Join our talented VYPE Live crew for this Texas High School Football match-up on Friday, October 2.
Regents vs. St. Anthony
7PM - Jack Farrell, Lance Catchings
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Join our talented VYPE Live crew for this Texas High School Football match-up on Friday, October 2.
7PM - Jack Farrell, Lance Catchings
VYPE’s “Fresh Faces” series introduces new Head Football Coaches in the Austin area…
The McNeil Mavericks have a new head coach. Nothing unusual about that – but the same can’t be said about the unfortunate and convoluted chain of events that led to Jerry Gardner taking over the Mavs’ reins.
Jonathan Cruz had been hired in late March to take over from Scott Hermes at McNeil when Hermes moved to Leander Glenn. But, in a sad and shocking twist, Cruz was arrested in early May on a warrant for injury to a child and placed on administrative leave. While most programs were gearing up for spring ball and setting guidelines for summer workouts, McNeil was once again looking for a head coach.
Enter Jerry Gardner, who’s been about as calming, measured and reassuring as could be expected under such tumultuous circumstances. And he’s strictly eyes-forward.
“I try not to go back into the different coaches and what may have transpired,” he stated diplomatically. “I know that Coach Hermes did a great job here and the other things, I don’t get into. That’s not my responsibility.
“What I do is I come in here and I build relationships, build culture, expectations, a standard and then what that excellence means and then we move forward with the understanding that there’s been a lot of change and a lot of moving around for these athletes. So, trying to give them stability; get them to understand what we’re about and build those relationships and let them know that we care about them and start a standard.”
That’s how you calm troubled waters.
A 48-year-old native of Ardmore, Oklahoma who played for Lone Grove High School, the University of Central Oklahoma, and some semi-pro ball, Gardner brings extensive playing experience to the Mavericks. Plus, there’s that whole Broncos/Mavericks horse-thing going on…
““I had a great experience (at Central Oklahoma) playing for the Broncos,” Gardner recalled. “And then I went and played semi-pro but had some injuries and you know how those things go.”
With his playing days over, Gardner found his calling in coaching. After early assistant stints at Plano East and Plano West High Schools, he became the head coach and assistant AD at Glenpool High School in Oklahoma. His most recent stop was as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wylie East where he helped lead the Raiders to consecutive 10-win seasons.
Following the graduation of his younger son, Kyler, and with his older son, Kaden (24), already out of the house, Gardner and his wife, Anitra, jumped at the unexpected opportunity at McNeil; an opportunity for which Gardner seems perfectly suited.
“(It’s an) opportunity to come to a program that I think has an opportunity to build, to be successful, and sustainability,” he offered. “I think it’s one of my purposes is to be a coach and how to mentor and build leadership and help our athletes to reach their full potential and I think that’s a spot; I know it’s a spot that you can have a large impact.
“(McNeil is) very faithful; very family oriented and very competitive and I think this is a spot if you can build and do those things, like we have at previous places that I’ve been at, that we can build something very special here.”
Aside from restoring stability to the program after a turbulent spring and summer, his task on the field is capitalizing on the playoff mindset that Hermes had restored to the program. And for Gardner, it’s first things first.
“Well, the very first thing that we want to do is we want to better ourselves,” he declared. “Are we developing our athletes? Are we giving them the tools necessary to have success? I don’t go on wins or losses. What we do want to do is we want to do a great job of setting up that when we come on the field, they’re gonna know that we’re ready to play and that they’re gonna get our best effort. We’re gonna be really disciplined; we’re gonna be technique-firm, we’re gonna go get after them. Our players are gonna be ready to go and we’re gonna show great sportsmanship.
“So, that’s what our expectations are. If we do those things, those things will lead to positives.”
After the off-season uncertainties endured by the McNeil faithful, Mavericks fans will gladly take any positive outcomes that Coach Jerry Gardner can deliver.
