With senior quarterback Heston Jobe leading the way, the De Leon offense is averaging 47 points a game this fall. So it’s not surprising that the Bearcats have raced to a 6-2 start overall and are 3-0 in District 5-2A Division I play and in a battle with Hamilton for the league title.

What is a slight, but very pleasant, revelation for first-year coach Brennan Whitaker and the Bearcat faithful is how well the four-year starter at QB has transformed from a gunslinger into a surgeon in very short order.

“Heston played very well his freshman, sophomore and junior years, but he was running an offense that did a lot of hurry-up and put a lot of emphasis on the vertical passing game,” Whitaker said. “There weren’t a lot of reads for him to make. He would just try to hit whatever receiver was streaking down the field. This year, we’ve installed something a little different, and he has taken great strides in really learning the quarterback position.”

Just how great those strides have been is reflected in a statistical line that is among the best in the state. Jobe has completed 116 of 180 passes (a 64.4-percent completion rate) for 1,841 yards and 19 touchdowns. He has thrown just two interceptions.

Whitaker said Jobe has become something of a coach on the field, calling all the protections and making the right reads to make sure he gets the ball to the player who can do the most with it.

“That’s where his game has really taken off,” the coach said.

As a result, so have the Bearcats, as evidenced by blowout wins in their past three games against Hico (56-27), Coleman (58-0) and Ballinger (66-14).

Whitaker said the offense he installed this fall is rooted in his days as an assistant coach at perennial Class 6A power Southlake Carroll. It features a balance among runs and passes, and it creates opportunities for a multitude of players to attack a defense.

The passing game features three receivers with nearly identical contributions. Senior Max Jones has a team-leading 41 catches for 627 yards and four scores. Senior Jake Cooper has 36 receptions for 585 yards and seven touchdowns. And junior Bryce Burkeen has caught 27 passes for 494 yards and seven touchdowns.

Though their numbers are similar, how they accumulate them varies — and causes nightmares for defensive coordinators preparing to play De Leon.

“Jake is a big, physical receiver at 6-1 and 185 pounds,” Whitaker said. “He’s hard to bring down when he gets his hands on the ball.”

Burkeen is, per the coach, “an all-around playmaker. He’s a vertical threat and a great blocker.”

Jones is the speedster of the bunch. He was a regional sprint qualifier last spring.

“If he gets the ball in open space, nobody catches him,” the coach said.

The recent return of senior tight end Brenner Wright, who tore a ligament in his thumb early in the season, gives the Bearcats yet another potent weapon who also happens to be one of the team’s better blockers.

As with the receiving corps, De Leon’s running game is remarkably balanced. Sophomore Lane Couch has converted 84 carries into 630 yards (7.5 per run). He has scored 12 times. Senior Adan Salinas has run the ball 73 times for 587 yards (8.0 per carry) and 11 touchdowns. And senior Colt Schwertner (15-113, 3 TDs) has recently been added to the mix, giving the Bearcats what Whitaker called “a three-headed horse at running back.”

While the De Leon offense has earned much of the attention this fall, the defense is also improving by the game. Whitaker said Burkeen, at safety, and junior lineman Gage Hines are consistent leaders in the secondary and up front. The coach also lauded the play of junior linebacker Trenton Zmeskal, sophomore linebacker A.J. Steward, junior defensive end Eli Garza and junior cornerback Harley Pinckard.

As Whitaker assessed the team as it heads to the stretch run of district play with games against Bangs and Hamilton remaining, he said his first year as a head coach has been almost all for which he could hope.

“And I think our best football is ahead of us,” he said. “When everybody’s in their first year together, you spend a lot of time early in the season putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, finding the right players for the spots that best help the team. That’s what happened with Colt and Harley. We had to find ways to get them involved in what we were trying to do. Now we’re all pretty much where we’re supposed to be on both sides of the ball, and it has been fun watching as they get better and better together.

“Goal No. 1 for us from Day 1 is to win the district championship. Goal No. 2 is to be practicing the week of Thanksgiving, and Goal No. 3 is to play in December. We have a chance to reach all three, and I’m very excited about that.”