By Nolan Ruth
X – @RealNolanRuth
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Another offseason has come and gone. As the calendar prepares to turn over to another August, local football fans know that another season is upon us. A dozen sanctioned programs play football in the DFW area known as Parker County. For the third year in a row, GM Sports media is here with coverage of all twelve. As usual, it all begins with the season previews. This year is a little different. Instead of working down from the largest school (Weatherford), the previews will work their way up from the private schools.
Before diving into the previews, there are a couple of things to address. The first, is that the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) has made a change in schedule. Instead of starting alongside the University Interscholastic League (UIL), TAPPS will begin the regular season one week early. It is an optional week in which programs can either begin the regular season, or scrimmage. If this week is not utilized as a regular season game, it will act as a bye week for every affected team.
The second thing to address is the league in which each team participates. Willow Park TCA is the only one that plays 11-man football (TAPPS), while Weatherford Christian, Azle Christian and Weatherford Grace Christian all play six-man. Grace Christian is the only one separated from this group as they compete as part of the Texas Christian Athletic Fellowship (TCAF). Weatherford Christian and Azle Christian both compete in separate divisions in TAPPS.
Last year, every single team amongst this group had a brand new head coach. Two of them ended up reaching their respective semifinals, while the other two fell short of postseason play, but should be well improved going into this upcoming season. There is technically one “new” head coach in this group, and that will be addressed in the following sections.
Willow Park TCA Eagles
Scott Campbell’s first year at the helm of Willow Park left a lot to be desired. However, a good part of that was due to the strength of schedule. After going winless in district a year ago, the Eagles find themselves dropping a division, against much more beatable opponents, who are somewhat familiar. Not just that, but Campbell told GM Sports Media that he thinks TCA will be much more improved this season.
A good corps of players are back to continue the march up the mountain to TCA’s former glory. The two standouts are Hank Nash and Preston Kuykendall who led the way last year offensively at receiver and running back respectively. Nash completed the 2025 season with 286 receiving yards on 24 catches and three touchdowns. Kuykenall complimented that with 678 yards on 136 carries out of the backfield. Brayden Terrell will also be a force at receiver after catching 9 passes for 117 yards as a sophomore. All three will also be expected to make a difference on the defensive side of the ball, especially Nash who recorded three interceptions last year.
The defense especially should be strong with returners such as junior linebacker Brogan Chapman (41 tackles,) senior lineman Luke Hernandez (12 tackles,) and sophomore defensive back Jayton Garrett, who among his 48 tackles accounted for eight tackles for loss.
Nolan’s prediction: 6-4
Despite dropping down a classification, and Scott Campbell’s belief that his squad will be much improved from a year ago, the Eagles will likely take some lumps this season. However this is to be expected in just his second year at the helm. The first three games of the season should come as fairly easy wins, if Campbell is correct in his belief. Then TCA will open its new district with state champion Dallas First Baptist. This will be the first telling game for how the rest of the season will go, and will likely be a loss. Tyler All Saints, Fort Worth Mercy Culture and Waco Live Oak are the others that are more likely to be losses. Gorman, Sacred Heart and Riecher should all be wins with an improved Eagles team. From there it only takes one upset to reach the postseason.
Weatherford Christian Lions
Weatherford Christian only played three full games in 2025, with the rest all ending in a 45-point mercy rule, including the only win of the season. Despite two key players lost, head coach Colt Jones is keeping a positive outlook on the direction of the program. A key returner this season is utility man Boo Finney who rushed for 276 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. He will be a key weapon offensively, especially with three sophomores taking over from an undefeated JV team a year ago. Sophomore Jack Muhlenkamp gets the nod to lead the offense at quarterback, along with two rushing weapons in what Jones calls “The Alex Powers”— two sophomores Alex Scheoppner and Alex Pulliam who will be a dual threat in the backfield. Seniors Wyatt Jones and Noah Carreon are also back to help lead the offense.
