DAY 1 | Football programs around the ETBlitz area officially begin the 2025 season with first practices
Monday, August 4, 2025 was the beginning.
Of what?
Well, that is for the players of each high school football program in the University Interscholastic League, each and every player in the schools that we refer to as the ETBlitz.com coverage area – each and every TEAM in the state of Texas to decide.
Monday was what we call Day 1, the first day the UIL – the governing body of extracurricular high school activities across the state – allows football teams to practice for the upcoming season.
Here’s a brief drive around the programs – all 15 of ‘em – in the ETBlitz area. But don’t think this is our actual football preview. We’re going to preview every single program, one at a time, in the coming days. We’ll let you know when the previews will start, with photos, coaching interviews and a schedule.
Speaking of schedules, here’s the link to EVERY SINGLE ONE of the schedules in one place: 2025 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULES | Here they are, in one place: the schedules for all 15 programs in the ETBlitz area.
For now, here’s our drive-around. Let’s start with…
Tatum
(District 8-3A, Division I)
It all started SUPER early Monday morning: 12:01, to be exact, in Tatum, as coach Whitney Keeling pushed his Eagles to start 2025 strong in a midnight practice they called “Midnight Madness.”
And Keeling? He knows whereof he speaks. Keeling has two state championship rings from his tenure as a head coach in Waskom and one as an assistant in Kilgore, and has every intention of making Tatum’s “War” Eagles, as he calls them, a winner again. The Eagles won back-to-back state championships under then-coach Andy Evans in 2005-06, with, among others, the great Cashas Pollard in the lineup.
Tatum went 6-5 last year, having been ranked in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football state 3A poll twice, and got into the 3A-DI playoffs. They lost to Malakoff in the first round at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Francis Rose Stadium in Tyler.
But Tatum was hard-hit by graduation, including quarterback JaCorie Bradley, who helped the Eagles win a state boys basketball championship. Tatum brings back just two real starters on offense, five defensively.
Some of those returning starters on defense: big defensive tackle Damarion Tolbert (6-foot-1, 295 pounds), linebacker Qwardai Peoples, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder that should be an impact player for the Eagles, and linebacker Quincy Davis (6-3, 190). Peoples had 11 tackles for loss a year ago.
The Eagles’ 2025 journey, Keeling’s fourth in Tatum, begins with scrimmage No. 1, and that’s Friday, Aug. 15, at Timpson, a 6 p.m. start. There’s a second scrimmage, this one at home, on Thursday, Aug. 21, also at 6, against Henderson.
And the ’25 season opens on the road at Winnsboro on a Thursday, Aug. 28, a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Again, click that schedule link above for all of the schedules of the schools we cover, including the Eagles.
Kilgore
(District 9-4A, Division I)
ETBlitz.com’s own Joe Hale was on hand Monday evening for the very first practice for Kilgore.
Most remember what coach Clint Fuller and the Kilgore Bulldogs did a year ago: a win over 4A No. 1 Carthage to open the season; a 13-3 overall record; the No. 1 seed from the district in the playoffs; and a berth in the UIL 4A, Division I state championship game.
The loss to Celina was a tough one for the proud Ragin’ Red, who played for the state championship for the first time since December 2013. And they did lose some talent, including all-everything corner and wide receiver Jayden Sanders, now patrolling the secondary at the University of Michigan as one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits.
But SO much talent returns for Kilgore, including quarterback Kayson Brooks and receiver LaKeyleon Graves, the duo that DCTF named the most dangerous QB-receiver combination in all of Class 4A. Brooks (5-11, 175) threw for 3,673 yards and 43 touchdowns, school records, and ran for 345 yards and five more touchdowns, was in fine form – as was Graves – helping represent Kilgore in the Texas State 7-on-7 Tournament in College Station in June.
Graves is being recruited by quite a few schools, and had 987 yards and 14 touchdowns on 48 catches last year in demonstrating why. On defense, though, he shines, too: 136 tackles and two interceptions a year ago.
