August 8, 2024 • 16 mins
Greg Tepper, Managing Editor of Dave Campbells Texas Football Magazine, joins the program with Craig Way to discuss the upcoming high school football season that begins in less than a month!
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
And we're back to the Craig Way shot.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Have a message for Craig, share it by using the.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Talk back feature on the Ihearts Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Why one of the great things about.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Being back in the iHeart family and coming up at
the end of this month will mark one year being back,
you know, in it for nineteen years and then across town,
so it'll be actually completing twenty years with this company
coming up at the end of the month. But one
of the great things about it is there's always something
(00:46):
whether it's cooking or just laid out, there's always something
going on in the kitchen and I go back there.
I'm just going to go back there and gets water,
and there's there's the crew in there promotions career in
there with this big stack of and if you watch
here on the YouTube channel on Facebook, these these bright
green and I mean like North Texas mean green like popsicles.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
And I was like, well, he said, have one. I said, well,
what kind is?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I was afraid. I hope it's not a hollowpena. They
should try it. And it tasted it tastes like it's green,
but it's good. It's like you just have that, you
know with kool aid and your kids, there's green kool aid.
I mean, it didn't really taste like lime. It tasted
like green. You know this This is a little more
lime though, but it it's good on that. One guy
(01:35):
who is very very much in tune with popsicles because
he has two young boys who probably just adore popsicles,
is the managing editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Greg Tepper joins us on the hotline.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Now, would would you say that you and Gen regularly
are in the popsicle mode with your guys, with your
two young men.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, we'll do that. We'll do the thing. I'm sure
they have names, but I don't know what it is.
But at the beginning of the summer, you buy the
big netted bag of those of what is essentially like
small bags of liquid, and then you throw in your
freezer and it's like you get seventy of them for
six cents and it lasts through the entire summer. That's
(02:20):
what we do. Uh. It was also a very big
snow cone summer, big snow cone summer in the Tepper household,
rolling through and grab gram snow cunts.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Every once there you go, Okay, absolutely absolutely. Okay, So
let me get your thoughts. First of all, as we
draw ever closer, now, everybody's on the practice field, well
on the ones who didn't have the spring football got
a chance to go, and then and then the ones
(02:50):
who had spring and football got a chance to go
a week later at the largest classification level, everybody else
is on the field and doing practicing type things. Do
you get the same vibe I get every year that that, uh,
there are equal amounts of dread because of the heat
and the conditions and the veritable excitement and anticipation that
(03:11):
builds up when once they actually get out on the
field and in pads and pads start popping and they
start running through drills and practices.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, it's it's kind of a it's kind of that
mix because you're you're exactly right. This is, of course
the cruelest part of our favorite sport is the fact
that we started when it's the hottest. Uh. You know,
will when we're all in the molten core of the sun. Uh.
And so you're always hold worried. You always want to
make sure everybody's safe. But I do know that you know,
the U I L has put out some some some
some guidance as far as heat advisories are concerned, and
(03:42):
and and and uh has been that's been a big,
big issue for them in the Technicypal Coaches Association to
make sure that people are saving and it does feel
like coaches are just more aware of it now than
it used to be. That you know, there's no longer
these two days and no breaks and stuff. You know,
the days of the junction bullies are probably past us,
which is probably good. But yeah, then you just kind
(04:03):
of get in get excited about football, you know, and
you get excited about, you know, seeing if what we've
been thinking about for eight months around here really comes
to fruition. And that's the fun part, you know what
Our magazine comes out in a lot of ways. Our
magazine is just a big book of predictions. You know,
we predict every district, we predict every classification, stuff like that.