The featured standouts of the 2026–27 College Park Cavaliers football team.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
College Park Cavaliers
Willis Wildkats
The Woodlands Highlanders
Grand Oaks Grizzlies
Conroe Tigers
Oak Ridge War Eagles
Caney Creek
Cleveland Indians
*Teams in bold are projected playoff contenders
VYPE PRESEASON AWARDS
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Camden Hughes, College Park
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Trey Finney, Willis
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Magnus Herndon, The Woodlands
BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kaden Copelin, The Woodlands
ON THE CUSP: Conroe Tigers
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Coming off a historic season that saw them clinch their first undefeated district title in school history and finishing with a 11-2 record, the College Park Cavaliers enter the 2026 season with high expectations. Though the Cavaliers are under new leadership with Michael Buro at the helm, there is plenty of talent returning that has them primed for another big season in 2026. The offense is led by returning quarterback Camden Hughes who was the Offensive Player of the Year in 2025 as he threw for 2,638 yards and 33 touchdowns to go along with 424 yards on the ground and nine rushing touchdowns. Hughes will look to get the ball to his playmakers, specifically Clemson-commit wide receiver Julian Cromartie, senior wide receiver Brian Snodgrass and move-in tight end James Skaer. Running backs Duke Stephens and Antonio Booker will look to help open up the passing game as they combined for 1,691 yards on the ground in 2025. Senior offensive lineman Diego Dudley will anchor the offensive line and look to pave the way for the Cavaliers high flying offense. On defense, it starts up front with national recruit junior defensive lineman RJ Wyms (Defensive Newcomer of the Year) and Jordyn Grant, who is the anchor in the trenches. On the outside, cornerbacks Jordan White (Columbia commit) and James Cabbarus (New Mexico commit) will look to shut down both sides of the field.
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The Willis Wildkats are fresh off another double-digit win season under head coach Trent Miller and a regional final appearance in 2025. While the Wildkats lost District MVP Jermaine Bishop Jr. to the Texas Longhorns, they still return more than enough firepower for another deep run in 2026. All eyes will be on rising sophomore quarterback Linc Frazier who was the Offensive Newcomer of the Year after throwing for 4,232 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2025 and they will have depth at quarterback with senior Parker Stephenson. Move-in athlete Trey Finney will look to fill Bishop’s role as the explosive playmaker along with seniors Daylen Wilkerson and Preston Stephenson. Up front, senior Owen Griffin will anchor the offensive line and pave the way for junior running back Jamarcus Williams. Flipping to the defensive side of the ball, seniors AJ Edwards and Waylan Nolen (first-team) will look to get to the quarterback and help free up senior linebacker Cayden Williams (North Texas commit) who was a first team all-district selection last season. In the back end junior Jamal Lagway and senior J’Lynnd Kellow (Mississippi State commit) will look to control the airway.
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Once again The Woodlands Highlanders reached the playoffs advancing the area round of the playoffs in 2025 and finishing with a 9-3 overall record. The Highlanders will be without two-year starter Jack Daulton who is off to TCU. Enter junior Kaden Kopelin who is eager and ready to start his era at quarterback in the red and green. Kopelin will have weapons getting the ball to senior tight end Colton Weddel (second-team) as well as receivers Bryson Bourn (second-team) and Carter Cass (second-team). Running backs Jason Haskins (first-team) and move-in Solomon Woods (junior) will look to provide a stable rushing attack. Defensively the Highlanders return one starter from a year ago in senior Magnus Herndon who was a first team all-district selection as he recorded 64 tackles, 16 sacks and 18 tackles-for-loss. Senior linebacker Vincent Lewis will look to step up as a leader defensively as well. While the Highlanders will feature a number of new faces this season, they look to be a playoff contender again in 2026.
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Grand Oaks made history in 2025, reaching the playoffs for the first time in program history and winning their first ever playoff game before exiting in the Area Round of the playoffs. Under the direction of Shaun McDowell, the Grizzlies look to be a playoff contender in 2026 as well. Senior wide receiver Darnell Jackson Jr. (Utah-commit) has world class speed and is the leading receiver coming back for the Grizzlies offense. Quarterbacks Pierceson Lackey (senior) and Harley Adams (junior) will both look to get Jackson Jr. the ball while athlete Brian Victorian will be used both in the backfield and in the passing game. Paving the way for the Grizzlies up front will be offensive linemen Ryan Scroggins and Aiden Cruz. For Grand Oaks defense, senior defensive lineman Trey Lott and senior linebacker Jase Sutton will control the front seven. The Grizzlies made history last season and plan to make more history in 2026 with a deeper playoff run.
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After just missing out on the playoffs in 2025 with a 6-4 record overall, the Conroe Tigers look to be on the cusp of playoff contention in 2026 under the direction of coach Cedric Hardeman. Starting in the trenches, senior offensive lineman Kingston Tupuola is the leader along the O-Line and will look to help protect senior returning starter at quarterback Cameron Nunley (second team). Nunley has weapons to get the ball to in junior athlete Keino Hopkins, senior Jackson Taylor and senior Josiah Cirilo. Defensively, Alexander Coey is primed for a big senior season coming off a first team all-district selection as he finished with 26 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss and he will have help in the trenches as juniors Kaleb Franklin-Martinez and Cassius Melton look to step up in bigger roles. The Tigers secondary will have big holes to fill as first-team, all-district selections Xavier Harmon and Damian Horace head to the college ranks.
