Six-Man Spotlight: Happy, Borden County take pole positions in 1A Division I regional lookaheads

[caption id="attachment_30048" align="aligncenter" width="700"]Photo by Dency McClure Photo by Dency McClure[/caption] Dave Campbell’s Texas Football six-man football contributor Leman Saunders takes a way-too-early look at how Class 1A could shake out in 2017.Today: Class 1A Division I — Regions I and IIRegion I Happy is coming off the best season in school history after advancing to the state semifinals, and the Cowboys are the odds-on favorite to repeat as regional champs. But there are plenty of spoilers. Happy Cowboys Coming off a 13-win season last year, the Cowboys will return a large portion of their team, giving them a very good chance of advancing to their first state title game. They will need to replace all-state offensive MVP running back Karson Bryan, which will be no easy task, but first-team all-state WR Colton McCarley will likely take over much of the offensive workload. McCarley was also a highlight reel special teams player and top defensive player, earning first-team all-state utility honors. TE Miguel Mata was also first-team all-state and DL Jayton Walden was second team. Happy should be happy at their chances in 2017. Nazareth Swifts The Swifts are coming off their best season of six-man football, reaching the second round of the playoffs. Second-team all-state back Traytan McLain, who threw for 33 TDs and ran for another three scores — not to mention a defensive star — should lead the squad. Paducah Dragons Paducah played a very tough schedule last season, facing both state champions in Richland Springs and Borden County en route to a 3-7 record. They’ll lose just three letterman, welcoming back the likes of senior RB/LB Jacolby Burns; he will be a big factor on both sides of the ball for the Dragons. Knox City Greyhounds Knox City lost to Happy in the regional title game last season and will be in the mix to return there this season. The Greyhounds will have to replace a few key position players as they were hit hard by graduation. WR Brady Hawkins, who caught 16 touchdown passes a year ago, is one of the best returning wide outs in Class 1A. Region II State champion Borden County will stand a good chance at defending their Region II crown, but Garden City, Sterling City and Ira will be out for the Coyotes’ pelts in 2017. This traditionally is the toughest region top to bottom in Division I, and this year should be no different. Borden County Coyotes The Coyotes, always a force to be reckoned with, will once again be tough to beat, though they’ll need to replace many key positions after graduating a bulk of their starters from last year’s title team. All-state defensive MVP Trace Richey will again be one of the state’s top defenders. Garden City Bearkats Garden City returns 13 lettermen in their quest to avenge last season’s regional championship loss to Borden County. QB/S Trent McMillan and LB/RB Cesar Chavez return after earning all-state honors, hoping to guide GC to a sixth consecutive playoff berth. Sterling City Eagles Sterling City brings back five offensive and four defensive starters off of last season’s playoff squad. They also have the rare six-man luxury of depth with a large group of lettermen and incoming freshman to fill their roster. RB/LB Tavenn Raymor and LB Josue Rodriguez return for their senior season to lead the Eagles in challenging Garden City for the District 6-1A DI title.

Leman Saunders is a six-man football contributor to Dave Campbell's Texas Football.