Gridiron Preview 2014

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Everything you need to know from the bleachers this season! Gridiron Preview 2014 is a first look at our local high school football teams.

Transcript of Gridiron Preview 2014

Page 2 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 3

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When I moved to Texas in 1998, it was barelywithin my first month at Hendrick Middle School inPlano that I first learned about the allure of highschool football.

Just a seventh-grader at the time, I remembermy coaches touting this grandiose vision of what itwould one day mean for any of us to suit up and playfor Plano East.

At the time, I had no idea what any of thatmeant. Understand that I had just moved from thenortheast and high school football in New Hampshireisn’t exactly well, comparable to Texas.

It wouldn’t be until a couple years later that Ifirst saw East and Plano Senior square off at ClarkStadium. To simply catch a glimpse of the exuber-ance teeming from every row of bleachers and thegroundswell of support for both schools – it all madesense.

In Texas, football is religion. Players, coaches andfans alike eat, sleep and breathe the sport year-round, and as the 2014 season draws near, consider

what you’re about to read just one more necessity tohelp satiate that appetite for the high school gridiron.

Last year, Star Local Media debuted an all-mar-ket football tab designed to inform readers of every-thing worth knowing in preparation for their favoriteschool’s upcoming season.

As you peruse through this tab, you’ll notice ournew layout and the depth and insight on all theteams featured. Inside, readers will find everythingfrom team and district previews, to player spotlightsand schedules for the 2014 season.

And what a compelling year it’s shaping up tobe. Allen vies for a third consecutive state title, thefirst on-field effects of the UIL’s biennial realignmentwill come to light and from a sheer talent standpoint,the national spotlight will shine bright on the Metro-plex over these next few months.

All that and more is chronicled throughout thistab, which previews 41 schools across 14 districtsand six different athletic classifications.

This is merely the beginning as well.

Throughout the season, Star Local Media will beon the scene every Friday night, with plenty Thurs-days and even a few Saturdays sprinkled in for goodmeasure.

Don’t believe me? Log onto starlocalmedia.comand follow our crew of sports reporters. They willkeep you informed with up-to-minute news and cov-erage for everything sports-related in your respectivecommunities.

In addition to week-to-week game coverage, wewill provide previews, columns, player and team fea-tures, college commitment stories, a litany of photogalleries and of course, the Pick-It Line.

Our 14 community newspapers and website,starlocalmedia.com, will serve as the vehicles for allthis content. However, for the time being, I hope youenjoy reading our second-ever all-market football tab,because there’s only more content and coverage tocome in the months ahead.

MATT WELCH,Executive Sports Editor

Page 4 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Facts and figures, reviews and previews… basically everything you need to know about this season

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 5

>> A LOOK INSIDE>>06 DISTRICT 6-6A

>> 08 ALLEN EAGLES >> 10 FLOWER MOUND JAGUARS>> 11 FLOWER MOUND MARCUS

MARAUDERS>> 12 HEBRON HAWKS >> 14 LEWISVILLE FARMERS>> 15 McKINNEY BOYD BRONCOS>> 16 PLANO EAST PANTHERS>> 17 PLANO SENIOR WILDCATS>> 18 PLANO WEST WOLVES

>>41 DISTRICT 10-5A>> 42 LOVEJOY LEOPARDS>> 43 McKINNEY LIONS>> 44 McKINNEY NORTH BULLDOGS>> 46 PROSPER EAGLES

>>47 DISTRICT 11-5A>> 48 CARROLLTON CREEKVIEW MUSTANGS>> 49 CARROLLTON NEWMAN SMITH

TROJANS

>>50 DISTRICT 12-5A>> 51 MESQUITE POTEET PIRATES>> 52 WEST MESQUITE WRANGLERS

>>53 DISTRICT 6-4A>> 54 ARGYLE EAGLES

>>55 DISTRICT 3-4A>> 56 CELINA BOBCATS

>>57 DISTRICT 6-3A>> 58 SUNNYVALE RAIDERS

>>59 TAPPS I-1>> 60 ARGYLE LIBERTY CHRISTIAN

WARRIORS>> 61 JOHN PAUL II CARDINALS>> 62 PRESTONWOOD CHRISTIAN

ACADEMY LIONS

>>19 DISTRICT 7-6A>> 20 COPPELL COWBOYS

>>21 DISTRICT 10-6A>> 23 MESQUITE SKEETERS >> 24 MESQUITE HORN JAGUARS >> 25 NORTH MESQUITE STALLIONS

>>26 DISTRICT 11-6A>> 27 ROWLETT EAGLES

>>28 DISTRICT 6-5A>> 29 LAKE DALLAS FALCONS

>>30 DISTRICT 9-5A>> 32 FRISCO RACCOONS>> 33 FRISCO CENTENNIAL TITANS>> 34 FRISCO HERITAGE COYOTES>> 35 FRISCO INDEPENDENCE KNIGHTS >> 36 FRISCO LIBERTY REDHAWKS>> 37 FRISCO LONE STAR RANGERS>> 38 FRISCO WAKELAND WOLVERINES>> 39 LITTLE ELM LOBOS>> 40 THE COLONY COUGARS

• Jerry Acuff• Kellie Anfosso• OladipoAwowale• Dan Brown• Craig Engle• Manny Flores• Neil Fonville• Kenny Green• Glenn Gunn• Don Henderson

• Kelsey Kruzich• Scott Luedke• James Martin• Brad McClendon• Lisa Owens• Rog Pachuta• Troy Roland• Teo Salinas• Todd Steitle• Don Sparks

>> CONTACT US Mike Miller, Publisher

Gina Aldaz, Executive [email protected]

Matt Welch, Sports [email protected]

Kevin Haezebroeck, Advertising [email protected]

Peter Ackling, Sales [email protected] Preview 2014 is published annu-ally by Star Local Media, 624 Krona Dr Ste170, Plano, TX 75074-8304. The entire con-tents of Gridiron Preview 2014 Copyright2014 by Star Local Media. No portion maybe reproduced in whole or in part by anymeans without the express written permis-sion of Star Local Media. Additional copiesare available for purchase by contactingcustomer service at 972-424-9504.

>> ON THE COVER Ronald Jones, McKinney North:Mark Martin; Soso Jamabo, PlanoWest: Troy Roland; Chason Virgil,West Mesquite: Glenn Gunn; KylerMurray, Allen: Neil Fonville

>> CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

• Ethan [email protected], @DowntownEG• Devin [email protected], @DevinHasson• Phil [email protected], @PhilsHaus• Chris O’Dell [email protected], @cODellSCN• Justin [email protected], @JThomasSCN• Matt [email protected], @MWelchSCN

>> CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Page 6 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

This 6,600-pound gorilla figures to garnerplenty of attention over these next two years.

Not only does District 6-6A house a totalof 14 football state championships, it featuresnine schools with enrollments of more than3,000 students. The largest of the schoolsdoubles as the one best suited to tack on titlenumber 15 for 6-6A, as Allen sets its sights ona rare chance to win three consecutive cham-pionships in the state’s highest classification.

A ninth consecutive district title wouldn’tbe a bad addendum for Allen either. Thereprojects to be no shortage of competitionkeen of knocking the Eagles from their perch,including presumptive contenders Plano Sen-ior, McKinney Boyd and Hebron.

The Wildcats and Broncos each returnrunning backs (Brandon Stephens andDedrick Scrivens, respectively) that garneredall-district superlatives last year, while theHawks have the ammo to hang with anybodyin 6-6A up front.

The remainder of Lewisville ISD is eying abounce-back campaign after down years forFlower Mound, Lewisville and Flower MoundMarcus, while the Marauders and Plano Eastwill each break in new head coaches in GerryStanford and Joey McCullough, respectively.

And lest we forget playoff contenderPlano West, which features arguably the na-tion’s most talented running back in seniorSoso Jamabo.

>> ALLEN EAGLES >> FLOWER MOUND JAGUARS >> FLOWER MOUND MARCUS MARAUDERS >> HEBRON HAWKS >> LEWISVILLE FARMERS>> McKINNEY BOYD BRONCOS >> PLANO EAST PANTHERS >> PLANO SENIOR WILDCATS >> PLANO WEST WOLVES

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 6-6A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>ALLEN AT BOYD(SEPT. 12) The Eagles don’t exactlybegin district play in the shallow end ofthe pool. The 6-6A opener for bothteams deals a young Allen defense oneof its toughest tasks of the regular sea-son: slowing down Boyd running backDedrick Scrivens. Up front, the Eagles’talented offensive line will have itshands full with Boyd’s duo of Kiel Simasand Ramon Readus. Allen will obviouslyhave its say too, but this is a compellingdistrict opener for both teams.

>>PLANO AT ALLEN(SEPT. 18) District 6-6A might not exactlybe the Big 12 when it comes to offense, butthis is a matchup with shootout potential.One week after the Eagles challenge Boyd,they’re dealt what could be a more potentWildcats offense. Plano quarterbackBrooks Panhans and running back BrandonStephens should enjoy a bit more successagainst Allen’s defense this year and withPlano breaking in several new faces in itsdefense, Kyler Murray and Co. will come toClark Stadium ready to feast.

>>EAST AT WEST(SEPT. 19) This game comes at an inter-esting time for both teams. West willhave two weeks of preparation for Eastthanks to a bye in Week 3, while the Pan-thers will enjoy its open week followingthis matchup. Neither team will be in theproverbial meat of their schedule yetand a win here could go a long way. His-torically, for five of the past six years, theteam that wins this matchup has fin-ished higher in the district standings too– not a bad omen for playoff hopes.

>>MARCUS AT FLOWER MOUND(OCT. 3) Regardless of the state of eitherprogram, the annual Mound Showdown hasn’tdisappointed in recent years. Three of thepast four meetings between the Jaguars andMarauders have been decided by three pointsor less, including last season’s triple-overtimethriller won by Flower Mound, 30-27. In Octo-ber, the Jaguars will attempt to win consecu-tive games against Marcus for the first timesince 2007, while the Marauders’ new headcoach Gerry Stanford eyes a positive start tohis tenure against his program’s top rival.

>>EAST AT PLANO(OCT. 10) The McCullough Bowl. A brandnew layer will be added to the 33rd in-stallment of Plano ISD’s most storiedhigh school football rivalry when Planohead coach Jaydon McCullough and theWildcats square off against East first-year head coach Joey McCullough andthe Panthers. Overall, Plano leads the ri-valry, 16-15-1, and has gained the upperhand with a pair of blowout wins in thelast two meetings between the pro-grams.

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When Allen takes the field Aug. 29 againstDenton Guyer, it’ll officially mark 700 days sincethe Eagles last lost a football game.

During that span, all Allen has done is merelywin 27 consecutive games and two Class 5A Divi-sion I State Championships.

The Eagles have visions of extending thattitle run to three straight, although it won’t fol-low the same blueprint from years past. For onething, Allen will spend its entire fall campaign onthe road after Eagle Stadium was shut down forthe remainder of 2014 for repairs, forcing Allen totake up temporary residence in Plano on Fridaynights.

From an on-field standpoint, the Eagles havematters of their own that need to be ironed out,starting on defense. Allen remains a questionmark on that side of the ball after graduating 10starters and returning only junior cornerback Jay-lon Jones. A Division I prospect, Jones’ growth asboth a player and leader will be accelerated as hegets his less-tenured teammates up to speed.

Although Jones is the only returning starteron defense, names like junior linebacker Sione

Tupou, senior defensivelineman Camryn Man-ning and junior defen-sive back AnthonyTaylor all saw extensivereps last year, withnames like sophomoreJames Tupou and seniorDivine Diggs also ex-pected to be in the mixin the fall.

The Eagles are a bitmore experienced on of-fense, with any talk ofthat unit likely begin-ning with senior quar-terback Kyler Murray.The Texas A&M commitis yet to lose a gamesince assuming thehelm of the Eagles’ of-fense in October 2012,and is coming off a jun-ior campaign that net-ted accolades like TexasGatorade Player of theYear and MaxPrepsPlayer of the Year.

He’ll have his toppass-catcher back insenior receiver JalenGuyton, while juniorsKeon Williams andDavid Feliciano will an-chor the backfield.

Up front, the Eaglesare as fortified as anyteam in the state, with seniors Bobby Evans (Ok-lahoma), Cody Wheeler (North Texas), Brian Cor-nell and junior Greg Little (Texas A&M)highlighting a mountainous offensive line.

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GREG LITTLEOFFENSIVE TACKLEAllen has become nothingshort of an assembly linewhen it comes to crankingout college-caliber offen-sive linemen. If the early re-turns are any indication,Little has the potential tobecome one of the best inprogram history.As a sophomore, Littlegraded out at 90 percentand totaled 38 pancakes atright tackle. A towering 6-foot-6 and 288 pounds witha background on the bas-ketball court, Little rose toprominence during the off-season by being named thenation’s top 2016 recruit byESPN and 247Sports.com.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

ALLEN

EAGLES

>> VARSITY SCHEDULEAug. 29 Denton Guyer UNT 7:30 p.m.*Sept. 5 Dutch Fork (South Carolina)Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 McKinney Boyd Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 18 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 Flower Mound Marcus Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 4 Lewisville Kimbrough Stadium 1 p.m.Oct. 10 Hebron Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 BYEOct. 24 Flower Mound Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Plano West Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Plano East Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*HomecomingJalen Guyton, Allen wide receiver

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Page 10 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

After finishing in a tie for fourth in District 5-5A,but missing out on the postseason on tiebreakerslast season, Dane Johnson is hopeful the Jaguarscontinue to take strides in his third season as headcoach.

Quarterback remains a question entering the fallas the Jaguars had as many as six signal callers get-ting reps during the spring. And while Johnsonnoted Logan Davis has the early lead, there are qual-ity options behind him, including senior Zach Brad-ford, and the team wouldn’t opposed to a committeesystem.

Flower Mound is looking for someone to stepforward at running back as well and early on, seniorJordon Moore and sophomore Chase Lembke haveimpressed. Both possess the ability to catch the ballout of the backfield, with Lembke more of a powerback and Moore the slasher.

Receivers include seniors Clayton Johnson (203yards and two touchdowns last year), Colton Wilsonand junior Devyn Coleman, all three of which bringspeed and quality route-running ability.

Perhaps the strength of the offense is the line,where senior Evan Curl anchors a unit with multiple

returners, including sen-iors Nolan McDaniel andDane Marwood, as wellas junior Balin Smith.

Defensively, DaneJohnson is optimisticabout Flower Mound’sdepth and athleticism.

That starts in theback, where ClaytonJohnson anchors a sec-ondary that also featuressenior Blake Winters, jun-ior Aaron Epping and jun-ior Chandler Claterbaugh.

Linebackers includejunior Robert Darnell,senior Grayson Hoagland,senior Ian Lawrence andjunior Colton Penningtonwith senior MatthewJohnstone — who is mak-ing the move from offen-sive line — and seniorCollin Alford up front.Dane Johnson added heis excited about theprospects of junior Hay-den Brewer.

“I think our defenseis going to be one of ourstrengths because of theleadership we have andthe athleticism we have,”Johnson said. “I thinkwe’ll be able to get in thebackfield and makethings happen and still be solid in the back.”

The Jaguars are also looking to fill holes in thekicking game following the graduation of AndrewHitscherich.

CLAYTON JOHNSONWIDE RECEIVER/DEFENSIVE BACKThe senior was a second-team all-district selectionin 2013 following a seasonin which he pulled in 17catches for 203 yards andtwo touchdowns. Head coach Dane Johnsonbelieves Clayton couldprove to be one of thesquad’s dynamic playmak-ers in 2014 with his abilityto run after the catch. But that’s just half of theequation as Clayton alsoproduced a second-teamall-district season at safetylast season and leads a tal-ented secondary.

Aug. 29 Byron Nelson Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Keller Keller Athletic Complex 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Plano East Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Sept. 19 McKinney Boyd Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Flower Mound Marcus Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Lewisville Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Hebron Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Allen Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 BYENov. 7 Plano West Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FLOWER MOUND

JAGUARS

Ryan Dailey, Flower Mound running back

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 11

The early issue for Marcus’ football team —which qualified for the postseason in 2013 for theseventh consecutive year — is finding a quarter-back.

The squad had four different players attemptat least 30 passes last year and there will be anadded emphasis on the position this year as thesquad transitions to more of a spread attack underfirst-year head coach Gerry Stanford — who notedthat while nobody has taken the lead, he wouldlike to have the position settled by the start of theregular season. Options include junior AndrewParish and junior Mitch Cason.

In the backfield, junior Nate Hopkins — youngerbrother of all-time program rushing leader, Stephen— impressed during the spring and is expected toshoulder the load after gaining 497 yards (4.3 yardsper carry) and four touchdowns as a sophomore.

Stanford has also been pleased with the offen-sive line, which is led by Texas A&M commit andsenior Keaton Sutherland and senior all-district per-former Creighton Barr.

“I can’t imagine having a more athletic andphysical offensive line,” he said. “That will really

make things easier. Andwe have some experi-ence there, too.”

Standout juniortight end Kaden Smithleads Marcus’ receivertargets, but in Marcus’new system, juniorsAlex Albright, RyanFriedewald, seniorCade Erwin and juniorJake Nelson are in forlarger roles.

“I really like ourdepth there,” Stanfordsaid. “We have abouteight that can play, andthey’re getting betterand better with moreexperience.”

Defensively, the Ma-rauders will cause havocwith depth and play-making ability in thefront seven, includingjunior Andrew Fitzger-ald, senior Will Miller,junior Troy Elliot andsenior David Thurmond.

Defensive backs in-clude North Texas com-mit Erwin, seniorsTravis Perry and ScottyAlms at safety and sen-ior Ashton Easley andjunior Cameron Hupferat cornerback.

“We run to the ball extremely well,” Stanfordsaid. “We have a lot of speed and we have a goodperimeter in the secondary and with our outsidelinebackers.”

NATE HOPKINSRUNNING BACKThe name Hopkins issynonymous with Mar-cus’ running game afterStephen Hopkins wrotethe record books for theMarauders from 2006-09.Now a junior, Stephen’syounger brother Nate isready to shoulder theload following a sopho-more year in which hegained 497 yards andfour touchdowns.Marcus head coachGerry Stanford has beenimpressed with what hehas seen from Hopkinsduring the spring andsummer.

Aug. 29 Mansfield Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Arlington Maverick Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Lewisville Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Hebron Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Allen Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Flower Mound Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 10 Plano West Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Plano East Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 McKinney Boyd Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 30 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 BYE

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FLOWER MOUND MARCUS

MARAUDERS

Kaden Smith, Marcus tight end (82)

Page 12 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

The Hawks advanced to the postseason for thethird consecutive year in 2013 and picked up theirfirst postseason victory since 2008 with a win overL.D. Bell before bowing out against eventual statechamp Cedar Hill in the area round.

Hebron returns plenty of talent from the squad,but also has a few positional units that were hit ex-ceptionally hard by graduation.

That starts in thesecondary — where theHawks lost three playerswho have since movedon to college — and inthe backfield, wherequarterback Carson Prof-fitt and leading rushersTreyvon Hughes, BraelenEvans, Cedric Dale andJamal Adams are allcompeting in the collegeranks in some way.

As a result, first-team senior linebackerAngelo Garbutt will playboth ways and be He-bron’s feature back.

He will be runningbehind a big and tal-ented offensive line.

“We knew coming inthat our offensive linecould be a real strengthand that has proven tobe true,” said BrianBrazil, Hebron headcoach. “We have asmuch size as we’ve hadsince I’ve been here andwe have some nicedepth, too. We’re reallygoing to try and take ad-vantage of that next yearand pound the ball.”

The Hawks’ line fea-tures returning all-dis-trict performers in senior

Hayden Seeley, junior Jarrett Farley and senior BrianDrew and will benefit greatly from the return ofArkansas signee and senior Zach Rogers, who wasout last year with an injury.

