By Christopher Lyke
Texas HS Football Chief Editor

The major off-season news in El Paso's Class 5A district was the retirement of Franklin's Tom Grijalva and hiring of Daren Walker from 4A Chapin High. But Walker's move to Franklin was not the only headliner coaching change in the district. Mike Ferrell was hired at Socorro replacing Rick Barraza. Ferrell jumped ship to the El Paso area after a successful stint at Fort Bend Kempner. Now the question surrounding both coaches will be whether or not their success at their previous places of employment will be better or a work in progress over the next few years.

No matter how the season goes, Ferrell and Walker will have the spotlight shining on them for the duration of the 2007 season. But as the old saying goes, coaches coach and players play and perform. Shifting the attention to the players and what to expect in the 2007 season, the odds on favorite in the district this year should be the Rams of Montwood. But can Coronado and Franklin maintain their hold on to the top two seeds in the district? Which team will emerge from the middle of the log jam that is the wild and wacky 1-5A district race?

Other than looking to fill the hole of replacing Gabe Flores at the quarterback spot with David Reza, the Montwood Rams have a vast majority of the key weapons back on both sides of the ball. The return of 1,500 yard rusher Josh Flores could help Reza make the smooth transition and give the Rams a major boost towards achieving the goal of becoming district champions. On top of Flores, the Rams also have slew of very experienced and talented receivers. Look for senior Brian Poulin and Danny Perez to becoming the biggest threats to opposing defenses. And speaking of defense, the Rams have solid players there as well. Nick DeLaCruz and Vince Mejia are considered to be the leaders of the Ram defense and are quite possibily the best one-two punch on that side of the ball in years for Montwood. Another key player to watch will be that of DB Justin Vasquez.

The Coronado Thunderbirds fell short of their goal last year with a series of mental collapses over the last two weeks of the season. A loss to Franklin in the final week of the seaosn and a first round defeat in the playoffs dampened the spirit to a team that had so much it wanted to prove. But the Thunderbirds are back and looking just as good this season as they did last season. If they can sustain the loss of several key players to graduation and fill in the neccessary holes to their defense, the Thunderbirds may have solid opportunity to make plenty of noise. Key players to be on the look out for are Mauricio Cheda, Diego Davila and Erasmo Coronado.

Looking to continue their winning ways over the rest of the district, despite having a new coach take over the reigns, will be the Franklin Cougars. Despite having a sub-par year last year and missing the playoffs by a game, the Cougars still have plenty of momentum building into the 2007 season. The offense will be led by QB Billy Hayes with rushing ability of Vince Gomez in the backfield and the catching ability of Nick Hinojosa in the receiving core. The depth may not be their for Franklin's offense at the start of the season, but expect them to turn up a few notches on the dial in the middle of the season with the defense improving as well. One of the best defensive players in the district in LB Jesse Hawes, returns for his season season. Look for Hawes to make a big improvement over last season, when he won the district's newcomer of the year award. Aside from Hawes, CB Jon Logenbaugh, DT Eric Chavez and DE Adam Clark should all have solid contributions to the Cougar defense.

The fourth and final playoff spot could ultimately be determined by the status of two teams that seem to want to break through the middle of the pack mold year in year out. Both teams have the potential to do just that and win the district if they are capable enough to bring consistency and discipline. These two are the Hanks Knights and the Americas Trailblazers. The Trailblazers will be relying on a defense that return six of its eleven starters from last year's squad. Kevin Delgado and Daniel Olivas will be the key work horses up front while Luis Quinones and Sal Caballero take aim at securing the defensive midfield. Over on offense, Richard Miller's squad should see QB Troy Enriquez get a chance to mature at the controls. If the Trailblazer offense can compliment an already dangerous defense, the sky is the limit to what kind of damage this team can do in the district race.

Hanks, unlike Americas, will find its strength in its offense. Taking over at quarterback in place of Omar Garcia will be Branden Livingston, who stands at 6'5 and 240. Livingston should have plenty of targets surrounding the offense. In the receiving core look for junior Ryan Pettis to join David VIllalobos and Charlie Lopez in taking down opposing defensive backs. With plenty of depth up front, Livingston will have plenty of time to develope as Erik Robles looks to put up solid numbers out of the backfield. Bryan Avilez, at linebacker is expected to led the defense after picking up oiver 100 tackles in his junior season.

The most improved team in the district could be out of Bel Air. A good depth of defensive holdovers and a decent running game could help this squad improve by several games. Expect the Highlanders to work their way into a key spoiler role and possibly contend for a playoff spot before the end of the season.