CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With the high school football regular season at its end, teams are now looking ahead to their first round playoff matchups.
Some teams got here winning a district title, including first-year head coaches at Refugio, Flour Bluff and Calallen—continuing their school's tradition of success.
"It was an easy transition, because I've been around these kids since they were—they know me—I've been around them since they were born," said Drew Cox, Refugio Bobcats head football coach.
Replacing a legendary head coach like Jason Herring takes the right person for the job. Refugio found someone within the program, Cox, who was Herring's longtime right-hand man. He is with the Bobcats for 18 years so far and said that winning district titles is expected.
Refugio went undefeated in district play and gave up only one touchdown in their last six games—defeating Three Rivers, 83-7, to win a district title this year. Their only loss this season was to Edna in a one-score game.
"What we learned from it was things we had to fix to get better to make the run we want to make," Cox said.
Cox said Refugio tries to make their non-district schedule as hard as possible. That includes talented teams like Edna, and he said the goal is to play teams at that level late in the playoffs. He credited his coaching staff for a successful first season as the new head coach, and said that his team is locked in for the playoffs and staying focused on each opponent.
Flour Bluff Hornets Head Football Coach Clynt Elwood took over as head coach this season after previously serving as their defensive coordinator. The Hornets are co-district champions with Veterans Memorial and PSJA North from the Valley. He said his message to his players is to not flinch—whether beating PSJA North in overtime or falling to Vets Memorial—learning from mistakes to get ready for the playoffs.
"Having that mindset throughout the entire season, and it's been like that here at Flour Bluff for a long time. That's really helped us out tremendously," Elwood said.
Elwood replaced Chris Steinbruck, who is now Flour Bluff Independent School District's superintendent. He said that he is continuing to raise the standards and move Flour Bluff forward just like his predecessor.
"I just continued to push the culture and to keep the tradition strong and make sure that our expectations, that they continue to rise and that's something that he always did as well," Elwood said.
Calallen Wildcats Head Football Coach Charlie Reeve came to Calallen this season from Victoria East—replacing Steve Campbell. The Wildcats were 4-0 in district play and won a district title in Reeve's first season.
"Calallen has had a lot of success before I got here," Reeve said. "My job was to carry on that tradition and that legacy that's been built here."
Reeve said that Calallen has a winning tradition and there are expectations that come with that. The Wildcats had a tough non-district schedule, including a loss to the undefeated Sinton Pirates. He said that playing good opponents early showed them where they were at, and the goal was to play their best football heading into the playoffs.
When Calallen plays El Campo in the first round of the playoffs next week, Reeve's brother will be coaching the other team. He said that they are both great teams with a lot of tradition.
"It just happens to be that my brother's on the other end of that," Reeve said. "It is tough, because it's win or go home and that's what makes the playoffs great."
Reeve will look to get his first playoff win as Calallen's head coach next Friday when they play El Campo. Flour Bluff will play McAllen Memorial next Friday and Refugio will play Kenedy next Thursday.