Pigskin Preview 2017 by Brownwood Bulletin

Season previews:

Brownwood • Early • Bangs • Blanket • Brookesmith • May • Zephyr • Howard Payne Comanche • Coleman • Goldthwaite • San Saba • Richland Springs • Santa Anna • Rising Star • Sidney • Mullin

Bulletin

Taking the next step

B R O W N W O O D

17 BROWNWOODTX.COM

PIGSKIN PREVIEW

Lions look to build on bi-district championship in Maxfield’s second season Page 2

Top 10 teams Richland Springs, Zephyr, May set sights on Arlington

Page 19

Page 12

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PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

BROWNWOOD LIONS

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 3-4A Division I • 2016 Record: 6-4, 3-1

Lions look to build on bi-district title in Maxfield’s second year

Kyle Maxfield By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

A 6-4 record and bi-district championship was a nice start to the Kyle Maxfield coaching era, but he and the Brownwood Lions have much higher goals entering the head coach’s second season with the program. “I think December football is a realistic goal for us,” said Maxfield, who returns seven offensive and four defensive starters from last year’s squad. “We have one of the toughest schedules in the state for our level, but we handled that pretty well last year. It seemed like we played a lot better than a 6-4 year, but we had two overtime losses. We feel like now in our second year we can win those close games like that, that’s the biggest difference.” With a pre-district slate that again includes Class 5A Canyon along with 4A powers Graham, Liberty Hill, Alvarado and Giddings — and with four of those five games away from Gordon Wood Stadium — the Lions should be battle tested when the start of District 3-4A Division I action rolls around. Each of Brownwood’s first four contests SEE BROWNWOOD, 34

PHOTO BY DERRICK STUCKLY

Gavin Jefferson (21) and the Brownwood Lions will attempt to improve on their 6-4 record and trip to the second round of the playoffs as they begin their second season under head coach Kyle Maxfield.

LIONS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Kyle Maxfield (2nd season as head coach at school, 6-4 record; 18th season overall, 129-72 career record) • ASSISTANT COACHES John Contrucci (offensive coordinator/offensive line), Sam Gillispie (defensive coordinator/secondary), Brad Bowden (offensive line/JV), Corey Medulla (offensive line/freshmen), Shawn Cullins

(receivers), Nadir Dalleh (receivers), Bryan Clark (running backs), Aaron Keesee (quarterbacks), Kirk Chastain (defensive line), Blandon Hancock (defensive ends), Grant Feaster (outside linebackers), Tyler Horton (middle linebackers), Mark Wilson (secondary) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2010 • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 20 • LETTERMEN LOST 25 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 7 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Gavin Jefferson (RB/LB), Rylan Reagan (TE/DL), Liam McCraw (OL/DL), Hunter Mares (LB), Patrick Nash (TE/DB), Hayden Tunnell (DE), Hunter Leonard (TE/DE), Santanna Espinoza (OL/DL), A.J. McCarty (ATH), Blaize Infinger (OL/DL), Wyatt Jacobs (OL), Braden Jetton (WR/DB), Colby Coppic (OL), Hayden Donahoo (LB), Clayton Bertrand (QB), Tommy Bowden (QB)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 3

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

HPU YELLOW JACKETS

American Southwest Conference • 2016 Record: 0-10, 0-5

New coach Harris out to rebuild Yellow Jacket program from ground up By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

FILE PHOTO BY DERRICK STUCKLY

Quarterback Caisson Montieth (10) and the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets begin their first season under head coach Braxton Harris on Sept. 2 at Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

On the heels of their second 0-10 season in program history, and with a 20-80 record and 10 consecutive losing seasons over the last decade, the reins of the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football program have been turned over to Braxton Harris, who will be making his head coaching debut this season. Harris, who comes to Howard Payne after serving the past three seasons as Texas Lutheran University’s assistant head coach and codefensive coordinator, knows that restoring the program to the success of decades past won’t happen overnight. The Yellow Jackets’ last winning season, with a 7-3 mark, occurred in 2005 and HPU hasn’t reached the postseason since 1995 as a member of the now-defunct Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association. “When I got the job in January everyone wanted to know how many wins we were going to have,” said Harris, the 23rd head coach in HPU football history and third in three seasons. “I had no idea and I still have no idea. Our goal that we talk about here is the process. We’ve all got to buy-

Braxton Harris in, the kids have buy-in to the process. I don’t how many games we’re going to win, but I know if we get better every single day we’ll be a better team than when we started. If we do those things, it will produce results. There’s no question we’ve got guys that can compete but we have to be more consistent in how we compete.” Along with his most recent stint at Texas Lutheran, where he helped guide a previously 0-10 program to a 25-5 record over three years with three consecutive conference championships, Harris served as an assistant at Mary Hardin-Baylor and Waco High School. “I was very fortunate to work for three really good head coaches — Pete Fredenburg at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Danny Ramsey at Waco High SEE HPU, 37

JACKETS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Braxton Harris (1st season as head coach at school, 0-0 career record) • ASSISTANT COACHES Beau Davidson (defensive coordinator), Coby Gipson (offensive coordinator), Scott Clough

(offensive line), Matt Moore (defensive line), Jake Hale (secondary) • LAST CONFERENCE TITLE 1995 • LAST POSTSEASON APPEARANCE 1995

• PLAYERS RETURNING 60 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Caisson Montieth (QB), Cyle Johnson (OL), Eric Haverstock (TE), Dustin Willis (DE), Abner Reyes (DL), Britt Boler (MLB), Patrick Hunt (S), Zach Reed (CB), Darius Edwards (CB), Robert Evans (OL), Malik Burnley (WR), Travis Folmer (OL)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 5

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

EARLY LONGHORNS

District 3-3A Division I • 2016 Record: 0-10, 0-5

Sandford looking to guide ’Horns to playoffs for first time since ’08 By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

EARLY — The Early Longhorns are attempting to erase the memories of an 0-10 campaign from a year ago in their quest to reach the postseason for the first time since 2008. Head coach Blake Sandford enters his third season in charge of the Longhorns football program, which is focusing solely on the future and not looking back. “We don’t ever want to live backward, we want to live in the present and forward,” Sandford said. “What we concentrate on now is what we are in control of, which is getting bigger, stronger and faster and putting ourselves in a position to win.” The Longhorns cranked up the intensity of their offseason program dating back to the conclusion of the 2016 season, which Sandford hopes pays dividends in 2017. “We have a competitive mindset in everything we do,” Sandford said. “Every day was a competitive day in athletics or offseason, while at the same time push-

ing them to change the mindset of the direction the football program needed to be going in. Running, lifting, trying to get faster and stronger was at the forefront, along with the desire to win. They had a great offseason and showed up ready to do some work.” Early returns 17 lettermen, including four starters on each side of the Blake Sandford ball, while an influx of talent from last year’s JV squad — which experienced a good amount of success a year ago — is a welcome addition. “We have some returners that did a good job and are coming back,” Sandford said. “They’re going to be vital, but we also have some younger players we’re excited about. The strength of this team is we have some game speed. One of our weaknesses will be inexperience at the beginning, but you’re no longer a freshman or a sophomore once you put the pads on for the first

game. They’ve all had playing time, even the ones that are new to varsity, on the sub-varsity last year. That was important to us, to make sure they all had playing time.” Another plus for the Longhorns is the familiarity with the schemes of returning offensive coordinator Dale Trompler and returning defensive coordinator Josh Lehde, which haven’t changed much at all from last season. “We’re still multiple on defense and running the spread on offense,” Sandford said. “Now that we’ve been into that a while, when a play is being run it’s looking like it’s supposed to look. The success or failure of the play is conditioned on the athlete making the play or not. On defense they understand the system, now it’s a matter of getting to the ball and making the tackle or causing a turnover. We’re working past the terminology and the concept of the offense, and now we’re working on making a play and making SEE EARLY, 38

HORNS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Blake Sandford (3rd season as head coach at school, 2-18 record; 3rd season overall, 2-18 career record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2007 • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

2008 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 17 • LETTERMEN LOST 14 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING

4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Miguel Elizondo (LB), Jaiden Cochran (OL), Ryan Trompler (QB), Ty Schafer (TE/LB), John Griffin (OL),

Bailey Jones (OL/LB), Chad Cochran (OL/DL), Jesson Tarrant (RB/DB), Jadyn Lehde (TE/LB), Jonathan Morales (WR), C.J. Hanley (WR/DB), Hayden Barker (RB/DL), Mason Flippin (LB), Ethen Portillo (OL/DL), Chase Keilers (WR/DB), Devyn Burns (WR/DB), Jose Pesina (RB/DL)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 7

BANGS DRAGONS

District 4-3A Division II • 2016 Record: 2-7, 0-5

Playoffs in the plans for Dragons, who begin third year under Bird By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

BANGS — Entering the third season of the Jim Bird coaching era, the Bangs Dragons’ goal is clear — make the playoffs. Following an 0-10 season in Bird’s first year and a 2-7 mark last season, earning the program’s first postseason berth since 2014 and first winning since 2013 is the unquestioned objective. “The next step for us is going from 2-7 to having a winning record and getting in the playoffs,” Bird said. “I think that’s a good realistic step for these guys and they’ve accepted the challenge. It’s a very realistic thing and a very accomplishable goal, but it’s not going to be an easy goal to reach. We want to get better every year and we feel like we have the kids to do it, not just from an athlete perspective but from a character perspective.” Bangs is again competing in District 4-3A Division II this season and while it may not be as difficult this season as it was last, it still ranks among the toughest leagues in the state for its classification. Both Cisco,

at No. 10, and Eastland, at No. 14, appear in the 3A Division II Top 15 in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, while Coleman made the deepest postseason run last year, playing into the third round. Tolar, a playoff team a year ago, and Dublin round out the district. “It’s a great district, real tough with a lot of storied programs,” Bird said. “All the experts are pickJim Bird ing Cisco at the top, but I feel like any time Cisco and Eastland play anything could happen. Coleman played later than anybody last year and finished third in the district. We can sit here and speculate about who is going to finish first, second, third or fourth but at the end of the day there’s going to be a lot of variables that affect that, like injuries and grades. What we have to do is focus, execute and play our hardest every week and let the chips fall where they may.” Prior to district competition, the Dragons have five

opportunities to hone their skills in contests against Early, Hawley, Winters, Coahoma and Jim Ned. Bangs’ two victories last season came during the predistrict portion of the schedule — against Early and Winters — while the Coahoma contest was cancelled due to weather. “The first thing I want to see is them competing their absolute hardest,” Bird said of his pre-district goals for the Dragons. “Some of these teams, going into last year, our kids hadn’t played them in their careers and they didn’t know what to expect. This year they should know what to expect. If we’re going to have a winning record at the end of the season we’re going to have to win the front half or the back half, or both. I think that, realistically, our kids and coaches feel like we can win three or four of those football games if not all five. But there’s no point in worrying about all of them, we’re just going to worry about one at a time. We want the kids to take one pre-district game at a time, so all of our focus in on the Early SEE BANGS, 38

DRAGONS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Jim Bird (3rd season as head coach at school, 2-17 record; 4th season overall, 5-24 career record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2010

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2014 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 14 • LETTERMEN LOST 14

• OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 6 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Colton Brewer (QB/DB), Zach Zink (RB/LB),

Payton Eason (RB/DL), Kobey Hoffman (OL/ LB), Seth Anderson (RB/DB), Justin Wilson (RB/ DB), George Nicholas (WR/DB), Cael John (OL/ DL), Casey Ketterhagen (OL/DL), Kadon Richards (WR/DE), Hunter Lawrence (OL/DL), Eli Carbajal (OL/LB), Steven Montgomery (WR/DB)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

BLANKET TIGERS

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 10-A Division I • 2016 Record: 6-4, 1-2

First-year coach Williamson hopes Tigers write ‘Cinderella’ story By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

BLANKET — The Blanket Tigers’ string of consecutive playoff appearances was halted at four last season despite finishing with a winning record. The task for new head coach Brent Williamson is to return Blanket to the postseason for what he hopes will be a deep playoff run. “Everywhere I coach the expectations are always going to be high,” said Williamson, who spent the last two seasons at Gorman. “We always shoot for a state title. You have to start out the season setting your expectations high and that’s what we’re shooting for this year. We want to make a deep run and hopefully make it up to Dallas and get to play in Cowboys Stadium. The kids know my expectations and we’re trying to get them on board with those expectations.