Hebron also has questions in terms of experienceat receiver where it will look to seniors ChristianDawson and Omar Hicks-Onu, as well as two-sport

athletes in juniors Isaiah Gary (basketball) and DerekMueller (baseball).

Hicks-Onu is the leading returner, but totaledjust 63 yards on seven catches last season.

Defensively, senior Gavin Burford returns toquarterback the linebackers, while senior DavidBrazil and junior Jehrett Lee lead a talented defen-sive line.

Other key players include senior linebacker ClayHolford and senior defensive back John Wright.

“[The secondary is] really the huge question forus,” Brian Brazil said. “That was without a doubt thestrength of our team, but it’s tough to replace twocorners and one safety that have gone on to play Di-vision I ball.”

Aug. 29 Coppell Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Denton Ryan Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Sept. 19 Flower Mound Marcus Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Lewisville Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 BYEOct. 10 Allen Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Flower Mound Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Plano West Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Plano East Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 McKinney Boyd Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

HEBRON

HAWKS

ANGELO GARBUTTRUNNING BACK/LINEBACKERWith what head coach BrianBrazil believes could be one ofthe best offensive lines duringhis tenure, the Hawks enter 2014with a plan to pound the rock.To do so, however, the squadmust find a ball-carrier aftergraduating each of its top fourrushers last year.Enter Garbutt, who impressedduring spring camp after a 2013season that saw him carry 16times for 100 yards. In addition to being Hebron’sfeature back, Garbutt is comingoff a first team all-district selec-tion as a linebacker, where Brazilsaid he is getting a majority ofhis looks at the college level.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

>> “WE KNEW COMING INTHAT OUR OFFENSIVELINE COULD BE A REALSTRENGTH AND THAT HASPROVEN TO BE TRUE.”–BRIAN BRAZIL, HEBRON HEAD COACH

Braelen Evans, Hebron defensive back (21)

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 13

Page 14 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

The last time Lewisville’s football team quali-fied for the postseason was 2007.

But the Farmers are hopeful that drought willsoon end as the squad continues to progressunder third-year head coach Gregg Miller.

The team took strides two years ago, finish-ing within a touchdown in 4-of-5 games in dis-trict, before snapping its district skid last season

and coming within awin in the regular-sea-son finale of qualifyingfor the postseason.

The biggest holesfor the Farmers in 2014come on both fronts,where multiple starterswere lost on the offen-sive and defensivesides.

But overall, thesquad has 12 startersback, including seniorAlex Atchison on theoffensive line.

Experience returnsunder center as seniorAdrian Villarreal is inline to lead the Farm-ers after starting multi-ple games to close the2013 season (214yards, two touchdownsand two interceptions).

PerhapsLewisville’s strongestunit is wide receiver,where seniors TrinityBenson (32 catches,419 yards and threetouchdowns) andCameron Creal (22catches, 328 yards andfour touchdowns) pro-vided much of theFarmers’ production inthe passing game.

Miller is also excited about the prospects ofLewisville’s running game, which will be headedby senior Carl McGhee and junior Dontae McGee.The pair combined for 450 yards and three touch-downs last year.

Defensively, Miller was pleased with where

Lewisville wrapped up its spring game. “We were able to add stuff that we never got

to in the past at this point because the kids wereready for more,” he said.

Key returners for the Farmers include second-team all-district selection and senior defensiveback Kori Williams, senior second-team line-backer George Haskins, senior linebacker NickPatton, senior defensive back Kenny Phillips andsenior defensive lineman Caden Hartsburg.

Miller expects a step forward from much ofits roster, in particular as the program continuesto take strides in its strength and conditioning.

“I feel like we’re finally getting where weneed to be,” he said.

Aug. 29 Rowlett Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 4 Richland Birdville Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Flower Mound Marcus Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Hebron Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 4 Allen Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 10 Flower Mound Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Plano West Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Plano East Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 30 McKinney Boyd Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Plano Senior Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

LEWISVILLE

FARMERS

TRINITY BENSONWIDE RECEIVERBenson stepped forwardas Lewisville’s leading re-ceiver in 2013 and theFarmers are hopeful thesenior will continue to risein 2014. Last year, Benson pacedthe squad with 32 catchesfor 419 yards to go withthree touchdowns. Lewisville head coachGregg Miller noted thatBenson — as well as fel-low receiver CameronCreal — has aspirationsof continuing to play atthe next level and that theearly portion of the 2014campaign will be a criticalaspect in his recruiting.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

>> “I FEEL LIKE WE’RE FINALLY GETTING WHERE WE NEED TO BE.”–GREGG MILLER, LEWISVILLE HEAD COACH

Carl McGhee, Lewisville running back (23)

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 15

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Similar to its 2012-13 campaign, Boyd re-bounded from a 2-3 start to finish 4-1 in District10-5A.

But District 6-6A won’t be as forgiving.Boyd has two tough games against Mesquite

Horn and Coppell before it enters the eight-gamedistrict stretch, beginning with an even tougheropponent in Class 5A Division I State Champion,Allen.

The Broncos will have help, though, with an of-fense that relies heavily on the ground game, fea-turing senior running back Dedrick Scrivens.Scrivens returns after a breakout season in his jun-ior campaign where he carried the ball 259 times,rushing for 1,745 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Losing quarterback and Air Force Academysignee Curtis Ladd to graduation hurts but who-ever steps in for the Broncos won’t be asked tocarry the load and will have capable weapons injuniors receiver Stephen Driskell and tight endJacob Cantrell.

The real pain will be felt on the defensive end,where Boyd takes a hit in its front seven and in thebackfield.

Alumni and lineback-ers Adam and AndrewBrown were Boyd’s toptwo leading tacklers lastseason and each broughtleadership qualities tothe Broncos’ defense.

Gone as well fromgraduation are defensivelinemen Shay Goodmanand Tyler Fergusonalong with defensiveback Paxton Larson.

The good news isthat seniors defensivelineman Kiel Simas, de-fensive back Keaton Liv-ingston, outsidelinebacker Ross Matiscikand junior defensive line-man Ramon Readus re-turn after coming off2013 season perform-ances that landed eachon the all-district teamfor 10-5A.

Readus was namedthe district’s Newcomerof the Year on defenseand will create a formi-dable tandem in thetrenches along with theteam’s sack leader Simas(four), and Matiscik wasa first-team selectionwith 65 tackles and twosacks.

Boyd head coach Don Drake and the Broncos’run through 10-5A was impressive, but it will takean even more impressive encore in order for Boydto match last season’s success.

DEDRICKSCRIVENSRUNNING BACKScrivens stepped onto thegridiron last season havingto fill the large shoes leftbehind by Boyd alum andAir Force running backBryan Driskell after he ranfor 1,882 yards and 23touchdowns in 2012-13.But if the shoe fits, wearit.And the eventual 10-5AOffensive Player of theYear didn’t just wear it, heowned it after finishinglast season with 1,745rushing yards and 25touchdowns to pair with392 receiving yards andfour touchdowns.

Aug. 29 Mesquite Horn E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Coppell Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Allen Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Flower Mound Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Sept. 26 Plano West Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Plano East Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 BYEOct. 16 Plano Senior Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Flower Mound Marcus Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 30 Lewisville Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Hebron Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

McKINNEY BOYD

BRONCOS

Ramon Readus, Boyd defensive lineman (92)

Page 16 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Although East is breaking in its third headcoach in as many seasons, expect this to be thelast time we use that narrative in the near fu-ture.

The Panthers (5-6 in 2013) will also look toerase the narrative that they are not a contenderin District 6-6A. With a young squad and long-time Plano ISD stalwart Joey McCullough now atthe helm, East is aiming to get back toward thePanther pride of old.

It won’t be an easy task as it relates to thewin-loss column.

“We’ve got to get better,” McCullough said.“We know that. Right now, everybody is aheadof us. That’s OK. We’ve got to keep taking it oneday at a time and stacking a brick one at atime.”

McCullough took over for former head coachRandy Jackson in April. That didn’t give himmuch time to implement his concepts, hire acoaching staff and go through spring ball, butgiven the circumstances, McCullough waspleased with the progress made in the offsea-son.

“I’m proud of thekids,” he said, “proudof their effort, theircommitment to me andthe coaching staff and Ithought their effort andattitude was great.”

East will enter the2014 season replacing amyriad of players on of-fense.

At quarterback, jun-ior Miles Thompson re-turns with experienceafter splitting time withalum Keith Long, andsophomore MikloSmalls, who drew ravereviews in the springand in 7-on-7 action, isalso in the mix for reps.

But if the Panthersare to make noise in 6-6A this season, expectit to be on the wings oftheir defense.

Texas A&M commitand senior LandisDurham headlines anEast defense that willbe much improved andhas talent and depth atkey positions.

It’s clear the Pan-thers will endure grow-ing pains duringMcCullough’s first cam-paign, but it won’t be surprising to see hissquad give the rest of the district fits as the sea-son moves along.

ANTHONY HINESLINEBACKERHines is transferring toEast after a stellar fresh-man campaign at Episco-pal School of Dallas.The 6-foot-2, 215-poundsophomore linebacker isexpected to take the fieldwith the Panthers as astarter for their first driveof the season, adding amajor boost to a defensethat already has standoutperformers in seniorsAustin Corbett and LandisDurham.Already a verbal committo Mississippi State, itwouldn’t be surprising tosee Hines shine in theheart of the East defense.

Aug. 29 Lake Highlands Wildcat-Ram Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Jesuit Haggar Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Flower Mound Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Plano West Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 BYEOct. 3 McKinney Boyd Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 17 Flower Mound Marcus Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Lewisville Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Hebron Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Allen Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

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Landis Durham, East defensive end

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 17

Plano wasn’t particularly bashful about itsintentions on either side of the ball last year.

The Wildcats were one of the area’s mostrun-heavy offenses, toting the rock just morethan 80 percent of the time, and balancing thattrench-centric attack with a hard-nosed defensethat stacked up among the best in the state.

Entering 2014, Plano’s modus operandi won’tstray too far from that approach, but don’t ex-pect a frame-by-frame rehash of the 2013 Wild-cats when the season gets underway.

“We still want to be physical and run thefootball, but we’ll throw the ball off of play-ac-tion,” said Jaydon McCullough, Plano headcoach. “I’d like to throw the ball a bit more and Ithink we can. At the same time, I think we havean identity now.”

That identity came about after some offsea-son experimentation on offense that included in-fluences from programs like Baylor and TCU.

The Wildcats have an experienced unit tohelp bring that vision to fruition, returning eightstarters on offense. Among that core is theteam’s leading passer (senior Brooks Panhans)

and rusher (junior Bran-don Stephens), all-pur-pose senior MitchellHansen, plus standoutseniors Sam Tecklen-burg, Beau Hott andLukas Arrieta up front.

Plano’s defensethrived last year underreturning defensive co-ordinator Clint Stewart,but will feature sevennew starters this sea-son. The names back intow are proven onesthough, particularly upfront where Tecklen-burg, a Baylor pledge,doubles as a defensivelineman. In the second-ary, senior Cody Farhatanchors the unit atsafety as a player Mc-Cullough anticipatesflirting with all-stateconsideration, whilesenior linebackerNeema Behbahani wasthird on the team intackles last season.

The Wildcats arehopeful that experiencewill carry them into theplayoffs for the thirdstraight year, no smallfeat in the voluminous6-6A. Getting there,however, would give Plano’s 2014 edition achance at becoming the first Wildcats team towin a playoff game since 2009.

BRANDONSTEPHENSRUNNING BACKA team as run-heavy by de-sign as the Wildcats needsa quality bell cow to ensurethat offense operatesseamlessly.After spending his non-dis-trict campaign as a fresh-man on varsity, Stephensemerged as Plano’s leadback last season and wenton to rush for 991 yardsand seven touchdowns. Hefell 9 yards short of be-coming the Wildcats’ first1,000-yard rusher sincealum Rex Burkhead in2008.He’ll be in prime position toachieve that feat this fall.

Aug. 29 Tyler John Tyler Rose Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Irving MacArthur Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Hebron Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 18 Allen Clark Stadium 7 p.m.*Sept. 26 Flower Mound Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Plano West Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Plano East Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 16 McKinney Boyd Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 BYEOct. 30 Flower Mound Marcus Clark Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Lewisville Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

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Brooks Panhans, Plano quarterback

Page 18 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

West was looking to take a step forward in2013 after making the deepest postseason run inschool history a year prior, but instead posted a6-5 campaign that culminated with a bi-districtloss to Jesuit.

Even with one of the state’s top rushingduos in alum Auston Anderson and senior SosoJamabo, the Wolves didn’t have enough offenseto account for their shortcomings on defenseand lack of consistent quarterback play.

Senior Robert Colmery and junior LoganWilliams split the job last season, but out of thespring and through the summer in 7-on-7 action,West looked to Colmery to grasp the role onceand for all.

“We need Colmery to stay healthy,” saidMike Hughes, West head coach. “He was play-ing really well last year when he got hurt. Heneeds to have an outstanding year and take onthat role of team leader.”

It will help having Jamabo, fresh off a 1,000-plus yard season, back as the team’s top rushingthreat. With Anderson no longer in the fold, ex-pect the five-star recruit to approach the 30-

carry-per-game thresh-old on some nights.

Defensively, theWolves are excitedabout the influx ofyoung talent. JuniorsMcKinley Mitchell andEd Martin are expectedto take on big roles inthe linebacker rotation,while the secondary,with junior Tyler Camp-bell and senior MarkCooks, will break insummer standouts, sen-iors Alex Prince andSeth Hammond.

One of the biggestkeys to a successfulseason will be thedepth to match up withthe likes of Plano Sen-ior, Allen and Hebron.Depth, specifically fromunproven players willbe tested early on.

“When you haveyoung guys, you cantalk about it all daylong,” Hughes said,“but until you get outthere and rep it over,and over and overwhere it becomes habit,that’s what you’ve gotto do. That’s whatwe’ve done.”

With a healthy Jamabo and an improved de-fense, the Wolves will be a sleeper team to reachthe postseason out of 6-6A.

MARK COOKSDEFENSIVE BACKCooks is penciled in as thestarter at one cornerbackspot, but don’t be sur-prised if the electric kickreturner makes his wayinto the rotation in West’sbackfield. “I think he’s an outstand-ing player and I expecthim to have a strong year,”Hughes said. “Not only ondefense – we’re going touse him on offense sometoo. He’s really an out-standing athlete.”Cooks’ versatility gives theWolves a weapon on spe-cial teams and on offensethat no one is currentlyaccounting for.

Aug. 29 Mesquite Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Sachse Williams Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 BYESept. 19 Plano East Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 McKinney Boyd Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Plano Senior Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Marcus Marauder Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 17 Lewisville Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Hebron Hawk Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Allen Clark Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Flower Mound Neal Wilson Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

PLANO WEST

WOLVES

Soso Jamabo, West running back

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 19

>> COLLEYVILLE HERITAGE PANTHERS >> COPPELL COWBOYS >> EULESS TRINITY TROJANS >> HALTOM BUFFALOES >> HURST L.D. BELL RAIDERS >> RICHLAND REBELS >> SOUTHLAKE CARROLL DRAGONS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 7-6A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>COPPELL AT CARROLL (OCT. 3) After a two-year hiatus, the Drag-ons and Cowboys will get back on the fieldin district action. When the two were pairedup in 2011-12, the squads split meetingswith each program winning on the road.With contests against Allen and DeSoto lastyear, the Cowboys got a good look at dual-threat quarterbacks which they will be see-ing against the Dragons and Ryan Agnew(3,148 yards, 31 touchdowns and seven in-terceptions passing and 1,252 yards rush-ing with 20 touchdowns).

>> TRINITY AT CARROLL (OCT. 17) Two of the more storied pro-grams in Texas will be squaring off twicein the next two years. Between the Drag-ons and Trojans, there are a combined 11state titles. Fans can only hope theseshowdowns equal the drama displayedin the postseason last year when theTrojans topped the Dragons, 42-38. Withthe Trojans’ grind-it-out attack andAgnew pacing the Carroll offense, an-other high-scoring affair could be instore.

>>HERITAGE AT BELL (OCT. 17) Barring the Panthers or BlueRaiders pulling off an upset of one of thebig three, this contest could likely decidethe fourth playoff representative from 7-6A. If that’s the case, either the Panthers(eight years) or Blue Raiders (four years)will have a lengthy postseason streaksnapped. Bell will be looking to snap asix-game skid against Heritage whichdates back to 2008. Last year, the Pan-thers took the matchup, 49-16.

>>COPPELL AT TRINITY(OCT. 24) The last time the Cowboys andTrojans met, the squads squared off in aplayoff classic in the fourth round in2010 with Trinity emerging on top in abattle of unbeatens, 41-40, scoring onthe final play of the game. The twolargest schools in the district, this con-test could likely determine who will bethe top seed in Division I with the winnerbeing the squad that can more effec-tively stop the run.

>>HERITAGE AT COPPELL(OCT. 31) With Haltom waiting in its reg-ular-season finale, Heritage could proveto be the Cowboys last true test prior tothe postseason. The Cowboys’ offensecould have its hands full against a Her-itage unit that returns seven starters, in-cluding standout defensive back RyanPhillippe. The Panthers bring back sevenstarters on the offensive side as well,but are still seeking for a quarterback tofill the shoes of Griffin Pickler (South-east Missouri).

On the gridiron, 7-6A is what many believe to be thetoughest district in the state.

The district boasts three teams that finished ranked inthe top 10 in the state among all classifications according toMaxPreps.com last year with Coppell in fifth, Euless Trinityin seventh and Southlake Carroll in ninth.

The Dragons and Trojans have combined for 11 state ti-tles overall and all three programs went undefeated in theirrespective districts last year, but something will obviouslyhave to give in 2014.

Carroll — which was eliminated in the third round at thewire by Trinity — lost a good deal to graduation, but willtake solace in having senior Ryan Agnew return under cen-ter.

The Trojans advanced to the fourth round and only re-turn four starters on the offensive side of the ball, but figureto have little difficulty re-establishing a ground-and-poundattack behind junior halfback Ja’Ron Wilson.

The Cowboys — who bowed out in heartbreaking fash-ion in the second round against DeSoto — will also look tochurn out yardage on the ground behind a dynamic duo ofrunning backs in senior Charles West and junior BrandonRice.

L.D. Bell and Colleyville Heritage — which welcomesfirst-year head coach Darren Allman from Austin Westlake— are coming off postseason appearances in their ownrights and have done so for the past four and eight years,respectively, meaning at least one perennial postseasonplayer will be on the outside looking in when the dust set-tles next year.

Another intriguing aspect should Carroll, Coppell andTrinity all qualify for the postseason is the return of theDragons to Division II.

Page 20 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

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The Cowboys are coming off back-to-back dis-trict titles and have consistently been rankedamong the Metroplex’s best teams during the pasttwo seasons.

That hasn’t translated to postseason success,however, as the squad was eliminated by DeSotoin the area round in each of the past two years.

The task of getting over the second-roundhump now falls to former defensive coordinatorMike DeWitt, who is entering his first year as headcoach replacing Joe McBride.

DeWitt inherits an offense stocked at the skillpositions, but that is replacing all five starters onthe offensive line. The linemen will be openingholes for a talented backfield that includes seniorCharles West (1,437 total yards and 16 touch-downs) and junior Brandon Rice (410 yards and 10touchdowns), both of which are getting looks atthe collegiate level.

Also back is senior quarterback Skyler Bonneaufollowing an efficient 2013 campaign in which hecompleted 61 percent of his passes for 1,224 yardsand 16 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

Junior receiver Josh Fink also returns (22 yards

per catch and five touch-downs), while junior ObiObialo (119 yards andone touchdown) mansreceiver on the oppositeend.

The Cowboys willrun limited sets withmore than two receiversand as a result will alsolean on senior fullbackParker Wilson and sev-eral tight ends in thepassing game.

Defensively, seniorChris Biggurs anchors anathletic defensive frontthat also includes juniorScott Huntsman.

