Copies of “The Texas Football Bible” began arriving in mailboxes last weekend.
It will be a while before Dave Campbell's Texas Football hits newsstands, so for those who don't have an annual subscription to texasfootball.com, here's a preview of what's in this year's edition for the Wichita Falls area.
Who are Wichita Falls' top senior football players?
There is only one local player on the Texas Top 300, which ranks the best senior freshmen in the nation, but the DCTF doesn't have all the exact information about that player.
Isaiah Anderson is listed as one of the top “athletes” in the state and is a promising player at multiple positions. Anderson is listed as playing for City View, where he spent the majority of his junior season.
Anderson is currently enrolled at Legacy and taking part in spring football practice, where he was featured in the magazine's district preview section as one of the program's top players.
more:Belcher's busy Saturday at Jacksboro ended with a game-winning TD pass in the Oil Bowl.
Anderson previously transferred from City View to Hilsea in November 2023, where he also played as a sophomore. He played basketball and track and field for the Huskies.
Which Wichita Falls area football teams are preseason ranked?
There are several local teams ranked in the top 25 in the preseason classification.
- Graham is ranked ninth in Class 4A Division II, and the Steers are expected to lose to Glen Rose for the Region I-4A Division II title.
- Jacksboro is ranked No. 6 in Class 3A Division II and Holliday is ranked No. 8. Jacksboro is expected to lose to Gunter in a rematch of last year's Region II-3A Division II final.
- Windhorst is ranked No. 8 in Class 2A Division II and is expected to lose to two-time defending state champion Albany in the Region II-2A Division II final.
- Seymour is listed as one of four dark horse schools in the classification, with the erroneous statement that the Panthers will be “relegated to DII” after joining Class 2A Division II in 2020.
- In Class A, Knox City is ranked No. 8 in Division I and New Castle is No. 9, while two-time defending state champion Benjamin is No. 5 in Division II. Joining Benjamin in the DII rankings are Goldberg (19th) and Crowell (24th).
- Neither of Wichita Falls ISD's new programs are ranked in Class 5A Division II, but the Leopards and Mavericks haven't been completely forgotten. District 2-5A DII is listed as one to watch, with a caveat: “We have well-known schools like Lubbock Cooper and Abilene Wylie, but how do we rate a new school in Wichita Falls?”
Which Wichita Falls area players were selected as preseason all-state?
Jacksboro receiver Cannon Valenzuela and Holliday linebacker Parker Jones were named 3A Division II preseason all-state selections.
Nocona defenseman Caden Gaston was named Class 2A Division II preseason all-state.
Three local players were named to the Class A preseason all-state team, including New Castle center Lucas Owen, Knox City spread center John Cross Utley and Benjamin linebacker Tarron Hayes.
Notably absent from the list is three-time Class A Player of the Year Grayson Rigdon. It was already announced that Rigdon will not be attending Benjamin for his senior year, but he has yet to enroll at a new school.
Who do you think will win the Wichita Falls Area Football District Championship?
Here are DCTF's projections for districts that include Wichita Falls-area teams: The top four teams from the 11-man district and the top two teams from the 6-man (Class A) district will advance to the playoffs.
District 2-5A Division II – 1. Lubbock Cooper, 2. Abilene Wiley, 3. Abilene Cooper, 4. Monuments, 5. Heritage, 6. Amarillo Palo Duro, 7. Plainview
District 3-4A Division II – 1. Block, 2. Graham, 3. Mineral Wells, 4. Burkburnett, 5. Eagle Mountain, 5. Bridgeport.
District 4-3A Division I – 1. Paradise, 2. Vernon, 3. Iowa Park, 4. Peaster, 5. Ponder, 6. Boyd, 7. Bowie.
District 6-3A Division II – 1. Jacksboro, 2. Holiday, 3. City View, 4. Henrietta, 5. Millsap, 6. Valley View.
District 4-2A Division I – 1. Stanford, 2. Hawley, 3. Cisco, 4. Anson, 5. Olney, 6. Abilene TLCA.
District 6-2A Division I – 1. Tioga, 2. Wolf City, 3. Tom Bean, 4. Alvard, 5. Nocona, 6. Whitelight, 7. Trenton.
District 5-2A Division II – 1. Wellington, 2. Clarendon, 3. Wheeler, 4. Shamrock, 5. Quanah, 6. Memphis.
District 6-2A Division II – 1. Windhorst, 2. Seymour, 3. Archer City; 4. Haskell, 5. Electra, 6. Petrolia, 7. Monday.
District 6-A Division I – 1. Knox City, 2. New Castle, 3. Bryson, 4. Perrin Witt, 5. Northside.
District 7-A Division II – 1. Benjamin, 2. Crowell, 3. Harold, 4. Guthrie, 5. Chillicothe.
District 9-A Division II – 1. Strawn, 2. Throckmorton, 3. Woodson, 4. Moran.
District 10-A Division II – 1. Goldburg, 2. Forestburg; 3. Ladonia Fannindell.
Wichita Falls area college football predictions
Two former Rider Raiders have been named projected starters for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Emorion “Duda” Banks and Jacob Rodriguez are projected to be starters on defense at tackle and linebacker, respectively. Rodriguez has been named one of the team's captains.
In head coach Rick Renner's first season, Midwestern State is projected to finish sixth in the Lone Star Conference, with Central Washington University projected to win the conference, followed by Angelo State and UTPB.
