CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The London Pirates have a lot of returners to get excited about led by second year head coach Andy Smith. They're bringing back an arsenal of receivers like sideline slayer Maddox Jennings, but the main difference will be watching London compete in UIL 4A-DII for the first time in program history.
"Definitely excited about going up to 4A. Our offense we kind of had a good start in our first year with Coach (Andy) Smith. Just ready to learn more plays and more things to do in our offense."
London's receiver corps will be lead by juniors Jennings and Ryan Martinez and senior Zach Tyrone. They're helping out new quarterback Colton Wiseman, who already has a connection with them.
"He's one of my best friends and in eighth grade even when I didn't play football we'd still come out to the field and threw the ball. Kind of just built that connection all the way from eighth grade. I feel like he's really good in our system, so ready to see how that works."
The Pirates also return a strong running back corps. Last year Jake Castaneda led the charge with 502 yards and 7 touchdowns. He'll be one of many seniors on the roster.
"I mean with 15 seniors coming back we're all going to show that we're hungry and our passion for the game and we're just going to rub off on to the underclassmen."
London brings back nine starters on offense, but if you rotate in a few linemen then 11 total guys got plenty of varsity playing experience. They'll need the trenches to compete in their new division.
"4A football that's going to be kind of where we're going to be judged at. Can we compete with the linemen and up front. Really looking forward to that challenge as well."
Six starters return to the defensive lineup including two-way player Martinez. He's part of a skilled secondary.
"I definitely liked the aggressiveness that we had last year. We're definitely going to bring more this year. Definitely a lot more leaders are going to bring that passion."
The Pirates are projected to finish second in UIL District 16-4A Division II behind Rockport-Fulton. Their goal is to live up to the expectations and more.
"London expects championships and expects to compete for championships. Our expectations are really high here."
London kicks off the season at home against Orange Grove on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. This matchup ended the regular season last fall, and the Pirates won 38-35.