And then like it's kind of fun because because it's
(04:25):
something to talk about. Some of the debate and stuff
like that, and then football season starts and kind of
don't matter at all. You know, they get to prove
us right or wrong, and so you start kind of
hearing the whispers from coaches saying, hey, that team looks
really good and it's especially I'll tell you when that's
really going to start hitting a fever pitch. So the
first games, if you're interested, are three weeks from like
(04:47):
right now. Three weeks from right now, there will be
football games, meaningful goes in the record books, football games
going on across the state of Texas. But starting next week,
when you have the first scrimmages come out, that is
when those whispers are really going to start hitting a
fever pitch, just because people are gonna say, oh man,
(05:07):
I heard that team looks great in their scrimmage against
so and So there's always one or two of those
that comes out they say, oh man, this team is
fantastic in their scrimmage. It's like you've just learned to
kind of take away a grain of salt. But at
the same time, if it runs entirely counter to what
you have been thinking for eight months, then it does
kind of give you pause, Like, oh am, I totally
(05:28):
off on that team, Like it's Florence actually going to
win the state championship. Things like that.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, right, you know, I've always kind of looked at
those things and kind of put it into the category
of folks anticipation and excitement. So as they draw at
the closer, it's like, what's the first sign here that
you know, are we seeing something visible? Hey, somebody looked
really really good in the scrimmage that move in kid,
(05:52):
he looked really really good. Those kinds of things, And
it's probably easy to take some of that stuff a
little farther than it will now. Having said all that,
and uh, looking not only at your predictions and that
of the magazine, there are some givens, there are some noes.
And since we said we were going to look at
three A today, the givens are that teams that we
(06:17):
have seen of the past several years either win or
get close to winning a state championship, are right back
in business again. Malakoff and three A D one gunner
in three AD two. But there's a lot of other
players who could kind of make things really interesting here,
aren't there?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Absolutely? And you know, we'll start with three A D
two because I mean, I mean this in a nice way,
it's kind of the less interesting one because for three
A D two it really does feel like gunner like
like and against the field, I mean, they look so
head and shoulders better than everyone else. Now they do
lose their quarterback, Walker Overman, who was such an operator
(06:54):
of that office. We were talking about this on my
podcast on Texas Football dot Com that step I were
about how Walker Overman, the guy who I don't know
how many high school football teams in Texas he'd actually
start for, but he was such the perfect fit for
Gunner that like, you can't like they may never have
a never a better quarterback than him. They But at
(07:14):
the same time, you know, we come to expect them
to be so dominant the year in and year out.
I believe they've won their region eight consecutive years. Think
about that, they played in the state semifinal eight consecutive years.
What jakes Zille's built there is is remarkable, and they
had not been challenged within Region two in a long, long,
long long time. Canadian does Canadian, which has been kind
(07:36):
of their big nemesis, the team they always seen in
the state semifinal, looks like I think they may be
taking a step back. They're replacing a quarterback and we
don't really know what they're going to be. So for Gunner,
and they look like the clear favorite in three Division
two where they might see st State Championship game, a
team like Dangerfield, they're a team like Newton, which you know,
we'll talk about that when we get there across Everton
(07:57):
to come to it. But highly athletic teams have been
the kind of teams that have given a gun or trouble.
But that would be in the state championship and you
would file that under good problems, I would say, if
you are Jake Gizzel on three Division one though, that
is where things get really interesting. And in a lot
of ways, it gets interesting because of who's not there,
because if you didn't know, for those who are unawares,
(08:20):
Brock has gone. Brock has moved up to four A,
and so as a result, there's kind of this big
open void where okay, like they're gone, who's going to
fill that space? Malakov? Of course, the defending state champs
are back with quarterback Mike Jones back in the necks,
and they're going to be I think a threat. Start
at your number one. Columbus is going to be absolutely
(08:40):
fascinating with quarterback Adams Shovel. They're a linebacker John Shovel
and now the addition of one of the greatest six
man players of all time in Grayson and Rinton. That's
they're fascinating. Oh yeah, there's Franklin, the team that has
played in four consecutive state championship games and lost two
of them by combined eight points. So they're they're in
the mix. Hitchcock. This is the year for them, you
(09:03):
know you with the Lloyd Jones third and kel Shawn Johnson.
