The high school football season is pretty much here.
Practice starts on Monday for most, followed by a few scrimmages in the following weeks and then teams will play their first official first games around Aug. 25.
One of the main story lines this year for Kendall County teams is that three of the four 11-man programs welcome new head coaches.
Champion, Comfort and Geneva School of Boerne all had changes at the top, while Boerne High kept its coach and is expected to make another deep playoff run.
This is what Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (DCTF) has to say about three of the teams:
Boerne High
The Greyhounds received a lot of ink from DCTF magazine and not just about the team, but two players and the coach were mentioned.
Head coach Che Hendrix is listed as the Preseason Coach of the Year, while junior linebacker Hutson Hendrix is picked as a 4A Preseason All-State player. Also, quarterback Jaxon Baize is the magazine’s Preseason Offensive MVP in the district.
DCTF also believes the Greyhounds will have another solid year and ranks them No. 2 in its 4A DI preseason state poll.
After making it to the state championship game last December, the magazine has Boerne defeating Calallen in the regional finals in the upcoming season.
If the Hounds do tame the Wildcats that would put them in the state semifinals against the winner of Tyler Chapel Hill and Kilgore, according to the magazine.
Boerne faced Chapel Hill last year in the state semis and posted a 35-0 victory to advance to the championship tilt against China Spring. The magazine has China Spring, last year’s state champ, winning its third title in a row.
The Greyhounds are predicted to win this year’s District 14-4A DI title over Somerset, Fredericksburg, Uvalde, Kennedy and Memorial.
The Greyhounds are on the road for their first three games in 2023 and kicks off the season at Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, Aug. 25.
Boerne Champion
The Chargers have a new leader in Blane Ellis, who was the defensive coordinator since 2013 and promoted to head coach last spring after Keith Kaiser retired.
Champion is in a challenging district in 12-5A DI and DCTF has the Chargers finishing sixth in the field of eight teams.
Two of the teams in the district, Smithson Valley and Wagner, are listed in the magazine’s preseason top 25 rankings. Those two schools are also picked to finish 1-2 in the district.
Behind Smithson Valley and Wagner, DCTF predicts that New Braunfels Canyon and Seguin will finish third and fourth and snag the last two playoff spots up for grabs.
Only the top four advance out of district and into the postseason.
Buda Hays is picked fifth, followed by the Chargers at sixth, while MacArthur and Lehman are listed at seventh and eighth.
No doubt, getting back to the playoffs will be a priority for Ellis after the Chargers missed the postseason party last year for the first time in eight seasons.
Because the Chargers hosted spring training drills last May, they can’t start this coming Monday and have to wait until the second week of August, although incoming freshman are allowed to start on Monday.
Champion opens the season in Laredo, Thursday, Aug. 24, against United South.
Comfort High
The Bobcat football program also welcomes a new head coach and just like at Champion, the person they picked was a longtime assistant with the program.
Jay Rieken takes over for Brandon Easterly, who left the program to take a job in Texarkana. Rieken has been with Comfort for more than 10 years and inherits a team with a lot of talent.
The Bobcats were a playoff team last year after they went 3-3 in district and finished fourth in District 15-3A DII. This year, Comfort is picked to take second behind district-favorite Poth.
Karnes City and Nixon-Smiley are predicted to place third and fourth and grab playoff spots, while Natalia, Dilley and South San West Campus are picked fifth, sixth and seventh.
Comfort QB Micah Nye is the magazine’s Preseason Offensive MVP in the district.
The Cats begin the 2023 season Friday, Aug. 25 at Johnson City.
Geneva School of Boerne
The Eagles aren’t mentioned in the magazine but that’s likely because Geneva was going through a transition last spring when coaches are supposed to send in questionnaires from the magazine.
Geneva will have its third head coach in three seasons after Grant Gaston was hired last spring to lead the Eagles for the 2023 season.
The Eagles are in a unique position of having only three district games and seven non-district contests.
Including in TAPPS 3 – DIII along with Geneva is Corpus Christi St. Paul II, Schertz John Paul II and Holy Cross.
Holy Cross is ranked in the magazine’s top 25 and would presumably be the district favorite. The Eagles finished second last year at 2-1 with a loss to Holy Cross and victories over both John Paul II schools.
Geneva is at Harmony School of Innovation to start the new season Friday, Aug. 25.
District 12-5A DI
Smithson Valley
Wagner
NB Canyon
Seguin
Buda Hays
Champion
MacArthur
Lehman
District 14-4A DI
Boerne
Somerset
Fredericksburg
Uvalde
Kennedy
Memorial
District 15-3A DII
Poth
Comfort
Karnes City
Nixon-Smiley
Natalia
Dilley
South San West Campus
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