ALICE, Texas — “The night before feels like Christmas Eve. It’s like a holiday for us,” Sr. Justin Arellano said.
Alice Football held their annual Midnight Madness at 12:01 a.m. Monday to officially kickoff the season.
Between the energy of the athletes, the packed stadium and cheerleaders, you could feel the excitement.
“It’s exciting in Texas when you get to start football practice, no matter what time of the day it is,” said Head Coach J.R. Castellano.
The excitement is about looking ahead.
After finishing 8-3 and 5-1 in the district last year and exiting the playoffs in the first round to Port Lavaca Calhoun, the Coyotes lost Head Coach Kyle Atwood, record breaking quarterback Cutter Stewart and 31 more seniors.
Coaches at Midnight Madness were wearing shirts that read “Protect the Shield.” The way to do that and the mindset the team has, according to Arellano, is the old "next man up" mentality.
“Everyone’s picking up roles, everyone’s just doing good in practice. The lower classmen are listening to us. Everything’s going well,” said Arellano, the wide receiver and cornerback for the Coyotes.
That leadership starts with new head coach J.R. Castellano.
“They show up and work here in Alice," he said. "You could turn the camera around and look in the stands and tell there’s a high expectation here, there’s a lot of tradition here and these great parents siting in the stands are making sure they get the kids to us every single day.”
He comes in from Taft, where he won the district in 2022, had one of Taft's best seasons ever and took the Greyhouds to the playoffs all four years of his tenure.
“It’s a little bit different here in Alice because expectations are high, but us as coaches and being so competitive, why would you want it anywhere way?” asked Castellano.
He will have a smaller group of seniors to rely on to lead, Arellano, Miggy Saenz and Aubrey Davenport.
"Being a good teammate, being, a good role model. Try to lead by example every day in practice and I know everyone else will follow,” Arellano said.
A quarterback battle is underway to be Castellano’s on-field signal caller.
Arellano said the whole squad is ready for the new system.
“Right now it's going well, it's going smooth. We’re picking up everything fast. We're learning quick," he said.
The coyotes kickoff the season week 1 against Corpus Christi King.
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