GRIDIRON GLANCE ’25: Priddy Pirates

August 15, 2025 at 8:41 am Updated: August 16th, 2025 at 4:40 pm Derrick Stuckly

PRIDDY – Despite a 2-7 record in 2024, the Priddy Pirates’ return to the UIL football ranks found them one victory shy of reaching the playoffs, as they came in third in District 14-A Division II with a 2-2 league mark.

Head coach Derek Ahearn is taking over the program in 2025, and the race for the second playoff berth in the district – behind reigning champion and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Class A Division II preseason No. 4 Oglesby – appears just as wide open as it was a year ago.

A graduate of Gustine High School, Ahearn comes to Priddy after serving most recently as an assistant at Strawn. Ahearn has also spent time coaching at Zephyr, Blanket, Kopperl and Meridian.

“Priddy’s always had a special place in my heart,” Ahearn said. “We used to play them when I was in high school in Gustine and we always hung out with the Priddy kids. After 15 years of doing this, this is probably the closest I’ve ever worked to home. This is home to me.”

Ahearn stated he’s working to build a proud culture at Priddy as it continues to find its footing in the football world after being a traditionally strong basketball and cross country school.

“We’re growing, our name is getting out there,” Ahearn said. “My whole goal is to put wins on the board and instill in these kids’ lives that it’s important to take pride in the type of facilities Priddy has. Not very many schools in the state of Texas have this, and it’s something to be proud of.”

The biggest changes for Priddy this year will likely occur as a result of increased weight training.

“We have to improve on confidence, build our confidence, and the weight room is real key,” Ahearn said. “The kids have to have to start believing, seeing is believing. A lot of kids came in without a lot of previous experience in the weight room, and we stayed at the same numbers all summer long.”

A pair of new additions to the roster could provide significant dividends for the Pirates this year as well. Shane Ahearn, the son of Coach Ahearn, comes over from Strawn, while Trapper Schoenhals, who played previously for Zephyr, will don a Priddy uniform in 2025.

“We have a couple of heavy hitters in Shane and Trapper,” Ahearn said. “Other guys to watch are Brailen Rea and Luis Reyes. But we only have two seniors and we’ll have three freshmen out there.”

The Pirates start the season at Panther Creek (Aug. 29), host Walnut Springs (Sept. 5), travel to Trent (Sept. 12), welcome Gustine (Sept. 19), venture to Santa Anna (Sept. 26) and host Rising Star (Oct. 3) prior to District 14-A Division II competition.

“We’re not trying to win state in Week 1,” Ahearn said. “I want us to see us keep growing, I want to see us peak around the playoffs. Week 1 against Panther Creek we need to send a message and these kids need to see themselves continuing to grow on the field.”

The league slate starts Oct. 10 at Cranfills Gap, then after a district bye, Priddy hosts Oglesby Oct. 24, heads to Evant Oct. 31, and welcomes Mullin in the Nov. 7 regular season finale.

“Oglesby’s got a lot of numbers, they’re well-coached, but after that I think it’s up for grabs,” Ahearn said. “We finished third in the district last year and we need to feed off that and try and slip into the playoffs. That’s our goal. Our ranking may be kind of low, but these kids want to work.”

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PRIDDY PIRATES 2025 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 29	at Panther Creek	7:30 p.m.
September 05	Walnut Springs	7:30 p.m.
September 12	at Trent	7:30 p.m.
September 19	Gustine	7:30 p.m.
September 26	at Santa Anna	7:30 p.m.
October 03	Rising Star	7:30 p.m.
October 10	at Cranfills Gap*	7 p.m.
October 17	OPEN
October 24	Oglesby*	7 p.m.
October 31	at Evant*	7 p.m.
November 07	Mullin*	7 p.m.