SPRING BRANCH, Texas – It’s one thing to reach the mountain top, especially after years of trying to reach the pinnacle of Texas high school football.
It’s quite another to stay on top in a state where football is king.
But that’s exactly what the Smithson Valley Rangers will attempt to do this season, as defending state champions.
Smithson Valley won the UIL Class 5A Division I state title at AT&T Stadium back on Dec. 21. The Rangers defeated Dallas Highland Park 32-20, ending the season 14-2 and their first state championship for football in school history.
It was also head coach Larry Hill’s fifth time attempting to win the ultimate prize on the final game of the season.
Now, Hill has his squad looking ahead to another tough schedule and, at the same time, addressing the 22 lettermen who left after the championship season. The Rangers have 40 returning lettermen, including two starters on offense and eight on defense.
“We always lean into our defense, but sometimes it’s not how many you lost but who you lost,” Larry Hill said to KSAT 12 Sports this week. “There were some big leaders there, some big playmakers there who aren’t here, and we got one or two shifting to the offensive side of the ball, to fill some gaps there, so it’s a start over for sure.”
Smithson Valley is predicted to finish first in Class 13-5A Division I according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine, ahead of Pieper, New Braunfels and Boerne Champion.
Texas football also predicts defensive lineman Hudson Woods as the preseason defensive most valuable player.
“I’m going to play as big as a role as anyone else, just try my hardest and work my hardest every day, to get where I want to be‚” Woods said. “I think we’re going to be solid. We got a lot of good guys. I think the d-line will be great, working as a team for the second year in a row.”
The Rangers will begin the season hosting the Roosevelt Roughriders on Aug. 29.
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