The Most Improved Offenses in 2025

Teams are listed in order of increase in points per game.

1. Goose Creek Memorial (Up 38.7 ppg)

Goose Creek Memorial scored more points in its first three games (189) than it did the entirety of the 2024 season (123). New head coach Jay'Mond Cleveland, a 2003 graduate of nearby Baytown Lee who played wide receiver at SMU, has injected life into the Patriots' passing game. Senior wide receiver Joshua Babin has racked up 693 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in just four games, using 10.4 100m dash speed to take the top off the defense. 

For more on Goose Creek Memorial's season, check out our recent feature on its 3-0 start:

2. Lubbock Liberty (Up 32.7 ppg)

Lubbock Liberty played its inaugural varsity football season in 2024 without seniors. The Patriots didn't even have a full weight room until midway through October; instead, lifting in two makeshift PE locker rooms. After a full offseason in the weight room, Coach Joe Sexton says his offensive line has made the starkest improvement. Right tackle Barrett Sugarek and center Hudson Heffner are returning starters who've anchored the line, while Paxton Lair has raised the group's ceiling after elevating from the JV. 

The offensive line has provided time for senior quarterback Colton Bichard, who had seven total touchdowns in a Week 4 win over Seminole. Bichard's football intelligence, developed after three years in the system, allows the offensive staff to add more wrinkles to the game plan.

"Our second year of playing varsity football, and we're where we are now, is pretty remarkable," Sexton said. "That's all because of our kids. They bought into everything. We've had so many hurdles to get over."

3. Ponder (Up 32.6 ppg)

Last season, Ponder lost its final three games to barely miss out on the playoffs at 5-5. But the Lions, who returned 10 offensive starters, used the disappointment as fuel this offseason. Ponder won 13 of its final 14 7-on-7 games in the offseason, and that momentum has continued with the first 4-0 start in school history. 

"These guys have a chip on their shoulder," Coach Marcus Schulz said. "Or, shoot, a whole bag of chips on their shoulder. They want to do something that everybody says they can't do. Ponder football has never been a powerhouse, but these guys worked their tails off last spring and summer."

Quarterback Tyson Price, a three-year starter and two-time team captain, has completed 76 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Price also leads Ponder with 478 rushing yards on 17.1 yards per carry. He has a bevy of fellow three-year starters to distribute to, including Braydon Brock, Terrize Mills and Rece Faulkner.

 Ponder won its first three games by an average margin of 74.6 points, but Schulz said last week's 32-29 win in the District 4-3A DI opener against Boyd proved his 2025 team was a year older and more mature than last year. Ponder was down at halftime and had 19 penalties called against them, including four touchdowns called back. Last year, the Lions would've folded. Now, they're a different animal.

"This is probably the best team that I've been part of since the Gainesville Leopards when we won state in 2003 and lost the state championship to Wimberley in 2005," Schulz said.

4. Merkel (Up 32.1 ppg)

Wes Wood was hired in May of last season. A young roster, combined with a truncated offseason, resulted in a 0-10 year, during which the offense averaged just 12 points per game. The majority of the team are multi-sport athletes, and they dedicated their offseason to early-morning weights, track and field practice during the athletic period and baseball practice after school. That grind has resulted in a 4-1 start to the year.

"It's hard to keep those kids bought in and not look at today's new age of instant gratification," Wood said. "Our kids, they're old school. They're blue-collar, and they just put their nose down and worked even harder. I'm so proud of them."

Wood says he doesn't know how he stole new offensive coordinator Chris Kincaid, whom he hired from Wiley this offseason. Kincaid's offense has unlocked sophomore quarterback Easton Malone after getting thrown to the wolves midway through last season. Malone is a coach's kid who has grown up around the program. His dad was the head baseball coach and assistant football coach for years, and came out of retirement two weeks ago to fill an early-season opening.

Malone has more time to operate behind an overachieving offensive line. Center Logan Alexander has changed the outlook of Merkel's season with clean snaps after negative plays plagued the Badgers in 2024.

"I challenged our O-Line and D-Line before the season," Wood said. "I said, 'Us being able to compete will be 100 percent determined on whether or not you guys can overachieve.' We lose the eye test every game. But we have fight."

Senior wide receiver Kaden Blubaugh broke out as a sophomore with 10 touchdowns, but scored only three as a junior after a move to inside receiver. Now back at home on the outside, he leads Merkel with 468 yards and nine touchdowns. His mental bounceback is a microcosm of the entire program's mindset shift. 

"His attitude, leadership, buy-in and character have done a complete 180," Wood said. "He's one of the most enjoyable kids to have on our team right now. We are so proud of his character growth, and it's funny how that shows up on the stat line."

5. Dallas Lincoln (Up 31.0 ppg)

Dallas Lincoln has the same group of skill kids back from last year, but they have a different mindset after all of them ran track this offseason. 

"You can't blame anything in track," Lincoln Co-Offensive Coordinator Lem Alaman said. "It's you versus the clock. So that's the development of their mindset of being where I'm supposed to be and doing what I'm supposed to do and being accountable to that."

Junior running back Ta'Lan Beachum is the starkest example of offseason training paying off on Friday night. Beachum has carried the ball 37 times for 529 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 14.3 yards per carry. 

But Lincoln is far from a one-man show, which is by design. Alaman and Kordarien Mathis began bouncing ideas off each other last December, then coached track together in the offseason. After seeing how well they worked together, head coach Randall Johnson moved Mathis from the defensive side. Two minds in the room result in added creativity, as evidenced by four players having double-digit carries. 

"If you come to Lincoln, there are many guys who touch the ball," Johnson said. "That creates an atmosphere in an inner-city school that's important for all of our kids. It's just like being educated in the classroom; we've got to keep all of our kids motivated and active."

The football team emphasizes involvement for every kid because school leaders from the top down do the same. Yes, Lincoln's offense has improved by 31 points per game. But the coaches are more proud to say Lincoln has transformed from an F-rated campus to a B-rated campus in two years' time.

"We deal with the entire kid," Johnson said. "Every kid that walks in here, we ask them, 'What's your plan? What will you do when you get through with high school?'"