Medina High School’s Bobcats and Bandera High School’s Bulldogs are gearing up for football seasons filled with high expectations, focused leadership and strong community support as both teams aim for success in 2025.
Bobcats head coach Mark Coley is targeting a fourth straight playoff appearance in 1A 6-Man Region IV District 15, emphasizing leadership development among returning players.
“We have a record board in our dressing room, and when they see an unfamiliar name on the board that comes back to the school during homecoming, I get to tell them that this is the guy with that specific record,” Coley said. “They’re able to put a face to the name which is a big deal for them. Then they turn out to be an attorney, successful businessman, farmer with a family… so they’re able to put it all together and it really helps develop them into young men.”
The Bobcats will rely on quarterback Davis Peterson to run the offense, with dual- threat athlete Zy’heme Jones and running back Aiden Munsterteiger playing key roles. 2024 All-District athlete Cooper Arnold returns as an essential contributor on both offense and defense. Coley said the team’s goal this season is to start and finish games strong while reducing mental mistakes that can cost contests.
“One of our goals is always to score our first possession of each half and to not allow our opponents to score their first possession of each half. If you can do that as a team it sets the tone,” Coley said. “A lot of times you can come out flat, so we’re trying to come out hot in both halves.”
He added, “If we’re able to point out a specific mental mistake, like a bust in a secondary and we turned a guy loose, or we missed a block not because we did a poor job blocking but because we blocked the wrong guy... All those mental mistakes are the things that get you beat. Teaching where we went wrong and eliminating those mental mistakes then I think we have a chance to be successful.”
Coley expressed gratitude for the continued support from Medina High School and the administration, and hopes fans will continue to travel well for away games.
“When they buy into it it can turn into success and propagate itself. When we aren’t successful, we’re able to point out the problem as a unit. That way they can see what we need to get back to and what made us successful,” Coley said.
Meanwhile, Bandera ISD athletic director and Bulldogs head coach Joel Fontenot-Amedee emphasized teamwork and steady improvement heading into the new season.
“Our big slogan is that we do everything together, we are one. We’re all in this thing to support each other, help each other get better,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
The Bulldogs are coming off an injury-riddled season, but the coach expects better health and development this year.
“We really lay our hat on winning the fourth quarter and finishing strong. Last year we won some games, and we came up short but it’s a learning process. We had some injuries and things that came up so we do feel like we have unfinished business,” he said. “Each year you grow, you may not know how things are going to finish. It’s not always the outcome, it’s the process.”
The Bulldogs return eight of 11 offensive starters and five of 11 defensive starters. Two 1,000-yard rushers, junior Breydan Gherman and senior Juan Cabrera, will lead the ground attack, protected by senior standout offensive tackle.
Defensively, senior Dane Barnett will patrol the secondary, aiming to disrupt running and passing lanes.
Fontenot-Amedee also praised the leadership of two-way athlete Jeffry Thomas, whose energy and vocal presence have set the tone for the team during offseason practice.
“We had finished up our second practice with varsity and JV teams a few minutes early, but on the other side we still had freshman practice going and they threw an incomplete pass on offense. Afterward I called the team up to close it out and JT goes, ‘No Coach, we’re not ending on that.’ All of a sudden everyone starts doing the ‘Seven Nation Army’ chant and clapping, cheering for them to finish strong, and I was like, well alright, run it again! Everyone even followed them all the way to the end zone after the thrown completion,” Fontenot-Amedee said.
He also expressed appreciation for the Bandera community’s steadfast support.
“Our community really supports us, they support our kids as well as anywhere. They help supplement the things that we can’t always give them, we’re grateful for our support and everyone involved,” Fontenot-Amedee said. “I’m grateful for our campus, administration and our leaders. We have so many people that do what’s right for the kids.”
He concluded, “Overall, what I think gets lost in translation is that we got great guys in a small town.”
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