Yearly state and district high school varsity football projections are never entirely correct but are a sign that the 2025 school year and football season are within reach as summer break closes near to an end.
The Center Roughriders are picked third in District 8-4A DII with last years state champion Carthage Bulldogs, with a 15-1 win-loss record, returning as the top seed of the conference. Athens is picked second, Bullard fourth, Rusk fifth and Brownsboro is picked as the sixth and final seed. Center will have a new Head Coach Nick Brown at the helm after the departure of Ricky Meeks. The Roughriders went 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the conference last season. They were bi-district finalist. The Roughriders will have 6 offensive and 6 defensive starters returning.
The Joaquin Rams are projected as the second seed of District 11-2A DI. The Rams went 10-5 overall last season and were state semi-finalist after going 3-2 in district play. Head Coach Jared Jones is in his second year as head coach of the team. They have six returning starters on both offense and defense. The Garrison Bulldogs are the number one seed for District 11. The Shelbyville Dragons are picked as the third seed and they went 10-3 overall in 2024. They are coached by Jarred Wallace. The Dragons were 4-1 in the conference but lost to Joaquin in a Region III title game. The Dragons have 7 returning starters offensively and 10 returning defensive starters.
The Timpson Bears went 5-5 overall last year and they were 3-2 in District 11 action. The Bears are coached by second year Head Coach Patrick Gandy. They return 6 starters on offense and 8 on defense. Rounding out the conference is San Augustine at the fifth seed and Hemphill is the sixth and final seed.
The Tenaha Tigers are seeded as the sixth seed for District 11-2A DII. The Tigers went 2-8 last season and 1-5 in the conference. Head Coach Marlon Birdsong and the team return 5 starting offensive players and 6 starters on defense. Lovelady is projected as the district’s top seed, Grapeland second, Mount Enterprise third, Overton fourth, Alto fifth and Cushing is picked at the final, seventh seed.
