Released May 28, 2008
 

 

#1 RIVERSIDE RANGERS
No EP Team fell victim to the loss of their Head Coach more than the Riverside Rangers. The old adage, “anything that can go wrong, went wrong,” described the Rangers last season. With the news of gridiron mastermind-former Head Coach Tom Work departing, and key returning players in QB Aaron Gutierrez and RB Johnny Sanchez “out of the roster”, the Rangers were definitely set for a date with adversity, all this occurring just few months before opening-kickoff 2007. Entered new Head Coach Jimmy Calderon! Coach Calderon’s 1st season as a head coach might had seemed bleak to a few Rangers fans, without his key players and many underclassmen, but to no surprise the Riverside Rangers held their own last season. Despite fielding such a young Rangers squad, Coach Calderon proved that he knows what it takes to build a program, with such excellent rotations. This upcoming 2008 season Coach Calderon and staff will reap the rewards of facing adversity head on and the rewards will be ever so satisfying for all die hard Rangers fans. So “saddle-up” Riverside Rangers fans, for it’s going to be “one wild west of Texas high school football season showdown.”

#2 FRANKLIN COUGARS
Franklin was painfully close to making it back to the 2nd round of the
Texas State Playoffs last season for the 1st time under former Chapin Huskies Head Coach Daren Walker. It definitely did not take long for Coach Walker to prove to his new team, as well as the Cougars supporters, that he was the best man to take the helm as Franklin’s new head coach. This upcoming season Coach Walker and staff will have much more talent, with experience, to work with on both sides of the ball. Though there is a huge question looming over the Franklin Cougars program, and that is, who will be the signal-caller for the Cougars? QB Parker Rando saw little playing time last season; however young and talented Josh Valenzuela is hot on his “cougar tale” for the starting role. No matter which QB receives the honor, the fact is that Coach Walker will work them, mold them, and develop them well into his system. An important factor that will assist either inexperienced QB will be that the Blackswarm ‘D’ will be unleashing a massive defensive 2008 campaign that will keep the Cougars in games when the offense is at its worst and it will be!

 


 

#3 ANDRESS EAGLES
Sometimes the team with the most overall talent in EP, every season, simply does not fare too well in the Playoffs. That is what Eagles fans most likely tell themselves at the end of every season. In previous seasons, there have been many outside “experts” who had Andress favored to get to the State Championship, but the Eagles were never able to respond to those "experts". This upcoming season the Eagles, as usual, are loaded with talent, though most of that talent will come from a young Eagles squad. Despite the slight inexperience in the varsity level, these Eagles possess an abundance of “raw” talent, what they lack is the desire and dedication to work together, in sync so to speak, on and off the field. This working together in “gridiron harmony “ will help them accomplish what no other Andress team has ever accomplished, and that’s to finally get past the 3rd round of the Texas State Playoffs.

#4 DEL VALLE CONQUISTADORES
Want to talk about consistency? Let's talk about the Del Valle Conquistadores! Its like, no matter how the season unfolds, the Conquistadores some how manage to make a playoff appearance every season. There's one problem, the Conquistadores have yet to run the table "completely" in District 2-4A. Could this upcoming season be the season that the Conquistadores "completely" dominate 2-4A? With many key starters returning, on both sides of the ball, the Conquistadores have the potential to make some serious gridiron noise. Del Valle fans, you best be ready, your Conquistadores will need you lots come Playoffs!

 


 

#5 CHAPIN HUSKIES
Coach Daren Walker’s departure certainly left many headaches and upset stomachs at Chapin High but those “emotional illnesses” have been completely remedied, as Coach Hernandez and staff proved that they can coach! EPGridiron Fans, for those of you that weren’t aware, the Chapin football program underwent several coaching changes last season and amazingly those coaches immediately came together and got it done-got it done by not only getting their Huskies into the Texas State playoffs but being so close to getting to the 2nd round of the Playoffs with just a 3 point loss to the Canutillo Eagles. Look for the Huskies to carry on their Tradition this upcoming season, and look for them in the 2008-2009 Texas State Playoffs!


#6 MONTWOOD RAMS
As good as the Montwood Rams proved to be on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball last season as well as the past couple of seasons, there’s "something" that will be missing from the Rams this upcoming season. The 2008 Rams will be fighting for their "gridiron lives" each week. Some games will favor the 2007 District 1-5A Champs, but several will not. Luckily for the Montwood Rams there are 4 playoff spots up for graps and that should bring some form of comfort in knowing come mid-October. Rams fans prepare for a roller coaster of a season!

 



 

#7 CORONADO THUNDERBIRDS
Many did not expect the 2007 Coronado Thunderbirds to accomplish what they did last season. With Julian Davila, Cameron Trotter, Waldo Rodriguez and company having departed due to graduation, the 2007 Thunderbirds by no means were expected to beat Franklin in the "Annual Westside Bowl" as well as getting past the 1st round of the Texas State Playoffs with a victory over Amarillo High. This upcoming season will be equally, if not more, devastating on the T-Birds roster than last season, but this time around 1-5A teams will not be taking them lightly. The T-Birds ‘D’ will hold opponents in check, just how long they will hold is very questionable, especially when you consider so many question marks on the offensive side of the ball for the T-Birds.


#8 CANUTILLO EAGLES
Last season Coach Brooks and his Eagles met our high expectations as our Pre-Season #2 EP Team in the city; however "inching" several victories against District 2-4A opponents came to our surprise. We certainly did not expect Canutillo to struggle week in and week out. This upcoming season District 2-4A teams are stocked with talent, desire and dedication, from Riverside, Del Valle, Parkland on-down to San Elizario. Canutillo Eagles you thought 2-4A was tough last season, think again! Many EP fans are saying that Riverside has a target, would it not be last seasons District Champs to be considered the target?

 



 

#9 AUSTIN PANTHERS
In no season, since we here at EPGridiron began covering El Paso high school football, has there ever been an attack on one of our Top 10 Pre-Season selections, until last season. Ranked #8 in our Pre-Season Rankings poll last May, the Austin Panthers had all the “gridiron elements” in place, both defensively and offensively, to meet our expectations of potentially meeting Andress for the District Championship. The Panthers met those expectations in roaring fashion and silenced all critics. This upcoming season will be far from a repeat of last season for the Panthers, though making another playoff appearance is highly possible.


#10 PARKLAND MATADORS
Last season the Matadors made it quite evident that 2-4A is becoming a tougher and more talented District. Winning District in 2006, then returning most all their key players for the 2007 season, the Matadors were high on many "experts" lists as the team to beat in 2007. That was not the case! What happened to the Matadors in 2007? Whether it was the “extreme-high” of winning the 2-4A District Title in '06 or the absence of team chemistry in the '07 off-season, the fact is that they lost the "gridiron-fire" that they had in '06! This upcoming season will truly test the Mats once again, mentally and physically, and more so than last season.

 


#11 HANKS, #12 EL DORADO, #13 BEL AIR, #14 SOCORRO, #15 YSLETA, #16 AMERICAS,
#17 EASTWOOD, #18 BURGES, #19 IRVIN, #20 JEFFERSON, #21 HORIZON, #22 SAN ELIZARIO
#23 MT.VIEW, #24 BOWIE, #25 EL PASO HIGH (TOP 25 will be updated in our Power Ratings page.)