Snook looks to first-year coach Lanham to build a strong foundation (2024)

The Snook football program hit the reset button by hiring Nolan Lanham. The Bluejays were 1-9 last season and the victory was a forfeit by Runge, which didn’t have enough players.

“We’re starting at the bottom, just like building a house,” Lanham said. “We’re starting with the foundation and building up from there, I do think we have a solid foundation.”

Snook didn’t have a lot of winning moments, but a lot of players got valuable experience. The Bluejays return eight offensive starters and seven on defense.

“We have a great senior class,” Lanham said at The Eagle’s media days last week. “The guys have been working their tails off. We got in there in the month of May and did some morning weights and had great attendance on that.”

The players had a solid summer, Lanham said. “So I think we’re ready to get hit the ground rolling.”

Lanham comes from Nocona, also a Class 2A school, but a division higher than Snook. He was Nocona’s offensive coordinator for two years. He was the offensive coordinator at Liberty prior to that. The Prosper High and Tarleton State graduate also had stops at Jarrell and Hamilton. The first-time head football coach welcomes the challenge of bringing stability to the program, something he stressed during the hiring process.

He has a daughter who will be a seventh grader and two younger boys.

“I’m here to be part of Snook, to build it,” said Lanham, citing the program’s lack of stability since it was revived in 2010 after a 58-year hiatus.

He’s the sixth coach since an 0-10 start by Phillip Pearce in that first season. Snook made its first playoff trip in 2016 under Chad Lechler, who also had the best record at 9-3 in 2018. Boone Patterson led the Bluejays to a co-district championship in 2020 with Granger, but the program has nosedived since, going 10-20.

“I don’t think a coach has been there for more than [four] years at a time,” Lanham said. “So, that’s hard. These kids have three or four coaches come in and so they have to learn different styles.”

Lanham is preaching permanent change.

“Everybody’s gonna be a freshman, everybody’s gonna be learning a whole new offense [and] all new defense,” Lanham said. “I do think our location in the Bryan-College Station area, the proximity there, we have a lot of great kids that are either there and in Snook, and transferred in because of the school system. And these kids are great kids, they’re hard workers and they’re there for the right reasons.”

Snook will run a power-spread offense that Lanham used in Nocona, which averaged 41 points per game in winning its first district championship in 11 years. The last time Snook scored that many points was in a 56-6 victory over Runge on Sept. 9, 2022.

“It’s a lot of gap-scheme stuff, [with] power counter,” Lanham said. “And then off of it, we have some type of option like triple option, things like that.”

Snook has an experienced offensive line led by senior Robert Carter who made the transition last year from guard to tackle.

“It’s a little tougher, it’s more one-on-ones,” Carter said. “I wasn’t expecting the ends to be that speedy.”

Carter said he’s more prepared to win his share of battles and Lanham feels that way about those around Carter.

“I think with our offensive line, we’ve got a good group of big guys that are strong and ready to take care of the run,” Lanham said. “Then we got some guys like [receivers] Liam Zequeira and Tristan Yin, and some of those guys that will be able to air it out to a little bit.”

Snook was shut out three times last year and scored just a touchdown in another game.

“Last year’s offense wasn’t the greatest,” Yin said. “But I’m happy to have some changes, seeing some differences. We had a lot of [new] guys coming in this year, there’s plenty of opportunity.”

Snook hopes to establish the run with senior running back Jordan Price, taking some of the pressure off quarterback Brett Withem.

Defensively, the Bluejays will use a 3-4 alignment. Senior end Dominick Hankins was a first-team all-district pick and junior lineman Trey Daniel “is going to be a great guy for us,” Lanham said.

Senior linebackers Jacob Castaneda and Silas Hetland were second-team all-district picks. Price is also back at linebacker. Withem is part of the last line on defense.

“We’re going to attack,” Lanham said. “Coverage is going to be extremely simple for these kids to learn and then [they’ll] be able to self adjust. Up front, we’re gonna make sure these kids know exactly what they’re looking at [and know] how to read and react.”

Playing slow is not an option, Lanham said.

“If these kids are having to slow down and think and process, then they’re going to play slow,” Lanham said.

Carter said it’s been a blur learning news plays, new schemes and new formations, but the players are excited. He’s also a little more pumped this year, because he’ll get to play with his brother.

Snook moves from 14-2A Division II the last two seasons to 13-2A II. The Bluejays kept Burton and Burleson County-rival Somerville, but gained five newcomers, including McDade, which moves up from 6-man football.

The Bluejays will face Leon, Tarkington and Normangee in nondistrict before opening league play at Somerville.

“I think our schedule sets up favorably for us at the beginning,” Lanham said. “Being able to be competitive in some of those games early on [is crucial], in trying to develop that winning mentality and winning attitude.”

Opening league play with its rival is another plus.

“I really like it,” Lanham said. “I think we’re gonna be able to develop a toughness about us that’ll help us out in that game.”

Yin said the only way the team can go is up.

“We’ve got a new district, so there’s different chances to fight back and make it a good season,” Yin said. “I think we can definitely contend for district.”

Lanham kept a few of the coaches from the previous regime, but added a few.

“I think the coaches that have either stayed around to be a part of this, or that we brought in, are here for the right reasons, they’re here for these kids in here to make them better,” Lanham said.

Price said the new coaches have earned the players’ respect.

“We’re just learning the ropes and how he teaches,” Price said.

Snook Bluejays

Head coach — Nolan Lanham (first year)

Assistant coaches — offensive coordinator Chris Horn, defensive coordinator Bryan Hood, Devyn Billiott, Bryson Hackley, Austin Lemoine, Marc Minatrea,

District — 13-2A Division II

2023 record — 1-9 (1-5 in 14-2A, sixth)

Returning lettermen — 18 (8 offensive, 7 defensive starters)

Key returners — DE Dominick Hankins, sr. (A-D); Utility/ILB Jacob Castaneda, sr. (2nd A-D/2nd A-D); RB Jordan Price, sr. (2nd A-D); OL Ramiro Martinez, soph. (2nd A-D); LB Silas Hetland, sr. (2nd A-D)

Key losses — OL/DL Brandon Baker (A-D/A-D); WR Josh Green (A-D); OL/ILB Julian Martinez (2nd A-D/A-D); QB/P J. Beaux Hruska (2nd A-D/A-D); OLB Kade Junek (2nd A-D)

All-time record — 56-114-2

Playoff appearances/record — 5 (4-5)

Playoff appearances (5) — 2016, 2018-21

2023 Results

Aug. 25 Iola 24-27

Sept. 1 at Brazos Christian 6-39

Sept. 8 Anderson-Shiro 0-52

Sept. 15 at Weimar 20-51

Sept. 29 *at Runge forfeit

Oct. 6 *Somerville 14-20

Oct. 13 *Burton 0-27

Oct. 20 Falls City 0-28

Oct. 27 at Yorktown 13-44

Nov. 3 *#Louise 21-35

*14-2A-II

2024 Schedule

Aug. 16 $Bremond 7 p.m.

Aug. 22 $at Rosebud-Lott TBD

Aug. 30 Leon 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Tarkington 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 13 +Normangee 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 20 *at Somerville 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 *Burton 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 *at Bartlett 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 *Milano 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 *at Iola 7 p.m.

Nov. 1 *#Granger 7 p.m.

Nov. 8 *at McDade 7 p.m.

$-Scrimmages

+Homecoming

#Senior night

*14-2A-II