Running backs Isaiah Watters (5-11, 185) and Rayshawn Williams (5-9, 165) both return and both are extremely dangerous as runners AND as receivers out of the backfield.
We don’t have time to name all of Kilgore’s weapons – that’s how loaded the Bulldogs are.
But the front end of the defense is anchored by Cameron Christian (6 foot, 290 pounds) and the back by such a talented secondary, including Dre’ Sanders (5-10, 165) and Ja’Kalen Sheffield (5-10, 180), to name only two.
The Bulldogs get to hit the field for the first scrimmage next Friday, Aug. 15, at Mesquite Poteet. The following week, for scrimmage two on Thursday, Aug. 21, they’ll host Center.
Kilgore officially opens the season Aug. 29 at home against Carthage, a matchup that DCTF said is the top game in the whole freakin’ state in the first week of the season.
Kilgore is ranked No. 3 in the state in the DCTF 4A-Division I preseason poll.
Carthage
(District 8-4A, Division II)
So, how did coach Scott Surratt and the Carthage High School Bulldogs finish the 2024 season?
Well, the same way they’ve finished nine OTHER seasons since Surratt arrived in town: as state champions.
In fact, since Surratt’s arrival in Carthage, the Bulldogs:
- Have never missed the playoffs
- Won the state championship in his second year
- Won three state titles in a row (his second, third and fourth years at the school)
- Since JUST 2017 – only the second half of Surratt’s tenure there – the ‘Dawgs are 115-4 and have won FIVE state championships. It’s just – wow, it’s just wow.
Of course, they went 15-1 last year, that ‘1’ being Fuller’s Kilgore Bulldogs in week one, meaning Carthage won 15 straight games including the 4A-DII state championship. They bring back Surratt’s son, Jett Surratt, for his senior season. The younger Surratt (6-1, 175) threw for 3,378 yards and 53 touchdowns last year on the march to state title No. 10. He’s got Texas A&M signee K.J. Edwards, one of the state’s best running backs, behind him in the backfield – Edwards (5-11, 185) ran for 1,785 yards and scored 23 rushing touchdowns, and caught 31 balls for 382 yards and three additional scores in 2024.
Oh, and there’s this guy at receiver, Keymian Henderson: he’s 6-4, 190 pounds, and “all” he did last year was catch 64 balls for 1,085 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Football fans appreciate all of that, and can appreciate great defense, too: back on the defensive side are linebackers Carson Crawford (6-3, 205) and Daquives Beck (6-2, 215). Beck had 102 tackles and five sacks, and Crawford had 91 stops and nine sacks. The two combined for a simply-ridiculous 43 tackles for loss.
Beck is the pick in DCTF magazine as the preseason 4A defensive player of the year. Like, in the STATE. And the Bulldogs are once again the magazine’s pick to win the 4A-DII state title.
So of course, it makes sense that Surratt’s ‘Dawgs open the season as THE number one team in 4A-DII yet again. Last year, they ran the table, opening as No. 1 in the preseason poll and never falling from that top spot.
They’ll open 2025 the same way they’ve opened the last several years; against Kilgore, this time on the road at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.
Henderson
(District 9-4A, Division I)
The news here is that Ricky Meeks, the son of legendary former coach Dickey Meeks, is now the head coach for the Lions.
And Meeks? He’s coming into a program, and a community, that’s hungry – hungry to WIN.
The appetite was fed somewhat when alumni Clay Baker lifted the Lions from the cellar to a six-win season a year ago, even upsetting Kilgore IN Kilgore, no less. But the Lions, talented as they were, faltered a bit down the way and didn’t make the 4A playoffs, finishing 6-4.
Meeks welcomes back two of 4A’s most dynamic players in the East Texas region in running back Jesstin “Meaty” Starling (5-5, 170) and wide receiver Lemarion “MarMar” Coleman (6-1, 190).
