TXHSFB Programs With Something to Prove in 2026

Whether it was a season below the usual standard, a new head coach, or a ‘now or never’ campaign on the horizon, these five TXHSFB blue bloods have something to prove in 2026.

Class 6A: Converse Judson

Converse Judson, one of TXHSFB’s most historic programs, has fallen on tough times. After a UIL record for consecutive winning seasons from 1977 to 2020, the Rockets have suffered five straight losing seasons. While the team was trending down for a while, a 42-0 loss to Laredo United in the first round of the playoffs was a new low. Head coach Mark Soto, an alum, and the district mutually agreed to part ways after compiling a 17-27 overall record over four years. 

DCTX insider Matt Stepp said on the latest Tep and Stepp podcast that Judson was in the running to hire a current state champion head coach, emphasizing how important this hire was to the school. Instead, they landed Mesquite Horn head coach Vernon Hughes. On its face, it’s not the splashy hire they were looking for. Hughes went 2-7 in one season at Mesquite Horn. But, as DCTX editor-in-chief says, it’s a savvy hire.  

Hughes is most known as a quarterback guru who led Pflugerville Weiss to a 17-5 record over two seasons. And, while the record wasn’t pretty, plenty of coaches in the former District 11-6A say Hughes did a great job at Mesquite Horn, given that many starters left the team during the coaching transition. His first task will be ensuring the same exodus stops at Judson. 

“One thing I think Vernon Hughes is going to do, he’s going to build a fence around Judson,” Stepp said. “It’s no secret Judson has lost kids to surrounding schools over the past few years. They’ve had a hard time keeping their talent.”

Hughes’s hiring is a strategy shift for Converse Judson, which has historically hired alumni to take over the football program and continue the tradition. The move shows that the district understands Judson needs a jolt. 

It’s up to Hughes and the 2026 team to prove the dynasty is on pause… and not done.

Class 5A: Fort Bend Marshall

Last year, Fort Bend Marshall was the preseason No. 7-ranked team in Class 5A DII, expected to compete toe-to-toe for a District Championship with No. 1-ranked Richmond Randle and No. 5-ranked Iowa Colony. Instead, the Buffaloes’ 6-4 finish was the program’s lowest win total since 2015. The team was not competitive in a 51-6 loss to Richmond Randle (star quarterback Kaeden Johnson was injured) or a 21-0 loss to Iowa Colony. 

This offseason, head coach James Williams decided to start a brand-new program at Tomball West, departing Fort Bend Marshall after a 16-year run that included two state championship appearances and a 148-49 overall record. The program now turns to Wale Okunnu, a 36-year-old, first-time head coach who previously served as Alief Taylor’s defensive coordinator.

Okunnu may be taking on his first head coaching job, but he has a clear vision for how he wants to build the program.  

“My main pitch was bringing a sense of toughness, discipline, and structure to the program,” Okunnu said. “While there is talent, I believe there are things that can be done in-house to accelerate the rebuild.”

But because his March 7 hiring coincided with differing spring breaks between his old and new district, Okunnu must wait a little longer than ideal to officially start on the 24th. He has a couple of weeks to hire an inaugural staff, then roughly three weeks to teach the basics of his scheme before spring football starts. This timeframe would be a challenge for a seasoned head coach, much less one entering his first year.

Okunnu has been ‘watching film like a madman’ to make up for lost time and is excited about his returning crop of players. Running back Hershal Miller (2027) earned District Offensive Newcomer of the Year honors as a junior, and Okunnu says his complete style as a rusher, receiver out of the backfield, and return specialist could loft him into higher accolades in 2026.

“I think he (Miller) has the possibility to be a district MVP type guy, and maybe an all-state contender,” Okunnu said.

Miller and electric athlete Khannon Mitchell, whom Okunnu says could be in line for a bigger role in the offense, should have room to operate behind returning First Team All-District offensive tackle Landon Jones. The defense has multiple returning varsity playmakers, namely Second Team All-District defensive tackle Andre Meadows-Wade. Keep an eye out for 2029 edge rusher Langston Lowe. Okunnu says he’s already up to 6-foot-3, 225 pounds with, ‘a first step out of this world.’

“There’s a lot of young talent,” Okunnu said. “There are some guys that are going to be new to the varsity lights. But we’re talking about raw athletes, guys who can run and are strong in the weight room. We’re gonna be a big football team up front. I’m not afraid to say that we’re going to be a very, very good football team next year.”

Class 4A: Gilmer

Let’s be clear: no one, least of all Alan Metzel, likes a 4-7 record in Gilmer, Texas. The Buckeyes’ 2025 season was the first losing record since Metzel was promoted to head coach in 2020, and just the second since 1996.

Wait for it…

Hold on now…

But

There is some context – namely, a collision of inexperience and injuries. Gilmer entered 2025 with one starter back on offense and three starters back on defense. Then, a gnarly combination of torn labrums, elbow dislocations, knee dislocations, and broken legs took their toll. By the time the Buckeyes began district play, 15 players had missed two or more games. The most stark example was the center position, where the starter broke his leg in Week 1 pregame warm-ups, and the backup tore his meniscus in Week 7. 

Nevertheless, last year was unacceptable. Now, what are the Buckeyes going to do about it? 