“We have someyounger depth up frontat nose guard and arepretty athletic at the de-fensive end spots,” De-Witt said.

Senior Bo Anderson,who recently picked upan invite to the ArmyAll-American Game andwas a first team all-dis-trict selection last year,leads a group of line-backers that lost threeall-district performers tograduation.

The squad hopes tomake up for that lack ofexperience in the secondary, however, whereNorthwestern commit and senior Jacob Murray,senior Bryce Vonzurmuehlen and senior DrewMcAdams are all back and are Division I hopefuls.

CHARLES WESTRUNNING BACKA unanimous first-team all-district selection as a mem-ber of Coppell’sthree-header monster inthe backfield last season,West has seen his recruit-ing pick up during the off-season as a he gears up forhis season year. He alreadyhas double-digit offers onthe table, includingArkansas, Kansas State andTexas Tech. In 2013, West displayed hisversatility and explosion,leading the team in yards(1,177), yards per carry (8.1)and total touchdowns (16),while also hauling in 11 re-ceptions for 262 yards.

Aug. 29 Hebron Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 McKinney Boyd Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Eastern Christian (Maryland) Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Cedar Hill Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 L.D. Bell Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Southlake Carroll Dragon Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 BYE*Oct. 17 Richland Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 Euless Trinity Pennington Field 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Colleyville Heritage Buddy Echols Field 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 Haltom Birdville Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

COPPELL

COWBOYS

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 21

Mesquite, North Mesquite and Mesquite Horn willsee a decidedly different look to their district this yearand not because they are in the new Class 6A.

Gone are longtime rivals Tyler Lee and Longview,as well as the two Rockwall schools.

In their place enters perennial powerhouse High-land Park and the four Richardson ISD schools, creatinga whole new dynamic.

Horn and Highland Park split the first-place votes inthe preseason coaches poll.

New Jaguars quarterback Chris Robison, just asophomore, has looked good in the spring and 7-on-7and his transition is eased by TCU commit and seniorJarrison Stewart at receiver and Division I prospect andsenior Conner Dyer on the line.

Highland Park quarterback Brooks Burgin, who hadmore than 4,200 yards last season, leads a group ofeight returning starters. That includes three offensivelinemen for the Scots, who are making the long-antici-pated jump to the highest classification.

Mesquite was hit hard by graduation for the secondconsecutive season but does have a dynamic offensiveweapon in versatile junior Robert Blythe.

Lake Highlands features plenty of experience at theskill positions, led by 1,000-yard rusher Tyler Hughes.

North, trying to make the playoffs for the first timesince 2007, will rely on its defense while a young of-fense comes together and it is the same story atBerkner, which graduated a majority of its production.

Richardson could be a sleeper, returning six starterson both sides of the ball. Pearce was a playoff team ayear ago, but will find it hard to repeat with several keylosses.

>> HIGHLAND PARK SCOTS >> LAKE HIGHLANDS WILDCATS >> MESQUITE SKEETERS >> MESQUITE HORN JAGUARS >> NORTH MESQUITE STALLIONS >> RICHARDSON BERKNER RAMS >> RICHARDSON PEARCE MUSTANGS >> RICHARDSON EAGLES

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 10-6A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>GARLANDAT MESQUITE

(SEPT. 4) One of the oldest rivalries inthe state, which dates back to 1904, willbe renewed for the 74th time when theOwls and Skeeters meet at E.H. HanbyStadium. But the teams have played onlyonce since 2003, when Mesquite pulledout a 24-21 overtime win in the 2011playoffs. Garland has been a playoff reg-ular, having qualified in 19 of the last 21seasons, but has not advanced beyondthe area round since 2010.

>>HIGHLAND PARKAT HORN

(OCT. 10) This is expected to be the mar-quee matchup of the district slate be-tween the two preseason favorites. Thiswill be the first meeting between theschools as the Jaguars try to shake theScots’ dominance of Mesquite ISD,against whom they have a 48-4-2 all-timerecord. Highland Park quarterback BrooksBurgin, who led the team to the 4A statesemifinals last season, is one of the topcandidates for district MVP honors.

>>NORTH AT PEARCE(OCT. 17) The Stallions have been in theplayoff chase until the final week of theseason nearly every year since their lasttrip in 2007. One big reason for comingup short is a regrettable hiccup alongthe way, something Pearce is capable ofproviding. By this point, a young Northoffense should have an identity, but theycannot afford to look ahead to their finalthree-game stretch against Horn, LakeHighlands and Mesquite.

>>HORN AT LAKE HIGHLANDS

(NOV. 7) These teams played in non-dis-trict from 2008-2011, but the first 10-6Ameeting could have big playoff, and per-haps, district title implications. TheJaguars have won the final game of theregular season every year during theirrun of six straight playoff appearances.The Wildcats are not always flashy, butthey have found a way to make six con-secutive playoff appearances and theyare always tough at the Boneyard.

>>NORTH AT MESQUITE (NOV. 7) For longtime Mesquite ISD fans,the city’s oldest rivalry is back where itbelongs. The Skeeters and Stallions metin the final week of the regular seasonfrom 1970-1993, but have not done sosince. There were playoff implications onthe line in many of those earlymatchups, including the memorable 0-0tie in 1983, and it will be a surprise ifone, if not both, of these teams havemore than just bragging rights on theline in Week 11.

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For the second consecutive year, there willbe a shortage of familiar faces in Skeeter jerseysduring the early stages of the season as severalnewcomers get their opportunity to make an im-pact.

Mesquite lost both experienced quarter-backs, go-to receiver Octayvious Miles andgame-breaking running back Shadavian Reed,who led 12-5A in rushing.

While those holes will be tough to fill, itshould provide even more of an opportunity forelectric junior Robert Blythe, who was effectivefor Mesquite in a variety of roles last season.

In additon to Blythe, Mesquite does havesome experience on the outside in seniors JandtWeary, Juan Aguilar and junior Roderick Brown,but the backfield will be very green.

The Skeeters could turn to youth to take overquarterback duties in sophomore Anthony Ten-nison, while returning senior starter ChristianCastleberry is back to anchor the offensive line.

The Mesquite defense is looking for a bit ofredemption after giving up an average of 62.7points in its last three games, but with a young

group, most don’t haveto harbor those memo-ries.

Senior defensiveend Bradley Glover andjunior linebacker PabloManhard return in thefront seven and theirleadership will be justas valuable as their pro-duction as the unitgrows up around them.

The strength of thedefense early on shouldbe in the secondarywith returners seniorTy Morrison, junior Jim-mie Lofton and juniorBryan Henderson.

Last season,Mesquite’s youngerplayers had to grow upin a hurry against a tal-ented non-district slate.This year’s group willbe thrown into the fireright away with a meet-ing against Plano Westand one of the top-rated recruits in thecountry in Soso Jam-abo.

The Skeeters do notexpect to run the tablelike they did two yearsago, but they would notmind a repeat of lastseason, when they learned from some early trou-bles to earn a trip to the playoffs for the thirdyear in a row.

ROBERT BLYTHEWIDE RECEIVEROne of the fastest playersin the district with 4.4speed, the Skeeters usedBlythe in a variety of rolesduring his sophomorecampaign and will findways to get him even moretouches this year. Blythe averaged nearly 6yards per carry and scoredfive touchdowns on theground and showed goodhands with 49 catches for443 yards and threescores. He can also be anX-factor on special teams,where he had a 97-yardkickoff return.

Aug. 29 Plano West Kimbrough Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 4 Garland E.H. Hanby Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Duncanville Panther Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Mesquite Horn Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 3 Lake Highlands E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Richardson Pearce Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Richardson Berkner Wildcat-Ram Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Highland Park E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Richardson Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 North Mesquite Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

MESQUITE

SKEETERS

Marshall Spraglin, Mesquite defensive lineman

Page 24 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

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Since breaking through and making it to thepostseason for the first time in 2008, Horn hasmade the transition from up-and-coming program toperennial playoff team.

Now, the Jaguars want to make the jump tostate title contender.

Horn advanced to the regional championshipgame in 2010, but has not made it out of the arearound since then.

Despite the departure of four-year startingquarterback Destri White, among others, theJaguars’ goal of taking the next step has not wa-vered.

Sophomore Chris Robison has been given thereins to the offense and he has been impressivethrough the spring and 7-on-7 workouts.

Robison will have plenty of attractive targets onthe outside, led by senior and TCU commit JarrisonStewart, who caught 45 passes for 776 yards andsix touchdowns last season. Senior KakpaMansaray will step into a larger role this seasonand junior Emmanuel Ogwo, a late comer to thesport, is a talented athlete who could be primed forbig things.

There will be a newfeatured running backwith the loss of JustynOliphant. The offensiveline also has some holesto fill, although they havean anchor in national re-cruit and senior ConnerDyer.

Horn will be enteringits second season run-ning a 3-4 defense andone of the keys to thatformation will be filled atnose guard by seniorDalen Morgan, who,along with senior endsChristian Bacon and Pat-tro Howard, make up astrong line that is one ofthe strengths of theteam.

That trio should openthings up for senior line-backers C.J. Stallings,who had 65 tackles lastseason, and MalikThomas to make plays.

Senior J.R. Hall re-turns to lead what willbe an otherwise inexperi-enced secondary, but likethe other areas of youth,Horn is confident in newplayers stepping up.

“The goal is alwaysto build for a playoffrun,” said Mike Overton, Horn head coach. “Wehave high expectations, we think this is a team thatcan win district, so the key is to stay healthy andplay the way we are capable.”

CONNER DYEROFFENSIVE LINEMANThe anchor in thetrenches for the Jaguarsis rated as a four-star re-cruit by Rivals.com, withoffers from LSU, OhioState, Oklahoma, Oregonand Texas A&M, amongothers.Dyer (6-foot-5, 280pounds) is a three-yearstarter who helped Hornaverage 380 yards and 37points per game last sea-son. The senior who canplay both guard andtackle and has the versa-tility to pave the way inthe running game as wellas provide protectionwhen Horn goes to the air.

Aug. 29 McKinney Boyd E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Duncanville E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Rockwall Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Mesquite Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Richardson Berkner Wildcat-Ram Stadium :30 p.m.Oct. 10 Highland Park E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Richarsdon E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 North Mesquite Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 30 Richardson Pearce E.H. Hanby Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Lake Highlands Wildcat-Ram Stadium 7:30 p.m.

* Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

MESQUITE HORN

JAGUARS

Jordon Harold, Horn linebacker

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Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 25

It was an all too familiar story for North lastseason.

The Stallions started out 6-0 and were in primeposition to make their first playoff appearance since2007.

But things turned south down the stretch. Itstarted with a last-minute 34-33 setback toMesquite and they saw those hopes officially cometo an end in Week 10 when Horn’s Taylor Lewiskicked a field goal as time expired to hand them aheartbreaking 34-31 loss.

The Stallions will have a new look this season,especially on offense, where they return only onestarter. The biggest challenge will be trying to fillthe void left by the rushing tandem of Ta’VariusLuke and Corey Hunt, who combined for more than

2,500 yards and 25 scores.Sophomore Dreshawn Minnieweather and jun-

ior Kylan Harrison are the frontrunners to fill thosespots while others should get looks as well.

North used a quarterback rotation with CodyWilliams and Shateek Nasir last season, but theyhave also both graduated. A newcomer will run theoffense and it could be sophomore JaQuez Gooch.

The Stallions do have some senior leadershipon the outside with Jazz Preston and Davis Rico,with Jean Delance and David Hogue on the offen-sive line.

There is a little more experience on the defen-sive side of the ball led by senior lineman JalenScott, a first-team all-district performer who had 75tackles and three sacks.

The strength of thedefense could be in thelinebacking corps with

senior Roger Johnson(44 tackles, two sacks)and junior Stacy Sublett(51 tackles, two inter-ceptions). Returningsenior starter Da’TrelDavis, who had 51 tack-les and a pair of inter-ceptions, will becounted on to be aleader of a young unit inthe secondary.

North would like toget off to a good start indistrict play, as a closingstretch of Horn, LakeHighlands and Mesquitewill be tough to navi-gate.

Aug. 28 Naaman Forest Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 4 Arlington Sam Houston Wilemon Stadium 7 p.m.*Sept. 12 South Garland Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Highland Park E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Richardson Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 9 Richardson Berkner Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Richardson Pearce Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Mesquite Horn Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Lake Highlands Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Mesquite Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

NORTH MESQUITE

STALLIONS

JALEN SCOTTDEFENSIVE LINEMANAt the start of last sea-son, North was looking tofill some holes on the de-fensive line and Scottemerged to fill that void.The senior was strongagainst the run, recording75 tackles, including twofor a loss. He alsoshowed flashes rushingthe passer with threesacks and a pair of quar-terback pressures. Withseveral young playersaround him, the Stallionswill rely on Scott to benot only a playmaker buta leader.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

Jareion Sanders, North wide receiver Trey Davis, North defensive back

Page 26 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

>> GARLAND OWLS >> GARLAND LAKEVIEW CENTENNIAL PATRIOTS >> GARLAND NAAMAN FOREST RANGERS >> NORTH GARLAND RAIDERS >> ROCKWALL YELLOWJACKETS >> ROWLETT EAGLES >> SACHSE MUSTANGS >> TYLER LEE RED RAIDERS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 11-6A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>GARLAND AT MESQUITE

(SEPT. 4) One of the oldest rivalries in thestate, which dates back to 1904, will berenewed for the 74th time when the Owlsand Skeeters meet at E.H. Hanby Sta-dium. But the teams have played onlyonce since 2003, when Mesquite pulledout a 24-21 overtime win in the 2011playoffs. Garland has been a playoff regu-lar, having made the postseason in 19 ofthe last 21 seasons, while Mesquite hasmade 13 appearances during that span.

>>HORN AT ROCKWALL(SEPT. 12) These two teams are linkedby Rockwall head coach Rodney Webb,who put Horn on the map by leadingthem to five consecutive playoff appear-ances from 2008-2012. In the first meet-ing against his old team last season, theJaguars prevailed in a 49-32 victory.Aside from that storyline, this will fea-ture two area finalists from a year agoand will be a good measuring stick forthe Yellowjackets going into district.

>>ROCKWALL AT SACHSE

(OCT. 16) Each of these teams is ex-pected to contend for the district cham-pionship and this game should say a lotabout who ends up on top at season’send. This could be one of the most enter-taining regular-season games in thestate, as both sides are loaded at theskill positions. Sachse scored 40 or morepoints nine times last season, whileRockwall topped 40 in five games.

>>ROWLETT AT ROCKWALL(OCT. 24) The Lake Ray Hubbard Rivalrytakes on heightened importance as theteams are back in the same district forthe first time since 2007. The Yellowjack-ets have won the last two meetings totake a 9-7 lead in the series. A year ago,Rowlett could not slow down Rockwall ina 66-34 loss and the Eagles’ hopes willrest on finding those answers this timearound.

>>ROWLETT AT SACHSE(NOV. 7) Rowlett has extended its streakof nine consecutive playoff appearancesby winning its regular-season finale ineach of the last two years. The Eaglesshould hope to avoid getting into thesame scenario against Sachse, who haswon the last two meetings, includinglast year’s 57-31 victory. The Mustangs,meanwhile, are hoping a victory in thisgame allows them to defend their dis-trict title.

The all-Garland ISD district is a thing of thepast – for now at least.

For the first time in 20 years, a GISD teamhas been separated from the rest of the packwith South Garland dropping down a classifica-tion.

In the Colonels’ absence, the remaining sixGISD teams are joined by former district rivalRockwall and Tyler Lee, the lone 6A program inEast Texas.

Sachse, coming off its first district title anda 10-0 regular season, faces the tall task of re-

placing MVP quarterback Kent Myers, but sen-ior running back Devine Ozigbo and junior widereceiver Devin Duvernay will make the transi-tion easier for the new signal caller.

Rowlett will rely on Texas commit and sen-ior Charles Omenihu and the defense while jun-ior quarterback Logan Bonner breaks in a newset of skill players around him.

Garland quarterback Luther Kirk returns asthe Owls aim at their 14th district title in thelast 21 years.

Rockwall is loaded at the skill positions, led

by wide receiver Xavier Castille and runningback Chris Warren.

Lee made the playoffs 13 times from 1997-2010 but has not been back since, while Lake-view is trying to snap a drought that started in1995.

New Naaman Forest coach Marvin Sedberryhas reigning MVP Michael Nelson to lean on inthe backfield, while North Garland is trying toturn things around after going 2-38 in the lastfour seasons.

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 27

Rowlett has one of the longest playoff streaksin the area, having qualified in each of the lastnine seasons.

But it has not always been easy.In five of those years, the Eagles lost three

district games, including the last two seasonswhen they needed to win their regular season fi-nale to extend their season.

The bottom line, though, is Rowlett has founda way to come through when it needed to duringthe past decade and it may need to call upon thatresilience once again as an inexperienced offensefinds its identity.

The good news for the Eagles is the defensehas the potential to ease some of the growingpains as they return seven starters.

Defensive lineman Charles Omenihu, who hascommitted to Texas, is poised for a huge seniorseason. Senior D.J. Middlebrooks returns to an-chor the linebacker corps with three-year starterand senior Jerek Capdeville leading the second-ary.

Rowlett returns only two starters on offense,but it always good when one of those is the quar-

terback. Junior LoganBonner earned districtsophomore of the yearhonors last year, com-pleting 59 percent of hispasses for 2,415 yardsand 22 touchdowns.

The question earlyon is where Bonner willdistribute the ball, asthe Eagles lack experi-ence at both runningback and wide receiver.

If players can stepup at the skill positions,Rowlett could turn intoa formidable unit, withsenior center ColtonGillespie and seniorguards Ricardo Mar-tinez and Christian Mar-tinez returning on theline.

The kicking gamecould be an X-factor, asthe Eagles feature apair of Division I calibertalents in senior DrewGalitz, who has commit-ted to Miami, and seniorJosh Williams.

“We have a lot ofnew guys on offenseand it is going to takesome time, and I feelour defense will give usthat, but we still have along ways to go,” said Doug Stephens, Rowletthead coach. “But this is a group that works hard,they are blue collar and it is a great group of mento be around, so I’m excited about it.”

CHARLESOMENIHUDEFENSIVE LINEMANOmenihu burst onto thescene during his juniorseason and colleges tooknotice. He is rated as athree-star prospect byRivals.com and has givena verbal commitment tothe University of Texas.The scary thing for oppo-nents is that Omenihuwill only improve. At just16, he is listed at 6-4, 214and has tremendous up-side in regards to bothgrowth and experience,having only played forthree seasons.

Aug. 29 Lewisville Max Goldsmith Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 4 Lake Highlands Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Keller Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Lakeview Centennial Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Sept. 26 Tyler Lee Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Garland Williams Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 BYEOct. 17 North Garland Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Rockwall Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Garland Naaman Forest Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Sachse Williams Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

ROWLETT

EAGLES

Page 28 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

To say that 2014 will be an adjustment period for Lake Dallas isan understatement as big as the distance between District 6-5A’sseven schools.

At the 2014-2016 UIL realignment, a late drop to Class 5A byGrapevine pulled Lake Dallas, a closer opponent for the Mustangsand Birdville, into 6-5A with four Fort Worth schools.

So instead of facing traditional rivals Denton, Denton Guyer andWichita Falls, the Falcons will travel to Handley Stadium in FortWorth twice in 2014 for games against Carter-Riverside and EasternHills, and to Clark Stadium for their final regular season gameagainst Dunbar.

Dunbar went undefeated in 2013 and lost a close game in theplayoffs, drawing the respect of Lake Dallas head coach Mike Young.

“We’re excited about the change in districts,” he said. “We havea tough schedule. Dunbar had a really good season last year – any-time you go undefeated, you’re a great team. And Grapevine andBirdville are obviously very good teams.”

Lake Dallas will look to make the playoffs in 2014 after missingthe postseason last year. Birdville, coming off a playoff loss in thestate quarterfinals to Denton Guyer, is expecting another successfulyear despite graduating all-state running back Xavier Turner, whorushed for more than 2,000 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2013.

