Texas High ranked No. 5 in preseason poll
TEXARKANA, Texas — As Texas High prepares for the upcoming season, the Tigers will do so as the No. 5 team in Class 5A, Division II in the preseason rankings.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the official rankings provider for the Associated Press since 2019, released its Top 10 lists for Class 6A and Divisions I and II in Class 5A on Thursday. The list gives a little credit to the Texarkana team after making some tough decisions on the program a year ago.
No. 5 Texas High was inside the rankings for most of the 2023 season. But, after an overtime loss to Longview Pine Tree in the regular season finale before the postseason began, the four-time defending district champion was dropped from the fourth spot to unranked. Prior to that defeat, the Tigers were 9-0 going into the final tune-up game for the playoffs, where they went on to oust Terrell and Mansfield Summit before falling to Lucas Lovejoy to end the season.
The Tigers, who are coming off an 11-8 year and have compiled a 42-7 record the last four seasons to become a perennial powerhouse in Class 5A and looking for their first state championship since 2002, will look to take advantage of 16 returning starters, including their stout offensive line.
Other playmakers on offense set to retake the field are quarterback David J. Potter and running backs Tradarian Ball and Javari Johnson. Ball currently holds a Texas-best 39 college offers. Potter is a 2,000-yard passer and threw 22 touchdowns, while Ball and Johnson combined for 2,526 yards rushing and 31 total scores in 2023.
Texas High averaged more than 32 points per game last year.
Here are the other teams that made the Class 5A, Division II preseason poll, listed in order of ranking:
RANKINGS
1. Port Neches-groves. Graduation hit this program hard, but it still has the pieces intact to go back-to-back after winning last year’s state championship game.
2. South Oak Cliff. For the last three years, whatever team made the state champi
onship game had to get past South Oak Cliff, which won two straight before finally falling last year. Now, they seek redemption as they pursue a fourth trip in a row.
3. Argyle. The Eagles cruised to a 10-3 record last year while going 6-0 to win the District 3-5A, Division II championship before falling to Colleyville Heritage late in the playoffs. Now, they must replace seven starters on offense.
4. Alamo Heights. The Mules from San Antonio only lost one game last season — a 53-46 thriller to Pieper deep into the playoffs. With 10 starters returning to the lineup, including one of the biggest playmakers in Texas with Michael Terry, they will look to be a threat again going into 2024.
5. Texas High. The Tigers return 16 starters, including their offensive line, starting quarterback David J. Potter, and a two-headed backfield in Tradarian Ball and Javari Johnson. Watch out, Texas: the sky is the limit for this team.
6. Colleyville Heritage. The Panthers had a great season a year ago. They lost only two games all year, both to state-ranked teams — Texas High and Argyle — and had a deep run into the playoffs before falling to Emerson. They return 14 of those starters from that team going into 2024.
7. Richmond Randle. For a school that just opened in 2021, the Lions have quickly made a name for themselves. They went 11-2 last year, won two games in postseason play, and are hungry for more. The program returns 12 starters and has a big-time running back in Landen Callis-williams, who rushed for 1,944 yards and 23 touchdowns on 206 carries. He also hauled in 10 passes for 173 yards and four scores and has a handful of college offers from Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Colorado and Florida State.
8. Liberty Hill. After a rough start to their 2023 campaign, the Panthers settled in and showed some dominance in the second half of the season with their Slot-t offense, which they have become very comfortable with. They return nine starters in an attempt to get back into another playoff run. Last year, the program fell to eventual state champion and No. 1-ranked Port Neches-groves, 42-35.
9. Melissa. The Cardinals had a rough schedule last season but managed to defeat many playoff teams early on, including Argyle in the season opener and Terrell and Poteet, among others. They got hit hard by graduation but will have their entire offensive line returning.
10. Fort Bend. The Buffaloes went 8-3 last year and finished third in a very tough District 9-5A that is also the home of Port Neches-groves and Texas City. They have a lot of talent and 16 starters returning after a season they fell in the bi-district round to Randle, 35-24.