District 13 5A D2

by Jake Herman

In 2020, East View had their best season in school history, going 7-5 and making it to the 3rd round of the playoffs before losing a shootout against Pioneer. In his 3rd season, Head Coach Jerod Fikac looks to take the Patriots back to the playoffs and mount another deep run. If East View is to follow up on their successes of last year, they will have to lean on the experience of their defense that returns 9 starters. Coach Fikac will count on Sr. safeties Cade Elkins and 1st team all-district Tyler Waggoner to lead the secondary, as well as Jr. Defensive Linemen Vance Herd and 1st team all-district DJ Perez. Their leading tackler, Sr. MLB 1st team all-district Thomas Thornburg, is perhaps their most key returner. Only 4 starters return on offense, including Sr. QB 2nd team all-district Payton Thomas who starts under center for a 2nd year. Coach Fikac will be counting on Thomas to lead an inexperienced offensive line that only returns 1 starter in Jr. Austin Cain. “Having Peyton Adams back commanding the offense, and him being the leader that took the team three rounds deep, I think the players see his work ethic, and his want to, and they feed off of that,” Fikac told IHSFAN. Despite losing plenty of offensive weapons, Thomas will have Sr. WR 2nd team all-district Michael Sedwick and Sr. TE 1st team all-district Jacob Martin at his disposal.

CONNALLY

By Ross Fisher

The Cougars moved down to 5A D2, and finished with a 1-8 record in 2020. However, heading into 2021 Head Coach Jason Cecil believes there are reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming season. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Cecil remains optimistic is the return of Sr. QB Justin Santos. Among a fresh-faced bunch, Santos is one of the most experienced players, having started his junior year. “He showed the ability to bring us back into games when we were down, he really made good decisions,” Coach Cecil told IHSFAN. “And I think he will be exceptional this year.” In addition to Santos, there will be around 7 returning starters on offense, including 4 of 5 offensive linemen. Cecil will lean on Sr. offensive linemen Jordan Moreno and 2nd team all-district Diego Salazar for their experience and leadership. Cecil is also counting on Sr. RB/WR/S Roman Mason to play every snap and lead by example. On defense, roughly 8 starters will return including, Mason, Sr. DB Jamari Twidwell, and Sr. LB Aden Ramirez. Cecil says the area of his team’s game that needs most improving is their pass rush. “We were young and inexperienced in the secondary, and the pass rush is a secondary player’s best friend,” Cecil told IHSFAN. “We have got to find ways to get our guys on the edge more and create more pressure on the quarterback, so we can protect those guys in the backend.”

By Jake Herman

The Elgin Wildcats finished 2-6 last season but held their own against their district’s best competition night in and night out. They stumbled out of the gate by losing their first 3 games by a combined 12 points. 5th year head coach Jens Anderson told IHSFAN he was proud of the way his team continued to compete and buy in. “It would have been easy to get discouraged,” he said. “But we came out every week and kept fighting.” The Wildcats will be a much younger team in 2021, returning no more than 3 starters on each side of the ball. They’ll have to replace all-district QB Peter McFarlin and almost all of their offensive line. “Their development is going to be crucial,” Coach Anderson told IHSFAN about his young offense. “We’ll be very young, and success will depend on how fast they come along.” The ‘Cats will benefit from the return of Jr. WR Justin Strong, who missed all of last season due to injury. Jr. RB Sebastian Jackson will be a go-to guy in the running game. Defensively, Sr. all-district DL Mario Navarro and Sr. DL Omari Williams are key players up front who may end up playing both ways. Sr. DB Khrystofer Washington will draw tough assignments each week in the secondary. Keep an eye on So. DL Evan Warfield, who Coach Anderson told IHSFAN has all the tools to become a household name this season.

BASTROP

By Jake Herman

Coach Todd Patmon is heading into his 9th season at the helm for the Bastrop Bears. After taking a small step back with a 3-6 showing in 2020, the Bears should be back in contention for a playoff spot this season. They’ll return 7 starters on each side of the ball. The offense will once again be led by Sr. QB Seth Mouser, who will be surrounded by a plethora of talent. The size of WR Damari Monroe and TE Austin Tobola will complement the speed of 2nd team all-district Jr. WR Julius Baynard. The running game will feature the dynamic duo of Jr. Demire Thompson and Sr. Aidan Barger, who each earned 2nd team all-district honors last season. Coach Patmon is hoping that his defensive line can gel fast in order to be ready for their challenging early season schedule. The trio of Jr. Clayton Sherman, Jr. Carson Klaerner and Sr. Caden Rodebaugh will have to factor into the that unit’s success. In the linebacking core, Sr. Christian Lopez will lead from the middle while Sr. LB Caden Allen mans the outside. Sr. CB Dwayne Jackson returns in the secondary.

CEDAR CREEK

By Jake Herman

Coach Bryan Hill enters his 2nd season in charge at Cedar Creek. The Eagles came out hot by winning their first two games in district play last season but ended on a sour note with a fivegame losing streak. When the dust settled, their record was 2-7. The Eagles will have to replace a talented senior class on both sides of the ball, but they retain some key contributors as well. Sr. QB Brock McLaughlin was last year’s district offensive newcomer award winner. As the season progressed, he grew comfortable extending plays and throwing on the run. His running ability gives the Eagles a red-zone threat that they might rely on a little bit more in 2021. Sr. WR Josh Roberts will be one of McLaughlin’s top targets. The offensive line is in good hands with a core group of seniors returning. Logan Cohn, A.J. Sinor and Alex Handy earned all-district honors while Trevor Hall and Lorenzo Briones were honorable mentions. The defense will be led by Sr. 1st team all-district DL Jerry Torres and Sr. 1st team all-district LB Ja’Faar Johnson.