Not many teams in the state, regardless of classification, have put together a run quite like the Pottsboro Cardinals over the last nine years. They posted double-digit wins and at least two rounds deep in seven of those years.
Over the last seven seasons, Pottsboro has tallied a 75-13 record, with seven of those losses coming in the playoffs. Last year was no different as the Cardinals went 11-3 and made it to the state quarterfinals.
Their three losses last fall? There was a 37-21 non-district loss to Gunter in Week 2. Gunter won the 3A Division II state title. There was a heartbreaking, 13-10, overtime loss to rival Whitesboro in district, and the state quarterfinal loss was to eventual 3A DI state champion Mineola. In other words, an impressive year.
Pottsboro averaged 36 points a game while its defense allowed 21 on average. The Cardinals lost a lot of seniors, but quarterback Hunter Watson returns and Pottsboro will boast a strong defensive line.
Key Losses
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WR Myles Mitchusson, OL Ashton McDaniel, RB Carson Rein
Mitchusson was the district’s Player of the Year with 1,229 yards receiving and 15 touchdown catches. McDaniel was the best offensive lineman in the district and Rein rushed for 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Key Returners
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QB Hunter Watson, DE Keegan Pritchett, DL Blake Poe
Hunter Watson has good size at 6-3, 215 and passed for 2,184 yards and 22
touchdowns as a junior. He loses three all-district wide receivers but will have a nice target in Ross Hendrix. Watson also rushed for 900 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Pritchett and Poe will be good run stoppers who can pressure opposing
quarterbacks. Eric DeLaCruz was an all-district linebacker last season after recording 103 tackles and four sacks.
The Verdict
Photo via Kristen Taylor, TexasHSFootball.com
Coach Matt Poe has been around quite a while in Pottsboro, and he has developed the formula for success. The Cardinals will simply reload and aim for 10 or more wins yet another year.
Pottsboro’s path to the playoffs begins with a tough non-district schedule. The Cardinals open the season with three of their first four games on the road. They visit Gainesville and Gunter before hosting Bonham and traveling to North Lamar.
District starts Oct. 13 at home against Howe, they travel to Callisburg and get Pilot Point and Van Alstyne at home before going to Whitesboro for the season finale and perhaps the district championship on the line.
