Class 2A Teams

Boyd Yellow Jackets

By Paul Barnett

They are the defending District 9-2A Champions.  They are the defending Class 2A Division I Region II Champions. Oh yeah, they are also the Class 2A Division I State Champions.  They are the favorites to win District 9-2A again this year.  They are the Boyd Yellow Jackets.

 Boyd lost 7 key seniors from last year’s 15-0 State Championship team, however they do retain one of the key players from last year’s squad.  Chase Hall was the district’s Offensive MVP and figures to be even more dangerous this year.  Hall had 1,363 yards of total offense and scored 24 touchdowns.  He also had 4 interceptions on defense.  The Yellow Jackets also return Brandon Clement (WR/DE), Allen Craig (OL/DL), Kyle Erwin (OL/LB), Daniel Armentor (WR/S), Anthony Delgado (OL/DL), and Logan Ratliff (QB/S).  Moving up from the District Championship Junior Varsity squad will be junior quarterback, Cody Ogle, who will have to fill the shoes of Garrett Tidwell.   Ogle has a very strong arm and the Yellow Jackets will have a lot of speed on offense to compliment his skills.

Defensively the ‘Jackets will have just as much speed as they will on offense.  Chase Hall will be the main defensive weapon left over from last year’s team.  Among the players returning from last year’s state championship squad is junior defensive end Brandon Clement who had 60 tackles as a sophomore last season.  Also returning from last year’s team on defense is Anthony Delgado (DL), Allen Craig (DL), Kyle Erwin (LB), Logan Ratliff (DB), and Daniel Armentor (DB).  Moving up from the 2004 District Championship J.V. team is Clay Heredge (DB) who recovered a key fumble late in the State Semifinal game against Henrietta.

The Boyd Yellow Jackets appear to be very strong all the way across the board with plenty of speed on both offense and defense left over from last year.  The ‘Jackets will have to get past both Paradise and Jacksboro who will both be better this year. However, they will definitely be the favorites to win back-to-back district titles in Wise County’s 2A district for the first time since 1998 and 1999. 

Chico Dragons

By Colby Shawn

            There was one thing that was certain last year on the Friday Night Fever radio show - win or lose, head Coach Pete Hart of the Chico Dragons would call in and talk about the game. Unfortunately for Coach Hart and the Dragons, there were many more somber calls last season then exciting ones. The Dragons are coming off a disappointing 2-8 season that was plagued by injuries. In some instances, the team barley had enough kids to suit out, but for those who return this season, it was a character builder. Coach Hart stated that his team “has had the best off-season since he has been at Chico.”

 The Dragons will have a tough district schedule.  As if having the smallest enrollment of any school in the district was not enough, the Dragons will have to play the defending State Champion Boyd Yellow Jackets.  Senior offensive lineman Nolan Eubanks who stands at 6’5” and weighs in at 315 pounds will anchor the Dragons this season. Eubanks has graded out at one of the best lineman in the entire county the past two seasons and did not allow a sack all of last year. He should open plenty of holes this year for RB Cody Johnson. Johnson is coming off a season in which he fell just short of 1,000 yards rushing. The Dragons will have to find a replacement at QB after losing 3-year starter Garret Burke. In talking with Coach Hart, he feels confident that they will have a good replacement. Starting at wide receiver will be Brian Hart and I think he will see a lot of action this season as I expect Chico to open up their offense.

Defensively you will see many of the same names that you see on offense since the Dragons will probably only suit up around 25 kids on varsity. Defensive end Ryan Bland should pick up right where he left off last season when he had 52 tackles. Raleigh Cox, Nick Jones, Aaron Jones and Justin Stewart should also be big contributors on the defensive side of the ball.

There is no question that Chico’s biggest strength this season will be there experience. The team returns 17 kids and Coach Hart stated that his kids “have really dedicated themselves in the off-season to getting in shape.” He said, “the kids have hit the weights real hard this summer and everyone is pumped up to start two a days.” Of course, the biggest weakness that Chico will face this season will be depth. The one thing that stood out last season through all of the injuries was that the Dragons never gave up. That being said I look for the Dragons to pull everything together this season and contend for a playoff spot in district 9-2A. Good luck and Go Dragons!

Jacksboro Tigers

By Paul Barnett

Last year the Jacksboro Tigers almost had a 6-year playoff streak snapped as they lost to the Nocona Indians 20-14.  They, however, redeemed themselves with a 21-20 victory over the Paradise Panthers clinching their 7^th playoff appearance in a row. 

