Steve Campbell inherited one of the best coaching jobs in the state of Texas, just not under circumstances anyone would have wished for. Campbell leads his undefeated Calallen Wildcats to Cuero where they will take on the equally undefeated Gobblers.
Campbell took over the Wildcats (3-0, ranked second in 4A-DI in the Padilla Poll) when Phil Danaher was forced to retire due to illness. Danaher never led the Wildcats to a state championship, but this was the only goal he failed to reach. Danaher retired with 488 victories, the most in the history of Texas high school football by a margin of 62. (He earned his first 25 wins at Dilley, and the next 43 at Hamshire-Fannett.) Danaher is the only coach to lead Calallen to the playoffs since the last year of Dwight Eisenhower’s first presidential term; he took over at Calallen the last year of Ronald Reagan’s first presidential term. The Wildcats play their games at Phil Danaher Stadium.
If Campbell was intimidated by the prospect of replacing Danaher, it hasn’t shown on the field. Calallen has outscored opponents 103-23 in 2022, including victories over Coastal Bend rivals Gregory-Portland (22-12) and Flour Bluff (40-7.) Campbell continues to embrace the running game; RB Epi Hinojosa has 50 carries for 316 yards and 6 touchdowns, while QB Bryce Burnett has 36 rushes for 207 yards and 4 touchdowns. Burnett has also completed 21 of 31 passes for 374 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Cuero’s Jared Fikac has also taken over a program with an intimidating legacy, the combined shadows in Cuero’s history are at least as large as Danaher’s own. Cuero went to the state semifinals last year under Jack Alvarez before his move to Marshall, TX. His predecessor, Travis Reeve, led Cuero to a state championship in 2018, and to undefeated regular seasons in 2016 and 2017. In total, the Cuero community has enjoyed 4 state championship seasons and 18 undefeated regular seasons.
By now, the Gobbler faithful aren’t easily impressed, but Fikac’s early results would impress almost any other demographic. Cuero (3-0, ranked fourth in 4A-DII Padilla Poll) has faced El Campo (a team that went to the third round last year and returns UT-recruited RB Ruben Owens), Navarro (a team which has won at least 10 games each of the last 10 seasons), and Yoakum (a team that has made the playoffs 10 years in a row with two region championships).
Fikac’s and the Gobblers results? Victories of 43-14, 46-13, and 75-6, respectively. QB Will Carbonara has completed 27 of 42 passes for 630 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
Calallen will complete non-district play at Cuero. They open district play at Zapata next week; their district schedule will also include road trips to the Rio Grande Valley, against La Feria and Hidalgo. Cuero finishes non-district play next week against Beeville Jones.
Since Calallen is 4A-DI and Cuero is 4A-DII, they cannot meet in the postseason. They do offer us a terrific non-district matchup to enjoy Friday, though.
Mark Kusenberger
September 11, 2022
Read more from Mark on his blog at https://mkusenberger.wixsite.com/website/blog