GRIDIRON GLANCE ’24: Goldthwaite Eagles

August 20, 2024 at 7:50 am Updated: August 26th, 2024 at 1:14 pm Derrick Stuckly

GOLDTHWAITE – UIL realignment has come and gone, and though the Goldthwaite Eagles are in a smaller classification for the next two years in Class A Division II, their district is far more challenging – in terms of both talent and travel – than where they’ve been.

The Eagles, in their third season under head coach Andy Howard, are headed east in the new District 10-2A Division II, where Goldthwaite and Meridian are the only two members of the eight-team league west of Interstate 35.

The remainder of the district consists of No. 4 Mart, No. 6 Bremond, No. 10 Chilton, Wortham, Frost and Hubbard.

“I love it because I’ve been coaching a long time and I know nothing about these opponents, never been out there, never been to these towns, so it’s going to be a great experience for me as well,” Howard said. “Goldthwaite has played Mart in the past so we’ve seen that before and we know what that presents. You also have Chilton who played in the semis last year and is going to be a top 15 team, and then Bremond is returning a lot of their guys. Those are the three teams everybody feels are going to be at the top, but we’re going to prepare to beat those guys. You also have Hubbard, Frost, Wortham and Meridian, so we’re going to have a learn a little bit about our opponents this year, which is a disadvantage for us because we haven’t seen those guys. There’s going to be a lot of travel, but we have a good plan to go out there and give it our best shot.”

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football tabs the Eagles to place fourth and make the playoffs out of 10-2A Division II, behind Mart, Bremond and Chilton.

Goldthwaite returns eight offensive and nine defensive starters from last year’s 3-7 team as the Eagles will field their most experienced squad in Howard’s tenure.

“We have a big core coming back,” Howard said. “We’ve got some strength up front with a big group of linemen coming back. We have a good skill set coming back, we’re going to have guys that are going to be explosive with the football. We’ll have a young quarterback but we’re going to groom him through the season, get him some experience early on, but I’m excited about it offensively. Defensively we also have a big group back. A lot of leading tacklers off last year’s team are back. You’re looking at a more experienced Goldthwaite team this year than it has been.”

Players to keep an eye on for Goldthwaite include Luke Sanderson, who will be used in a variety of roles to get the ball in his hands. Up front, both the offensive and defensive lines are anchored by veterans Jacob Ross, Daniel Barrera, Edmond Martinez and Jack Wetzig.

“Luke is our skill guy,” Howard said. “We’ll put him in the backfield, put him out wide, he’ll do a lot for us offensively, but he’s also our leading tackler defensively. You’re going to see him all over the place on both sides of the ball. Jacob, Daniel, Edmond, and Jack up front are our seniors and they’ve done a great job in the offseason preparing for this season. Those guys are going to lead us on both sides of the ball as well.”

Goldthwaite has just three games to get them ready for the 10-2A Division II gauntlet as they battle Junction, Center Point, and rival San Saba.

“I want to see a hunger, that’s the main thing, guys ready to get up and go to work everyday,” Howard said of the early season goals. “We’ve seen that so far. You have to stay hungry, but we have to keep feeding them. We’ve got a good core group that has bought into what we believe in and I think that’s going to carry over into the games.”

As for the potential of the 2024 Eagles, Howard said, “We can be as good as we want to be. Some of the best teams in the state of Texas are in our district, and we feel like we’re going to be very competitive in those games. We’re going to get off the bus prepared to win those games and I think we can do that. We can be at that caliber, but we have to start winning today, though. Our deal is win today, be good today, and we know that will carry over into Week 10 and beyond.”

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GOLDTHWAITE EAGLES 2024 SCHEDULE

Aug. 30	Junction	7:30 p.m.
Sept. 6	at Center Point	7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13	at San Saba	7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20	OPEN
Sept. 27	Chilton*	7 p.m.
Oct. 4	at Hubbard*	7 p.m.
Oct. 11	Frost*#	7 p.m.
Oct. 18	at Bremond*	7 p.m.
Oct. 25	Wortham*	7 p.m.
Nov. 1	at Meridian*	7 p.m.
Nov. 8	Mart*	7 p.m.