Pigskin Preview: Stanton Buffaloes

Billy Rushing takes over as head coach of the Stanton Buffaloes, who are seeking their first winning season since 2013.
Published: Aug. 12, 2023 at 6:57 PM CDT

STANTON, Texas (KOSA) - Did you know there are 2,880 seconds in a high school football game? New Stanton head coach Billy Rushing does, and is teaching that to his team.

“We want to make sure that we are selling out for every second,” Rushing said. “We’re gonna fight every second. We want to make sure no matter where we are at in a game, that we’re fighting that second.”

Rushing spent the last 20 years working at Canyon High School. The 4A program has a history of excellence in many sports. So what compelled Rushing to leave all that for Stanton?

“Because this is one of the best places that you can be,” he said. “I’ve always dreamed of being a head coach and athletic director. These kids have done nothing but be great to me. They accept me. They continue to push. They want to be great and I’m hoping to help them do that.”

“It’s been good,” senior offensive lineman Alex Navarez said. “It’s a good change. I like him. He’s a good coach, a good person. I like who he is.”

Rushing served as Canyon’s offensive coordinator the last two seasons. He brings his system to the Buffaloes.

“We want to be a power offense,” Rushing said. “We’re gonna be spreading it out, but we want to run our quarterback. We’ve got a good running back, good quarterback. We want to run the ball. We want to set the tone with our offensive line. We want to make sure that people know that they played us.”

Stanton has been run-heavy on offense for several years, and will throw the ball more this season. The beneficiaries will be junior quarterback Jake Benedict, and receivers Bret Davis, Landry Cantu and Jahir Galindo.

“Oh it feels amazing,” Galindo said. “It’s what every receiver dreams of, being able to catch the ball instead of just running it all the time. Now that we throw it a lot, it’s way more fun.”

Stanton’s last winning season came back in 2013.

“Honestly, it’ll be hard,” Navarez said. “But I feel like we can make it. Just gotta keep working at it. I feel like we can get there.”

“We’re not gonna be afraid of talking about what it means to be a playoff team,” Rushing said. “We’ve got a great district, and we’re excited about that because we want competition. We’re not gonna back away from any of those people.”