Averion Hurts Sr.’s long run at Channelview is over, and yeah, this one feels like the end of an era.
Matt Stepp of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football reported Friday that Hurts is stepping down as the Falcons’ head football coach. Hurts had led Channelview since 2006, which is almost unheard of now. In a Texas high school football world where coaches move, districts shift and patience can get thin fast, Hurts gave Channelview nearly two decades of stability.
It’s the end of an era in Channelview as after twenty seasons, Averion Hurts will not return as the HC at CHS
Channelview is OPEN #txhsfb @dctf
— Matt Stepp (@Matt_Stepp817) May 8, 2026
Of course, the Hurts name carries a lot of weight. His oldest son, Averion Hurts Jr., played quarterback at Channelview and is now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Goose Creek Memorial. After the news broke, Averion Jr. posted that his father’s “relentless effort and sacrifice” helped lead him into coaching.
That is about as strong a coaching tree as it gets when it starts at the dinner table.
His younger son, Jalen Hurts, became one of the biggest names in Channelview football history before starring at Alabama, Oklahoma and with the Philadelphia Eagles. As a senior for the Falcons, Jalen threw for 2,384 yards and 26 touchdowns while rushing for 1,391 yards and 25 more scores.
And yes, Channelview had its movie-scene moment too.
During Jalen’s junior season, the Falcons stunned North Shore 49-48 on a late Hail Mary. Beating North Shore is hard enough. Doing it like that is the kind of thing people in a community remember forever, especially in a Houston-area football landscape that does not exactly hand out easy Friday nights.
Hurts’ best team season came in 2022. After a 2-2 start, Channelview ripped off six straight district wins and captured the first district title in program history. For a program that had spent years trying to find consistent footing, that season showed what the Falcons could be when everything clicked.
Hurts’ time at Channelview will always be tied to his sons, especially with Jalen becoming an NFL star. That is part of the story, and it is a big part.
But it is not the whole story.
Inside Channelview, Hurts’ impact was built through the players who showed up every day without cameras around. The ones who learned toughness, discipline, effort and how to keep going when the season, or life, got heavy.
Now Channelview moves into a new chapter. Hurts leaves behind a program shaped by family, patience and the kind of steady leadership that is getting harder to find in Texas high school football.
