Reloaded and ready to go, Eagles looking to take next step
With a 57-11 record over the last five seasons, the success at Holliday is no surprise. The Eagles look to become Texoma’s first program to eclipse 10-wins in six-straight seasons.
A challenging non-district schedule could be all that stands in the way of that feat as Holliday appears poised for another district championship and deep postseason run.
Leading the Eagles for his 10th and potential final season as retirement rumors swirl, head coach Frank Johnson knows this bunch still has work to do to achieve the ultimate goal, a state championship.
“It’s a work in progress still,” Johnson said. “In general, I was pleased with our scrimmages. What we are doing wrong is fixable. The guys that are tentatively starting right now that didn’t start last year are a little behind. I’m talking mainly receivers and secondary people. Defensively, I think our front is going to be good. The couple of question marks we had on our offensive line had a good first scrimmage. In general, I was very pleased. I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Leading the offense for the third-straight season is quarterback Peyton Marchand. After throwing for 1,357 yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago, the senior is poised for another big season in the Eagles’ Wing-T offense.
“Peyton is such a competitor. He’ll be a great leader on the field. Whatever we ask him to do will be done right. I don’t have to worry about him doing his job. He’ll be comfortable doing whatever we ask of him. In the early scrimmages, I thought he threw the ball really well. He was on the money with it.”
In the backfield, Jaxx Johnson (686 yds, 12 TD) and Colin Hays (438 yds, 5 TD) are expected to form a rotation at fullback. Johnson is the top returning rusher on the squad after sharing district MVP honors a season ago. At the tailback spot, Johnson envisions Kaison Yow and Tyrese Polite to fill the void of Austin Jones who graduated last season while Parker Jones (310 yds, 3 TD) and Creed Jackson should see time at wingback.
The Eagles are replacing longtime starters Cason Foster and Austin Linn on the offensive line but Johnson has been pleased with the newcomers filling the void.
“Nathan Mangual has moved from tight end to the line,” Johnson explained. “In general, we thought he did well during the scrimmage. I was pleased with Sean Poore. He’s got some little things to work out. Caleb Foster played a lot of center for us and he’ll do a good job. We’ve got Cooper Turner back over there. He gets after it. Josh Tibbets lives and breathes football. We’re solid. As long as we stay healthy up front, we’re solid.”
Senior Tate Mahan returns for another year at tight end and will be joined by newcomer Ace Greathouse, a 6-2, 215-pound, junior move-in from Wichita Christian. Mahan pulled down seven passes last season for 101 yards and a score.
Johnson is still looking for someone to step up at wide receiver as a dependable target.
“There’s several kids that can do it,” he said. “I think the starting spot is still up for grabs. Dallas Pecot has tremendous speed. Normally Parker Smith has great hands. Ashton and Tristyn Berry can do it. I don’t know if anybody has stepped up enough to make a difference. I’m leaning on Dallas because I saw him catch a touchdown in the playoffs. There’s a host of them out there. We’ll rotate them in and see what happens. Someone will emerge. It’s just too early to tell.”
Defensively, the Eagles bring back a wealth of talent in the front-seven from a unit that allowed just 13.7 points per game a season ago, including a pair of all-state linebackers in Johnson and Jones.
“Right now, we’ve got about eight kids going both ways,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a rotation going but I think that’s going to hurt us a little bit early on. Once we get to district, we should be in good enough shape where it won’t matter.”
Along the defensive front, Mahan (68 tkl), Turner (99 tkl) and Foster (11 tkl) all bring significant experience while Tibbets and Greathouse are expected to rotate in for playing time.
“Cooper looked damned good last year. Caleb and Josh can both play. We’ll get in a rotation and go from there. Cooper and Tate are right there on who’s the best two. Those other guys aren’t a significant drop off from them. Ace is learning at it. Eventually, he’ll make a difference.”
After breaking onto the scene and dictating which way teams were going to run the ball as a freshman, Jones is a known commodity as a sophomore at outside linebacker. The all-state performer made 149 stops a season ago, including a team-high 21 tackles for loss. Jackson and Polite are expected to play opposite him on the outside while Johnson and Hays man the middle along with Steele Skinner.
Currently, the biggest need Holliday has is in the secondary after graduation took away a large portion of the Eagles’ backend of the defense.
“It’s the secondary we’re pretty thin on,” Johnson said. “Landry, Dallas and possibly one of the Berry boys or Kaison will get in there. Their downfall is the mental aspect right now. We’ve got to learn to communicate better than what we’re doing. Coach Tucker will get them there.”
If the Eagles can shore up the offensive line and secondary and navigate a grueling non-district schedule, this is certainly a team that can once again be playing ball into December.
