District 25 6A

Coach Anthony Wood is entering his 17th season as THE CHIEF of Warrior Nation. Coach Wood, who arguably gets more out of his players than any area coach, may need some extra magic in 2021 as graduation emptied a TON of talent from his Warrior cupboard. The Warriors finished with the record of 3-6 last season. Coach Wood told IHSFAN,” This team will have an opportunity to surprise many people. They have the work ethic, desire, and belief they can achieve anything. I am looking forward to watching this very young group of players grow into a football team.” The Warriors will return 5 starters on offense and 4 on defense. The Offense will be led by 2nd AD OL Tate Bookins, Jr. WR Grant Jaeger, Sr. WR Zach Pryor, 2nd AD Sr. K Matthew Jack, and Sr. WR Jaiden Webber. The Defense will be led by 2nd AD Jr. DL Jack Ziebell, Sr. LB Brian Lee, Sr. DB Darion Barnes, and Jr. LB Brennen Dill

MCNEIL

By Jake Herman

Coach Scott Hermes enters his 2nd year as the head coach at McNeil. Last year, the winless Mavericks experienced their fair share of growing pains that came with the coaching change in the midst of the pandemic. “Our guys learned a ton last year, and they took some licks doing it,” Coach Hermes told IHSFAN. “They’re excited, they’re eager, and they know what to work on.” The Mavericks return 8 starters on an offense that will be led by IHSFAN Top Ten Team Sr. QB Luke Hutchison, who missed the bulk of last season with an ankle injury. He’ll be surrounded by a core of young but experienced players on the offensive line and in the skill positions. Jr. 2nd team all-district RB Kaleb Cooper will look to build on a strong sophomore season running behind an offensive line that includes Sr. 2nd team all-district OT Amarea Lee. At wide receiver, Jr. Jarvis Anderson provides a deep threat while Sr. Mark Henke and Jr. Joseph Patterson will look to develop into reliable third-down targets. The versatile Jr. Brad Whittenburg will do a little bit of everything in OC Patrick Bailey’s offense as well. Defensively, the Mavericks return just 4 starters have a lot of all-district talent to replace. Coach Hermes brings defensive expertise from past experience at Vandegrift and hopes to use the offseason to help this unit grow physically and schematically. Look for the Mavericks to be a much tougher squad this season.

Coach Sam Robinson enters his 5th season at the helm of the Cedar Ridge Raiders coming off their 8th straight trip to the playoffs, finishing 2020 with the record of 6-4. The Raiders season came to an end in the 1st round of the playoffs against eventual state champion Westlake. Coach Robinson told IHSFAN, “This season we should be really physical and fast on defense. Our offensive line will also be big and physical and that, combined with the type of Running Backs we have, should allow us to control the ball and win some games.” The 2021 Raiders will return 4 starters on offense and 3 on defense. The offense will be led by1st AD Sr. TE Matthew Brooks, 1st AD Sr. OL Jacob White, Sr. WR Victor Taylor, and Jr. OL Joshua Wollard. The defense will be led by 2nd AD Sr. DL Dave Nwaneri, 2nd AD Sr. DB Jackson Donohoe, and Sr. DT Dominic Bolden. As always expect the Raiders to compete for the district title.

VISTA RIDGE

Coach Rodney Vincent heads into his 13th season as head coach of the Rangers coming off another great season where they finished 7-3 and lost to Hays in Round 1 of the playoffs. Coach Vincent told IHSFAN,” We will continue to invest and build into our players family, character, toughness, and relentless effort. Every year we have a brand-new team, and we want to be the best version of ourselves we can be for 2021.” The Rangers will return 4 on offense and 6 on defense. The Rangers lost the dynamic multi-year starter Kyle Brown to graduation so it will be time to reload their explosive offense. The offense will be led by Jr. RB Alex Berndlmaier, Sr. WR Wyatt Gates, Jr. WR Reece Heffelfinger, So. WR Tanner Brosie, So. WR Tian Murray, and Jr. QB Jack Podolak. The defense will be led by 1st AD Sr. DB Jonathan Clark, Sr. DB Axel Allen, Sr. DL Ethan Ellsworth, and Sr. DL Tre’ Johnson. Look for the Rangers to compete for a playoff spot in this brutally tough 25-6A district.

