Last year's race in District 2-5A DI was one of the best races in Texas High School Football with Abilene Cooper, Coronado, Caprock and Amarillo all vying for a title. In the end, Caprock and Coronado tied at the top with the Longhorns having the head-to-head tiebreaker with their 59-49 win. This year, I have five points that stuck out to me while reviewing this season's district race.
#1 MONTEREY FINISHED 4-6 LAST YEAR, WILL THEY REALLY MISS THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN THIS YEAR?
Well, real quickly...NO. Monterey has assembled the most talent of any team in the 806 this fall, and have one of the best coaches and coaching staffs around to get the best out of them. Can Monterey's secondary hold up? How well will the linebacking core play this season? Who will step up and demand consistency and pride amongst the Plainsmen? If all those questions are answered right, Monterey could really play in December.
#2 How good will Amarillo be in their second season under Coach Dunnam?
I think really good. I went out to their fall camp and witnessed some great, uptempo practice that will surely be seen in the games they play. Lemmons is one of the best receivers in West Texas and Maynard is solid. I like the Sandies' defense as well. Can they put it all together in time??
#3 Coronado is reloaded, again, and look to win the district outright this fall.
Well, to start off, the Mustangs have the best quarterback in Texas leading their offense; Junior QB Sawyer Robertson. All he needs is some weapons, and he'll have plenty including Jon Hernandez in the slot. Defensively, the Mustangs will be tough back there with Charlie Robinson, Izaiah Kelly, and Kevondrick Carr; one of the top three corners in the 806 area. These guys have been playing together all year so chemistry won't be an issue this season. My questions is this: Can they win the district outright, or tie with a team like Abilene Cooper this year...
#4 CAN CAPROCK DEFEND THEIR DISTRICT TITLE?
The ROCK!! Man, they are fun to watch as they have unlimited speed and a bunch of weapons on both sides of the ball. But, they lost a lot of talent from last year's bunch and will be tested severely again this season. Division One prospect, Tarik Williams, has moved to receiver this season as well. Will that help or hurt the Longhorns? We will see pretty soon.
#5 Can Lubbock High or Palo Duro make a playoff push?
Out of these two teams, which one can make a serious push for the playoffs? Palo Duro has some great leadership in Dondray and Dilworth and players like Randle that can make some noise. Lubbock High is improving as well under their second year under Coach Shane Stephen, but will the improvement be fast enough to contend for a district tile this fall? We will all be looking and seeing if any of these two teams can breakthrough and steal a spot in the playoffs.