If you don’t have high expectations you don’t need to be playing the game.” Williamson’s coaching career includes stops at Early, Gustine, High Island and Gorman. “I was at Early for five years from 2005-10 under Robbie Tindol,” Williamson said. “Then I went over to Gustine and took over as head coach Brent Williamson and athletic director from 2010-12. I went down to High Island to help them start a six-man program and was there from 2012-15. And the last two years I was over at Gorman and started up their six-man program there.” Williamson inherits 12 lettermen returning out of 15,

including four starters on each side of the ball, from last year’s 6-4 squad that finished third to Jonesboro and Zephyr in District 10-A Division I. “Blake Hood is going to be one of our better players this year, along with Luke Kinkade,” Williamson said. “We’ve got a sophomore that was real successful last year in track and is extremely fast in Logan Wheeler. We’re looking for him to do some damage this year. We also have a freshman who is 6-5, probably about 180, 185 pounds named Tyler Simpson, and we look for him to step in and hopefully play a big role for us this year.” Blanket is expected to be the fastest team in the district, which Williamson hopes translates to success on the field. SEE BLANKET, 39

TIGERS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Brent Williamson (1st season as head coach at school, 0-0 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2014

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2015 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 12 • LETTERMEN LOST

3 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Luke Kinkade (RB/DB), Blake Hood (WR/DB), Adan Lopez (OL), John John Alexander (CB), Logan Wheeler (RB), Trenten Varner (QB), Jonathan Sifuentes

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 9

BROOKESMITH MUSTANGS

District 12-A Division II • 2016 Record: 5-6, 3-1

Mustangs eye second straight playoff trip under new head coach By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

BROOKESMITH — The Brookesmith Mustangs ended a decade-long postseason drought, reaching the playoffs last season for the first time since 2006. The Mustangs are attempting to duplicate their postseason appearance again this season under the direction of new head coach Scott Edmondson, the 10th head coach for Brookesmith in 14 seasons. Edmondson, a former defensive coordinator at Blanket, is returning to the coaching ranks after serving as principal at Water Valley High School last year. Edmondson is also the assistant superintendent at Brookesmith. “Water Valley was a little far from home for me, I live just 10 miles from here,” Edmondson said. “Brookesmith made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

They needed somebody here to keep this going so I took the opportunity. It was good for me and I think it will be good for the school. I’ve got two years left and I’m going to try and finish out here if I can.” The Mustangs return four offensive and three defensive starters from last year’s 5-6 squad that posted a 3-1 mark in District 12-A Scott Edmondson Division II action en route to a runner-up finish. “We lost a couple of key players but I think we’re going to have some young players step up,” Edmondson said. “It’ll be a challenge, but I think we’ll be better than people are expecting us to be. We have some good players coming back. It may

take them a little time to learn a new system and learn me. It may take a few weeks for that to gel, but I think we’ll be better than people think. Everybody thinks we’ve lost everything.” Among the returnees for the Mustangs are Mason Brummett, Ryder Nelson and Holden Bolt, who will see an expanded role. “Mason has quite a bit of speed and Ryder is a solid player, a big kid with good hands,” Edmondson said. “Holden is going to be a sophomore and those are probably going to be our three key people. The rest of them, we’re still trying to figure out what’s going to happen with them.” The Mustangs will tangle with Gorman, Blackwell, Veribest, Trent, Blanket and Paint Rock in pre-district SEE BROOKESMITH, 39

MUSTANGS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Scott Edmondson (1st season as head coach at school, 0-0 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE

N/A • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 7

• LETTERMEN LOST 7 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING

3 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Mason Brummett (QB/S), Ryder Nelson (G/DL), Holden Bolt (QB/CB)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 11

MAY TIGERS

District 11-A Division I • 2016 Record: 11-1, 3-0

No. 8 Tigers look to defend district title, make another run at Arlington By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

MAY — The May Tigers ran the table during the regular season and reached the second round of the playoffs in 2016, and goals this season are even greater. Coming off an 11-1 campaign with four offensive and three defensive starters back, the reigning District 11-A Division I champion Tigers enter the season ranked No. 8 in Class A Division I by sixmanfootball.com. “To be honest, in this town, ever since we went to state both those years (2013 and 2014), that’s the expectation for the community and the expectation for these kids every year,” said Craig Steele, who is beginning his 14th season at May. “We try and temper that a little bit with the steps that need to be taken first as far as making the playoffs and preparing yourselves in that matter. But that’s where these kids are at, that’s where their goal is

at and I’m not going to temper it too much.” Key returnees for the Tigers include Jacob Brown, Wyatt Mote, Preston Johnston, Daniel Salinas, Austin McAbee, Rylee Baker and Jaden Baker. “Jacob was our leading rusher last year before he broke his leg the first game of district, so we’re expecting big things from him this year,” said Steele, who eclipsed 100 victories at Craig Steele May last season. “Wyatt is back for his third year as a starter at quarterback, and Preston came in last year and did a great job for us and we continue to expect good things from him. We have three kids on our line that we’re really excited about, Austin, Rylee and Jaden, good strong kids with

good feet. Daniel has been starting on defense since he was a freshman and he’s a junior now. Defensively he’s the guy we lean on. If we can stay healthy we should be pretty good.” Steele stated the Tigers have an ideal mix of speed and size this season, which hasn’t typically been the case for most May squads. “This is probably one of the fastest groups we’ve had in a while,” Steele said. “We have some pretty good team speed combined with some pretty good size. We have the elements, if things fall right, to be a pretty good football team. Having said that, kids are going to have to develop. We lost some really good seniors last year. We have some juniors having to step up into positions they haven’t played before.” SEE MAY, 40

TIGERS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

Craig Steele (14th season as head coach at

2016

school, 101-47 record)

• LETTERMEN RETURNING 8 • LETTERMEN LOST

• LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2016

4 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3 • PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wyatt Mote (QB), Jacob Brown (RB), Daniel Salinas (RB/CB), Preston Johnston (RB/LB), Austin McAbee (OL), Rylee Baker (DE), Tyler Wheeler (RB/DB), Weston Chambers (RB/CB), Dalton Self (DB), Gage Keckler (DE)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

ZEPHYR BULLDOGS

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 10-A Division I • 2016 Record: 10-3, 2-1

No. 4 Bulldogs out to earn elusive trip to state championship game By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

ZEPHYR — Two points separated Zephyr from a return trip to the Class A Division I semifinals — and possibly an eventual state championship game appearance — in 2016, and the returning members of the Bulldogs roster haven’t forgotten that fact. “We had a chance to win that game and just didn’t take care of business and we’ve been bitter ever since,” Zephyr head coach Shannon Williams said in regard to last year’s 46-44 defeat at the hands of district rival Jonesboro in the Region III championship game. “That two points has been on our minds ever since. It’s on the board, the team goal board, the weight room board, the kids break to it.” The Bulldogs, who have posted a 21-6 record the past two seasons with trips to the state semifinals

and quarterfinals, enter the 2017 campaign ranked No. 4 in Class A Division I by sixmanfootball.com. Zephyr returns four starters on each side of the ball from last year’s 10-3 squad. “Coming in ranked how we are, I don’t like having a bulls-eye on your back right off the bat,” Williams said. “I like being a sleeper team that Shannon Williams everyone picks against. It’s fun to play the underdog role. It’s a different story when you have to keep everyone from whipping your tail.” Regardless of the ranking, Williams and company expect another deep playoff run as they attempt to earn an elusive trip to AT&T Stadium in Arlington for

the Class A Division I state final. “Expectations are super high,” Williams said. “My expectations are high for the kids, for myself, and for the coaching staff. We like that, our kids like it.” Among the key returnees for the Bulldogs are seniors Kason King and Nicholas Moody, along with junior Devin Williams. “Kason is an all-state returner at quarterback who threw for over 1,000 yards last year,” Willliams said. “We don’t throw the ball a lot but when we do we have a great receiver to throw to in Devin. He’s a returning two-year starter and he’s gotten stronger this summer and is probably the fastest guy on the team. Nicholas Moody is a four-year starter on offense and defense, and we’re looking for him to come into his SEE ZEPHYR, 41

BULLDOGS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

Shannon Williams (5th season as head coach at

2016

school, 34-15 record)

• LETTERMEN RETURNING 9 • LETTERMEN LOST

• LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2015

5 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • PLAYERS TO WATCH

Devin Williams (WR), Kason King (QB), Nicholas Moody (RB), Robert Clark (OL), J.P. Gowin (LB), Jeron Morris (RB), William Simpson (LB), Elliot Gowin (RB), Mason Rogers (RB), Hunter Williams (QB), Garit Durbin (RB), Kannon Eoff (OL), Austin Deavers (TE), Bryson Gibbs (G)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 13

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COMANCHE INDIANS

District 3-3A Division I • 2016 Record: 7-4, 5-0

Defending district champion Indians in the role of favorites in ’17 By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

COMANCHE — The Comanche Indians pulled a surprise last season by emerging with their first district championship since 2000. Coming into the 2017 campaign as favorites in District 3-3A Division I, the Indians are looking to avoid a letdown in their quest to repeat as champions. “We’re looking forward to this year with some good pieces back off a district championship team from a year ago,” said Comanche head coach Stephen Hermesmeyer. “It’s a little different situation this year with us expected to win the district championship, so there’s a lot of pressure on us but the kids have showed up in great condition. We’re excited about what we’re seeing and just trying to get better each day with hopes that when district gets here we’re good enough to execute and win some ball games.”

The Indians return nine offensive and four defensive starters from a squad that went 7-4 last year, including a flawless 5-0 run through the district slate. Among the key returnees are running back/linebacker Colton Roberts (754 rushing yards, 5 TDs; 119 tackles), running back/linebacker Jeremy Bostick (658 rushing yards, 6 TDs), quarterback Bronte HermesStephen meyer (310 passing yards, 5 TDs) Hermesmeyer — who missed half the season with a broken collarbone — and offensive/ defensive linemen Moses Garcia (81 tackles), Nacho Rios and Emiliano Jimenez. “We have great team chemistry,” Hermesmeyer said. “We have a group of seniors that have been suc-

cessful together and a good supporting cast around them. As long as they continue to work hard great things should happen.” Among the few areas of concern for Comanche is varsity experience, despite having a total of 73 kids report for preseason practices — “far more numbers than we’ve had the past few years,” according to Hermesmeyer. “Our biggest weakness is we don’t have as much varsity depth as we’ve had in the last year or two,” he added. Prior to district, Comanche will clash with Ballinger, Coleman, Cisco, Little River-Academy and Eastland. “We have to be really good at what we do and if we do, we have a chance to be very successful,” Hermesmeyer said in regard to the pre-district objectives. SEE COMANCHE, 38

INDIANS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Stephen Hermesmeyer (6th season as head coach at school, 27-27 record; 52-48 career record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2016

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 18 • LETTERMEN LOST 12

• OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 9 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Colton Roberts (RB/LB), Moses Garcia (DL),

Jeremy Bostick (RB/LB), Joseph Gilligan (OL/ LB), Bronte Hermesmeyer (QB/DB), Nacho Rios (OL), Kade Mercer (LB), Kendal Back (OL), Emiliano Jimenez (OL), Gavin Farrar (TE), Jameson Allen (RB), Colton Wilson (RB), Jayton McGinnis (WR), Trevor Higginbotham (WR)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 15

COLEMAN BLUECATS

District 4-3A Division II • 2016 Record: 9-4, 3-2

Bluecats attempt to carry on recent legacy with several new faces By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

COLEMAN — In Coleman, the 2017 Bluecats will attempt to put to rest any suggestions that the program isn’t up to the standards of the previous three seasons. Though Coleman returns just 13 lettermen, including one offensive and two defensive starters from last year’s 9-4 playoff team, head coach John Elder has 15 seniors ready to make an impact. “Losing 15 from last year hit us pretty good, but we’ve got 15 seniors right now and a lot of those kids were on the team and played some football,” said Elder, who owns a 31-7 season in three seasons at Coleman. “They’re hungry now to create their own identity and make names for themselves. We expect them to come out and play hard and win some games.”

John Elder

With just three starters total returning, an obvious concern heading into the season is experience. “We are inexperienced, but our biggest strength is how hungry we are for success and how unified we are as a team,” Elder said. “They have a chip on their shoulder because some people don’t think they’ll be as successful as the last few teams. They’re hungry enough to come back and play football and try and make a name for them-

selves.” Among the returnees to keep eye on for the Bluecats are running back/defensive back Terran Holloway

(600 rushing yards, 2 TDs), quarterback/defensive back Denton Allen (65 tackles), tight end/defensive end Jett Allen (186 receiving yards, 1 TD), running back/linebacker Trotter Harris (103 tackles) and offensive/defensive lineman Dave Wakefield. The Bluecats will have five games to mesh — against Jim Ned, Comanche, Post, Brady and Clyde — before the start of District 4-3A Division II action. “We want to compete in all our games,” Elder said. “We’ve got a schedule against mostly bigger teams than us — Jim Ned, Brady, Comanche and Clyde — and then you throw Post in who’s always a good team from out west. We want to be able to get our basic football down and compete and be in every game and SEE COLEMAN, 39

BLUECATS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH John Elder (4th season as head coach at school, 31-7 record; 31-7 career record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2014

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 13 • LETTERMEN LOST

17 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • PLAYERS TO WATCH

Dave Wakefield (OL/DL), Trotter Harris (RB/DB), Terran Holloway (RB/DB), Denton Allen (QB/DB), Jett Allen (TE/DE), Xavier Nunez (WR/DB), Kutter Sanchez (OL/DL), Brendon Camp (OL/DL), Bowen Johnson (WR/DB), Seth Watson (OL/DE)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

GOLDTHWAITE EAGLES

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 7-2A Division I • 2016 Record: 7-4, 4-2

Eagles motivated by last season’s playoff shortcomings By Mike Lee Special to the Bulletin

