CORPUS CHRISTI, Texans — Corpus Christi ISD football programs force a tough challenge in their district to make it to playoffs for UIL 5A-DI. The Ray Texans fell short of their goal last season, but with a few new assistant coaches and a majority of their roster returning, there's a new spark at Ray High School.
"Trying to knock the door down," Craig Charlton, Ray football head coach. "Just trying to get that other (playoff) spot and trying to get in there some way."
Athletes at Ray High School football practice already have a different mentality this fall, encouraged by their larger senior class and their leadership.
"They developed a mentality of not quitting and fighting through everything and adversity," Charlton said. "Now this is the year that they have been looking forward too, and we've got a number of kids that will be cross-training offensively and defensively because of the knowledge base in football."
Two of the Texans seniors who will be playing both outside linebacker and running back are Brandon Chapa and Aiden Navarre.
"Oh yeah, I feel good," Aiden Navarre, Ray senior running back and linebacker, said. "I mean, we've been wanting a little bit at defense too, but the number one thing for us, we're just ready to compete and go show everybody what we got."
Head Coach Craig Charlton will take over the defensive play-caller role with eight returning starters on defense. He's got an experienced group in the trenches and linebacker corps, with senior Gabriel Palomo stepping up in the secondary.
"We need to be aggressive on the ball at all times. We can't be weak. We can't be weak-minded at all. We've got to be strong inside and out," Gabriel Palomo, Ray senior strong safety, said. "We need to do some work on our secondary, and I think these next coming weeks before we take on Laredo Nixon, we can piece it all together."
Junior quarterback Nick Cantu leads an offense that brings back 10 starters. A confident group that's on year two of their offensive scheme.
"These kids are smiles right from the get-go. A lot of energy. A lot of enthusiasm," Charlton said. "It's something we started last year, but we just kind of stepped it up another notch, and I can't wait to see them play."
The Ray Texans start their season with a road trip to Laredo on Friday, Aug. 25 at 7:30 p.m against the Nixon Mustangs. Last season, the Texans defeated the Mustangs 13-7.
