Holliday senior Jaxx Johnson has been around the game of football his entire life. The son of Eagles head coach and athletic director Frank Johnson just completed his 18th and final set of two-a-days.

“It’s weird going from when you’re three months old to now and knowing it’s just going to be gone next year,” Jaxx said. “Growing up, I’ve been to enough football games and done enough, I think I’ve worked hard enough to where I won’t look back and think I could’ve done more. I don’t really have a bittersweet feeling towards it, it’s just the end of something.”

The Archer City Lady Cats return the majority of their district-championship winning team from a season ago and look to repeat as district champions.

Seniors Rebecca Taggart and Jenny Smith headline the group that edged out Olney 57-50 at the district competition last year while juniors Kassidy Marin and Landri Payne are back with experience at the regional meet while newcomers Serenity Jones and Emily Anderson are expected to make a big splash.

Archer City senior Gunner Smith broke out onto the scene in 2021, earning all-state honors after amassing 203 tackles last season. This year, the Wildcats star middle linebacker is poised for a big season under a new defensive scheme.

“Last year the game started to click for me,” Smith said. “I feel like I’ve always been pretty good at football and last year I was able to take it to another level.”

New Archer City head coach Bradan Ritchey knew he had something special when he first set foot on campus in February. The Wildcats were coming off an 8-3 record, their first district championship in over a decade and had won games in the postseason for each of the last two years.

This year’s Archer City squad may look a little different. Gone are the likes of Mallory Maxwell and Maddie Lopez along with many other heavy contributors from last year’s team that advanced to the regional tournament. With just two returners on the roster, head coach Krissa England knows this year’s team may have some growing pains.

Archer City senior Kadence Huffman knows this year might be a little different for the Lady Cats following the departure of last year’s graduates but she feels confident this year’s squad can come together for a special season.

“We all watched the seniors from last year since we were in junior high,” she said. “We knew they were going to be great but now it’s our time since they’re gone. We’ve got to embrace it and make the best out of it. It’s our time to shine.”