Texas
West Texas High School Football Preview: 10 coaches to watch ahead of the 2024 season
![West Texas High School Football Preview: 10 coaches to watch ahead of the 2024 season](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2023/11/18/PSAT/71629427007-mg-6011.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3181,1790,x0,y332&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Miles’ Jayson Wilhelm talks after bi-district win over Sterling City
The Miles Bulldogs beat the Sterling City Eagles 48-0 in the bi-district round on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023.
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Texas high school football is only weeks away from fall practice, and excitement grows as fans, players and coaches with high aspirations anticipate the return of Friday night lights in West Texas.
For the past few weeks, the Standard-Times highlighted the top local players in seven position groups — quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive backs, defensive linemen, and linebackers.
In the next installment of our 2024 high school football preview series, we will spotlight the top coaches to watch during the 2024 season.
High school coaches to watch
Scott Freeman, Junction
Freeman was the 2023 All-West Texas Coach of the Year after turning the Eagle program from winless in 2022 to a playoff squad in 2023. Junction has plenty to look forward to this season with a move down to Class 2A Division II. They return all 11 starters on offense and defense and start the season ranked in the top 25 at No. 20. If Freeman can harness the potential on his roster, expect a deep playoff run from the Eagles this season.
DJ Howell, Sterling City
Howell comes from a successful stint in six-man football at Miami, replacing Trey Sisco, who moves back to the six-man football ranks with Water Valley. Howell has a clean slate to work with as he looks to replace seven starters on offense and defense, but inherits a program with plenty of pedigree. It has been four years since Sterling moved up to 11-man football after winning a state title in Class 1A Division I in 2020.
Michael McLeod, Mason
McLeod led Mason to its 14th consecutive district championship last season with an 11-1 record. However, the Punchers failed to reach the regional semifinal for the second straight season — the first time since 2008. It has been six years since Mason won its second state title with McLeod as the offensive coordinator. Now, as the head coach, he has an opportunity to get back to the title game with a roster filled with experience and talent. The Punchers come into the season ranked ninth in Class 2A Division I and are the favorite to win their district.
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Casey Otho, Christoval
It has been two seasons since Christoval had a winning season. The Cougars moved up from Class 2A Division II to Division I at the end of the 2020 season. After losing three players to graduation last year, Christoval is primed to surprise this season with a young roster deep in the trenches. If Otho and the Cougars can take advantage of their opportunity, they could find themselves back in deep playoff territory.
Shawn Rogers, Richland Springs
The Coyotes did not take long to get themselves back into the state championship conversation after a brief hiatus in 2022. Coach Shawn Rogers deserves a lot of credit for steadying the ship after the departure of longtime coach Jerry Burkhart, quickly rebounding to a 13-1 record and a state semifinal appearance. Richland Springs begins the season as favorites to make another state championship game as the No. 2 ranked team in Class 1A Division II.
Mark Smith, Central
Smith takes command of a Central program that could be on the precipice of a turning point. The Bobcats had a tumultuous 2023 season after graduating most of their starters in 2022, fielding one of the youngest teams in Class 6A last year. Despite a competitive effort, they finished the season 1-9 and hired Smith. Before coming to Central, he spent nearly a decade among the college ranks at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Colorado and Southern Methodist University, among others. Under Brent Davis, the last Central hire from the college ranks, the program was a consistent contender in the Little Southwest Conference. The hope is Smith can capture the same magic.
Craig Slaughter, Wall
Wall finished last season falling short of a state semifinal appearance with a loss to Canadian. After the loss, longtime coach Houston Guy announced he was stepping away from his position. The school district slotted Slaughter, the defensive coordinator, as the new head coach. Slaughter transformed the Hawks’ defense into a powerhouse among Class 3A Division II programs during his as defensive coordinator. The hope is he can breathe new life into the offense and help push No. 9 Wall over the hump. If he can get the offense humming early, the Hawks could have its second state title within reach by December.
Blake Weston, Sonora
Weston was named one of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s ’40 under 40’ coaches in Texas after leading the Broncos to back-to-back double-digit win seasons. This year, he faces a new challenge by replacing two of his best players in quarterback Jaime Buitron and running back and linebacker Edgar DeLuna. On top of losing two star players, the Broncos return half their starters on offense and defense. Weston kept Sonora on track without Buitron for the first half of last season, but can he keep the Broncos rolling with a new engine in 2024?
Aaron Whitmire, Water Valley
After two seasons in 11-man football, the Wildcats elected to move back to the six-man game in 2024. The last time Water Valley was in six-man football, they finished the season 12-1 under previous head coach John York. This year, the Wildcats start the season ranked No. 12, but have stiff competition with two other top 25 teams in No. 19 Irion County and No. 23 Robert Lee in their district. Whitmire brought former Sterling City head coach Trey Sisco in as an offensive coordinator, forming a formidable coaching tandem. If Whitmire can adjust his team to six-man football, it will be easy to see them in state title contention.
Jayson Wilhelm, Miles
Wilhelm led Miles to its first playoff win since 2010-11 with a shutout win over Sterling City last year. The Bulldogs return most of their starters but lost All-West Texas Offensive MVP and star quarterback Hayven Book to graduation — an integral part of their explosive passing attack. Even with the loss of their quarterback, Miles has an impressive roster of upperclassmen littered with varsity experience. They face one of the toughest districts in Class 2A Division II, featuring two-time defending state champions Albany, but have all of the tools to make a deep playoff run this season.
