SAN ANTONIO — The start of the Texas High School Football season is upon us, and I'm really excited for 2024! Is there anything better?
Here are some quick links for our district schedules, video previews and past game galleries:
Class 6A: District 27 | District 28 | District 29 I District 30
Class 5A-I: District 13 | District 14 Class 5A-II: District 12 | District 13
Class 4A-I: District 14 Class 4A-II: District 13 | District 14
TAPPS private schools: Division 1/2/3
Just to get things started for another great season, here are some schools to watch for across our area districts:
San Antonio will have many teams in the playoff mix, as always! And look no further than Northside, our largest school district. Head Coach Steve Basore and his Brennan Bears look poised for another top-notch season with six returning starters on both sides of the ball.
Don’t fall asleep on the Harlan Hawks, either. They’ve never missed the playoffs in their young program history!
I was up early one morning for practice with the Taft Raiders, and trust me, their offensive line is HUGE! And I was still half asleep.
We’ll also keep an eye out for the newest team on the district block, the Sotomayor Wildcats. Head Coach Juan Morales thinks this is the season his bunch tastes postseason success for the first time.
Over on the northeast side is where you’ll find arguably the most exciting player in the city, Reagan Rattlers RB Cole Pryor. The guys in green seemingly reload every year, and this season, their team moto is to "Kick Down the Door in '24." I kinda like that.
The Johnson Jaguars will wanna have something to say about the northeast race. They did suffer a rough setback with star QB Ty Hawkins heading off to IMG Academy, so they've been prioritizing identifying their new signal caller. I look forward to seeing who wins that job.
Keep an eye out for the Brandeis Broncos. They have that "new car smell" with new Head Coach Kemmie Lewis. He came over after some time running the defense at Harlan, and he was previously the head coach at Memorial. Glad to have him running one of the shows again! Roosevelt could be one of the surprise NEISD teams, too!
I’ve often called the high school football on North I-35 the "District Of Death."
Morbid name, right?
It’s because the competition for years has just been so off-the-charts good. It typically has started with the Steele Knights and they look stacked again on both sides of the ball. They ran to the state semifinals last year, and don’t be surprised if they pull off the same act again.
Meanwhile, head coach Mark Soto has the Judson Rockets back on the rise. They were in the playoffs last year, but only into the area finals. They could make the jump even farther this season with lots of experience back.
It’ll be interesting to see what Alan Hill does with the Clemens Buffaloes this season. He’s the son of legendary Smithson Valley head coach Larry Hill. He took the Buffs' reins after Jared Johnston took another job in the Corpus Christi region.
North 281 has some really good teams, District 13-5A-I in particular.
Smithson Valley, Pieper, New Braunfels, Wagner, Boerne Champion, Seguin, Victoria East and MacArthur... are you kidding me? Get me a 50-yard-line seat every single Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is gonna be some of the best high school football theater in the state. Can’t wait!
Some other thoughts to wrap up: The Southwest Dragons apparently will have a high-octane offense this season. The Southside Cardinals should be who they've always been in recent seasons under head coach Ricky Lock. And inside SAISD, the preseason word is to look out for the Burbank Bulldogs. They could be primed to run for the district championship, and that would be their first since 1978!
Welcome to another season of Texas High School Football! Hope your team plays great! Have an awesome season!