GOLDTHWAITE — The Goldthwaite Eagles are seeking to atone for their disappointment in all the boys’ team sports during the 2016-17 school year. For the first time since they restarted baseball in 2007, the Eagles didn’t win a playoff game or series in football, basketball or baseball. The 2016 football team started 6-1, but faded to a 7-4 finish. The Eagles lost three of their final four games, including a 25-point District 7-2A Division I loss to Crawford and a 30-point bi-district loss to Bosqueville. The other loss – a 38-35 district decision to De Leon on a field goal on the game’s final play – was the most costly because it left Goldthwaite with a much tougher bi-district draw. “Most of our kids play all the team sports so we are motivated by our lack of playoff success last year,” fourth-year Goldthwaite head coach Greg Proffitt

said. “We want to play with a chip on our shoulder this year. We realize nothing’s going to be given to us, especially in this district. “We have a big senior class with 10 kids. They’ve played in a lot of big games in every sport.” The Eagles – who have made the playoffs for 13 consecutive years – return their top rusher, top passer and receiving yardage leader from Greg Proffitt last year. Quaid Seward rushed for 1,489 yards and 11 touchdowns, even with two injured shoulders. He had both shoulders surgically repaired during the offseason. Quarterback Christian Valencia passed for 1,378 yards and nine TDs last year while Kyle Schwartz had 438 yards and three TDs receiving. “We don’t want to overuse Quaid in the games that

don’t matter as much (non-district), but he is a senior and this is it for him. He’s one of our better players and we’ve got to get him the ball,” Proffitt said. Skill-position depth will come from running back Leo Garcia, H-back Trey Patterson and receivers McKennan Jones and JP Gibbard, who stands 6-foot3. Also, 6-1 senior receiver Darren Massey returned to football this year after a two-year layoff. The offensive skill positions will be helped by varsity newcomers Drew Hermesmeyer at quarterback, Isaac Chavez at running back and TJ Watson at receiver. The offensive line returns two decorated senior blockers in 270-pound Trevor Horton and 250-pound Hagen Hohertz, but there’s virtually no varsity experience behind them. Senior Dylan Norton (6-3, 260) has played on defense, but will also play in the offensive line this year. SEE GOLDTHWAITE, 40

EAGLES GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Greg Proffitt (4th season as head coach at school, 22-13 record; 22-13 career record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2015 • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 11 • LETTERMEN LOST 11 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING

6 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 6 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Quaid Seward (RB/DB), Trevor Horton (OL), Kyle Schwartz (WR/DB), Leo Garcia (DB/K), Hagen

Hohertz (OL/DL), Christian Valencia (QB/DB,) Trey Patterson (FB/LB), TJ Watson (WR/DB), Isaac Chavez (DB), McKennan Jones (WR/DB), J.P. Gibbard (TE/LB), Dylan Norton (OL/DL), Josh Butterfras (LB), Decklyn Oliver (OL), Zabreigh Odom (OL)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 17

SAN SABA ARMADILLOS

District 7-2A Division I • 2016 Record: 0-10, 0-6

New head coach Fikac seeks to rebuild Armadillos By Mike Lee Special to the Bulletin

SAN SABA — The rebuilding of the San Saba Armadillos’ football program has begun from square one with changing the culture. “The players have to believe in the daily process it takes to win,” said Jerod Fikac, the 38-year-old, firsttime head coach charged with rebuilding a program that has lost 16 straight games. “Kids today want instant gratification so we’ve got to teach them what they do today and every day is important. We want to have a 1-0 mindset. By that, we mean win every drill in practice. Win that moment.” Fikac came to San Saba after serving four years as offensive coordinator at Class 6A Weatherford. Previously, he was an assistant coach at Wimberley, where he was a part of two 4A state championship teams. The challenge is whether the coach’s winning past can positively impact the Armadillos, who finished 0-10 last year and have lost 34 of their last 40 games. “Every coach has good strategies these days,”

Fikac said. “The difference comes in whether you can get your kids to believe a little more in your strategy and get them to battle for one another in practice and on Friday night.” Fikac, who arrived at San Saba in mid-February, inherited a team with only seven seniors. That group is led by Ernesto Agguire, who is projected to start at offensive guard Jerod Fikac and outside linebacker. Damon Ramos is listed as a starting offensive tackle while Cole Tupin figures to start at receiver. Linebacker Josh Lambert has returned from an injury that sidelined the senior for the entire 2016 senior. He started two years ago as a sophomore. “I want to win now and have some success to build on,” Fikac said. “Our senior class is small, but those are still the guys that have to lead and show the younger players how the game should be played. But it will be nice next year to have almost everybody back.”

Eight juniors are projected to start, including receiver/linebacker Erik Argote, the Armadillos’ top returning tackler with 81 stops last year. Joseph Watson will fill the H-back role on offense as well as a defensive line spot. Sakima Herrara is expected to start at receiver and defensive back. Juniors listed as two-way starters in the line include Clayton Pierce and Junior Jaimes. Other juniors expected to start include Klay Prew and Wyatt Smith at defensive back, and Ruben Parra at receiver. Sophomore Sean O’Keefe returns at quarterback after combining for 640 yards rushing and passing last year as a freshman starter. Other sophomores in the projected lineup include Eli Salinas at running back and linebacker, Jett Hibler in the offensive line and Abel Martinez in the defensive line. “Sean O’Keefe is learning how to play quarterback, but by starting last year as a freshman, he’s already caught up to the speed of the varsity game,” Fikac said. “They were more of an I-formation team last SEE SAN SABA, 40

DILLOS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Jerod Fikac (1st season as head coach at school, 0-0 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2012

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2012 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 14 • LETTERMEN LOST

12 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 6 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Ernesto Agguire (OL/LB), Eric Argote (RB/LB), Joseph Watson (TE/DE), Sean O’Keefe (QB/DB), Carter Turner (WR/LB), Josh Lambert (TE/LB), Junior Jaimes (OL/DL), Clayton Pierce (OL/DL), Klay Prew (WR/DB)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

SANTA ANNA MOUNTAINEERS

District 8-A Division I • 2016 Record: 7-4, 3-0

Mountaineers relying on revamped roster in quest for district repeat By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

SANTA ANNA — The Santa Anna Mountaineers captured the District 8-A Division I championship a season ago, but will have to overcome the loss of seven graduates in order to repeat that feat this season. Still, head coach Tom McVey expects the Mountaineers — who are coming off a 7-4 season — at the very least to reach the playoffs for the fourth straight season, if not repeat as 8-A champs. “We still have high expectations for the kids making the playoffs and doing all we need to do, but losing seven kids is a huge hole to fill,” McVey said. “But I think we should be in the hunt for the playoffs if not the district championship.” D.J. Mattes is one of the few returnees with playing time, while the Mountaineers will also be counting

on Chase McIver, Cody Robertson, Jacob Perry, Alex Crowder and Blake Burcham in expanded roles. “We’re going to lean heavy on D.J. Mattes and some of our older kids are going to have to step up and fill these holes,” McVey said. “We’ve got some hope for some of the freshmen coming in, but we’re just going to have to wait and see where they fit in. It’s one of these deals where Tom McVey you have to wait and see what happens.” McVey stated he was pleased with the bonding the team had displayed during preseason workouts. “They started coming together as a team as we went through two-a-days,” McVey said. “They’re pushing

each other, doing well and being real positive. We’ve only got two kids that have varsity experience and that’s going to be a struggle we’re going to have to deal with. The two kids that have varsity experience are definitely trying to help the younger ones pick up their game.” Santa Anna will have the opportunity to prepare for district by facing May, Garden City, Robert Lee, Zephyr, Cherokee, Evant and Blackwell. “I’d like to see us improve every week, continue to get better and prepare for district,” McVey said of his early goals for the Mountaineers. “Our pre-district schedule is tough. I want to make sure we come out of it as injury-free as we can and at least make progress going in the right direction.” SEE SANTA ANNA, 41

’NEERS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Tom McVey (3rd season as head coach at school, 14-8 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE

2016 • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2016 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 4

• LETTERMEN LOST 7 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING

2 • PLAYERS TO WATCH D.J. Mattes (LB), Alex Crowder (QB/CB), Cody Robertson (RB/DL), Mateo Lara (OL/DL), Jayton Perry (OL/DL), Chase McIver (OL/DL)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 19

RICHLAND SPRINGS COYOTES

District 13-A Division II • 2016 Record: 14-0, 3-0

Coyotes shooting for three-peat, Texas record ninth state title By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

RICHLAND SPRINGS — A six-man football dynasty has the opportunity this season to become the most celebrated high school program in all of Texas. With eight state championships to their credit — all since 2004 — the Richland Springs Coyotes can become the first program in Texas to earn nine state titles if they can return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington in December. But head coach Jerry Burkhart, who owns a 184-8 record entering his 15th season in charge at Richland Springs, and the rest of the Coyotes aren’t looking at the big picture. Instead, the Coyotes are approaching the season a week at a time, as they have for the last decade and a half. “I believe in doing what we’ve always done and not looking too far ahead,” Burkhart said. “We under-

stand the caliber of players we’ve got and we’re blessed with having a lot of experience, but we still have to keep them humble, keep them focused and keep them hungry.” The Coyotes will be seeking their second three-peat in the span of 14 seasons as Richland Springs defeated Balmorhea for the Class A Division II title in 2016 and knocked Jerry Burkhart off Follett for the crown in 2015. Richland Springs also won three straight championships from 201012, and with 10 of 12 lettermen and four starters on each side of the ball back from last year’s 14-0 squad, the odds definitely favor the Coyotes. Among the key returnees are the state’s offensive player of the year, Walker Tippie — who rushed for

2,193 yards and 43 touchdowns, including 414 yards and eight scores in the state title game — along with the reigning defensive player of the year in Texas, Hutton Lusty — who racked up 92 tackles on the year. Other key contributors back include Jordan Burkhart and Cameron Parham. “It’s truly a blessing to have almost everyone coming back,” Burkhart said. “We went back and watched last year’s season the other day and talked about all the great things that happened, but a lot of things can happen each year. We have to stay injury-free like every coach will tell you, and you have to limit your turnovers. We always tell the kids God’s given you an opportunity to do something special and this season can be a special season but it’s up to us to put in the extra work to take advantage of this opportunity.” SEE RICHLAND SPRINGS, 39

COYOTES GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH

2016

Jerry Burkhart (15th season as head coach at

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

school, 184-8 record; 16th season overall, 188-14

2016

career record)

• LETTERMEN RETURNING 10

• LAST DISTRICT TITLE

• LETTERMEN LOST 2 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 4

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Walker Tippie (RB/DB), Jordan Burkhart (QB/ LB), Hutton Lusty (RB/LB), Brandon Tharp (CB), Cameron Parham (RB), Landon Burkhart (WR), Jared Martin (K), Kelton Tippie (ATH), Kenneth Faught (ATH)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

MULLIN BULLDOGS

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 12-A Division II • 2016 Record: 6-3, 2-2

Bulldogs hope changes will produce playoff berth By Mike Lee Special to the Bulletin

MULLIN — The Mullin Bulldogs’ coaching staff was overhauled during the offseason, including a new head coach and an accomplished offensive coordinator. New head coach Randy Sims was a Bulldogs’ assistant coach the last three years. He has a completely new coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Shawn Rogers, a Mullin native who helped Richland Springs win seven of its eight state championships. “I’m excited for the opportunity to mold these young men into a playoff contender every year,” said Sims, who inherited a team that last year finished 6-3 overall and 2-2 in District 12-A Division II. “Coach Rogers has put in a new offense, and the kids are picking it up. We had been more of a tight formation team. We’re spreading things out this year to take advantage

of our height and speed. All of our players except for two are 6-foot or taller.” On paper the six-man Bulldogs are still a young team, with Ricky Dela Rosa listed as the only senior on the roster. Mullin also lost three seniors from last year – although two of them missed most of the 2016 district schedule. “We’re still really young, but we Randy Sims have a lot of kids coming back that played a lot last year,” Sims said. “We plan to be fighting for a district championship and then a playoff spot.” Panther Creek, a regional finalist last year, easily won the district in 2016. In a game for the final playoff

berth, Mullin was impacted by injuries and surprised by Brookesmith 54-36. This year’s district race again appears wide open after Panther Creek, which was 12-1 last year and drew a No. 10 preseason statewide Division II ranking from Texas Football magazine. Brookesmith, Sidney and Gustine combined for a 7-22 record last year. Mullin returns multiple all-district players, including Dela Rosa, a first-team running back and safety who led the Bulldogs in rushing and tackles last year. Jyles Wootton, a 6-foot, 155-pound junior, will focus on playing end this year after playing multiple positions last year. His brother, 6-2 sophomore Jaxon Wootton, returns at quarterback. Both Wootton brothers were all-district last year. SEE MULLIN, 40

BULLDOGS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Randy Sims (1st season as head coach at school, 0-0 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE

N/A • LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2014 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 5

• LETTERMEN LOST 3 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING

5 • PLAYERS TO WATCH Ricky Dela Rosa (RB), Dontrell Dale (RB), Jyles Wootton (FB/TE), Jaxon Wootton (QB), Bobby Salinas (FB)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 21

SIDNEY EAGLES

District 12-A Division II • 2016 Record: 0-9, 0-4

With numbers no longer a concern, Eagles focus on postseason By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

