College Park is trending in the right direction, and sixth-year head coach Lonnie Madison is excited about the progress being made.
“I’m in Year 6, so they’ve gone from seventh and eighth grade all the way through knowing the system,” Madison said. “I think that experience and the things they’ve been able to see as a program all the way from a district championship two years ago to their first playoff win last year, (and) the JV- ours went 9-1. I just think our whole program, our kids know the schemes on offense and defense.”
College Park routed Aldine Nimitz 42-0 last November for its first playoff win and then went toe-to-toe with Bridgeland and one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects in Conner Weigman (now at Texas A&M) in a 35- 28 to close the year.
The Cavaliers finished the season 9-3 and are fortunately miles away from the one-win teams of just over five years ago.
Entering 2022, the Cavaliers will need to reload and move some pieces around a bit.
“We had tremendous kids graduate who had been two to three year starters for us,” Madison said.
There will be a new signal-caller for the Cavaliers, and he’s a returning player who was second on the team in rushing and led in receiving last year.
Conner Dunphy, a junior who has been on the varsity since kickoff, returns to his more natural quarterback position after catching 57 passes for 566 yards and rushing for 343 yards last fall. He totaled 11 hits and tied for seventh in the district in scoring.
COLLEGE PARK CAVALIERS SCHEDULE
August 25: vs. Cinco Ranch (Woodforest), 7 p.m
September 2: at Klein Cain (Klein Memorial), 7 p.m
* September. 9: vs. Grand Oaks (Woodforest), 7 p.m
* September. 16: at Cleveland, 7 p.m
* September. 29: vs. Caney Creek (Woodforest), 7 p.m
* October. 7: at Willis (Yates), 7 p.m
* October. 14: vs. The Woodlands (Woodforest), 7 p.m
* October. 20: at Oak Ridge (Woodforest), 7 p.m
* October. 28: vs. New Caney (Woodforest), 7 p.m
* November 4: at Conroe (Moorhead), 7 p.m
*District 13-6A
“He’s been kind of that do-it-all helper guy,” Madison said. “He is a special player. If you’ve been to the games and you’ve been paying attention, he’s a kid who started for us his ninth grade year when we won the district and last year was a full-time starter at receiver.”
Dunphy takes over for Ty Buckmon, who graduated after a solid career.
“We moved him to quarterback and he had a great spring,” Madison said of Dunphy. “We’re excited about the things he’s going to be able to do at quarterback this year. He played quarterback all through little league, was our quarterback in seventh and eighth grade. Coming into ninth grade, we had Ty Buckmon who was a three-year starter for us.”
Madison said sophomore Kam Montgomery will also see some time at quarterback after a breakout spring as a freshman.
At running back, Brenton Martinez returns after a breakout season. He totaled 269 yards and two touchdowns as a junior. Joining Martinez in the backfield is sophomore Eugene Burnett and junior Jessie Cochran, who will also be involved in the passing game.
Cole Snodgrass, a 6-foot-5 junior steps up to the starting tight end following the departure of Cody Mladenka to Baylor. Madison described Snodgrass as a compliance problem.
Senior Lamond Payne Jr. returns to the offensive side of the ball as a receiving leader.
The Cavaliers’ offensive line has made its mark in recent years, and the current unit fits that mold.
Three-year starter Cobe Williams leads the line as a three-year starter. Carson Berg and Alex Fisher are also back and Curtis Collette also has experience.
“A lot of the young kids that have started for us the last couple of years, strength-wise, knowledge-wise, I feel like this could be one of the best units we’ve ever had,” Madison said. “And we’ve had some really strong ones over the years.”
Defensively, senior Andrew Powdrell returns in high school and has fielded several college offers. He was projected as the Most Valuable Defensive Player in District 13-6A by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
“One of the most explosive kids in the entire district,” Madison said of Powdrell, who started last season at tackle before moving to safety.
At linebacker, senior Cole Walters led the team in tackles last year and is strong in passing. Mason Stallons, another senior, has the potential to lead the team in tackles as well.
Cameron Hall provides senior leadership on the defensive line.
“The thing I’m excited about this group is in spring football, defensively, I felt like we were athletic, I felt like we were getting the concepts,” Madison said.
College Park has made consecutive playoff seasons three different times in program history. But it has never been three years in a row.
The Cavaliers will play for that opportunity in the restructured District 13-6A, which has gone from six teams to nine. College Park will face rival and defending district champions The Woodlands, as well as Conroe, Willis, Grand Oaks and Oak Ridge. Newcomers to 6A include New Caney, Caney Creek and Cleveland.
“I think it’s going to be a good, competitive district,” Madison said. “There are talented teams and I think a lot of programs have great coaches and they’ve done a great job with their programs. Many programs are being improved every year. We have some talented kids in the district.”
The Cavaliers scored the most points in program history last year with 369 and are 17-5 over the past two seasons.
“We feel good about where our program is. There’s a lot to be said for experiencing wins and seeing older guys ahead of you succeed and what it took for them.”