Before 2014, Waskom’s claim to fame was being the last town on I-20 before entering Louisiana. However, back-to-back 3A state titles in 2014 and 2015 put the Wildcats firmly on the Texas high school football map.

Now coming off a 12-2 season and a run to the state semifinals, where it was narrowly ousted by Franklin 14-13, Waskom is back among the state title contenders and is ranked No. 4 in DCTF’s 3A Division II Preseason Rankings.

With expectations high in Waskom ahead of the 2021 season, TexasFootball.com was able to sit down and chat with Wildcats head coach Whitney Keeling to get his thoughts on his football team.

Q: Last year, your team made its first state semifinal appearance since its state title in 2015. How do you feel looking back on last season?

“I definitely think we overachieved. We were coming off of a 5-5 year that was very disappointing for us and our standards. We had a really good offseason. We never really knew how good we were going to be. We had a bunch of new starters and a freshman quarterback. Things kind of fell in place as the season progressed along. We lost our quarterback in the seventh game and our backup kid came in, Markus Gonzalez, and did an unbelievable job to win four playoffs games and to lose the one we did lose by a point. It was an incredible season.”

Q: What does football mean to the town of Waskom?

“Before we got here, I’m not sure that anybody had ever even heard of Waskom. It’s just the last town before you hit Louisiana. Over the last 11-12 years, we’ve revived it. Now, it’s the last-one-to-leave-turns-the-lights-off mentality, and they support us really well. We travel really well, so it’s definitely a football community. “

Q: Your Waskom football team runs the flexbone offense. Why do you believe that is the best offensive system for your program and what advantages does that give your football team against opposing defenses?

“We adopted it my second year here. I was coming from being a spread guy in my career. I came to Waskom and felt like that’s what I would run always. I realized real quick that we didn’t have any quarterback and any receivers, so I better adapt really quick, or I’ll be looking for another job. We had had some option principals in our packages, but I was always intrigued by the bowl games. Army and Navy would play somebody like Nebraska or South Carolina or somebody like that, and they would always compete with them. That was kind of my mentality was I wanted to learn a little bit more about it. I went up to Harding University to one of the guys who was basically the inventor of it, Kenny Wheaton, and he taught it to us. We’ve evolved over the last 11 years of what we do now, which we’re basically about as military academy as you can possibly get.”

The Waskom offense has plenty of promise heading into 2021. Sophomore quarterback Cole Watson is back from injury after earning the district’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year award for his play in the first five district contests. Fullback Tesean Hamilton (1,168 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns) and running back D.J. Feaster (1,205 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns) are also returning giving Waskom plenty of options in its flexbone attack.

Q: How is your offense shaping up this season and what players are you looking to play a key role?

“It always starts up front. We have every offensive lineman back but one, and we have a transfer kid from Atlanta. His dad is coming on staff with us, and he is a really good player. Obviously, having Cole back as the quarterback and a year older and a year stronger and bigger and of course, we have four or five running backs that we get the ball to, but the quarterback and the fullback, Tesean, are the two key role guys. And if they load the box, then you get it out wide to D.J., and D.J. is a really dynamic kid with the ball in his hands. That’s kind of the nature of the offense is. If they try to stop one thing, you should attack them with something else. That’s kind of the way that it runs. And if they really load it up, Cole is one of the only quarterbacks that we’ve had since I’ve been here that can raise up and throw it as well, so we’re pretty dynamic when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.”

And while Waskom’s flexbone offense could cause headaches for opposing teams, its defense is strong as well. The Wildcats allowed just over 14 points per game a year ago and have eight starters back this year.

Q:  What are your expectations for your defense and what players do you expect to lead the way for your team?

“We’ve got most of our guys coming back off the defensive side last year. We lost a couple of guys. Diego Smith was a freshman last year and came up and actually started all five of the playoff games and did a really good job at middle linebacker whenever we had to move Markus to quarterback. And then we have all of our secondary guys back: Zay Thomas, D.J. plays some on the defensive side, and Layton Luster. Then we pretty much have the entire defensive line back: Carter Watson, which is Cole’s older brother, and Bubba Coleman, who is the nose guard. We’re excited about the defense just as much as we’re excited about the offense.”

Last year in district play, Waskom was dominant in its five victories, winning by an average margin of 52 points. However, a 28-21 defeat to its archrival Elysian Fields denied the Wildcats a district title. And although Waskom got revenge by defeating Elysian Fields 44-41 in the regional final in the playoffs, the Wildcats will be aiming for their first district crown since 2018 this season.

Q: How are the showdown against Elysian Fields and your district as a whole shaping up this year?

“I think our district was really young last year. If you look through their rosters, there were a lot of guys that were really young.  I figure that they’ll be a lot more competitive this year without a shadow of a doubt. Us and Elysian Fields, it doesn’t matter if we’re not any good or they’re not any good, it’s always going to be a good game. Elysian Fields lost probably the best player in 3A, their quarterback Ryan Wilkerson. He was an unbelievable player for them. Them having to replace him is going to be a struggle, but when we play them, it’s not going to matter. It’ll be a war.”

Q: After a state semifinal run last year and with so many starters returning, what are your goals and expectations for this season?

“The number one thing is that you got to stay healthy. In small schools, that is the key. If you end up losing a couple of key guys to injury, your season can go from really good to really bad really fast. That is the number one goal. Number two is we always want to compete for a district championship, that’s been in our mindset. And after that, you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. We won a playoff game last year stopping a team on a two-point conversion [a 28-27 victory over Daingerfield], we kicked a field goal with no time left on the clock to win a playoff game [Jose Meza converted a 37-yard field goal in the waning seconds in the 44-41 win over Elysian Fields last year], so there is a lot of things that go into it: ball has to bounce your way, can’t have turnovers, bad calls, and all kinds of stuff. I never look too far ahead in the future. I’m excited about the season, and I know our kids are excited about it. I look forward to it for sure.”

Waskom will open its season when it travels to take on Garrison on August 27. Its most highly anticipated game, however, won’t happen until October 29 when the Wildcats host Elysian Fields in their annual rivalry showdown. And while that game could decide the district title, Waskom will surely have the goal of a bigger title on its mind in 2021 with plenty of talent retuning from last year’s state semifinal side.