Waxahachie Indians
Head Coach: Lawrence Williams (1st season)
Last Season: 11-2; 6-1 in district (Lost to Duncanville in regional final)
Returning Lettermen: 20 (7 returning starters on offense; 7 on defense)
Waxahachie Key Players and Storylines
Waxahachie heads into 2026 with new leadership, but it didn’t have to go far to find him. The school district promoted defensive coordinator Lawrence Williams to head coach in early February after Shane Tolleson left to take the head job at Denton Ryan.
Williams will look to continue Waxahachie’s recent run of success. The Indians made their first regional final since 2009 last fall and have won a playoff game in each of the past four seasons.
This year, they’ll ride the talent of seven returning starters on each side of the ball. Offensively, they can do it all. Quarterback Jerry Meyers (2,754 passing yards and 33 touchdowns) can burn you through the air while running backs Taylen Strange (1,148 rushing yards and nine touchdowns) and Jordan Smith (439 receiving yards, 409 rushing yards) have proven to be prolific on the ground.
Smith can also play some receiver to prevent defenses from zeroing in on Jordan Thompson-Woods, who finished last year with 752 yards and six touchdowns.
Touchdown Waxahachie!!!!!
Jerry Meyer drops touchdown pass on 4th and 18 for 24 yards to Jordan Thompson – Woods
Duncanville 27, Waxahachie 22 – 4Q 8:53 pic.twitter.com/76w8ksphIb
— Juwan Davis (@MrJDavis96) September 20, 2025
Waxahachie will also be able to hold its own in the trenches with 6’5”, 280-pound offensive tackle Grant Gonzales and 6’3”, 285-pound interior lineman Malik Dismuke.
There’s just as much star power defensively starting with Texas A&M commit safety JayQuan Snell (60 tackles). The real strength, though, lies in the trenches with defensive ends Carmelo Clawson and Sedrick Marsh (34 tackles, five TFLs) and defensive tackles Aaron Snell (35 tackles, 15 TFLs) and Talyn Pierce (30 tackles, nine TFLs).
Williams said they will need to develop some depth with only 20 returning lettermen, but there’s not much of a weakness looking at the Waxahachie starting lineup. The Indians will hope that experience pays off as they look to play into December again this year.
2026 Schedule
*- Denotes District 11-6A contest
August 28 @ Ennis
September 4 vs. Coppell
September 10 @ Denton Guyer
*September 18 vs. Lake Ridge
*September 25 @ Dallas Skyline
*October 9 vs. North Crowley
*October 16 @ Red Oak
*October 23 vs. Duncanville
*October 30 @ Crowley
*November 5 vs. Mansfield
