Santo Wildcats
The Wildcats are coming off a 4-6 season in 2024, but now in 2025 they look forward to turning things around. Coach Devon Mann explains the program’s expectations saying, “We expect to get back on track. We have a good mix of seasoned and youthful players. We have great size, speed, and athletic ability.”
Returning Wildcats are senior linemen Luke Sides and Michael Lockwood, and two-way player Justin Hollingsworth. Mann is also excited about the young players coming up, including quarterback Rylan Griffith, safety Colt Howry, and two-way player Colt Bridges.
Hollingsworth led the team in rushing yards last year with 37.5 per game, with Bridges following him up with 21 yards per game according to MaxPreps. Lockwood was in the top three for tackles per game and led with a sack per game.
When looking at the Wildcats schedule, Mann added that there isn’t one game that stands out to him, “All games are big games for us; one game at a time.” They kick off the season with a home game at “The Lew” against Electra on Friday, Sept. 12. Then Santo will host every other game the rest of the season. District action will kick off on Friday, Oct. 10 against Era on the road at Era High School. They will play Chico, Muenster, Lindsay, and finish out the regular season on the road in Collinsville facing off with the Collinsville Pirates.
Santo finished 1-4 in district play last season and will look to better that and be on top of the district board.
Mineral Wells Rams
The Rams will have a new look in many positions but will also be a very familiar team. With the majority of the linemen returning for the Rams, including Evan Myrick, Javawn McKinney, and Josiah Zapata, on the offense, and Trent Yowell on defense, the Rams will be a challenge upfront. Behind the line, the Rams will have a new QB. Previous backup QB Preston Ramirez should be familiar with Ram fans. Ramirez plays both sides of the ball, being a force at linebacker on defense, he is likely to take snaps for the Rams to help lead the offense, but during the recent open practice and scrimmage, newcomer Brogan Sims made the majority of the plays and has taken snaps during scrimmages and practice.
Sims comes to the Rams with plenty of experience that many Ram fans do not know. He is a three-star recruit with several DII and DIII offers, as well as a DI offer from Lamar University. The 6-foot-4 senior is ranked as the No. 16 QB by ProStyle for the Class of 2026, and has a list of accolades and accomplishments to prove himself as a great QB. He has been invited to six separate camps and showcases with the top athletes in the state and nation where he has been a top performer. According to Brogan and his family, he spent a lot of time sidelined with injury during his junior season, but was still able to throw for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and in his sophomore season, threw for over 1,500 yards. But they also added that he is excited to be a Ram and is excited to show the hard work his teammates and himself have put in this offseason.
No matter who is calling the plays for the Rams, there is plenty of experience and skill at the quarterback position, and with the targets they have and the playmakers in the backfield, the Rams offense will be fun to watch. On defense they return several key players such as Jackson Hicks, Garrison Facteau, Canon Ramsay, Jaidun Fisher, and Trent Yowell. They are all looking to lockdown offenses and make some big stops for the Rams. Head Coach Cody Worrell bragged on Fisher, Facteau, and Yowell adding that Fisher is often defending the opposing teams best receiver, Facteau was a leader last year and has had a great off-season, making for an even better 2025 season, and Yowell is a third-year starter with Defensive Newcomer and Defensive MVP under his belt heading into his senior season.
In addition, Worrell gave some insight to the season, saying, “Graham, Brock, Eagle Mountain will all be huge games this season for playoff implications.” And for Worrell and his Rams, playoffs is their goal, with Worrell also saying, of their goal this season, “Get in the playoffs and win playoff games!”
The Rams, in addition to some new players on the field, added some coaches to the sidelines. Five new coaches have joined the coaching staff, including new defensive consultant, Steve Wood, a seasoned man with years of experience and a winning record that is one of the best in the state. Also, Keith Wood, new defensive coordinator, who brings a new level of energy and knowledge to the Rams squad, as well as a run game coordinator Jeff Ward, Safeties coach Jimmy Harris, Defensive End coach Hayes Burney, and Tight End coach Ryan Greene.
Existing traditions, like Coaches Breakfast the morning of the games, and pre-game victory lines are set to take place to keep Ram fans involved and the Rams connected to their community as well. Rams kick off their season officially on Aug. 29 at Ram Stadium against Fort Worth Polytech at 7 p.m. They will also host Quinlan Ford, Godley, Graham, and Burkburnett this season, celebrating homecoming during the Godley game on Sept. 26 and recognizing seniors against Burkburnett on Nov. 7. and will have the tough task of playing Brock in Brock on Oct. 17.
Community Christian School Warriors
The Warriors have a veteran squad returning, with high hopes for what the season will hold for them. Key players returning for the Warriors are sophomore quarterback Parker Dehls, senior Hayden Yelverton, and juniors River Bryan and Mikey Ray.
Dehls threw for 1,126 yards and 25 touchdown passes last season as a freshman and will be eager to better that this season now with a varsity season behind him, where he helped lead the Warriors to the playoffs.
Returning running back Yelverton will be the most experienced player on the field this season and will look to stretch his rushing stats. Last season he rushed for 38 touchdowns and 1,602 yards on 99 carries. He can also catch the football, as he scored four receiving touchdowns on 19 catches for the Warriors in 2024. So, the Warriors will be looking to target him and get the ball in his hands as often as possible.
Also helping ignite the Warrior offense is going to be junior Mikey Ray. In 2024, Ray had 227 receiving yards and 48 rushing yards but also showed up big on defense. He recorded 35 solo tackles, including six that resulted in lost yards.
