Area teams open seasons tonight

When the St. Paul and Pettus football teams face each other tonight, both teams will have new head coaches.

Dan Garza will coach the War Eagles, while the Cardinals will be under the direction of Jake Wachsmuth. The biggest difference is Garza is in his first tenure as Pettus’ head coach, while Wachsmuth returned to St. Paul after a one-year hiatus.

“The kids have done a good job of retention,” Wachsmuth said. “They remember most of what we ran two years ago.”

Wachsmuth last coached the Cardinals in 2010 — when they won the TAPPS Division IV state championship. Tonight’s game, which kicks off at 7:30 at Comanche Field in Shiner, will mark the seventh year in a row that St. Paul and Pettus have opened their seasons against each other.

A year ago, both teams operated out of the spread offense. Wachsmuth will have the Cardinals operating out of multiple sets ranging from the spread to the stacked-I, and he also noted that the War Eagles have a different look.

“(Pettus) runs wing-T now,” he said. “They’re going to be a different Pettus team than what we’ve seen the last few years, but they’ll still give us a competitive game.”

Wachsmuth also noted that the War Eagles will operate out of a 50 front on defense with a 5-2 look.

St. Paul withdrew from a dual scrimmage against Flatonia and Hallettsville last week because of illness and injuries. But Wachsmuth reported that his team should have a clean bill of health tonight.

“We seem to be healthy and ready to go,” he said.

Nixon-Smiley at Flatonia

Nixon-Smiley and Flatonia both have a lot in common. Both teams are in their third years under their current head coaches — Carlton McKinney at Nixon-Smiley and Chris Freytag at Flatonia — and both missed the postseason by one game a year ago.

While both teams look to have breakthrough seasons, only one will be a winner tonight.

The Bulldogs host the Mustangs at 7:30 at Bulldog Field in Flatonia.

“Flatonia is a well-coached team that plays good team ball,” McKinney said. “They’ll run multiple sets ranging from the I to the spread to the wishbone.”

The teams will have their fifth season-opening contest in a row. Nixon-Smiley won each of the last two seasons, including last year’s thrilling 36-33 come-from-behind victory when the Mustangs rallied from a 27-13 halftime deficit to win.

Junior Colby Mica will operate the Flatonia offense. Mica was the starter a year ago until he suffered a season-ending injury midway through the season.

The Bulldogs operate defensively out of a 4-3 alignment. However, McKinney won’t be surprised if he sees some 8-9-man fronts.

“We run the ball most of the time so it’s common to see 8-9 in the box,” he said.

With the exception of wide receiver/linebacker Tyler Alvarez, Nixon-Smiley is healthy. Alvarez will miss tonight’s game after suffering a concussion a week ago.

Shiner at Vanderbilt Industrial

Shiner and Industrial have been involved in some close games over the last few seasons, including last year’s 20-7 Industrial win. When the teams meet at 7:30 p.m. today in Vanderbilt, Shiner coach Steven Cerny noted that the Cobras will have a different look than in years’ past.

“They ran spread in their scrimmages,” Cerny said. “They traditionally ran the wishbone, but they were strictly spread in the film we saw on them from their scrimmages. They run jet sweep and quarterback wham plays as well as throw quick passes with a few deep balls.”

Cerny also was quick to point out that it is hard to get a gauge on a team just from witnessing film on its scrimmages. He also is prepared to see the unexpected tonight.

“They showed spread in the scrimmages, but we still need to be prepared in case they get back in the wishbone,” he said. “Industrial doesn’t have one kid who stands out above the rest. The have overall balance.”

While the Cobras’ offense has changed, the defense remains the same. Industrial will still operate out of a split-6 alignment.

In each of the last two seasons, Shiner has overcome slow starts to advance to either the region semifinals or region finals. Cerny wants to see his team start well — and finish well.

“We’ve had slow starts the last two years and we need to change that,” he said. “If we can do the little things right, we’ll have a better chance of being successful.”

Randolph at Luling

The Colby Hensley era kicks off tonight when Luling hosts Randolph at 7:30 at Eagle Stadium in Luling. While Hensley is excited about his first assignment as a head coach, he also is taking his opponent very seriously.

“Randolph is well-coached, physical and has a lot of talent,” Hensley said. “They do what they do. They play physical football and get after you.”

From what Hensley saw on film of the Ro-Hawks, they base out of the wing-T but also operate out of a spread look. He also noted that Randolph has two quarterbacks.

“They have one quarterback who is a runner and another who is a passer,” Hensley said. “They also have a couple of running backs who can go.”

Defensively, the Ro-Hawks base out of a 4-3. But they’ll switch to a 4-2-5 look as well.

“They like to go cover-2 or cover-3,” Hensley said.

Hensley said his team is healthy for the most part with a few bumps and bruises.