Countdown to kickoff: Granbury in for new look with new coach
Granbury
District 9-5A
Last season: 1-9 (1-6 in 8-5A)
Key players: QB Kyler Young (6-1, 180); RB/DB Michael Mulholland (5-8, 170); WR/DB Hunter Jones (5-11, 170); WR David Perras (6-0, 180); OL Raul Sandoval (6-0, 230); OL Daniel Shelton (6-5, 275); DE/LB Daniel Shelton (6-1, 185); LB Braeden Derouen (5-10, 175); ATH Zach Kitching (5-9, 170).
The big picture: Granbury has won 42 games in the past 12 seasons, including back-to-back 1-9 seasons. The Pirates formally hired new coach Chad Zschiesche (rhymes with cheezy) June 24 — replacing Scotty Pugh, who spent eight years at Granbury before moving to Orange Grove. Pugh took the program to four-consecutive playoff appearances from 2010-13, including a 9-2 season in 2013 and a second-place finish in district. Zschiesche previously was the offensive coordinator of Mansfield Summit, where he spent the past seven seasons. “I’m full of energy and very compassionate of kids. The staff is going to coach the kids hard, and we’ll hold a high standard for both the kids and coaches, but still look out for them and take care of them,” he said. Zschiesche briefly moved to Trophy Club Nelson in the spring as a member of former Summit coach Travis Pride’s staff after helping the Jaguars to five playoff trips in six years, including a 10-2 record last fall. As for this year’s Pirates, they return 13 starters, six on offense and seven on defense. Senior Michael Mulholland (second-team all-district) can do a little bit of everything on both sides of the ball, while senior Daniel Shelton and junior Raul Sandoval (second-team all-district) will open up holes and protect senior quarterback Kyler Young (1,817 passing, 721 rushing). That should help the Pirates score more (10.9 points per game in 2015). Defensively, Drake Sanders will start for a third year, while Bryce Gentry, David Perras, Caden Davis, Luis Hernandez and Hunter Jones all return with experience.
Quotable: “When I showed up, a good number of kids were working out. We could evaluate them only from a strength and conditioning standpoint, but I was impressed with their efforts and the upperclassman leadership, and the buy-in has been amazing from the team, school, community and administration, and it’s been a welcome change for them.” — Coach Chad Zschiesche
“The off-season has been a grind and we worked hard, and all the guys are excited about the new culture around the weight room and locker room. Coach Z brings high energy to our team, which we feed off day in and day out, while always holding us accountable and constantly preaching leadership to our team. You can expect a lot of players on our team to step up this season.” — QB Kyler Young
“This off-season has been a lot of learning to meet new expectations that Coach Z and [Sunny] Galindo have set for us. Everybody who has participated in our summer workouts has improved, and we have a better sense of unity than we have had in a long time. You can expect us to compete for the playoffs. Coach Z’s game plan is easy to buy into because he has passion for the game and he is the kind of coach you can really get behind and believe in.” — OL Daniel Shelton
“We are really working hard and improving tremendously. This new coaching staff will take us to new levels. All of us are buying in to Coach Z, and we know he will do what’s best for the team. I am really excited and looking forward to this season.” — RB/DB Michael Mulholland
Notable: Zschiesche spent the past decade at Summit and Wichita Falls High School and plans to run the spread offense. He also brings over two longtime mentors to his staff: Sunny Galindo (defensive coordinator), from Weatherford, and Matt Holly (offensive coordinator), from Keller Central.
This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Countdown to kickoff: Granbury in for new look with new coach."