Greatness abounds on the gridiron

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for most Texas high school football fans, and the teams of southern Denton County certainly do their part to make it special.

With football season starting at the end of this month, local teams are looking to build upon the success they enjoyed last season.

Guyer High School reached the state championship game in 2021 before coming up short against Austin Westlake.

Christopher Heim is the new head coach for the Wildcats this coming season, and is looking to pick up right where Guyer left off.

“We had an incredible season last year,” Heim said. “We had a great run and hope to have another strong run. Lots of key parts are coming back this season. I’m excited and honored to be the head coach.”

Key returners for the Wildcats this season include Jackson Arnold, Willie Goodacre, McClain Wylie, Si Stovall, Sutton Lee, Landon Sides and Bryson Rigg offensively, and Peyton Bowen, Ryan Yaites, Eli Bowen, Brendan Bradshaw, Ivan Pena, and Pelumi Olanepekun on defense.

Heim said there will be a few adjustments this season and said he is aware that he has some big shoes to fill.

“The biggest change will be the team leadership,” Heim said. “I am following two very successful head football coaches, and we have to replace some very good senior leadership.”

Heim is not sure who will be Guyer’s toughest district opponent in 2022, saying “it will be a battle every week,” but to have another run will take a couple of things.

“We need to be playing our best football at the end of the season,” Heim said. “We will need the young guys to step up and replace the guys that graduated and have moved on.”

For the Argyle football team, a trip to the regional round was par for the course in 2021, but the Eagles came up short against eventual state champion Stephenville.

Coach Todd Rodgers said his feelings about last year are somewhat mixed.

“We had a great year, but we felt it could have been better,” Rodgers said. “We have a very determined group this year.”

Argyle is moving up to 5A in 2022, and Rodgers said in spite of losing some strong players from last year’s team, he has been happy with what he has seen from his players so far.

“We have several good young leaders that aspire to achieve at the highest level.”

The Argyle coach expects Lake Dallas and Denton to be his toughest district opponents in 2022, and while he chose not to name any players specifically, did say he has a group that he expects to make an impact.

“We have several seniors that will contribute to our success,” Rodgers said.

The Argyle coach said that a successful 2022 season will require two components.

“We must stay healthy and get better every week,” Rodgers said.

Over in Flower Mound, the Jaguars clinched another postseason berth in 2021, and coach Brian Basil said he believes he has the core of players necessary to build upon their success from last year.

“I’m very proud of what our team accomplished last season,” Basil said. “It was our third playoff appearance in the past four years and our seniors continued to solidify the foundation for the leadership and commitment in our program as well as continuing to raise the expectations.”

Basil said he expects Caden Jensen, Walker Mulkey, and Yale Erdman to be among the team leaders in 2022.

“He (Erdman) backed up Nick Evers who signed with Oklahoma,” Basil said. “He was our starter for a total of seven quarters during an injury to Nick and was extremely productive during that time. He turned a lot of heads of college coaches who came out to watch spring practice.”

To get back to the playoffs in 2022, Basil said it is all about execution.

“It will be critical for us to play a disciplined style of football with our seniors providing the leadership and work ethic that has defined our program,” Basil said.

Across town at Marcus, coach Kevin Atkinson said that things are shaping up well for this coming season.

“We are better up front than last year on both on defensive line and offensive line,” Atkinson said. “We also have a new quarterback in Cole Welliver.”

Along with Welliver, look for Riley Letterman, Ashton Cozart, Michael Petro, Chance Sautter and Jake Ballard to have strong seasons.

The Marauders finished 8-3 on the season in 2021 and won the district championship, going 6-1 in 6-6A competition.

Atkinson said to replicate that kind of effort it will take a few things.

“It will take a lot of luck,” Atkinson said. “We are such a tough district…the district championship is going to come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes.”

For Coram Deo Academy, first year coach Dane Johnson said the Lions will have a new look this season and a new approach.

“Last year, we were heavily focused on the run,” Johnson said. “But in 2022 we will be more balanced.  We also have changed defensives from a 3-man front to a 4-man front.”

Impact players for the Lions include Gavin Luna, Brock Holton, Luke Newton, Hadley Crafton and Carson Schmitz.

Coram Deo finished 5-6 last season and claimed the fourth and final playoff spot in TAPPS Division II, District 1.

Johnson said he is expecting his team to compete for a playoff spot once again.

“We have high hopes to make the postseason and will give it all we got to get there,” Johnson said.

In Justin, the Northwest football team tied for first in district competition last season, but lost in the opening round of the playoffs.

Coach Bill Poe he is looking forward to a challenging, but also rewarding 2022 campaign.

“I’m excited about this year with the group of returners we have coming back, led by our quarterback Jake Strong,” Poe said. “With realignment, the season looks to be a challenging one.”

For Northwest, the largest obstacle will occur in the trenches.

“The biggest challenge we have is replacing all five starting offensive linemen,” Poe said. “We have some guys ready to step up, but expect there may be a learning curve.”

To make the playoffs in 2022, Poe said it comes down to consistency in every aspect of the game.

“We have to have solid execution in every phase of the game,” Poe said. “Putting our players in position to be successful. Strong leadership from our returning starters will be essential. With a 9-team district and only 4 making the playoffs, every game will be important.”

Poe said he anticipates perennial powerhouses Aledo and Denton Ryan to be among the Texans’ stronger district opponents in 2022.

Over at Liberty Christian, the Warriors are hoping to rebound from a tough 2021 season where they finished 2-8, with just one district win.

The departure of first-team all-district selection Cristian Donald Driver (Penn State) is a big loss for coach Jason Witten’s team, but the Warriors do return some talented players, including Jacob Vaughn, Reeves Baller, Brady Janusek, Cade Hayricki and David O’Neal, which the Warriors hope will help them against the likes of new district opponents Fort Worth Christian, Southwest Christian, Midland Christian, and All Saints Episcopal.