WAKE UP! ON ETBLITZ | Carthage preview at noon today, as our 15 in 15 series continues; working on that volleyball preview
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wake Up! is a daily feature here on ETBlitz.com where you can find out what’s coming up on the site, what’s happening across our coverage area, what we’ve got planned, what YOU’VE got planned, and sometimes a little Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, and all kinds of other things thrown into the mix – everybody in the pool, as they say. It’s presented every day by Cozy Coffee Station, your stop for the best drinks, hot or cold, in East Texas. See their menu and find out more right here: Home | Cozy Coffee Station. Find them on Facebook at Cozy Coffee Station-Kilgore and Cozy Coffee Station-Gilmer, and on Instagram, @cozycoffeestationkilgore and @cozycoffeestationgilmer. And find ‘em to pick up your drinks at 110 Midtown Plaza in Kilgore, and at 755 Highway 271 North, Gilmer.
Today’s football preview: CARTHAGE
Back in the summer, the announcement was made here on ETBlitz.com that we’ve added Carthage, Beckville and Pine Tree to our coverage area, beginning with the 2025-26 school year – not just in football, but in every sport.
Our 15 Previews in 15 Days continues today, day No. 7, with Carthage. The Bulldogs are the defending UIL 4A-Division II state champions, and ranked No. 1 in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football preseason poll in 4A-DII (see the poll here: WHO’S RANKED? | Preseason state high school football polls for all classifications, presented by ZIPPY J’S).
Joe Hale spent some time with Carthage coach Scott Surratt and the ‘Dawgs for this preview. Here’s an excerpt.
“Satisfaction around Carthage isn’t yesterday’s University Interscholastic League state football championship – it’s the next one.
The Drive For 11 has begun.
ETBlitz.com welcomes head football coach Scott Surratt, his football coaching staff and team as well as the rest of the school’s athletic teams, including band, cheer and drill team, into our coverage area, along with the same at both Beckville and Pine Tree.
Carthage has reached a standard of excellence that few before them in Texas high school football have been able to reach.
Since Surratt’s hiring here prior to the 2007 season, that standard around this football program and athletic department has literally skyrocketed. And the Bulldogs have 10 state football championships in the trophy case, including last year’s Class 4A, Division II victory over Waco La Vega.”
So, since Carthage was No. 7 in our series, and we have 15 schools, then quick math, we have eight more. They are, in no particular order, Henderson, Tatum, Kilgore, Gladewater, Leverett’s Chapel, Arp, White Oak and Pine Tree.
And one of those will be tomorrow’s feature. Our 15 Previews in 15 Days will wind up on Thursday, August 21, and on Friday, Aug. 22, we’ll take a look at Kilgore College and the Southwest Junior College Football Conference, the day before most of the teams in the conference will play their season openers.
Here are links to the schools featured in the 15 Previews / 15 Days so far, for anybody who’d like to go back and read.
Troup (On Thursday, August 7): 2025 ETB OFFICIAL TROUP FOOTBALL PREVIEW | Tiger by the tail? LOL, not this one! | Troup aims to start, and finish, strong in ’25.
Gilmer (On Friday, August 8): 2025 ETB OFFICIAL GILMER FOOTBALL PREVIEW | Glory days: A return to the big time for the Buckeyes?
Overton (On Saturday, August 9): 2025 ETB OFFICIAL OVERTON FOOTBALL PREVIEW | Can Mustangs ride back to double-digit wins, and keep up winning ways?
West Rusk (On Sunday, August 10): 2025 ETB OFFICIAL FOOTBALL PREVIEW | WEST RUSK / A decade of postseason runs? Well, let’s run it back, son
Beckville (On Monday, August 11): 2025 ETBLITZ FOOTBALL PREVIEW: BECKVILLE | Records falling, winning being done — just another weekend for Ross and the Bearcats
Sabine (On Tuesday, August 12): 2025 ETBLITZ FOOTBALL PREVIEW | SABINE / A reset, a new season, and this Cardinals team has talent (Presented by KILGORE MERCANTILE & MUSIC)
ETBlitz.com volleyball preview
Working on finishing our volleyball preview with all hope of getting it posted today. It’s a very busy day here at the ETBlitz.com ranch – there’s a lot of moving pieces. But I still have hope of getting it finished and posted. If we don’t make it today, it’ll be on the site on Thursday, and will have all 15 of our high school programs (Arp, Beckville, Carthage, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Pine Tree, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak), even though most of them have already played their regular season openers.
Another reminder about The Bulletin Board
The Bulletin Board is where we place reminders for you all about what’s coming up, things like the watermelon fest Thursday night in Kilgore, after Kilgore’s practice, and reserved parking now available at Henderson High School football games.
Clower Meats is our ad partner for this, and you can check out the latest version of The Bulletin Board right here: ETBLITZ BULLETIN BOARD, presented by CLOWER MEATS | Updated Tuesday, Aug. 12. We’ll have another update on that Thursday morning.