“We have to be able - as a program, staff, and captains - to go, ‘We are where we are,’” Metzel said. “We have to put ourselves in a position to better ourselves, our depth, and our experience, and come back strong in 2026.”

Metzel believes 17 returning starters is a good place to start. That includes four-star offensive lineman Ismael Camara, the No. 6-ranked player in the DCTX Hot 100 after racking up 170 pancake blocks and surrendering zero sacks.

“We’ve always felt like we’ve had enough on the skill position side to compete,” Metzel said. “But the years that we’re able to be at that elite level in the trenches, that’s when we put ourselves in a position to do great things. I think we have that potential as we move into 2026.”

On the defensive side, Metzel says the staff is excited about a secondary and linebacker room that will have length and athleticism similar to the 2023 State Championship season. 

Those units will be put to the test early and often for what Metzel describes as, ‘one of the toughest schedules from Week 1 to Week 10 that we’ve ever had.’ The Buckeyes are in a loaded District 8-4A DII with 11-time state champion Carthage and a Texarkana Pleasant Grove team that’s 44-9 over the last four seasons. To prepare for that gauntlet, Gilmer stacked the deck in non-district play with Longview Pine Tree (8-5), Tyler Chapel Hill (four double-digit win seasons in the last five years), Kilgore (back-to-back state championship appearances), Sulphur Springs (10-2), and Sunnyvale (11-2).

If you can’t get amped up for that schedule, we need to check your pulse.     

“Football is exciting in Gilmer, Texas,” Metzel said. “The people in town are buzzing again. They’re wanting to be excited again. And we want to put them in a position to jump on and run with us as we build up to this season.”

Class 3A: Holliday

Most TXHSFB programs would be satisfied with a 7-5 season and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. But not Coach Kyle Atwood and his Holliday Eagles. 

“It’s the first year in over 10 years that we didn’t have a 10-win season,” Atwood said. “We’ve taken it pretty personally. Our kids are getting after it in the offseason.”

Of course, that includes daily 6:30 a.m. lifting sessions. But Holliday is also flexing their mental muscles this offseason through leadership and character-building talks on Tuesday mornings. Every coach on the Eagles’ staff gives a presentation on the tools needed to succeed in the real world after athletics. 

Atwood started the program after Holliday skidded to a 1-4 finish to close the 2025 season. He feels the program didn’t handle injuries to QB Landon Jones (sidelined for the final three regular-season games) and RB Brayden Hamill (dislocated ankle in the third district game) well.  

“We went through some injuries and some pretty hard times during our season, and we just weren’t able to overcome those,” Atwood said. “It wasn’t about ability. It was simply mental. We just weren’t there on the leadership side of things.” 

Holliday needs to find new leaders after graduating 20 seniors, but the team has a bevy of young talent. The JV team went 9-1 last season, and the one loss was on a blocked extra point returned for a touchdown. The incoming ninth-grade class hasn’t lost a football game in two years. 

The Class 3A DII race has also opened for Holliday after arch-nemesis Gunter bumped up to 3A DI. The Eagles lost to Gunter in the Regional Final in 2024 and 2022, and also fell in the third round of the 2021 season. The UIL moved Holliday from Region II to Region I, putting them on a playoff path against Idalou and Canadian.

Class 2A: Wink

As soon as the clock struck zero in Wink’s second-round playoff loss to Gruver last season, Coach Brian Gibson’s mind fixated on the opportunity his program had in 2026. The Wildcats lost just nine lettermen and will return 18 of 22 starters. 

“Bringing back this many seniors, bringing back the experience and playmakers that we have, it really got me excited about this year,” Gibson said. “This could be the year that we finally do get to break through that glass ceiling that we’re bumping our head on.”

In the last seven years, Wink has become the Buffalo Bills of TXHSFB: a great team that just can’t get over the playoff hump. The Wildcats are 71-18 since 2019 but have never made it past the regional final.  

“We’ve got to rethink some things,” Gibson said. “We keep doing the same thing over and over every year and end up with the same result. We have to be willing to adjust ourselves (as a coaching staff).”

This offseason, Gibson wants to get back to the schematic basics he learned as a young coach. Wink has run an RPO scheme that gives the quarterbacks different options. The problem, Gibson believes, is that the defense has had options too on what to allow the quarterback to do, choosing what they’ll give up and who they won’t let hurt them. 

Gibson also believes the scheme has slowed his players at times because they’re overthinking. The Wildcats return too many athletes to bog themselves down. The offense returns three quarterbacks with experience, all of whom can play other positions. Senior Layne Lusby, a natural team leader, had 3,225 total yards and 41 touchdowns as a sophomore before an injury-riddled junior campaign. Gunner Voyles blossomed into a star last year with 1,176 yards and 17 touchdowns. Whoever takes the quarterback job will lean on running back Kemyd Faciane, who has 5,609 career rushing yards and 76 touchdowns.

With all this talent and experience, Wink faces a now-or-never type of season in 2026. Gibson has upped the ante for his players to rise to the occasion. 

“I’m doing things differently,” Gibson said. “My coaches are doing things differently. What are you going to do that’s different? You can’t follow the same routines. We can’t live the same life and have different expectations. What are we going to do as a whole unit to get us through those early December games?”