HS Football: What’s In Store for the Highlanders Without Major Pieces Throughout the Roster?

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- With multiple standout athletes departing for the Division One College Football ranks, the question surrounding The Woodlands Highlanders ahead of the 2024 season becomes, can they replicate their regularly expected success?

It’s no secret that The Woodlands Highlanders are one of the most consistent presences regarding the 13-6A standings. In practically every sport, the Highlanders and Lady Highlanders put their best foot forward and contend for district titles year in and year out.

But with regular contention comes the added harm that the best players on every Woodlands team have to leave at some point.

Such is the case with the players on the 2023 Highlander Football team, a squad that was littered with next-level talent from skill positions to the hard-hitters in the trenches.

The most prevalent loss for the team came at the game’s most important position, the quarterback. The 2023 District Offensive Player of the Year, Mabrey Mettauer, was an irreplaceable element of The Woodlands’ offense during their campaign that netted the team a runners-up spot in the district title race.

Mettauer’s innate ability to pepper defenses with accurate throws at any range paired nicely with a scrambling intuition to make every dropback a dangerous one. Opposing defenses struggled to prevent him from doing major damage, and the team’s near-perfect run through 13-6A is a testament to his work.

It was because of his stellar dual-threat ability that he was rewarded with a chance to heighten his skills at the University of Wisconsin. There he will surely make an impact on the Badgers, but his replacement will need to fill some big shoes in his absence.

The skill positions were also affected by key players graduating, as standouts like Aden Self, Patrick Rabel, and Perry Watkins, just to name a few, also graduated in May of 2024. Self is a particularly large loss for The Woodlands due to his dual-threat abilities as a reliable receiver and dependable presence in the backfield as a runner. His swiss-army-like abilities earned Self a spot on the 1st Team All-District Offense alongside Quanell Farrakhan Jr. who will also be missing from the 2024 roster due to transferring out.

Protecting these powerful weapons were the offensive linemen who also made their respective ways to the collegiate ranks. 1st Team O-Linemen Ryan Hughes, Koltin Sieracki, and Everett Champlin enabled Mettauer and the rest of the Highlander offense to succeed to their full capacity due to their limitless effort in the trenches.

Each of The Woodlands’ 1st Team linemen entered the collegiate ranks for Division One schools. Hughes at TCU, Sieracki at Baylor, and Champlin at Army will all provide contributions for their respective programs, but their subtraction from the Highlander front line leaves concerns that their replacements might not be up to snuff by comparison.

The losses continue to pile when switching to defense, where two linebackers made their names as two of the best in the entire district. Senior Captains, 1st Team All District Defenders, and defensive authority figures, Cayden Clayton and Caleb Phillips were a dynamic duo of a wrecking crew for opposing offenses.

Both Clayton and Phillips possessed the tools to provide coverage to their assignments while also being strong enough to put pressure on blitzes. Without them, there exists a large gap in the middle of the Highlander defense that needs to be filled considering the potent weapons that make up the rest of the 13-6A programs.

But with all of the missing pieces considered, many still believe that The Woodlands will do as they normally do.

The mantra of, “The Woodlands are the Woodlands, you can never count them out.” tends to ring true for good reason. Every season sees fresh faces make their way through the prestigious Highlander football program and emerge as some of the top players in the district.

With multiple programs losing large pieces on their rosters, it stands to reason that The Woodlands can seize an opportunity by catching their opponents off guard. The unseen faces that continually make a name for themselves through the Highlander program will be welcome additions to a 2024 Woodlands squad looking to reclaim their top spot in the district standings.