Another defensive stand out on this 2025 squad is River Bryan. Bryan plays on the defensive line and will look to better his 2024 season where he recorded 62 solo tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Bryan can also be a spark on offense. In the previous season he racked up 300+ receiving yards and 43 rushing yards.
Two players that Athletic Director Ethan Weathers added for the fans to keep an eye on this upcoming season are Ethan Johnson, a junior who will look to make a big difference as a starter, and freshman Joshy Ray. Joshy will be making his varsity debut in 2025 and will look to make a difference as well as the starting safety for the Warriors defense and receiver for the offense.
If you have not made it out to watch the Warriors play lately, the private school six-man team is a fun bunch to watch. With all the excitement of the fast-paced six-man game, Weathers also describes the atmosphere at a CCS game at Mineral Wells Optimist Field. The small, old-school field adds to the fall football experience. Weathers added, “It is an old school feeling of playing on a grass field, under the lights with the smell of football in the air. When you are out there all you can hear is the sound of football pads hitting and the fans cheering you on. You are sitting on old bleachers with nothing to watch but CCS football, cheerleaders, and the cheering of the fans.”
Gordon Longhorns
With the recent announcements of two Longhorn stars committing to play college football at DI programs, Gordon should feel untouchable. But the Longhorns know that with their success the last two seasons, they have become a target and will still have to work just as hard as before to keep their victorious streak alive.
The Longhorns currently have a 30 game winning streak in play, and on paper, should not see that streak snap any time soon. With 15 of last seasons 17 players returning, including the trio of Stryker Reed, Ry Reed, and Brayden Walters, often called a “three headed monster” the Longhorns are seemingly unstoppable. Ry Reed has committed his future to play football at Army in 2026, and Stryker Reed will be headed to play for Air Force the same season. With the two of them, Walters, and others like Noah Kostiha, Kaden Crowe, Aiden Shank, and Hudson Campbell all returning, as well as a handful of others, the Longhorns have a ton of talent and experience, something that will carry them a long way when it comes to the playoffs. Six-man football is a different animal already, but playoff six-man football, in Texas, is scary and one of the most competitive atmospheres in sports.
As the Longhorns look to three-peat their state championship run, they have all the tools needed, not just on their explosive offense which scored 868 points last season, but their defense is also just as dominant. The Longhorns held all opponents to 108 points in 2024, with seven opponents leaving the field scoreless. In six-man football, there is a mercy rule, once a team has outscored their opponent by 45 points, the game is over. And the Gordon Longhorns did that in every game they played in 2024 en route to their second consecutive state championship.
This season will be a new challenge for the Longhorns though. When creating the schedule for Gordon this year, Head Coach Mike Reed wanted to shake things up a bit, and added two 11-man games to his squad’s schedule. This is something that is not totally unheard of, but is rare. The Longhorns will play Thorndale in week four on Sept. 19 and then in week eight, the Longhorns will take on the Tigers of Bracketville. Typically in these games, one half will be played by 11-man rules, and the other half will be by six-man rules. This will be a new experience for this otherwise very experienced squad.
But to add to the challenges of this season, the Longhorns will also play all of their games on the road due to the damage to their facilities during the spring tornado that ripped through Gordon. The Longhorns are ready to prove to the rest of Texas that nothing can shake them, or overtake them, even the weather, but especially other teams.
Walters, and the Reed duo are all named on several preseason polls, expected to receive All-State recognition as offensive players, including Stryker being projected to be the 1A Offensive Player of the Year.
Gordon will begin their journey for their fifth title, third in three years, on Aug. 28 at Priddy, to take on Richland Springs. Then just two weeks later will be the highly anticipated Gordon vs. Strawn rivalry matchup. The location at this time is TBD, as it was set to be played in Gordon this year. District play will kick off on Oct. 9 against Lingleville and wrap up on Nov. 7 against Gorman before the playoffs begin.
Strawn Greyhounds
The Strawn Greyhounds are in the hunt for a big season. The last two seasons have been what most would call “rebuilding” seasons, though they have still seen quite a bit of success and most polls still have the Greyhounds ranked among the best.
Coming off of an 8-3 season last year where they topped the 9-1A Region III six man ranks with a 3-0 district record, and a playoff appearance, the Greyhounds will look to be even better than in 2025. Returning for the Greyhounds are some key names like Michael Barcenas, Danny Sifuentes, Chico Hughes, Shane Ahern, Johnny Fraga, Lane Leddy, and Carter Mallory.
The Greyhounds are ranked No. 6 by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and with good reason. After a state championship, undefeated season in 2021, Strawn fell to 3-5 the following year, but in 2023 they were back on top, winning football games, and making playoff runs. And as mentioned in 2024, they had a 8-2 regular season record and a bi-district playoff win. The Greyhounds have seen the playoffs 30 times in their history, according to DCTF, and have been to the state championship game five times, with four wins. So, the Strawn Greyhounds are resilient and know how to win football games and will look to turn some heads this fall.
Strawn will see a lot of action on the road, with only two home games all season, so that will be a challenge for the squad, but these young men and their coaches are no strangers to challenge and will be up for it by first kick off, which is Friday, Aug. 29 at Jayton High School against the Valley Patriots. They will stay on the road for the next three weeks, and play Zephyr at home on Friday, Sept. 26 with a 7:30 p.m. kick off and then hit the road again until returning to play in Strawn on Friday, Oct. 31 against Moran. They will wrap up their regular season the following week in Woodson and hopefully be looking ahead to the playoffs at that point.
