Eastland head coach James Morton steps down

The Eastland Mavericks will have a new head coach for the first time in nearly a decade after James Morton announced Tuesday that he will step down into an athletic director-only role. The news was first reported by Evan Ren of BigCountryPreps.com.

A 31-year head coaching veteran, Morton spent the last seven seasons at the helm of the Mavericks, going 51-33 in that span with a pair of district championships and six playoff appearances. The high-water mark came in 2020 when the Mavericks ran to a 10-4 mark and a spot in the regional final with now-Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton at the controls of the offense.