Mustangs may keep the headlines coming in 2021
Sweetwater football has made lots of news in 2021 off the field of play.
Back in February, head coach Ben McGehee left for Magnolia West after a 23-21 record in four years, including last year’s 8-2 mark — and Sweetwater’s first district title since 2015.
McGehee was replaced a month later, though, by one of the area’s most successful and respected coaches in Russell Lucas, who had to move only about 35 miles southwest after 13 years at Hamlin that included a trip to the Class 2A state finals and at least 10 wins in six of the last seven seasons.
The excitement then grew with Texas Football magazine ranking Sweetwater No. 9 in Class 4A Division II, and the only 4A D-II top 10 team in West Texas.
The time has arrived for big news on the field, and that will happen with Lucas’ first win here. Sweetwater is one shy of becoming the 19th school in Texas to have 700 football victories.
Lucas would, of course, like to win a lot this year and he knows it won’t be easy with four of the teams on the pre-district schedule state-ranked by Texas Football. That includes the first two: Stephenville (No. 18 in Class 4A Div. I) and Jim Ned (No. 1 in 3A D-I), who both host Sweetwater. There are also home contests against Boerne (No. 15 in 4A D-I) and Eastland (No. 19 in 3A D-II).
Sweetwater — which returns five starters on offense and eight on defense — also has a road game Oct. 15 at Greenwood in District 1-4A D-II that may decide the championship, though Monahans, Pecos and Snyder won’t be pushovers.
“I think we have the potential to have a lot of success,” Lucas said, “though we might not have a winning (pre-district) record.
“It’s vital that we stay healthy and we have to have guys that can play both ways. I’m not afraid to make position changes because I want to do what’s best for the team. I feel confident that we’ll get where we need to be.”
Lucas said he welcomes the challenge of coaching a state ranked team, something he did regularly in recent years at Hamlin. “I think that was our expectation,” he said.
The Mustangs’ success, Lucas said, depends largely on three factors starting with the offensive line. “We’ve got to find a center,” Lucas said. “Second, we need to get our base offense installed so that we can expand on it each week.
“Third, we’ll try to identify personnel and get our guys in the right positions.”
Offense
Sweetwater has a fourthyear starter at quarterback. Leo Holsey accounted for 48 touchdowns in 2020 for an offense that averaged 47 points a game and will not change much under Lucas.
Holsey threw for 31 TDs and ran for 17 while producing a total of 3,241 yards in 10 games, earning all-state honorable mention. “He is super talented,” Lucas said.
Greg Paty and Jackson Dodd will be Holsey’s backups. The Mustangs’ other returning skill players are wide receiver Harrison Foster and running back Cedrick Brown, who were first team all-district, and wide receiver Eric Martinez, a second team all-district pick. Ethan Aguilar, Ethan Brockman and Malik Brown will also be used at running back. Other receiving candidates will include Dodd, Malik Brown, Aguilar, Brockman, Tyler Marlett, Jake McCoy, Joe Angel Reyna and Ector Martinez.
First team all-district pick Ely Barrera heads the offensive line and will start at one tackle along with Lance Ladezma, while the guards will be Omar Hernandez and Thomas Reeh. The top candidates to be the center appear to be Devyn Davis and Leo Aguayo. All six players are seniors.
Defense
Sweetwater will base out of a 3-4 defensively and the line will return noseguard Noel Mekogue, the district newcomer of the year as a sophomore, and first team all-district pick Caleb Lee at defensive end. Marlett could be the other starting defensive end after earning all-district honorable mention last year at linebacker, and Barrera could also get lots of playing time.
Cedrick Brown, Aguilar, Cade Needham, Antonio Neri, Eric Martinez and Kannon Weise are the linebackers. Brown got second team honors for his play a year ago. Another two-way standout is Foster, a first team all-district player who along with Reyna will start at safety. Armando Torres, who earned all-district honorable mention, Brockman and Ector Martinez will all see action at cornerback.
Coaching staff
Lucas’ hiring led to huge changes on the staff as well. Jarrod Gee, who will coach running backs, and Leighton Conway (cornerbacks) are the only holdovers from a year ago.
Lucas’ son, Ryne, is the new defensive coordinator and will coach the linebackers as will Danny Ho. The new offensive coordinator will be Brian Hodnett, the ex-Haskell head coach. He will also coach offensive linemen as will Timothy Perkins, who was at the middle school. Steven Biera and Dean Edwards (receivers), Caleb Thomasson (linebackers), Joe Flores (defensive line) and Tre Chitsey (safeties) are other new members. Russell Lucas will also coach quarterbacks. Ray Callaway and Colton Stoker join Dillon Gainey at the middle school.