0 record at the JV level last season (the JV Loboes were 5-5) and Stennett could be facing the biggest coaching challenge seen at Cisco in more than a decade.
As Anson prepares for the 2023 football season, the most pressing challenge facing the Tigers is how quickly they can get back to the playoffs.
The answer very well could be this year, especially considering that “fast” has been the buzzword around the Tiger camp throughout the workouts leading to the team’s Aug. 25 season opener against Seymour.
That’s “fast,” as in, “Those Anson kids look pretty fast this year.”
At this juncture a year ago, Anson was preparing to open the football season with a new coach and a new staff — and it was doing it with a mere eight returning lettermen and three previous starters from the 2021 campaign.
Not surprisingly, the Tigers didn’t get to do much roaring en route to a 2-8 record.
Fast forward to this fall, and you can take that “new” label off of the coach, Cory McCombs, who, prior to becoming the head coach at Anson, had accumulated a 12-8 coaching record. The bottom line: He has shown that he knows how to build a winning team.
Playing for a Forsan program that prides itself on blue-collar toughness, selflessness and general physicality, senior running back/linebacker Kevin Kligora may be one of the best examples on the 2023 FHS roster of what it means to be a Buffalo.
The hard-nosed senior is two-way standout for coach Jason Phillips’ squad, and his approach to the game checks all the boxes the longtime Forsan mentor looks for in his players.
That approach got Kligora on the field as a sophomore and made him a statistical leader for the Buffs last year as a junior. And now in his senior year, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound bruiser will be called on to add a new level of leadership to his game.
In 14 years as Forsan’s head coach, Jason Phillips has developed an identity and built an expectation of success around a physical brand of football.
This year, he and his Buffaloes will be leaning on that tried and true formula to maintain the momentum they’ve built the past two seasons in posting a combined 19-5 record.
FHS returns 16 lettermen from last year’s 9-3 squad, including five offensive and seven defensive starters, and Phillips has faith that that nucleus and call-ups from a successful junior varsity team can the keep the program rolling in 2023.
The 2022 season was a unique one for the Hico football team.
With just one senior in the program, the youthful Tigers were forced to tackle a challenging slate of opponents that were all more seasoned than they were. And, at times, that showed.
But around the Hico fieldhouse, the Tigers are optimistic that last year’s growing pains will pay off in a major way this year. And with 19 of 20 lettermen back, including all 11 starters on offense and 10 on defense, there’s strong support for that belief.
In his first two years as Hico’s football coach, Todd Swearengin faced an uphill climb.
In 2021, he inherited the challenge of trying to install a new system and culture in a program that had won just six games combined over the previous three seasons. And last year, he had just one senior with which to tackle a tough new district schedule.
After going 9-13 over those two campaigns and closing each in the playoffs, Swearengin will be blessed with his most talented and experienced team yet in 2023. And he’s hoping those factors — and another full year in his system — will be enough to fuel the Tigers to their first winning season since 2017.
Entering his seventh year as the Santo head football coach, Devon Mann has yet to experience a losing season. To find the last time any Wildcats squad did, you’d have to go all the way back to 2012.
To say that Santo is immune to a rebuilding season is probably a stretch. But it’s hard to argue with culture and tradition being built on that campus.
With a clear identity based around their flexbone offensive attack and a hard-nosed 4-4 defense, the Wildcats are in the midst of their longest run of sustained success in program history. And it’s no coincidence that that stretch just happens to coincide with their longest run of coaching and schematic continuity as well.
Coming off their best two-year stretch in program history, the Santo Wildcats will have their mettle tested in 2023.
After following an 11-2 campaign in 2021 with 10 wins last season, SHS will find out this fall if it’s a “reload” program or a “rebuild” one.
The Wildcats return just 10 of 24 lettermen from last year’s team, including three offensive and four defensive starters, and they’ll be leaning on call-ups from a 5-4 junior varsity team for depth. But coach Devon Mann, who is now in his seventh year as the Santo head coach, is confident his squad will find a way to compete at a high level this season despite any perceived disadvantages it may face.
