20 Days 'Til
Texas Football: Depth does not lead to despair in 13-2A
08/08/2009
Editor's Note: We start the 20-day
countdown to the start of the Texas High School football season with our
third-annual "20 Days 'Till Texas Football,"
which will name, in our estimation, the toughest district, the breakout player,
the top darkhorse and the preseason MVP for all five
11-man classifications.
By Travis
Stewart/TexasFootball
Last year, Caddo Mills won 11
football games and pushed all the way into the regional semis. Now, it sports
both of the district's preseason MVPs, RB Nathan Jeffery (an FBS prospect who
could have made it as a DB) and LB Jacob Page. It didn't undergo a coaching
change, it returns 10 starters and it's not doing anything drastic to its game
plan.
Yeah -- in 13-2A, that's only
good enough for second.
This somewhat East Texas district --
Caddo Mills, for example, is only about 30 miles east of downtown Dallas -- is
probably the toughest in 2A football. Part of that equation (OK, a big part) is
that 13-2A is eight-teams wide, and only one of those eight really has no
chance at making the playoffs (Alba-Golden, but we'll get there.) The top three
teams -- Lone Oak, Caddo Mills and Winnsboro -- are all good. Really good. Each played at least 12 games last season and
won 10 or more of them, and now all returning at least 10 starters -- Caddo
Mills has 10, Winnsboro has 15 and Lone Oak brings back an impressive 17. Find
me a tougher trio than that, and I'll relent.
But the teams behind them aren't
just random throw-aways, either. Grand Saline,
Cooper, Quitman and Como-Pickton have all strung
together consistent postseason success at least some point in this decade -- be
it three or four years, all four of those teams have had good showings since
the turn of the century. The top three teams may be tough to crack, but if you
want a quad of talent that can throw a wrench in things, you're looking at it.
And that just leaves us with
Alba-Golden. Times have been tough for the Panthers, no lie. 0-10
last year. 4-6 the year before. So on and so
on. No playoff appearance since 1988. But there's a new sheriff in town,
Thrall's Gary Schultz, and who knows what kind of shake up that can provide.
Small schools can turn around on a dime sometimes. Check out Cayuga or Maud.
But
there's a great deal of individual talent out in 13-2A, as well. Caddo Mills' Jeffery could play RB or DB at the collegiate
level, and I've heard it said that at least TCU (shocker!) has expressed heavy
interest in the small school star. Como-Pickton gives
us a consistent runner in James Carter (1,600+ yards in two years). Lone Oak's
Trenton Overly caught 14 touchdowns and more than 1,100 yards worth of passes
in '08. And Quitman RB/LB Devontae McNeal is a
two-way talent that should be a first-team all district kind of guy.
So what's not to like about 13-2A? Unless of course you're a part of it. But hey, from the stands
-- thanks for the show!
THE
OTHER FIVE
In numerical order
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District
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Noteworthy
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DISTRICT 3-2A
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I always think eight-team
districts are tougher to navigate than their smaller brethren, and 3-2A is no
exception. Littlefield deserved better last season -- after an 11-0 start, it
suffered its only loss to eventual champ Muleshoe. Idalou returns just three
familiar faces, but the program is traditionally strong; with Post bringing
back 14 starters after a 5-5 season and Lubbock Roosevelt riding the high of
last year's surge to the third round, the top four of this district is pretty
solid. The next two teams, Abernathy and Shallowater,
both won at least three district games and return 10 or more starters. That
just leaves us with Slaton and Denver City -- even in they
struggle, those are still tough waters to navigate amongst the top six.
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DISTRICT 17-2A
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Well, the man on top of the
mountain is no stranger -- Daingerfield, last year's DII champs and the comfortable
odds-on favorite to repeat. That always lends a district a certain amount of
credibility. But the hunters in this race, Jefferson, are oft-overlooked.
Their record last season is awful (2-8), but that reflects several forfeited
games and not the overall talent. The Bulldogs are a speedy, scary team, and
both they and Daingerfield look like regional contenders. Behind that dynamic
duo, Hughes Springs returns 16 starters from a second-round playoff team, and
Linden-Kildare, Ore City and Queen City all return solid experience and won
at least one district game last season.
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DISTRICT 18-2A
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Just one district over, 18-2A is
loaded as well. White Oak, with RB Jackson McCurdy, is the cream of the crop
and should hoist a district title trophy. But Big Sandy Harmony, with 19
starters back and LB Kolby Hogan leading the way,
is just inches off the pace, and coach Shane Wilson is clearly building
towards great heights. New Diana should have made the playoffs last year --
three district wins is usually enough to earn that -- but should find it
easier now with an experienced defense and Terry Newsome powering the run
game. You have to expect Elysian Fields' '08 playoff miss was an anomaly, and
that leaves us with four more teams scratching and clawing for sunlight --
Harleton (playoffs last year), Winona (three district wins, 13 starters
back), Gladewater Union Grove (14 back) and Gladewater Sabine.
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DISTRICT 22-2A
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District 18-2A was all about
depth, eight teams fighting for a three-man ticket. But 22-2A is all about
the upper crust, and you won't find any thicker than the two-team combo of
Newton and Kirbyville. Kirbyville, a state finalist in 2008, returns just
four starters, none on defense. But the Wildcats have a seemingly endless
stockpile of talent and rarely falter -- they haven't missed the playoffs
since 2003. Newton is cut from a similar cloth -- it hasn't missed the
playoffs since 1993, and its 34 career postseason appearances are tied for
fourth in 2A history. So we KNOW those two are in. So who's the lucky third
guy out of Woodville, Hemphill, San Augustine and Shelbyville? Probably
Woodville. But Hemphill, Shelbyville and San Augustine are all talented as
well, and I don't want to be the one standing between them and the
postseason.
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DISTRICT 26-2A
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The best district in Region IV has
to be 26-2A. Though the state's final region has had an extremely tough time
reaching a 2A state final in recent years, this team sports at least two
legit contenders and several hopefuls. Altair Rice, the predicted district
champ, sports a pass-catch duo of a coach's son (Myles Dumont) and a legit
FBS receiver (Mario Hull). Brad Dumont has that program humming along, and seeing them in a state semi would surprise no
one. East Bernard is also a regional player, and
eight starters back on offense should make its attack tough to stop.
Schulenburg returns a bevy of talent, and Weimar, with QB Brixx
Hawthorne, should make a legitimate push for the third spot. With
Hallettsville, Hempstead and Brazos all filling out the bottom three, 26-2A
is one of the state's deepest districts
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