The Aubrey Chaparrals football team missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade last season but are back on the hunt, looking to bounce back with a stronger performance in 2026.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football released their predictions for the 2026 season, with the Chaparrals predicted to finish in the middle of the pack in a district filled with new faces.
“This is pretty much a brandnew district,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “… We’ve also never been in an eight-team district since I’ve been here in Aubrey, and this is going into my 13th season, so that brings a new wrinkle into it because you’re only going to have three nondistrict games, … but we know it's going to be a very competitive district from top to bottom.”
After losing over 30 seniors the year before, a much younger Chaparrals squad battled through one of the toughest districts in the state, finishing fifth in their district with a 3-7 record.
Despite last season’s growing pains, Ivy said the Chaps are looking forward to turning things around in 2026.
“We feel good about the talent we have here,” he said. “We have 19 of 22 starters back, and we have some really good football players returning, and I know these young men are excited to get out there, improve themselves, have a better year and get back into the playoffs.”
He added that the experience the young Chaparrals gained last season should pay off for the team this fall.
“During the tail end of last season we started a lot of sophomores, and I saw great improvement during the second half of the season, and our confidence level went up the longer we played,” Ivy said. “These guys have worked extremely hard through the offseason boot camp, through 7-on-7, and they’re getting after it right now during summer workouts, so they’re extremely hungry.”
One area the Chaps will look to lean on is their talent in the trenches, with four of the team’s DCT Players to Watch being offensive linemen Brayden Wood, Stephen Coffman, P.J. Van Rijn and Jayson Melzer.
“We like to be physical, on both sides of the ball, and our offensive line is going to be big and nasty,” Ivy said. “… We want to play extremely physical and get after people up front, and they’re out to prove something this year.”
Ivy said the Chaps' offseason training has helped the team bond and that he believes that good team chemistry could make a difference this season.
“Even though we have a lot of starters coming back, we’ve been promoting competition,” he said. “We believe it's healthy and ultimately makes our program better, and the team has responded. They’ve really gelled together, and they believe in each other, and I believe we can have a good season as long as we stay healthy and continue to support each other and push ourselves to be the very best we can be each and every day,” he said.