Grapevine has senior Air Force commit Sam Berry at quarter-back, who in 2013 was named Co-Offensive Newcomer of the Yearafter amassing 13 rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdownand throwing for three more scores. Also competing in its first yearunder new head coach Randy Jackson, Grapevine played in 5A lastyear against bigger schools and should compete for a top spot in 6-5A in 2014, along with Dunbar.

The Fort Worth schools should be familiar with one another, asthey have played each other several times over the past two years.The real question for all seven teams in 6-5A in 2014: Will the unfa-miliarity play a part in deciding the playoff seedings?

>> BIRDVILLE HAWKS >> FORT WORTH CARTER-RIVERSIDE EAGLES >> FORT WORTH DUNBAR WILDCATS >> FORT WORTH EASTERN HILLSHIGHLANDERS >> FORT WORTH POLYTECHNIC PARROTS >> GRAPEVINE MUSTANGS >> LAKE DALLAS FALCONS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 6-5A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>BIRDVILLE AT LAKE DALLAS

(OCT. 10) These two teams have met in theplayoffs in past years, but playing eachother in a district matchup is new territoryfor the Falcons and Hawks. This game willfeature two high-octane offenses, as LakeDallas will look to throw the ball all overthe field while Birdville will feed star run-ning back Isaiah Duarte (11 touchdowns in2013) the ball as much as possible. Oh, andHawks quarterback Will Hayward (15touchdowns in 2013) is pretty good, too.

>>BIRDVILLE AT DUNBAR (OCT. 24) In what could very well be aforecast for the district championship,these two teams should compete forfirst place in 6-5A. On paper, both teamspossess strong defenses and even bet-ter offenses. Both are excellent runningteams that can also throw the ball. Thismatchup has the makings of a gamewhere the team that has the ball lastwins, which may well give the winner theinside track to first place in the district.

>>DUNBAR AT EASTERN HILLS

(OCT. 31) Dunbar went undefeated in2013 and lost a close game in the play-offs to Wichita Falls. This year, the Wild-cats will look to finish at the top of thebrand new 6-5A. Anytime two of the FortWorth schools play each other in 2014will be a big game for bragging rights,but Dunbar’s contest against EasternHills should provide the Wildcats theirbiggest in-town challenge.

>>GRAPEVINEAT BIRDVILLE

(OCT. 31) The two largest schools in thedistrict by far, Grapevine and Birdvillehave the luxury of more than 2,000 stu-dents each to pull from. Both schoolshave potent offenses led by strong quar-terbacks (Sam Berry for the Mustangs,Hayward for the Hawks). New Grapevinehead coach Randy Jackson comes with astrong program-building backgroundand will look to make a splash againstthe Hawks in his first year.

>> LAKE DALLASAT DUNBAR

(NOV. 6) This game will be a huge test forthe Falcons and one rife with questions forboth programs. Will Lake Dallas’ core of re-turning starters match up well against apreviously undefeated team? Will the Fal-cons’ defense, which has been suspect inprevious years, hold up against Dunbar’sstar running back Taylor Martin (23 touch-downs in 2013)? On the other side, howwill Dunbar handle the firepower through-out the Lake Dallas offense?

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 29

In hindsight, head coach Mike Young feelsconfident his Lake Dallas team would have quali-fied for the Class 4A football playoffs in 2013 ifthey hadn’t been hit hard by the injury bug mid-way through the season.

“We were playing really well, and then welost four or five guys all at once, it seemed,” hesaid. “One of the things I’m most excited for thisyear is our depth. Everyone needs to understandthat guys are going to get banged up, and it’s upto the next guy to step in and play well.”

The Falcons were 4-0 in 2013 when star re-ceiver Josh Jackson landed hard on his ankle,breaking his leg and shelving him for the remain-der of the season. And while the drop in produc-tion following Jackson’s injury was definitely felt,it allowed other receivers the opportunity togrow.

Enter Keegan Brewer, Lake Dallas’ top receiv-ing threat heading into 2014.

Brewer finished 2013 with 66 points, whichled the Falcons – 11 total touchdowns, 739 re-ceiving yards and 41 catches. The majority ofBrewer’s production came after Jackson went

down, as he becamequarterback DaganHaehn’s favorite target.

Now, the junior duoof Haehn and Brewerwill look to lead the of-fense to even greaterheights in 2014.

“I don’t think we’veever had this many re-turning players with somuch experience likewe do now,” saidYoung, referring to hislarge junior and seniorclass. “We’re excited,and we’re looking to gofar this year.”

Young added thatsenior defensive starJosiah Tauaefa will seesome snaps on offensethis season as a receiverand running back whenhe’s not causing havocas a defensive end. Theoffensive line also re-turns 6-foot-6 seniorroad-grader DaltonMontgomery and new-comer Segun Ijiyera, asophomore.

Make no mistake,the offense will be thefocal point of Lake Dal-las’ season, with Haehn(29 touchdowns in 2013)leading the charge.

The season kicks off for Lake Dallas on Aug.29 against Frisco Wakeland.

JOSIAH TAUAEFADEFENSIVE ENDSimply by virtue of rack-ing up 75 tackles left sea-son, Tauaefa asserted hispresence as one of theFalcons’ premier defen-sive weapons. Not only is the linemanpoised for a standout 2014campaign, he may prove tobe Lake Dallas’ most ver-satile asset as well. In ad-dition to anchoring thedefense, Tauaefa is in lineto see snaps on offense asboth a running back and areceiver.How many Class 5A de-fensive linemen are ath-letic enough to earn thatdistinction?

Aug. 29 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m. Sept. 5 Frisco Centennial Memorial Stadium 7 p.m. Sept. 12 Lovejoy Leopard Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Dallas Kimball Falcon Stadium 7:30 p.m. *Sept. 26 Grapevine Falcon Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 2 Fort Worth Carter-Riverside Handley Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 Birdville Falcon Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 16 Fort Worth Eastern Hills Handley Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 BYEOct. 31 Fort Worth Polytechnic Falcon Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 6 Fort Worth Dunbar Clark Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

LAKE DALLAS

FALCONS

FOLLOW THE LEADERSEE LIVE SCORE UPDATES AT

GRIDIRONONLINE.COM

GridironOnline.com

Page 30 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Will this be the year someone finallyknocks off Centennial in the race for thedistrict crown?

The Titans have won three consecutivetitles, including an unbeaten mark duringthe 2011 season and are capable of main-taining that success in 2014.

Standing in their way of a fourthstraight championship will be crosstownrival Frisco and up-and-coming The Colony.Both the Cougars and Raccoons return tal-ented rosters after finishing second andthird, respectively, in the district last sea-son.

The Colony likely would have endedCentennial’s streak of dominance if not fora late meltdown in last season’s head-to-head meeting that saw the Titans scoretwo touchdowns in the final 4:38 to capturea 21-20 victory.

With Centennial quarterback Kelly Cor-dova lost to graduation, the Titans willhave a new face under center and will lookto establish a more consistent runninggame to offset any inexperience at quarter-back. The team will also have plenty ofshoes to fill on the defensive side of the ballafter facing a similar task last offseason.

Wakeland and Heritage also pose athreat to Centennial’s title defense, withLittle Elm, Independence, Lone Star andLiberty looking to create balance through-out the district.

>> FRISCO RACCOONS >> FRISCO CENTENNIAL TITANS >> FRISCO HERITAGE COYOTES >> FRISCO INDEPENDENCE KNIGHTS >> FRISCO LIBERTY REDHAWKS >> FRISCO LONE STAR RANGERS >> FRISCO WAKELAND WOLVERINES >> LITTLE ELM LOBOS >> THE COLONY COUGARS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 9-5A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>CENTENNIAL AT FRISCO

(SEPT. 25) Two of the preseason favoritesfor the 9-5A crown will square off in thesecond week of district action, with the Ti-tans fresh off an opener against Heritageand the Raccoons coming off a battle atLittle Elm. Centennial won last season’smeeting by a final score of 35-28 en routeto the team’s third consecutive champi-onship. If any team is to end Centennial’sdistrict dominance, it could be Frisco witha win in this Sept. 25 matchup.

>>HERITAGE AT WAKELAND

(OCT. 24) Heritage finished on the outsideof the playoff picture last season, withcrosstown rival Wakeland earning thefourth and final postseason spot. An ex-perienced Coyotes team will look to bookthe first trip to the playoffs in programhistory and will likely need to defeat theWolverines in order to make that happen.The two 9-5A foes will meet in an Oct. 24matchup sandwiched in between fourwinnable games for the Coyotes.

>> THE COLONY AT LITTLE ELM

(OCT. 24) When these two long-time rivalssquare off against each other, you can for-get about records. Little Elm entered lastseason’s regular-season finale without awin in district play, while The Colony had achance to split a share of the District 9-4Achampionship. The Lobos played spoilerin that game by earning a 17-14 win, andThe Colony will be looking for revengewhen the two teams meet in an Oct. 24matchup this season.

>> LONE STAR AT INDEPENDENCE

(OCT. 31) Independence will likely take itsshare of lumps in the school’s inauguralseason. With a young roster that featuresno seniors, a Halloween matchup againstLone Star will show how much the Knightshave improved after one full season. Thegame will also be a chance for Lone Starsophomore quarterback Jason Shelley andcompany to end the season on a high noteafter a four-week onslaught against TheColony, Centennial, Heritage and Frisco.

>>CENTENNIAL AT THE COLONY

(NOV. 7) Centennial and The Colony met ina Nov. 1 matchup last season that essen-tially determined the 9-4A title. The Cougarsfeel they let one slip away after leading by11 points in the final five minutes beforeCentennial prevailed for a 21-20 victory.Both teams figure to be contenders onceagain and will meet in the regular-season fi-nale this time. If the 9-5A rivals take care ofbusiness before their Nov. 7 meeting, thisgame could be for all the marbles.

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Page 32 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

There will be plenty of new faces under centerfor District 9-5A football teams this season.

Only Frisco is tasked with replacing last sea-son’s district MVP (Jake Battaglia), though.

“We’ve got some big shoes to fill,” said VanceGibson, Frisco head coach.

Replacing Battaglia, who ran for 401 yards andnine touchdowns while also completing 68-of-134passes for 1,385 yards and 13 scores, will be juniorRohan Vasa.

“[Vasa] is similar to Jake,” Gibson said. “He’s agreat leader and has a lot of passion to play football.”

Aiding Vasa’s transition will be a Wing-T schemethat puts little pressure on the quarterback. The jun-ior will have several reliable runners to lean on withseniors Dayton Bush and Mykael McCorry joiningjunior Lucas Reynolds in getting the bulk of carries.

“We’ve got some kids we feel can be prettygood,” Gibson said.

The team’s Wing-T scheme has shown steadyprogression during recent years, helping the pro-gram become a perennial playoff contender.

Vasa will also have the benefit of the team’stop receivers from last season coming back. Senior

T.J. Keys and Bush ledthe Raccoons with acombined 26 receptionsand six touchdowns ayear ago.

The Raccoons returna total of 13 starters, withsix players coming backon defense.

Adding stability forthe team will be the of-fensive line, with a unitfeaturing plenty of sizeand strength in seniorJaxson Deaton, sopho-more Jack Anderson,senior Greg James, sen-ior Dolan Motter andsenior Jordan Noriega.The unit will be key,with Frisco keeping theball on the ground forthe majority of plays.

The Raccoons will at-tempt to knock off three-time defending championCentennial atop the dis-trict standings. The twoteams met in an Oct. 25matchup last season withthe Titans earning a 35-28 victory en route to the9-4A crown.

“This district will bevery competitive,” Gib-son said. “Each week,we’ll have to come readyto play.”

Frisco opens the regular season with an Aug. 29home game against North Forney from MemorialStadium.

DAYTON BUSHRUNNING BACK/DEFENSIVE BACKThe Raccoons make nosecret of their game planon the offensive end. Frisco likes to attack op-ponents on the groundwith a Wing-T scheme thatfeatures multiple runners.One of those ball carrierswill be Bush, who will jointeammates LucasReynolds and Mykael Mc-Corry for the bulk of car-ries. Bush should becomea familiar face to Friscofans, getting plenty oftouches on offense whilealso playing a key role inthe team’s secondary.

Aug. 29 North Forney Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 6 Waxahachie Lumpkins Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Little Elm Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 The Colony Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 25 Frisco Centennial Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 Frisco Heritage Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 BYE*Oct. 16 Frisco Independence Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Frisco Lone Star Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO

RACCOONS

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Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 33

No District 9-5A team has a bigger target on itsback than Centennial.

The Titans have won three consecutive district ti-tles, including an unbeaten run against 9-4A oppo-nents in 2011.

With eight other teams looking to knock off the Ti-tans this season, the team will have little room forerror.

“There are several teams that are talented enoughto win every time they go out,” said Vance Gibson,Frisco head coach.

Frisco and The Colony believe they are two ofthose teams, and matchups against both could presentmust-win situations for Centennial.

The Titans will have a new face under center forthe second straight season. Former quarterback KellyCordova, who ran for 695 yards and 11 touchdownswhile completing 203-of-349 passes for 2,641 yardsand 23 scores, will be replaced by either sophomoreCourt Walker or junior Jeremichael Deason.

Centennial head coach Mark Howard said the Ti-tans won’t be forced into choosing one over the other.

“It could honestly be a situation where we playboth guys,” he said.

Walker was the fresh-man team quarterback lastseason and will make thejump to varsity, while Dea-son changes positionsafter playing safety duringhis sophomore campaign.

“They both havethings to work on,”Howard said.

Walker and Deasonwill have the luxury of thedistrict’s leading returningreceiver in senior DevinMcCord. The speedstercaught a team-leading 71passes for 951 yards andseven touchdowns lastseason, joining seniorsRiley Brasuell and JacksonGrimes as reliable targetsfor Walker and Deason.

The Titans will alsoease the transition undercenter by establishing amore consistent groundattack.

“We feel like we havethe size and the strengthto establish a better run-ning game,” Howard said.

The shift could alsoease the burden on a de-fense replacing eightstarters for the secondconsecutive season.

“We’ve made somestrides [on defense] in the [offseason],” Howard said.“We’re going to be really young on defense though.”

The Titans open the season with an Aug. 22scrimmage against Mesquite Poteet.

DEVIN MCCORDWIDE RECEIVERAlthough the Titans willhave a new face undercenter after the gradua-tion of Kelly Cordova, oneconstant for the team’s of-fense should be wide re-ceiver Devin McCord.The senior fell just shortof the 1,000-yard marklast season, racking up 71receptions for 951 yardsand seven touchdowns. Asthe district’s leading re-turning receiver, look forMcCord to be Centennial’sgo-to option on passingdowns this season, whilealso easing the transitionto a new quarterback.

Aug. 30 Highland Park Ford Stadium (SMU) 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Lake Dallas Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 BYESept. 19 Frisco Heritage Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 25 Frisco Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.*Oct. 3 Frisco Independence Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 Frisco Lone Star Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 23 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 30 Little Elm Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 The Colony Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO

CENTENNIAL

Jackson Grimes, Centennial wide receiver

Page 34 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

With the bulk of District 9-5A teams making achange under center, the Coyotes can rest easywith senior Malik Walker returning.

Walker ran for 390 yards and eight touch-downs during his junior campaign while complet-ing 168-of-301 passes for 1,968 yards and 23touchdowns.

“We feel like we have a lot back on offense,”said Che Hendrix, Heritage head coach.

Walker will also have three of his favorite tar-gets back from last season. Seniors Keaton White(765 yards and 11 touchdowns) and Chris Baez(342 yards and three touchdowns) will join juniorBubba Ogbebor (180 yards and three touch-downs) in the passing attack.

That firepower allowed the Coyotes to have asuccessful offseason that included their first-evertrip to the state 7-on-7 tournament.

“It’s always fun to go out and win,” Hendrixsaid. “It breeds confidence in our players.”

Heritage failed to qualify for the playoffs lastseason, but made steady improvements with afour-win season. If the team is to take that nextstep, it will need to fend off teams such as Wake-

land, Lone Star and Lit-tle Elm for the fourthand final playoff spot.

Junior KeneNwangwu will likely getthe bulk of carries afterthe graduation of lead-ing rusher Sean Jones(772 yards and fivetouchdowns).Nwangwu racked up393 yards and twoscores on 77 carries dur-ing his sophomore sea-son.

With nine returningstarters on offense,scoring will be the leastof Heritage’s concern.The team brings backjust two defensivestarters from last sea-son and will look to dis-play balance on bothsides of the ball to com-pete with the likes ofCentennial, Frisco andThe Colony.

“We’ve got to con-tinue to work hard andget better,” Hendrixsaid, “because we’re along ways from wherewe want to be.”

The Coyotes openthe season with an Aug.29 game againstRichardson at Eagle-Mustang Stadium.

K.C. BROWNCORNERBACKThe Coyotes know whatthey have on the offen-sive side of the ball. Im-proving on defense iswhat could take the teamto the next level andleading that cause willlikely be Brown.Brown is normally taskedwith covering the oppo-nent’s best receiver andhandles the job well. Thesenior will likely play akey role if the Coyotes areto qualify for the playoffsfor the first time in pro-gram history.

Aug. 29 Richardson Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Carrollton Creekview Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 11 The Colony Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Frisco Centennial Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 BYE*Oct. 3 Frisco Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 9 Frisco Independence Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Frisco Lone Star Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 30 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Little Elm Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO HERITAGE

COYOTES

Keaton White, Heritage wide receiver

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Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 35

The Knights will come into the season as themost inexperienced team in District 9-5A.

That will also put little pressure on the first-year school competing in a difficult nine-teamgroup.

“We have a lot of youth on this team,” saidKyle Story, Independence head coach. “The guyshave been working hard, though.”

With no seniors on the roster, the team willlook for leadership anywhere it can find it.

“These younger guys will have to step up,”Story said. “They haveto take some leadershiproles earlier than younormally have on a var-sity team.”

The team has athree-player race atquarterback and likelywon’t determine astarter until just beforethe Aug. 29 regular-sea-son opener at Princeton.

“We won’t knowuntil we get in padswho will be our mainguy,” Story said.

Whoever wins thestarting gig will likelyfind junior Myles Rus-sell as a primary targetin the slot. Russell willalso double as team’sstarting strong safety.

“[Russell] has beena playmaker for us sofar,” Story said.

Although Story hasa history of running up-tempo offenses with nohuddles, the Independ-ence coach said he willlikely slow the pace dur-ing his team’s inauguralseason.

“We’d normally bean up-tempo offense,”he said, “but we’ll prob- ably use a hud-

dle this year tohelp our de-fense.”

William Mc-Collum will alsofeature promi-nently in the of-fensive schemewith athleticismthat can be used in a variety of ways.

On defense, the Knights will look to defensiveback Kolbre Smith and defensive end AndrickWilliams as two leaders. Junior defensive tackleGabe Maele will also provide some varsity experi-ence on the team after playing for Liberty lastseason.

“We areyoung right now,”Story said. “We’llhave to improveas the seasongoes along.”

The Knightswill benefit froma local schedulethat features six

other Frisco ISD schools, The Colony and LittleElm.

“We’re trying to learn more about each teamas we go along,” Story said.

Independence opens the season Aug. 29 atPrinceton and will ease into district action with aSept. 12 matchup against Liberty.

MYLES RUSSELLWIDE RECEIVER/SAFETYThe Knights will look forleaders to emergethroughout the season ona team with no seniorsand little varsity experi-ence.One of those leaderscould be Russell, who willlikely be a two-way starterat strong safety and insidereceiver. Russell will gethis first taste of varsityaction after playing for theHeritage junior varsityteam last season. The jun-ior will also look to easethe transition for theteam’s first starting quar-terback.

