FIGHT TO STAY HEALTHY

After being decimated by injuries in 2022, the Class 1A, DII Walnut Springs Hornets open season with numbers to compete for a six-man football playoff berth

Coming off back-to-back seasons without qualifying for the playoffs, the Walnut Springs Hornets find themselves in unfamiliar territory entering the 2023 Texas high school football season.

But after being devastated by injuries in what began as a promising season last year, the Hornets will open their campaign with a new battle cry – stay healthy.

“Our season depends on us staying healthy, which we have not been able to do the last two years losing key players to injury both years,” Walnut Springs veteran head coach Lonnie Flippen said. “We started the season with 14 players and finished with eight. We had numerous injuries that proved to be season-ending for a couple of athletes.

“But some of those kids are expected to return, and our numbers look to be better than last year. And if we can remain healthy, we should be competitive. Our seniors are very competitive and like to win. If their supporting cast steps up this could be and should be a very good year for the Hornets.”

Without question, the Hornets appear loaded to pack a punch with 11 returning lettermen, including all six offensive and all six defensive starters back on the field. Led by senior running back Diego Muniz, Walnut Springs will field four seniors – Adrian Chavez, Santos Pina and Luis Fraire – along with returning junior starters Jesse Lamb and Josue Ontiveros seeking some postseason action.

“We have several all-district players returning, and these young men will provide some of the necessary leadership that will be required in order to get our young kids ready to play,” Flippen said. “After having had their expectations fall apart last year, they’re hungry.

“We also have some incoming freshmen that have good size, but are totally lacking experience. If they mature throughout the season, they should provide a little extra depth. The kids that played important roles last year by filling spots for the injured kids should certainly be a plus with the experience that they gained by being thrown into the buzzsaw before some of them were ready.

“Our major weakness will be lack of depth. Even though our early numbers look good, most of those kids are young and inexperienced. We haven’t filled a junior high team in two years. If the young kids rise to the occasion and provide necessary depth, 2023 may be the Hornets’ best in several years.”

As the coaching dean of Bosque County, Flippen enters his 45th year in the coaching profession and his 35th season as a football coach. In the third year of his second stint at Walnut Springs, Flippen owns a 183-152-2 career head coaching record.

After the UIL realignment placed Walnut Springs in District 12-1A, Division II along with Bluff Dale, Cranfills Gap and Iredell in 2022, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine picked 18th-ranked Iredell as the pre-season district title favorite in 2023, followed by the 19th-ranked Bluff Dale Bobcats. But Flippen believes the Hornets have the manpower to challenge for a playoff berth.

“I always like to be considered in the playoff mix, but I have never enjoyed having the target on our back by being picked to finish number one,” Flippen said. “But Iredell has proven they deserve to be there at the start of this season. I can only hope that the Hornets will be ready to play the Dragons at the end of the season.

“It looks like we have been picked to finish in third place behind Iredell and Bluff Dale, but we catch both of these teams the last two games of the year, and a whole lot will happen from August to November. Folks better not overlook the Cranfills Gap Lions either. I think the district will be very competitive, and we’ll just have to wait and see if the Dave Campbell crystal ball is correct or not.

“We just have to remain healthy and mature as a team throughout the season. With our senior leadership, anything is possible. We just need to set our goals and work toward them as a team from August to November.”