HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
PRESEASON TOP 10 COUNTDOWN: NO. 10 LBJ
In Central Texas, August means scorching days and heated preseason debates about the area’s top high school football teams. Leading up to the season’s kickoff on Aug. 31, we unveil our Top 10, as selected by our high school reporting staff and including ...
No. 10 LBJ QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1. Will the Jaguars be able to replace Allie Green, the ball-hawking cornerback now at Tulsa who intercepted nine passes last season and was named to the Class 5A all-state team?
2. Will LBJ knock off Bowie, the only team to defeat the Jags during the 2016 regular season?
3. Led by returning QB Aaron Green, will LBJ’s offense top the unit that scored more than 40 points in six games last season?
A HELPING HAND
Jackson, who’s readying for his 28th season as a football coach, has received help from chief assistant Jahmal Fenner while Jackson battles esophageal cancer. Fenner, a quarterback at Reagan High when Jackson coached the Raiders, has directed LBJ’s practices on days when Jackson is unable to attend because of medical reasons.
WELCOME BACK
■ LBJ will welcome back most of its top offensive players from 2016, with Green being joined by returning wideouts Trelyn Thomas, Deon Collins and Jaleel Scott. A member of LBJ’s talented track team, Scott provides a big-play threat. Also, look for the 6-foot-4 Green to line up at wide receiver a few times a game to give up-and-coming sophomore QB Hunter Scott a chance to show off his passing skills.
BUSY, BUSY
■ Collins ranks among the team’s top playmakers, and he has secured a spot in the LBJ defensive backfield to go with his duties as a wide receiver. On the Jaguars’ varsity squad since his freshman season, the 5-7 Collins is explosive on special teams, too. Among the top Jaguars on defense will be lineman Devon Jones, linebacker Ja’len Cleveland and defensive backs Aundoy Johnson and Tyrone McDonald.
DID YOU KNOW?
■ LBJ has won 28 games since 2014, its best three-year stretch in team history. The Jaguars posted 27 victories in 1981-83. LBJ’s record for victories in a season is 11, set in 2014.
OUR TAKE
■ After losing to Alamo Heights in the first round of the playoffs last season, how far can LBJ advance in the 2017 postseason?
Rick Cantu: If the offense lives up to expectations, the Jaguars might be playing in December. I forecast a four-round run.
Thomas Jones: LBJ can beat most teams in Class 5A, Division I. Unfortunately, if the Jags win the District 25-5A title and a first-round playoff game, they’ll probably face Richmond Foster — ranked 11th in the Class 5A preseason poll compiled by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football — in the second round.
PAST THREE SEASONS
■ 2016 (9-2): After losing to Bowie in a nondistrict game, LBJ won eight straight before falling to Alamo Heights in a bidistrict playoff game in San Antonio.
■ 2015 (8-4): After an early three-game losing streak, the Jaguars regrouped and won seven straight before losing to Vista Ridge 44-27 in an area playoff game.
■ 2014 (11-3): LBJ was riding a seven-game winning streak before losing to Vandegrift 40-35 in the fourth round of the playoffs.
UP NEXT?
■ Hint: This Class 4A team has a new head coach, who fits it to a T.