TEXASFOOTBALL.COM/SUBSCRIBE

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

STARTING AS LOW AS

$39.95

$19.95

FOR YEARLY SUBCRIPTION

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Summer Edition Release Date: July 2021

SUBSCRIBERS

WILL RECEIVE...

Both copies of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine including the 2021 Summer “bible” of Texas Football and 2021 Winter “Rising” Magazine

Intstant access to our Dave Campbell’s 500, the most in-depth analysis of high school football in Texas

Team analytics, score predictors, and data for all 1400+ Texas high school teams

Customized team pages and immediate access to the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football archives, giving you full editions dating back to 1960

SUBSCRIBE AT TEXASFOOTBALL.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Coach Brad LaPlante heads into his 4th season at the helm of Hippo Nation coming off the record of 4-5 in 2020. Coach LaPlante told IHSFAN, “Our veteran and young players have had a tremendous off-season to prepare for our 2nd year of 6A football. Their intensity, work ethic, and desire have been second to none. This will be a fun group to watch and coach in 2021.” The 2021 squad will return 5 on offense and 7 on defense. The offense will be led by Sr. QB Grayson Doggett, 2nd AD Sr. WR Jai Lambert, Jr. RB Jaylon Banks, and Sr. WR LJ Martin. The defense will be led by Jr. LB Brody Bunjoch, Jr. LB Jaylon Parkinson, Jr. DL Junior Torres, and Sr. DB Jose Pina. With 12 returning starters look for the Hippos to be a key player in the district.

VANDEGRIFT

Coach Drew Sanders heads into his 13th season as the Vipers head coach. The Vipers are coming off their 3rd straight district championship as they we co-champs with Round Rock. The Vipers finished the season with the record of 10-3 and made their deepest 6A playoff run as they went 4 Rounds ultimately losing to Hays 38-10. Coach Sanders told IHSFAN, “We return solid experience on both sides of the ball and have talented underclassmen who are ready to help reload for our run to a 4th straight district championship and continue to improve on our three-year district record of 24-1.” The Vipers will return 6 on offense and 6 on defense. The offense will be led by 1st AD Sr. RB Ryan Sheppard, Sr. QB/WR Reece Beauchamp (coming over from his 2nd AD DB performance), and Sr. WR. Graylon Spring.

The defense will be led by 2nd AD Sr. DB Griffin Shaffer, 1st AD Sr. DL Tucker Harrison, 2nd AD Sr. DL Juan Gutierrez, and Sr. DB Jax Oliver. It is hard to pick against Vandegrift as they have lost just 1 district game in three seasons and all they do is win.

Coach Jeff Cheatham, now in his 12th season as Round Rock Dragon head coach, oversees the largest school enrollment in central Texas. 2020 was a great year for the Dragons as they finished with the record of 8-3 and were co-champs of the very tough district 25-6A. Coach Cheatham told IHSFAN, “We hope to use the momentum from last season during the offseason to keep the bar high. We will have to reestablish a quarterback and we will have some really good offensive line depth.” The Dragons will return 3 on offense and 6 on defense. The offense will be led by Sr. RB Trayvian McCoy-Gay (who had a breakout season in ’20), Sr. OL Arian Gilmore, and Jr. WR Adam Borrel. The defense will be the strength of the Dragons as they will be led by1st AD Sr. LB Carter Wagner, 2nd AD Sr. DL Trayvian Brown, 2nd AD Sr. LB Jack Duncan, and Jr. DL Jett Jones.

STONY POINT

2021 will mark the 18th season at the helm of Stony Point football (38 overall coaching years) for Coach Craig Chessher. The Tigers had a covidshortened 2020 season that saw them finish with the record of 2-4. Coach Chessher told IHSFAN, “We will be better this season but not sure by how much. Our opponents are tough and we lost our starting QB to Del Valle.” The tigers will return 6 on offense and 7 on defense. The offense will be led by 1st AD Jr. RB Cameron Cook, 2nd AD Sr. WR Lukas Morin, and Sr. WR/RB Jaden Leonard. The defense will be led by 1st AD and IHSFAN Top 10 player Sr. LB Jake Chambers who is among the best LB’s in the State. Other leaders include 2nd AD Sr DL Adam Whitfield, and Sr. LB Jacob Morales. Last season was very tough on the squad due to a few cancellations. Look for the Tigers to come out in 2021 looking to make a splash in 25-6A.