Aug. 29 Princeton Jackie Hendrix Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 4 Castleberry Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Little Elm Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 The Colony Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 Frisco Centennial Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 9 Frisco Heritage Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 16 Frisco Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 BYEOct. 31 Frisco Lone Star Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Frisco Wakeland Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO INDEPENDENCE

KNIGHTS

>> “THESE YOUNGER GUYS WILL HAVE TOSTEP UP. THEY HAVE TO TAKE SOMELEADERSHIP ROLES EARLIER THAN YOUNORMALLY HAVE ON A VARSITY TEAM.”–KYLE STORY, INDEPENDENCE HEAD COACH

Page 36 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Liberty will have adifferent look this seasonthan it did a year ago.

Headlining the list ofchanges is former Semi-nole head coach ChrisBurtch filling in for GalenZimmerman, who ac-cepted an offensive coor-dinator gig at DrippingSprings.

“I just want to seethe kids buying into eachother and buying intowhat we’re doing offen-sively and defensively,”Burtch said.

The Redhawks willalso have a new faceunder center after thegraduation of Connor Ro-bison. Taking over atquarterback will be sen-ior Udgam Goyal, who re-ceived little playing timelast season.

“We went into [theoffseason] thinking hewas our guy,” Burtchsaid, “and he hasn’t doneanything to change that.”

Goyal will likelyspread the ball around onpassing plays, with theRedhawks going with acommittee of receivers.

“We don’t have that one go-to guy yet,” Burtchsaid, “but we have several guys that have the poten-tial to be good this season.”

Aiding the team’s cause will be the returning ex-perience on defense. Key players such as seniors

Jared Carmona (all-state linebacker), Romello McCol-lum and junior Gage Reiter return to give Liberty astrong defensive unit.

“Our kids enjoy playing defense,” Burtch said.“They like to get after it.”

McCollum will make the switch from safety tocornerback and has already made an impression onhis new coach.

“[McCollum] could be a diamond in the rough forus,” Burtch said.

Junior running back Chris McPhaul will get thebulk of carries after leading the Redhawks on theground last season. During his sophomore campaign,McPhaul tallied 593 yards and eight touchdowns on107 carries.

With McPhaul back with the team’s nine return-ing starters on defense, Goyal’s progression will bekey for a team looking to make significant improve-ments after a last-place finish in 2013.

“I just want to see the kids buying into eachother and buying into what we’re doing offensivelyand defensively,” Burtch said.

The Redhawks open the season with an Aug. 29game at Denison.

JARED CARMONALINEBACKERLiberty’s 2-5 mark againstDistrict 9-4A opponentslast season made for fewbright spots.One of those bright spotswas Carmona, who fin-ished with a district-lead-ing 144 tackles, with 14 ofthose for a loss. The senioralso tallied four sacks,one interception, threeforced fumbles and twopasses defended.If the Redhawks improveon their 2-8 mark duringhead coach Chris Burtch’sfirst season, Carmona fig-ures to be at the forefrontof that cause.

Aug. 29 Denison Munson Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 McKinney Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Frisco Independence Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.*Sept. 19 Frisco Lone Star Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 BYEOct. 10 Little Elm Memorial StadiumOct. 17 The Colony Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m. Oct. 23 Frisco Centennial Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 30 Frisco Heritage Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Frisco Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO LIBERTY

REDHAWKS

Garrett Locke, Liberty linebacker

The Rangers get to say goodbye to Argyle and Celina after leavingDistrict 10-3A for the nine-team District 9-5A.

However, Lone Star must now contend with Frisco ISD teams, TheColony and Little Elm instead.

“The big difference is depth and numbers,” said Jeff Rayburn,Lone Star head coach. “As long as we can stay healthy, we can be re-ally competitive.”

Easing the team’s transition to Class 5A will be stability undercenter. Sophomore quarterback Jason Shelley returns after a freshmancampaign that saw the speedster tally 821 yards and seven touch-downs on the ground while completing 99-of-161 passes for 1,346

yards and 12 scores.“Any time you’ve got a kid like Jason

Shelley, you’ve got a chance to win,” Ray-burn said.

Shelley’s primary target on offense willlikely be senior receiver Jordan Jones, wholed the team with 51 receptions for 693yards and eight touchdowns last season.

“[Jones] should be a big-time play-maker for us,” Rayburn said.

Lone Star returns just four starters oneach side of the ball and will need to find areplacement for the productive Ramon Har-ris in the backfield. In his senior season,Harris ran for 1,621 yards and 21 touch-downs on 210 carries while racking up an-other 208 yards and three scores on 14receptions.

Filling that void will be the duo of juniorRobert Hall and senior Carlos Bolton.Bolton, a move-in from Edgewood, wasnamed offensive MVP in his district lastseason. Hall got just 26 carries in 2013 andracked up 88 yards and one touchdown inthe process.

“[Running back] is pretty up in the airright now,” Rayburn said.

The Rangers should be set in the kick-ing game with senior kicker and punterCameron Scott returning.

“[Scott] is one of the best kickers in thestate,” Rayburn said.

Although the defense returns just fourstarters, Rayburn said he likes the unit’spotential.

“We’re going to be extremely athleticdefensively,” hesaid. “We have alot of kids thatcan run and hit.”

Lone Staropens its seasonwith an Aug. 28contest againstSherman.

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 37

JASON SHELLEYQUARTERBACKWith Lone Star making thejump from District 10-3Ato 9-5A this season, theRangers will have the ben-efit of a reliable play-maker under center.Shelley took command ofthe starting quarterbackjob last season and madethe most of his opportu-nity, tallying 821 yards andseven touchdowns on theground while completing99-of-161 passes for an-other 1,346 yards and 12scores. Shelley will be keyfor Lone Star’s attempt ata smooth transition toClass 5A.

Aug. 28 Sherman Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 North Forney City Bank Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 11 Frisco Wakeland Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Frisco Liberty Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.*Sept. 25 Little Elm Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 The Colony Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 Frisco Centennial Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Frisco Heritage Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Frisco Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 Frisco Independence Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 BYE

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO LONE STAR

RANGERS

>> “THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS DEPTH AND NUMBERS.AS LONG AS WE CAN STAY HEALTHY, WE CAN BE REALLY COMPETITIVE.”–JEFF RAYBURN, LONE STAR HEAD COACH

Jordan Jones, Lone Star running back

Page 38 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Experience shouldn’t be anissue for Wakeland this season.

The Wolverines return eightstarters on each side of the ballafter qualifying for the playoffs asthe district’s fourth seed last sea-son.

“Our senior class is a bigstrength,” said Marty Secord, Wake-land head coach. “They’re the keycomponent that will make our teamgo.”

Headlining the group of return-ers is senior running back Brent Al-tieri on offense and junior linebackerTanner Euting on defense.

Altieri racked up 873 yards and10 touchdowns on 155 carries lastseason while Euting tallied 92 tack-les and one interception.

“A lot of blood, sweat and tearswere put into the offseason,” Secordsaid.

The Wolverines will have a newface under center after the gradua-tion of Jackson Lamb. Filling Lamb’svacated spot will be junior Noah An-

derson,who re-ceivedsporadicplayingtime lastseasonwhenLamb wasinjured.

“[Anderson] got a lot of valuableexperience last year,” Secord said.“We like what he can do.”

Anderson, a dual-threatweapon, will have the benefit ofseveral reliable targets in the pass-ing game. Senior receiver JusticeWilliams will return after catching ateam-high 33 passes for 595 yardsand two touchdowns. Euting andsenior Jimmy Wilkins also figure toplay key roles in the air attack.

“There’s a good supporting castwhere we can distribute the ballaround,” Secord said.

The ultimate key for Wakeland’spostseason return could be health.Last season, injuries plagued theWolverines more than any otherteam in the district.

“We just never could keepeveryone healthy and on the field,”Secord said. “Hopefully thatchanges this year.”

There will be plenty of competi-tion for the four playoff berths, withCentennial, Frisco and The Colonyheadlining a group of tough District9-5A foes.

“There’s a lot of parity in ourdistrict,” Secord said. “There’s a lotof competition amongst all theschools.”

The Wolverines open the seasonwith an Aug. 29 home game againstLake Dallas.

BRENT ALTIERIRUNNING BACKWith the departure ofquarterback JacksonLamb and speedster AlexMarr in the backfield, Al-tieri could see an ex-panded role inWakeland’s ground at-tack this season.Altieri led the Wolverineswith 873 yards and 10rushing touchdowns on155 carries last season.With a new face undercenter in Noah Andersonor Garrett Schulze, thereliable Altieri shouldgive stability to an of-fense looking to build offlast year’s postseasonreturn.

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

FRISCO WAKELAND

WOLVERINES

Aug. 29 Lake Dallas Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Lovejoy Leopard Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Frisco Lone Star Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 BYE*Sept. 26 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 Little Elm Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 The Colony Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Frisco Centennial Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Frisco Heritage Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 Frisco Toyota Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Frisco Independence Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming Justice Williams, Wakeland wide receiver

>> “OUR SENIOR CLASS IS A BIG STRENGTH. THEY’RE THEKEY COMPONENT THAT WILLMAKE OUR TEAM GO.”–MARTY SECORD, WAKELAND HEAD COACH

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 39

Perhaps no team in District 9-5A will shift its identity more thanLittle Elm this season.

The Lobos are in the midst ofmajor changes, starting with thedeparture of former head coachDonald Stowers and the hiring offormer DeSoto defensive coordina-tor Kendrick Brown as Stowers’ re-placement.

“Our focus will not be how westart, but how we finish,” Brownsaid.

Under Brown, the Lobos willimplement a more balanced attackafter keeping the ball on theground for a majority of plays in re-cent years.

Leading that change will besenior quarterback Josh Savage,who received sporadic playing timeas Christian Bourdo’s backup lastseason. Savage tallied 68 yards andtwo touchdowns on the groundwhile completing 4-of-15 passes for42 yards.

With a run-dominant offenseunder Stowers, Savage had littletime to work on his passing game,but has shown signs of life duringthe offseason.

“I thought [Savage] got betterevery practice,” Brown said.

With the Lobos transitioning toa hurry-up offense with more bal-ance, Brown said his senior quar-terback could be due for a breakoutseason.

“We saw glimpses when he didgood things last year,” Brown said.“We just have to try and get himinto open space.”

Savage will have several reli-able targets in the passing game,with seniors Victor Gonzalez andDavid Bynum joining junior EdgarKhan with key roles in the air at-tack.

The Lobos will still feature aphysical ground game after leaningon former running backs Keaun Kin-ner and Kaleb Chapman the lasttwo seasons. Leading the positionbattle is senior speedster HueyMitchell.

“[Mitchell] has vision andspeed to make it happen,” Brownsaid.

If Mitchell wins the job, thesenior should be able to rely on asolid offensive line. Brown said theLobos will need to win games inthe trenches to be successful.

“The strength of this team willbe up front,” he said. “We reallyneed thatgroup to bedominant.”

TheLobos openthe seasonwith anAug. 29home gameagainstTerrell.

Aug. 29 Terrell Lobo Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 4 McKinney North Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Frisco Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Frisco Independence Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 25 Frisco Lone Star Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.*Oct. 3 Frisco Wakeland Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 10 Frisco Liberty Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 BYEOct. 24 The Colony Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 30 Frisco Centennial Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Frisco Heritage Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

LITTLE ELM

LOBOS

JOSH SAVAGEQUARTERBACKThe Lobos relied little onquarterback play duringhead coach Donald Stow-ers’ tenure.With Little Elm transition-ing to a more balanced andup-tempo attack underformer DeSoto defensivecoordinator KendrickBrown, Savage could bedue for a breakout season.Savage saw limited timeunder center last seasonas a backup, but displayedplaymaking ability as adual-threat weapon. Sav-age’s progression will bekey for a team looking toreturn to the playoffs aftera one-year absence.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

Gregory Peoples, Little Elm cornerback

>> “OUR FOCUS WILL NOTBE HOW WE START, BUT HOW WE FINISH.”–KENDRICK BROWN, LITTLE ELMHEAD COACH

Page 40 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

In 2013, The Colony was in the hunt for a districttitle entering the final two weeks of the regular sea-son and punched its first playoff ticket since 2002before coming up short in the bi-district roundagainst Highland Park.

With seven starters back on both sides of theball, the Cougars believe they are in line to take thenext step in 2014.

Offensively, the Cougars must replace BryanHammond in the backfield, but running back KhalilBanks received valuable playing time down thestretch and in the postseason last year and headcoach Rudy Rangel believes the junior could be inline for a breakout season with The Colony’s run-heavy attack.

Banks and company will have the benefit of run-ning behind an offensive line that returns threestarters, including senior David Shin. Senior MylesBenning, meanwhile, will shift from the line to full-back — his more natural position — which shouldalso benefit Banks and the running game.

Also back is senior quarterback Andrew Lotz (51percent completions, 842 yards, eight touchdownsand two interceptions) and senior receiver Tate Ala-

nis (team highs of 23catches and 331 yards).

The strength of theCougars resides on thedefensive side, however,where the team returnsan abundance of talentfrom a squad that rankedsecond in the Class 4A inthe area in yardage (214.5per game) and third inscoring (15.9 points pergame) last season.

Key cogs back forThe Colony include theDefensive Sophomore ofthe Year in linebackerAlec Gibbons, all-districtfirst-teamers seniorJustin Jinning (insidelinebacker and Iowa com-mit), senior Julian Abdal-lah (defensive tackle) andsenior Dominic Spotwood(safety) and second-team-ers senior Jordan Hi-gashida (defensive end),senior Tyrone Brooks (in-side linebacker), juniorAustin Meyers (outsidelinebacker) and senior TyLinthicum (safety).

In addition to theireight all-district return-ers, the Cougars will in-fuse talent from a juniorvarsity squad that wentunbeaten in 2013. Rangel is excited in particularabout the addition of sophomore linebacker Josh Jin-ning, Justin’s younger brother, who brings a similarstyle of play and pedigree.

ALEC GIBBONSLINEBACKERLast year’s 9-4A DefensiveSophomore of the Year, Gib-bons joins all-district per-formers Justin Jinning,Tyrone Brooks and AustinMyers in what figures to beone of the more productivelinebacker units in theMetroplex. With a blend of speed andstrength, the junior could beready to take the next stepin 2014. Gibbons’ contributionsaren’t limited to the defen-sive end, however, as he alsocontributed in the backfieldlast season, carrying theball 81 times for 339 yardsand six touchdowns.

Aug. 29 Saginaw Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Corsicana Tiger Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 11 Frisco Heritage Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 Frisco Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 Frisco Independence Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.*Oct. 3 Frisco Lone Star Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m. Oct. 9 Frisco Wakeland Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 17 Frisco Liberty Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Little Elm Lobo Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 BYENov. 7 Frisco Centennial Tommy Briggs Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

THE COLONY

COUGARS

Khalil Banks, The Colony running back

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 41

>> DENISON YELLOW JACKETS >> LOVEJOY LEOPARDS >> McKINNEY LIONS >> McKINNEY NORTH BULLDOGS >> PROSPER EAGLES>> SHERMAN BEARCATS >> WYLIE PIRATES >> WYLIE EAST RAIDERS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 10-5A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>> LOVEJOY AT DENISON(SEPT. 26) The two teams’ last meetingcatered to those whose tastes veered towardthe offensive side of the football. Denison hadthree players with over 100 rushing yards andcombined with Lovejoy for over 1,000 total of-fensive yards and almost 100 points as theLeopards defeated the Yellow Jackets, 56-42.The two starting quarterbacks from that game– Lovejoy junior Bowman Sells and Denisonsenior Devon Blanton – return for their re-spective teams and will look to replicate theirperformances from last year’s contest.

>>NORTH AT PROSPER(OCT.3) The football gods smiled onNorth by giving it another chanceagainst Prosper after the Eagles ran theBulldogs out of their stadium with a 59-48 win. And if getting a chance to avengelast season’s defeat wasn’t enough, thistime there’s district implications. Thegame will be even more important thiscampaign, because the road only getstougher for the Bulldogs, with districtgames against Lovejoy, McKinney andDenison in the following weeks.

>>McKINNEY AT NORTH(OCT.17) The crosstown rivalry was placedon the backburner after McKinney andNorth were separated following the breakupof 10-4A after the 2011-12 season due to re-alignment. During those two years apart,North has been claiming pieces of the 13-4A crown while McKinney has been treadingwater with the depth of competition in 10-5A. Now back together, the two teams willlook to reignite a rivalry that last ended withthe Lions letting a 24-6 first-quarter leadslip, eventually losing 34-24 to North.

>> LOVEJOY AT EAST(OCT. 31) Both squads entered last sea-son’s final 13-4A matchup tied with a 4-2district record and East looked as if itwould capitalize early, holding a 22-10first-quarter lead. But Lovejoy stormedback, grabbing a 33-30 lead in the thirdquarter that the Leopards clung to in the47-44 win. The loss dropped East to fifthplace in the district and kept the Raidersout of the postseason.

>>McKINNEY AT PROSPER

(OCT. 31) Prosper and McKinney are thenew faces lumped in with the majority ofthe old 13-4A and both will attempt torebound this season after last-place fin-ishes in their respective districts. Thetwo teams also started 2-1 before dis-trict play capsized their seasons. McKin-ney and Prosper will be hoping that anew district equals a change of fortunesof the gridiron, but only one team iscoming out of this game with a win.

The makeup of District 10-5A resembles thebulk of the former 13-4A.

And if it plays out anything like the latter,then the race to the district’s top spot is going tobe close.

One win separated first place from fifth inthat district and returning talent from each teamshould provide plenty of nail biting down thestretch as Wylie, Wylie East, McKinney North,Lovejoy and Sherman duke it out again.

Alongside Wylie, North appears to be theteam most poised to rise to the top with an of-fense featuring senior running back and Okla-homa State commit Ronald Jones, but questionson the offensive line and quarterback could holdthe Bulldogs back.

The same questions under center don’t holdtrue for Lovejoy, which could also find itself incontention under new head coach and former de-fensive coordinator Ryan Cox. The Leopards will

have junior quarterback Bowman Sells takingsnaps after a sophomore season in which hethrew for 1,024 yards, 13 touchdown and four in-terceptions.

The wildcards in the district are McKinneyand Prosper. The Lions are exiting the old 10-5Aafter an 0-5 district finish. Prosper didn’t faremuch better in 9-4A (1-6) last season, but did sur-prise the Bulldogs earlier with a 59-48 win.

Page 42 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

The departure of former head coach MattGreen had a chance to define Lovejoy’s offsea-son.

But the Leopards seamlessly acceptedGreen’s defensive coordinator, Ryan Cox, into thefold as the new head coach, and the program hadone of its best summers to date in qualifying forthe Division I 7-on-7 State Tournament for thefirst time.

Lovejoy won’t take solace in the summer,though, especially since it left District 13-4A as atwo-time champion. Last season, the Leopardsfinished in a four-way tie for first with McKinneyNorth, Denison and Wylie.

All four of those programs return to 10-5Athis year, along with new faces Prosper and McK-inney.

The biggest storyline early in the season willbe on offense, where junior Bowman Sells com-pleted the entire offseason without problems. In-juries limited the top-flight recruit as asophomore, and limited the Leopards’ ceiling aswell.

Elsewhere, a talented group of backs and re-

ceivers, such as juniorwideout Aaron Fullerand senior running backHunter Pfaff, will becounted on early in theseason as Lovejoykeeps its entire up-tempo, spread playbookfrom the Green era.

Another strengthwill be on the offensiveline, where four startersreturn.

Defensively, theLeopards won’t have ahard time finding moti-vation to improve. Thelasting image from theirprevious campaign isthe 64 points Ennis putup in the area round ofthe playoffs.

Junior Kevin Davishas turned heads atlinebacker in the sum-mer, taking on a biggerrole as the leader of thedefense. Senior MacMetzler, making theswitch from defensiveline to backer, and jun-ior Dakota Michaels,who took over for Sellsat quarterback last yearbut will primarily playsafety this season, aretwo others to watch.

In a district where a handful of the best of-fenses in 5A reside, Lovejoy will be up against itto retain the first-place trophy.