SIDNEY — A season ago, the Sidney Eagles had to forfeit five games due to a lack of players. This season, with 14 members on the roster, head coach Darin Barrow’s squad is a postseason favorite, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine. The Eagles, who went 0-9 last year, are picked to place behind Panther Creek in the District 12-A Division II race and ahead of Brookesmith — last year’s league runner-up — Mullin and Gustine. “We’re excited to have enough to play,” Barrow said. “We have great numbers this year and we’re looking forward to competing for that district title.” Among the key contributors returning are senior Austin Barrow and sophomore Josh Kennard. “The strength of this group is I have five starters

returning on offense and defense from the team we finally ended up with at the end of the year,” Barrow said. “They have a year underneath their belt, they know my system, and they’ve had one year of working hard in our offseason program.” While depth is no longer a concern this year, experience is. “We do have some inexperienced younger kids,” Barrow said. Darin Barrow Prior to district competition, the Eagles will compete against Moran, Blanket, Morgan, Cranfills Gap, Lohn and Lometa. “In pre-district you always want to improve from week to week and try to get out of it without too many injuries so you can be healthy and clicking on all cylin-

ders when you get to district,” Barrow said. “We have a pretty tough and competitive pre-district schedule with Moran, who went to the playoffs last year, then we pick up Blanket the week after that. We’re taking it one game at a time, but hopefully we’ll see enough to feel ready for district.” Sidney is looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and win its first district title since 2010. The Eagles visit Mullin on Oct. 13, host Panther Creek on Oct. 20, have their bye on Oct. 27, venture to Brookesmith on Nov. 3 and finish up at home against Gustine on Nov. 10. “The way the district is shaping up, Panther Creek is still pretty salty,” Barrow said. “All the teams are giving them the respect they deserve. Everybody else SEE SIDNEY, 40

EAGLES GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Darin Barrow (2nd season as head coach at school, 0-9 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2010

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2012 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 7 • LETTERMEN LOST

1 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 5

• PLAYERS TO WATCH Austin Barrow (RB/LB), Joshua Kinnard (RB/DB), Triston Kelly (WR/LB), Shadan Cheatham (QB/ DL), Dennis Morales (QB/DL), Christian Hunt (RB/DL)

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

RISING STAR WILDCATS

Sunday, August 27, 2017

District 11-A Division II • 2016 Record: 1-9, 0-3

Wildcats optimistic about improvement in Jones’ second season By Derrick Stuckly dstuckly@brownwoodbulletin.com

RISING STAR — Coming off a 1-9 campaign during his first season at Rising Star, head coach Randy Jones is optimistic about the improvement of the Wildcat program heading into his second year. The main reason is there are more bodies, with more experience, suiting up in 2017. “Last year I showed up the first day of practice and we had five kids out,” Jones said. “There were a lot of kids that didn’t play the previous year or two because of various reasons. It took us about a week until we got about 13 out last year. Out of those 13, we had four that had played previously the year before and two of those were in junior high. We were limited on our experience level. We had a tough year with kids playing out of position where they shouldn’t have been.

We took our lumps but I saw a lot of growth.” Now the Wildcats are looking to add to their win total this season and make a push for one of the two playoff spots out of District 11-A Division II. “Our district is pretty tough; we have one of the best teams in the state in Strawn,” Jones said. “Moran has a lot of kids back and Woodson Randy Jones has always played good football. We’re playing against three teams that have the experience and success in the past that our guys haven’t seen. But you never know what can happen. These are really the only three games that matter on the schedule.”

Still, Jones and company would like to build some positive momentum heading into district with a predistrict slate that features Blanket, Mullin, Panther Creek, Lingleville, Trent and Abilene Christian. “I want to see improvement,” Jones said. “We were absolutely dog terrible in pre-district for sure last year. We looked horrible against Blanket and couldn’t move the ball. Mullin beat us but I don’t think they were 45 points better than us. We played well against Abilene Christian at first then just lost it. Every week we want to improve, in each and every game.” Jones is counting on Rising Star’s nucleus of Micah Carnley, Ernesto Reyes and Alex Teplichek to help right the ship. “The experience level of some of my seniors is SEE RISING STAR, 40

WILDCATS GLIMPSE • HEAD COACH Randy Jones (2nd season as head coach at school, 1-9 record) • LAST DISTRICT TITLE 2015

• LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE 2015 • LETTERMEN RETURNING 9 • LETTERMEN LOST

3 • OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3 • DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING 3

• PLAYERS TO WATCH David Martinez (RB), Braden Hughes (QB), Alex Teplichek (DE), Micah Carnley (OL), Ernesto Reyes (TE), Colton Edwards (RB), Jonny Sanchez (RB), Korbin Bass (LB), Rory Bustamante (SB)

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 23

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Rowdy Elkins

Ethan Rhodes

Connor King

Jadyn Lehde

Hayden Barker

Ethen Portillo

Chase Keilers

Bailey Jones

Asa Welker

Riley Richards

Early Longhorns

Devyn Burns

Brandon Lombrano

Chase Cochran

John Griffin

Mason Flippin

David Shields

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Johnny Clubb

Teddy Ozuna

Austin Reveile

Diego Crader

Jim Fowler

Carlos Moreno

Ty Schafer

Jonathan Morales

Jesson Tarrant

Jaiden Cochran

C.J. Hanley

Ryan Hicks

Ryan Trompler

Jose Pesina

Miguel Elizondo

Patrick Valencia

Jeramiah Fowler

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Steven Montgomery

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 29

Terick Flores

Colton Brewer

Justin Wilson

George Nicholas

Zach Zink

Kadon Richards

Seth Anderson

Josh Valdez

Tyler Williford

Colton McGee

Dagan Baker

Ricardo Rodriguez

Devon McCarty

Payden Eason

Dustin Thomas

Holdyn Hoffman

Kobey Hoffman

Eli Carbajal

Rowdy White

Hunter Lawrence

Zach Fuentes

Casey Ketterhagen

Cael John

Bangs Dragons

Jacob Horton

Michael Francois

Cody Simmons

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

May Tigers

Dalton Self

Weston Chambers

Dilan Johnston

Dylan Pruitt

Ethan Self

Wyatt Mote

J.T. Dewell

Rory Bustamante

Tyler Wheeler

Preston Johnston

Daniel Salinas

Jaden Baker

Aubry Millwee

Dakotah Wilkinson

Keith Cross

Lane Hardy

Seth Johnston

Gage Keckler

Isidro Salinas

Jacob Brown

Chris Flenniken

Rylee Baker

Jayce Blankenship

Lane McGinn

Austin McAbee

Blake Wells

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 31

Zephyr Bulldogs William Simpson

Garit Durbin

Robert Clark

Kolby Miller

Hunter Williams

J.C. Mangus

Michael Seider

Jason Kyle

Devin Williams

Elliot Gowin

Kason King

Nicholas Moody

John Paul Gowin

Drew Reynolds

Bryson Gibbs

Kannon Eoff

Jerrick Woodcock

Mason Rogers

Tristan Petty

Colin Hector

Cody Slocum

Tanner Jones

Walter Simpson

Cole Miller

Austin Deavers

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Blanket Tigers 2

Luke Kinkade

Payton Williams

Hector Castaneda

Kameron Spivey

John John Alexander

Blake Hood

Logan Wheeler

Tanner Isom

Tyler Simpson

Adan Lopez

Trenten Verner

Jonathan Sifuentes

Brookesmith Mustangs

Clayton Adame

Ryder Nelson

Randall Williams

David Long

Johnathan Willoughby

Holden Bolt

Cody Mazurek

Rusty Roberts

Kody Turner

Aleric Petross

Mason Brummett

Josh Crouch

Dylan Wheeler

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 33

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

BROWNWOOD CONTINUED FROM 2

last year was decided on the final play of the game as the Lions opened with a 2-2 record, with both losses coming in overtime. “The biggest thing for us is to grind it out these pre-district games,” Maxfield said. “We just want to get better each game so once we hit district and travel up to Wylie we’ll be hitting on all cylinders. “We’re going to be on three road trips in a row, then we’re open, then our first district game is on the road. We’re going to really have to show maturity and travel well. The way the schedule sets up we’re going to have to learn how to play on the road, especially facing Liberty Hill, Alvarado and Giddings, which is neutral site but still on the road, and then Wylie. I’d put those four games in a row against anybody, there’s not a tougher stretch. But our staff does a good job finding the good in bad situations and that filters to our kids. These kids don’t really come up with excuses, they’re ready and slobbering at the mouth to go against a different colored jersey.” Wylie, which played for the 3A Division I state championship last season, returns just two offensive and five defensive starters from last year’s squad. Still, Maxfield tabbed Wylie as the team to beat as the Lions pursue their first district championship since 2010 and attempt to end a seven-game slump against the Bulldogs. “Everyone that knows Wylie knows they’re going to reload and be the team to beat,” Maxfield said. “They did lose some great players, but Coach (Hugh) Sandifer and his staff always find a way to be playing at a very high level. It can be deceiving when you look at it on paper, but they’ll be the big horse in district.” According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, Brownwood is tabbed to finish behind Wylie in the 3-4A Division I race and ahead of Stephenville, Big Spring and Snyder. “Stephenville is going to be a lot better,” said Maxfield, as the Lions are coming off consecutive victories over Stephenville for the first time since the 1986-87 seasons. “When you’re a program like Stephenville that has the same kind of tradition as we do in Brownwood, they’re not going to be down for long. We expect them to be playing at a lot higher level. Big Spring has a new staff, which I think will make them better, and Snyder is always the

FILE PHOTO BY DERRICK STUCKLY

Hunter Mares (6), Hayden Tunnell (44) and the Brownwood Lions defense yielded 27 points and 362 yards per outing in 2016.

wild card. They have the athletes and if they get it all going in one direction they can be dangerous.” The Lions played just eight regular season games last year out of an originally scheduled nine as weather resulted in the cancellation of the homecoming contest against Alvarado. With the addition of second-year program Alvin Shadow Creek, the Lions should — weather permitting — return to the traditional 10-game schedule this season. And having those extra

two games under their belts, should the Lions reach the playoffs, could pay huge dividends. “It would have helped us last year just to take more snaps and get more familiar with things and get some more playing time,” Maxfield said of just getting eight games in prior to the playoffs. “I did visit with Coach Sandifer for a very long time and Wylie only had nine games last year and played for the state championship. When you do that and play only nine games it’s to your benefit

because you’re not as beat up, but I think with our kids and the way our district falls, adding that 10th game will benefit us more in the long run.” The Lions will be looking to improve on the 35 points and 338 yards — 181 rushing and 157 passing — the offense produced in 2016. Defensively, Brownwood gave up 27 points and 362 yards — 182 on the ground and 180 through the air — per outing. SEE LIONS, 35

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FILE PHOTO BY DERRICK STUCKLY

Braden Jetton (8) and the Brownwood Lions offense averaged 35 points and 338 yards of total offense per game last season.

LIONS

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Behind an offensive line of center Wyatt Jacobs, guards Blaize Infinger and Tyelor Chew and tackles Colby Coppic and Liam McCraw, quarterbacks Tommy Bowden and Clayton Bertrand have split snaps in a battle for the starting quarterback position that has been ongoing since the spring. In the first scrimmage against Burnet, Bowden played with the first team while Bertrand suffered a shoulder injury early on with the second team and played limited snaps. In the backfield, Gavin Jefferson (818 yards, 9 TDs) returns and will be spelled at times by Cain Kittrell, Joseph Johnson and Dylan Hickey, among others. The receiving corps will feature a rotation of Braden Jetton, Nick Salazar, A.J. McCarty, Marcus Mosley and Tristan Revada, while Rylan Reagan, Hunter Leonard, Patrick Nash and Ian Moreno are tight end options in a

variety of personnel packages. Defensively, Associated Press All-State honorable mention selection Hunter Mares (91 tackles, 13 for loss, two sacks, one interception and seven fumble recoveries) is back at outside linebacker, along with Jefferson (27 tackles and one sack) and Hickey, while Johnson will also likely see some playing time. Hunter Donahoo (81 tackles, two for loss, one sack and one interception) returns at middle linebacker, where Moreno and Isaiah Marquez are also vying for playing time. Hayden Tunnell (49 tackles, 11 for loss, four sacks, two fumbles caused and two fumble recoveries), the 3-4A Division I newcomer of the year in 2016, anchors the defensive line at one of the end positions with Leonard at the other. Santanna Espinoza and Theo Bryant will man the defensive tackles. The secondary includes Mosley, Revada, Jetton and Kirk Vickers sharing time at cornerback, with Nash, Bertrand and McCarty rotating at the safety spots. As the season opener against Canyon approaches,

Maxfield feels the greatest strength the Lions currently possess is their camaraderie. “I’d say our overall biggest strength right now is our chemistry,” Maxfield said. “These guys really like each other and you can tell that in practice. I think that’s a big key to being as good as you can be and being successful, everyone liking each other. It’s not a perfect world in the locker room but it’s a really good atmosphere.” As for how long Brownwood’s season can last, Maxfield believes the Lions hold their fate in their own hands. “Other than health and injuries, our biggest enemy is going to be ourselves,” Maxfield said. “I really think if we don’t beat ourselves then we have a chance every game. Looking at the schedule, there’s no opponent where you can make a ton of mistakes and expect to win. You’ve got to play the best ball you can every Friday night. If we cut down on turnovers and penalties from last year to this year, we can control our own destiny.”