Starling was so impressive last season, bursting onto the scene with a 1,377-yard, 22-TD season. Coleman had 544 yards and four touchdown catches, but was also huge as a decoy when he didn’t have the ball.
Offensive line losses will hurt, and Meeks and new coaches – like former longtime Kilgore and Longview assistant Chris Vallery – will have to put the right formula together offensively. Meeks was an assistant for his father on the Henderson 2010 team that won a state championship, and now he returns to pursue another, and return the Lions to glory.
The Lions scrimmage at Hallsville on Friday, Aug. 15, and then at Tatum on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Henderson opens the season on Friday, Aug. 29 at Athens.
Gilmer
(District 7-4A, Division II)
Did the Gilmer Buckeyes – state champions in 4A-DII in 2023 – have a let-down a year ago?
Don’t know about that. But they did have a difficult schedule. Their non-district schedule alone included Chapel Hill, a state finalist the year before; Brenham; Pine Tree, the best Pirates’ team in many, many years, record-wise; and Kilgore, an eventual state finalist.
Still, the Buckeyes managed to do quite well, for the most part. They went 8-4, won a home game over KHS, and beat Van in district play. The stumbling block in District 7-4A, DII was Pleasant Grove, and the Buckeyes will have to get around them again: Pleasant Grove has 17 combined starters back on both sides of the ball and is ranked No. 2 in the 4A-DII preseason poll; Gilmer is ranked No. 9 in the preseason poll.
DCTF did give coach Alan Metzel’s team a huge compliment, though, a few weeks ago, naming their defensive line the best in 4A, led by big Tyler Hagler (6-0, 325), defensive line specialist, and 6-6, 350-pound Ishmael Camara on the O-line. There will be a new starting quarterback after graduation wiped out that position.
The Buckeyes host Paris for their first scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 15, then visit Whitehouse on Thursday, Aug. 21 for the final one.
They’ll open the season Friday, Aug. 29 at Pine Tree – the Pirates opened last season with a somewhat-shocking upset of then-defending state champ Gilmer IN Gilmer.
Pine Tree
(District 9-4A, Division I)
Coach Jason Bachman’s Pirates went 10-2 in their first season at 4A, after being reclassified as a 4A athletic program after so many years in 5A. Their only loss in district play was to Kilgore, and in spite of a good bit of graduating talent on defense, there’s no real reason to think PT is going away. They dropped a bit of a head-scratcher in the second round of the playoffs a year ago, but eight starters come back on offense, and five on defense.
The Pirates go all the way to Center for their first scrimmage next Friday, Aug. 15, and then host Marshall on Thursday, Aug. 21. And as mentioned, they’ll open the season at home against Gilmer on Aug. 29. That’s actually a “Blue-Out” game, as Pirates’ fans are asked to wear Pine Tree blue.
Gladewater
(District 8-3A, Division I)
The Bears have a new head coach: it’s Jermaine Lewis, taking over for Jonny Louvier.
Gladewater finished 4-6 a year ago, narrowly missing the UIL 3A playoffs.
Lewis inherits good talent, including running backs Carsin Cooper 95-11, 190) and Tray Watts (5-10, 175), linebacker Mason Budro (6-0, 180), defensive lineman Amarion Minter (6-1, 195), quarterback Luke Brown (6-1, 180), and defensive back Landen King (5-11, 162).
Watts and Cooper ran for a shade under 2,000 yards combined last year and Minter got after the quarterback: 10 sacks. Lewis has one of the most talented teams in the district, if he can harness it and turn that into wins.
Coach Lewis’ Bears visit Troup for a scrimmage next Thursday, Aug. 14, and then host North Lamar on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Gladewater opens the 2025 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, at Daingerfield.
Sabine
(District 8-3A, Division I)
The less said about Sabine’s 2024 season the better. There is this: quarterback Colt Sparks was injured in the third game, and to say that injury affected the trajectory of their season would be a gross understatement.
