It's Time To Have a Conversation About These TXHSFB Programs

After scanning the Six-year TXHSFB Program Rankings, there were a few schools that stuck out to me as being way better than we give them credit for. I have selected one from each classification.

Class 6A: San Antonio Brennan (No. 37 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 65-12
6A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: North Shore, Duncanville, DeSoto, Austin Westlake, Austin Vandegrift, Southlake Carroll, Katy
6A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Cibolo Steele, Denton Guyer, Longview, San Antonio Johnson, North Crowley

San Antonio Brennan is the lowest-ranked team (No. 37) in the state to have won at least 10 games in each of the last six seasons. After opening the program with an understandably winless 2010 campaign, Coach Stephen Basore has compiled a 150-39 record over the next 15 seasons. The Bears haven’t missed the playoffs since, and have only been knocked out in the first round twice (2011 and 2017). 

The lower rating — and lack of proper media recognition — is in part due to Brennan’s lack of state championship appearances. After reaching the Class 4A state championship game in 2013, San Antonio Brennan has been unable to prevail over Class 6A Region IV’s Austin area buzzsaw (Lake Travis and Austin Westlake). The Bears lost to Austin Westlake in two of the three years of Todd Dodge’s three-peat. Since 2021, they’ve gone 1-3 against Lake Travis. Brennan did beat Lake Travis in 2022 behind star quarterback Ashton Dubose, the first time a San Antonio-area squad had conquered the Cavaliers in 18 years. They were immediately rewarded with a game against Austin Westlake, which they lost 47-7. Such is life in the state’s largest classification. 

But it’s time to stop omitting San Antonio Brennan’s story, because you cannot tell TXHSFB’s story without it. Basore has developed a San Antonio coaching tree with former offensive coordinator Nate Shaw now leading San Antonio Churchill and defensive coordinator Matt Arrufat serving as the head coach at San Antonio Warren.

Brennan has historically been known as a defensive program with standout players like linebacker Alyzha Williams (C/O 2022) and safety Tyler Turner (Baylor). In 2024, the Bears allowed just 9.17 points per game behind Solza McCullough’s (Harding) 54 tackles for loss. That stout defensive identity has persisted under new defensive coordinator Jeff Howeth.

But Brennan has made the most strides on the offensive side of the ball over the last six seasons with transcendent players like Dubose (9,310 career passing yards, 120 career passing touchdowns) and offensive lineman Gabriel Owen (C/O 2022). Basore says current offensive linemen still study Owen’s highlight tape. The unit’s production has continued to rise in the transition from former offensive coordinator Nate Shaw to Brennan alum Jordan Ritchie. 

“We’re generally a top ten defense in the state, and we have been the number one defense in the state before,” Basore said. “We’ve always played exceptional defense, but our offense has picked up in the last six or seven years. That’s to Coach Shaw’s and Coach Ritchie’s credit.”

Class 5A: Corpus Christi Flour Bluff (No. 66 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 64-16
5A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: South Oak Cliff, Aledo, Smithson Valley, Argyle, Highland Park, College Station, Port Neches-Groves, Denton Ryan, Alamo Heights, Boerne, Texas High, Liberty Hill, PSJA North 
5A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Melissa, Frisco Lone Star, Edinburg Vela, Fort Bend Marshall, Lovejoy

If you stopped by Corpus Christi Flour Bluff’s athletic offices during the offseason, there’s a greater than zero chance you won’t find any football coaches. Since Coach Clynt Elwood was hired as a defensive assistant in 2009, the staff has made a habit of taking group trips to college programs over the offseason to sit in on coaches’ meetings and watch practice. In 2011, the Hornets changed their defense from an odd front to a 4-2-5 after spending three years observing TCU’s spring football practices under former head coach Gary Patterson. Two weeks ago, they went to Clemson University. 

“They (college coaches) all tell us, ‘If you need anything, give me a call or a text.’ And we sure as heck do,” Elwood said. “We try not to bug them too much, but we get a whole bunch of scheme ideas from them in the spring and summer. Our coaches are always reaching out. All they can say is no, right?”

Elwood has gone 22-4 since taking over as Flour Bluff’s head coach in 2024, but he is one of many coaches who’ve been with the school for over a decade. Offensive coordinator Brian Baker is a Flour Bluff alum who joined the staff in 2009. Defensive coordinator John Diaz has been with the school for ten years. The junior high coordinator, Alex Weepie, has run the middle school program in the exact mold of the high school for 14 years. Head freshman coach and varsity baseball coach Jesse Buttler is in his 22nd year at the school. Even the district superintendent, Christ Steinbruck, went 93-33 over ten seasons as the head football coach. 

