Which Teams Will Make the Biggest Leap in 2027 TXHSFB Program Rankings?

This week, DCTX released the six-year TXHSFB program rankings, which grade teams based on the 2020-2025 football seasons. But it’s never too early to predict which programs will make the biggest leap up the rankings after the 2026 season. Those rankings will drop off the 2020 COVID-season from the calculus, so we are looking for currently dominant teams who had a lackluster 2020 season. 

Class 6A: Humble Summer Creek 

2026 Ranking: No. 90
2020 Season Set to Drop: 3–6 in 2020

Since posting a 3-6 record in the 2020 season, Humble Summer Creek has gone 56-16 and made at least the third round of the playoffs for five straight years. The first run in 2021 was a Cinderella story. Coach Kenny Harrison’s ball club made it to the regional final after finishing the regular season 7-3 and fourth in the district. Now, they’re the big bad Bulldogs of Houston.

Summer Creek’s offense should be loaded with First Team All-District performers like QB Noah Spinks, RB Brayling Causey, WR Benny Easter Jr., TE Tyler Hosea, and Keyshawn Berry-Dilworth, all returning. We expect the Bulldogs to replace that 3-6 record with another deep playoff run come next year’s ranking time.

Class 5A: Port Neches-Groves

2026 Ranking: No. 36
2020 Season Set to Drop: 4–6

Port Neches-Groves’ Jeff Joseph and his father, legendary Katy coach Gary Joseph, have led TXHSFB programs for a combined 26 seasons. They have never finished a season with a single-digit win total.

Joseph has re-energized the proud fan base in Port Neches-Groves. To be clear, the 4-6 record in 2020 was an outlier even in the pre-Joseph times. The Indians only had two losing seasons from 2009 to 2021 under previous head coach Brandon Faircloth’s direction. But since taking over in 2022, Joseph has piloted PNG to a 53-7 record with two state championship appearances, a sustained success the program hasn’t experienced since the late 1970s with Doug Ethridge. 

PNG’s offense loses three-year starting quarterback and District 8-5A DII MVP Connor Bailey. But the unit retains plenty of firepower with senior running back Tyson Henry (1,856 all-purpose yards) and athlete Jude Gohlke (First Team All-District WR). Senior guard Ace Reeves will make life comfortable for whoever takes over for Bailey at QB. 

Joseph’s famous Weak Eagle defense returns First Team All-District outside linebackers Bryceten Felps and Anthony Flores. Star defensive lineman Victor Trevino should give those outside linebackers plenty of room to fly around by eating up double teams.

Class 4A: Stephenville

2026 Ranking: No. 19
2020 Season Set to Drop: 6–6

The Sterling Doty era began in 2019 with 6-5 and 6-6 seasons, respectively. But in the five years since, Stephenville has gone 64-8 with two undefeated state championship seasons in 2021 and 2025. If the Yellow Jackets go back-to-back in 2026, it’ll be the first time they’ve done so since 1998 and 1999… when Doty was an offensive lineman for the team. 

We won’t predict Stephenville to win it all in this article, but we will predict them to be better than 6-6, and therefore soar up the rankings. The Yellow Jackets were given the second-best chance of repeating amongst all the 2025 state champions, in large part due to the return of Padilla Poll Class 4A DI Offensive Player of the Year Trot Jordan. As a first-year starter, Jordan threw for 3,241 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Class 3A: Newton

2026 Ranking: No. 60
2020 Season Set to Drop: 7–3

Newton head coach Drew Johnston was one of the best stories of the 2025 State Championships. His father, WT Johnston, led the Eagles to back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018. WT was in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask for the second state championship due to chronic lung disease, but was still the rock for the entire team. After his passing in April 2019, his son, Drew, was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach to carry on his legacy.

Drew has compiled a 74-16 record in eight years at the helm. The lowest win total was a 7-3 finish in 2020, partly due to COVID cancellations. The Eagles have reached at least the second round of the playoffs every season and hold the second-longest district-winning streak in TXHSFB at 85 games. 

Newton may have come up one point short in the state championship, but they have high hopes for another long run in 2026 behind senior running back Kendray Porter Jr. (2,400 rushing yards, 40 total touchdowns). 

Class 2A: Gruver

2026 Ranking: No. 109
2020 Season Set to Drop: 2–9

Gruver landed in the triple digits of the TXHSFB program rankings despite reaching back-to-back state semifinals. But the Greyhounds should race up the boards once that pesky 2-9 record from 2020 is removed from the calculus.

Coach Kurt Haberthur has compiled a 36-7 record in three seasons at the helm. While Gruver loses a transcendent senior class headlined by quarterback Briggs Satterfield, the cupboard is far from bare in West Texas. The Greyhounds had star sophomores on both sides of the ball in wide receiver Mason Lankford (753 receiving yards, 14 TD) and linebacker Bo Cowan (148 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, six fumble recoveries).