The Cardinals, once again coached by Cody Gilbert, went 2-8 overall.
Now, a new season is here, and with it, new hope, although the goals largely remain the same: navigate through a challenging non-district schedule, be one of the top teams in the district, and like anyone else, win the district championship.
The offensive line should be a strong point this year, with players like Christopher Marmolejo (6-2, 320), Gavin Stewart (6-0, 260), and Kelton Lee (6-0, 280) ready to go. Of course, there are questions in some positions, and Gilbert and his staff will need to try and address those – and see who steps up to be team leaders.
Sabine hosts Spring Hill on Friday, Aug. 29 to open the season.
White Oak
(District 8-3A, Division I)
This time last year, coach Michael Ludlow and his staff had nowhere to go but up.
They were coming off a winless season in 2023, and even though the people in the locker room knew the they had what it took to turn things around, they had to make it happen on the field a few times and see it, a confidence-building run.
And that’s exactly what happened, as the Roughnecks started 4-0 out of the gate last year.
Now, they finished 5-5 and missed the playoffs in a district that included state-ranked Atlanta, state-ranked Jefferson, state-ranked Liberty-Eylau and a Tatum team that went in and out of the rankings. But White Oak brings back eight starters offensively, eight defensively, and they’re led on the field by quarterback Jaxsen Ludlow, the head coach’s son and a leader on the field. Ludlow (6-0, 170) threw for 2,103 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago, and ran for 875 yards and 11 more TDs. Also back are receivers Logan Ladwig (5-9, 165) and Tyson McKinney (5-8, 145), and joining them is Tysen McLain (6-1, 160). In the backfield again: running back Levi Sipes (6-2, 200).
Both Ludlows will count on a good offensive line to lead the way, and on defense, linebacker Cameron Venable is a difference-maker.
New Diana comes calling on Friday, Aug. 15 for the ‘Necks’ first scrimmage, and then White Oak visits West Rusk on Thursday, Aug. 21 for the second.
The Roughnecks open the season at home Aug. 29 against Eustace.
West Rusk
(District 11-3A, Division II)
At West Rusk, they never rebuild; they just reload.
And that’s not a joke.
Coach Rafe Mata and the Raiders had a very un-West Rusk-like 4-7 season last year, but still made the playoffs, something they do every single year, no matter what. But Mata would be the first to say that four wins is not the Raider way, or the standard. And most likely, fans of all the schools in 11-3A – not just Raider fans – can expect that four wins to increase in 2025.
The Raiders get back quarterback Judson Dotson (6-0, 180), who accounted for 14 total TDs a year ago, as well as quarterback Troy Hunley (5-9, 185), just a sophomore, and running back Hunter McCandless (6-1, 195), who ran for 383 yards and five touchdowns, splitting time with now-graduated Cole Jackson. McCandless is also huge on the defensive side of the ball, having 104 tackles a year ago.
Also on defense, watch for defensive backs Daylon Williams (6-0, 180) and Kemontrae McGregor (5-10, 160), and opposing quarterbacks better know where defensive lineman Adrian Vargas is. Vargas (5-10, 160) had five sacks in 2024.
West Rusk will host both of their scrimmages: the first is next Friday, Aug. 15, against Garrison, and the second is against White Oak on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Troup
(District 11-3A, Division II)
The Troup Tigers are one of the trendy picks to do well in 3A-Division II, a year after finishing second in their district behind a tough, speedy New Diana team.
They did lose Mr. Everything, Bryce Wallum, to graduation, but coach Sam Wells’s Tigers are right in the middle of the pack in the 3A-DII state poll, at No. 14. One of the reasons for that: nine starters are back on both sides of the football.
Troup is 17-6 the last two seasons, and returns running back Brett Wells (5-11, 180), who rushed for 1,500 yards and nine touchdowns last year, and also had 117 tackles. Also back: lineman A.J. Dewberry (6-3, 285), who will be a force on both lines.