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 37

HOWARD PAYNE CONTINUED FROM 4

and Danny Padron at TLU,” Harris said. “All three of those guys have been supportive of me as a young coach to give me opportunities to not just coach a position, but to understand why things are done. I feel like I’ve been blessed to have those opportunities to prepare me for this job. My whole life this is what I wanted to do, be a head football coach. I feel like I’ve been preparing the last 10 to 12 years for this opportunity.” Harris has no qualms about rebuilding the Yellow Jacket football program from the ground up, with goals both immediate and distant laid out. “Our short-term goals are to be competitive every week, take some teams into the fourth quarter and see if we can prepare to go win those match-ups as well,” Harris said. “The long-term goal is we want to build a program. I’ve told the guys we’re not putting together a team, our goal here is to build a program. This year we have to lay the foundation for that program. How we practice and how we compete, those things will put us in a position in years to come to be able to be competitive in what is, in my opinion, the toughest conference in NCAA Division III football.” Already home to defending national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor, the road to an American Southwest Conference got even tougher with the additions of Texas Lutheran and Southwestern in football only — resulting in nine conference games for each ASC squad. “TLU and Southwestern are good fits for the conference, and being able to have nine conference games, I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing,” Harris said. “For me, I’ve been involved with this conference pretty much all but one year of my coaching career, so you know what you’re getting as far as the level of coaching and the caliber of players. These are the people you want to compete with; we’re already competing with the them in recruiting so it always helps to be able to play them on the football field.” As for the on-field product, the Yellow Jackets in 2017 will be attempting to rise from the bottom of the ASC in almost every category. Harris inherits a team that in 2016 finished last in the American Southwest Conference in total offense and scoring offense at 285 yards and 18 points per game. The 2016 Jackets also finished next to last in the ASC in total defense and scoring defense at 478 yards and 44 points per game. HPU also was also last in turn-

PHOTO BY DERRICK STUCKLY

First-year head coach Braxton Harris (right) will lead Howard Payne into the season opener at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Sept. 2.

over margin at minus-9. “We have to be a more physical football team, there’s no question about that,” Harris said. “In this conference if you’re physical you have a chance to win. If you’re not physical, you’re probably going to get beat. We have to continue to create that mindset of physicality. It doesn’t matter if you’re a defensive tackle or a corner, an offensive lineman or a receiver, the mentality of being physical has to be there.” Harris is also attempting to improve the Yellow Jackets’ conditioning prior to their Sept. 2 season opener at Southwestern Assemblies of God — the only non-conference game of the season for HPU. “Our kids are working hard and understand the tempo at which we need to practice,” Harris said. “They understand the energy that we need to be able to practice with. We don’t practice very long, two hours max pretty much. But for those two hours we want to be going 100 miles an hour. And that is something we have to continue to be able to do.” The Howard Payne offense, under the direction of new offensive coordinator Coby Gipson, will be led by senior quarterback Caisson Montieth, a Comanche

graduate. “I’m as excited about Caisson as I am anybody,” Harris said. “The transformation that he’s made from January to now is unbelievable. He had every reason not to buy-in — it’s his senior season, I’m his third head coach and he could have said ‘I’m your best guy, let’s just get through it.’ But he’s bought in to what we’re trying to do here. We challenged him to be a leader and he’s done that.” Other offensive cornerstones include linemen Cyle Johnson, Robert Evans and Travis Folmer, Eric Haverstock at H-back and Malik Burnley in the receiving corps. Leading the charge on new coordinator Beau Davidson’s defense will be Abner Reyes and Justin Willis up front, Britt Boler at middle linebacker and Patrick Hunter, Zach Reed and Darius Edwards in the secondary. “I’m really excited about the guys we’ve got, but we have to continue to progress,” Harris said. “We have some guys in key places that can make some big plays. The area where people tell me we have to improve is when opportunities arise to make a play to go win a ball game, we have to be able to do that. That’s something we do in practice.

Everything is competition. You either win or you lose, there’s no participation trophies in college football, and our guys have done a great job buying in to that.” The Yellow Jackets’ ASC schedule begins Sept. 16 at McMurry followed by the home opener with Hardin-Simmons on Sept. 23. The rest of the schedule includes a trip to Belhaven (Sept. 30), a visit from East Texas Baptist (Oct. 7), a road game with Mary Hardin-Baylor (Oct. 14), Sul Ross (Oct. 21) in for homecoming, a home outing against Texas Lutheran (Oct .28), the final road trip to Southwestern (Nov. 4) and the regular season finale against Louisiana College (Nov. 11) at Gordon Wood Stadium. Harris reiterated there is no set number of victories established as a team goal, but there are winnable games on the schedule if “we come out and consistently get better at things.” “We feel like this is a team that can compete every Saturday, and we want to put a product out on the field that can compete every Saturday,” Harris said. “But when we realize the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday part of the week is more important than the Saturday, that’s when we’ll be able to reach our full potential as we grow as a program.”

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middle along with Mason Flippin, Chase Keilers, Carlos Moreno and Schafer on the outside. The secondary will include Burns, Hanley, Ethan Rhodes, Johnny Club and Rowdy Elkins. Attaining success in the pre-district portion of the schedule is crucial for the Longhorns as they attempt to build momentum for the District 3-3A Division I race. Early opens at home against Bangs

then hosts Roscoe before traveling to Bruceville-Eddy and Tolar ahead of the homecoming contest against Paradise. “We’ve got to have some success, build on that success, and get that confidence level high early on by playing quality football,” Sandford said. “I like our chances in all of our games this year. I like our team and the way they’ve been working thus far. “We played all these teams last year, and only Tolar made a coaching coach, so we’re familiar with them now, but we’re still only worried about what we can control. What we can control is execution on offense, defense and special teams, making a play and being in the right place at the right time.” As for the District 3-3A Division I race, defending champion Comanche is again the favorite with Clyde, Brady and Merkel expected to reach the playoffs, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. Jim Ned is also projected to

place ahead of the Longhorns, who are looking to prove the doubters wrong. “I think we’re going to be in the hunt and we’re going to surprise some teams, that’s our intent,” Sandford said. “We have made no bones about getting into the playoffs and winning ball games this year. That’s what we’ve talked about since November and we’ve worked all winter, spring and summer to that effect. That’s what the kids and the coaches have decided they want to do, and we’re rolling up our sleeves and trying to accomplish that goal.” To end their near decade-long playoff drought, Sandford stated the biggest keys are, “to not make mental mistakes and to be as conditioned as we can be. Those are things paramount for our success. We also have to be able to change the course of the game within the game. We can’t get too low if something turns bad and we have to be able to ride that wave when we’re successful.”

beat,” Bird said. “Sometimes that happens but often times you drop off a little bit. We need to make sure on our end every player we’ve got is ready to step in and play so in the event that we have an injury we can rock on like nothing happened.” Among the players to keep an eye on for the Dragons is senior quarterback/safety Colton Brewer, a four-year starter who received glowing praise from Bird. “Obviously Colton is going to be our unquestioned signal caller on offense, and defensively, he’s going to be all over the field,” Bird said. “Honestly, there’s no telling where you’re going to see Colton lined up. He’s been blessed with athletic ability, but what’s more important is his approach and competitive edge. He will beat people more talented than him at times because of his work ethic. He’s here every day in the summer, doesn’t miss a day, and when we don’t have camp he’s

here anyway. He’s a guy where the little details never go unnoticed, a guy that doesn’t leave any rock unturned. His approach and work ethic mean more than his talent. That’s what I’d like to draw every one of our young kids’ attention to. Why he is good is because he does things right.” Other offensive weapons for the Dragons include Seth Anderson, Terick Flores, Steven Montgomery, Zach Zink and Payden Eason in the backfield, along with Justin Wilson, Tyler Williford, George Nichols and Kadon Richards at the receiver positions. Up front, left tackle Eli Carbajal, left guard Casey Ketterhagen, center Hunter Lawrence and right tackle Kobey Hoffman are expected to hold down four spots, while Holdyn Hoffman and Cael John were battling for playing time at right guard. Defensively, the front line will likely feature Richards, Katterhagen and Lawrence among those rotating in at end, while the tackles will include Eason, John, Dustin Thomas and Holdyn Hoffman among others. Kobey Hoffman is expected to man the middle linebacker spot with Zink and Carbajal on the outside. The secondary will likely feature Brewer, Anderson, Nichols, Willford, and Montgomery altering snaps.

“It doesn’t matter what the scheme is or what level it is, the game hasn’t changed its founding principles,” Bird said. “If you can’t establish a run game and you can’t play great defense, you can’t win on a big scale. You may be a great team and play a little ways, but if you can’t run the ball and play great defense eventually you’re going to fall.” Regarding the primary keys for achieving their goals of reaching the playoffs, Bird listed overcoming adversity and consistent improvement. “Right now we have a three-year stretch of losing records, we’ve won six games in three years,” Bird said. “The first thing we have to do is overcome adversity. The first time things go wrong in a game or during the season, they have to keep their heads up. This the first group I’ve had since I’ve been here to have the mental toughness to battle on. There’s a good chance we’ll lose some games, but if the team keeps its head up and keeps battling to improve weekly, I think we can win more than people think we can. Whether or not we have a winning record and whether or not we get into the playoffs I feel truthfully is controlled by us. We can’t control what other teams do but we can control what we do. Determining where we end up is dependent upon those things.”

day. We have to use the weaknesses that we find in those first five nondistrict games against some really good teams — Cisco, Eastland and Coleman — figure out those weaknesses and get them fixed before district starts.” As for the 3-3A Division I race, Her-

mesmeyer expects the gap from top to bottom to be much smaller and all of the four playoff berths to be up for grabs. “I think our district will be stronger than it was a year ago,” Hermesmeyer said. “I look for Early, Jim Ned and

Merkel all to be good, solid teams. Jim Ned’s bunch last year was pretty good, we only beat them 21-0 and they held us scoreless in the second half. Merkel was up on us 14-0 at one point. Week in and week out it’s going to be a tough battle.”

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something happen.” Players to keep an eye on for the Longhorn offense include Ryan Trompler, who is taking over at quarterback this season, along with running backs Jose Pesina, Miguel Elizondo, Hayden Barker and Jesson Tarrant. Receiving threats include Devyn Burns, C.J. Hanley, Jim Fowler, Jonathan Morales and Ty Schafer. Up front all-district selection Jaiden Cochran anchors a unit that also includes Connor King, Ethen Portillo, Chase Cochran, John Griffin and Bailey Jones. Defensively for Early, Riley Richards, Jaiden Cochran, Chase Cochran, King, Jones, Griffin and Portillo will rotate in the trenches. The linebacking corps includes Elizondo, Teddy Ozuna and Jadyn Lehde battling for time in the

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Longhorns until we get past that game.” Among the reasons for optimism this season in Bangs, along with being in the third year of Bird’s system, is an increase in the amount of depth on the roster — particularly along the offensive and defensive fronts. “We feel like we have a little more depth than we had last year,” Bird said. “Originally when we looked at it we were worried about our depth on the offensive line and defensive line, but we’ve been able to create some depth and some kids have really stepped up and proven themselves. Instead of seven lineman we ended up with 10, so we feel much better with that kind of depth on the line. We’ve played with 21 or 22 kids in the past and that’s been really tough on our varsity. This year we’re looking to have 27 to 29 varsity kids so we feel a lot better about it.” Despite the boosted numbers, remaining healthy is still among the primary concerns for the Dragons. “Starters start for a reason and when you have one go down with a injury everybody hopes they have a guy on deck that can take up the slack and never miss a

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“We’ve got to be like any other team and avoid some things, but we have to work hard every day and improve every

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PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 39

BLANKET

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“Our biggest strength is our speed, we have a tremendous amount, and hopefully that’ll be our advantage this year,” Williamson said. Numbers and size are the areas of concern for the Tigers as the season arrives. “We’re not real big, but we have some tall kids,” Williamson said. “We have a lack of depth, too, not very many kids. We’ve got 13 boys out right now. Hopefully we get our endurance

built up through two-a-days and that will carry on throughout the year. We want to use our speed and endurance to withstand four quarters and hopefully come out on top.” The Tigers’ pre-district slate features Rising Star, Sidney, Rochelle, May, Brookesmith, Strawn and Lometa. “Right now we’re just wanting them to pick up the new system,” Williamson said of his pre-district objectives for the Tigers. “We’re going to work on being successful by knocking the rust off, believing in ourselves and preparing ourselves for the district games.

