The Five Most Surprising Playoff Teams in 2025

6A: Houston Wisdom Generals

Alphonso James took the Houston Wisdom head coaching job in July, within days of welcoming his newborn baby, then led the Generals to their first playoff berth since 1979. 

Since James arrived at Houston Wisdom as the special teams coordinator in 2022, the program has been through three head coaching changes. Wisdom is a perennial playoff team in soccer, but James says 90% of the team is playing football for the first time in high school. James credits Houston Wisdom principal Reginald Bush with reviving fan interest in the football team. Bush attended every game and brought the same positive energy, even as Wisdom endured a five-game losing streak in the middle of the year. That support powered the Generals to finish the season with three straight wins. 

“Seeing people bought in at the school, it really changed the culture,” James said. “We were a soccer school, so we used to have like three people in the stands. Now we have the whole school supporting us, and they have been doing it since the first game.”

This summer, James replaced Jamarkus Branch as the head coach. But Branch stayed with the school as an offensive coordinator. James and Branch worked together to move last year’s 1,000-yard receiver Ajani Mayeux to a hybrid slot back role this fall, and Mayeux put up over 1,000 all-purpose yards taking handoffs and catching passes. He formed a dynamic duo with junior running back J'Dynn Lancaster, who averaged over seven yards per carry for nearly 1,000 total yards.

On defense, nose tackle Juan Alvear’s emergence allowed Wisdom to transition to a three-man front and bring on Stahili Kaniaru as an extra secondary player. James says Jamaroquie Haire was the difference maker at linebacker. 

While James is the head coach to break the playoff drought, he insists it was only possible because of the team around him. He thanks his wife, Taylor, for taking care of their baby so he could take care of his other kids at Houston Wisdom, as well as assistants like Coach Egbule (defensive coordinator), Coach Branch (offensive coordinator), Coach Nicholson (player personnel), Coach Bryant (Offensive and Defensive Lines), Coach Stewart (Offensive assistant), Coach Brown (Special Teams Coordinator) and Coach Childs (Wide Receivers Coach).

5A: Nacogdoches Dragons

Nacogdoches had high hopes within the program after returning all 11 defensive starters and nine offensive starters. But this proud East Texas program hadn’t finished with a winning record since 2014. That history, combined with a tough District 7-5A DII, had them projected to finish sixth in the district. 

But the Dragons got out to a fiery 6-1 start, which proved enough to secure the fourth seed. Senior wide receiver Micah Lockett, a 6-2 prospect who won the Class 5A gold medal in the high jump, emerged as one of the state’s most productive wide receivers with 1,371 yards and 12 touchdowns. On defense, senior linebacker Landon Sherrard totaled 157 tackles and 36 tackles for loss.

Nacogdoches is shockingly young despite returning 20 of 22 starters. Sherrard was one of two seniors on the defensive side, while Lockett caught passes from freshman quarterback Jaylan Garrett. So while Sherrard and Lockett’s on-field production was impressive, their most vital contributions were as senior leaders who would insist the team restart practice drills they weren’t doing full speed. 

“To have great leaders like Landon and Micah who have been with me for three years now, and watching them grow up and do some special things, it’s one of those great things you get to see as a coach,” Nacogdoches head coach Darby House said. “They’ve been with us through the lows, and now they’re getting to lead us into the future and set the standard for what we expect.”

4A: Austin Eastside Panthers

When Luis Becerra and his inaugural staff walked into the Austin Eastside weight room on their first day on July 9, 2018, there were four kids in the football program. Low turnout forced Austin Eastside to field a varsity football team with a majority of underclassmen roster year in and year out, and the program didn’t win a game for five consecutive seasons from 2018 to 2023.

But two years ago, Becerra had enough numbers for a freshman football team for the first time. Those juniors, who developed chemistry at the subvarsity, led the Panthers to their first playoff appearance since 1991, when the school was known as Austin Johnston. 

“From the moment we got them into camp as freshmen, we told them, ‘We’ve been building this program. You guys are going to be the ones to carry it over the top,’” Becerra said. 

While those in the junior class have stayed the course, multiple have switched positions. Cedric Mitchell, who started his high school career at running back, totaled 14 tackles for loss and four sacks from his linebacker spot. The Panthers Boaz Nkamba, who played football for the first time as a sophomore last year, transitioned from cornerback to outside linebacker and had 44 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and four sacks. 

On offense, returning First Team All-District 13-4A DI selection Douglas Sterling and the offensive line paved the way for running back Krisshawn Bryant’s 1,015 yards and 10 touchdowns.

3A: Boyd Yellowjackets

Boyd was projected to finish in last place in District 4-3A DI coming off back-to-back 1-9 seasons. But first-year head coach Shawn Sparks sparked the program’s first playoff berth since 2020 with a 5-5 (2-4) record. 

Sparks has spent his career rebuilding programs. He was part of Joe McBride’s Coppell staff in 2009, which turned the Cowboys from average to three 10-win seasons in four years. As the offensive coordinator at Saginaw last year, his Rough Riders went from 1-9 in three consecutive years to 11-1. His secret is that he has no secret - he schemes his playbook to the personnel, which looks different every season. Historically, his teams have run a four-down defensive front. This year, Sparks implemented a three-man line. He had a 3,000-yard passer at Saginaw last season in a spread offense. In his first season at Boyd, Maddox Parks rushed for 1,193 yards and Boyd ran counter 56 times in the Ponder game alone.

While Boyd might not have thrown as much this year, Sparks says quarterback Cash Selby has blossomed into a great leader after playing just one-and-a-half games at the position last year.  

Whether Boyd’s season ends in the Class 3A DI State Championship or sometime in the playoffs, 2025 has been a foundation year for the Sparks era. 

“I’m fired up to be here,” Sparks said. “It’s a special place. The town is about as supportive as you can get. A lot of what’s happened this year is about the district, administration and community.”

2A: Como-Pickton Eagles

Como-Pickton returned all five linemen and its tight end, ingredients for a huge year in the Slot-T offense. But those same players were ‘built different’ after attacking a revamped off-season weight room program. Seven players could squat over 500 pounds, an eyebrow-raising stat for a Class 2A program. 

But it was the team’s mental strength that allowed it to overcome a three-game losing streak and beat Quinlan Boles and Bogota Rivercrest to end the year. Those two wins allowed Como-Pickton to go from a preseason last-place pick in District 9-2A DI to a playoff team. As Coach Jeremy Griffin soaked in Friday night’s victory, he couldn’t help thinking about how far this program has come in its first winning season since 2017.   

“It was an exhilarating experience to look back in the stands and see a packed house for us and for those kids,” Griffin said. “I’m so happy for the kids and the community. They deserve this. We had a tornado come through in 2023, and we had to play all our games away. These kids have had it rough these last four or five years. To see that accomplishment by those kids, it meant the world to me.”