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