Not many people had Abilene doing much after a season opening blowout loss to San Angelo Central. The Eagles were butchered up front, and star running back Abram Smith was shelved so that he wouldn’t get injured. A brand new district lay in store for Abilene, one with Keller Fossil Ridge looming.
Questions continued to mount throughout the season as the Eagles annihilated the rest of their predistrict schedule. They demolished Keller Fossil Ridge, who was assumed to be their biggest competition. The rest of the district schedule was similarly easy, and it seemed like Abilene had finally found its groove.
Abilene beat Arlington and El Paso Americas soundly before running into DeSoto. The third round matchup culminated in an instant classic, DeSoto had to come back from an early 24-7 deficit to beat Abilene by a score of 49-45.
The Eagles were fueled by a star studded senior class, so how will they reload in 2017? It’s not hard to see a down year for Abilene here, but a relatively weak district means the Eagles should remain on top.
Key Losses
QB Peyton Killam, RB Abram Smith, DT/TE Coy McMillon, SS/WR Qua’shawn Washington, LB Dackota Triano
When you look at everyone Abilene is graduating, it’s really easy to be down on them. Killam and Smith were a lethal combo in the backfield for the Eagles, and they also lose several guys who played on both sides of the ball.
The blocking/run-plugging ability of McMillon will surely be missed as the Eagles look to rebuild both of their lines, and the presence of Qua’shawn Washington over the top of that defense will be missed as well. Dackota Triano was an underrated asset for the Eagles this season, his knack for being in the right place at the right time isn’t something that’s easily replaced.
Key Returners
WR Raekwon Millsap, OLB Terrell Franklin, S Doak Holloway
Millsap provided an excellent deep threat for Abilene this year, and will continue to be for whoever takes over Killam’s spot at quarterback. He’ll also provide a kick returning threat. The Eagles will lose a lot of scoring potential with the departure of Abram Smith and Xavier Bradley, and Millsap will have to step up in this aspect.
Franklin and Holloway will have a tall task as they look to rebuild a defense that will lose players who made serious impacts, but will return multiple bodies with experience. Most of the linebacking corps will have experience, but the defensive line will likely need to be completely retooled.
The Verdict
Abilene is just one of those teams that you can never count out. Head Coach Del Van Cox is a veteran now, and knows what it takes to win at this level of play. You can count on long time defensive coordinator Mike Fullen to always have some tricks up his sleeve as well. Even when Abilene doesn’t seem like they have the skill or the talent to make playoff runs, they do anyways, and it’s largely due to the coaching acumen that runs from the top down in this program.
So yes, Abilene is losing a lot of players, longtime guys who are going on to places like Baylor and TCU. However, that shouldn’t sour you on the Eagles, especially in the district that they’re in. It’ll be a lot more of the same in district 3-6A: Abilene will likely be on top.
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