GRIDIRON GLANCE: Richland Springs Coyotes

August 16, 2020 at 8:35 am Derrick Stuckly

RICHLAND SPRINGS – The No. 4 Richland Springs Coyotes expanded on their record of six-man football state championships in 2019 by collecting their ninth overall – all since 2004. In order to reach double digits in 2020, the Coyotes will have to rely on several new faces.

“We’ve got some good kids coming back,” said Richland Springs head coach Jerry Burkhart, who owns a 207-10 record in 17 seasons at the school. “We lost a big senior class last year and lost a couple of kids that went to a different school, but we have a bunch of hard-nosed kids that work hard. We don’t have as many numbers as we’ve had in the past, just 14, but we have some good, quality talent on this team.”

The Coyotes bring back just 3 of 10 lettermen from last year’s 14-0 squad, as running back Landon Burkhart, quarterback Jadeyn Bryant and running back Zane Capps lead the way.

Others expected to contribute this season include linebacker Keston Lusty, quarterback Chase Gossett, receiver Nick Nilson, linemen Lane Garcia and Dawson Crysler, and defensive backs Jeremiah Usery and Brandon Stewart, among others.

“Landon Burkhart is a senior this year, my youngest son, and we’re excited to see what he can do,” Coach Burkhart said. “We have a lot of kids that are going to step up that I feel real good about — Chase Gossett, T.J. Grant, Dawson Crysler, Zane Capps, Keston Lusty, Kenny Triplett, Brandon Stewart, Cohen Tharp, the Usery boys Joshua and Jeremy, those guys are going to step up for us.”

Regarding the strengths of this year’s squad, Burkhart said, “These kids love each other and they work real hard and they want to be great. A lot of people say you have to win a championship but we don’t. We tell them to be champions everyday, not just on the field. We try to voice that to our kids. We put God in our program, we have a good, strong FCA program, and we’re just excited about this year.”

Despite a revamped roster, the Coyotes received a No. 4 preseason ranking by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine for Class A Division II.

“Rankings are for the fans,” Burkhart said. “We tell our kids to get better every week and we just try to stay focused. It’s about who comes out on top in the end. It doesn’t matter where you start or where you’re at, it’s where you finish and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Having won nine state championships in the last decade-and-a-half, pre-district scheduling continues to be a challenge for the Coyotes. With several private schools on the original schedule, the decision by TAPPS to delay its football season wreaked havoc on Richland Springs’ plans.

“We had a lot of TAPPS teams that were scheduled and they moved their start date back so we lost some games early in the season,” Burkhart said. “We’re still up in the air on a couple of games, it’s been tough for us, but we’re trying to get that established and get the schedule out to our fans as soon as possible. Hopefully in the next few days I’ll have that schedule locked in.”

The Coyotes will be seeking an 18^th straight district championship when 16-A Division II action begins. Richland Springs has recorded 73 consecutive district victories, not having lost a league contest since Oct. 26, 2001. Rochelle, Cherokee and Mullin are expected to be the toughest district challengers for the Coyotes.

“We’ve still go Rochelle and Cherokee who are going to be pretty salty,” Burkhart said. “We picked up Mullin and lost Panther Creek, and Lohn’s in our district also. Those guys are working hard to knock us off and that’s what we tell our kids, nothing is given to you, everything is earned, that’s what we’re trying to get in these kids’ heads.”

Looking ahead to the playoffs, assuming Richland Springs qualifies, Burkhart said, “We’ll get Blanket or Brookesmith, somebody out of that district right off the bat if we take care of business in our district. The east side you have Calvert and Gordon and Strawn, all very good teams. We need to stay healthy, stay focused and stay humble. We understand that teams are here to knock off us, but we give God the glory for the opportunity we have.”

RICHLAND SPRINGS COYOTES

TENTATIVE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Some non-district games may still change

Aug. 28 OPEN

Sept. 4 at Austin Royals

Sept. 11 Crowell (neutral site TBD)

Sept. 18 Petersburg (neutral site TBD)

Sept. 25 Fort Worth Covenant Classical

Oct. 2 San Antonio FEAST

Oct. 9 at Rochelle*

Oct. 16 Cherokee*

Oct. 23 at Mullin*