With all those college trips, it’s no wonder Flour Bluff runs its program like a Division I school. The staff has postseason meetings with every player. The first week after spring break, Flour Bluff has a weeklong, grueling ‘Champ Camp,’ similar to Navy SEALS’ ‘Hell Week.’ During the season, the coaches send the install plan on Sundays, give the players a quiz early in the week, and then have before-school classroom meetings with their respective position groups. 

“If we lose the ballgame on Friday night, we hope it’s not because we were pencil-whipped.” 

But the coaches put just as much emphasis on the classroom as the football field. Each staff member is in charge of 13-18 kids, forming an ‘integrity group’ to monitor their attendance and grades.

“It’s hard for a kid to say, ‘Man, those guys don’t care about us,’” Elwood said. “We’re toeing the line every day for these guys and doing as much as we can.”

That dedication to forming a well-rounded kid has allowed Flour Bluff to churn out numerous college athletes. The Hornets had some of the most stable quarterback play in TXHSFB from four-year varsity player Nash Villegas (UT-Tyler baseball) to four-year varsity player Jayden Paluseo (UTRGV), whose 144 career passing touchdowns ranked seventh in state history. Offensive linemen Johnny Dickson III (Oklahoma State) and Dylan Shaw (North Texas) are Flour Bluff alums. Senior defensive lineman Anthony Mimms, the reigning District 15-5A DI Defensive MVP, could be the next college player after posting 41 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 2025.

Class 4A: Seminole (No.94 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 49-23
4A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: Carthage, Stephenville, Brock, Kilgore, Gilmer, Celina, Corpus Christi Calallen, Wimberley, China Spring, Bellville, Tyler Chapel Hill, Cuero, Sinton 
4A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Texarkana Pleasant Grove, Caddo Mills, Glen Rose, Austin LBJ, Springtown

When Seminole High School hired former football coach Erik Kirkpatrick as the school’s principal, the first thing he wanted to do was talk ball with Seminole football coach Greg Poynor. The two quickly found common ground in their history of running a tempo offense. 

But when Kirkpatrick attended his first football practice, he realized he and Poynor hadn’t been talking about the same thing.

“Wow, Coach,” Kirkpatrick said. “I thought I’d seen tempo teams. I’ve never seen a team like y’all.”

Seminole’s offense has averaged at least 43.98 points per game every season since 2022, posting a 40-10 record in that span. Poynor credits his son, Brian, the team’s offensive coordinator, as the best offensive coach he’s ever been around. The father-son duo has been together for 12 years, spanning West Texas schools Pampa and Seminole. But in recent seasons, their up-tempo pace has added one-word play calls to shift into a new gear: West Texas Warp Speed. Recent graduates and First Team All-District performers like running back Caton Cramer (Abilene Christian), wide receiver Logan McCormick (UT-Permian Basin), and safety Austin Olivas (Harvard) helped transform the program. The Indians have made four consecutive trips to at least the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history. 

Poynor says those results on Friday night are due to his players’ work ethic Monday through Thursday during early morning lifts and speed work during the athletic period. Poynor put the word ‘Work’ on every offseason shirt and painted it on the new fieldhouse walls. Their goal is to ensure no one, anywhere, is outworking them. The results take care of themselves. 

“If you put that much into it, it’s hard to lose,” Poynor said. “If you’ve sacrificed and worked, it becomes important to you, and you’re not going to give up real easily.”

Class 3A: Poth (No.40 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 68-10
3A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: Gunter, Franklin, Columbus, Malakoff, Canadian
3A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Wall, Tuscola Jim Ned, Holliday, Newton, Grandview, Tidehaven

Jeff Luna instituted the motto ‘212’ when he took over as Poth’s head coach ten years ago. 

“212 is playing with that extra degree of effort,” Luna said. “At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212, it starts to boil. With one extra degree of effort, water produces steam, and steam produces power for a locomotive.”

Poth has been a well-oiled machine under Luna. The Pirates have not lost a district game since Luna’s first season in 2016, and he’s compiled a 106-19 overall record. Luna, a Poth alum, said his school was long considered a good program that could never get past the third round of the playoffs. His Pirates shattered that glass ceiling by making the 2022 Class 3A DII state championship against Gunter. Then, they played Tidehaven in the fourth round of the 2023 playoffs, losing to the eventual state finalist in double overtime. 

