GRIDIRON GLANCE ’25: Bangs Dragons

August 23, 2025 at 7:14 am Derrick Stuckly

BANGS – The Bangs Dragons produced a 2-8 record in their first season under head coach Colton Buzzard in 2024, as a couple of games slipped away early on and the squad struggled to regroup from those disappointments.

With eight offensive and five defensive starters back from last year, and with more familiarity and trust between the players and coaching staff, Buzzard is expecting Bangs to make significant strides in 2025.

“There’s an ultimate buy in from the kids,” Buzzard said regarding the biggest difference in preparing for his second season compared to his first at Bangs. “The difference in knowing what to do and then how to do it is a big deal. We knew what to do last year, but we really didn’t know how to do it. They were learning a whole new terminology last year, and this year it’s second nature to them. We’re moving a whole lot faster in the playbook offensively and defensively, and we’re also executing the plays and not just guessing and getting lucky. There’s a big difference from last year to this year and I feel like the kids trust me and the coaching staff and vice versa, we trust them. It’s been exciting and fun and I can’t wait to play our first opponent.”

Buzzard brought the Wing-T offense with him to Bangs, a completely different look from what the Dragons had done previously, and the Dragons finished 2024 averaging 22 points and 252 yards – 187 on the ground and 65 through the air – per outing.

Heading into this season, Hunter Withers takes over at quarterback for Bangs, while Cason Tidwell is moving to the backfield. Eliseo Rivas and Jackson Edmisten will also receive carries, while receivers include Connor Bible, Jayden Robinson, Braxton Wommack, Rex Guerrero and Michael Parrott, along with tight ends Joaquin Rubio, Heath Laughlin and Ryan Alqorum. Leading the charge up front are Roy Duron, Kason Klutts, Damian Hudspeth, Kian Kelly and Jace Duncan.

“I’m super excited about where we’re at and we’re we going offensively,” Buzzard said. “Hunter played a couple of games last year at quarterback for us and did a really good job. He’s just grown tremendously as a leader, his expectations are to win and that’s what you want from the quarterback. We’re moving Cason back to the backfield. He’s put on some weight and has gotten a lot stronger and faster. Eliseo and Jackson are also in the backfield, too. Those guys are shifty, tough kids.

“We have Connor and Jayden outside at our “F,” and those are really athletic guys and they’ve been doing a really good job at the position. You’ve got Braxton , Rex and Michael at the “B” and they’re all reliable and do what you ask to the best of their ability. Tight end is Joaquin and he’ll split time with Heath and Ryan, so that’s going to be big, having three different tight ends that can rotate into that position and not miss a beat.

“Our offensive line, a lot of those guys are coming back in. Roy Duron is going to be our center. He got to play 5 ½ games at the center position so having him come back there is going to be huge for us. Damian Hudspeth is coming back at right guard and last year he played with torn meniscus all year, but he had surgery and now he’s 100 percent. Kian Kelley’s going to be our right tackle and he’s put on so much weight and gotten so much stronger, he’s improved his bench press by 100 pounds in a year. Our left tackle will be Kason Klutts who we moved from center. Inside of him is Jace Duncan, who is a sophomore and a big surprise for us this year. He worked his tail off in the summer time and offseason and earned that position.”

The Dragons defense will look to improve on the 34 points and 328 yards – 201 rushing and 127 passing – per game it surrendered a year ago.

“Defensively, people think we just have five coming back, but a lot of guys are moving around to new positions,” Buzzard said. “The defense could be the heart and soul of our team this year.

Tidwell is expected line up at middle linebacker with Jaxon Duncan on the weak side, and Parrott, Bible and Rivas will man the safety positions. Wommack and Robinson are anticipated to play cornerback while the defensive line will feature a rotation of Kelly, Laughlin, Alqorum, Duron, Rubio, Hudspeth and Klutts.

