The 2014 football season came to an end last Saturday as the Longhorns were defeated by Temple High School by a score of 28-14. The loss was not to damper the impressive season as the Longhorns finished with a 12-2 record, repeating as district champions, and advancing to the state quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

Before the season started, the team had its eyes set on bigger things than last year’s disappointing loss to Brenham in the quarterfinal round. The Longhorns faced a tough non-district schedule, including 6A powers such as Pearland Dawson and Friendswood, as well as a game against a team from Mexico; finishing 4-1 through non-district play, with a narrow defeat to Friendswood.  “We grew with that loss, it taught us to stay humble and continue to work hard,” said Arian Torres.  It   helped mature the players as well as prepare them for tough situations and the playoffs.

The Longhorns hit district play in stride and tore through all their opponents, scoring an average of 39.2 points per game, while only giving up 16.8 points to opponents. Opening up district play with infamous cross-town rival Foster, set the stage for a great round of district play for George Ranch. Cameron Brooks commented about playing through district, “After the Foster game we knew we had to keep working. District had just started and we were focused on a district title and playoffs.” The other teams stood no chance as the Longhorns completed their second consecutive undefeated district season. The Longhorns would go on to beat Fort Bend Elkins, Kingwood Park, and Bryan, before falling too Temple in the fourth round of playoffs.

George Ranch racked up an average of 457 yards per game and led the district in total rushing yards with 3,578 yards. The Longhorns had the district’s leading rusher in Darius Anderson (1248 yards, 8.43 YPC, 10 TDs), and Xavian Marks finished third in rushing (1006  yards, 12.12 YPC, 15 TDs). Timon Nolan finished second in passing (922 yards, 8 TDs) and thirteenth in rushing (613 yards, 6.52 YPC, 15 TDs).

Congratulations to the Longhorns on terrific season.