The Pirates’ staying power is a credit to Luna’s staff continuity, especially over the last six seasons. Luna credits offensive coordinator Clay Kasprzyk as the mastermind of Poth’s high-scoring offense. Kasprzyk was with Luna at Floresville and has turned down numerous other opportunities to remain as Poth’s offensive coordinator. This despite living in New Braunfels, a 45-minute one-way commute.  

Poth finished 10-2 last season, the seventh double-digit win season in the last eight years. The Pirates were sunk in the second round of the playoffs on a last-minute, trick-play kickoff return from East Bernard, whose miracle run continued to the state semifinals. But Luna said his program is leaning on their cornerstone verse in the 2026 offseason, Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (NIV). Rest assured, these Pirates will stay at 212 degrees for the foreseeable future.

Class 2A: Granger (No. 89 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 61-15
2A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: Shiner, Albany, Hawley, Mart, Muenster, Refugio, Timpson, Stratford, Ganado, Windthorst, Wink, Beckville
2A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Crawford, Falls City, Chilton, Collinsville, Cisco, Gruver

In Granger, America, the high school students work just as hard at home as they do on the football field. 

“This is a farming community,” Coach Gaston McDorman said. “We have a ton of kids who, when they’re not at school or practice, they work. Whether it’s hauling hay or driving a tractor or pulling trailers, they’re constantly doing other things outside of here to help their families.”

So how did the team handle alternating practice fields throughout the season until their new school was finished? By going 12-1 despite the obstacles. McDorman may have to coach his players’ technique during Saturday morning film sessions. But he rarely, if ever, has to coach effort.

The 2025 season may have been the highest win total since 2007, but it was the fourth consecutive season Granger made the third round of the playoffs. McDorman, a decorated offensive coordinator at Cuero and offensive assistant at Wimberley, took over for previous head coach Stephen Brosch, who was first elevated to principal and then district superintendent. McDorman says Brosch has been a valuable resource as he navigates his first head-coaching job; Brosch went 40-10 over four seasons.

“We’re good with working in the shadows,” McDorman said. “When it comes time for your recognition, it’ll come in the way of Ws.”

Class 1A: Klondike (No. 74 in DCTX Program Rankings)

Six-year record: 65-15
1A Teams Ranked Ahead of Them: Gordon, Westbrook, Jayton, Benjamin, Richland Springs, Abbott, Balmorhea, May, Strawn, Jonesboro, Rankin
1A Teams Ranked Behind Them: Oglesby, Happy, Gilmer Union Hill, Motley County, Water Valley

Dalton DeGraffenreid didn’t even get a call back when he first applied for the Klondike head coaching job in 2017. He didn’t have head coaching experience. He also didn’t have any experience in six-man football. Hell, he didn’t have much life experience: he was 23.

But DeGraffenreid says all those factors, originally viewed as a negative, turned into his greatest source of strength. It forced him to work harder than he thought possible to overcome the experience gap.

“It made me a better coach because it forced me to do so much studying and become a student of the six-man game, watching tons of film and sitting down with a bunch of coaches,” DeGraffenreid said. 

After back-to-back 7-3 seasons in which they barely missed the playoffs as the smallest school in Class 1A DII, Klondike broke through with a move to Class 1A DII in 2020, when the Cougars won their first playoff game since 1995. Since then, Klondike has made the state semifinals in four of the last five seasons. Over the past three years, they’ve lost to the eventual state champion in December, creating a hungry group that’s ready to break the glass ceiling of the semifinal playoff game.

“Never in my wildest dreams when I took this job at 23 did I think we’d be sitting where we are today,” DeGraffenreid said. “It’s been fun for our football kids to stack success on top of success with a brick-by-brick mentality.”

But DeGraffenreid and his team are far from satisfied. He says there are still times he watches game tape from his first few years just to see how far he’s come as a coach - and how far he has to go. Because he knows Klondike won’t get the notoriety it deserves until it plays at AT&T Stadium to end the year. 

“We’ve been to the state semifinals four times in five years, and there’s still a lot of people out there who don’t necessarily view us as one of the top 1A programs in the state,” DeGraffenreid said. “Our kids are going to take the steps every day to try to put ourselves on the map.”