“Cason is taking over mike, he’s just leader a men out there and does a good job directing traffic, and Jaxon is going to take our will position and he’s just a football player that does a really good job making sure everyone’s lined up,” Buzzard said. “We’re going to roll with Parrott at strong safety, he ‘s an every day kid you like to be around, while Bible and Eliseo are going to play the high safeties and they’re really good in pass coverage and really good at coming down hill and making tackles at the line of scrimmage. The corner positions will be a lot more athletic, taller and faster with Braxton and Jayden. Having those two on the end and making people have to throw over them will be big.

“Our d-line will have Kian Kelly, whose a bi,g strong defensive end, and Heath, and Ryan are also defensive ends for us, along with Caleb Wagner. Interior guys are going to be committee with Rubio, Duron, Damian, Klutts and some others. We’re going to keep the linemen fresh because we’ll be rotating in others in as well.”

The Dragons again open their season against the rival Early Longhorns, then battle Merkel, Grape Creek, Abilene TLCA and Colorado City – teams with a combined winning percentage of .137 a year ago – before District 5-2A Division I action commences.

“Pre-district is supposed to get you ready for district, and Early has a lot of athletes and Coach Wilson’s going to do a good job getting those guys ready,” Buzzard said. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about him in his time at Brownwood. Any time you bring over a coach with kids, I was a coach’s kid, that’s going to change the program. They’re going to be a good test for us, and moving forward each week you just want to keep getting better. If you are supposed to beat an opponent you don’t want to play down to anyone’s level. If you’re not supposed to be somebody, play up to their level. We’ve got Merkel, Grape Creek, TLCA and Colorado City. Our job is to win each one of those games to have a lot of momentum going into district, so what’s we’re trying to get done.”

Regarding the importance of picking up wins early to build momentum for district, Buzzard said, “Last year we blew a 27-point lead to Grape Creek in the third game and lost in the last seconds to Colorado City by one point going into district. You could see that punched the kids in the stomach and the air let out of them, but we played a really good first half in the Ballinger game last year, we just fell apart in the second half. We focused this offseason on being mentally tough, tougher than our opponent, and being in better shape. Hopefully that pays off for us.”

The Dragons are picked to repeat as the sixth-place team in District 5-2A Division I as Bangs opens league play at Ballinger and Hico consecutively, hosts Hamilton, ventures to De Leon and welcomes Coleman in the regular season finale.

“It’s a tough district,” Buzzard said. “Any time two of the teams in your district are supposed to be in the regional final, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, it’s going to be tough, but I feel like each week anyone can beat anyone. Last year Coleman almost beat Hamilton, it was 14-7, and Hamilton went on to the state semifinals and loses to Stamford. It doesn’t matter what your record is and who you’re playing, you have to show up to play that Friday night cause anything could happen. Hico’s going to be good, Ballinger’s going to be good, Coleman’s going to be good, De Leon’s going to be good, and so is Hamilton. Each week will have it’s own test.”

Regarding how good the Dragons can potentially be in 2025, Buzzard said, “I think we can surprise a lot of people. Some people are counting us out, which is OK, it’s hard to count somebody in when they go 2-8 the previous year. I think we can be pretty good, I think we can compete with just about anybody in the state of Texas, but we have to execute and you have to believe that in yourself. It all depends on what you do when you get hit in the mouth by somebody that may be a little bit superior to you. Are you going to fight back? Because if you fight back you might end up winning. I think we can have success this year and I think we can be a playoff contender.”

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BANGS DRAGONS 2025 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 29	at Early	7:30 p.m.
September 05	at Merkel	7 p.m.
September 12	Grape Creek	7 p.m.
September 19	Abilene TLCA#	7 p.m.
September 26	at Colorado City	7 p.m.
October 03	OPEN
October 10	at Ballinger*	7 p.m.
October 17	at Hico*	7 p.m.
October 24	Hamilton*	7 p.m.
October 31	at De Leon*	7 p.m.
November 07	Coleman*	7 p.m.