AARON FULLERWIDE RECEIVERFuller was a secondaryoption last year thanks toall-state alum ChochyLuce, but the junior isready to take on a biggerrole in the passing gamethis season. Thanks to an impressive7-on-7 slate and variousperformances at camps,Fuller has also assertedhimself as a prospect col-leges will keep their eyeon this season. Don’t be surprised if hebecomes Sells’ go-to tar-get and puts up numberssimilar to what Luce did inhis final season.

Aug. 28 Mansfield Legacy Vernon Newsome Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Frisco Wakeland Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Lake Dallas Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Denison Munson Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 3 Sherman Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 McKinney North Roe Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Wylie East Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Prosper Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Wylie Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 McKinney Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

LOVEJOY

LEOPARDS

Hunter Pfaff, Lovejoy running back

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 43

It’s not exactly the tale of Moses, but McKin-ney was forced to wander the talented terrain ofthe former District 10-5A for two years.

But instead of succumbing to the competi-tion, McKinney has reached a district of promisewithin the confines of the new 10-5A.

During that two-year stretch with the likes ofback-to-back Class 5A State Champions Allen,Plano West and McKinney Boyd, McKinney went1-9 in district play.

The Lions fared better outside the district,though, as they started the 2012-13 campaign off4-0 and went 3-1 last season before a winless fin-ish.

Now, McKinney will have the opportunity toprove that it can compete on a more level playingfield and will do so with key starters returning onboth sides of the ball.

Senior quarterback Brian Sutter will enter hissecond season as the Lions’ signal caller afterthrowing for 1,290 yards, 10 touchdowns and sixinterceptions in his junior campaign.

Sutter won’t be asked to do it all at the posi-tion, though, as head coach Jeff Smith plans for

him to split time withjunior Tyree Johnson.Johnson was one of thefew bright spots for theLions as Smith lined himup at quarterback, run-ning back and wide re-ceiver. Johnson finishedthe season third on theteam in rushing yards(403) and the teamleader in rushing touch-downs (10).

The defense willhave a hard time replac-ing Utah State Univer-sity signee JontrellRocquemore and JakeBrown at safety alongwith linebacker ReedThompson after the triograduated. But theLions possess enoughreturning starters to tryand stop opponentsfrom running wild aftergiving up 1,668 rushingyards in the second halfof last season. That taskwill start up front,where senior defensiveend Ty Stone will pairwith seniors ColtonJack, Brian Cooper andjunior Issac Nunez atlinebacker.

If McKinney can per-form against its new district opponents like it haswith those outside of its old district, the Lionsmight finally turn things around.

ISSAC NUNEZLINEBACKERThe stats from Nunez’ssophomore campaign areimpressive, but his playwill have to be other-worldly this season if theLions are to rebound afterlast year’s disappointingfinish (0-5) in district play.During that stretch, McK-inney allowed an averageof 333.6 yards on theground. With the exit ofalum and linebacker ReedThompson, there will beeven more importance onNunez to build on a sea-son in which he totaled 57tackles, one sack and fourfumble recoveries.

Aug. 29 Richardson Pearce Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Frisco Liberty Toyota Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 11 Carrollton Newman Smith Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Wylie Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 3 Denison Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Sherman Bearcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 McKinney North Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Wylie East Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Prosper Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Lovejoy Leopard Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

McKINNEY

LIONS

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Brian Sutter, McKinney quarterback

Page 44 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

North enters this season the polar opposite ofhow it did a year ago.

At the beginning of 2013-14, North was ateam searching for a spot in the postseason aftera fifth-place finish in District 13-4A the seasonprior as it attempted to replace a large part of itsdefense lost to graduation.

This campaign, the Bulldogs are fresh off of atrip to the area playoffs and winning a piece ofthe district championship, but North will need toreplace a majority of its offense in order to con-tend for its new district’s championship.

The biggest holes to fill will be those on theoffensive line after the quintet that created holeslast season returns just one in junior Andrew Gr-isham.

The person taking snaps behind center willalso change with Ben Dutze gone, as well asDutze’s primary target last season, Tre Sanders(743 receiving yards and three touchdowns).

The same force will be coming out of thebackfield, though, with senior running backRonald Jones. Jones should provide a smoothtransition for whoever ends up handing off the

ball and blocking for theOklahoma State commit.

North’s advantagealso comes in its defen-sive backfield with sen-iors Bryce Balous (110tackles) and AnthonyGrogan.

But that isn’t totake away from thefront seven.

Junior defensivetackle JustinMadubuike will belooked at to anchor thedefensive line after aseason in which heposted 69 tackles andfive sacks. He will bepaired with junior GabeDutze, as senior NickLeshowitz begins thetransition from defen-sive end to outside line-backer.

North head coachMike Fecci proved hecould overcometurnover last year withan almost brand newsquad of defensivestarters. The added ad-vantage of Jones and amore familiarized de-fense facing a slate offamiliar district oppo-nents should balanceout the significant losses on offense and have theBulldogs in contention for a second consecutivedistrict championship.

RONALD JONESRUNNING BACKThe spotlight is going to beshining bright on Jones afterbeginning last season underthe radar.But after a stellar junior sea-son in which he ran for 2,406yards and 39 touchdowns,the hoopla surrounding theOklahoma State Universitycommit should only continueto grow.Jones will have to overcomelosing four out of five start-ing offensive linemen – in-cluding University of CentralArkansas commit AustinHorton – and alum andquarterback Ben Dutze inorder to live up to the stan-dards he set last season.

Aug. 28 Carrollton Newman Smith Standridge Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 4 Little Elm Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 12 Richardson Pearce Eagle-Mustang Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 25 Wylie East Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 Prosper Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Lovejoy Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 McKinney Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 24 Denison Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Sherman Bearcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Wylie Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

McKINNEY NORTH

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Page 46 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

A transition to District 10-5A could aid Pros-per’s return to playoff form this season.

The Eagles tallied a 3-7 mark last year, includ-ing a 1-6 record against the Frisco ISD schools, TheColony and Little Elm.

“Last year was certainly a disappointing onefor us and for our senior class,” said Kent Scott,Prosper head coach. “If you go back and look at thegames, we were in almost every game.”

Prosper won’t have to deal with the likes ofCentennial, Frisco and The Colony this year, butthe team will now face the McKinney ISD schools,Wylie, Lovejoy, Wylie East, Denison and Sherman.

“It’ll be extremely competitive,” Scott said.“It’s a district we’re excited about.”

With quarterback Steele Walker electing toforego his senior year in favor of baseball, the Ea-gles have an open job under center.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Scott said.“It’s wide open right now.”

Senior Colton Hepp, the team’s junior varsityquarterback last year, is the early favorite to winthe job and will likely make senior receiver ZackEnglish his favorite target.

“[English] is a two-year starter for us withgreat hands,” Scott said.

English tallied 43 re-ceptions for 488 yardsand eight touchdownslast season.

Whoever wins thestarting gig at quarter-back will be handing theball off to a committee ofrunning backs. SeniorTravis Tidmore, juniorRobert Mahone and jun-ior Jay Bias all figure toreceive plenty of carries.

“[The running backposition] could very wellbe by committee thisseason,” Scott said.

The Eagles shouldhave added confidenceabout their move to 10-5A after handing topcontender North a 59-48loss during each team’ssecond regular seasongame last year.

“That will certainlygive McKinney Northsome bulletin board ma-terial,” Scott said.

Fans will becomequite familiar with sev-eral returners doing dou-ble duty on offense anddefense.

“We lost some good players, but we’re excitedabout the group we have coming back,” Scott said.

The Eagles open the season with an Aug. 29contest against Birdville.

ZACK ENGLISHWIDE RECEIVERThe Eagles will have a newquarterback this yearafter Steele Walkerelected to forego his sen-ior season in favor ofbaseball. Aiding the team’s new faceunder center will be thereliable hands of seniorreceiver Zack English, whocaught 43 passes for 488yards and eight touch-downs last season. Thetwo-year starter in theslot may also find himselfas a key contributor ondefense this season, withthe Eagles looking to fillholes left by six graduateddefensive starters.

Aug. 29 Birdville Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 6 Justin Northwest AT&T Stadium 8 p.m.Sept. 12 Highland Park Highlander Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Sherman Bearcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 McKinney North Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Wylie East Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Wylie Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 24 Lovejoy Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 McKinney Ron Poe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Denison Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

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Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 47

>> BRYAN ADAMS COUGARS >> CARROLLTON CREEKVIEW MUSTANGS >> CARROLLTON NEWMAN SMITH TROJANS >> CONRAD CHARGERS>> HILLCREST PANTHERS >> NORTH DALLAS BULLDOGS >> THOMAS JEFFERSON PATRIOTS >> WOODROW WILSON WILDCATS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 11-5A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>SMITH AT WILSON(OCT. 9) The Trojans are looking to useevery scrap of their 2014 campaign toerase the sting of a 2-8 run in 2013. Re-alignment worked in Smith’s favor andwith the playoffs in reach, a matchupagainst the Wildcats will serve as anearly district litmus test for the Trojans.Wilson projects to be in the district titlehunt this fall and the Trojans will learn alot about where they stand this yearbased on how they fare against a sea-soned Wilson squad.

>>HILLCREST AT ADAMS(OCT. 10) Although neither the Cougarsnor Panthers appear ready-made tocrack the Creekview-Wilson echelon ofthe district, that doesn’t mean therewon’t be plenty riding on the outcome ofthis mid-October clash. These two pro-grams could find themselves amid theproverbial playoff bubble as the seasonprogresses and the winner here will havea leg up in grabbing 11-5A’s final playoffspot. Adams has won its past threemeetings against the Panthers.

>>CREEKVIEW AT WILSON(OCT. 31) The scheduling gods did Creekviewand Wilson a favor by slotting this matchupduring the penultimate week of the regularseason. Both will have enough experienceunder their belts, a plus for Creekview consid-ering it will be breaking in a new quarterbackthis season. These two squads project as thetwo best in 11-5A and thanks to the timing ofthe matchup, the winner of this Halloweenshowdown could lock up the district champi-onship.

>>NORTH AT JEFFERSON(NOV. 6) The past three years haven’tbeen particularly kind to North, which hasjust two district victories in its past 21tries. Experience isn’t exactly on the Bull-dogs’ side either, returning just one starteron each side of the ball. But after beingrealigned to 11-5A, this season finalepresents the best opportunity for eitherNorth or Jefferson to notch a district vic-tory. Although neither projects as a playoffcontender just yet, ending the season ona high note can’t be overlooked.

>>CREEKVIEW AT SMITH(NOV. 7) The two largest schools in thedistrict close out the season renewinganother chapter in the city rivalry. TheTrojans and Mustangs have been districtbunkmates for a few years now, splittingthe last four installments of thismatchup, 2-2. The past three meetingshave been decided by seven points orless as well, and although a playoffberth would ensure both programs areslotted in Division I, bragging rights al-ways weigh heavily in this affair.

When the UIL announced the new districts atits biennial realignment meeting last February,coaches and administrators in Carrollton-FarmersBranch ISD were understandably excited to nolonger be competing against the likes of theMesquite schools and Highland Park.

Instead, programs like Creekview and NewmanSmith have been lumped in with Dallas programs ofsimilar enrollment.

The Trojans and Mustangs are hoping that

pays dividends as early as this season with bothprograms eyeing postseason runs.

For Creekview, that would make consecutiveappearances, while Smith is hoping for its firstberth since 2010 when it advanced to the thirdround.

The top competition for the C-FB ISD programsfigures to be Woodrow Wilson.

Last season, the squad went unbeaten in dis-trict (with its closest contest a 34-19 win over Lin-

coln) and cruised past Seagoville in the bi-districtround before bowing out the next week againstMesquite Poteet.

Bryan Adams is also coming off a playoff ap-pearance, while Hillcrest notched only four winsbut brings back nine starters on offense and sevenon defense.

Conrad, North Dallas and Thomas Jefferson fig-ure to bring up the rear after posting just two winsapiece last season for a combined mark of 6-24.

Page 48 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Everything is in place for a banner season forCreekview if the Mustangs can just find a way to re-place the passing combination of David Blough toMarkcus Hardy.

This just one year after the Mustangs returnedto the postseason for the first time since 2008.

Filling the shoes of Blough — now at Purdue —figures to be the tallest task and Creekview willenter fall camp with an open competition betweenseniors Patrick Wood, Josh Drucker and junior Eddie

Cecena. Wood primarily handled the signal-callingduties during 7-on-7 play, but head coach Jay Clinenoted that won’t play a factor in the fall.

Whoever gets the job will benefit from an offen-sive line and backfield that Cline believes could beamong the best Creekview has had.

Up front, things start with senior tackle LarryHughes, who has picked up offers from North Texasand Louisiana-Monroe. Rounding out the line is jun-ior Spencer Lewis at right tackle and seniors An-

drew Lopez and SethMiller at guard with sen-ior Aldo Naranjo andjunior Jordan Simpson incompetition at center.

Cline noted the of-fensive line had themost productive springand summer of any posi-tional unit and is in lineto potentially be thebest line since his ar-rival.

“They can do a lot ofthings and come off theball with explosion,” hesaid. “And they’re ableto do a lot more pullingand are able to get upinto the second level.”

In the backfield, jun-ior Justice Ogueri (108carries for 600 yards andsix touchdowns lastyear) and senior EmoryNelson will pace whatCline believes will be aproductive rushing at-tack.

Receivers includeseniors Aquilian Banks,Dylan Cordray and TonySutherland with seniorZuri Davis expected topick up the slack at tightend.

Expectations arehigh on the defensive end as well and the strengthis in the trenches where the Mustangs possess adeep and versatile group, including junior JulianCueto, senior Joe Davies, junior Major Walker andsenior Phillip Hinojosa.

Linebackers are sophomore Adrian Munoz, jun-iors Matt Hong, Axel Garcia and senior Lucas Wor-thington. Even more experience returns in thesecondary, where seniors Desmond Funches, RileyPfiester and junior Keimone Davis are back.

JUSTICE OGUERIRUNNING BACKThe junior showed flashes in thebackfield as a sophomore and isnow expected to be Creekview’slead back following the gradua-tion of Raul Bustillos. Ogueri is coming off a 2013campaign in which he gainedmore than 5 yards per carry (600yards on 108 attempts with sixtouchdowns).Ogueri will also have the benefitof running behind an offensiveline that head coach Jay Clinebelieves could be the best sincehe has been leading the Mus-tangs. However, Ogueri won’t have toshoulder the entire workload asEmory Nelson and others willcombine for what Cline referredto as a “stable of running backs.”

Aug. 28 Saginaw Chisholm Trail Chisholm Trail Stadium 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5 Frisco Heritage Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Denton C.H. Collins Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 18 Conrad Standridge Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 26 BYEOct. 3 Hillcrest Franklin Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 10 North Dallas Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 16 Bryan Adams Standridge Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Thomas Jefferson Loos Athletic Complex 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Woodrow Wilson Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Carrollton Newman Smith Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

CARROLLTON CREEKVIEW

MUSTANGS

Adrian Gonzales, Creekview defensive back

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 49

A distraction-free offseason is just one of themany reasons head coach Paul Ressa believes theTrojans could be in for a turnaround following a2013 campaign in which the squad went just 2-8.

Ressa was pleased not only with the effort hesaw this spring and on through the summer, butalso with the sheer number of players in campwhich will benefit the Trojans’ depth.

After completing 51 percent of his passes for527 yards and six touchdowns and four intercep-tions in limited action last year, senior CaydeWilliams will see a full workload at quarterback forthe Trojans.

Junior Justyn Hughes will be Williams’ top op-tion in the passing game off a season in which hehad 25 catches for 317 yards and five touchdowns.Senior Alan Veloz splits out wide opposite Hughesand Ressa noted the squad will have multiple qual-ity options in the slot, including junior Tyler English,senior Keelan Stone and junior Muhammed Amin.

Senior Marcus Sonnier will also see time in theslot, but will spend a majority of time behindWilliams as Smith’s top option in the running game.Ressa believes Sonnier will be a great fit for the Tro-

jans’ offense because ofhis patience, vision andpass-catching abilities.

Sonnier will be run-ning behind a beefy of-fensive line that hasimpressed Ressa and thestaff this offseason. Keycogs include seniors Ger-rot Winters, Bryant Lara,Tommy Shelton, juniorJosh Escamilla and seniorAustin Burchett.

Defensively, Smith’ssuccess starts with first-team all-district per-former and senior noseguard Trevor Johnson.

The additional pres-ence of junior MalikCarter and Escamilla hasallowed senior TravisGolden to move from de-fensive end to linebacker.Throw in returning jun-iors Truett Gorden, Adar-ius Boyd and seniorDaniel Brewer and Ressabelieves Smith has a mixof speed and physicalityin the middle of the fieldthat the program has notseen before.

The secondary is an-chored by senior LesterMelontree at safety,while seniors OllenHoward and Anthony Perez are back to man the cor-ner positions.

The Trojans also possess a weapon in the kick-ing game in senior Gilbert Jimenez.

LESTER MELONTREESAFETY Described by head coachPaul Ressa as the quarter-back of the Smith defense,Melontree brings speed, in-stincts and smarts to the po-sition while also possessingsize at 6-foot-2. Last season as a junior, Melon-tree paced Smith in most de-fensive categories, includingtackles (87), interceptions(two), pass breakups (four) andtouchdown-saving tackles(three). He also chipped in asack, two forced fumbles and afumble recovery. The senior figures to be one ofSmith’s more sought-afterplayers to continue in college.

Aug. 28 McKinney North Standridge Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Arlington Seguin Wilemon Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 11 McKinney Ron Poe Stadium 7 p.mSept. 19 BYESept. 26 Bryan Adams Forester Field 7:30 p.m.Oct.2 Thomas Jefferson Standridge Stadium 7 p.m. Oct. 9 Woodrow Wilson Franklin Field 7 p.m.Oct. 17 North Dallas Franklin Field 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 24 Conrad Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Hillcrest Franklin Field 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Carrollton Creekview Standridge Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

NEWMAN SMITH

TROJANS

Please contribute today for more information visitwww.FullTiltGrant.com

FTFT Mission Statement:

The Full-Tilt Full-Time Mark McPhaul Grant(FTFT Grant) was established to promotesafety on the field and leadership off ofthe field. The FTFT Grant seeks to raisefunds to purchase athletic equipment ath-letic equipment that will ensure thatsafety is a top priority for student ath-letes. The grant also seeks to foster stu-dent leaders, recognize them throughoutthe school year and celebrate student ath-letes who display exemplary leadership.

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Mark suffered repeated concussions while play-ing football at Creekview and ultimately neededemergency brain surgery to save his life.

Mark invested his heart and soul into his foot-ball team, his school and his district and it wasall taken away from him because of an injury.

The founders of the FTFT Grant are investingheavily in the safety of our student athletesbut can’t do it alone.

Page 50 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

>> FORNEY JACKRABBITS >> NORTH FORNEY FALCONS >> MESQUITE POTEET PIRATES >> ROCKWALL-HEATH HAWKS >> ROYSE CITY BULLDOGS >> SOUTH GARLAND COLONELS >> TERRELL TIGERS >> WEST MESQUITE WRANGLERS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 12-5A

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>HEATH VS. EULESS TRINITY

(SEPT. 6) This will be the biggest non-dis-trict test any 12-5A team faces when theHawks play the three-time state championTrojans at AT&T Stadium. Trinity, a 11-3 re-gional finalist last year, should boast thesame grinding ground game and stingy de-fense that has made them a perennialpower. This will be a chance for quarterbackJordan Hoy, running back Rico Hendersonand the Hawks offense to see where theystand against a tough opponent.

>>POTEET AT HEATH(SEPT. 25) The opening of the districtseason offers a marquee matchup be-tween a pair of teams touted as 12-5Afavorites. The Hawks believe this is aspecial senior class, and they have anopportunity to make a major state-ment with a win. The biggest questionfor the Pirates is how the quarterbacksituation has been developed throughnon-district play. The winner will takea huge leap forward in the race for thedistrict championship.

