With a few weeks left in July, high school football season is right around the corner.
Starting next month, high school teams can officially ramp up practices, with conditioning allowed starting Aug. 4, and full contact beginning five days later. With the start of the season looming, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football ranked the top 25 teams in each classification.
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Across six divisions, from Class 2A Division II to Class 5A Division I, 12 teams from the Texas Panhandle appeared on the outlet’s list.
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In Class 5A Division I, Amarillo High earned the No. 22 spot while Tascosa was ranked No. 25. Both teams made the playoffs in 2024, with the Sandies falling to Richland in the area round while the Rebels lost to Aledo in the regional round.
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In Class 4A Division I, West Plains and Randall each received top-15 rankings. The Wolves came in at No. 2, while the Raiders were placed at No. 15.
Led by Adam Cummings, the Wolves reached the state semifinals in 2024, falling to eventual state champion Celina and 4-star quarterback Bowe Bentley in a hard-fought, one-score contest. The team is set to return a large portion of its roster from last season, including two Division I commits, and could be primed for another deep playoff run.
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The Raiders lost to Stephenville in the regional round of the playoffs, and also return a good chunk of the team’s nucleus from a squad that went 9-1 in the regular season last year.
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Bushland was the only Class 3A Division I program from the Texas Panhandle to appear in the top 25, checking in at No. 17. The Falcons fell to Paradise in the area round of the postseason in 2024, and will be tasked with replacing a few key players over the offseason.
In Class 3A Division II, Canadian earned the No. 8 spot following a run to the state quarterfinals last year. The Wildcats ended up falling at the hands of Wall. Even after graduating Clay Kendall and Wyatt Davis, among others, rising sophomore quarterback Weston Mitchell received valuable on-field experience as a freshman and could take command of Andy Cavalier’s offense in 2025.
Canadian’s head football coach Andy Cavalier walks along the sidelines during the Class 3A Division II football state quarterfinals against Wall, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at Patriot Stadium in Woodrow.
In Class 2A Division I, Panhandle is ranked No. 6 in the state while Sunray came in at No. 24. The Panthers are led by Army pledge Broxton Robinson and should be solid again after losing to Stamford, which reached the state title game, in the area round of the playoffs last season.
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The Bobcats earned a spot in the rankings even after graduating Armando Lujan, a UIL record holder and one of the best players in program history, and a number of other important pieces of the roster following a trip to the regional round. Still, the team is set to bring back multiple talented skill players, and has already made a strong impression after reaching the state 7-on-7 tournament earlier this summer.
Four teams from the area were ranked in the the Class 2A Division II top 25, as Gruver took the No. 5 spot, Stratford claimed No. 13, Wellington checked in at No. 20 and Wheeler rounded out the group at No. 24. The Greyhounds reached the state semifinals in 2024, losing to eventual state champion Muenster. While Kurt Haberthur’s squad graduated a handful of standouts, starting quarterback Briggs Satterfield returns for his final year with the team.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: 12 Texas Panhandle football teams ranked in preseason Top 25