Patrick Corcoran had a 15-year run leading the Munday football program that ended after the 2019 season, posting with 10 winning seasons and two state championships during his tenure.
Since he stepped down, though, the Moguls have had a revolving door of head coaches and that trend continues this year as Brandon Langston takes over following two years of Justin Josselet and one year with Webb Murphy.
Langston will have his work cut out for him as he works to bring a winning culture back to the school.
HASKELL — In December of 2021, Haskell head football coach Mitch McLemore was given what amounted a death sentence.
Diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer, which has an expected five-year survival rate of less than six percent, the prognosis handed down from his doctors was terminal.
HASKELL — Three years into his tenure at Haskell, coach Mitch McLemore has had a mixed amount of success and disappointments thus far with the Indians.
But at the of the day, however, both of is first two seasons at HHS have produced a postseason berth and a measure of competitive consistency.
This year, with five starters back on both sides of the ball, 20 lettermen and a roster expected to be around 30 deep, there is hope in the Haskell camp that the Indians can continue their trend of competitive football and perhaps even improve on it.
At most levels of high school football — and especially the Class 2A Division II level — a 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame will earn you a one-way ticket to the offensive line.
For one, that kind of size isn’t teachable or easily replaced. And most at that size possess skill sets best suited for line play.
Roscoe’s Parker Gleaton is the exception to the rule. With good speed and excellent coordination to go with his size, the senior has carved out his niche as a two-way star at tight end and defensive end. And while doing so has pulled down the average weight of RHS O-line by a few pounds, it’s made the Plowboys a much more difficult team to defend and prepare for on Friday nights.
A year ago, the Roscoe Plowboys saw a promising season derailed by a series of significant injuries to a number of key players.
While coach Jake Freeman’s team was still able to reach the playoffs, extending its streak of consecutive postseason appearances to three consecutive seasons, RHS limped to a 6-5 finish that fell several wins shy of the lofty expectations it had set after returning 18 lettermen from a 10-2 squad in 2021.
Fortunately for Roscoe, which fielded a junior-heavy roster last year, it has an opportunity to run it back this fall. And with 18 returning lettermen again, including nine starters on both sides of the ball, the now senior-led Plowboys like their chances of improving on last year’s record.
In the high school football world — especially in Texas, where the parlance isn’t too much of a stretch — stories introducing a newcomer taking the lead position at a prep program are occasionally headlined by the words, “There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Well, Hamlin has a new coach this fall: Jason Botos.
But to be accurate, headlines announcing his arrival this fall probably need to be prefaced, “The deputy sheriff has been promoted.”
Coach Jason Botos readily acknowledges that his first year as head coach of the Hamlin Pied Pipers could present “a challenge,” given that a good portion of his principal players will be sophomores in 2023.
But, as Botos sees it, there’s plenty of glass-half-full promise for the squad, which is already showing in preseason workouts that it is willing to work hard, has decent depth and won’t back down from competition.
In 14 years at Cross Plains, 12 of those as head coach, Daniel Purvis has seen all kinds of rosters. And at a school that has teetered on the enrollment line between 11- and six-man numbers over that span, many of those have been undersized compared to their district peers.
That won’t be an issue for the 2023 Buffaloes.
This year’s Cross Plains team will not only be big up front, where the average weight of their offensive line starters tops 240 pounds, it will be experienced as well. All five starters are back for the Buffaloes, who will have seniors at four of the five line spots, and Purvis and his offensive coordinator, Chad Barron, have every intention of taking advantage of that.
With a 72-59 record in his 12 years as Cross Plains’ head football coach, Daniel Purvis has built a winning program, capable of consistently making the playoffs.
The Buffaloes have reached the postseason in 10 of those 12 seasons, including each of the past eight — a notable feat for a school that is still more than 100 games below .500 all time.
But with just one playoff victory out of all those trips, Purvis still has greater goals and aspirations for his program. And with the bulk of his talent back from a team that went 7-4 a year ago, the coach feels this year’s group could be the one that sets CPHS on that path.
“When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.”
