Running back Rashon Estes (right) and quarterback Adam Tran are two key offensive cogs who are back for Jersey Village.

Jersey Village completed a perfect regular season in 2021 and has good carryover from that squad.

The Falcons are in position to earn their third unbeaten district championship in five years. Nearly the whole offense is back and there’s plenty to work with defensively.  

Jersey Village’s title defense begins Aug. 26 at Alief Hastings in nondistrict action. Until then, the Falcons have two scrimmages with Cypress Park and Klein to get ready.

“They’ve come to work so far every day and worked hard,” coach David Snokhous said. “As long as we keep doing that, we’ll have a chance.”

Jersey Village didn’t participate in spring ball, so the Falcons started practice Aug. 1, a week earlier than others. The coaching staff has been tough on them in camp, Snokhous said, but the players have responded through the summer, spring and fall.

The Falcons haven’t dropped a district game in nearly two years. Jersey Village went 11-1 overall and 7-0 in league play last season, finishing ahead of Stratford, Cy-Fair and Memorial in District 17-6A. This time, the Falcons, who lost in the second round of the playoffs to Tompkins, have a target on their backs.

“We got to make sure that we show up every day, go to work and do what’s asked of us,” Snokhous said.  “If you don’t show up to play, you’re going to get beat.”

“Top to bottom, it’s a good district, anybody can go, make one mistake at the wrong time in a game and it can cost you.”

It helps to have 17 starters back. Jersey Village is among Houston-area teams with the most returning starters, with 10 on offense and seven on defense.

Junior quarterback Adam Tran, who's already played 24 games, threw for 2,062 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. Snokhous said Tran's experience is invaluable.

“He allows us to do some things that we couldn’t do just because he’s really smart about football,” Snokhous said.

Senior running back Rashon Estes is in better shape than he was last year, according to Snokhous. He was named 2021 District 17-6A Offensive MVP after rushing for 1,267 yards and 20 TDs and added 24 catches for 252 yards and 2 TDs.  

“He’s a lot more flexible, fluid, just as strong, maybe a little stronger,” Snokhous said. “He’s the bell cow, I know what he can do. We’re pushing him and he’s pushing himself.”

Estes is also one of the leaders alongside senior left tackle Reagan Gill, who said coming back to practice with teammates and getting things back to normal is exhilarating.

“This is what we love to do,” Gill said. “I want to work hard and get everybody around me to work even harder.”

The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder will be steering the offensive line alongside senior guard Mateo Ortiz. Both were first team all-district selections last year.

Gill doesn’t want to focus on last year, but he does want to learn from their mistakes.  

“There’s a lot of stuff we messed up on, there’s a lot of stuff we did good on, we’re trying to make everything perfect so we can go ever further,” Gill said.

Senior Arbie Carter is a returning starter at wide receiver. He had 46 catches for 558 yards and five TDs last year. Snokhous called him a “great route runner.”

He’ll be joined by senior Brandon Pham, who had 14 catches for 248 yards and four TDs.

“A lot of those kids played as sophomores, so they know what they’re doing. …They represent our team well,” Snokhous said.

Leading the charge defensively will be senior linebacker Freddie Hudson, senior defensive back Chris Noble and senior defensive back Darius Johnson.

Jersey Village is one of four teams to go unbeaten in league play since Cy-Fair ISD split with Spring Branch ISD in 2018.

But the Falcons can’t afford to cut corners. Snokhous said the coaching staff has done a solid job of ensuring that they’re not doing that.

“It’s not going to be an easy road but hopefully we’ll one of the four," Snokhous said. "Once you get there, anything can happen,”

Alvaro Ignacio Montaño is a sports reporter at the Houston Chronicle's weekly newspapers covering the northwest Houston area including the Cypress, Klein, Spring and Tomball regions. Alvaro previously served as an agate clerk at the Houston Chronicle from 2012-17. He was born in Houston and grew up in Spring Branch. He received his bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Houston.