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“We feel very good about this team and where we are at right now,” Tigers coach Greg Althof said. “It’s a situation where a system is in place and we feel we have a core nucleus of kids that have been under us a couple of years now and understand what we are trying to do and the concepts behind our program.”
But it may not be that easy for the Tigers, who have won just one district game the last two years in a tough district that includes Cuero, Gonzales, Yoakum, Palacios and now Edna. Goliad’s only district win came last year when it defeated Yoakum 20-7.
The Tigers didn’t fare any better in 2002 and 2003 when they were in the same district with their current foes, going 0-10.
But taking advantage of a realignment situation that got them out of the district in the 2004 and 2005 season, the Tigers earned playoff berths.
Now, with eight offensive and eight defensive starters back, the Tigers feel they are in a position to compete and have an opportunity to make the playoffs.
“The positive thing about this year going into the season is we’re bringing back eight and eight as for as starters from last year,” Althof said. “That experience they gained as juniors and sophomores, and we had seven sophomores on the varsity last year, you can’t replace that.”
Senior wide receiver Aaron Franklin, who led the team with 63 receptions for 1,015 yards, agrees the experience should be a key factor for the Tigers.
“We have a lot of confidence going in right now and we have eight and eight coming back so we feel we should do fairly well,” Franklin said.
Along with the experience factor, Althof is also high on his offensive front.
“For the first time since I’ve been here, I feel we have a balance of strength and size up front,” Althof said. “These kids have worked extremely hard in the weight room preparing themselves and we should be about 260 across the line this year, so we feel we have some size to go in there and match up against a district that is very good up front.”
Seniors Josh Howe (290 pounds), Justin Ross (280) and Florenzo Vega (265) will anchor the offensive front along with juniors Matt Cloessner (200) and Tyler Janota (285).
“Everyone has experience on the line except for one guy and he’s getting everything going with help from us,” said Howe, who was a all-district first teamer last year.
The Tigers also return their receiving corps intact, but must find a quarterback to replace Luke Brinkman, who graduated last year after throwing for 1,542 yards.
Althof also likes what he has seen on defense so far.
“We’re returning our defensive front and the secondary,” Althof said. “The experience they got last year is something they should carry over into this year.”