The cleats have been hung up and the final whistle has been blown for the fall 2024-2025 Javelina football team which saw a third consecutive seven-win season and third place finish in the Lone Star Conference (LSC).
Fans at Javelina Stadium saw the Javelinas start the season at home and finish at home with each game ending on different sides of the win-loss column.
To begin the year, the Javelinas took a close loss 13-16 against Colorado Mesa which was followed up by a Week 2 bye and two back-to-back away games that prompted a trip to Mississippi and Midland, Texas.
However, the early woes of a long season were punted away when the Javelinas went on to win four straight following Week 1, in which the Javelinas put up 56 and 40 points against conference opponents at home.
Unfortunately, the Javelinas would get back on the road and lose to rival school Angelo State and come home and lose to the No. 8 team in the country, Central Washington.
This would be the last time the Javelinas would lose back-to-back games because former Head Coach turned Executive Athletic Director Michael Salinas hasn’t lost three games in a row in two years.
The Javelinas would finish out the year 3-1 and shut down the best rushing offense in the LSC, Eastern New Mexico, 28-13 on senior night for the final game.
With a successful season like the one this fall, accolades were sure to be given to the hardworking Javelinas which saw 14 All-Conference Honorable Mentions in the LSC.
The Javelinas also saw three athletes Teague Sedtal, Luke Schaffer and Demarcus Hendricks win LSC player of the week.
Hendricks was the only junior team captain this year which set him up to be a vocal leader and be a problem for opposing offenses.
“It’s not easy being a captain because everybody relies on you to keep your head high and do good things on and off the field. It wasn’t easy, but it was actually good, and it was fun being selected, basically showing respect from my teammates and coaches as well,” Hendricks said.
Hendricks was second in the LSC in individual tackles for loss and in sacks and was also named First Team All-Conference.
Hendricks was also a huge part in helping the Javelinas rank third in sacks and second in forced fumbles which ranked the Javelina defense fourth in the LSC overall.
“It was fun having fun out there. But honestly, I wanted to do more. Of course, I wanted to be better on the field for my team. I wish I could have done more, but I’m always thankful and grateful for the opportunity. My coach does a great job putting me in good positions to make plays. So, I just use the system that he put off for us, for the defense, and I took advantage of it,” Hendricks said.
This dominant defensive play couldn’t have been possible without defensive coordinator Jameson Bisch.
“We had our struggles this season. We had a couple games where we didn’t play our best defense. But overall, if you look at the whole body and the 11 games, we played pretty solid defense. We gave up just under 19 points a game, which is the best we’ve had here at Kingsville since 2010. We were number one in rushing defense as far as yards per rush go. We were number two in overall rushing yardage and we were number one in red zone defense,” Bisch said
Bisch was also adamant on how his players strived to be the best and without them the defense would not have been as successful.
“All the accolades are a testament to our players. Believe it or not, it doesn’t really matter what you do on defense. As long as you play really hard, you emphasize fundamentals, taking the ball away, and they did that so that to me was why we were a solid defense here in the Lone Star Conference,” Bisch said.
Along with coaching the defense, Bisch has recently been named Interim Head Coach after Head Coach Salinas was named Executive Athletic Director.
“I would love to be the guy to carry it to the next level for him (Salinas) and so being selected for that meant a lot. It shows there’s a lot of trust in me, a lot of honor, and a lot of belief in me. Hopefully I can get the job but if they go a different route by all means, obviously, I want what’s best for this place and we’ll keep rolling, but I certainly would love the opportunity to do it,” Bisch said.
With such a good defense, the offense was free to run and pass the way they wanted but, the Javelinas did see three quarterback changes throughout the year.
With a change in quarterback, it was hard for a major pass game to get going; however, a big bright spot on the offense was graduate senior Jackson Allen, who was also a team captain.
“I think everybody responded very well to some of the diversity that we faced. I also think everyone grew as individuals and players,” Allen said.
The Javelinas had to ride the highs and lows of a season that showed how resilient the Javelinas can be. With a lot of younger players seeing playing time, athletes finishing their final years for the Javelinas and a possible head coaching change, next Fall is sure to bring a new atmosphere to Javelina Nation.
