High school football: Royse City, Caddo Mills numbers look good
Aug. 10—Numbers won't be a problem for the Royse City Bulldogs during the 2022 football season.
The Bulldogs currently have 220 players in the program.
"We're looking at carrying 55 or more on the varsity," said Royse City coach David Petroff.
He said the Bulldogs are planning to field two junior varsity teams and two freshman teams in addition to the varsity.
"If there's a time to go 6A it's right now with all the kids we have coming back," said Petroff, whose Bulldogs are moving up from Class 5A.
He said the Bulldogs are not "shying away" or "backing away" from the challenge of 6A though with an adjusted enrollment of 2,333 1/2 students they're one of the smallest 6A schools in Texas.
They've been placed in District 10-6A with Rockwall, Rockwall-Heath, Mesquite, Tyler Legacy, Mesquite Horn and North Forney, which all have larger enrollments.
Petroff said the first week of practice for the Bulldogs was "solid."
"The attitudes are great," he said. "This is year 10 (of his program). These guys, they jump in, they do what they're asked to do. They're good kids." — The Caddo Mills Foxes, who are in Class 4A, have close to 110 players in the program, according to Foxes coach Kodi Crane.
"We're running about 46 on the varsity," he said. "We've got the support of the administration. We've got the support of the community. We've had some good coaches. These kids have got a choice. They could be playing video games or something else. They choose to be here."
Crane said the players reported in "good shape" with a "good knowledge of what we're doing in schemes."
Some new coaches and a familiar one have joined the staff. Andre Welch, Kevin Thomas, John Long and Rolando Sandoval are new coaches. Welch is coaching the defensive tackles. Thomas is working with the running backs. Long, who was the athletic director at Eldorado, is working with the offensive line. Sandoval, who had been at Bowie in West Texas, is coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers. Brad Scribner, who was coaching at Boles, is back as an assistant on the staff. — Though the Quinlan Ford Panthers led the nation in rushing last season the emphasis on the 2022 team could be on the defense.
"The defense has got to carry us early in the year," said Panther coach Todd Wallace. "I think our offensive line is going to be better than it was last year."
Ford's top three rushers from last season have graduated including running back Ja'Donavan Williams (215-2,229, 29 TDs), running back Kaiden Roden (206-2,042, 26 TDs) and quarterback Rowdy Rowan (125-1,133, 15 TDs). They helped the Panthers average 476.1 yards rushing per game and run for 83 TDs.
"You don't replace those three," said Wallace. "We will be running back by committee. We could have 10 to 15 run the ball."
The Panthers return just one starter on offense off last year's 12-1 team that advanced to the third round of the 4A-II playoffs. But they return seven on defense, hence the emphasis on the defense. — The Celeste Blue Devils currently have 32 players.
"Our low numbers are nothing new," said Celeste coach Demetrius Rector. "We're used to having 35 kids. I told them when I was a senior we had 18."
Rector is a former Blue Devil player as is is brother Jamaica, who has joined the staff. Demetrius was an all-conference running back at Texas A&M University-Commerce, topping the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season. Jamaica was an all-American wide receiver at Northwest Missouri State.
Rector said practice so far "has been real good."
"We've had a solid five days of practice," he said on Friday. "The energy's been up but it has been hot."
