PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Fulshear Chargers
George Ranch Longhorns
Alief Taylor Lions
Alief Elsik Rams
Foster Falcons
Alief Hastings Bears
Strake Jesuit Crusaders
(Bold Denotes Playoffs)
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VYPE's PRESEASON AWARDS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Patrick Broadway II, Fulshear
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Hayden Drinkard, George Ranch
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Smith Orogbo, Alief Hastings
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandon Smith Jr., Alief Elsik
ON THE CUSP: Foster Falcons
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George Ranch Longhorns
Doug Brown (VYPE)
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Alief Taylor Lions
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
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Alief Elsik Rams
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
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Foster Falcons
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
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Alief Hastings Bears
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
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After dominating their previous district in Class 5A, Fulshear now ascends to the prime-time 6A show within District 20. Head coach Nick Codutti enters his fourth season of directing “Da Dirty F”, and looks to guide his team to a statement year in order to surpass their 2023 mark of reaching the Area Round. Senior RB Patrick Broadway II will be the catalyst for Codutti’s offense, following a campaign in which he registered nearly 1,200 all-purpose yards with 12 combined scores to secure a first-team, all-district selection. The scary aspect about Broadway – who currently holds an offer from Houston – is that he will be even more productive this Fall, given that he’ll have more touches due to last year’s starter, Davion Godley, has since graduated. Additionally, TE Marcos Carter (first-team), OL Anderson Ling (first-team), OL David Collom (first-team), FB Zane Smith (first-team), WR Rafe Toruta (second-team) and RB Damairus Froe (second-team) round out the laundry list of weapons returning for this explosive Chargers’ offense. Defensively, Fulshear will rely on the talents of dual Houston-commits Sheldon Rice (DL) and Chance Bryant (DL), as well as first-teamers Logan Hudson (LB), Ehimen Ediale (DB), Asher Jacob (LB), Ty Powell (DB) and Jerome Drain (DB).
George Ranch went 9-3 a year ago, which was capped off by an appearance in the second round of the postseason. There will be a new sheriff in town this Fall, as Casey Vogt takes over as head coach, following his most recent stint at Randle High. He’ll have plenty of star-power to work with, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. Senior linebackers Josh Richardson (second-team, all-district), Christian Lee and Nate Mangus will be the rocks of the foundation, with Dominic Solis (Sr. DL), Cade Marion (Jr. DB) and Kaegan Mahone (Jr. DL) in support. The Longhorns’ offense is powered by senior halfback Hayden Drinkard, who received first-team honors after racking up 1,255 all-purpose yards with 11 touchdowns. He’ll be a force in the backfield behind an O-Line headlined by Jacob Thompson (second-team) and Brooks De Los Santos.
Under the direction of fifth-year coach Shawn Gray, Alief Taylor will anticipate a return to the playoffs, after narrowly missing out in District 23-6A last season. The Lions have one of the most balanced rosters in the division, which should be made perfectly clear in the coming months. Jaxson Adeoye (Sr. RB) commands the ground attack, on the heels of accumulating over 1,000 all-purpose yards (6 TDs), leading to a first-team nomination. Senior wideouts Dylan Harris (first-team) and Yorel Turner (second-team) will be the top targets for the team’s signal-caller Logan Gray. On defense, look to senior DB Melton Nwaguo, and second-teamers Mustafa Aboaba (Sr. DL) and Christopher Fierros (Jr. LB) when it comes down to stifling the opposing offense.
Alief Elsik finished the previous Fall season with a record of 4-6, which was a vast improvement compared to the results this program has seen in recent memory. Shea Rodriguez enters year three as the Rams’ head coach and things should only continue to trend upward for this team with all the talent returning to the gridiron. Young up-and-comer Brandon Smith Jr. (RB) is coming off a remarkable freshman debut, and currently has a handful of D1 offers, including Texas State, Tulsa and UTSA. The field general for Elsik will be Kaden Mendenhall, who enters his junior year behind-center. His go-to guys in the receiving corps should include second-teamer Tay’Ron Hughes and junior Dajon Patterson, with an offensive line anchored by juniors Praise Adaramola and Jay’veon Ruff. The strong-suit for the Rams, however, will undoubtedly be their defense, as they bring back first-team selection Zion Omo (LB), Onyedikachi Ikoro (LB), Avery Malveaux (LB/second-team), and do-it-all ATH Reilarean Phillips, among others. This might very well be the year that Elsik breaks the playoff-drought that began in 2016.
Foster, alongside bitter rival Fulshear, moves in from District 10-5A-I, in which they most recently experienced the team’s first losing season in over a decade. Despite that, the Falcons will look to make a new name for themselves amongst some different competition in coach Shane Hanks’ second season as the head man. Fortunately, he’ll have a bevy of impressive pieces who are returning to the fold. Second-team, all-district honorees Jack Den Herder (Sr. WR) and Langston Hogan (Jr. WR) will make for a nice route-running duo for Garrett Barham (Jr. QB) to pass to, while senior center Christian Holt (second-team) barricades the front-line. Meanwhile, first-team linebacker Addison Ojiaku returns to hold down the fort on defense, after accumulating 96 tackles a year ago. Leading the big-men in the trenches will be senior DT Josiah Hatter, with first-teamer Avery Milligan (Sr. DB) securing the Foster secondary.
The Michael Carter-era begins at Alief Hastings as he takes the reins of a program that has gone through something of a rough-patch over the course of the past few years. That doesn’t mean this group isn’t without some muscle. The combination of senior edge-rushers Smith Orogbo (Texas-commit) and Ike Okafor (California) could easily make the Bears one of the top defenses in the district, given their propensity to be genuine game-wreckers. Orogbo received a first-team, all-district nod for his considerable efforts in 2023 (103 tackles, 9 sacks), while Okafor (86 tackles, 8 sacks) was named to the second-team. Offensively, Carter will turn to junior signal-caller Madden Harvey to provide the attack, alongside returners such as Syncere Nealy (Sr. RB), Kameron Hines (Sr. WR), Altin Hayes (Jr. RB) and Triston Brooks (Sr. WR).
Strake Jesuit finished fourth overall in District 23-6A a year ago, prior to making a brief playoff appearance to end the season with a record of 3-8. There are a few notable returners for coach Donovan Fikac to work with this time around, beginning with John Hebert (So. RB). In his freshman endeavor, Hebert nearly registered 1,000 all-purpose yards and nine scores, which could potentially make him a candidate for Newcomer of the Year if he continues to produce at this rate. At 6-foot-8, first-team tight end Heger Davis provides an intimidating presence, as both a blocker and pass-catcher. Others to watch for include second-teamers Luke Omanga (Sr. WR), Ryan Frew (Sr. OL), Brandon Ukonu (Sr. DL), in addition to Bryce Samuels (Jr. DB), MacGregor Byers, Logan Davis (So. DB) and senior OL Chrysanthos Fetokakis.