— Hans Gruber, Die Hard, 1988
ALBANY — When he won the world chess championship in 1973 after pursuing it for much of his life, American Bobby Fischer woke up the next day and later reflected that “everything felt different.” He soon vacated the title and never played in an officially sanctioned world championship match again.
This sort of thing isn’t uncommon for those who spend decades chasing after a goal. Once it’s finally achieved, the question then becomes, how do I stay hungry? With the driving force behind all the hard work suddenly stripped away by success, where does one find additional energy?
Albany football coach Denney Faith found himself facing this challenge over the offseason, after a 36-year pursuit of a state championship finally came to an end with a victory over Mart for the Class 2A DII state title last year.
ALBANY — Even while coming off a Class 2A DII state championhip, there are a few questions to be answered by the Albany Lions and veteran coach Denney Faith.
The good news for the Lions, is that they will have some tools in place to buy themselves a little time while sorting things out.
Abilene TLCA’s Johnathon Rico is aiming for a better outcome in 2023.
Rico, a sophomore quarterback for Texas Leadership Charter Academy, said getting the first victory in 11-man would be great after the team endured a winless campaign last year.
As the Eagles enter year two as an 11-man program, head coach Jeremy Kirk said Rico’s maturation should go a long way toward achieving that goal.
Things have not been easy on the north side of Abilene as Jeremy Kirk has worked to build an athletic program from scratch with the Texas Leadership Charter Academy of Abilene.
Since planting roots in Abilene, TLCA slowly expanded with the addition of one grade level on an annual basis. That led to the Eagles football team often being outmanned and undersized in its formative years.
After finally having a senior class for the first time in 2022-23, Kirk is now able to focus more on the product on the field as opposed to wondering how many kids he’s going to have on his squad, and that is going to allow for the development of several locker room leaders.
The Big Country enters the 2023 season having swept the 2021 (Westbrook, Strawn) and 2022 (Westbrook, Benjamin) Class 1A state championships after having gone a couple of years without claiming the top prize.
Entering this season, the biggest question is: Can Westbrook pull off a three-peat?
Westbrook and Benjamin enter the season as the top-ranked teams in Divisions I and II, respectively, but the Big Country has a total of seven teams ranked in the Top 10 between the two Class 1A divisions.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Clyde-Hawley football scrimmage (44 images)”
After highlighting the Big Country’s top front- and back-row players the past four nights, we close out our volleyball position rankings series with the players who do a little of everything.
For the final installment in our five-part series, we rank the Big Country’s top five utility players with others to watch.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our rankings, and make sure to check back throughout the fall for all of our volleyball coverage this season.
After highlighting the area’s top front-row players the past three nights, we now shift our attention to the those digging the ball off the floor in the back row.
For the fourth installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top-five liberos and defensive specialists for 2023 season.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After focusing on the top hitters and blockers the Big Country has to offer the past two nights, it’s time to shift our attention to those setting them up.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 setters for the 2023 season.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
After kicking off our volleyball position rankings series with the outside hitters on Monday, we now turn our attention to the middle blockers.
For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top five players at that position with some others to watch for in 2023.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With the volleyball season upon us, it’s time to take a look at the local and area players who will be making the biggest impact for their teams during the 2023 season.
For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all positions, we’ll be focusing on the Big Country’s top outside hitters, ranking our top five with a list of others to watch this season.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through our selections.
When the Big Country chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials began meeting this summer to prepare for the 2023 season, a declining number of officials was especially concerning to members of the board of directors.
The local chapter, one of at least 15 in the state, was confronted with a shortage of 30 officials this year — a number that equates to fully staffing five or six games every week.
That’s where Rueben Morales, who is in charge of recruiting for the local chapter, and his team got to work and succeeded in a major way.
Day 6 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with one more day of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Friday and Saturday:
Continue reading “Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Days 6”
Day 5 of Big Country Preps’ 2023 Photo Tour is now in the books, with two more days of shooting yet to come from practice fields throughout the area.
Here are but a few of the images collected Friday:
Continue reading “Scenes from Big Country Preps Photo Tour Day 5”