(South Padre Island, Texas)-Rio Grande Valley High School Football Coaches and Coastal Bend area coaches will be also honored at the first annual High School Sports Magazine’s Football Coaching Convention on March 29-30th at the South Padre Island Convention Center. HSSM will also name the HSSM All-South Texas Football Coach of the Year.
Attending the 2024 High School Sports Magazine Football Coaching Convention presented by DHR Doctors Hospital and McDonald’s will be featured guest speaker, all-time NFL Rushing leader and NFL Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith, along with 11x Pro Bowler of the Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten, and current Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator, Dan Quinn. “This is our first HSSM HS Football Coaching Conference featuring top NFL athletes and coaches,” says HSSM Publisher, David “Tddave” Amador. “This conference is open to all high school and middle school coaches and we will also limit Dallas Cowboys fan tickets too, for this two-day event.” The event is being sponsored by Hellas Construction, DHR Hospitals, McDonald’s of the Rio Grande Valley, Hyundai of Pharr, ACE Sports/Digital Scoreboards, T9 Sports of Port Isabel, GameBreaker, Jason’s Deli, and more!
The 2023 honorees includes in Class 16-2A Division I, Danny Perez from La Villa High school (9-3, 5-0), who has now won three-straight undefeated district titles with the Cardinals and in 2023, Perez led his Cardinals to the area playoffs before falling to Weimar 28-6.
In Class 16-3A Division I, San Diego HS head football coach Bo Ochoa captured the outright district title with a 5-0 record before falling to 15-3A DI Corpus Christi London 35-28. He was named HSSM Coach of the Year in 16-3A Division I after winning back-to-back titles.
Moving over to Class 16-3A Division II, Armando Huerta from Odem High School won the district title with a perfect 6-0 record and led the Owls to the second round before losing to Lexington 48-7. It was a big turn around from 2022 when his team went 1-9 overall after posting a 11-1 record and capturing the outright title in 2021. He was named HSSM Coach of the Year in 16-3A DII.
In Class 16-4A Division I, the Alice Coyotes and first-year head coach Joe Richard Castellano captured the outright title with a perfect 6-0 record and finished its season with a 10-2 overall record. In the playoffs, the Coyotes defeated Rockport-Fulton 64-14, Lampasas 49-35, and lost to Port Lavaca-Calhoun in the third round of the UIL State 4A DI Regional finals, 27-14. The District 15-5A DI co-champions, Port Lavaca Calhoun Sand Crabs and head coach Richard Whitaker from 15-5A DI will also be honored after leading his team to the UIL State 4A Division I Quarterfinals in 2023.
In Class 16-4A Division II, Port Isabel HS head football coach Tony Villarreal won his second straight district title and advanced to back-to-back area championships before losing to Navarro 29-13. Villarreal is the second-winningest active Hispanic coach in Texas with 228 wins. “This is a great event coming,” says Villarreal. “Talking about 228 wins, Wow. We had four playoff wins by ties back in those days. That’s how you advanced in the playoffs back then.”
Also being honored will be Michael Troutman from Sinton HS. He led his Pirates to the District 15-4A Division I title and lost in the 2023 UIL State 4A DII Quarterfinals to Wimberely 38-13. The Texans lost to Bellville in the semifinals 35-33. “I am honored to receive this award from High School Sports Magazine. Watching these coaches and players go through practices every year, means a lot to me. It’s tough. But, these achievements I give to my team. See you at South Padre island,” said Troutman.
Moving over to Class 16-5A Division I, first-year head football coach JC Ramirez from Brownsville Veterans Memorial High School (12-3, 6-0) led his Chargers to the University Interscholastic League’s State 5A DI Semifinals for the first time in school history. The Chargers posted playoff wins over McAllen 55-21, Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial 17-7, PSJA North 45-28, Corpus Christi Miller 35-28, before ending its season against Smithson Valley 49-21 in the state semifinals. “I am humbled by this award. The credit goes to my team of coaches and players,” said Ramirez. In Class 15-5A Division I, Marcus Kaufmann from PSJA North captured his second straight district title and led the Raiders to the State 5A Division I Regional finals before falling Brownsville Veterans. Also being awarded will be Corpus Christi Miller, head football coach Justen Evans after capturing the outright 14-5A DI title and led his Buccaneers to the State 5A Division I Quarterfinals in 2023. He will also be honored for his playoff run. “I owe this achievement to my staff and players this season,” said Evans.
In Class 5A DII, the 15-5A DII champions, Flour Bluff Hornets advanced to the UIL State Regional Finals before losing to Liberty Hill 49-28 under head coach Chris Steinbruck. He is the winningest head football coach at Flour Bluff with 103 wins. Last season, the Hornets met Liberty Hill in the quarterfinals, losing 63-43. In 2021, the Hornets lost in the semifinals to eventual state champions, Katy Paetow. “I’m excited with this award from High School Sports Magazine,” said Steinbruck.
From 16-5A DII, three Rio Grande Valley teams tied for first place to capture HSSM Coach of the Year honors. Sharyland Pioneer head coach Eddie Galindo, Roma HS head coach Frank Villanueva, and Dave Gilpin from Mission Veterans, will all be honored this year’s HSSM Football Coaching Convention. Gilpin also eclipses the 100th-career in 2023. He now has 107 career wins.
In Class 6A, PSJA HS head football coach Lupe Rodriguez led his Bears (8-4) to eight straight wins after starting of the season at 0-3, to capture the outright District 31-6A title with a perfect 5-0 district record. In the 6A Division I playoffs, the Bears defeated Los Fresnos 35-7 to win their first bi-district under Rodriguez and lost to San Antonio Brennan 36-14 in the area finals to end their season. “I Want to thank High School Sports Magazine for this award,” said Rodriguez. “We had a great comeback season.” The Weslaco Panthers and head coach, Roy Stroman captured the outright District 32-6A title with a perfect 10-0 season. The Panthers lost to SA Jay in the Class 6A DII Area finals. “I have to give thanks to my staff and players this season. We went 10-0 for the season and won a bi-district title. I also want to thank High School Sports Magazine for this award,” said Stroman. Also making a 6A Division I playoff run was the 30-6A Champions, head coach David Sanchez and his Laredo United Longhorns. United defeated SA Taft 35-28, San Benito 58-42, before losing to Austin Westlake 59-14 in the regional championships. He now leads the Texas amongst all-time wins as a Hispanic head football coach with 232 wins. All 6A coaches named will be honored at this year’s HSSM Football Coaching Convention.
