Head football coach Rodney Vincent expecting great things in second season at Shallowater

Coming off a strong 2021 season, Rodney Vincent is hoping it all comes together in his second season at Shallowater.

After arriving from Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Vincent coached the Mustangs to a 10-3 record, going undefeated in district play. Shallowater made it three rounds deep in the playoffs but fell to Whitesboro to end its season.

Having only arrived in July of last season, Vincent was impressed by how well his team adjusted to his pistol offense and 4-2-5 defense. Now in a new district, 2-3A Division I, he’s spent the offseason working on Shallowater’s discipline and fitness, hoping an improvement on those can bring the Mustangs closer to a state championship.

“The biggest thing for me is I didn’t get to have a full offseason last year,” he said. “We really focused on a lot of the strength and conditioning. I also spent some time educating them on nutrition. That’s what we really want to get accomplished.”

Helping Vincent out in these areas is the Mustangs’ “leadership council,” a team-elected eight-player group that acts as team captains. Each player on the council drafts teams of 10 to develop team workouts and community service projects to participate in. The teams compete against each other and coaches reward points based on what projects they do. Points are also given if a team has averaged an A-grade in school.

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Some of these community service projects include helping disabled persons move houses, helping teachers set up their classrooms, giving away free meals during the holidays and helping Shallowater’s elementary school organize its kindergarten graduation. Points are given entirely at Vincent’s discretion, with there being no set amount of points for projects.

On the leadership council are seniors Kaleb Cox, Trevor Winn, Joseph Reyes, Josh Grimes, Carter Gillson; and juniors Cannon Reed, Luke Fisher and Nick Molina. Fisher’s team won the contest, having completed the most community service projects.

Vincent believes the council not only develops kids to become leaders later in life, but pushes the Mustangs to give back to their community.

“We pride ourselves on trying to get out in the community,” Vincent said. “If someone has a need in the community, we’re going to try and help them. There's a lot of opportunities for us to serve at different events. They go out there and compete. It’s a big deal.”

On the field, Vincent wants Shallowater’s passing game to improve as well.

Five players — senior Brooks Carter, juniors Eli Bowe and Cooper Manning and sophomores Clayton Vincent and Hudson Franklin — are all battling for the starting quarterback spot. According to Vincent, there’s no clear frontrunner but he “likes the progress they’re making.”

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Whoever starts will be throwing to receivers like Winn and Grimes, the latter coming off a first-team all-district selection last season. Vincent loves Winn’s playmaking and versatility, using the reigning district utility player of the year on offense, defense and special teams.

Vincent considers Grimes to be Shallowater’s best deep ball threat, relying on him to make plays on the outside.

“He’s a really good down-field threat for us,” Vincent said of Grimes. “He caught a lot of deep balls for us last year and knows how to adjust to the football really well. Offensively, he’s going to be really good for us.”

On defense, Vincent wants to see the Mustangs improve in coverage. Shallowater returns senior safety and all-district selection Evan Haseloff, who will play alongside Winn and Grimes in the secondary.

As part of their 4-2-5 defense, the Mustangs field three safeties on most plays. Vincent thinks this formation gives his team the space to be mobile, make plays and take up open field to combat the pass. This season, he just wants to see more of those plays made.

“On our coverage stuff, we’ve got to get better in that area,” Vincent said. “We’ve got enough safeties and (defensive backs) on the field to help with the pass game, so getting to drop everybody else is helpful for us.”

Coming off their fifth straight winning season, the Mustangs hope their emphasis on discipline, stamina, passing and coverage will get them to a state championship after numerous shortcomings.

“I hope to see some real consistency on both sides of the ball,” Vincent said. “I'm talking about being able to play at a high level all the time. Being able to be disciplined in a lot of areas. We pride ourselves on hidden yardage. We want to make sure that we're great on special teams and make sure that we are the least penalized team in the game.

“But … I want to put a team out there this year, just like every year, that plays harder than anybody we play and does it with class.”

Shallowater Mustangs

Head coach — Rodney Vincent

2021 record — 10-3 overall, 5-0 in District 1-3A Division I

Base offense — Pistol

Base defense — 4-2-5

Returning lettermen — 20

Returning off./def. starters — 7/6

Top returners — WR/DB Trevor Winn, Sr.; OL/DL Kasen Long, Jr.; RB/LB Kaleb Cox, Sr.; WR/DB Josh Grimes, Sr.; OL/DL Joseph Reyes, Sr.; RB/LB Cannon Reed, Jr.

2022 schedule

* — denotes District 2-3A Division I game

Aug. 26 — vs. Monahans, 7 p.m.

Sept. 2 — at Seminole, 7 p.m.

Sept. 9 — at Hereford, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 — vs. Midland Greenwood, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 — vs. Idalou, 7 p.m.

Oct. 1 — vs. Pecos, 2:30 p.m. at Andrews

Oct. 14 — vs. Dalhart*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 21 — at Bushland*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 28 — vs. Muleshoe*, 7 p.m.

Nov. 4 — at Amarillo River Road*, 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Shallowater football: Rodney Vincent expects great things '22 season