2025 RECORD OVERALL RECORD: 1-9 DISTRICT RECORD: 1-5
Palestine WILDCATS
Joe Elerson
Sports Writer sports @ palestineherald. com
Palestine third year Head Football Coach James Reyes is ready for a turnaround in 2026.
Following a second straight season at 1-9 overall and 1-5 in District 9-4A play, he is hoping for a change to the new realignment.
“ This is by far to me the toughest district in 4A in the state of Texas,” Reyes said.“ When you have Kilgore in back-to-back state finals, Chapel Hill has been there two or three years ago and then Lindale made the state finalist. We usually have someone from this district is the state finals or semis every year. It is not easy week in and week out when you only have 10 seniors.”
The last playoff appearance for the Wildcats was the 2022 season and the second season in which youth played a factor for the Wildcats.
“ We knew again that we were going to be young,” Reyes said.“ In any Texas High School football team in any classification, especially in the 4A, 5A and 6A if you graduate 20 kids in two years you got problems. That has been our struggle is the shear numbers at the senior level that we have struggled with.”
In his 25 years as a head coach, Reyes said trying to figure out why 80 kids dropped from Palestine in the latest enrollment was surprising to him.
He said with that number, he is having to take players from the freshmen and junior varsity rosters to help out his varsity group.
“ That hurts your freshmen and JV teams because you are having to pull up your best players,” Reyes said.“ When you have 10 seniors back to back you are stealing from the JV.”
During the offseason, Reyes and the coaching staff will have to figure out how to replace two Division 1 athletes in S’ Vioarean Martin and Cason Applewhite. Martin is at Texas Tech while Applewhite is headed
to North Texas.
“ It is tough losing them two and Cason was one of our biggest vocal leaders,” Reyes said.“ He played full throttle all game. They will do great things moving forward and were great in the classroom.”
He also needs to find replacements for Don Brooks and Braylon Beckworth.
“ We have some underclassmen who played for us,” Reyes said.“ The last two or three games of the year we started eight to 10 guys who were underclassmen on the offensive side of the ball.”
Reyes said he hopes the new realignment and a change in the nondistrict schedule will help with confidence.
10 WINTER EDITION 2026