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By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports
Write it in stone: The Red Oak Hawks will be in the postseason.
Rarely has there been a turnaround in Texas high school athletics — let alone football — like what the Red Oak Hawks experienced under year one of head coach Chris Ross.
There is absolutely no reason to not expect the Hawks to repeat their 9-1 regular-season record, either.
The Hawks bowed out of the bi-district playoffs against Midlothian to finish 2018 with as an impressive 9-2 as Texas high school football has seen in quite some time. And, for a program that was formerly in a constant state of turnover, Red Oak returns 33 of its 52 players from last year’s squad.
To make the outlook for 2019 even sweeter — the Hawks bring back eight starters on each side of the football.
The success of the offense will be tied to junior quarterback Josh Ervin. The 6-foot, 220-pound signal caller certainly looks the part on the field and will benefit from the return of running back CJ Palmer (783 yards, 17 touchdowns), wide receiver Marcus Badgett and 6-foot-6, 305-pound offensive tackle Jaylon Washington.
Ervin tossed for 420 yards and six touchdowns in limited action as a sophomore.
Kevaris Hall, a three-star cornerback committed to Tulane, will lead the Hawks stingy and athletic defense. The group will also receive a boost from 2018 leading tackler Ameer Muhammad and defensive, defensive end Chris Sanchez and defensive back Darius Jackson.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football ranked Red Oak 17th in its 5A Division II poll ahead of the 2019 season. The Hawks sit behind 16th-ranked Ennis and just ahead of 23rd-ranked Midlothian in a class led by No. 1 Aledo, No. 2 Fort Bend Marshall and No. 3 Corpus Christi Calallen.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football predicts District 6-5A Division II to finish:
- South Oak Cliff
- Red Oak
- Dallas Kimball
- Dallas Seagoville
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- Dallas Spruce
- Dallas Adamson
- Dallas Conrad
- Dallas Jefferson
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Travis M. Smith, @Travis5mith
tsmith@kbec.com
