DISTRICT 7-3A DII
No doubt about it
From Staff Reports
Head Coach: Randy Fulton
2019 record: 6-5
Last Playoff Appearance: 2019
FROST — Don’t doubt Frost’s Polar Bears.
Just don’t do it.
They’re getting ready for another run at the
playoffs at Frost, where they made their fourth
consecutive postseason appearance in 2019
— a season ravaged by injuries, bad luck and
some tough timing. Still, the Bears were still
standing when the playoffs began.
How did they get there?
GRIT
That’s the acronym written on the T-shirts
under the Bears’ jerseys, and it’s just one of
many of the innovative motivators coach
Randy Fulton uses to drive his team.
“GRIT stands for grind, resilient, intensity
and teamwork,” said Fulton, the former Frost
defensive coordinator who took over the team
at the last minute a year ago when head coach
Coy Barker left Frost in July.
Fulton didn’t just take over, he and his kids
overcame one obstacle after another, including
losing Ramon Manrriquez, one of the top
running backs and defensive players in this
part of the state, for the first three weeks of
the season. That loss and a 0-3 start might
have ended a lot of team’s season. But not at
Frost, where even after the team was hit with
several more injuries, the Polar Bears still
drove their way to the playoffs and showed up
in the postseason with just 16 players healthy
enough to get on the field.
Now they’re back, hungry and ready for a
run to a fifth straight berth in the playoffs.
Manrriquez, who rushed for almost 3,000
yards and 30 touchdowns in his first two
seasons in the Frost backfield and managed to
run for 868 yards in five games a year ago, is
more than ready to win in his senior year.
“We’ve got a different mentality this year,”
Manrriquez said. “We’ve got people who have
the same attitude — the right attitude. And
we’ve got great leadership from the seniors.”
Fulton believes if his kids can stay healthy
this could be a memorable season.
“This could be one of the strongest teams
we’ve had in years,” Fulton said. “This is a
group I was looking forward to back when
they were in junior high five years ago. We
have a lot coming back and we’re going to be
faster offensively. I like our offensive line and
we’ve got real good receivers. If we stay healthy
we could sneak in there at get that third spot
(in the district).”
The only reason Frost is looking at third is
because the top two teams in the district have
combined to win a truckload of state titles,
including Mart, the three-time defending 2A
DII state champ Bremond, which has won
multiple state titles as well. Texas Football
Magazine has Mart ranked No. 1 in its 2A
DII preseason state poll and Bremond ranked
No. 7 in the state. Mart tailback Roddrell
Freeman is the magazine’s choice as the 2020
Class 2A Coverboy.
“It’s a tough district,” Fulton said. “It is
what it is, but we would really like to get the
third spot to give us a better chance in the first
round of the playoffs”
Frost returns at least seven starters on
each side of the line, and Fulton believes new
junior quarterback Elijah Rios can step right
in and have an impact and sophomore Gabe
Townsend stepping in at fullback. Fulton is
counting on a strong offensive line led by
Joseph Pierson, Colton Sutton Tanner Patrick
and Jeffrey Watson, and an outstanding group
of receivers led by David Alvarado, Preston
Rasco, Korben Bowling, JD Hendricks and
tight end Landon Rudy..
“Our strength is in our skill kids at receiver,”
Fulton said. “Rios is big and athletic and he
can add to what we have, and we have kids
returning at receiver with experience. I think
our offense is a plus. Another plus is our new
offensive line coach Travis Kaddatz, who was
the coach at Texas Wind. He will be a bonus
for us and make our OL and DL better,”
And of course, there’s Manrriquez, who
also can dominate a game on defense in the
secondary and run punts and kickoffs back
for TDs. He can also nail a field goal. He is
a talented club soccer player who might play
soccer in college, and Fulton trusts him to win
a game with a field goal.
“He can kick them all day from 40 yards,”
Fulton said. “And he can onside kick like no
kid you have ever seen. He had four onside
kicks against Cayuga and we recovered all of
them.”
2019 SCHEDULE
Cayuga L 32 - 0
at Granger L 56 - 21
at Itasca L 46 - 18
Cross Roads W 51 - 30
Bartlett W 26 - 6
at Wortham* L 36 - 23
Hubbard* W 21 - 14
at Dawson* L 56 - 0
at Meridian* W 44 - 7
Mart* L 40 - 7
Grapeland** L 63 - 14
*District Game
2020 SCHEDULE
At Pasadena First
Baptist Christian Aug. 28
At Meridian Sept. 4
At Granger Sept. 11
Texas Wind Sept. 18
Evadale Sept. 25
Bye Week Oct. 2
Bremond * Oct. 9
At Wortham * Oct. 16
Mart * Oct. 23
At Chilton * Oct. 30
Hubbard * Nov. 6
*District Game
The Bears hope to be better defensively
with a group that will be led by Manrriquez,
Levi Fuller and safety Townsend in the secondary
and by Francisco Hernandez, Watson
and Pierson up front with linebackers Rasco,
Hendricks and Rios running everything down.
“I feel really good about this team. We just
need to stay healthy,” Fulton said.
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