Wells’ Tigers host Gladewater, as mentioned, next Thursday, Aug. 14, and on the next Thursday, Aug. 21, Troup hosts Alto.
The Tigers open the season at Shelbyville on Friday night, Aug. 29.
Arp
(District 11-3A, Division II)
Coach Wes Schminkey’s Arp Tigers are ALSO ranked in the 3A-DII preseason poll (No. 22) after going 7-4 last year, and bringing back seven starters on both sides.
Zane Borque (5-10, 170), who missed time last season, should be back this year and can play just about anywhere the coaches put him. And there’s big hoss Josh Smith (5-11, 165), back for his senior season after running for 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago, and making 114 tackles defensively.
Schminkey can be optimistic about a lot of different positions, and we’ll see them in action next week when the Tigers visit Beckville on Thursday, Aug. 14 for scrimmage one. Their second is the following Thursday, Aug. 21, and they’ll host San Augustine.
The Tigers open the season at Harleton on Friday, Aug. 29.
Beckville
(District 10-2A, Division I)
Coach Cody Ross’s Bearcats are one of three new programs to the ETBlitz.com area; Carthage and Pine Tree, of course, are the other two, and we are so happy to have all three.
The Big Cat – running back Jorden Prince (5-11, 180) – returns in the backfield for Beckville, and he’s their not-secret-to-anyone weapon. Prince was just absolutely amazing in 2024: 2,132 yards and 37 touchdowns. Among other returners for Beckville: quarterback Braxton Bullock (6-3, 195), who threw for 1,808 yards and 25 touchdowns and ran for 383 yards and three more), and on defense, defensive back Grayson Hicks (5-10, 175), 50 tackles, 11 pass break-ups).
Beckville went 10-2 a year ago.
The Bearcats’ first scrimmage, as we mentioned above, is at home against Arp next Thursday, Aug. 14; their second scrimmage is at Garrison on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Beckville opens its season on Thursday, Aug. 28, a home game against San Augustine.
Overton
(District 11-2A, Division II)
Overton has won more games the last two years than they did the previous dozen, including last year’s dramatic overtime win over Mount Enterprise, and the second-round playoff win over Mart that many people called an upset (here at ETB, we PREDICTED it).
The Mustangs went 10-3 last year and reached the third round of the playoffs before falling to district rival Grapeland in Athens.
The bad news – the very bad news – is that quarterback Bryce Still and wide receiver Jayden Edwards had, you know, eligibility like everyone else and now they’re out of it. They graduated, and took with them school-record passing and receiving yardage. Head coach Scotty Laymance, who has been nothing short of brilliant since becoming the coach of the Mustangs, will try and replace both. He will get to return running backs Justin Weir (5-9, 180) and Gabe Miller (5-9, 180), who are also both phenoms on defense. Will it be Rylan Holleman (6-1, 200), the baseball star, who takes over for Still at QB, moving from receiver? We’ll see.
Overton is ranked No. 23 in the DCTF 2A-DII preseason poll.
Laymance and his Mustangs host Union Grove for scrimmage No. 1 on Thursday, Aug. 14, and then on Thursday, Aug. 21, they visit Ore City.
Leverett’s Chapel
(District 10-1A, Division I)
Coach Keith Hughes will be in his second season heading up the Lions, and they did lose a good bit of talent, including the dynamic Trent Wheat, who represented LC at the UIL State Track & Field Championships.
The Lions, of course, play six-man football – they’re actually the only six-man program in the ETBlitz coverage area. They went 6-4 last year, and 2-2 in district play, narrowly missing the playoffs.
The Lions have a multi-team scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 15 at Fruitvale, and then on Saturday, Aug. 23, they’re at Galveston O’Connell, a 10 a.m. start.
LC opens the season at Greenville Christian on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m.
