BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
The final UIL football program of the 2024 Parker County football series takes us down to the lone public school six-man team, the Perrin-Whitt Pirates.
While some will argue that the Pirates are not in Parker County, they would technically be correct as the school lies just over the border in Jack County. However, what most do not realize is that Perrin-Whitt is a consolidated school district between the two towns of Perrin (Jack County) and Whitt (Parker County). So with that being the case, the Pirates do qualify as a team that could be grouped in with Parker County schools.
The next two years will look very different for Perrin-Whitt, despite rejoining a pair of former district rivals in the new realignment that came out in February. Not only did the Pirates get a new district, but they’re iin a new region as they move north from their previous placement to join Region 2 in Class 1A Division 1.
However, the new region will only matter if the Pirates can manage to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019 when they fell to eventual state champion Blum.
Head coach Kevin Loyd is going to get some big help this season as the Pirates will get back a big part of their team in Cameron Tune. The senior missed the entirety of his junior season due to injury. Without his impact, the Pirates fell short of the postseason for the fourth straight year.
Now Tune returns to take some pressure off Cole Keeney, who had a solid sophomore season, but is going to be expected to take on a bigger role on both sides of the ball.
Experience will be a big key for Perrin-Whitt, as they bring back five starters on offense and four on defense. Almost everybody expected to be on the starting roster got game experience at the varsity level a year ago.
The family duo of Joseph and Travis Welch will be big forces on the front for both offense and defense, alongside Dillon Carter. Jackson Gray typically plays solely on the defensive side of the ball, but in six-man ball, don’t be shocked if he takes the field on offense on more than a couple of occasions.
Noah Morris and Riley Sims round out the skill positions for such an experienced roster.
Schedule & Analysis
vs Gold-Burg
at Weatherford Christian
at Rising Star
at Covington
vs Azle Christian
vs Saint Jo
vs Newcastle
at Bryson
vs Knox City
at Vernon Northside
Floor: 0-10
While the Pirates bring back a lot from a year ago, they will still be a fringe playoff team at best. Unfortunately, everybody on their schedule is fringe or better. Vernon Northside should be a close one to end the season, but in the worst possible scenario, the Pirates come into the final contest with a team that they could very well beat, and fall just short.
Average: 4-6
The non-district competition will be tough, but Perrin-Whitt is playing a schedule that is pretty even with where they are as a program. I could see many of these games being close, aside from three. Weatherford Christian and Azle Christian are two of the state’s top teams in their respective private classifications, and Azle Christian has had Perrin-Whitt’s number in recent years. Saint Jo is another program that has established solid footing as a consistent regional contender in 1A. Those will be tough games for the Pirates. However, Gold-Burg, Rising Star and Covington are all very winnable games that could give Perrin-Whitt some momentum going into district. Past that, the only district games that I could see as wins are Bryson and Northside, which would once again leave the Pirates out of the postseason.
Ceiling: 6-4, runner-up
For those that do not know, in Class 1A, only the top two teams in a district make the playoffs. With that said, in this scenario the non-district results do not change, but the Pirates could very well surprise Bryson with an upset in the second district game. So it all comes down to Newcastle and Knox City. While Knox City will be favored to reload and win the district, they don’t return much from last year’s area finalist team. That one possible upset could leapfrog Perrin-Whitt into the playoffs for the first time in five years, though they will need the exact perfect circumstances to work out.
