GRIDIRON GLANCE ‘23: San Saba Armadillos

August 12, 2023 at 7:35 am Derrick Stuckly

SAN SABA – The San Saba Armadillos’ string of consecutive postseason appearances was snapped at five last season, but head coach Andreas Aguirre’s squad is eager to reclaim their accustomed playoff positioning in 2023.

“We have high expectations for our program and our culture,” Aguirre said. “I have high expectations for myself, my kids and our coaching staff. They’ll never drop off around here, we just have to focus on getting better each and every day. We have a lot of new coaches, and a lot of new faces in our high school program. Right now we’re stressing unity, mental toughness and mental maturity.”

The Armadillos will attempt to overtake playoff qualifiers Tolar, Coleman, Bangs and Hamilton out of District 5-2A Division I a year ago, but the Armadillos are tabbed to place fifth in the league according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

“It’s going to be a tough district from top to bottom,” Aguirre said. “We have a good group, a lot of good coaches, a lot of good programs, a lot of tradition. It’s going to be tough all the way around. It’s a meat grinder district for sure.”

Prior to the start of the six-game district schedule, San Saba will attempt to hone its skills against Florence, Junction, Johnson City and Eldorado – all teams the Armadillos defeated last year en route to a 6-4 overall record.

Regarding the early season goals, Aguirre said, “I want to see our players continually growing as a person, as a player and as a student in the school. We have a lot to work on with this young group. The biggest strength is our front line. We’re coming together really well, and we’re building off of last year. We want to build on our run game from last year.”

San Saba returns 12 lettermen and six starters on each side of the ball in 2023.

Players to keep an eye on include quarterback Lane Miller, running back Ethan Gonzales, offensive lineman Jesus Gonzalez, linebacker Winton Lackey, and receiver/safety Levi Glover.

“Ethan is a two-year starter at the running back position and was a 1,000-yard rusher last year,” Aguirre said. “Lane is new to starting at the quarterback position, Jesus will be an anchor up front, Winton will be one of our leaders on defense at linebacker and Levi will be a standout for us at free safety and also at receiver.”

Regarding what will be required for the Armadillos to reach their goal of qualifying for the playoffs, Aguirre said. “Coming together as one. We have to continue to focus on that and get one percent better each and every day.”

***

SAN SABA ARMADILLOS 2023 VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 25 – at Florence, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 1 – Junction, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 8 – Johnson City, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 15 – Eldorado#, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 22 – Hamilton*, 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 – at Coleman*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 – De Leon*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 – at Bangs*, 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 – Goldthwaite* , 7 p.m.

Oct. 27 – OPEN