VYPE PREVIEW -- District 24-4A

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By Ahmard Vital

Dawson

Friendswood

Texas City

Memorial

Baytown Lee

Galena Park

Galveston Ball

Santa Fe

THE GAMERS

Amanti Foreman, Texas City, WR

It will be interesting to see how Amanti Foreman will be used in Texas City's new offense. With new coach Leland Surovik, Foreman should be the go-to receiver for quarterback Andrew Allen. He's only gotten bigger and stronger to build on last season.

Tony Upchurch, Dawson, WR

Tony Upchurch is a dual-sport athlete who also excels in basketball. He uses his hoop skills to get position for jump balls and gets himself in position to post up smaller defenders. On the basketball court, he uses his physical nature to get to the basket.

James White, Dawson, RB 

James White will need a break-out season for Dawson to return to a state championship appearance. The 6-foot-1 White is a huge talent with great size, but hasn't had to carry a team yet. Now a senior, White will be asked to move the pile and pile up stats for the Eagles.

THE INTEL

Despite losing over 40 varsity players to graduation, Dawson is still the likely front-runner to take the district. For the past couple of years, Manvel (which moved to Class 5A) and La Marque (which dropped to Class 3A) have been the programs that have challenged the Eagles for the district, but neither is conference foe. Coach Eric Wells and his staff have built the foundation for success in six years.

"Our kids have worked hard to do what it takes to win ever since Dawson opened," Wells said. "The kids coming up know have bought in and we are building tradition."

Several key players have moved on to the college ranks, but a number of great players return. For one, running back James White is back after 1,840 yards and 23 touchdowns. White committed to Texas A&M this past off-season. Another major offensive weapon is junior wide receiver Tony Upchurch, who is a legitimate Division I prospect who caught 40 passes for nearly 800 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, linebacker Cody Casey leads the team with 120 tackles and an interception.

Though it was long and successful, the Steve Van Meter era is over at Friendswood. But lucky for the Mustangs, Robert Koopman will take over after a long stint on the staff. Despite the nine starters coming back, Friendswood is quite young. The success of the Mustangs will likely go through the hands of Jordan Wood, a player Koopman is expecting to be the pulse of the team. Wood was responsible for close to 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago.

Offensively, Texas City has a ton of experience returning with quarterback Andrew Allen, running back D’Onta Foreman and wide receiver Armanti Foreman in the starting rotation. Allen started every game last season and threw for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns while Foreman ran for over 800 yards and 10 touchdowns. Foreman also caught over 40 passes for 900 yards. The Stingarees will have something new for 2012 as coach Leland Surovik has taken over in his first season at Texas City.

Memorial made all of its wins count last season winning four district games and landing a spot in the playoffs. Moving forward, 13 starters are back in hopes of matching or surpassing last year’s success. It helps that a two-year starting quarterback in Deandre Durden is back after a season recording close to 1,600 yards of offense. He will have playmaker Seandre Alexander back as the go-to guy in the passing game.

Injuries, according to Baytown Lee coach Marvin Sedberry, were a huge factor in the 4-6 finish in 2011, which left the Ganders out of the postseason last year. On top of that, this is the first class of players who have gone through the program under Sedberry. That should play a huge role in landing one of the four spots in 2012.

Quarterback Darrow Adams was good for 2,213 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2011 for Galena Park. He is poised for a huge season for the Yellow Jackets.

Things can only get better for a Galveston Ball after going winless in 2011. The strength of the Tors looks to be on the defensive side, led by linebacker Ario Holman.

Seventeen players are back on a Santa Fe team that finished 3-7 last year. The Indians are looking to grab one of those playoff spots in 2012.