PILOT POINT BEARCATS
Fresh off their win over Peaster in the season opener, the Pilot Point Bearcats will hit the road and head west to face the Mineral Wells Rams in Week 2.
The Rams, led by Cody Worrell, Mineral Wells athletic director and head football coach, enter the contest 1-0 after a 20-14 win over the Vernon Lions in Week 1.
“I say this a lot, and this time is no different; they’re a well-coached team,” said Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach. “… We have similar offenses and defenses; it’s like looking in a mirror a little bit, but they put their own stamp on how they do things, and as a team, they’re huge.”
Mineral Wells returned 10 starters from last season’s bi-district finalist team, anchored by their offensive and defensive lines led by offensive/defensive linemen Javan McKinney and Josiah Zapata.
The duo helped pave the way for the Rams' ground attack, spearheaded by running back Jordan Johnson, who ran for over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025.
“They have two good running backs, with No. 5, [Slade Evans], moving in this year,” Chad said. “They’re different kinds of runners, with No. 23 [Johnson] being more of a scat back who wants to get into space and make guys miss, and [Evans] being a bigger guy, so they have a good changeup depending on which one is in there, and they have a lot of depth.”
Pilot Point’s own offense broke off multiple big plays in their Week 1 win, but Chad said the Bearcats will need to be more consistent if they hope to move the ball effectively against Mineral Wells.
“We lived off the big play last week, and it’s great that we can be explosive and can score on big plays, but we want to be able to sustain drives,” he said. “Against a team like Mineral Wells, we’re probably not going to be able to get those big plays, so we’re going to have to be able to convert third and shorts and move the chains.”
The contest also marks the first time Chad and his son Cody have coached against each other, but Chad said he and his team are doing their best to view it as just another regular season game.
“It’s cool coaching against your son, but it's also a little stressful because you’re second-guessing yourself on everything, and I know he probably is too,” he said. “We’re as competitive as any father- son tandem out there, so I know he wants to win this game just as much as we do, so we know it’ll be a fun one.”
Pilot Point and Mineral Wells are set to get things underway at 7 p.m. Friday at Rams Stadium in Mineral Wells.
