By Craig Holamon
sports@mineralwellsindex.com

WACO — The Mineral Wells High School Rams are in for another long football season, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

The annual publication, which began covering Texas high school football 48 years ago, covers an amazing 1,300 Texas high school football teams.

The publication picks the Rams football squad to finish in sixth place in the eight-team District 6-4A football race in 2008.

A youthful football team Mineral Wells High School will open the new season in a new stadium as well as in a district after a move from District 8-4A.

The Rams opened the 2007 season with a win over a playoff team from Springtown High School and then last nine consecutive football games.

Teams from Springtown and Saginaw High School are picked to finish behind Mineral Wells in the district race.

This summer’s Texas Football picks Springtown to finish in last place in this year’s district race.

The Saginaw High School Roughriders are picked to finish behind the Rams in seventh place.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Texas Football picked the Aledo Bearcats to win the district title.

The rest of the publication’s District’s 6-4A predictions appear to be little more than guess-work.

It picks the Azle Hornets, an 0-10 team in 2007 with four offensive and four defensive returning starters to finish in second place.

The Birdville Hawks are picked third.

The Hawks were 8-2 last year but lost 21 lettermen to graduation and have just 11 returning lettermen.

The Saginaw Boswell Pioneers had a 2-6 district record last year and an overall record of 4-6.

The Pioneers are picked to finish in fourth place in league play.

The Pioneers lost just five lettermen to graduation and have 23 returning lettermen, including six offensive and six defensive returning starters.

The Brewer Bears, another team that had a 1-9 season record and were 1-5 in district play, are picked to finish in fifth place ahead of Mineral Wells.

Mineral Wells is clearly a darkhorse in the district race.

Mineral Wells head football coach David Bourquin lost 26 lettermen to graduation and is counting on a group of just eight returning lettermen to lead his team.

Bourquin also told Texas Football his team has a lot more team speed.

He said lightning-fast halfback Moses Menchaca, who has 4.4 40 speed, and quarterback Tanner Tuggle could help turn his team around.

Bourquin also said he is counting on a talented group of underclassmen to make his team better.

Defensive back Dylan Bowen, who had 91 tackles and three pass interceptions, came into his own last year and is another player Mineral Wells is counting on.

Other prospects from Mineral Wells are defensive tackle Eddie Davila, offensive tackle Zach Peacock and center Shawn Hopkins,, according to he Rams head football coach.

Notes ... Bourquin, who played his high school football at Dallas Carter and played for the Houston University Cougars, is set to enter his 36th season as a head football coach.

Summer conditioning

program set to start

Mineral Wells High School Head Football Coach David Bourquin is ready to start a summer conditioning program .

Bourquin announced the schedule for the program last week

The MWHS head football coach explained the summer conditioning program schedule by saying, “”The summer conditioning program for high school athletes will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. four days per week.”

The third-season Mineral Wells High School head football coach also noted that the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) will regulate the school’s conditioning program’s schedule.

“The UIL only allows the conditioning program to be conducted on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” Bourquin said. ”The UIL will also only allow us to go two hours per day.”

The coach said the program will be held in the school’s weight room as well as on the football field.

“We will workout starting in the weight room and then go to the field. The ninth graders can workout at the high school,” the coach commented. “They (the ninth graders) can continue to workout in the junior high school weight room during the summer.”

Two-a-days at Mineral Wells High School start Aug. 11 at 8 a.m. “We will workout at 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.,” Bourquin said.

“Our only scrimmage will be in Mineral Wells against Burkburnett on Aug. 22,” Bourquin said.