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COAHOMA, Texas (KOSA) - After a 7-4 season and playoff appearance last year, Coahoma worked to be faster in 2023.

“We had a real good spring in track,” head coach Chris Joslin said. “We’ve got a lot of those kids coming back. Even our lineman are going to be a lot quicker than we have been. We’re going to try and use speed all over the field.”

Junior linebacker Jaidyn Vineyard is one of those speed guys. He’ll patrol the defense with senior Nick Tutle.

“Both of those guys have been on relays for us,” Joslin said. “It’s fun to have your linebackers that can run.”

“We’ve got Billy [Bailey] and Austin [Perkins] in the back so we know we’ve got our backs covered,” Vineyard said. “We’ve got Braiden Boaz back on the defensive line. I really feel like our defense is going to be lights out.”

Vineyard will also be the team’s lead running back.

“He’ll just plow through people if you let him,” Tutle said.

Joslin says the Bulldogs will throw the ball more often than usual, and have more of a balanced attack. Austin Perkins gives Coahoma a deep threat, while Billy Bailey can be used everywhere on the field. Sophomore Boyd Cox returns at quarterback after starting as a freshman.

“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the district, easily,” Vineyard said.

Speaking of that district, it’s one of the toughest in the area. Idalou, Abernathy and Lubbock Roosevelt have all made deep playoff runs in recent years, plus Stanton and Littlefield return most of their lineups.

“I feel like as soon as we get out of district we’re already prepared,” Vineyard said. “We’ve been through the tough battles and we’re ready to go to the playoffs.”