FALL CITY, Texas – Falls City High School quarterback Keyshawn Johnson and his team are looking to make it to the football state tournament this year after a disappointing loss in the final round of playoffs ended the team's season in 2017.
"Last year didn't go as we planned. We lost in the fourth round. We always expect to go to the state championship, so this year we're going to work extra hard and make sure we get past the fourth round," Johnson said.
Last season. Johnson passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for another near 1,000 head coach Britt Hart said.
"We're expecting big things from him," Hart said about Johnson. "His leadership has gotten a lot better. He didn't miss a day throughout the summer. We had a great 7-on-7."
Falls City 7-on-7 summer team qualified for the state 7-on-7 for the fourth year in a row.
Hart said the team had 90 percent of its players go to strength and conditioning and 7-on-7 practices.
"These guys are focused, and they know what they need to do," he said.
The Beavers' strengths this season lie with their defense, Hart said. The team has multiple players who weren't starters last year but still got valuable playing time.
Hart said those players will move up into the defensive positions this year and will overall make the team a lot stronger.
One team that is now on Falls City's radar is La Pryor. The team has been added into the mix of District 15-2A Division II, and Hart knows they will be a challenging team.
"La Pryor is going to one of those very tough games. They had a very good season last year," Hart said. "It's going to be our first district game, and coming off a bi-week, it's going to be a very exciting district opener."
According to Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Falls City is projected to finish first in the district, but the Beavers say they don't pay attention to the rankings.
"Falls City has a big tradition. Year in and year out ,we expect to be in the top 10," Hart said, "I try to veer away from the top 10 prospective as much as I can because we do have a hard schedule, and it's a possibility that we will have some very tough games this season. Our expectations are the same. We're trying to get to where we were last year and trying to move forward."
Even Johnson said they don't care what other people think of them.
"Last year, we were picked to lose in the third round by 20 points, and we beat them by 20 points," the 6-foot-1-inch-tall quarterback said.
The Beavers have the same expectations as last year, Hart said, except this time, they want to make it all the way.
Their journey begins at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 at Three Rivers.