When the 2024 high school football season for the Gans Grizzlies got started Aug. 29, a new coach is now at the helm.
Former Muldrow assistant coach Gary Hixon is stepping in as his predecessor, Gans High School Athletic Director Brian Morton, stepped away from being on the gridiron.
The new Gans coach said there is enthusiasm abound, which is good after the Grizzlies endured a 2-8 season in 2023.
“l’m excited,” Hixon said. “Our kids are excited. We’re looking forward to (the new season). They’re just chomping at the bit. We’re trying to fight through the injury bug to see exactly what we’re doing. We (coaching staff) wished we’d been here early enough for spring ball to really evaluate our kids. We might be a little behind, but we are making progress.”
One of the biggest tasks Hixon has had is to find his new team’s quarterback.
“Trying to replace our quarterback from last year (Hunter Walters, who graduated last May) has not been fun,” Hixon said. “We’ve had three candidates step up. Caiden Kennedy has really taken the reins in his last year here. I’m proud of what he’s doing. We’ve got a couple of freshmen, Jasper Green and Austin Hines. Both of them are new to the system. Jasper was here last year. Austin was at Marble City. They both learning as they go. All (three) of them are doing very well.”
There’s one key returner among the running backs for the Grizzlies.
“We have Anthony Vasquez,” Hixon said. “He returns from last year. He started as a freshman on defense. He got a limited number of snaps on offense. He’s been looking good. Taeshawn Achan has been beat up for us. He had surgery in the spring and has not quite recovered from that yet. When he does (recover), he’s very fast and can get to the outside for us.”
Hixon likes his receiving corps.
“Some of the receivers we’ve been playing are Lucas Flute, Harley Strahm and Christian Gaona,” Hixon said. “Lucas is also a running back, but he plays at the slot (receiver position) when we have a slot (receiver). Harley is a junior and played last year, but he’s shown a lot this year. He’ll be outside. Christian is trying to learn everything, but he’s got pretty good hands.”
The Grizzlies, who have dropped their first two games by identical 50-0 scores to Keota on Aug. 29 and last Friday night to Oaks, should have a pretty good set of offensive linemen.
“We have a senior Brenden Strickland,” Hixon said. “He goes by ‘Boots.’ He’s a three-year letterman. He’s been doing very well. We have him at center, but we kind of need him at guard. Preston Bennett returns from last year as well. He’s a sophomore. He’s grasping everything we’re trying to give him. After that, it’s a mystery. We have Leland Locust, Fletcher Owens and another freshman, Hunter Kelly. Hunter has to grow up to be able to play that position (offensive line). Leland has dropped some weight and is looking better.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Grizzlies should be in pretty good shape there.
“For me right now, it will be a mixture of Leland Locust and Brenden Strickland,” Hixon said. “They’ll probably start out at it, with Hunter Kelly and Preston Bennett spelling them from time to time.”
The same can be said about the Gans linebackers.
“We have Austin Hines as an outside linebacker,” Hixon siad. “Jasper Green is also an outside linebacker. Anthony Vasquez is a linebacker. Taeshawn Achan and Caiden Kennedy can also play that position.”
As for defensive backs, the top three candidates likely will be Flute, Gaona and Jaxon Ragsdale.
“We’ve switched our defense a little bit,” Hixon siad. “Instead of going with a traditional 3-2 look, we’re going to go to a 2-3 type of look so we can get our outside athletes out there on the perimeter.”