This is the year that they've been waiting for and
the Bushland Paradise, Grandview, Coliad Sweetwater. It is a loaded
and really hard to split group of contenders in three
A Division one that make that absolutely electrifying. I'm so
excited about three A Division one. It's it's such an
(09:25):
interesting dichotomy in that three A Division one. It's so fascinating.
I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.
And three Indivision two is kind of like, well, let
me know who Gunner's playing in the state championship game
and then I'll think about it.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Three A Division two kind of reminds me, at least
all the way up to how last year ended four
A Division two with Carthage and the rest right, and
we may be going back to that, like we said
last week about four A D two this time around
with Carthage.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I think that's a great comp I think that's a
great comparison as far as as far as that is concerned,
because Gunnar does feel like the not just the pedigree
and not just the players, but just the state of
three A Division two and where it stands right now,
it does look like some of those powers are have
taken a step back, and so why not Gunner? You
have to really squint to think of a reason why
(10:13):
Gunner wouldn't play for a state championship. But then again,
go ask Carthage how that worked out for them last year. No,
you know, being being that team that starts number one
ends the clear number one is hard, a hard.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thing to carry. Are there? I will ask you this
about three A D two.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Are there two more or better interesting non district games
involving contenders then Gunner's game in week two against Anna
who's moved up to five A after winning a four
A D one title, or Dangerfield in week three playing
at Pleasant Growth.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, absolutely fascinating there, I mean that is those those
are those are really really good games that I'm really
looking forward to, you know, especially the on her and
a game because you know you're talking about punching way up,
a class case way up. I mean essentially, you know,
going up for you know, four full divisions. How well
can can gut her hang in the trenches. I also
(11:12):
want to see what Dangerfield does In's Pleasant Growth going up.
You know, Davin Nelson, the coach at Dangerfield, has really
kind of stressed we need to be more physical. We
need to go back to old school Dangerfield football. We're
always going to have speed, but where you go back
to those state championship teams, they were always so good upfront,
they were always so physical. They've gotten away from that
a little bit. Here's an opportunity to prove that you're
as physical as anybody playing Pleasant Growth. That is a
(11:34):
game that I'm absolutely fascinated with. And then I'll tell
you one more that I'm interested in Columbus in a
three envision one rather and Columbus opening up with Cuero
is right out of the shoots, a really interesting star
studed matchup and a real litmus test for how far
this Columbus team can go. We've got high hopes. How
well do they do on the road in DeWitt County
and for one of what's going to be a madhouse there.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
At with Cuero.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
All right, let me ask you about three A D
one one programs. First of all, is there a better
I'm not saying there isn't one as good, but is
there a better three A Division one coach in the
state than Mark fann.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
In at Franklin. No, no, he said.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
And by the way, it's also the whole staff. The
whole staff is fantastic, and they've done a great job
holding that staff together of guys who have built that
thing kind of from the ground up, because you know,
you remember we talk a lot about we talk a
lot about Liberty Hill, right, and and and the style
of offense they play with that slot t attack, and
(12:35):
how it's hard to get guys to buy in on it.
So that program they've been coaching staff, you know, throughout
the course of the years, has done a great job
of building it from the ground up. Well, they're doing
that in Franklin too. I mean, remember, they're running basically
the wing tea out there, you know, kind of a
modified wing tea, and it's hard to get guys to
go out there and do that and be consistent in that.
But but Mark Fannon has done an unbelievable job there
(12:57):
at Franklin, which was kind of a I mean, Franklin's
not some power to get people a little bit of
history lesson. They're not some some perennial power. They've always
been good. They've all eve been okay. Like not some
seller dweller, but like, they're not some team that's got
like six or seven state championships from back in the forties. Like,
there's just a kind of a team that has suddenly
just in the past kind of six years or so,
(13:18):
really risen to that level of elite. And they had
that title, that title game run back in twenty fifteen
where they made to the title and I believe lost
to wask them that in that very very late night
game the fourth of aquad But that was But I
think that what Mark Fannon has done taking over that
program has really elevated them to new heights.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Well, its evidenced by the fact if they get to
the state champions trim that's five straight years to be
in the state final. That's that is rarefied. There no
doubt about that. Yeah, all right, the other one I
wanted to ask you about. You have to you must understand, tip,
I live in a town and work in a town
and call games for a team that when people say
(14:00):
that college football is always just better when Texas is
really really good, so I ask you, is high school
football in Texas always just better when the Grand View
Zebras are in the mix?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I think so? I think that.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I think that not only are they the Zebras, which helps,
but also they just play an entertaining brand of football.
