Stop me if you've heard this before but it's the middle of the fall and Leon's contending for the district title.
You hear that and the first thing you probably think of is the dominant Lady Cougars volleyball team. Well with a 30-10 overall record and a 3-1 mark in District 22-2A, second behind defending 2A state champion Iola, you definitely aren't wrong in thinking we're talking about them.
But this year in Jewett, most people are having to clarify which team they're talking about as the Leon football team has rolled into October with a red-hot 5-1 record.
"I mean shoot, anytime you start 5-1, your kids are doing the right things," Leon head coach Derek Thomas said. "I've been very pleased with our juniors and seniors and even some of our sophomores, they practice the right way, they do things the right way and that's really all you can ask out of kids these days."
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Not only that but the Cougars are also 1-0 in District 12-2A-I with a massive matchup this week against rival and fellow BV school Centerville (5-1, 1-0). Leon and Centerville are both undefeated in the six-member district, alongside Corrigan-Camden (3-3, 1-0).
Heck, the winner of Friday's 7 p.m. matchup at Centerville will probably be in the driver's seat for the district title with three weeks to go.
It's not a surprise that the Tigers are here. Centerville hasn't lost a district game since 2020 and has been district champs four consecutive seasons.
Leon's path to this point has been a little unorthodox.
The Cougars won their last district title in 1992, although they've had plenty of runner-up finishes with the most recent coming in 2020. Not only that, but Leon has also been to the playoffs every year since 2018.
Still, this year's team being here and off to this start is impressive especially since the Cougars changed their offense this offseason from a spread to a wing-T this offseason.
It's not like the spread wasn't working either as Leon was 5-6 a season ago, finished third in district before falling in bi-district. Even in Thomas' first year in 2022, Leon was 3-8 but all three were in district play to get them in the playoffs before falling in bi-district.
"It was something that they were excited about last spring, they were excited that we're changing some stuff up," Thomas said. "As far as the execution of it, pleased is obviously a good word for it. Just excited about what we're doing. I think the kids are believing in the program now. You tell them, 'You got to believe, you got to keep working' and that's what they've done. Believe in the system."
The system certainly has been working as Leon is averaging 33.2 points per game. The Cougars have scored 30 or more points in the last three games, including a 41-21 win over Cross Roads, a 46-20 win over Bruceville-Eddy and last week's 34-0 district-opening shutout of Normangee.
It also helps when you have an unselfish group as Thomas uses the team's quarterback competition as an example.
This offseason, junior Landon Thomas and sophomore Alex Galvan were competing for the job. A job that Landon won but didn't discourage Galvan.
"He just rolls right in there and gets to a different position and just keeps playing," the third-year head coach said. "It's just the kind of team we are. It's about the team, it's not about an individual."
His running backs have also taken that same approach with tremendous results as Cotton Brigner had "never carried the football" before, but is now averaging 150 yards per game. Brady Rohrer was a receiver a season ago and is averaging nearly 100 yards on the ground.
This week against Centerville is going to be again all hands on deck as Thomas feels both teams are pretty identical to each other with it being decided by what happens at the line of scrimmage.
"Neither one of us throws it a whole lot, so it's going to come down to sheer will power and physicality," Thomas said. "You know Centerville's a physical team, they [always] have been. They pride themselves on that. They pride themselves on being physical and handling the line of scrimmage and that's the same thing that we do."
He adds that with it being a rivalry game, you want the players to be excited but also keep that excitement under control.
"It's going to be a battle and it's going to be a battle on every single play," he said. "I don't know if it's going to come down to just one or two plays, it's going to be one of those games that every single play matters."
While Derek just wants his team to go 1-0 in district each week and doesn't feel like this year's meeting with the Tigers is any different than previous seasons, he is hoping the team can keep things going for longer than just the four regular season games left.
"It's just one of those years where it's just fun," he said. "It's one of the years where it goes by so fast because kids are doing the right things."
Tennis playoffs continue this week: A&M Consolidated, Caldwell and Franklin will take part in the regional quarterfinals for team tennis on Tuesday.
In the 5A bracket, the Tigers will take on Baytown Sterling at Katy Freeman at 9:30 a.m. The winner will move on to the regional semifinals at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday at Consol.
Caldwell and Franklin are both in the 4A bracket. The Hornets face Wharton at Waller at 10 a.m., while Franklin faces Groesbeck at 4:30 p.m. at China Spring. The winner of those matchups will face each other in the regional semifinals at Consol.
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