Defensively, half of the Lions are back. Including Padean Butler and Pierson Julian who are returning as the two leading tacklers from a year ago with 27 and 22 respectively. Junior end Toby Saunders also steps up with what Jones called “X-Factor Potential.”
The group of sophomores stepping up from the undefeated JV team include Eli Sain, Parker Hughes, Zane Rutledge, and Jack Wight will all have a spotlight on them as the WCS program continues to build back.
“We know where we’ve been — now we’re focused on where we’re going,” Jones told the media. “This is a young roster with real talent, anchored by five committed seniors setting the tone. Our offense is built on speed and accuracy, and while our defense is still developing, we’ve got a few guys who play with an edge and make plays. We like the direction of this program, and we are optimistic about our upcoming season.”
Nolan’s prediction: 4-5
A very friendly non-district schedule should help the Lions take a massive step forward in just a nine-game schedule. Of the first five games, Wylie Prep and Granbury Grace are going to be tough tests. However that does not mean the Lions will be unable to pull the upset. If one of those are upsets, the rest of the season could get very interesting. Denton Calvary is a wildcard as a new program in district play, so they are counted as a win for sake of the prediction. Keller Harvest will be the district game to watch as the key matchup to reach the postseason before the season ends with state runner-up Crowley Nazarene. Because there is still a long road ahead, I have the Lions falling just shy of the playoffs this fall. But the future is bright.
Azle Christian Crusaders
There is a very strong case to make that Azle Christian is the best team in TAPPS Six-man DIII. Especially because Waco Valor Prep has moved up to Division II. The path to Waco is set and Parker County coach of the year Chad Geeslin is back to see it happen. A big reason they will be such a big target for their opponents is due to the return of running back/receiver Grayson Smith and quarterback Nemo Crowell. Smith, a three-year starter, totaled 2,369 yards of offense a year ago, while Crowell totaled 1,783. Juniors Nathan Tuggle and Gavin Montez also return after a season that saw “The Cru” reach the semifinals.
Geeslin also pointed to senior quarterback Kanon Wyatt and junior running back Brody Braz as players who could make a big difference for a team this year, though Wyatt will likely focus more on defense as a defensive back. Depth will be a key thing to keep an eye on this season, but that could easily be made up for with the speed and endurance of this roster.
Nolan’s prediction: 9-0; District Champs
Like I said at the beginning of this section, the Crusaders could very well be the best team in Division III. A very favorable district draw could possibly see ACS cruise through the final two weeks of the season after a more than decent non-district schedule will have them battle tested. Nothing will come easy, but this squad may be the most slept on team in six-man football. There is a real possibility this team ends up in Waco come Thanksgiving week.
Perrin Grace Christian Colts
The Colts totally surprised me in 2025. My prediction had GCA going 2-7 in their nine game season. Instead, Sammy Ellison helped lead the team to a 6-3 record and a semifinal appearance. The season included upsets against Weatherford Christian, El Paso Immanuel and Dallas CHANT. The good news going into 2026 is that the Colts only lost one senior from last year’s team. However, they also lost last year’s coach Austin Norman to a job at Bowie Gold-burg. Ellison will now take sole possession of the reins in Perrin.
This year’s squad will be much more experienced as seniors Hayden Ellison, Waxin Tiger and Kasyn Gaston return on both sides of the ball. The three could be considered the pioneers of the football program at Grace Christian. Junior Kase Keeling is also back as an offensive threat at either running back or receiver. Ellison also listed sophomores Kaden Hartsell and Cy Cagle as players to watch this season, as well as freshman Titus Gaston.
Nolan’s Prediction: N/A
As of this preview being published, the entire schedule for GCA has not been completed. What is confirmed is that their three district opponents will be Westlake Academy (who is new to TCAF), Arlington St. Paul (new district opponent) and Haslet Heritage (repeat district foe.) The other two games confirmed are week one against Perrin-Whitt and week three against Three Way. For now, I am reluctant to make a season prediction until I have the full picture. This will be updated.
