By Jason McDaniel
Chronicle correspondent
Sam Rayburn coach Chris Bussey has done all he can to prepare his incoming seniors to take advantage of the opportunity they have to make the playoffs in a downsized District 22-5A this season.
Now it’s up to them — a group of 34 players who’ve been with Bussey since the start of his tenure — to step up.
“It’s a great feeling to have so many seniors,” Bussey said. “That’s the leadership that we’re looking for because these kids when I took over were freshmen, so they don’t know any different.
“They know how we practice, how we do things, what the requirements are going to be and the mentality and toughness it’s going to take to play for us, and that’s a good thing.
“Now, that doesn’t offset the fact that the teams we play are really good and probably are going to have better talent than we will, or that they are coached as good as or better than we are.”
It does place the Texans further along in their quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Bussey says they weren’t far behind last year, when several close games slipped away in the fourth quarter.
His solution was a greater offseason commitment to preparing players for two-way duty to compensate for their lack of depth, which can always be a problem for Class 5A teams late in games.
Rayburn’s top ironman may be Ben Montes, a first-team all-district left tackle who saw spot duty on defense last season but likely will start on both sides this season. He plays end on defense.
Bussey says he’s a key ingredient for the Texans to have success because he’s physical, has a great motor and is a solid leader for both units.
“We’re going to have to keep him healthy, we’re going to have to be smart as coaches and watch, make sure we’re not working him too hard and that he’s ready for game night,” Bussey said.
Montes’ primary role will be protecting third-year starting quarterback Agustin Velasquez, who Bussey expects will showed marked improvement, especially in touchdown to interception ratio.
The versatile QB rushed for 725 yards last season but threw just five TDs to nine picks.
“Our offense is extremely quarterback-based,” Bussey said. “We’re a gun-read team, so in any of our run game he has to know exactly who we’re reading and what decisions have to be made on any given play.
“In the passing game we try to keep it a little more simple for him — line-of-sight reads, high-low reads, not a whole lot conceptual-type stuff.”
Bussey says several players are capable of contributing in the backfield alongside Velasquez, including seniors Victor Longoria and Jesus Mendoza and junior Manuel Tarrango, a JV back last year.
Mendoza also is the team’s kicker and Longoria may see more time at free safety this season.
“(Longoria) is a hard-nosed runner,” Bussey said. “He’s not the fastest of the three but he runs very hard and he’s probably been in that position the longest because he’s a senior.”
Wide receiver Freddy Sevilla is coming off a stellar 7-on-7 season this summer. While he may see time at cornerback, Bussey says its essential Sevilla gets the ball 10 to 15 times per game on offense.
“He’s probably the best athlete we have as far as just natural, God-given ability,” Bussey said.
The defense features middle linebacker Ivan Jimenez, who’s returning to run the Texans’ 4-3 system, and DE Miguel Hinojosa, who will start opposite Montes and possibly see more time on the OL.
They’ll be at the forefront of Bussey’s plans when the Texans open fall practice Aug. 9.
“Our league, for whatever reason, has some pretty good offensive teams, and it’s going to come down who puts the defense out there that stops them, so we’re going to have a hard-nosed, defensive-minded start to camp,” he said.
With a little luck and a lot of hard work, that will push Rayburn back into the playoffs after more than a decade, thanks in part to the departure of Pearland and La Porte at the last realignment.
The Texans open the season with Summer Creek on Aug. 27 at Turner Stadium.“We talk about (the playoffs) all the time,” Bussey said. “We’ve been talking about it since February, so our kids understand what’s on the line, and our coaches, and school and community do, too.
“There is no guarantee. It’s going to be a dogfight in our district, but it’d be a great thing for Sam Rayburn High School and the community if we can make that happen.”