BROOKSHIRE, Texas (Covering Katy News) — With a sophomore quarterback ready to take the reins and four returning starters, Royal High School's football program is positioning itself for another strong campaign in 2025 after posting a 7-4 overall record and 5-1 district mark last season.
"I actually feel pretty good about it," Royal coach Theadis Reagins said, adding that Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine has the Falcons ranked No. 22 among Class 4A, Division II teams. "We're looking to have a good season."
Sophomore Emory Oliver is expected to be the Falcons' quarterback. "He's been doing pretty well in the spring and in the summer," Reagins said. "He was actually our starting quarterback on the sub-varsity, but he's been pretty good. He actually ended up playing some varsity ball as a defensive back, but he's a pretty good quarterback force."
Reagins said the offensive line is the strength of this year's team. This year's team has four returning starters led by senior Braylon Reado, a UTSA commit. "They like him a lot and he's done a great job since he's been here," Reagins said. "He'll be anchoring the offensive line at left tackle."
The linemen will be blocking for a running game led by senior Malik Hooker and junior Dillian Robinson. Senior Tyler Gilmore, who is listed both as a defensive lineman and tight end, will be expected to get some carries. "We got a lot of depth at running back this year, so we don't have one main guy yet, but we have some guys that we think that will be productive for us," Reagins said.
Senior Jaylan Palmer will be a key receiver for the Falcons, Reagins said, along with senior Kaysi Fleming Brown.
On defense, the Falcons defensive line is a strong point with four starters returning. They will be led by senior Tyler Lavallier, who is a Rice commit. Senior Broderick Burr and juniors Julis Gilmore and Zaevion Shelton are the other returning starters.
"Those guys are very competitive in practice," Reagins said. "So they should get better. Iron sharpening iron. So hopefully, both offensive and defensive groups should continue to get better."
Senior Malik Hooker and junior Isiah Vaughn will lead the linebackers. Reagins said sophomore Oziel Montoya is also expected to be a key contributor.
Two starters return for the Royal secondary. Palmer, mentioned earlier, is one of them, and junior Bradon Douglas is the other. Reagins said Palmer was the Defensive Player of the Year last year and is projected to receive the same honors this year.
While the Falcons expect to continue their winning ways in 2025, Reagins knows not to count wins before the games are actually played.
"It's really tough," Reagins said, adding that the one district loss came to West Columbia, which is a perennial contender. "Wharton has a new coach coming in this year. La Marque is always competitive. We don't know what's going to happen, but I think it's going to be very competitive."
2025 Falcons schedule
Aug. 28
Royal at Houston Yates
7 p.m. at Barnett Stadium
Sept. 4
Royal at Crawford
7 p.m. at Mercer Stadium
Sept. 12
Navasota at Royal
7 p.m. at Royal
Sept. 20
Royal at Willowridge
6 p.m. at Mercer Stadium
Oct. 3
Royal at Sweeny
7 p.m. at Sweeny
Oct. 10
West Columbia at Royal
7 p.m. at Royal
Oct. 17
Royal at La Marque
7 p.m. at La Marque
Oct. 24
Sugar Land Harmony at Royal
7 p.m. at Royal
Oct. 31
Royal at Wharton
7 p.m. at Wharton
Nov. 7
Katy Harmony at Royal
7 p.m. at Royal