We’ve got Zephyr and Jonesboro in our district, so these pre-district games are going to be us laying the foundation to hopefully be successful in district.” As for the District 10-A Division I race, clearing the hurdles imposed by No. 4 Zephyr and No. 6 Jonesboro will be the greatest challenge for Blanket. Evant is sandwiched between Zephyr and Jonesboro on the Tigers’ district schedule. “Coach (Shannon) Williams has done a great job at Zephyr year in and year out and been very successful, and Coach (Eddie) Gallegos over at Jonesboro has done a great job and has had

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The Coyotes are having to replace a pair of starters on each side of the ball as Traven Day and Colt Carlisle graduated, but Richland Springs has a plethora of candidates from which to choose. “We have a few places on the O-line to focus on and get better but we’ve got the horses, we just have to get the technique and stay with the fundamentals and create that team chemistry,” Burkhart said. “Even when you lose two kids that are starting, it still takes a little while to get used to. We’ve got some kids that are going to step up, we’ve got about 23 kids that came out, and that’s a blessing, too. We have a lot of depth this year, and that’s always nice.” Richland Springs is also experiencing a rare coaching staff change this season, as former offensive coordinator Shawn Rogers has departed and former Calvert head coach John Cherry has come aboard. “We’re in transition with a

new offensive coordinator and that’s something we have to work on,” Burkhart said. “We had Coach (Shawn) Rogers for a lot of years. We’ve got some things going on that are different but it looks very promising and I’m very excited. Coach (Thomas) Tipton has been with us a long time and I think his time’s due. He’s got a lot of exciting ideas. And we hired Coach (John) Cherry from Calvert and he brings a great offensive mind. Coach (Chad) Ashworth is our strength and

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action as Edmondson attempts to sort out Brookesmith’s personnel prior to the District 12-A Division II opener. “Right now we’re just trying to figure out the best place to put people,” Edmondson said. “I’m still learning the kids a little bit. I was defensive coordinator at Blanket for a long time, so I think

conditioning coach and he helps me on defense. Coaching staff wise we’re there, we just have to rebuild the chemistry and learn each other a little more and I think that’s going to be the key to our season.” The Coyotes are wasting no time testing themselves as they face Class A Division I No. 1 Happy in the season opener at Jayton. Other pre-district opponents include Zephyr, Sterling City, Waco Methodist, Austin Hill Country and Fort Worth THESA. In District

we need to shore up our defense a little bit and that’s going to take some time. We’re trying to fill some spots and when you have young players it’s hard to find the right people to put in those key positions on defense. “I do want to see improvement each week and make sure we see some progression from one week to the next. There’s still a lot of unknowns. This is quiet group of boys that don’t say a lot, not a lot of hoopla in them. They just go

a winning program over there for at least the last 10 years,” Williamson said. “Every time you go up against the teams, not just Zephyr, not just Jonesboro, but the coaches themselves, I have the utmost respect for both of those coaches. They do a great job, but we’re looking to battle it out and hopefully we’ll be the Cinderella team and come out on top.” As for the key to getting the Tigers back to the playoffs, Williamson said, “They just have to buy-in to the program, believe in themselves, and work hard. Those three things right there will speak volumes.”

13-A Division II action, Richland Springs will attempt to build on its run of 15 consecutive district titles and 66 straight district victories. “Right off the bat, the first game in Week 1 we have the Happy Cowboys and they’re No. 1 in Division I,” said Burkhart, whose team will carry a 29-game win streak into the opener. “They’re going to be a test for us. They only lost one kid from last year’s team. We’ll see early on where we’re at and I know they’re going to expose weaknesses, but that’s a good thing. We just have to go see where we’re at. If you play some tough teams it helps you down the road. We bit off a big one the first ball game and that gives us something to motivate us. “We also have Sterling City and Zephyr, Waco Methodist is a top-ranked private school and Fort Worth THESA won a state championship last year. Our pre-district schedule is pretty tough and we try to do it that way to see where our kids are at and to get our kids some good looks. We just have to get better from those ball games.”

out and get their business done.” As for the district race, defending champion Panther Creek is the preseason favorite, with the battle for second place expected to be a toss up between Brookesmith, Mullin, Sidney and Gustine. “There’s Panther Creek to worry about and I think Mullin has a lot of returners,” Edmondson said. “Sidney has a lot of returners back, too, so it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be hard to do what was done last year with the talent that

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have a chance to win it.” As for the district, the Bluecats are projected to finish behind Cisco and Eastland, which is where Coleman ended the 2016 campaign. “It’s hard to figure out how this district will shape up,” Elder said. “Cisco is probably going to be a front-runner along with Eastland at the top. Everybody else will be scrapping to try and get in there and get some wins. It’ll be a fight to the finish. This district will be interesting to watch up until the last week.” Despite the changes in personnel, the expectations for Coleman remain the same as they have in each of Elder’s first three seasons. “The potential is there for our team to do the same or better than the ones before them,” Elder said. “That’s always been the mentality around here. You want to do the same or better than you did last year, and if you’re hungry enough to do that you can succeed.”

was lost, so we have to show improvement ahead of the last four games. “They have the potential, we just have to put ket players in the right positions and right situations. I think we can play with anybody in our district but until we see some actual competition on the field it’s hard to know what to work on. Everything is a work in progress right now and we’re still learning. But I do think we’re going to be better than people think.”

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understand the situation. We need to establish some kids that can step

in when needed and not miss a beat. That’s what we want to see the most, how we do when some of our starters leave the field.” As for the district race, Gordon, Lingleville and Gorman each have a new head coach in place, which will present a learning curve for the Tigers. “Every team in our district besides us has a new head coach, so that throws a wrinkle in everything,” Steele said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, what they’re going to run or what they’re going to do. Gordon has quite a bit back and I expect them to be very good. Lingleville is, as usual, very ath-

letic. Gorman has a lot of kids, including one that I would consider a special athlete that will give us all we want and then some.” Having defeated everyone on the schedule a year ago, Steele said one of the greatest concerns regarding the Tigers this season is complacency. “We have to guard against complacency,” Steele said. “When you have the same schedule you went 10-0 on the year before, we don’t want these kids to feel like this is going to be a cake walk through the non-district schedule. We want to stay hungry and continue to get better.”

and lost in bi-district both years. In 2015 when they had a plus-9 turnover ratio, the Eagles won two playoff games. On defense Patterson, the 2016 District 7-2A Newcomer of the Year, made 71 tackles last year as a sophomore inside linebacker. Gibbard, an outside linebacker, made 46 stops last year. Valencia has moved from the secondary to outside linebacker. Other inside linebacker candidates include Butterfras, Massey and Hermesmeyer.

Goldthwaite returns its entire secondary, including all-district performers Seward and Garcia, who combined for 102 tackles last year. Also returning are Schwartz and Jones, who led the 2016 team with three interceptions. Like with the offense, though, defensive line depth is an issue. “The linemen are going to have to play both ways, there’s no way around it. They’re going to have to be in good physical shape,” Proffitt said.

The Eagles’ defense last year allowed 18 points and 271 yards per game. However, Goldthwaite allowed 34 points to Crawford, 38 to De Leon and 42 to Bosqueville late in the season. The Eagles are picked to finish third in district in most preseason polls behind defending state runner-up Crawford and state quarterfinalist De Leon. Hico is picked to finish fourth and claim the other playoff spot. Hico, Valley Mills and San Saba have new head coaches this season.

defense can’t key on one player. We want to take whatever the defense gives us, but always play with a physical mindset.” Defensively, Fikac has implemented the 4-2-5 alignment, which allows the Armadillos to stack the box to stop the run or drop back in pass coverage. Most District 7-2A Division I preseason polls have picked San Saba near the bot-

tom. The seven-team district includes defending state runner-up Crawford, 14-2 last year; and defending state quarterfinalist De Leon, 11-3 last year. Goldthwaite and Hico are picked to land the other two playoff berths, with Hamilton, Valley Mills and San Saba completing the district. San Saba won a playoff game three

straight years from 2009-2011, but hasn’t won another one since dropping to Class 2A in 2012. “San Saba has had tradition and success before, and the opportunity is in place to have success again,” Fikac said. “Our goal this year is to be competitive in every game and give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter.”

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The Tigers’ pre-district schedule includes Santa Anna, Eden, Throckmorton, Blanket, Waco Vanguard, Water Valley and Knox City before the defense of May’s 11-A Division I championship begins. “Developing quality back-ups will be very important this year in nondistrict, that’s the first thing we have to establish,” Steele said. “We can’t expect six guys to play both ways all game and we know that, and they know that. It’s been addressed and they

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Varsity newcomers in the line include juniors Decklyn Oliver (5-10, 200) and Zabreigh Odom (5-10, 190), along with sophomores Josh Butterfras (6-0, 180) and Dalton Goodman (5-10, 220). A key statistic for Goldthwaite will be its turnover ratio. The Eagles were minus-3 last year and minus-5 in 2014

SAN SABA

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year, but this year, we’ll be in the shotgun spread. “We hope to be balanced on offense. We’re not going to throw it 60 times a game. We want to distribute the ball so the

RISING STAR

CONTINUED FROM 22

good,” Jones said. “Four seniors are back and three of those guys have at least three years of experience. The other one has two years of experience. We have some pretty good freshmen and sophomores that have had a year under the system. We don’t have any kids on the team who have never played before, so at least they have some experience, which we didn’t have last year.” Team speed highlights the areas of concern for the Wildcats. “We’re not the fastest team, but we’ve got a couple of guys with decent speed,” Jones said. “And we have that lack of experience when it comes to having success

Sunday, August 27, 2017

and winning. Winning and success is contagious and we just haven’t caught that disease yet.” Jones is confident Rising Star will have a better season this year, but how much so will depend on the Wildcats themselves. “This team can be much better than last year, but what does that mean?” Jones said. “That means last year we didn’t play good football most of the time. We played football but not good football. We just went through the motions and tried to do things. We need to have some success early and we need to stay healthy. If you’re down to seven, eight or nine kids in sixman that’s tough. We have to stay healthy, stay focused, and just get better. If we get beat, get ready for the next game, and if we win, don’t get overly excited about it.”

MULLIN

CONTINUED FROM 20

Junior Bobby Salinas returns at center and may also play some at receiver. Sophomore Alex Porter (6-1, 190) will play some at center. There are multiple receiver candidates, including junior Jace Porter (6-1, 165), sophomores Skyler Smith (6-2, 180) and Nicholas Allyn (5-11, 210), and freshman Cody Knight,

SIDNEY

CONTINUED FROM 21

in the district is fighting to some extent for that second spot to get to the playoffs.” Barrow believes the Eagles can end their

who may also play at running back. The Bulldogs also have new running back Dontrel Dale, a 5-2, 160-pound junior who played for San Angelo Central’s JV last year. Defensively, Dela Rosa returns at safety, along with the Wootton brothers at the end positions and Salinas at linebacker. Dale figures to play cornerback. Other end prospects include Alex Porter, Jace Porter, Smith, Allyn and Knight.

postseason drought if they remain healthy and continue to progress each week. “This team, if we can stay healthy, has the potential to go to the playoffs,” Barrow said, “but it’s going to take staying healthy and getting better every week and getting better at fundamentals throughout the season.”

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 41

ZEPHYR

CONTINUED FROM 12

role as a senior. He’s been more of a blocker but this year is going to be his turn and hopefully he’ll step up and not miss a beat.” Zephyr will receive an assist from the schedule thanks to the newly installed turf at Blaine Quirl Stadium. A year ago, turf issues forced the Bulldogs to play the first half of their schedule on the road before the former field behind the high school could be prepared for use during district action. As a result of last year’s change in schedule, Zephyr will play seven home games this season. “It gets to be a pain when you have to load kids up from the field house and haul them back down to the grass field, carry water, carry all your supplies every day,” Williams said. “Now we’re back to being able to just walk out the door and you’re on your field. The surface that we have is beautiful, looks great. They did a great job and our kids are excited to be on it. Our first four games are all at home and we’re excited about that. We only travel for a few games and two of them are in district

play.” Pre-district foes include Oakwood, Granbury NCTA, Richland Springs, Santa Anna, Cherokee, Lingleville and Gorman, with the contest against the two-time defending Class A Division II state champion Coyotes as the highlight. “Our pre-district schedule is super tough,” Williams said. “A lot of teams shy away from playing good teams, but if you want to be good you have to play good teams. I don’t know much about Richland Springs except they’re going to be awesome. They didn’t lose a whole lot from last year. This will give

us a test of where we are early and it’s going to show us our weaknesses.” In District 10-A Division I action, the Bulldogs will attempt to halt a fivegame slump against No. 6 Jonesboro, while Blanket and Evant will attempt to play the spoiler role and steal a playoff spot from one of the two preseason favorites. “Jonesboro had a super loaded senior class last year,” Williams said. “Their chemistry was great. Our kids like to play Jonesboro, it’s fun having them in district and it should be a super competitive game. Blanket has a new coach and they’re going to be super fast. I just

SANTA ANNA

CONTINUED FROM 18

As for the 8-A Division I race, McVey believes any of the four teams — Santa Anna, Water Valley, Paint Rock or Veribest — could emerge as the champion. “It’s kind of a crap shoot this year,” McVey said. “Everybody has a new coach in our district except us. Veribest is looking like the favorite. We’re one or two injuries away from being really

hope we can catch them before they get going. I don’t know a lot about Evant, but I do know they’ll be ready to play.” Experience is an obvious strength for the Bulldogs this season, but the key to the season may be how the newcomers perform. “We have 25 or 26 kids playing, but 15 of those kids are freshmen compared to four seniors,” Williams said. “That tells you we’re not going to have a lot of depth on varsity, so we can’t afford to get anyone hurt. We’re going to need to have some freshmen and sophomores step up and be ready to play.” good or really bad.” As for the potential of the squad, McVey stated the Mountaineers must improve in two crucial areas to be able to live up to their potential. “We can be as good as we want to be, but mentally we’re not tough enough and physically we’re not tough enough compared to where we should be right now,” McVey said. “District-wise, we should be able to come out on top if we do everything we need to do, including hitting the weight room and keep working on what we’ve been doing.”

