The tour of Brazos Valley 5A football programs ends with the newest kid on the block — College Station High School.
CSHS has just five years of varsity-level play, but the Cougars have meteorically risen to king of the hill status in the Waco/Bryan/Temple district. The Cougars went 14-1 in 2016, with its lone loss to Corpus Christi Calallen, 31-30, in the state semifinal. College Station had the ball in Calallen territory with under two minutes to play but couldn’t convert a fourth down.
That’s how close the Cougars were to advancing to state. College Station did outlast Temple, 17-16, for the district championship in the Cougars’ final regular-season game.
Coach Steve Huff guided the Cougars to comfortable wins over Whitehouse, Magnolia and Port Neches-Groves in the first three playoff rounds before pulling out a 31-27 victory over Fort Bend Marshall, 31-27, in the regional final.
College Station averaged 46 points a game while allowing just 14.6 a game, and gave up just seven points a game in a rather salty District 18-5A.
Key Losses
LB Mark Wagner, WR Braden Tschirhart
Mark Wagner was the district’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and first-team all-state selection by the Texas Sports Writers Association.
Braden Tschirhart led a stealthy receiving corps with 743 yards and 13 touchdowns — team highs in both categories.
Key Returners
QB Marquez Perez, OL Jeremiah Williams, DE Marquise Conchola
Perez was named first-team all-district last year. He passed for 2,220 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for 1,126 yards and 16 touchdowns. Despite his gaudy stats, getting stopped on back-to-back rushing attempts to seal the team’s fate in the state semifinal should be what pushes him and this offense to excel once again in 2017.
Jeremiah Williams and Marquise Conchola were both first-team all-district selections last year. The stingy Cougars defense also returns defensive back Quandree White, tackle KeKe Anderson, defensive end Matt Rusk and safety Brandon Joseph.
The Verdict
The Cougars set the bar for the program in 2015 when they tied for the district championship and went three rounds deep with a 10-3 record. They raised the bar in 2016 with a 14-1 mark, outright district title and five rounds deep in the playoffs.
The intention is to raise it as high as it can go, and they may have what it takes.
College Station has a solid blend of talent returning, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Defense might have to be better in 2017 as the rest of the district teams are bolstering their offenses.
The season starts Sept. 1 against C.E. King from Houston, and then there will be road trips to Killeen Shoemaker and Houston St. Thomas before closing district with Pflugerville.
District 18-5A will be manageable as the Cougars get Rudder and Waco University sprinkled between Bryan (Sept. 29), A&M Consolidated (Oct. 13) and Waco (Oct. 27.).
The regular season ends at home Nov. 3 against Temple in a game that could once again determine the district champion.
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