Congratulations Celeste Varsity Football Team and Coaches!
Most improved defense in Texas High School Football in 2017!
Texas Football Today interview:
Celeste Head Coach Demetrius Rector
Click on image above to view!
The Celeste Blue Devils varsity football team recently named most improved defense in Texas High School Football in 2017 by Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football:
TexasFootball.com presents TXHSFB 303, a deep dive into the hidden storylines in the 2017 Texas high school football season. Have an idea for an angle? E-mail Dave Campbell’s Texas Football managing editor Greg Tepper.
Previously in the series…
—The most improved offenses in Texas high school football in 2017
Today: The most improved defenses in Texas high school football in 2017
Still doubt that defense wins championships? Consider that of the ten Texas high school state champions in 11-man football in 2017, every one of them had an above-average defense.
The average team scored 27 points per game in 2017; no state champion allowed 27 points per game. In fact, only 5A Division I state champion Highland Park (26.5 points allowed per game) came particularly close to average.
So, don’t think of this as an analysis of the most-improved defenses in Texas. Think of it as a look at which teams got closer to a state championship the fastest.
Let’s take a look at the most-improved defenses in Texas high school football during the 2017 season. The metrics here are pretty simple — we take the points allowed-per-game average in 2017, subtract the points allowed-per-game average in 2016, and ta da! We have the amount of improvement.
(I’ll separate 11-man and six-man for this exercise, because six-man’s 45-point mercy rule makes it a little more difficult to measure improvement.)
Here are the top 20 most-improved 11-man defenses in Texas high school football in 2017.
|
Team (2017 Record)
|
Class
|
2017 PAPG
|
2016 PAPG
|
Δ PAPG
|
|
Celeste (10-2)
|
2A
|
18.50
|
47.60
|
-29.10
|
|
Menard (9-3)
|
2A
|
16.75
|
43.91
|
-27.16
|
|
Cypress Springs (4-5)
|
6A
|
29.00
|
53.10
|
-24.10
|
|
Sabinal (7-4)
|
2A
|
18.36
|
40.80
|
-22.44
|
|
Hardin (4-6)
|
3A
|
23.80
|
46.20
|
-22.40
|
|
Odessa (3-7)
|
6A
|
27.20
|
49.40
|
-22.20
|
|
Malakoff Cross Roads (1-9)
|
2A
|
29.40
|
51.40
|
-22.00
|
|
Northwest Eaton (6-6)
|
5A
|
26.33
|
46.40
|
-20.07
|
|
Raymondville (9-2)
|
4A
|
16.00
|
36.00
|
-20.00
|
|
Keller Timber Creek (6-4)
|
6A
|
18.20
|
37.75
|
-19.55
|
|
Richardson Pearce (6-6)
|
6A
|
26.50
|
45.60
|
-19.10
|
|
El Paso Pebble Hills (8-3)
|
6A
|
24.64
|
43.60
|
-18.96
|
|
Shallowater (10-2)
|
3A
|
16.75
|
35.64
|
-18.89
|
|
McCamey (10-2)
|
2A
|
17.83
|
36.45
|
-18.62
|
|
Stephenville (12-3)
|
4A
|
22.33
|
40.73
|
-18.39
|
|
Madisonville (11-2)
|
4A
|
21.23
|
39.36
|
-18.13
|
|
Colmesneil (4-6)
|
2A
|
31.40
|
49.20
|
-17.80
|
|
Slaton (6-6)
|
3A
|
28.17
|
45.80
|
-17.63
|
|
New London West Rusk (10-2)
|
3A
|
9.00
|
26.18
|
-17.18
|
|
Fort Worth Benbrook (2-8)
|
4A
|
40.90
|
58.00
|
-17.10
|
The top two on this list recommend two of the more remarkable turnarounds in Texas high school football. Celeste went from 0-10 to 10-2 in the span of a year, and much of that can be credited to the improvement coach Demetrius Rector spurred on defense, thanks to standouts like linebackers Isaiah Buckley and Tuffer Jordan, and defensive back Jalen Rector. Menard had a similar turnaround in the win column — from 1-10 to 9-3 — in coach Jayson Wilhelm’s first year at the helm, leaning on a ferocious front seven led by linemen Wyatt Mazac and Mason Stanley and linebackers Garrett Hill, Quentin Baker and Tony Ortega to cut a staggering 27 points off their points-allowed average.
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