And what that program again kind of has has built
over the course of the last few years, uh, you know,
with coach Ryan Ebner, has been really remarkable. I mean,
you know, this has been a program that you know,
they won that title back a few years ago, went
(14:40):
back to back state championships a few years ago, and
now they've kind of established themselves as a as a
perennial power. And by the way, they're not going to
go away quietly this year as well. You know, they
have that kind of long standing weird like like rivalry
with Malakov that now you better believe that that's going
to get turned up to another level. And they've got
a playmaker Julia Allen, who is an absolute dynamo junior
(15:03):
that they're going to move all over the field. I
think grand Views in the mix, and I think you're right.
I think that that especially in an area of the state,
they're kind of like in that kind of south of
DFW's don our grand View is kind of south of
DFW just a little bit before you get to Waco,
that area to have a three A power, which you know,
usually a lot of the conversation in that part of
the state is either you know, going on to the
(15:24):
sixth day level or you're kind of talking about six Man.
Have that kind of mid size program that's really kind
of a household name across the state. I do think
it's good for high school football rit large.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
He's Greg Tepper, managing editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine.
You follow him on Twitter x at Kepper And of
course we'll look forward to bring the high School Score
for Life. We have a preview show coming up in
a couple of weeks. Tap, let's go have a popsicle
before or afterwards.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I will I will bring one of those one of
the many, like forty four of those popsicles I still
have in my in my freezer.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I'll bring a couple.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Okay, thanks tem all right, that's Greg Tepper from Dave
Campbell Texas Football Magazine. We'll hear more from coach Sart
coming up next here on Sports Radio AM thirteen under
the Zone in the iHeartRadio app
And we're back to the Craig Way shot.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Have a message for Craig, share it by using the.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Talk back feature on the Ihearts Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Why one of the great things about.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Being back in the iHeart family and coming up at
the end of this month will mark one year being back,
you know, in it for nineteen years and then across town,
so it'll be actually completing twenty years with this company
coming up at the end of the month. But one
of the great things about it is there's always something
(00:46):
whether it's cooking or just laid out, there's always something
going on in the kitchen and I go back there.
I'm just going to go back there and gets water,
and there's there's the crew in there promotions career in
there with this big stack of and if you watch
here on the YouTube channel on Facebook, these these bright
green and I mean like North Texas mean green like popsicles.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
And I was like, well, he said, have one. I said, well,
what kind is?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
I was afraid. I hope it's not a hollowpena. They
should try it. And it tasted it tastes like it's green,
but it's good. It's like you just have that, you
know with kool aid and your kids, there's green kool aid.
I mean, it didn't really taste like lime. It tasted
like green. You know this This is a little more
lime though, but it it's good on that. One guy
(01:35):
who is very very much in tune with popsicles because
he has two young boys who probably just adore popsicles,
is the managing editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Greg Tepper joins us on the hotline.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Now, would would you say that you and Gen regularly
are in the popsicle mode with your guys, with your
two young men.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, we'll do that. We'll do the thing. I'm sure
they have names, but I don't know what it is.
