The Huffman Hargrave Falcons lead our preseason district rankings
Lumberton Raiders
Bridge City Cardinals
Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears
Liberty Panthers
Vidor Pirates
Livingston Lions
*Teams in bold are projected playoff contenders
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VYPE PRESEASON AWARDS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Drayden Bacon, Huffman
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nick Cratic, Lumberton
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Bryce Breeden, Bridge City
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jackson Struwe, LCM
ON THE CUSP: Liberty Panthers
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Bridge City Cardinals
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The Falcons enter year five under head coach Joey Buchta and are coming off a 7-4 mark in 2025. Huffman reached the Bi-District round. A total of nine starters return for Huffman, including running back Drayden Bacon, who holds an offer from Lamar and tallied 1,657 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns. He also had 159 yards receiving and one score. Bacon will have a pair of second-team all-district offensive linemen to pave the way for him in 2026 as Kaleb Smith and Peyton Burrow both return to the offensive line. Burrow enters this year with offers from Rice, FAU, Louisiana Tech and UTSA. Maurice Clark (WR/DB) and Dailen Bacon (WR/DB) are also players to watch after the duo recorded 167 and 257 receiving yards, respectively. Both found the endzone three times apiece. Dailen currently holds offers from Washington State, University of Houston and Louisiana Tech. Wally Hallum (DB/WR/K) will be another to watch as he enters this year with 65 career tackles and three interceptions. Keys to success for Buchta’s team include developing the defensive line, getting off the field on defense and spreading the ball to a variety of playmakers.
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Lumberton went 7-4 overall a year ago and reached the Bi-District Round of the playoffs. The Raiders return first-team all-district running back Nick Cratic, who rushed for 1,138 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2025. Honorable mention all-district QB Nolan Mitchell returns after passing for 1,114 yards and seven scores. The front will return experienced as offensive linemen Koltin Morales (first-team), Wyatt Millican (second-team) and Nic Graff (honorable mention) are all set to return. Defensively, second-team all-district defensive back Madden Dean (29 tackles, 1 INT) and all-district punter/kicker Luke Cody are set to return.
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Josh Smalley enters his third year of leading the Bridge City program. In his two years, Smalley has guided the team to a 19-5 overall record. Last year, they went 11-2 and reached the Regional Semis against Kilgore. Bridge City is fresh off back-to-back playoff appearances and now look for another in 2026 with 10 starters returning. The Cardinals will be led by reigning District Defensive MVP Bryce Breeden, who is also an Arkansas commit. Breeden was named an all-state linebacker last season. Other key returners include all-district LB Keagan Traha, QB Hudson Hoffman and TE/WR Luke Nelson.
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Little Cypress-Mauriceville coach Eric Peevey enters his sixth season of leading the Bears program. LCM has made the playoffs five straight years including going 5-6 overall in 2025 and reaching the Bi-District round. The Bears bring back some talent to the huddle in 2026 including second-team all-district QB Jackson Struwe. Other key returners include honorable-mention all-district picks Ronnie Garcia (OL), Brycen Chargois (TE), Ethan Pope (LB), Christian Corrillo (DB) and Isaiah Watzlavik (K).
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Liberty is coming off a season where it went 3-7 overall. A total of 12 starters return for third-year coach Kedrick Harrison, including reigning Defensive Newcomer of the Year Connor Schultz at linebacker for the Panthers. Another player to watch is Defensive Newcomer of the Year Logan Ross. Other key returners include honorable mention all-district picks Jaydon Holmes (RB), Jackson Harris (OL), Korbin Lawson (DB) and Jakob Rawlinson (DE). Also watch for Eli Nichols, John Key and Thomas Marberry. They are looking to make their first playoff appearance since 2018 this season.
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Vidor is coming off a 2-8 season and went 2-5 in district play. The Pirates missing the playoffs snapped a streak of five straight seasons of making the postseason. They will look to get back into the dance this year and return second-team all-district defensive back Bryce Collins to the field to try and do that.
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Livingston is fresh off a season where they went 2-8 overall and 0-7 in district play. Last year was an improvement off the 2024 year, which saw them go 0-10. Second-team all-district offensive lineman Ty Thomas is set to return for the Lions.
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Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