>>SOUTH AT WEST (SEPT. 25) Another big game on theopening night of the 12-5A seasonthat could loom large at season’s end.The Wranglers have been able to flip aswitch after some tough early slatesin recent years, winning seven of theirlast eight district openers. A keymatchup to watch will be South’s do-it-all wide receiver Jerminic Smithagainst West’s highly touted second-ary of Josh Butler, Corvette Miles andBailey Phillips.

>>WEST AT POTEET(OCT. 3) The city’s second-oldest ri-valry has taken on greater meaningin recent years with the ascension ofboth programs. Poteet ended aneight-game losing streak in the se-ries with last year’s 31-10 victory, butWest still holds a 13-11 overall edge.A young Pirate secondary will get itsbiggest test of the regular seasonagainst quarterback Chason Virgil,wide receiver Akilian Butler and theWrangler passing attack.

>>NORTH AT FORNEY(NOV. 7) A budding rivarly betweenForney, the old guard, and new kid onthe block North Forney could haveplayoff implications for the first time.Both return experienced quarterbackswith Luke Skipper for the Jackrabbitsand Hunter Herndon for the Falcons.In all, each team returns 12 starters,giving both hope of pushing into theupper tier, but the regular-season fi-nale might decide who breaks throughand who stays home.

Mesquite Poteet, West Mesquite, Forney,North Forney and Terrell happily waved goodbyeto nemesis Highland Park, as well as the twoCarrollton schools during February’s realignment.

But the arrival of Rockwall-Heath and SouthGarland could add two new challengers for the12-5A title.

Poteet, the preseason favorite, has a 42-11record during the last four years with three tripsto the regional finals. The Pirates have starpower in seniors Malik Jefferson, Deandre Mc-

Neal and Jaylon Smith, but are breaking in a newquarterback.

Rockwall-Heath was one of the smallest pro-grams in the largest classification last year but ishoping fortunes change as the largest in 12-5A.

West should be well-prepared for wide-opengames both on offense, with senior quarterbackChason Virgil (Mississippi State) and senior Akil-ian Butler (Boise State), and defense with aloaded secondary.

Forney returns Sophomore of the Year Luke

Skipper at quarterback to go along with a sea-soned defense.

South Garland opted to drop down from itsfellow Garland ISD mates in hopes of recapturingits past success, while newcomer North Forney ishoping this is the year it breaks through.

Terrell has a new coach in Mike Shields, whocame over from Red Oak, while Royse City went1-9 last season and needs a young team to growup in a hurry if they hope to improve on thatmark.

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 51

It was not too long ago – 2010, in fact - that thethought of simply making the playoffs would havebeen hard to comprehend at Poteet.

The times have changed, though, as the Pirateshave posted a 42-11 record during the past four sea-sons with three trips to the regional championshipgame.

A winning culture breeds higher expectationsand that is not lost on anybody affiliated with theprogram.

“These guys have had some success, but wearen’t satisfied,” said Kody Groves, Poteet headcoach. “There are still a lot of things we want to ac-complish and the guys understand that and theycome out and work hard toward getting to wherewe want to be.”

The Pirates will have a new starting quarter-back for the third consecutive season. In fact, theymight have two as sophomore Kaleb Fletcher andjunior Tuck Tucker have split time taking snaps.

Concerns about the quarterback position are al-layed when looking at the rest of the Poteet offense.Senior Deandre McNeal, a highly-touted Class of2015 prospect, is effective out of the backfield and

on the outside as is juniorWalter Dawn. Both play-ers amassed more than1,000 yards rushing andreceiving a year ago.

The running gameshould also be solid, al-though Poteet will bebreaking in several newplayers on the offensiveline around senior DontaeDuff. Senior Jaylon Smith,who had 1,240 yards and19 touchdowns last sea-son, does not need muchof a hole and can runthrough defenders whennothing is there.

Everybody knowsabout senior linebackerMalik Jefferson, one ofthe top recruits in the na-tion, but the strength ofthe Poteet defense goesbeyond its star.

Fellow linebackerZach Barrientos wasnamed district Sopho-more of the Year afterrecording 107 tackles andseniors Morgan Shieldsand Dee Spencer also re-turn to head a strongfront seven.

The main area forconcern for the Pirates isin the secondary, wherethey graduated all four starters. There are promis-ing newcomers ready to step in, but it will takesome time to make the adjustment to the varsitylevel.

MALIK JEFFERSONLINEBACKERJefferson is the most her-alded recruit to come outof Mesquite ISD in recentmemory. He is ranked asthe No. 1 prospect inTexas by Rivals.com and is19th nationally.It is not hard to under-stand why, as Jeffersonrecorded 93 tackles, 18tackles for loss, and 14sacks last season. The 6-2, 214-pounder is laudedfor his versatility, being asolid run-stopper and afearsome pass rusher whois also capable of drop-ping back into coverage.

Aug. 29 Lancaster Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Wylie East Wylie ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Richardson Berkner E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 25 Rockwall-Heath Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 West Mesquite Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Forney Citi Bank Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 17 Royse City Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 23 South Garland Homer B. Johnson Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 North Forney Citi Bank Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Terrell E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

MESQUITE POTEET

PIRATES

Higher Ground Church2635 N. Beltline Rd • Sunnyvale • 214-803-2397 • Highergc.org

Sunday Service: 10amWednesday Service: 7pm

“Blessings to our A�letes”

– John 3:16

MESQUITE POTEET NORTH WEST HORN

Deandre McNeal, Poteet wide receiver

Page 52 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

West never quitegot fully on track lastseason.

Senior quarterbackChason Virgil was in-jured in the secondgame against Wylie andwhile he did return forthe second half of theseason to help lead theWranglers to theireighth consecutiveplayoff appearance,they did not get to thepoint where they were

firing on all cylinders.After a solid spring and a trip to

the state 7-on-7 tournament in July,West is hoping to get off to a quickstart and to build from there.

The Wranglers have an abun-dance of riches on the outside andin the secondary and if they can de-velop on the lines, they feel theyare poised for a special season.

“We feel we have a great groupof skill guys on both offense and de-fense,” said Jeff Neill, West headcoach. “Against anybody, though, alot is going to come down to thetrenches and we just need to con-tinue to get better to get us wherewe need to be.”

The Wranglers have a new of-fensive coordinator in Seth Bell,who has added some new looks.That should only help Virgil, theMississippi State pledge who threwfor 1,440 yards and11 touchdowns de-spite missingnearly four games.

Virgil has a go-

to receiver in senior Akilian Butler(37-446), who has committed toBoise State, and junior Dee Ander-son could be a breakout star.

Senior Le’Billie Hunter, whorushed for 775 yards and eighttouchdowns while splitting carrieslast year, will shoulder a larger rolein the running game.

Defensively, the Wranglers willfeature one of the best secondariesin the state. Senior Josh Butler, whohas several college offers, can playeither safety or at the corner. SeniorCorvette “Speedy” Miles playslarger than his 5-7 frame and juniorBailey Phillips is a top Class of 2016recruit after his breakout sopho-more season.

The key early on for West is toplug some holes in the front sevenprior to the start of the district sea-son.

Aug. 28 Arlington Seguin Wilemon Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Wylie Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Red Oak Goodloe Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 25 South Garland Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 3 Mesquite Poteet Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 10 Terrell Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Rockwall-Heath Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 23 North Forney Mesquite Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Forney E.H. Hanby Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Royse City Royse City ISD Stadium 7:30 p.m.

* Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

WEST MESQUITE

WRANGLERS

Akilian Butler, West wide receiver Billy Hunter, West running back

CHASON VIRGILQUARTERBACKVirgil, who has committedto Mississippi State, hasstarted since his fresh-man season. Despitemissing time during hisfreshman and junior cam-paigns, he has thrown for4,487 yards and 40 touch-downs with the Wranglers.Virgil does have the abilityto run, although he prefersto stay in the pocket. Witha wealth of options on theoutside, including BoiseState commit Akilian But-ler, Virgil is ready to showhe has saved his best sea-son for last.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

>> “WE FEEL WE HAVE A GREATGROUP OF SKILL GUYS ON BOTHOFFENSE AND DEFENSE.”–JEFF NEILL, WEST HEAD COACH

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 53

>> ARGYLE EAGLES >> CARROLLTON RANCHVIEW WOLVES >> DALLAS CARTER COWBOYS >> DALLAS PINKSTON VIKINGS >> SANGER INDIANS >> WILMER HUTCHINS EAGLES

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 6-4A DIV. I

>> THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>ARGYLE VS. DENISON(SEPT. 5) The Eagles will return to thescene of their state championship tri-umph, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, for ashowdown in early September versusthe up-and-coming Yellowjackets. Oneof four co-district 13-4A champions lastyear, Denison will make a statement tothe rest of the 5A football scene thisyear if it can find a way to knock off Ar-gyle in this neutral site contest.

>>CARTER AT KIMBALL

(SEPT. 6) Once one of the premier foot-ball rivalries in the state, Carter andKimball have shared the same districtmore than a time or two. The Knightsare classified a division above theCowboys in the current UIL layout, butthe two Dallas ISD squads managed toschedule each other once again in anon-district battle that should invokea big crowd and a bit of history.

>>CELINA AT ARGYLE(SEPT. 12) Former district rivals collideonce again in a non-district matchupbetween the Eagles and the Bobcats.While Celina will be intent on provingthat last year’s 63-13 loss to Argylewas a fluke, it won’t be an easy task.The Eagles have outscored the Bob-cats by a combined 88 points in twowins over the latter in their previoustwo meetings as part of 10-3A.

>>ARGYLE AT CARTER(OCT. 24)Both of these new districtrivals have a storied history of suc-cess as football programs, albeit indifferent eras. The Cowboys won’tfeel any remorse for crashing the Ea-gles’ party, though, and will be eagerto prove they are a force to be reck-oned with after moving down to the4A level for the next two seasons.Kincaid Stadium will be packed forthis one.

>> CARROLLTON RANCHVIEW AT PINKSTON

(NOV. 7) Games aren’t played on paper, butas it stands, Argyle, Carter and Sanger projectto be the early playoff favorites from 6-4A.That leaves one spot for three teams, asRanchview, Pinkston and Hutchins vie for thefinal playoff seed. Fast forward to Week 10and this late-season battle betweenRanchview and Pinkston, which doubles asthe regular-season finale for both programs,could very well determine who’s out andwho’s in when it comes to the postseason.

Last year’s District 6-4A layout featured nineschools.

Thanks to the UIL’s biennial realignment, thenewly formed 6-4A Division I features only sixprograms, and one returning state champion.

Argyle, fresh off a 16-0 season and 3A Divi-sion II state title, will not be in familiar districtterritory when it comes to defending the crown.Gone are former regional mates Celina, Aubrey,

Anna and Frisco Lone Star. In their place are Dallas Carter, Wilmer

Hutchins, Dallas Pinkston, Sanger and CarrolltonRanchview. Though the grouping doesn’t havethe same level of talent on paper as 10-3A, itshould still serve as a tough test to Argyle’sreign.

Carter has the prestige and history of itsdominance from the 90s to fall back on, while

Sanger returns seven starters on both sides ofthe ball.

But the clear cream of the crop here is Ar-gyle, which will navigate a brutal non-districtschedule leading into three road games duringthe 6-4A slate. Carter and Sanger should providethe biggest challenges, but the Eagles have thechops to get out of the district unscathed inhopes of making another deep postseason run.

Page 54 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

The third time in the state championshipgame was the charm last season for Argyle. A 38-33 win over Fairfield in the Class 3A Division IItitle game cemented the Eagles’ place among thetop-flight programs in the state.

After the loss of both title-game MVPs (widereceiver Ian Sadler and linebacker Colton Hin-nrichs) to graduation, though, there are holes tofill if Argyle will repeat as champions at the 4Alevel this season.

The return of running back and senior NickRalston, along with Clemson commit and seniortight end J.C. Chalk, will soften the blow on of-fense, but the Eagles are breaking in a new quar-terback (Cooper Rodgers) and new faces on theoffensive line.

Defensively, only three starters return. The Eagles haven’t filled their schedule with

soft opponents early on to tip the balance in theirfavor, either.

Right off the bat, Argyle will host AbileneWylie, a perennial powerhouse, followed by Deni-son, familiar foe Celina and Graham, the DivisionII 7-on-7 State Tournament winner.

In 6-4A Division I,Argyle will be joined bythe likes of DallasCarter and Sanger,which promise to offer adifferent look to theschemes the Eaglessaw in 10-3A the pasttwo seasons. It cer-tainly changes theirtravel slate, which nowincludes trips to Dallasand Carrollton for awaygames.

Regardless, Argyleagain has the talent onpaper and the experi-ence of head coachTodd Rodgers to be con-sidered one of the top4A teams in the state.

Challenges, such asreplacing 14 startersand stacking up with afew of the toughestteams in the state earlyin the season, will existfor the Eagles, but thebottom line is simple: Adistrict title and anotherdeep playoff run areonce again the expecta-tions for this team.

NICK RALSTONRUNNING BACKRalston rushed for over1,800 yards and 31 touch-downs last season, butwas somewhat overshad-owed due to teammateand incoming Texas Techfreshman Sadler’s all-around standout play. This year, the ArizonaState commit is poised foranother monster seasonas the first option out ofArgyle’s backfield. If healso receives the departedSadler’s carries, the2,000-yard thresholdwon’t be out of reach forRalston.

Aug. 29 Abilene Wylie Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Denison AT&T Stadium 2 p.m.Sept. 12 Celina Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Graham Newton Field 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Paris Wildcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 BYEOct. 9 Carrollton Ranchview Standridge Stadium 7 p.m.*Oct. 17 Wilmer Hutchins Eagle Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 24 Carter Kincaid Stadium 7 p.m.Oct. 31 Pinkston Eagle Stadium 7 p.m.Nov. 7 Sanger Indian Stadium 7 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

ARGYLE

EAGLES

Ian Sadler, Argyle wide receiver

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 55

>> ANNA COYOTES >> AUBREY CHAPARRALS >> BONHAM WARRIORS >> BRIDGEPORT BULLS >> CELINA BOBCATS >> KRUM BOBCATS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 3-4A DIV II

>> THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>>CELINA AT ARGYLE(SEPT. 12) These former 10-3A foes could-n’t get enough of each other. AlthoughCelina and Argyle will no longer square offwith a district title on the line, the twoperennial playoff teams will meet onceagain during non-district action. ForCelina, the game presents a chance for re-venge after dropping a pair of blowouts(63-13 in 2013 and 45-7 in 2012) with titleimplications. A win could also give Celinaan unbeaten regular-season mark andadded momentum for a postseason run.

>>MELISSA AT CELINA(SEPT. 26) Celina and Melissa have met ineach of the last two regular-season openers,with each team coming away with a closewin. Last season, the Bobcats won (33-29)with a last-minute touchdown courtesy of a46-yard pass from Nathan Elliott to CashConder. The Cardinals left the game with thesame feeling Celina did a year prior afterdropping a 2012 contest (18-13) in the final10 seconds. This Sept. 26 matchup presentsa tiebreaking scenario just two weeks afterCelina’s dogfight against Argyle.

>>BONHAM AT AUBREY(OCT. 10) While Bonham appears to beCelina’s biggest challenger in 3-4A thisseason, Aubrey has other ideas. TheChaparrals could jump into the driver’sseat for the No. 2 seed with a win in thisOct. 10 matchup. For Bonham, openingdistrict action with a loss to Aubreywould be a devastating blow for anyhope of contending for a district title.Look for the winner of this game to bat-tle Anna for the No. 2 seed, leaving theloser clinging to a potential fourth spot.

>>BONHAM AT CELINA(OCT. 24) Bonham likely presents thebiggest challenge for Celina during 3-4Aaction this season. Aside from the Bob-cats (9-2), the Warriors (5-7) were theonly 3-4A team to win more than threegames last season. A win against Bon-ham in this Oct. 24 matchup would allbut ensure a Celina district champi-onship after a brief drought in District10-3A. A Bonham upset would likelyclinch one of four playoff spots for headcoach Cody Bounds and the Warriors.

>>AUBREY AT ANNA(NOV. 7) If Celina and Bonham claim thetop two spots in 3-4A this season, it willlikely be Aubrey and Anna battling for theNo. 3 seed. Anna brings back talentedrunning back Isaac Armijo, who ran for1,531 yards and 25 touchdowns last sea-son. However, Armijo’s Coyotes managedjust three wins in 11 games. Aubrey will beunder new leadership after a 2-8 mark in2013. Head coach Keith Ivy will look togive the Chaparrals a quick turnaround inthe top-heavy district.

Celina had more than its share of competitionduring a stay in District 10-3A.

The Bobcats had all they could handle in de-fending state champion Argyle, but now move tothe more winnable 3-4A Division II minus the Ea-gles.

With Argyle’s departure, Celina should return toits championship-contending ways despite a sixthteam to compete against. Joining the Bobcats will

be Anna, Aubrey, Bonham, Bridgeport and Krum.Of the five district foes, Bonham presents the

biggest obstacle to Celina winning the 3-4A crown.The Warriors posted a 5-7 mark last season and re-turn five starters on each side of the ball.

Competition will likely be balanced after theBobcats though, with four of the five remainingteams losing eight games or more last season.

Bridgeport was the worst of the group in 2013

and finished with an 0-10 mark. The Bulls will lookfor a big turnaround despite losing 13 starters.

Anna boasts one of the most talented runners inthe district, with Isaac Armijo returning after a stel-lar 2013 season. Armijo tallied 1,531 yards and 25touchdowns for the 3-8 Coyotes.

Expect Celina, Bonham and Anna to claim threeof the four playoff berths, while Aubrey and Krumbattle for the final spot.

Page 56 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Celina no longer has to worry about the likes ofArgyle and Lone Star.

With the Bobcats transitioning to District 3-4ADivision II this season, things should get much eas-ier during district action.

Celina will join Anna, Aubrey, Bonham, Bridge-port and Krum in the new district and will enter theseason as heavy favorites for the championship.

“It’s time to get ready for some real football,”said Bill Elliott, Celina head coach.

Four of Celina’s five district foes lost eight ormore games last season, with Bonham’s 5-7 markthe best of the group.

The Bobcats bring back a talented junior classheadlined by quarterback Nathan Elliott, who com-mitted to North Carolina during the offseason.

“We have a really good group of kids,” coachElliott said. “They’ve been playing together for along time and are really focused on what they wantto do.”

Elliott joins eight other starters back on offense,giving the Bobcats a high-scoring attack.

That offensive success will make things easieron a defense that struggled at the end of last sea-

son. The Bobcats surren-dered 118 points in thefinal two games of theseason, including a 55-49playoff loss to Gainesvillein the opening round.

Junior Jarren Alexan-der will likely get a heavydose of carries after asophomore campaignthat featured 433 yardsand six touchdowns on71 carries.

Senior Collin Schmid,who tallied 436 yardsand four scores on 64 at-tempts, will also returnto add depth in the back-field.

Defense remains thebiggest question markthough, and a turn-around would likely beled by senior linebackerTrenton Hambrick, seniordefensive back PaytonBaird, senior cornerbackJeff Sims and sophomoresafety Conner Pengleton.

“We saw someyoung kids that rose up[during the offseason],”coach Elliott said. “It’sgood to see those youngguys coming throughlike that.”

The Bobcats open the season with an Aug. 29game against Argyle Liberty Christian. Celina thenmeets several familiar foes before the start of dis-trict, with Argyle and Melissa scheduled for Sept.12 and Sept. 26, respectively.

JEFF SIMSCORNERBACKThe Celina defense will belooking to start the 2014season better than itended 2013.The Bobcats surrendered118 points in their finaltwo games of the season,including a 55-49 loss toGainesville in the openinground of the playoffs. Ifthe defense gets back toits shutdown ways, Simscould play a key role in theturnaround. Sims finishedthe offseason strong byintercepting four passesduring the state 7-on-7tournament in CollegeStation.