But at the beginning of the summer, you buy the
big netted bag of those of what is essentially like
small bags of liquid, and then you throw in your
freezer and it's like you get seventy of them for
six cents and it lasts through the entire summer. That's
(02:20):
what we do. Uh. It was also a very big
snow cone summer, big snow cone summer in the Tepper household,
rolling through and grab gram snow cunts.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Every once there you go, Okay, absolutely absolutely. Okay, So
let me get your thoughts. First of all, as we
draw ever closer, now, everybody's on the practice field, well
on the ones who didn't have the spring football got
a chance to go, and then and then the ones
(02:50):
who had spring and football got a chance to go
a week later at the largest classification level, everybody else
is on the field and doing practicing type things. Do
you get the same vibe I get every year that that, uh,
there are equal amounts of dread because of the heat
and the conditions and the veritable excitement and anticipation that
(03:11):
builds up when once they actually get out on the
field and in pads and pads start popping and they
start running through drills and practices.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, it's it's kind of a it's kind of that
mix because you're you're exactly right. This is, of course
the cruelest part of our favorite sport is the fact
that we started when it's the hottest. Uh. You know,
will when we're all in the molten core of the sun. Uh.
And so you're always hold worried. You always want to
make sure everybody's safe. But I do know that you know,
the U I L has put out some some some
some guidance as far as heat advisories are concerned, and
(03:42):
and and and uh has been that's been a big,
big issue for them in the Technicypal Coaches Association to
make sure that people are saving and it does feel
like coaches are just more aware of it now than
it used to be. That you know, there's no longer
these two days and no breaks and stuff. You know,
the days of the junction bullies are probably past us,
which is probably good. But yeah, then you just kind
(04:03):
of get in get excited about football, you know, and
you get excited about, you know, seeing if what we've
been thinking about for eight months around here really comes
to fruition. And that's the fun part, you know what
Our magazine comes out in a lot of ways. Our
magazine is just a big book of predictions. You know,
we predict every district, we predict every classification, stuff like that.
And then like it's kind of fun because because it's
(04:25):
something to talk about. Some of the debate and stuff
like that, and then football season starts and kind of
don't matter at all. You know, they get to prove
us right or wrong, and so you start kind of
hearing the whispers from coaches saying, hey, that team looks
really good and it's especially I'll tell you when that's
really going to start hitting a fever pitch. So the
first games, if you're interested, are three weeks from like
(04:47):
right now. Three weeks from right now, there will be
football games, meaningful goes in the record books, football games
going on across the state of Texas. But starting next week,
when you have the first scrimmages come out, that is
when those whispers are really going to start hitting a
fever pitch, just because people are gonna say, oh man,
(05:07):
I heard that team looks great in their scrimmage against
so and So there's always one or two of those
that comes out they say, oh man, this team is
fantastic in their scrimmage. It's like you've just learned to
kind of take away a grain of salt. But at
the same time, if it runs entirely counter to what
you have been thinking for eight months, then it does
kind of give you pause, Like, oh am, I totally
(05:28):
off on that team, Like it's Florence actually going to
win the state championship. Things like that.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, right, you know, I've always kind of looked at
those things and kind of put it into the category
of folks anticipation and excitement. So as they draw at
the closer, it's like, what's the first sign here that
you know, are we seeing something visible? Hey, somebody looked
really really good in the scrimmage that move in kid,
(05:52):
he looked really really good. Those kinds of things, And
it's probably easy to take some of that stuff a
little farther than it will now. Having said all that,
and uh, looking not only at your predictions and that
of the magazine, there are some givens, there are some noes.
And since we said we were going to look at
three A today, the givens are that teams that we
(06:17):
have seen of the past several years either win or
get close to winning a state championship, are right back
in business again. Malakoff and three A D one gunner
in three AD two. But there's a lot of other
players who could kind of make things really interesting here,
aren't there?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Absolutely? And you know, we'll start with three A D
two because I mean, I mean this in a nice way,
it's kind of the less interesting one because for three
A D two it really does feel like gunner like
like and against the field, I mean, they look so
head and shoulders better than everyone else. Now they do
lose their quarterback, Walker Overman, who was such an operator
(06:54):
of that office. We were talking about this on my
podcast on Texas Football dot Com that step I were
about how Walker Overman, the guy who I don't know
how many high school football teams in Texas he'd actually
start for, but he was such the perfect fit for
Gunner that like, you can't like they may never have
a never a better quarterback than him. They But at
(07:14):
the same time, you know, we come to expect them
to be so dominant the year in and year out.
