The Blanco Panthers look to rebound from a disappointing 4-6 campaign on the gridiron a year ago as the 2020 season starts Friday night. The Panthers return eight starters from a team which just missed the playoffs in 2019 as they open the season with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Yorktown.
Blanco football coach Bill Tesch emphasized that his team needs to stay healthy to have a successful 2020 campaign.
“We have great senior leadership, our juniors have size and our sophomores will have to contribute on Friday nights,” he said.
That leadership starts under center where Baylor Smith returns for his third season starting at quarterback. The senior signalcaller led the Panthers through the air and on the ground in 2019. He tossed for 1,045 yards on 57-of-114 passing in 2019 with nine touchdowns and six interceptions, and rushed for 608 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns.
Offensive returning starters also include two in the backfield in senior fullback Jackson Cress and sophomore halfback Devin Newsome, along with offensive lineman Brandon Gombert. Cress was second on the team with 571 rushing yards and four touchdowns a year ago, and also caught five passes for 51 yards. Newsome rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns, while catching six passes for 72 yards in his freshman campaign.
The Panthers have the most holes to fill offensively in their line, where they’ll have to replace four of five starters from last year, and in the pass catching game, where they lost 50 of 67 receptions from a year ago.
“We have good senior leadership and the younger players are ready to contribute,” Tesch said.
Defensively, the Panthers return four starters in free safety Gavin Young, defensive tackle Daniel Jaimes, defensive end Preston Guinn and Cress at linebacker. They’ll have to replace seven of their top eight tacklers from a year ago.
Young is the top returning tackler from 2019 with 49 stops, and he also picked off one pass. Guinn is also back with 21 tackles and 1.5 sacks a year ago.
“We have some holes to fill at linebacker. Our defensive line and secondary should be good,” Tesch said.
Tesch said one area where the team needs improvement is in special teams play.
“We must be better this year on special teams,” Tesch said. “It put us behind in a few games and we couldn’t fight our way back all the time.”
Smith returns as punter, while the team is working through its options at kicker, Tesch said.
Other areas where the head coach wants to see improvement in 2020 includes offensive line play, limiting fumbles, and getting more three-and-outs defensively.
Tesch said he expects all of his returnees, which includes 12 lettermen, to have strong seasons. He also looks to see an impact from varsity newcomers Mason Groff, Garrett Wiemers, Mitchell Hebert, Troy Womack, Connor Cofield, Alan Rubio, Cody Cross, Mitchell Dalland, Cade Cress, Kolton Gaskamp, Cole Tharp, Luke Johnson and Nathan Tomlinson.
The lead up to the 2020 season has been quite different than seasons in the past due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have not seen them in person as much as you would during normal times. Also, the ever-changing situation from a day to day basis” has been tough, Tesch said.
The Panthers will see a new district for at least the next two seasons, with Comfort as the lone returning district foe from the previous alignment. The newly aligned District 13 in Class 3A Division 1 also includes Luling, Llano and Lago Vista. Llano and Lago Vista dropped down from Class 4A Division 2, while Luling was already in Class 3A Division 1. Blanco and Comfort played in a Class 3A Division 2 district last year with Johnson City, Brady, Sonora and Ingram Moore.
“It’s a tough district,” Tesch said. “We will be outnumbered on most of those nights, but they can only play 11 at a time.”
Non-district foes on the schedule include Yorktown, Shiner, Anderson-Shiro, Bandera, Johnson City and Canyon Lake.
“It’s a tough schedule and we are looking forward to the challenge,” Tesch said.
In the 100th season of Texas high school football, Blanco will honor its state runner-up team from 20 years ago. The 2000 Panthers advanced to the state championship game, where they fell to Sonora, 27-24. The Panthers had playoff wins against Hutto, Brookshire Royal, Poth and Arp on their way to the title game. Tesch said this year’s team will have a sticker on their helmets to honor that 2000 state runner-up squad.
2020 varsity schedule
Date Opponent Time
Aug. 28 at Yorktown 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 vs. Shiner 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 at Anderson-Shiro 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Bandera 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 25 at Johnson City 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Canyon Lake# 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 16 vs. Luling* 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 23 at Llano* 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Comfort*% 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 at Lago Vista* 7:30 p.m.
Key
- - Homecoming % - Parents Night
- - District Game
2020 JV schedule
Date Opponent Time
Aug. 27 vs. Brownwood 5 p.m.
Sept. 3 at Shiner 5:30 p.m.
Sept. 10 vs. Mason 5 p.m.
Sept. 17 at Bandera 5 p.m.
Sept. 24 vs. Johnson City 5 p.m.
Oct. 1 at Canyon Lake 5 p.m.
Oct. 15 at Luling* 5 p.m.
Oct. 22 vs. Llano* 5 p.m.
Oct. 29 at Comfort* 5 p.m.
Nov. 5 vs. Lago Vista* 5 p.m.
