Sneak Peek: Lubbock Estacado hopeful 2023 will be even better

Fourteen months ago, Joe Cluley resigned as Lubbock (TX) Estacado head coach after six years with the program to become head coach at Mount Pleasant, a Class 5A school located in northeast Texas.   Moreover, Estacado lost their dynamic senior dual threat quarterback and its top three receivers following a 7-4 campaign in 2021.   As a result, few knew what to expect from Estacado in 2022.   Last February, the Matadors hired Missouri City (TX) Fort Bend Hightower offensive coordinator William Blaylock to succeed Cluley.   Good decision.   Blaylock led Estacado to a 7-5 record and the second round of the Class 4A, Division 1 playoffs. The Matadors finished second in District 2-4A behind Brownwood.      “The kids bought in very quickly,” Blaylock told texasfootball.com recently. “Our previous senior class had 31 guys. We were picked to finish third in our district and win three games. We won seven. They figured out they could play with anybody and they went toe-to-toe with good teams. Our young guys got a taste of winning. Now they're anxious for it. The future is very bright.”   The Matadors are thinking big in 2023 – their goal is to become the first team from Lubbock to play “to Christmas” (a state championship game) since 1983.   “That's all they talk about,” Blaylock said.   Estacado's rushing attack is built around rising junior (2025) running back [player_tooltip player_id='286453' first='Bobby' last='Ross'], who has already rushed for 2,483 yards and 10 TD in his first two seasons of varsity football, including 1,436 yards last year.   Per 247 Sports, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Ross has been offered by Texas Tech, North Texas, UTSA and Texas State. By this time next year, Ross could be a national recruit.   Rising senior (2024) quarterback Dewight Johnson is back after throwing for 1,291 yards and 17 TD with just 4 interceptions in his first season as the Matadors' starter.   His favorite receiver, rising senior Devoryea Boyd, also returns. Boyd led Estacado with 38 receptions for 590 yards and 7 TD in 2022.        Estacado returns eight starters on defense. Three Matador defenders had 89 or more tackles in 2022 – OLB Kyree Baxter (103 tackles), MLB Nate Orta (94) and LB Kei'sean Harris (89). Defensive back Dee Green earned Honorable Mention All-State honors.   All four are back in 2023.   “We only lost one guy that was a key leader,” Blaylock said. “The rest of the guys were young. Last year they were determined to do the right things, play hard and win and never make the same mistake twice. Going forward, we have a chance to be good for a long time.”   Besides Brownwood, Estacado's district includes Andrews, Big Spring and Lake View. The latter three teams all finished 7-5 or 6-6 last season and engaged in some hard fought battles.   “We'll be a lot better but Brownwood is King of the Hill until somebody knocks them off,” Blaylock said. “We had dogfights with Andrews and Big Spring. We have to go to their place this year. I'm sure they haven't forgotten last year. We know we have the bullseye on us. We're not going to sneak up on anybody. We have to show up and play.”   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/WRAB50/status/1623522414033358848?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/KeiSeanHarris/status/1641073193820495875?s=20 </div></figure>             <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/806hsscmedia/status/1563652236105973760?s=20 </div></figure>

Fourteen months ago, Joe Cluley resigned as Lubbock (TX) Estacado head coach after six years with the program to become head coach at Mount Pleasant, a Class 5A school located in northeast Texas.