Huffman Falcons 2022 season preview
After finishing the 2021 season with an 8-3 record with a difficult loss to Kilgore in the 4A playoffs, the Huffman-Hargrave Falcons look to get back to their winning ways in 2022. They will do so with a new Head Coach and Athletic Director.
Joey Buchta is replacing the former AD/HC Mike McEachern. McEachern spent 15 seasons as the athletic director for the Huffman Falcons and took them to the playoffs 13 of the 15 years. Coach Buchta served as the Falcons defensive coordinator for 11 of those 15 years.
I was able to sit down with Coach Buchta and speak to him about his relationship with McEachern and about his transition into his new role.
Coach Buchta Stated, “Coach Mac was a total program guy during his time at Huffman. I believe that’s the number one trait that leads to success and retention across the board. Oftentimes, especially in Texas, the Athletic Director portion of the title is put on the backburner because of the overemphasis on Football. We have 1,100 Kids in our high school, and only about 10 percent play football so it’s my job to support everyone.”
Coach Buchta finds his transition into his new role “Very interesting”. Buchta went on to say, “After being here for so long I knew so many of the processes, but at the same time I feel like I’m learning a lot every day. Luckily, we’ve always had so much support athletically from our administration, our school board, and the community that there are always good people to lean on.”
It won’t be long until the Falcons hit the field for the first time this season against the Dayton Bronco’s, who averaged 27.0 PPG in Div. 2, 5-A last year for their first scrimmage of the season on August 12th.
The Falcons will be returning 4 starters on offense and 5 starters on their defense. The falcons will look to fill a huge void left by Luke Thomas (2021 graduate) at the QB position. Coach Buchta was asked if there would be any schematical changes to the offense with Coach McEachern moving on and losing their starting QB.
Coach Buchta stated, “As always, we must adjust and make changes to our schemes, especially at the 4A level. Now we are facing a situation where we graduated a young man (Thomas) that started 47 varsity football games and 23 of those at QB. So, we will have to grow in many areas to support that void. We have some personnel this year that is going to allow us to change some things, but obviously it starts with finding 5 physical offense linemen.
Coach Buchta plans to rely heavily on his seniors this year. The seniors will be led by Tyler Wilkins. Wilkins, a returning starter on both sides of the ball, was 1st team all-district on offense (WR) and defense (DB) in 2021. He caught 42 passes last season with 12 of those resulting in touchdowns. He also continued to be a menace on the defensive side of the ball for opposing quarterbacks. Wilkins showcases his great instincts and route recognition in the defensive backfield resulting in 17 career interceptions (9 in 2020 and 8 in 2021).
Other seniors that are expected to be heavily relied upon to contribute are:
Tyson Woodland (QB/WR/DB)
Jacob Eccles (WR/DB)
Jake Moorhaj (WR/DB)
Jonathan Klepetko (Kicker)
Colton Jacobs (OL/DL)
Luke Vaughn (OL/DL).
The Falcons will also be bringing back several underclassmen that will be key contributors this season.
Sophomore Will Swartz (DE) 2nd team all-district
Sophomore Harrison Dupnick (DL) 2nd team all-district
Junior Noah Silman (OT) 2nd team all-district
Junior Dylan McMullen (RB) 2nd team all-district
Junior Justin Evans (QB, WR, LB)
Junior Jesse Holcombe (RB, LB) will be returning from injury.
SportCast Spotlight:
Offensive and defensive lines for the Falcons will be an area to watch going into the season. “We must be able to run the ball and stop the run effectively,” says Buchta. “Especially when we face the bigger and faster teams. “