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Oak Ridge is entering year two under head coach Tyler Blackshire who is looking to continue building the culture within the program. In 2025, the War Eagles finished sixth in the district with a 4-6 overall record. Senior defensive end Finn Walker (Kansas State-commit), a first team all-district selection, returns to anchor Oak Ridge’s defensive line along with senior Chase Leonard and junior Jeremy Bassue. Both were both all-district selections as well. In the secondary, junior Chris Salem and Nico Chavez will look to shut down opposing offenses. Offensively, the War Eagles graduated quarterback Drayton Urbay and wide receiver James Scott and will look for underclassmen to step up in their absence. On the offensive line, the War Eagles return senior JoAngel Dorado who was a second team all-district selection in 2025.
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Caney Creek is under new direction going into the 2026 season as Taylor Cobb takes over the program. Cobb will look to change the culture within the Panthers program as he inherits a team who went 1-9 a year ago. The Panthers return junior quarterback Peyton Beckett who will look to get the ball to junior wide receiver Amarien Hughes who was a second team all-district selection. Sophomore running back Derek Thompson will lead the rushing attack as junior offensive lineman Jhorany Cornejo paves the way up front. Defensively, the Panthers lost six starters to graduation and will look for underclassmen to step into a bigger role this fall.
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Cleveland enters year two under head coach Ajani Sanders and while the Indians currently have a 36 game losing streak, Sanders is looking to break that going into 2026. Returning for Cleveland defensively in 2026 will be all district selections senior linebacker Seth Quintero (first team) and junior defensive back Aspen Williams (second-team). Offensively, returning quarterback Zack Nickson will look to get the ball to wide receiver Dontrell Punch and tight end Sergio Gonzales. With 13 total starters returning, expect for the Indians to get back in the win column this fall.
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Cypress Ranch QB Braden Baker named to Touchdown Club of Houston preseason honoree
The Touchdown Club of Houston is pleased to announce its 2026 Public School High School Preseason Team for the 2026 season.
Here are the Preseason Honorees...
The squad will be honored at the Touchdown Club’s annual Touchdowner of the Year Dinner, scheduled for Wednesday, August 19th at 7 p.m. in the Main Ballroom of the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Road.
This year’s Touchdowner Award will be presented to Dave Elmendorf, former Westbury, Texas A&M and LA Ram standout defensive back. He will be joined at the banquet by a number of College and Professional Football Hall of Fame members as well as a number of former teammates.
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OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Braden Baker / Cypress Ranch
Camden Hughes / College Park
Carson White / Hightower
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Running Backs
Ian Thomas / Tomball
Antwon Sanders / C E King
Landen Williams-Callis / Randle
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Offensive Linemen
Kennedy Brown / Kingwood
Isaac Coughran / Katy
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Tight Ends
Ryker Reynolds / La Porte
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Wide Receivers
Julian Cromartie / College Park
Benny Easter Jr. / Summer Creek
Alvin Mosley III / Crawford
Aden Starling / Shadow Creek
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Athletes
Joshua Banks / Atascocita
Kasen Jammer / Angleton
Jordan Simmons / Yates
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DEFENSE
Defensive Linemen
Ezekiel Ayangbile / Langham Creek
DeMarco Jenkins / Pearland
Jason Johnson / Atascocita
Amari Vickerson / Cypress Ranch
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Edge
Kaden McCarty / Cypress Falls
Xavier Muhammad / Shadow Creek
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Linebackers
Cade Haug / Katy
Jhadyn Nelson / Langham Creek
Davon Smith / Westfield
Aaron Williams / Ridge Point
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Defensive Backs
Trenton Blaylock / Atascocita
Karnell James / Manvel
Kameron Roberson / Cypress Springs
Brandon Sherrard / Shadow Creek
Prince Washington / Houston Lamar
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Kickers / Punters
Beckett Cocke / College Park
Kaden Rosado / Grand Oaks
To purchase tickets, please use this link:
https://touchdownclub.org/product/touchdowner-of-the-year/
If you have questions about the event, or about ticket reservations, please contact Neal Farmer, the club’s executive director, at his home office at 713-849-9860, or send emails to Neal at: houtdclub@att.net. You can look up event details on the TD Club’s website: www.touchdownclub.org
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