BALMORHEA Every time the Balmorhea football team takes or leaves its home field they are reminded of a state championship trophy hoisted in 2020.
Vance Jones, who took over as the head coach of the Bears in 2012, said his team is ready to make another run at a state championship.
“I feel pretty good with where they started,” Jones said. “The kids came in pretty good shape. Nobody has missed practice. They are working really hard and they are focused.
“They’ve got a goal and that’s to make it back to the state game. They’ve been working pretty hard to get there.”
Balmorhea is slated to return 16 lettermen from a year ago. The Bears bring back four starters on offense and six starters on defense.
Jones said one of the most important parts of making another run at a state championship will be the ability to keep everyone on the field.
“Our experience is one of our strengths,” Jones said. “We’ve got all of our starters back on defense and four starters back on offense and several guys that played a lot at those positions. The experience is huge for us coming in.
Jones added: “If we can stay healthy and not have any injuries, we have a real good shot to make a deep run.”
Jones said his team has good athletes at every position.
Balmorhea will look to its wealth of returners which include all-state running back senior Tomas Contreras, seniors Wayne Witcher, Aidaen Mata, Austin Holly and juniors Alex Mata, Adrian Mata and Landon Lopez.
Jones said junior Ethan Villanueva is scheduled to start at quarterback.
“We’ve got some depth at every position,” Jones said. “Like I said, if we stay healthy, we are in good shape.”
The Bears ended the 2021 season with a 9-2 record and lost in the area round of the playoffs to eventual state runner-up Motley.
During the 2021 season, Balmorhea averaged 52.4 points per game and allowed 21.5 points per game.
The Bears defeated their district opponents by an average of 46.3 points per game.
Their lone forfeit last year came from district opponent Dell City.
“(The team) realizes that we have to be focused for every game, no matter who we are playing or where we are playing,” Jones said. “They are coming in hungrier because of that loss.”
>> STEPPING UP: “Last year, we only had two seniors so the young guys had to step it up,” Jones said. “Some of them had to help be the leaders and they did a good job. That has really helped us coming into this season is the fact that our juniors last year really had to step it up and be leaders. We had two or three sophomores that are now juniors that have become really good leaders. Our leadership is going to be solid.”
BALMORHEA BEARS
— COACHES —
>> Head coach: Vance Jones.
>> Coach’s overall record: 285-61.
>> Coach’s record at school: 106-22
>> Assistant coaches, duties: Abel Garcia, defensive coordinator; Richard Villanueva, special teams coordinator.
— TEAM INFORMATION —
>> 2021 overall record: 10-2.
>> 2021 district record: 4-0 (First).
>> Last district title: 2021.
>> Last playoff appearance: 2021 (def. Blackwell, 60-14, in bi-district; lost to Motley County, 68-44, in area).
>> Stadium name: New stadium under construction.
>> Base offense: Unbalanced Wing I
>> Base defense: 3-2-1.
— PLAYERS —
>> Returning lettermen: 16.
>> Returning starters: 10 (6 offense, 4 defense).
>> Key returners: Tomas Contreras, 5-6, 175, Sr., Rb/SF; Wayne Witcher, 6-3, 210, Sr., C/NB; Austin Holly, 6-3, 230, Sr., TE/NB; Aidaen Mata, 5-9, 165, Sr./ RB/LG; Adam Gallegos, 5-10, 185, Sr., FB/DE; Ethan Villanueva, 5-10, 220, Jr., QB/LB; Aleks Dominguez, 5-10, 170, Sr., QB/SF.
>> Key newcomers: Marco Martinez, 6-0, 180, Soph., TE/DE; Weston Tackett, 5-10, 130, Sr., SE/SF; Abraham Coronado, 5-9, 130, Jr., SE/LB.
BALMORHEA BEARS
Date Opponent Time Site
Aug. 26 Rankin 7:30 p.m. Balmorhea
Sept. 2 Van Horn 7:30 p.m. Van Horn
Sept. 9 Open
Sept. 16 Marfa 7:30 p.m. Balmorhea
Sept. 22 Buena Vista 7:30 p.m. Imperial
Sept. 30 Fort Davis 7:30 p.m. Fort Davis
Oct. 7 Open
Oct. 14 Grandfalls-Royalty 7:30 p.m. Grandfalls
Oct. 21 Sierra Blanca 7:30 p.m. Balmorhea
Oct. 28 Dell City 7:30 p.m. Dell City
Nov. 4 Sanderson 7:30 p.m. Balmorhea
