Texas

West Texas High School Football Preview: 10 coaches to watch ahead of the 2024 season

Published

2 years ago

July 15, 2024

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West Texas High School Football Preview: 10 coaches to watch ahead of the 2024 season

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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 14^th 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

Texas renews 3 disaster orders covering drought, flooding and border

Published

11 minutes ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Texas renews 3 disaster orders covering drought, flooding and border

A flood disaster order for 30 counties stems from deadly storms in 2025.
Drought conditions and wildfire risks persist, keeping 111 counties under a disaster declaration.
A border security disaster, first issued in 2021, has been renewed and now covers 70 counties.

Texas is keeping more than half of its counties under a state of emergency.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott renewed three statewide disaster declarations on Tuesday, June 16 — covering flooding, drought and border security — which together place 164 of the state’s 254 counties under emergency authority.

Each of the orders, signed by Abbott and filed with Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, authorizes the use of “all available resources of state government and of political subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope with this disaster.”

Here’s a look at what the proclamations are for and which counties are under them.

Flood disaster from deadly 2025 Hill Country storms holds across 30 counties

On July 4, 2025, Abbott issued a disaster declaration following heavy rainfall and flooding that caused widespread and severe property damage, injury and loss of life in several counties.

The Camp Mystic flooding, which killed 27 campers and counselors, also occurred during this time frame. The original declaration included 21 counties located in the Texas Hill Country and the Concho Valley in the central part of the state.The disaster order has been renewed over the past year, expanding to include 30 counties in the June 2026 renewal and does the following:

Suspends all laws that prevent the transfer of bodies to families as soon as possible.
Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
Temporarily suspended — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.

Drought disaster covers 111 Texas counties as wildfire risk persists

Abbott amended and renewed a drought disaster order originally issued on July 8, 2022, and it has been renewed several times over the past four years.

When it was originally signed, the order impacted 158 counties across the entire state, from the Texas Panhandle to the Permian Basin to the Texas Hill Country.

The original order states that the persistent drought conditions in the state have increased the wildfire threat in the region. The June 2026 renewal order states that the Texas Division of Emergency Management has confirmed that those same drought conditions persist; however, only 111 counties are listed in the renewed order.

The order does the following:

Suspends all laws regarding state agencies’ contracting or procurement rules that would impede its emergency response necessary to protect life or property threatened by the declared disaster.
Temporarily suspends — with written approval from the governor’s office — laws that would prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action to respond to the disaster.

Border security disaster spans 70 counties in fifth-year renewal

The original order was issued in May 2021 in response to a “surge of individuals unlawfully crossing the Texas-Mexico border posed an ongoing and imminent threat of disaster for a number of Texas counties.”

The original 2021 order affected 34 counties along the Texas border from El Paso to Brownsville, with Abbott saying it was in response to former President Joe Biden’s open-border policy.

“President Biden’s open-border policies have paved the way for dangerous gangs and cartels, human traffickers, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to pour into our communities,” Abbott said in a June 2021 statement. “Meanwhile, landowners along the border are seeing their property damaged and vandalized on a daily basis while the Biden Administration does nothing to protect them.

The order has been renewed and amended several times over the past five years, with the June 2026 order impacting 70 counties from El Paso through the Hill Country and the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The renewed order declares a state of disaster for those counties and for all state agencies impacted by the prescribed disaster.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.

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Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN

Published

10 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Bystanders rush to rescue passengers after small plane crashes on Texas highway | CNN

A small jet carrying six people crashed on a highway in South Texas Tuesday evening, with bystanders jumping in to assist emergency services in rescuing passengers from the fiery wreckage.

One person was killed and five others were injured after the plane crashed on Laredo’s Loop 20 highway, shutting down traffic in both directions and strewing debris across multiple lanes.

Video shared by a witness from the scene showed emergency responders attempting to crack open the plane’s windshield as authorities and bystanders assisted several people out of the burning aircraft. Some were seen walking away after escaping the aircraft.

The plane, a NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude business jet, had departed San José del Cabo, Mexico, at around 6:18 p.m. local time and was bound for Austin, Texas, before diverting toward Laredo, along the US-Mexico border, according to flight data from FlightRadar24.

Authorities responded to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. local time after receiving a call from the local airport tower after the plane reported mechanical issues, Laredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Baeza told reporters from the scene. The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers before it crashed the highway, hitting a moving vehicle on its descent, he said.

FlightRadar24 data shows a steady, controlled descent into Laredo International Airport, until the signal cut out at around 600 feet, roughly two and a half miles short of the runway, at about 9:58 p.m. local time.

Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez also told CNN affiliate KGNS the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before crashing.

CNN has reached out to Laredo International Airport and NetJets.

Police did not reveal the identities of the six on board or the condition of those injured. The victims have been transported to a local hospital, Baeza told CNN.

“Regrettably and tragically there is one deceased involved in this crash,” Baeza told reporters from the scene, without giving further details as the victim’s family is being notified.

It’s unknown if anyone in the vehicle struck by the plane was injured. Five officers responding to the crash site were also transported to a local hospital for treatment related to injuries sustained during the rescue operation, Loredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Espinoza told CNN.

Federal agencies, including the National Transportation Security Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, have been notified and officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already on-site, Baeza said.

CNN has reached out to the NTSB, FAA and FBI for more information.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Texas driver dies after vehicle is swept away by fast-moving floodwaters

Published

21 hours ago

June 16, 2026

Press Room

Texas driver dies after vehicle is swept away by fast-moving floodwaters

article

BANDERA COUNTY, Texas – A woman died Monday after her vehicle was swept into a creek by high, fast-moving waters and carried several miles downstream, authorities said.

Bandera County flooding

What we know:

The Bandera County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 emergency call at approximately 5:30 a.m. from a female driver who reported that her vehicle had been inadvertently pulled into a creek near Lower Mason Creek Road.

The caller told dispatchers that she was floating downstream at a high rate of speed and was trapped inside the vehicle, according to a statement from Bandera County Sheriff Josh Teitge.

Emergency operators maintained contact with the woman for several minutes before the call disconnected, which sheriff’s officials said was likely caused by water infiltrating the vehicle. Before losing connection, operators successfully pinged the woman’s cellphone, allowing authorities to pinpoint her last known location.

Sheriff’s deputies and fire personnel immediately launched a massive search-and-rescue operation. The agency deployed swift-water rescue assets, drones, and a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter unit to scour the flooded area throughout the day.

Search crews located the completely submerged vehicle at approximately 4:30 p.m., several miles downstream from where it had first entered the water.

The driver was recovered from inside the vehicle but “succumbed to the trauma of the event,” Teitge said.

The identity of the victim was not immediately released pending notification of family members.

Teitge expressed gratitude to local first responders, the Center Point Fire Department, state helicopter crews, and dozens of community volunteers who assisted in the daylong search.

Bandera is located roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio.

The Source: Information in this article is from the Bandera County Sheriff’s Office.

TexasSevere Weather

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