West Texas football preview: Some of the quarterbacks to watch ahead of the 2024 season
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Texas high school football is still a few months away from fall practice, but excitement grows as fans, players and coaches with high aspirations anticipate the return of Friday night lights in West Texas.
Despite the turnover from departing senior classes, many of the nearly 40 teams in the Standard-Times coverage area retained plenty of young talent, as well as bringing in some new faces, looking to make their mark on the 2024 season.
Before the season begins, the Standard-Times will highlight the top local players to watch in seven position groups — quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, defensive backs and linebackers.
Today, we highlight the top returning quarterbacks to watch in West Texas.
Quarterbacks
Honorable Mention: Sean Jacoby, jr., Brady; Kyson Weathers, soph., Ballinger/Cade Strube, jr., Ballinger
Kason Brown, sr., Reagan County
Brown was the catalyst for the Owls offense last year, which averaged 27.7 points per game. He finished his junior campaign with over 2,000 yards passing and 26 touchdowns through the air. While Brown stands out as a prolific passer, he also added 521 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
Juan Castillo, sr., Sonora
Castillo stood in for three games after prolific Broncos starter Jaime Buitron after he tore his ACL late into fall practice last season. Castillo started three games for Sonora, completing 62% of his passes for 530 yards and two touchdowns. After Buitron came back from injury, Castillo returned to his Swiss-army-knife role adding 403 yards and four touchdowns rushing, helping the Broncos reach the Class 2A Region I final.
Boyd Cox, jr., Coahoma
Even though the Bulldogs finished just outside the playoff race, Cox had a remarkable sophomore season —throwing for 1,859 yards and 22 touchdowns. Cox is currently the all-time leading passer for Coahoma and has two more years to add to his résumé.
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Gunnar Dillard, sr., Wall
Dillard manned the helm for the Hawks in former coach Houston Guy’s flex-bone system for the past two seasons. In his junior year, he helped lead the Hawks to a Class 3A Division II Region I final by recording 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns passing to go with 673 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing. With a new offensive scheme likely coming to Wall in 2024, Dillard will have an opportunity to throw the ball more.
Chasen Doyal, jr., Junction
Doyal played a large part in Junction’s one-year turnaround from a winless squad in 2022 to a 6-5 finish in 2024. He finished his breakout sophomore campaign with 787 yards and 10 touchdowns passing, while adding 452 yards and seven touchdowns rushing.
Christian “Squeaky” English, sr., San Angelo Central
English finished his first season in varsity completing 52% of his passes for 2,527 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also added 889 yards and 17 touchdowns rushing, earning District 6-2A Newcomer of the Year and was named first-team All-West Texas quarterback.
Hudson Fowler, sr., Ozona
Fowler earned first-team all-district and second-team All-West Texas after collecting 2,261 yards and 22 touchdowns passing. He also added 188 yards and five touchdowns rushing, leading Ozona to a 6-5 record and third-place district finish.
Nicholas Holloway, jr., Forsan
In his first season starting, Holloway finished with 1,337 yards and 15 touchdowns passing, adding 139 yards and five touchdowns rushing. He was an All-West Texas Honorable Mention and helped the Buffaloes to an 8-3 record and share of the district title.
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Merek Howell, sr., Rochelle
Howell’s emergence as a quarterback for the Hornets last season helped them earn their best record since 2015. He finished the season with 2,257 yards and 30 touchdowns passing, adding 687 yards and seven touchdowns rushing and securing a spot on the All-West Texas six-man team.
Auston Perez, sr., Lake View
Perez started the season for Lake View last year but missed the last half of the season due to injuries. Before missing time, he had 632 yards and eight touchdowns passing in four games.
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: High School football: The top quarterbacks to watch in 2024
