After Week one, there were teams like Canadian, Tascosa, Amarillo, Ropes, Lubbock-Cooper Liberty and a few more that we knew would come out the gates firing and be 1-0 before Week two’s games. But, there were some teams that have losses already that we didn’t see coming this early. Let’s talk about those teams in detail and I’ll explain why it’s not time to panic…yet.
ESTACADO MATADORS
The Matadors were favored to defeat Jim Ned’s Indians on Friday but took a loss on the chin, 42-21 in a game that Jim Ned dominated after the first quarter. Why I wouldn’t panic… The Matadors started 1-4 last season and then won six in a row before losing to Decatur in the Area Round of the dance. This year, they might start 0-4 as they play at Hereford Friday, then home games against #2 West Plains and #17 Randall in succession; that’s a really tough schedule.
There are things to figure out for Estacado: mainly, how will they muster up more points and how to keep their quarterback upright as Dereon Walker took a lot of hits against Jim Ned. If the goal is to be strong in the district and playoffs, then this is the right schedule for Coach Eric Ward and the Matadors. Let’s see what the conversation is around them after the first couple of games in district play.
PALO DURO DONS
Palo Duro has all the tools, Division One Players, coaching staff led by Coach Mims, and a great community that backs them everywhere they go. Now, they just gotta win, and win when it counts in their tough district.
Their loss to open the season against #25 Tascosa was an eye-opener, but they have too much talent to be shut out again the rest of the season. I believe in their program and they have been working very hard all offseason and it’ll pay off for the Dons very soon.
NEW HOME LEOPARDS
New Home will be just fine. In my honest assessment, they just ran into a soon-to-be 5A DII team in Lubbock-Cooper Liberty in week one and the Leopards may very well drop down to 2A DII again next season themselves.
Replacing Caleb Cook at the Quarterback position won’t be easy, but Beck and the new coordinators and staff will get it rolling by district time. Ryder Starkey will find his way on the ground as soon as the line gels together as well. The Leopards are always good; I trust their pedigree and history to prevail this season.
CORONADO MUSTANGS
I think it’ll take some time before we see the real version of the 2025 Coronado Mustangs as they need some more time to get on the same page; especially the receiving core and Quarterback JJ Villalobos. Their loss was concerning, no overstating that as their defeat came to Wichita Falls Legacy; a team that lost ten games in a row last year before upending the Mustangs, 28-22 Friday Night. They have a tough game against #23 Lubbock-Cooper Friday at home; let’s see how they do in that game and then revisit the topic.
MONTEREY PLAINSMEN
I talked with one of Monterey’s Captains, Defensive End KJ Russell, and he said the Plainsmen just had to work on a few things and all their goals are still attainable and in front of them. Let’s also not forget that their opponent, Choctaw OK, won their State Championship last season. The question I have is… What will they get out of their quarterback Jonah Reed this season? I haven’t seen much of him, but I did go look at some film of their loss Friday and he showed flashes, while looking rusty at the same time.
The Plainsmen, led by first year coach Jason Sims, have lofty expectations after tying for the District 2-5A title last season and losing a competitive Area Round game against Denton Ryan in the tournament. They will start week two’s games for all the 806 football teams as they square off against Abilene Wylie on Thursday at 7:05pm at Lowery Field. How will they look after some film and adjustments? We will find out soon.
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Jasone Pearson
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