GRIDIRON GLANCE ’24: San Saba Armadillos

August 21, 2024 at 8:21 am Derrick Stuckly

SAN SABA – For the San Saba Armadillos, change has become commonplace during the UIL’s biennial realignment. Four years ago, the Armadillos resided in Region I, the past two years they played in Region II, and the for the next two seasons San Saba will call Region IV home in District 14-2A Division I.

After being in a district with Hamilton, Goldthwaite, Coleman, Bangs, De Leon and Tolar, the Armadillos will face an entirely new set of league foes in Johnson City, Thorndale, Harper, Holland, and Mason.

“We went from tough to tougher,” San Saba head coach Andreas Aguirre said of the new league slate. “It’s going to be a tough district. Those top four spots are going to be hard to get. Every team has a great head coach, great culture and they work hard. We know who they are, we know what they do, so we’re excited. We just have to focus on ourselves, control the controllables and get better each and every day.”

The Armadillo are coming off a 3-7 campaign, but return six offensive and nine defensive starters as they are looking to make their first playoff appearance since 2021. San Saba is projected to finish fourth in 14-A Division I by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, behind Mason, Holland, and Johnson City, and ahead of Thorndale and Harper.

“Expectations are always high no matter what we do the previous year,” Aguirre said. “We have high expectations for the coaching staff, for myself, and we’re really excited about the groups we have coming back. We had a solid JV that did some great things last year. They’re going to be taking up some spots, the sophomore class moving up will be varsity ready. We’ll have some kids down on the JV that will really help. I’m really excited about our numbers top to bottom. We’re going to carry over 30 on both varsity and JV. It’s exciting times, we’ve outgrown our program and we need to continue to do that and continue to blossom these kids.”

Players to watch for San Saba include Levi Glover, Winton Lackey, Layke Haynes, Alex Estrada and Alex Aguirre, among others.

“Levi Glover is a two-way guy, three-year starter for us,” Aguirre said. “Winton Lackey is another guy to watch and Layke Haynes will be leading us up front. Alex Estrada will be in the backfield heading that up with Alex Aguirre, so we’re excited about the kids we’ve got. They work hard, they understand the culture and what we’re trying to do.”

Prior to the start of district, the Armadillos will tangle with Grape Creek, Junction, Goldthwaite, Waco Reicher, and Hamilton as they look to hone their skills for a postseason run.

“I just want to see us continue to improve,” Aguirre said of the pre-district goals. “I want us to get back to playing some tough, physical defense, run the ball and pitch and catch when need be. And definitely win the special teams battle.”

Regarding how good the Armadillos could be in 2024, Aguirre said, “The sky’s the limit. We just have to hang tight and stay together as a group and move forward as one.”
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SAN SABA ARMADILLOS 2024 SCHEDULE

Aug. 30	Grape Creek	7 p.m.
Sept. 6	at Junction	7 p.m.
Sept. 13	Goldthwaite#	7 p.m.
Sept. 20	at Waco Reicher	7 p.m.
Sept. 27	Hamilton	7 p.m.
Oct. 4	OPEN
Oct. 11	at Johnson City*	7 p.m.
Oct. 18	at Thorndale*	7 p.m.
Oct. 25	Harper*	7 p.m.
Nov. 1	a Holland	7 p.m.
Nov. 8	Mason*	7 p.m.