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Tomball Memorial senior running back Richard Rodriguez Jr. leads a parade of 21 letterman returning to lead the Wildcats in their pursuit of a fourth straight Class 6A District 15 playoff berth.
Fresh off a junior season where he raced for 1,929 yards and 24 touchdowns to easily rate as one of the area’s top weapons in leading Memorial to an 11-1 finish, Rodriguez appears poised for even bigger and better things this season.
“@Richard_Rod_Jr looking to build on an unbelievable junior season," the team recently posted on its Twitter page.
With each passing season, Wildcats coach Sam Parker seems to be taking the Wildcats to new heights, topped by last season’s unblemished district finish and run to the Class 6A regional semifinals. That followed a co-district title and an area appearance in 2019.
Wideout Chase Lovick also returns to help keep defenses honest and unable to totally key in on Rodriguez, who will have the luxury of running behind 6-foot-7-inch offensive linemen Josiah Rodriguez.
On defense, Memorial is led by linemen Lito Perez, who gets help from linebacker Jesus Castanon and in the secondary from the trio of Dylan Hayward, Matt Bess and Kale Berter.
Memorial fans have circled Sept. 24 when they face inner-district rival Tomball at ISD Stadium in a matchup that will feature the 40th Annual Patriotic Show honoring veterans who’ve served in the United States Armed Forces at halftime.
Memorial has emerged victorious in the last three patriotic show battles, including last year’s 60-32 beatdown.
After finishing 7-3 last season, the Cougars are led this season by quarterback Cale Hellums, defensive end Cavan Tuley and kicker Carlos Alvarado.