GAMES
RANKINGS
Allen, Umeh, Toon headline All-VYPE private school team
The Greater Houston private school ranks were loaded with playmakers across the city.
Kinkaid and Houston Christian have the bragging rights as the only Space City teams to win their respective titles, but who were the real game-changers who propelled their teams all season?
Who can forget the performances turned in by super-athlete Cole Allen of St. John's and Wayne Shanks of Kinkaid or the punishing tackles of Obinna Umeh of St. Thomas?
Canon Toon of Second Baptist School was a human-highlight reel with his legs and arm.
Take a look at the 2024 All-VYPE Private School Team
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The 2024 ALL-VYPE PRIVATE SCHOOL TEAM
(In alphabetical order)
OFFENSE
QUARTERBACKS
David Capobianco, Kinkaid
Tanner Huckfelt, Concordia Lutheran
Patrick Rice, Frassati Catholic
Canon Toon, Second Baptist School
Santiago Villarreal, TWCA
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RUNNING BACKS
Cole Allen, St. John’s
Dean Calhoun, John Cooper School
Langston Davis, Second Baptist School
Amir Brooks, St. Pius X
Jaden Jones, Concordia Lutheran
John Kelly, Cypress Christian
Cannon Kampwerth, FBCA
Wayne Shanks Jr., Kinkaid
Brandon Thomas, Episcopal
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WIDE RECEIVERS
Cooper Brown, St. Pius X
Logan Bartee, Episcopal
Mason Dominy, Concordia Lutheran
Beau Ellis, TWCA
Blake Hamilton, FBCA
Jordan Manuel, Kinkaid
Braedon Robinson, Lutheran South
Nate Tidwell, St. Thomas
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OFFENSIVE LINE
Wyatt Childers, St. John’s
William Cook, TWCA
Gavin Geisler, Concordia Lutheran
Jake Ghiselin, St. Thomas
Sam Griggs, Kinkaid
Ian Harper, FBCA
RJ Lee, Second Baptist School
Lucas Mensing, Second Baptist
T.J. Walker, Second Baptist
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SPECIALISTS
Bennett Cooper, Houston Christian
Mario Gonzalez, FBCA
Michael Taylor, St. Thomas
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DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE LINE
Kevin Baptiste, Second Baptist School
Kristopher Carlson, Kinkaid
Tyler Cesarski, Episcopal
Prince Holiday, TWCA
Jonah Kalu, FBCA
Trace Langin, St. Thomas
Jack Reid, St. Thomas
Alexander Rustay, St. John’s
Jackson Staley, Kinkaid
Joe Trickett, Houston Christian
Obinna Umeh, St. Thomas
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LINEBACKERS
Grayson Boeker, TWCA
Bryce Butler, Second Baptist School
Brooks Edwards, Episcopal
Luken Koehn, Concordia Lutheran
Nico Lara, FBCA
Riley Meekins, St. Pius X
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DEFENSIVE BACKS
Blake Coogan, St. Thomas
Jaxon Coleman, Concordia Lutheran
Cooper Chambers, Kinkaid
Ethan Dishman, Second Baptist School
Greg Guidry, Houston Christian
Blake Hamilton, FBCA
Brayden Hinote, TWCA
Yahya Mir, St. John’s
Devonte Taylor, Episcopal
The Houston Christian Mustangs celebrate their first SPC championship
LAST ONE STANDING: Houston Christian claims its first-ever SPC Football State Title
At this time last year, the Houston Christian football program had already set a new precedent by making their debut at the SPC-3A state championship, where they narrowly fell 30-27 to Trinity Valley in a double-overtime heart-breaker.
Fast forward to this past weekend and the Mustangs were back in the Final, playing against none other than Trinity Valley.
In what ended up being a battle of the defenses, head coach AJ Eisenman and company would dish out some poetic justice by defeating the Trojans 21-12 on Saturday.
"For one thing in our league, they (Trinity Valley) matched up with us size-wise," said Eisenman. "The strength of our team has been our line on both sides of the ball, which definitely came into play. They had some big guys, and a great running back (Ben Ngishu). But we buckled down, and our defense played really well -- limited them to just two scores in the game.
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"It was really just about us doing what we do. You get to that point as a coach where you don't want to over-do it. You just want to trust in what these guys have been working on all year long, put them in the best position to make plays, and that's how it played out."
Offensively, the Mustangs were without one of their star athletes, Greg Guidry (Sr. RB/DB), who suffered a shoulder injury in the week prior.
However, Eisenman gave plenty of credit to a number of individuals who stepped up when it mattered most -- Mac Barrow (Sr. LB/RB), newcomer Noah Chang (Sr. CB), and the team's two quarterbacks, Ron Reis (Sr.) and RJ Evans (So.) among them.
Their re-tooling of the offense, particularly with new packages, placed a higher emphasis on the passing game -- allowing senior receivers Bennett Mallory, Kirby Orth, and Anderson Jones to play bigger roles -- which proved to be a determining factor in the match-up.
More so than a "revenge game", though, this critical victory marked Houston Christian's first state title since the school was founded in 1998.
Naturally, the weight of the moment was not lost on Eisenman.
"It's always fun when you can come back and redeem yourself," he said. "The same thing we've been talking about last season -- it's been a long time coming. It was a win on the back of culture that's been built up for so long. Our mantra, again, was 'Stand Strong', and at the end of the day, we were the one left standing.
"This achievement was extremely validating for me, my staff, the young men on the field, and everyone involved. A lot of the times you're told to compartmentalize your faith, but we did the exact opposite. We leaned into it. When you come at it from that angle, it's twice as rewarding."
The Southwest Preparatory Conference is sure to dole out plenty of All-SPC selections towards Houston Christian in the near future.
But for now, the Mustangs can finally revel in the prize they've been seeking for the past two decades.