(CEDAR HILL, TEXAS) For the Cedar Hill High School Football Team, last spring was about setting expectations.
Longhorns second-year head coach Nick Ward and his staff are raising those expectations this spring.
“Our Red vs. Black Spring Game will be a test of what we taught this spring,” Ward said. “Having expectations in place definitely helps your team move forward at a faster rate.”
Longhorn Nation will have an opportunity to watch the intrasquad Red vs. Black Spring Game at 6 p.m. Friday at Longhorn Stadium. Admission is $2 or with a canned food donation.
The Longhorns return 14 starters (eight on offense, six on defense) and the entire coaching staff from a team that finished 8-5 last season and a trip to the UIL Class 6A Division II Regional Quarterfinals– a six win improvement over its 2-8 record in 2022.
“The kids are buying into the program,” Ward said. “When our staff arrived last spring, it was kind of a shocker. They didn’t know how things were going to change from what they were used to doing.”
After a grueling non-district schedule and injuries at several key positions, Cedar Hill started 1-4 before routing an undefeated Mansfield team, 47-14, on Homecoming.
“The early season injuries meant that a lot of the guys who would have been backups were thrown into the fire,” Ward said.
They never looked back, with their only two losses over the final two months of the season coming against two-time defending State Champion, DeSoto.
Cedar Hill graduates 41 seniors from that team, but there are plenty of talented letter winners returning.
Junior Omowale Muhammad, who led the Longhorns JV Team to a 7-3 record, and senior Tamarion Crochett will compete for the starting quarterback position. Last season, Crochett was the starting quarterback for North Forney, which finished 9-3 with its season ending in an Area Round playoff loss to Cedar Hill.
“There’s competition in the spring, but you don’t necessarily win a position in the spring,” Ward said. “We’ll name a starter in the fall.”
Regardless of who earns the starting nod, they’ll play behind an offensive line with five returning starters, including seniors Devon and Jordan Coleman, who have a combined 40 college football scholarship offers.
Senior Dayshun Reese-Williams and Cededrick Castleberry will return in the offensive backfield, along with wide receiver Cedric Mills.
Senior middle linebacker Carlos Porter is a returning All-District First Team player. He’ll be one of the defensive leaders, along with junior linebacker Nate Young and senior defensive lineman Jabari Sims.
The Longhorns will open the 2024 season at Midlothian, which finished 8-3 last season. Ward was on the MHS staff in 2022 when the Panthers finished 12-1 and lost to eventual State Champion, Aledo.
“Midlothian coach Doug Wendel is a great coach and motivator,” Ward said. “They’re a top program in the area and a very disciplined team. They run the old school option, which is hard to defend.”
Cedar Hill and Midlothian had a long-standing rivalry that dimmed after Midlothian Heritage opened in 2014 and the Longhorns built a rivalry with DeSoto. Longhorn Stadium and Midlothian ISD Stadium are only 10.2 miles apart.
“We’re hoping to rekindle the rivalry,” Ward said. “We don’t want rivalries to die. DeSoto is our main rival. A lot of people who live in Cedar Hill are from Midlothian and vice versa. We’re looking forward to that rivalry being rekindled and getting the communities back together.”