            This year the Tiger will retain 3 offensive and 4 defensive starters.  Among the returning starters is junior Gunter Elenburg (WR/DE/P).  Elenburg caught 9 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown during his sophomore season.  He is also a returning all-state punter averaging 41.4 yards per punt last year.  Also returning on offense is senior Alton Gary (RB/DB).  Gary rushed for 751 yards and 12 touchdowns last season; he was also an all-district selection last year.  The Tigers will have 2 all-district linemen returning from last year’s Bi-District qualifying team in Brandon Kelso (C/DE) and Justin Tarpley (OL/DL).  Senior Miles Maddox (QB/DB) will replace Bo Ward at quarterback this season. 

            Defensively, the same players will return.  Gary will return at DB where last year he had 68 tackles and 3 interceptions.  Miles Maddox, Jimmy Fitzgerald (WR/DB), Adam Day (RB/DB), Chase West (WR/DB), and Colby Bennett (RB/DB) will join Gary to form a very solid defensive unit.  There will be several players vying for starting roles this season including Fitzgerald, Day, West and Bennett. Others vying for starting roles will be Eric Lozano, Corey Hord, Reece Robinson, Zedd Hutson, Justin Vogl, Brady Darnell, Josh Norvill, Cory Collins, J.T. Nash, Kris Wicks, Chris Vega, Wayne Morris, and Lee Salazar. 

            The Tigers have one of the toughest pre-district schedules in 9-2A.  The Tigers start off with the Italy Gladiators in Italy, last year the Tigers lost to Italy 28-27.  A week later they will take on a strong Bowie squad who they beat 24-15 last year.  They will face both Italy and Bowie on the road this season.  They will face Eastland in Jacksboro this year, last year Eastland beat Jacksboro 31-7.  During district the Tigers will get Nocona and Paradise at home this season, while they will have to travel to Boyd.  The top 3 in 9-2A will likely come from the foursome of Boyd, Jacksboro, Nocona, and Paradise.  Look for Boyd, Jacksboro, and Paradise in any order to represent 9-2A in the playoffs again this year.

            Just like Paradise, if Jacksboro can remain healthy they should be able to contend for the District 9-2A title with Boyd.

Paradise Panthers

By Paul Barnett

The 2005 Paradise Panthers will be one of the favorites to make the playoffs from District 9-2A, and they may make a run at the district title.  The Panthers will return 3 key starters on offense and 6 starters on defense from a 6-5 Bi-district team.  Returning for his second year at quarterback and strong safety will be Josh Erwin.  Erwin took over at the helm as the district season started last season, throwing 6 touchdown passes in his starting role.  Seniors Corbin Young (HB/CB), Brandon Johnson (FB/LB), and Cody McKenzie (HB/CB) will share time in the backfield with Zach Bruton (HB/LB) and Bradley Bryant (HB/LB), both of whom will move up from last year’s 7-2-1 Junior Varsity team. 

            Defensively, the Panthers will return a strong core of starters anchored by brothers: Hudson Webber (OL/LB) and Matt Webber (OL/LB).  Ben Euler (OL/DE) and Brandon Johnson will return at defensive end and linebacker respectively.  In the defensive backfield Corbin Young and Josh Erwin will attempt to keep opponent’s passing games at bay. 

            As for the positions that were left by last year’s seniors, there are a number of players vying for those positions, including: Cody Hambrick (SE/LB), Chas Fernandez (SE/CB), Derek Hilliard (QB/SE/SS), Nick Stransky (SE/CB), Eric Shepard (OL/DT), Tyler Tolbert (OL/DT), Eric Crenshaw (OL/LB), Colton Caruthers (OL/DT), John Clement (OL/DE), Oscar Martinez (OL/LB), Freddie Raper (OL/DE), Zach Strand (OL/DT), Matt Davis (SE/K/CB), Victor Perez (FB/LB), Jordan Geron (FB/LB) and Heath Null (SE/LB). 

            Head Coach Danny Neighbors said that everyone has been working hard this summer, “We’ve had a lot of kids come out during the summer to lift weights. This is one of our biggest turnouts we’ve had since I’ve been here.”  Neighbors feels like his team will be just as quick if not quicker than they were last year.  “I think we will be able to use or speed and quickness to our advantage, but we will have a lack of experience and we will not be as deep as we were last year, by the time district comes around the inexperience should wear off.”

            If the Panthers can stay healthy, they should be able to contend with Boyd for the district championship in 2005.