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Brownwood Lions

Bangs Dragons

Blanket Tigers

Santa Anna Mountaineers

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 43

Early Longhorns

Zephyr Bulldogs

Rising Star Wildcats

Coleman Bluecats

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

2017 NFL SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 Thursday, Sept. 7 Kansas City at New England Sunday, Sept. 10 N.Y. Jets at Buffalo Philadelphia at Washington Oakland at Tennessee Tampa Bay at Miami Jacksonville at Houston Arizona at Detroit Atlanta at Chicago Baltimore at Cincinnati Pittsburgh at Cleveland Indianapolis at L.A. Rams Seattle at Green Bay Carolina at San Francisco N.Y. Giants at Dallas Monday, Sept. 11 New Orleans at Minnesota L.A. Chargers at Denver WEEK 2 Thursday, Sept. 14 Houston at Cincinnati Sunday, Sept. 17 Cleveland at Baltimore Chicago at Tampa Bay Minnesota at Pittsburgh New England at New Orleans Philadelphia at Kansas City Tennessee at Jacksonville Arizona at Indianapolis Buffalo at Carolina N.Y. Jets at Oakland Miami at L.A. Chargers San Francisco at Seattle Washington at L.A. Rams Dallas at Denver Green Bay at Atlanta Monday, Sept. 18 Detroit at N.Y. Giants WEEK 3 Thursday, Sept. 21 L.A. Rams at San Francisco Sunday, Sept. 24 Baltimore at Jacksonville Cleveland at Indianapolis N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia Miami at N.Y. Jets Denver at Buffalo New Orleans at Carolina Pittsburgh at Chicago Atlanta at Detroit Tampa Bay at Minnesota Houston at New England Seattle at Tennessee Cincinnati at Green Bay Kansas City at L.A. Chargers Oakland at Washington Monday, Sept. 25 Dallas at Arizona WEEK 4 Thursday, Sept. 28 Chicago at Green Bay Sunday, Oct. 1 New Orleans vs. Miami (at London) Tennessee at Houston Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets Carolina at New England Detroit at Minnesota Buffalo at Atlanta

7:30 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 6:10 p.m. 9:20 p.m.

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m. 8:30 a.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon

Pittsburgh at Baltimore Cincinnati at Cleveland L.A. Rams at Dallas Philadelphia at L.A. Chargers N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay San Francisco at Arizona Oakland at Denver Indianapolis at Seattle Monday, Oct. 2 Washington at Kansas City

Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

WEEK 5 Thursday, Oct. 5 New England at Tampa Bay 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8 N.Y. Jets at Cleveland Noon Carolina at Detroit Noon San Francisco at Indianapolis Noon Tennessee at Miami Noon Buffalo at Cincinnati Noon L.A. Chargers at N.Y. Giants Noon Jacksonville at Pittsburgh Noon Arizona at Philadelphia Noon Seattle at L.A. Rams 3:05 p.m. Baltimore at Oakland 3:05 p.m. Green Bay at Dallas 3:25 p.m. Kansas City at Houston 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9 Minnesota at Chicago 7:30 p.m. Byes: Atlanta, Denver, New Orleans, Washington WEEK 6 Thursday, Oct. 12 Philadelphia at Carolina 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 Chicago at Baltimore Noon Cleveland at Houston Noon Green Bay at Minnesota Noon Detroit at New Orleans Noon Miami at Atlanta Noon New England at N.Y. Jets Noon Jacksonville at Pittsburgh Noon San Francisco at Washington Noon Tampa Bay at Arizona 3:05 p.m. L.A. Rams at Jacksonville 3:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Kansas City 3:25 p.m. L.A. Chargers at Oakland 3:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Denver 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 Indianapolis at Tennessee 7:30 p.m. Byes: Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dallas, Seattle WEEK 7 Thursday, Oct. 19 Kansas City at Oakland Sunday, Oct. 22 Tampa Bay at Buffalo Cincinnati at Pittsburgh Baltimore at Minnesota N.Y. Jets at Miami Arizona at L.A. Rams Carolina at Chicago Tennessee at Cleveland New Orleans at Green Bay Jacksonville at Indianapolis Dallas at San Francisco Seattle at N.Y. Giants Denver at L.A. Chargers Atlanta at New England Monday, Oct. 23 Washington at Philadelphia Byes: Detroit, Houston

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

WEEK 8 Thursday, Oct. 26 Miami at Baltimore 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 Minnesota at Cleveland Noon Atlanta at N.Y. Jets Noon Carolina at Tampa Bay Noon San Francisco at Philadelphia Noon Chicago at New Orleans Noon L.A. Chargers at New England Noon Oakland at Buffalo Noon Houston at Seattle 3:05 p.m. Dallas at Washington 3:25 p.m. Pittsburgh at Detroit 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30 Denver at Kansas City 7:30 p.m. Byes: Arizona, Green Bay, Jacksonville, L.A. Rams, N.Y. Giants, Tennessee WEEK 9 Thursday, Nov. 2 Buffalo at N.Y. Jets 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5 Indianapolis at Houston Noon Cincinnati at Jacksonville Noon Tampa Bay at New Orleans Noon L.A. Rams at N.Y. Giants Noon Atlanta at Carolina Noon Denver at Philadelphia Noon Baltimore at Tennessee Noon Arizona at San Francisco 3:05 p.m. Washington at Seattle 3:05 p.m. Kansas City at Dallas 3:25 p.m. Oakland at Miami 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 Detroit at Green Bay 7:30 p.m. Byes: Chicago, Cleveland, L.A. Chargers, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh WEEK 10 Thursday, Nov. 9 Seattle at Arizona 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12 Green Bay at Chicago Noon Cleveland at Detroit Noon Pittsburgh at Indianapolis Noon L.A. Chargers at Jacksonville Noon New Orleans at Buffalo Noon N.Y. Jets at Tampa Bay Noon Minnesota at Washington Noon Cincinnati at Tennessee Noon Houston at L.A. Rams 3:05 p.m. Dallas at Atlanta 3:25 p.m. N.Y. Giants at San Francisco 3:25 p.m. New England at Denver 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13 Miami at Carolina 7:30 p.m. Byes: Baltimore, Kansas City, Oakland, Philadelphia WEEK 11 Thursday, Nov. 16 Tennessee at Pittsburgh Sunday, Nov. 19 Jacksonville at Cleveland Baltimore at Green Bay Arizona at Houston L.A. Rams at Minnesota Detroit at Chicago Washington at New Orleans Kansas City at N.Y. Giants Buffalo at L.A. Chargers Cincinnati at Denver

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m.

New England vs. Oakland (Mexico City) 3:25 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20 Atlanta at Seattle 7:30 p.m. Byes: Carolina, Indianapolis, Miami, N.Y. Jets, San Francisco, Tampa Bay WEEK 12 Thursday, Nov. 23 Minnesota at Detroit L.A. Chargers at Dallas N.Y. Giants at Washington Sunday, Nov. 26 Buffalo at Kansas City Tennessee at Indianapolis Cleveland at Cincinnati Tampa Bay at Atlanta Miami at New England Chicago at Philadelphia Carolina at N.Y. Jets New Orleans at L.A. Rams Seattle at San Francisco Jacksonville at Arizona Denver at Oakland Green Bay at Pittsburgh Monday, Nov. 27 Houston at Baltimore WEEK 13 Thursday, Nov. 30 Washington at Dallas Sunday, Dec. 3 Minnesota at Atlanta Houston at Tennessee Kansas City at N.Y. Jets Carolina at New Orleans Denver at Miami Detroit at Baltimore New England at Buffalo San Francisco at Chicago Tampa Bay at Green Bay Indianapolis at Jacksonville Cleveland at L.A. Chargers N.Y Giants at Oakland L.A. Rams at Arizona Philadelphia at Seattle Monday, Dec. 4 Pittsburgh at Cincinnati WEEK 14 Thursday, Dec. 7 New Orleans at Atlanta Sunday, Dec. 10 Indianapolis at Buffalo Detroit at Tampa Bay Oakland at Kansas City Seattle at Jacksonville San Francisco at Houston Green Bay at Cleveland Chicago at Cincinnati Minnesota at Carolina Washington at L.A. Chargers N.Y. Jets at Denver Tennessee at Arizona Dallas at N.Y. Giants Philadelphia at L.A. Rams Baltimore at Pittsburgh Monday, Dec. 11 New England at Miami WEEK 15 Thursday, Dec. 14 Denver at Indianapolis

11:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 16 Chicago at Detroit L.A. Chargers at Kansas City Sunday, Dec. 17 Houston at Jacksonville Baltimore at Cleveland Green Bay at Carolina Miami at Buffalo Cincinnati at Minnesota Arizona at Washington Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants N.Y. Jets at New Orleans L.A. Rams at Seattle Tennessee at San Francisco New England at Pittsburgh Dallas at Oakland Monday, Dec. 18 Atlanta at Tampa Bay WEEK 16 Saturday, Dec. 23 Indianapolis at Baltimore Minnesota at Green Bay Sunday, Dec. 24 Detroit at Cincinnati Miami at Kansas City Buffalo at New England Cleveland at Chicago Tampa Bay at Carolina Atlanta at New Orleans Denver at Washington L.A. Rams at Tennessee L.A. Chargers at N.Y. Jets Jacksonville at San Francisco Seattle at Dallas N.Y Giants at Arizona Monday, Dec. 25 Pittsburgh at Houston Oakland at Philadelphia WEEK 17 Sunday, Dec. 31 Carolina at Atlanta Cincinnati at Baltimore Jacksonville at Tennessee New Orleans at Tampa Bay Cleveland at Pittsburgh Green Bay at Detroit Houston at Indianapolis Buffalo at Miami Chicago at Minnesota N.Y. Jets at New England Washington at N.Y. Giants Dallas at Philadelphia Oakland at L.A. Chargers Kansas City at Denver San Francisco at L.A. Rams Arizona at Seattle

Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:05 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m. 3:25 p.m.

PLAYOFFS Wild Card Round Saturday, Jan. 6 and Sunday, Jan. 7 Divisional Round Saturday, Jan. 13 and Sunday, Jan. 14 Conference Championships Sunday, Jan. 21

7:30 p.m.

7:25 p.m.

3:30 p.m. 7:25 p.m.

Super Bowl 52 Sunday, Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 45

2017 BIG 12 SCHEDULE

Thursday, Aug. 31 Tulsa at Oklahoma State 6:30 p.m. (FS1) Saturday, Sept. 2 Maryland at Texas 11 a.m. (FS1) UTEP at Oklahoma 2:30 p.m. (FOX) Eastern Washington at Texas Tech 3 p.m. (FSSW) Southeast Missouri State at Kansas 6 p.m. Central Arkansas at Kansas State 6 p.m. Jackson State at TCU 7 p.m. (FSSW) Northern Iowa at Iowa State 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3 Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia 6:30 p.m. (ABC) — at FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland Friday, Sept. 8 Oklahoma State at South Alabama Saturday, Sept. 9 East Carolina at West Virginia Charlotte at Kansas State Iowa at Iowa State TCU at Arkansas San Jose State at Texas Central Michigan at Kansas Oklahoma at Ohio State UTSA at Baylor Arizona State at Texas Tech

Saturday, Sept. 16 Oklahoma State at Pitt 11 a.m. (ABC) Delaware State at West Virginia 11 a.m. (ROOT) Iowa State at Akron 11 a.m. (CBSSN) Baylor at Duke 11:30 a.m. Kansas at Ohio 1 p.m. SMU at TCU 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU) Tulane at Oklahoma 5 p.m. Kansas State at Vanderbilt 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU) Texas at USC 7:30 p.m. (FOX) Saturday, Sept. 23 Oklahoma at Baylor* TCU at Oklahoma State* West Virginia at Kansas*

TBA TBA TBA

7 p.m. (ESPN2) 11 a.m. (FS2) 11 a.m. (FSSW) 11 a.m. (ESPN2) 2:30 p.m. (CBS) 2:30 p.m. (LHN) 3 p.m. (FSSW) 6:30 p.m. (ABC) 7 p.m. (FSSW) 7 p.m. (FSSW)

Thursday, Sept. 28 Texas at Iowa State* Saturday, Sept. 30 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech* Baylor at Kansas State*

TBA (ESPN)

Saturday, Oct. 7 Kansas State at Texas* Iowa State at Oklahoma* Texas Tech at Kansas* West Virginia at TCU*

TBA TBA

TBA TBA TBA TBA

Saturday, Oct. 14 Texas Tech at West Virginia* TBA Kansas at Iowa State* TBA TCU at Kansas State* TBA Baylor at Oklahoma State TBA Oklahoma vs. Texas* TBA — at Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Saturday, Nov. 11 West Virginia at Kansas State* TBA TCU at Oklahoma* TBA Oklahoma State at Iowa State* TBA Kansas at Texas TBA Texas Tech vs. Baylor* TBA — at AT&T Stadium, Arlington

Saturday, Oct. 21 Kansas at TCU* Oklahoma State at Texas* Oklahoma at Kansas State* Iowa State at Texas Tech* West Virginia at Baylor

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Saturday, Nov. 18 Iowa State at Baylor* Oklahoma at Kansas* TCU at Texas Tech* Kansas State at Oklahoma State* Texas at West Virginia*

Saturday, Oct. 28 Kansas State at Kansas* Oklahoma State at West Virginia* TCU at Iowa State* Texas at Baylor* Texas Tech at Oklahoma*

