Reagan-omics

Way back in 1920, in what Dave Campbell's Texas Football recognizes as the first state football championship game, Houston Heights played Cleburne to a scoreless tie.

Houston Heights doesn't exist anymore; it's Houston Reagan now. And that success hasn't been replicated in past years; the Bulldogs' most recent playoff appearance was in 2005.

Reagan went 3-7 last year, including 2-4 in District 21-4A (a district won by Yates and dominated also by Austin and Waltrip). But it was a step in the right direction for the Reagan program, which had won three games combined in 2008 and 2009, and much of that is due to their coach, Stephen Dixon.

Dixon, entering his fourth season as head coach of the Bulldogs, graciously agreed to answer some of DCTF's questions.

1) Three wins may not seem like a big deal to many teams, but it represented a step forward for Reagan. What needs to happen for your team to take the next step and get over the hump in 2011?
Three wins is a step forward, but we did not accomplish a small part of our goal of making the playoffs.  We are getting so much talent in the school now that our goal is to win the district championship and start advancing in the playoffs.  We had a very talented freshman class come in and I would say that added experience and the leadership we have from of up and coming seniors will help us take that next step.

2) You return three starters on your offensive line -- Alex Tyson, Demontre Ross and Manuel Trigeros. Is it safe to say that they're the most important cog in your squad?
I would say those three guys are a very important cog of not only our offensive, but Alex and Demontre are very good defensive linemen as well.  We return two other all-district defensive linemen in Jalen Wells and Jaaron Thomas.

3) The youth movement is underway at Reagan, with sophomore QB Tyron Washington and LB Trevor O'Reilly. Do you worry about putting too much pressure on such young players?
I don't worry about putting too much pressure on young guys like that because they want to be great and will be great. Tyron Washington and Trevor O'Reilly are the leaders of this youth movement, but there are at least 5-6 other freshman who should be able to go to any college they choose.  They have the talent and the will to be great, plus they are great kids. We have freshman who played varsity like Jaaron Thomas, Malcolm LaFleur, Tavon Dodd, Marcus Jones, Murphy Jones. We also have a 6-6, 330-pound freshman who should start at offensive line and could play some defense as well (Gewhite Stallworth).

4) Who is the player on your team that is going to be a household name by the end of 2011?
The person who could be a household name could be DB Hardy Hill. He may not be the biggest person in the world, but he can run like the wind.  He was one of the top return men in the state of Texas last year and I expect nothing less. He also led the district in interceptions and made 1st team all-district. We will add him to our offensive arsenal more this year.

5) In your opinion, what makes Texas high school football so special?
Friday Night Lights makes Texas football so great. In a lot of parts of Texas that is all the community has to do on Fridays or Saturdays. They just show up to the game and cheer their hearts out for their home team. The competition is so great in Texas that you don't know who will win the game sometimes. In Texas, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work.