2023 West Texas Preview: Palo Duro Dons
Photo: Twitter
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<p><strong>Palo Duro 2023 Preview</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Eric Mims </p>
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<p><strong>Mascot</strong>: Dons </p>
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<p><strong>Twitter</strong>: @PaloDuroDonsFB; @Eric_Mims_Sr</p>
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<p><strong>Colors</strong>: Blue and White </p>
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<p><strong>2022 Record</strong>: 3-8 (1<sup>st</sup> Round of Playoffs) </p>
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<p><strong>Overview</strong>: Palo Duro finished just 3-8 last season but earned a spot in the Class 5A, D2 playoffs by edging district rival Plainview in a winner-take-all contest on the final regular season weekend for the fourth playoff spot. The Dons are optimistic they will have a better record in 2023 after adding an elite transfer receiver to the roster. </p>
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<p>The Dons quarterback should be dual threat sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1466629' first='Darien' last='Lewis']</strong>, who played safety last season and is an elite athlete who can run. But he can throw, too. Lewis was offered by Texas Tech and Texas State in January when he was a freshman. Another sophomore, <strong>Keima'j Barnes</strong>, will start at running back. He'll be backed up by sophomore <strong>AJ James</strong>. Junior <strong>Terrance Wainwright</strong> will compete for playing time. That's three sophomores and a junior in the offensive backfield. But they're fearless and should improve rapidly.</p>
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<p>Palo Duro has added talented WR <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='618298' first='Braylen' last='Norman']</strong>, a transfer from 2A Highland Park and the 6-foot-2,1 70-pounder should immediately add a jolt to the Dons' passing game. Norman holds multiple college offers, including Eastern New Mexico and Culver-Stockton. Norman figures to be the primary target in the passing game but Palo Duro has several productive WRs returning in 2023, starting with junior <strong>Charlie Love</strong>, speedy senior <strong>Keterize Dean Oliver</strong>, sophomore <strong>Dean Moses</strong> (200 meter champion at JV level this past last spring) and shifty sophomore <strong>Tanavion Randle</strong>. <strong>Corey Dixon</strong> will play slot.</p>
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<p>Senior right tackle <strong>Samuel Santos</strong> (6-2, 275) returns to the offensive line and he'll anchor the group. Santos was a second-team all-district performer in 2022. Junior <strong>Joshua Williams</strong> (6-2, 300) saw action with the varsity last season as a sophomore and he brings great size and mobility to the position. <strong>Pablo Soto</strong> will be the left guard.</p>
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<p>Defensively, senior <strong>Ali Hussein</strong> will lead the unit from his linebacker spot in Palo Duro's 4-3 scheme. Alongside him will be junior <strong>Jakaylin Terry</strong>. Both made a ton of tackles last season. <strong>Javier Medellin</strong> and <strong>Kaejeon Smith</strong> anchor the defensive line. Both are great athletes and are able to fill gaps and get into opposing backfields. Sophomore DT <strong>Awetik Rahma</strong> is a promising prospect and he'll get an opportunity in preseason camp to earn a starting job. In the secondary, sophomore <strong>AJ Randle</strong> is already one of the leaders. Junior <strong>Avien Lewis</strong>, older brother of Darien, is there as well. Elite hurdler <strong>Vern Blair</strong> is another sophomore expected to make an impact. <strong>Zyquavion Smith</strong> is a transfer from Caprock. </p>
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<p><strong>2023 Schedule</strong>: Palo Duro opens the season with challenging games against local rivals Tascosa and Caprock. After that, the Dons have four home games and four road games. District play begins Oct. 6 at Lubbock. </p>
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<p>Aug. 24 at Tascosa (Thur.)</p>
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<p>Sept. 1 at Caprock</p>
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<p>Sept. 7 ESTACADO (Thur.)</p>
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<p>Sept. 15 at West Plains</p>
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<p>Sept. 22 RANDALL</p>
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<p>Sept. 29 Bye</p>
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<p>Oct. 6 at Lubbock*</p>
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<p>Oct. 13 ABILENE COOPER*</p>
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<p>Oct. 20 at Wichita Falls Rider*</p>
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<p>Oct. 27 at Abilene Wylie*</p>
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<p>Nov. 3 PLAINVIEW*</p>
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<p>* District Game </p>
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<p><strong>Coach's Comments</strong>: “We set a goal last season of being a playoff team and we accomplished that goal, but we definitely didn't have the amount of wins we wanted. We lost some close ballgames. We have to improve on starting faster and finishing games. We can't let close games slip through our fingertips. Going into this year, we know we have to clean up some things that lead to those close finishes such as special teams and winning on third down. . .We believe we can have an explosive offense with [player_tooltip player_id='1466629' first='Darien' last='Lewis'] at the reins. . .At running back, we have a group of young guys that run hard, run physical and make the right cuts. Hopefully, they run downhill and finish runs strong. . .We have expectations for what Braylen will bring to our offense. We have a ton of receivers in the rotation. They have the potential to be explosive with the ball in their hands. We're excited about that group…We're getting to the point where we're not losing as many guys to rival schools intown. We're keeping our talent in-house.” – Palo Duro head coach Eric Mims.</p>
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Palo Duro 2023 Preview
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