2017 was a wild and crazy season for the Vidor Pirates. All but two of the coaches lost their homes and 75 to 80% of the players were affected by flooding from Harvey. Even after the Pirates made the playoffs many of them were separated from their families because of the storm. Head Coach Jeff Mathews said it was the weirdest season he can recall and much of it is still just a blur.
Now it is this year and Mathews has some strong returnees for Vidor on offense. It starts with Grant Johnson who is a three-year starter at tight end. Devin Nixon returns at guard where he was all-district.
Robert Richard started last season and is back in the offensive line. Brad Nunez, Zach Dahlenburg, and Kelby Odom are all returnees in the Vidor backfield. Taking over at quarterback is Gage Galloway who is in a new position after starting on defense last year. The Pirates have eight starters back on offense. Mathews believes, “That should be our strength until our defense catches up.”
The Pirates’ defense, as Mathews points out, does not have the experience coming back that the offense does. There are five starters back on defense. Joseph Harris is a great football player and is back as a starter. Ian Wooten, Tanner Mitchell, Dayton Claybrook, and Mason Brown were all regulars for Vidor. “We’ve got some young kids that are going to have to grow up in a hurry,” Mathews advises.
Coach Mathews will look for some young Pirates to take over starting positions on defense for Vidor. Bryce Bowman is expected to move from being a backup quarterback to a starter at cornerback. Colton Trahan will be the other corner. Erik Hauver has switched from linebacker to free safety and has had a good fall camp.
Harris Petrie will try to fill the big shoes of Tony Ciccio who graduated last year at defensive end. Petrie has done well in workouts and the first scrimmage. Zach Seigrist is another youngster who has stepped up at linebacker during the preparation for the regular season. “We have some good kids coming up,” Mathews analyzed.
The Vidor Pirates scrimmages the West Orange-Stark Mustangs as a final tune up. Mathews believes his Pirates will benefit from playing a quality team like the Mustangs before the regular season kicks off in a week. The coach is looking for players that are not afraid to play against a team the caliber of West Orange-Stark. It is an opportunity for the Pirates to see the kind of speed the Mustangs possess in preparation for similar opponents in their district. Mathews stated, “It’s a great scrimmage for us.”
Vidor now has the smallest enrollment of any school in their district. Coach Mathews does not think that will prohibit the Pirates from being a strong competitor in every game. He is looking for improvement not just every week in the games, but every practice. The coaches are not mistaking activity for accomplishment and just because the players are out there does not mean they are getting better. Mathews wants his coaches to strive to have the players improve on two things each week.
The season starts in a week with Montgomery and then an open week before two more non-district games. “We’ve got five weeks to get ready for Crosby who’s arguably the best team in the district, them and Port Neches. We’ve got to improve a lot in five weeks and hopefully we’ll be a lot more mature defensively and a lot more mature offensively and we’ll be able to go out there and punch Crosby in the mouth,” Mathews concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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