Aug. 29 Argyle Liberty Christian Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Dallas Bryan Adams Forester Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Argyle Eagle Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Bishop Lynch Roffino Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Melissa Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 BYE*Oct. 10 Anna Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Bridgeport Bull Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Bonham Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Aubrey Chaparral Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Krum Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

CELINA

BOBCATS

Our Team - Our Town

Member FDIC

Celina302 S. Preston Road

(972) 382-2347

TexasStarBank.com

Nathan Elliott, Celina quarterback

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 57

>> CADDO MILLS FOXES >> COMMERCE TIGERS >> DALLAS LIFE OAK CLIFF LIONS >> RED OAK LIFE MUSTANGS >> SCURRY-ROSSER WILDCATS >> SUNNYVALE RAIDERS

>> PREVIEW: DISTRICT 6-3A DIV. I

>> THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>> LONE OAK AT SCURRY-ROSSER

(AUG. 29) An early-season clash betweenthe 6-3A D-I favorite Scurry-Rosser and LoneOak, the coaches’ preseason pick to win 6-3AD-II. There should be plenty of offense, pittingScurry-Rosser quarterback Paten Snell, whothrew for 3,230 yards and 36 touchdownswhile rushing for 995 yards and eight scoreslast season, against Lone Oak’s two-headedattack of quarterback Jake Williams (2,550yards, 36 touchdowns) and running backDevin Shaw (1,586 yards, 18 touchdowns).

>>SUNNYVALE AT COMMERCE

(OCT. 24) Both teams are breaking in newquarterbacks to start the season but thatshould not be a factor at this stage of theyear. The teams have split the head-to-headmeetings during the last two years, with theRaiders claiming a 31-21 win last season. IfSunnyvale takes care of business during itsfirst two district games, this could be theweek it is able to punch a ticket to the play-offs for the first time in school history.

>>CADDO MILLS AT SUNNYVALE

(OCT. 31) The team might downplay it,but Sunnyvale would love to gain ameasure of revenge against Caddo Mills.A year ago, a missed extra point provedto be the difference in a 41-40 overtimevictory for the Foxes that sent them tothe playoffs instead of the Raiders.Caddo Mills held Sunnyvale to 31 rush-ing yards in that game, while DavidChandler had 126 yards and two scoreson the ground for the Foxes.

>>COMMERCE AT CADDO MILLS

(NOV. 7) Commerce could be playing with apostseason berth on the line. It was not toolong ago that the Tigers boasted one of thetop programs in the state. They made theplayoffs every year from 1991-2005, winningstate titles in 1999 and 2001 and finishing asthe runner-up on two other occasions. Com-merce has made the playoffs just twicesince that stretch and this could be thegame that determines if they return to thepostseason or stay home once again.

>>SUNNYVALE AT SCURRY-ROSSER

(NOV. 7) If the preseason district pollsare any indication, Sunnyvale might notonly be heading to the playoffs for thefirst time in school history, but this sea-son finale might be for the 6-3A D-Ichampionship. Snell is dangerous be-cause of his ability to not only throw theball but also make plays with his legs.That scrambling ability will be put to thetest against Sunnyvale linebackersHunter Allen and Conner Mears.

A new classification ushers in a much differ-ent look in 6-3A Division I.

Sunnyvale, Caddo Mills and Commerce re-main district mates, where they are joined byRed Oak Life, as well as Scurry-Rosser and DallasLife Oak Cliff, who were both Division II last year.

The favorite going into the season is Scurry-Rosser, which posted a 12-1 record and advancedto the regional semifinals. The Wildcats return 12starters, including star quarterback Paten Snell, a

dual threat who had 4,225 total yards and 44touchdowns last season.

Sunnyvale has some big holes to fill, but theyhave a workhorse in the backfield in Abdul Kha-laf and playmakers on defense with linebackersHunter Allen and Conner Mears.

Caddo Mills had a losing record, but wonwhen it counted during district play to make theplayoffs and they return running back DavidChandler (874 yards, nine touchdowns) and a

solid defense.Red Oak Life put up some big offensive num-

bers last season and could do so again with run-ning back Kaine Blake (224-1,415) and receiverNick Forde (46-889).

Commerce will be trying to catch up after JeffCleveland took over in a late-spring coachingchange, while Dallas Life Oak Cliff is hoping theunderclassmen who played last season can takea big step forward.

Page 58 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

Sunnyvale had seen last season’s script before.For the second consecutive year, the Raiders

posted a strong 7-3 record, but it was not enough toearn the program’s first playoff berth.

What was even more painful is that Sunnyvale’sthree district losses came by a total of seven points,including one on a last-second field goal and an-other on a failed extra-point conversion in overtime.

But August represents a fresh start and theRaiders are eager to write a new chapter, one thatincludes them playing in Week 12.

The new 6-3A Division I appears to line up wellfor that to happen. With the exception of regionalsemifinalist Scurry-Rosser, Sunnyvale is the onlyother team that posted a winning record last sea-son and the remaining four squads had a combined9-32 record.

But the Raiders are not getting ahead of them-selves.

Among the early challenges will be finding re-placements for quarterback Ryan Cottingame andwide receiver Josh Quinn, who were each three-year starters and first-team all-district selections.

The good news for the Sunnyvale is that senior

running back Abdul Kha-laf returns after rushingfor 960 yards and 11touchdowns last season.The senior could be theworkhorse while thepassing game develops.

The new signal callerwill have a proven com-modity in junior receiverLawson Ayo (36-611,nine touchdowns), andthe offensive line shouldbe solid, led by senior all-district selection CalebBeard.

Defensively, theRaiders’ front sevenshould be stout, espe-cially at linebacker withseniors Hunter Allen andConner Mears, who com-bined for 285 tackles lastseason.

Senior Evan Adrianand junior Curt Fitzger-ald, who also had 100tackles last year, will an-chor the defensive line,while seniors MatthewPettway and Joey Rosatowill help lead someyounger faces in the sec-ondary.

At first glance, Sun-nyvale appears to havethe talent and the sched-ule to make the playoffs for the first time, but theyunderstand they still have to prove it on the field.

ABDUL KHALAFRUNNING BACKThe senior was somewhatovershadowed due toSunnyvale’s high-poweredpassing attack, but he fig-ures to play a much moreprominent role as theRaiders break in a newquarterback. Khalaf iscertainly capable of theassignment. Last season,he had 132 carries for 960yards, an average of 7.3yards per attempt, and 11touchdowns. He is also avaluable asset catchingthe ball, where he had 20receptions for 282 yardsand three scores.

Aug. 29 Godley Raider Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Eustace Bulldog Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Community Raider Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 Venus Bulldog Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 26 Redwater Dragon Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 BYE*Oct. 10 Red Oak Life Raider Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Dallas Life Oak Cliff Raider Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Commerce Memorial Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Caddo Mills Raider Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Scurry-Rosser Wildcats Stadium 7:30 p.m.

* Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

SUNNYVALE

RAIDERS

ProudSupportersof our SunnyvaleFootballTeam

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Demetrius Gray, Sunnyvale wide receiver

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 59

>> ARGYLE LIBERTY CHRISTIAN WARRIORS >> BISHOP DUNNE FALCONS >> BISHOP LYNCH FRIARS >> FORT WORTH NOLAN VIKINGS >> JOHN PAUL II CARDINALS >> MIDLAND CHRISTIAN MUSTANGS >> PRESTONWOOD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY LIONS >> TRINITY CHRISTIAN-ADDISON TROJANS

>> PREVIEW: TAPPS I-1

>>THE TOP FIVE: WHICH GAMES TO WATCH THIS YEAR

>> TRINITY AT NOLAN(OCT. 10) Although Nolan has won sevenTAPPS state titles since Trinity lasthoisted a championship in 2000, the Tro-jans have shown a knack for playing theVikings close recently. The X-factor hasbeen Trinity rusher Nahshon Ellerbe,who has totaled more than 400 yards ofoffense and eight touchdowns againstthe typically airtight Nolan defense. Theresult has been two meetings decidedby a combined four points. Oh, and thosetwo games totaled 93 and 85 points.

>> LYNCH AT JOHN PAUL(OCT. 10) Last year, a late-season winover El Paso Cathedral wound up beingenough to sneak the Cardinals into theplayoffs for the first time ever. John Paul’sschedule doesn’t feature a similarmatchup late this fall, but this midseasonclash looms large for any potential Cardi-nal playoff hopes. Not only will John Paulneed a win here to put itself in playoff po-sition, but what a better way to begin newhead coach John Furin’s tenure than bywinning its first district game since 2009?

>>PRESTONWOODAT MIDLAND

(OCT. 17) The schedule doesn’t do the Lionsany favors by slotting matchups againstMidland and Nolan in consecutive weeks,and this mid-October encounter marks thefirst leg of Prestonwood’s chance to assertitself as a feared state title contender. InMidland’s case, this is a proving groundmatchup for the Mustangs to show they be-long among the Division I elite. Expect thepoints to come quick and fast between thedistrict’s two most experienced offenses.

>>NOLAN AT PRESTONWOOD

(OCT. 24) When a state championshipgame rematch is on the regular seasondocket, it’s probably worth going out ofone’s way to watch. The Lions denied aNolan two-point conversion attemptwith 14 seconds left to win the firstmeeting between the two last year andthe Vikings went on to return the favor inthe TAPPS Division I title game. Thismatchup is the best thing going in TAPPSfootball these days.

>>NOLAN AT MIDLAND(NOV. 7) This matchup pits TAPPS DivisionI’s irresistible force against TAPPS DivisionII’s immovable object. A meeting that fea-tures a combined 14 state championshipsbetween the two programs, Midland will beplenty adjusted to the Division I landscapeby the time November rolls around for itstest against the reigning champs. Couplethat with this being the season finale forboth programs and potential playoff seed-ing at stake, and the ramifications get a tadlarger than mere bragging rights.

In recent years, it’s become increasingly ap-parent that the state’s premier outlet for top-flight private school football is in this verydistrict.

For the fifth time in six years, two schoolsfrom TAPPS I-1 clashed for the Division I StateChampionship, as Fort Worth Nolan edged Pre-stonwood Christian Academy, 24-21, for its thirdstraight state title.

If the current TAPPS talent pool is any indica-tion, the Metroplex’s private school ensemble has

up to four programs with legitimate title aspira-tions this year. Prestonwood is as experienced asany squad in TAPPS, while the Vikings still haveenough talent in tow to weather the graduationof some key starters.

One rung below those two sits state semifi-nalist Trinity Christian-Addison, which returnssix starters on each side of the ball and has thefirepower to boast the state’s top offense.

Argyle Liberty Christian will attempt to re-bound under new head coach Barton Hundley,

who will have one of the state’s most experi-enced defenses to fall back on. However, BishopDunne, Bishop Lynch and John Paul II all sharesimilar optimism with at least 13 returningstarters apiece.

Of course, neither of the aforementionedseven schools were done any favors after TAPPSadded Division II powerhouse Midland Christian,winners of seven state championships, to thefold.

Page 60 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

With the firing of longtime head coach GregPrice, Liberty banded together some of the oldguard of Lewisville ISD.

New head coach Barton Hundley was the defen-sive backs coach for the Warriors the past three sea-sons under Price and served in the same positionwith Lewisville back in 2006. Joining Hundley’s staffand calling plays for the offense will be former LISDathletic director Randy Mayes.

Mayes, who announced his retirement from theposition with LISD in April, was on the sideline op-posite Hundley for the “Battle of the Axe” when hewas the head coach of Flower Mound Marcus for sixseasons until requesting reassignment after the2007 season.

While the coaching change was unexpected, theneed for a new quarterback has become routine forthe Warriors.

Warriors alum and Kansas State University com-mit Colby Moore was the latest in a line of quarter-backs to put up a great statistical season beforedeparting via graduation. Moore was a dual threatat the position, whether it was through the air(2,272 yards, 25 touchdowns, 14 interceptions) or on

the ground (1,271 yardsand 15 touchdowns).

With Moore gone, thenext Warrior up is seniorquarterback Drew Hunni-cut.

Hunnicut’s timeunder center was limitedwith Moore, but he didput on quite the show inlast season’s openeragainst Springtown.

In that game, he hitsenior wide receiver andlinebacker Danny DavidLinahan with a 12-yardgame-winning touch-down pass in the fourthquarter to defeat Spring-town, 44-41. He finishedthe game completing 19-of-24 passes for 284 yardsand three touchdowns.

The Warriors’ offensewill also contain two ca-pable targets for theirnew starting quarterbackwith junior wide receiverJustus Lee (523 receivingyards, six touchdowncatches) and sophomorereceiver Jalen Hurt.

Returning defenders– including senior line-backer Hunter Griffithand junior defensive backGivon Washington –should also help ease the transition behind centerand on the sidelines, but may not have the Warriorscontending just yet with the likes of PrestonwoodChristian Academy in the district.

DANNY DAVIDLINAHANWIDE RECEIVER/LINEBACKER/DEFENSIVE BACKLinahan may not have knownwhere his team’s bench waswith how much he was on thefield for the Warriors.In addition to playing wide re-ceiver for Liberty, Linahan alsospent time at linebacker andeven defensive back.He came up big in wins overSpringtown, 44-41, – with twotouchdown catches – and TrinityChristian-Addison, 40-37, whenhe recovered an onside kick toseal the win.Linahan exemplifies the overallversatility of the Warriors’ roster.

Aug. 29 Celina Bobcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 5 Springtown Bowles Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Melissa Bowles Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYE*Sept. 26 Fort Worth Nolan Bowles Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Bishop Lynch Roffino Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Midland Christian Mustang Field 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Bishop Dunne Bowles Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Trinity Christian-Addison Tom Landry Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Prestonwood Christian AcademyBowles Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 John Paul II Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

ARGYLE LIBERTY CHRISTIAN

WARRIORS

Justus Lee, Liberty wide receiver

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 61

This fall gives rise to a new era in John Paulfootball, as John Furin embarks on his first seasonwith the Cardinals.

Hired in April, Furin brings 30 years of coachingexperience, including several years on the interna-tional football circuit, plus the luxury of havingserved as a coordinator on both offense and de-fense. It’s a change that in its infant stages, is res-onating with the Cardinals.

“I think that our attitude has been tremen-dous,” Furin said. “These kids are just awesomeand their football knowledge has improved tremen-dously. They’ve been great at learning our tech-niques and executing both the offense anddefense.”

That’s all Furin and John Paul can hope for atthis juncture. What happens when that tutelage isput into practice on Friday nights is a whole otherdiscussion.

The Cardinals will be looking to use this seasonto steadily begin exorcising eight years worth ofhardships on the gridiron. Although last fall culmi-nated in John Paul’s first-ever playoff berth, it camefollowing a 1-9 regular season. Overall, the Cardi-

nals have never wonmore than three games ina single season.

Working in JohnPaul’s favor is an experi-enced cast, courtesy ofreturning 14-of-22starters from last season.Eight of those veteransreside on defense, includ-ing senior linebackersTommy Angeloni, whomFurin has dubbed “theheart and soul” of theunit, and Merek Pierce.Juniors Zach Goodman,Mitch McCoy, seniorDanan Brown and sopho-more Austin Tyler arenames to monitor in thesecondary, as is juniorClay Stahl up front.

The Cardinals stillproject to feature severalplayers on both sides ofthe ball, although theplay-making abilities ofPierce and Brown couldprove that a worthwhileendeavor. Brown is backas John Paul’s lead run-ning back, while Pierceprojects to be utilized inboth a rushing and re-ceiving role this season.

For the third straightyear, John Paul will breakin a new starter under center, as junior AndrewHaidet assumes the reins after 2013 starter ZachNorris transferred back to Plano West.

DANAN BROWNRUNNING BACK/SAFETYAfter splitting carries withSenior Merek Pierce lastseason, Brown projects asJohn Paul’s lead back andcould emerge as the Cardi-nals’ premier playmaker. As ajunior, Brown rushed for 425yards and three touchdownson 95 carries, while bagging151 receiving yards.Brown’s responsibility hasincreased with each seasonon varsity. After turning in astrong spring, coupled withthe Cardinals making it apoint to stretch opposingdefenses this season, Brownwill get plenty of chances tomake an impression.

>> PLAYERTO WATCH

JOHN PAUL II

CARDINALS

Aug. 29 Arlington Oakridge Jeff Conatser Memorial Stadium 7 p.m.Sept. 5 Irving Cistercian Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Dallas Christian Charger Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Bishop Dunne Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 3 Prestonwood Christian Academy Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 10 Bishop Lynch Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Trinity Christian-Addison Tom Landry Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Midland Christian Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Fort Worth Nolan Doskocil Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Argyle Liberty Christian Cardinals Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

Keegan Ferer, John Paul wide receiver

Page 62 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014

The Lions grew up by the game last season,and despite possessing one of the youngest ros-ters in TAPPS competition, still carved out a spotin the Division I State Championship Game.

The bad news: Fort Worth Nolan’s veteranguise brought an abrupt halt to that narrative,edging the Lions, 24-21, for the TAPPS crown anddenying Prestonwood a third state championshipin the past five years.

The good news: Last year’s youth becomesthis year’s experience for the Lions, who return14 starters from their 2013 state runner-upsquad, including nine on offense. Some of thoseoffensive stalwarts might even see time on theother side of the ball as well, which was an em-phasis during the spring.

“We’ll probably have a few more guys play-ing both sides of the ball because they can,” saidChris Cunningham, Prestonwood head coach.“They’ve had the spring to work the other sideand didn’t have to spend the whole time on theirprimary side of the ball because they pretty wellhad it down.”

Names like senior Eric Stevenson (running

back and linebacker)and junior CollinWhitaker (receiver andsafety) project as poten-tial two-way threats.Both are among thebevy of skill-positionplayers Prestonwood re-turns, alongside incum-bent running back andjunior Ryan Bradberry,and junior wideoutsJonathan Heasley andMichael Irvin.

Add senior TwayneBlackwell to that mix aswell. After splittingreps at quarterbackwith junior Ryan Cashlast season, Blackwellprojects to see moretime as a receiver thisseason, while Cash willbe entrenched as theday one starter undercenter.

That unit figures toshoulder the load forthe Lions early, whilethe defense gets up tospeed. They’ll look to doon the backs of playerslike junior linebackerDeOnte Williams, juniordefensive lineman WillJones and senior safetyJeremiah Caldwell.

If that side of the ball can match pace withPrestonwood’s offense by November, a return tothe state title game may well be in the cards forthe Lions.

ERIC STEVENSONLINEBACKER/RUNNING BACKTransferring to Preston-wood from Coppell lastyear, Stevenson turned ina stellar 2013 campaignon both sides of the ball.Emerging as a force atlinebacker, Stevenson tal-lied 74 tackles, six sacksand two interceptions. Aslast season progressed,Stevenson garnered car-ries out of the backfield,adding 285 rushing yards(9.8 yards per carry) andfour touchdowns – mostlyagainst playoff competi-tion. He projects to see aneven bigger role at bothpositions this fall.

Aug. 30 Houston Episcopal UNT 4 p.m.Sept. 5 IMG Academy Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 12 Sherman Bearcat Stadium 7:30 p.m.Sept. 19 BYESept. 26 Trinity Christian-Addison Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.*Oct. 3 John Paul II Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 10 Bishop Dunne Earl Hayes Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 17 Midland Christian Mustang Field 7:30 p.m.Oct. 24 Fort Worth Nolan Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.Oct. 31 Argyle Liberty Christian Warrior Stadium 7:30 p.m.Nov. 7 Bishop Lynch Lions Stadium 7:30 p.m.

*Homecoming

>> VARSITY SCHEDULE

>>PLAYERTO WATCH

PRESTONWOOD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

LIONS

Twayne Blackwell, Prestonwood wide receiver

Week of August 25, 2014 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Page 63

Page 64 — Gridiron Preview 2014 — Week of August 25, 2014