The 2024 high school football season will bring a drastically different look around Brown County as more than half of the head coaches at the seven school district are new.
Leading the way are Early and Bangs, where Randall Case and Colton Buzzard, respectively, are beginning their first seasons as head football coaches as well as athletic directors.
May is welcoming a new head football coach for the first time in 20 years as James Ball takes over for Craig Steele, who guided the Tigers to four state championship game appearances and 175 wins.
Blanket also finds itself with a first-time head coach as former assistant Jalen Helms takes the reins of the program.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Phillips is back in Zephyr, where the Bulldogs look to build on back-to-back district championships, Jack Graves continues to rebuild the Brookesmith Mustangs, and of course Sammy Burnett is starting his seventh season at his alma mater in Brownwood.
Buzzard and the Dragons will be the first county team to kick off the season by holding a Midnight Madness practice at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 5.
Case, who served on the Early staff for seven years priors to taking over as head coach, and the Longhorns will hit the field for the first time at 6 a.m. Monday.
The Longhorns are looking to extend their streak of playoff appearances to five in the new District 5-3A Division II which also includes Tolar, Clifton, Eastland, Dublin and Brady. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football projects Early to place third in the district.
The Dragons are coming off a 2-8 campaign after posting a 9-2 record the season prior. Bangs is in a revamped District 5-2A Division I along with Coleman, Hamilton, Hico, De Leon and Ballinger. Bangs is tabbed to come in fifth, according to DCTF.
May is ranked No. 7 in Class A Division I for Ball’s first season, but No. 4 Jonesboro is the District 14 favorite.
Zephyr and Blanket are now in 13-A Division II along with another two-time defending district champion in Rising Star, a playoff team from a year ago in Sidney, and Gustine. Sidney is the preseason favorite according to DCTF, with Zephyr grabbing the second playoff spot.
Brookesmith tallied four victories last year after back-to-back one-win campaigns., but will have some work to do to earn its first playoff berth since 2020. The Mustangs are tabbed to come in third behind No. 2 Richland Springs and Rochelle in District 15-A Division II, which also contains Panther Creek and Lohn.
Outside of Brown County, the aforementioned Richland Springs Coyotes are among the favorites to vie for the Class A Division II state championship in their second full season under head coach Shawn Rogers. The Coyotes reached the state semifinals in 2023 with a 13-1 record.
Comanche has moved up to Class 3A Division I and has been placed in District 3 with Sweetwater, Jim Ned, Breckenridge, Clyde and San Angelo TLCA – a far more challenging league than the last few seasons. The Indians are picked to place fourth, however.
Coleman is the 5-2A Division I favorite, while San Saba is heading south in District 14-2A Division I with Johnson City, Thorndale, Harper, Holland, and Mason. The Armadillos are tabbed to finish fourth.
Goldthwaite slipped down to the Class 2A Division II ranks and find themselves in possibly the toughest district in the state. The Eagles are expected to finish fourth in District 10, which also includes Mart, Chilton, Bremond, Wortham, Frost, Hubbard and its nearest league foe Meridian.
Cross Plains is in familiar territory in District 7-2A Division II as the Buffaloes are also picked to come in fourth behind Albany, Roscoe and Miles. Hamlin and Winters comprise the rest of the district.
And joining the BrownwoodNews.com coverage area for 2024 are six-man schools Santa Anna, Panther Creek, Rising Star, Sidney, Mullin and Priddy – the last of which is joining the UIL following its first two seasons of football since 1960.