I believe they've won their region eight consecutive years. Think
about that, they played in the state semifinal eight consecutive years.
What jakes Zille's built there is is remarkable, and they
had not been challenged within Region two in a long, long,
long long time. Canadian does Canadian, which has been kind
(07:36):
of their big nemesis, the team they always seen in
the state semifinal, looks like I think they may be
taking a step back. They're replacing a quarterback and we
don't really know what they're going to be. So for Gunner,
and they look like the clear favorite in three Division
two where they might see st State Championship game, a
team like Dangerfield, they're a team like Newton, which you know,
we'll talk about that when we get there across Everton
(07:57):
to come to it. But highly athletic teams have been
the kind of teams that have given a gun or trouble.
But that would be in the state championship and you
would file that under good problems, I would say, if
you are Jake Gizzel on three Division one though, that
is where things get really interesting. And in a lot
of ways, it gets interesting because of who's not there,
because if you didn't know, for those who are unawares,
(08:20):
Brock has gone. Brock has moved up to four A,
and so as a result, there's kind of this big
open void where okay, like they're gone, who's going to
fill that space? Malakov? Of course, the defending state champs
are back with quarterback Mike Jones back in the necks,
and they're going to be I think a threat. Start
at your number one. Columbus is going to be absolutely
(08:40):
fascinating with quarterback Adams Shovel. They're a linebacker John Shovel
and now the addition of one of the greatest six
man players of all time in Grayson and Rinton. That's
they're fascinating. Oh yeah, there's Franklin, the team that has
played in four consecutive state championship games and lost two
of them by combined eight points. So they're they're in
the mix. Hitchcock. This is the year for them, you
(09:03):
know you with the Lloyd Jones third and kel Shawn Johnson.
This is the year that they've been waiting for and
the Bushland Paradise, Grandview, Coliad Sweetwater. It is a loaded
and really hard to split group of contenders in three
A Division one that make that absolutely electrifying. I'm so
excited about three A Division one. It's it's such an
(09:25):
interesting dichotomy in that three A Division one. It's so fascinating.
I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.
And three Indivision two is kind of like, well, let
me know who Gunner's playing in the state championship game
and then I'll think about it.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Three A Division two kind of reminds me, at least
all the way up to how last year ended four
A Division two with Carthage and the rest right, and
we may be going back to that, like we said
last week about four A D two this time around
with Carthage.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
I think that's a great comp I think that's a
great comparison as far as as far as that is concerned,
because Gunnar does feel like the not just the pedigree
and not just the players, but just the state of
three A Division two and where it stands right now,
it does look like some of those powers are have
taken a step back, and so why not Gunner? You
have to really squint to think of a reason why
(10:13):
Gunner wouldn't play for a state championship. But then again,
go ask Carthage how that worked out for them last year. No,
you know, being being that team that starts number one
ends the clear number one is hard, a hard.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thing to carry. Are there? I will ask you this
about three A D two.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Are there two more or better interesting non district games
involving contenders then Gunner's game in week two against Anna
who's moved up to five A after winning a four
A D one title, or Dangerfield in week three playing
at Pleasant Growth.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, absolutely fascinating there, I mean that is those those
are those are really really good games that I'm really
looking forward to, you know, especially the on her and
a game because you know you're talking about punching way up,
a class case way up. I mean essentially, you know,
going up for you know, four full divisions. How well
can can gut her hang in the trenches. I also
(11:12):
want to see what Dangerfield does In's Pleasant Growth going up.
