Frankston INDIANS
Setting The Bar
Frankston looks to build on historic undefeated season
Coming off the first undefeated regular season in school history, the Frankston Indians aren’ t sneakin’ up on anybody this year.
Head coach Paul Gould knows the bar has been raised, but as the Indians prepare for the 2026 campaign, the expectations inside the fieldhouse remain exactly the same: work hard, compete for a district title and make a deep postseason run.
Graduating a stellar senior class leaves massive shoes to fill on Friday nights, but a record-setting summer turnout in the weight room proves this roster is hungry to write its own history.
With multi-year starters moving on, the Indians are handing the keys to a group of hungry, capable talent ready to step into the spotlight.
Dallas Dezern takes the reins at quarterback. Serving as the backup last year, Dezern logged roughly six quarters of valuable varsity experience.
While it’ s always an open battle to get the best eleven on the field, Dezern holds a leg up in the competition due to his comfort with the system.
Michael Bryant is locked in as the primary running back after successfully splitting carries with Bo Donnell last season. Expect Michael to be a relentless two-way force, as he is also slated to anchor his outside linebacker spot on defense.
If you want to win championships in Texas high school football, you have to win the trenches. Fortunately for Frankston, Dave Campbell’ s Texas Football recognized two massive pieces of the Indians’ frontline by naming them preseason All-State selections.
On the offensive and defensive line, Chris Kovarik put together a dominant junior campaign on the offensive line and has spent his summer grinding in the strength and conditioning program. Look for him to be a foundational anchor on the O-line while rotating in to disrupt plays on the defensive front.
On the defensive line, junior Sircorvious Foster burst onto the scene as a sophomore, earning All-State honors at nose guard with a relentless motor, lightning quickness and shear strength.
The coaching staff is looking to maximize his versatility this year, keeping opposing offenses guessing by potentially tracking him back to play some linebacker.
The catalyst for last year’ s historic run was a complete buy-in on the defensive side of the ball. To replicate that success, Frankston will rely heavily on veteran linebacker Tucker Palmer.
A starter since his sophomore year, Palmer is the undisputed quarterback of the defense. While he isn’ t a loud, rah-rah speechmaker, his film study, formation recognition, and lead-by-example grit make him the ideal senior anchor in the middle of the gridiron.
“ If you want to move on and go deep into the playoffs and have a really good run, you have to play good defense,” Gould said.
When the UIL dropped the biennial realignment, it gave Frankston a bit of a head-scratcher. While holding onto familiar rivals like Cayuga and Kerens was expected, the Indians find themselves packed into a restructured district and sent back over to Region 3.
The schedule features unfamiliar road trips to face Hawkins, Alba and Como-Pickton— a team Gould admits he hasn’ t faced once in his coaching career.
“ I definitely didn’ t see Como being in our district,” Gould said.“ That was definitely a difference, you know, for sure. It was not necessarily what I was expecting. There’ s a lot of people that open that paper and start scratching their heads. We’ ll go with what they put us in and roll with it.”
Despite Frankston’ s 10-0 regular season, Dave Campbell’ s predicted them as the district runner-up behind a loaded Price Carlisle squad.
It’ s a prediction that provides plenty of billboard material, even if the team isn’ t paying it much mind.
“ My expectation for the season is that, you know, we’ re not going to lower our standards or lower what we expect out of our kids,” Gould said.“ I’ m excited to see how our kids are responding right now and we’ ll see when the season starts. I mean, their expectations haven’ t lowered either. They know we lost some really good football players but we got quite a few back. It’ s going to be exciting to watch those kids kind of fall into those spots and see what they can do. I’ m excited to see what’ s about to happen.”
2026 FRANKSTON INDIAN SCHEDULE
14 |
8-28- @ Winona 9-4- Beckville 9-11- Grapeland 9-18- @ Iola 9-25- @ Como-Pickton *
10-2- Alba-Golden ** 10-9- @ Kerens * 10-23- Cayuga * 10-30- @ Carlisle * 11-6- Hakwins *( Sr. Night)
* Denotes district games ** Denotes Homecoming
All games are scheduled for 7 p. m.