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Saturday, Nov. 4 Baylor at Kansas* Texas at TCU* Oklahoma at Oklahoma State* Kansas State at Texas Tech* Iowa State at West Virginia*

TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Friday, Nov. 24 Baylor at TCU* Texas Tech at Texas*

Saturday, Nov. 25 West Virginia at Oklahoma* Iowa State at Kansas State* Kansas at Oklahoma State*

11 a.m. (FS1) 7 p.m. (FOX) TBA TBA TBA

Saturday, Dec. 2 Big 12 Championship Game TBA — at AT&T Stadium, Arlington * Big 12 Conference Game

TEXAS NCAA FBS SCHEDULES TEXAS A&M AGGIES (SEC)

S3 at UCLA S9 Nicholls State S16 Louisiana-Lafayette S23 Arkansas*# S30 South Carolina* O7 Alabama* O14 at Florida* O28 Mississippi State* N4 Auburn* N11 New Mexico N18 at Ole Miss* N25 at LSU* # at AT&T Stadium, Arlington * Conference Game

NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN S2 S9 S16 S23 S30 O14 O21 O28 N4 N11 N18 N25

(CONFERENCE USA)

Lamar at SMU at Iowa UAB* at Southern Miss* UTSA* at Florida Atlantic* Old Dominion* at Louisiana Tech* UTEP* Army at Rice*

* Conference Game

HOUSTON COUGARS

S2 S9 S16 S23 S30 O7 O14 O19 O28 N4 N18 N24

(AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE) at UTSA at Arizona Rice Texas Tech at Temple* SMU* at Tulsa* Memphis* East Carolina* at South Florida* at Tulane* Navy*

* Conference Game

SMU MUSTANGS

S2 S9 S16 S23 S30 O7 O21 O27 N4 N11 N18 N25

A26 Stanford# S9 at UTEP* S16 at Houston S23 Florida International* S30 at Pitt O7 Army O21 at UTSA* O28 Louisiana Tech* N4 at UAB* N11 Southern Miss* N18 at Old Dominion* N25 North Texas* # at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia * Conference Game

Stephen F. Austin North Texas at TCU Arkansas State UConn* at Houston* at Cincinnati* Tulsa* UCF* at Navy* at Memphis* Tulane*

* Conference Game

RICE OWLS

(CONFERENCE USA)

(AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE)

TEXAS STATE BOBCATS S2 S9 S16 S23 S30 O7 O12 O28 N4 N11 N18 N24

* Conference Game

UTEP MINERS

S2 S9 S15 S23 S30 O7 O14 O28 N4 N11 N18 N25

(CONFERENCE USA)

at Oklahoma Rice* Arizona at New Mexico State at Army Western Kentucky* at Southern Miss* UTSA* at Middle Tennessee State* at North Texas* Louisiana Tech* at UAB*

* Conference Game

(SUN BELT)

Houston Baptist at Colorado Appalachian State UTSA at Wyoming Louisiana-Monroe* at Louisiana-Lafayette* at Coastal Carolina* New Mexico State* Georgia State* at Arkansas State* at Troy*

UTSA ROADRUNNERS S2 S9 S16 S23 O7 O14 O21 O28 N4 N11 N18 N25

(CONFERENCE USA)

Houston at Baylor Southern at Texas State Southern Miss* at North Texas* Rice* at UTEP* at Florida International* UAB* Marshall* at Louisiana Tech*

* Conference Game

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

WEEK-BY-WEEK Week 1 Friday, Sept. 1 Brownwood vs. Canyon (at Frenship) Bangs at Early Blanket at Rising Star Gorman at Brookesmith Santa Anna at May Oakwood at Zephyr Comanche at Ballinger Jim Ned at Coleman Goldthwaite at Mason Winters at San Saba Mullin at Lometa Moran at Sidney Saturday, Sept. 2 Richland Springs vs. Happy (at Jayton) HPU at Southwestern Assemblies of God

Week 2 Friday, Sept. 8 Graham at Brownwood Roscoe at Early Hawley at Bangs Blanket at Sidney Eden at May Granbury NCTA at Zephyr Coleman at Comanche Jim Ned at Goldthwaite Harper at San Saba Garden City at Santa Anna Waco Methodist at Richland Springs Rising Star at Mullin Saturday, Sept. 9 Brookesmith at Blackwell

Week3 Friday, Sept. 15 Brownwood at Liberty Hill Early at Bruceville-Eddy Winters at Bangs Rochelle at Blanket

Brookesmith at Veribest May at Throckmorton Richland Springs at Zephyr Cisco at Comanche Post at Coleman Little River-Academy at Goldthwaite San Saba at Johnson City Robert Lee at Santa Anna Mullin at Cranfills Gap Rising Star at Panther Creek Sidney at Morgan Saturday, Sept. 16 Howard Payne at McMurry

Week 4 Friday, Sept. 22 Brownwood at Alvarado Early at Tolar Bangs at Coahoma May at Blanket Brookesmith at Trent Santa Anna at Zephyr Comanche at Little River-Academy Brady at Coleman Goldthwaite at Junction San Saba at Cross Plains Austin Hill Country at Richland Springs Veribest at Mullin Lingleville at Rising Star Cranfills Gap at Sidney Saturday, Sept. 23 Hardin-Simmons at Howard Payne

Week 5 Friday, Sept. 29 Brownwood vs. Giddings (at Temple) Paradise at Early Jim Ned at Bangs Blanket at Brookesmith Waco Vanguard at May Zephyr at Lingleville

Eastland at Comanche Coleman at Clyde Hamilton at Goldthwaite Valley Mills at San Saba Santa Anna at Cherokee Trent at Rising Star Sidney at Lohn Saturday, Sept. 30 Mullin vs. Loop (at Garden City) Howard Payne at Belhaven

Week 6 Friday, Oct. 6 Strawn at Blanket Paint Rock at Brookesmith May at Water Valley Cherokee at Zephyr Goldthwaite at Valley Mills Evant at Santa Anna Richland Springs at Sterling City Mullin at Rochelle Sidney at Lometa Saturday, Oct. 7 Abilene Christian at Rising Star East Texas Baptist at Howard Payne

Week 7 Friday, Oct. 13 Brownwood at Abilene Wylie Early at Brady Bangs at Coleman Blanket at Lometa Brookesmith at Gustine Knox City at May Jim Ned at Comanche San Saba at Goldthwaite Blackwell at Santa Anna Fort Worth THESA at Richland Springs Sidney at Mullin Saturday, Oct. 14 Howard Payne at Mary Hardin-Baylor

Week 8 Friday, Oct. 20 Stephenville at Brownwood Early at Clyde Bangs at Tolar Mullin at Brookesmith Gorman at Zephyr Comanche at Merkel Coleman at Cisco Crawford at San Saba Round Rock Concordia at Rich. Springs Rising Star at Gustine Panther Creek at Sidney Saturday, Oct. 21 Sul Ross at Howard Payne

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Local Schedule

Week9 Friday, Oct. 27 Alvin Shadow Creek at Brownwood Jim Ned at Early Cisco at Bangs Blanket at Jonesboro Brookesmith at Panther Creek Gorman at May Zephyr at Evant Clyde at Comanche Eastland at Coleman Crawford at Goldthwaite San Saba at Hico Santa Anna at Veribest Richland Springs at Rochelle Gustine at Mullin Rising Star at Strawn Saturday, Oct. 28 Texas Lutheran at Howard Payne

Week 10 Friday, Nov. 3 Brownwood at Big Spring Early at Merkel Bangs at Eastland Blanket at Evant Sidney at Brookesmith May at Lingleville Jonesboro at Zephyr Brady at Comanche Coleman at Dublin Hico at Goldthwaite De Leon at San Saba Santa Anna at Water Valley Lohn at Richland Springs Moran at Rising Star Saturday, Nov. 4 Howard Payne at Southwestern

Week 11 Friday, Nov. 10 Snyder at Brownwood Comanche at Early Dublin at Bangs Zephyr at Blanket Gordon at May Tolar at Coleman Goldthwaite at De Leon San Saba at Hamilton Paint Rock at Santa Anna Richland Springs at Cherokee Mullin at Panther Creek Rising Star at Woodson Gustine at Sidney Saturday, Nov. 11 Louisiana College at Howard Payne

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017 47

TEAM-BY-TEAM SCHEDULES BLANKET TIGERS

BANGS DRAGONS

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

at Early Hawley Winters# at Coahoma Jim Ned OPEN at Coleman* at Tolar* Cisco* at Eastland* Dublin*

# Homecoming * District Game

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

# Homecoming * District Game

COMANCHE INDIANS S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

at Ballinger Coleman Cisco# at Little River-Academy Eastland OPEN Jim Ned* at Merkel Clyde* Brady* at Early*

# Homecoming * District Game

MULLIN BULLDOGS S1 S8 S15 S22 S30 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

at Lometa Rising Star at Cranfills Gap Veribest vs. Loop (at Garden City) at Rochelle Sidney#* at Brookesmith* Gustine* OPEN at Panther Creek*

# Homecoming * District Game Moran Blanket at Morgan Cranfills Gap# at Lohn at Lometa at Mullin* Panther Creek* OPEN at Brookesmith* Gustine*

# Homecoming * District Game

S1 S9 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Bangs Roscoe at Bruceville-Eddy at Tolar Paradise# OPEN at Brady* at Clyde* Jim Ned* at Merkel* Comanche*

# Homecoming * District Game

Happy (at Jayton) Waco Methodist at Zephyr Austin Hill Country# OPEN at Sterling City Fort Worth THESA Round Rock Concordia at Rochelle* Lohn* at Cherokee*

# Homecoming * District Game

ZEPHYR BULLDOGS S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Oakwood Granbury NCTA Richland Springs Santa Anna at Lingleville Cherokee# OPEN Gorman at Evant* Jonesboro* at Blanket*

# Homecoming * District Game

BROWNWOOD LIONS

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

S2 S9 S16 S23 S30 O7 O14 O21 O28 N4 N11

at Mason Jim Ned Little River-Academy at Junction Hamilton#* at Valley Mills* San Saba* OPEN Crawford* Hico* at De Leon*

SAN SABA ARMADILLOS S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Blanket at Mullin at Panther Creek Lingleville Trent Abilene Christian# OPEN at Gustine* at Strawn* Moran* at Woodson*

# Homecoming * District Game

Winters Harper# at Johnson City at Cross Plains Valley Mills* OPEN at Goldthwaite* Crawford* at Hico* De Leon* at Hamilton*

# Homecoming * District Game

M E ’ K C I P YOU EST CONT ALL?

OTB W FO

OU K

BR-SPAD0802200617

at SW Assemblies of God OPEN at McMurry* Hardin-Simmons* at Belhaven* East Texas Baptist* at Mary Hardin-Baylor* Sul Ross#* Texas Lutheran* at Southwestern* Louisiana College*

# Homecoming * Conference Game

RISING STAR WILDCATS

KY THIN

COLEMAN BLUECATS

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Jim Ned at Comanche Post Brady# at Clyde OPEN Bangs* at Cisco* Eastland* at Dublin* Tolar*

# Homecoming * District Game

HPU YELLOW JACKETS

# Homecoming * District Game

S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O7 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Canyon (at Frenship) Graham# at Liberty Hill at Alvarado Giddings (at Temple) OPEN at Abilene Wylie* Stephenville* Alvin Shadow Creek at Big Spring* Snyder*

# Homecoming * District Game

GOLDTHWAITE EAGLES

RICHLAND SPRINGS COYOTES S2 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Gorman at Blackwell at Veribest at Trent Blanket Paint Rock# at Gustine* Mullin* at Panther Creek* Sidney* OPEN

# Homecoming * District Game

EARLY LONGHORNS

SIDNEY EAGLES S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

at Rising Star at Sidney Rochelle# May at Brookesmith Strawn at Lometa OPEN at Jonesboro* at Evant* Zephyr*

BROOKESMITH MUSTANGS

MAY TIGERS S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

Santa Anna Eden at Throckmorton at Blanket Waco Vanguard at Water Valley Knox City# OPEN Gorman* at Lingleville* Gordon*

# Homecoming * District Game

SANTA ANNA MOUNTAINEERS S1 S8 S15 S22 S29 O6 O13 O20 O27 N3 N10

at May Garden City Robert Lee at Zephyr at Cherokee Evant# Blackwell OPEN at Veribest* at Water Valley* Paint Rock*

# Homecoming * District Game

BEGINNING AUGUST 28th YOU CAN COMPETE FOR A

TAILGATING PRIZE PACKAGE!

Each week during the high school regular season competitors will choose the winners of 25 local high school, college games contests posted by the Bulletin on our website. Weekly winners will receive a ‘goody bag’ from the Bulletin and will be eligible for the grand prize to be drawn at the end of the high school regular season — the Tailgating Prize Package valued at $350 that consists of a grill, cooler with food and beverages, cooking utensils, charcoal, lighter fluid, two lawn chairs and more. SIGN UP TODAY TO PICK’EM!

www.brownwoodtx.com/pickem

PIGSKIN PREVIEW 2017

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Come Dine with us before the game!

Drive Thru • Dine In • Catering

919 N. Fisk • Brownwood • 325-643-6661

BR-00079003

Proudly Supporting all area teams.

We accept Visa, MC, Discover, Am. EX & Checks

Sun - Thurs 10AM - 8PM • Fri & Sat 10AM - 9PM

BR-00079003