You know, Davin Nelson, the coach at Dangerfield, has really
kind of stressed we need to be more physical. We
need to go back to old school Dangerfield football. We're
always going to have speed, but where you go back
to those state championship teams, they were always so good upfront,
they were always so physical. They've gotten away from that
a little bit. Here's an opportunity to prove that you're
as physical as anybody playing Pleasant Growth. That is a
(11:34):
game that I'm absolutely fascinated with. And then I'll tell
you one more that I'm interested in Columbus in a
three envision one rather and Columbus opening up with Cuero
is right out of the shoots, a really interesting star
studed matchup and a real litmus test for how far
this Columbus team can go. We've got high hopes. How
well do they do on the road in DeWitt County
and for one of what's going to be a madhouse there.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
At with Cuero.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
All right, let me ask you about three A D
one one programs. First of all, is there a better
I'm not saying there isn't one as good, but is
there a better three A Division one coach in the
state than Mark fann.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
In at Franklin. No, no, he said.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
And by the way, it's also the whole staff. The
whole staff is fantastic, and they've done a great job
holding that staff together of guys who have built that
thing kind of from the ground up, because you know,
you remember we talk a lot about we talk a
lot about Liberty Hill, right, and and and the style
of offense they play with that slot t attack, and
(12:35):
how it's hard to get guys to buy in on it.
So that program they've been coaching staff, you know, throughout
the course of the years, has done a great job
of building it from the ground up. Well, they're doing
that in Franklin too. I mean, remember, they're running basically
the wing tea out there, you know, kind of a
modified wing tea, and it's hard to get guys to
go out there and do that and be consistent in that.
But but Mark Fannon has done an unbelievable job there
(12:57):
at Franklin, which was kind of a I mean, Franklin's
not some power to get people a little bit of
history lesson. They're not some some perennial power. They've always
been good. They've all eve been okay. Like not some
seller dweller, but like, they're not some team that's got
like six or seven state championships from back in the forties. Like,
there's just a kind of a team that has suddenly
just in the past kind of six years or so,
(13:18):
really risen to that level of elite. And they had
that title, that title game run back in twenty fifteen
where they made to the title and I believe lost
to wask them that in that very very late night
game the fourth of aquad But that was But I
think that what Mark Fannon has done taking over that
program has really elevated them to new heights.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Well, its evidenced by the fact if they get to
the state champions trim that's five straight years to be
in the state final. That's that is rarefied. There no
doubt about that. Yeah, all right, the other one I
wanted to ask you about. You have to you must understand, tip,
I live in a town and work in a town
and call games for a team that when people say
(14:00):
that college football is always just better when Texas is
really really good, so I ask you, is high school
football in Texas always just better when the Grand View
Zebras are in the mix?
Speaker 2 (14:15):
I think so? I think that.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I think that not only are they the Zebras, which helps,
but also they just play an entertaining brand of football.
And what that program again kind of has has built
over the course of the last few years, uh, you know,
with coach Ryan Ebner, has been really remarkable. I mean,
you know, this has been a program that you know,
they won that title back a few years ago, went
(14:40):
back to back state championships a few years ago, and
now they've kind of established themselves as a as a
perennial power. And by the way, they're not going to
go away quietly this year as well. You know, they
have that kind of long standing weird like like rivalry
with Malakov that now you better believe that that's going
to get turned up to another level. And they've got
a playmaker Julia Allen, who is an absolute dynamo junior
(15:03):
that they're going to move all over the field. I
think grand Views in the mix, and I think you're right.
I think that that especially in an area of the state,
they're kind of like in that kind of south of
DFW's don our grand View is kind of south of
DFW just a little bit before you get to Waco,
that area to have a three A power, which you know,
usually a lot of the conversation in that part of
the state is either you know, going on to the
(15:24):
sixth day level or you're kind of talking about six Man.
Have that kind of mid size program that's really kind
of a household name across the state. I do think
it's good for high school football rit large.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
He's Greg Tepper, managing editor of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine.
You follow him on Twitter x at Kepper And of
course we'll look forward to bring the high School Score
for Life. We have a preview show coming up in
a couple of weeks. Tap, let's go have a popsicle
before or afterwards.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
I will I will bring one of those one of
the many, like forty four of those popsicles I still
have in my in my freezer.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I'll bring a couple.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Okay, thanks tem all right, that's Greg Tepper from Dave
Campbell Texas Football Magazine. We'll hear more from coach Sart
coming up next here on Sports Radio AM thirteen under
the Zone in the iHeartRadio app
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