Editor's Note: "Inside The 25" counts down the '08 preseason top 25 rankings in all five 11-man classifications, taking a closer look at each team in the rankings, starting from No. 25 and working down to the No. 1 teams in each classification.
CLASS 5A's #17: Lufkin
2007 Preseason Ranking/Final Ranking: 13/NR
2007 Final Record/Playoff Finish: 9-2/DII bi-district finalists
Why They're Ranked: All the headlines emanating from Lufkin these days deal with one player. If you don't know who he is, you haven't been following recruiting. Lufkin's superior defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland is so big (in every way), even the New York Times felt a story on him was fit to print. But McFarland would be the first to tell you it's not about him, it's about the Pack as a whole. Surrounding the big DT are six other starters from last year's defense, including one of the top junior DBs in the state, Carrington Byndom, plus fellow DB Demarquez Freeman (5 INTs). And the Claybon name lives for one season longer, as QB Jeffery Claybon enters his second and final year to start. He threw for 2,042 yards and 20 TDs last year in replacing his brother, Jeremy Claybon, the program's all-time leading passer. Though Lufkin, to us, seems out of place in a district with north suburban Houston teams, Lufkin is right at home in the rankings.
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