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer
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Texas
Heat advisory continues for North Texas ahead of cooler temps
![Heat advisory continues for North Texas ahead of cooler temps](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2023/09/06/41968e79-4ccf-4c00-a55b-c1cc83415262/thumbnail/1200x630/006d14c7dcb0cc0940f787710fffc31e/sunshine.jpg?v=5710b2ed1cee1bdfd30cb9c02455b43d)
NORTH TEXAS — Practice your heat precautions Tuesday afternoon. North Texas has a lot of visitors in town, many of who might not be familiar with this kind of heat. Keep an eye on everyone. Stay out of direct sun if you can, take frequent breaks from the heat, and drink plenty of water.
Monday was the first 100° day at DFW since the start of the month. We’ve had a week’s worth of triple-digit highs so far this summer.
This is significantly lower than in the last couple of years.
North Texas can expect an even hotter day Tuesday, perhaps the hottest day of the year so far.
North Texas will have another hot day on Wednesday. We should start seeing some rain chances by afternoon that might keep us out of the triple-digits. By Thursday a front moves into North Texas and much cooler weather arrives.
We are halfway through the summer of ’24. So far? It has been a little bit on the warm side with a little bit more rain than the 30-year normal.
A significant weather pattern shift is forecast by mid-week. High pressure moves to the west, opening the door for a cold front on Thursday.
Instead of a massive heat dome sitting over middle America, typical of mid-summer, there might be a low-pressure system sitting over the midwest by early next week.
It appears the second half of July won’t be anything like last year. Contrast the weather we got in 2023 in this period with what the European model is predicting for this year for the same period.
The Climate Prediction Center is also showing a good chance of below-normal temperatures all the way to the end of the month.
The best days for a chance of free water for your yard look to be Thursday, Sunday and Monday. The 7-day forecast ends with weather not very typical of mid-summer.
Texas
Texas watermelon growers report good yields, high quality – Texas Farm Bureau
![Texas watermelon growers report good yields, high quality – Texas Farm Bureau](https://texasfarmbureau.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/watermelon-scaled.jpg)
By Shelby Shank
Field Editor
Texas watermelon growers are reporting good yields and high quality for the summertime-favorite melon, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
“Overall, we’re seeing more pounds per acre this year,” Dr. Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulture program leader, said. “Quality is also very high this year with good sweetness levels.”
The season started with growers receiving higher prices per pound compared to last year, but prices have since declined to 18-22 cents per pound.
“This year, the market is softer than it has been in the past two to three seasons,” Clint Wiggins, a watermelon grower from Snook, said. “The market does not look as good as it was the past couple of years.”
Despite the drop in price, the growing season has been positive with minimal issues reported.
The heat and timely rains helped the melons develop good brix counts, a measurement of sugar in the fruit.
“We had a really good start in late winter and the spring. Conditions were favorable, kind of timely rains with just about the right amount each time you needed it,” Wiggins said. “April and May kind of turned a corner, and we had copious amounts of rainfall in Central Texas.”
The Rio Grande Valley has experienced dry conditions for most of the growing season, leading to a later and longer harvest than usual. The drier weather and limited irrigation water in the Valley also shifted some production to the Winter Garden region.
Wiggins, who is a Brazos County Farm Bureau member, partners with other growers throughout the state—predominantly in McAllen, El Campo and Dalhart—giving them a larger market window.
“Yields were pretty decent in South Texas. I would say we were average or a little bit below average. Our yields were a little bit below average near El Campo due to rainfall and weather conditions,” Wiggins said. “Central Texas looks to be on track for an average yield, and then watermelons growing in the Panhandle are growing good.”
He started harvesting the summertime staple at the beginning of May in South Texas and will wrap up in October in the Panhandle.
Texas
Pair of Texas Baseball Commits Selected in First Round of MLB Draft
![Pair of Texas Baseball Commits Selected in First Round of MLB Draft](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3600,h_2025,x_0,y_375/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/longhorns_country/01j2szr6m65a5tc6zgf1.jpg)
Unlike other sports such as college football and college basketball, college baseball faces a unique situation when it comes to the MLB Draft. While teams can land commitments from elite ballplayers at the high school level, they face the risk of those players being good enough to get drafted and subsequently never set foot on campus.
This is the situation the Texas Longhorns found themselves in on Sunday evening during the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. With the draft status of potential impact returners such as Jalin Flores and Jared Thomas still in the air, they saw two of their recruits get drafted.
The first Longhorn commit off the board was shortstop Bryce Rainer, drafted with the No. 11 overall pick by the Detroit Tigers. Rainer, one of the top prospects in the country, played high school baseball at Harvard-Westlake HS (CA) and was always a long shot to actually end up on campus for the 2025 season.
Joining Rainer as a first-round pick was fellow Texas commit Theo Gillen, who heard his name called by the Tampa Bay Rays with the No. 18 overall pick on Sunday evening. Also a shortstop, Gillen was a local recruit from Austin Westlake (TX) and considered by many the best prospect at his position in the class.
Losing out on two elite shortstop prospects undoubtedly stings for the Longhorns, as there is little to no chance either of them play an inning of baseball at Disch-Falk Field. They could opt to play college ball, but with how high they were picked combined with the amount of money they’d make, don’t count on it.
These picks now mean Texas’ attention will turn Jalin Flores, who has still not announced whether or not he will return for the 2025 season. His decision will likely be influenced by his draft outcome, and how high he goes as well as where he ends up.
Elsewhere for potential recruits that could get drafted and not play college ball, some Longhorns’ commits to keep an eye on are a trio of right-handed pitchers in Jason Flores, Levi Sterling and Drew Rerick.
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