Joshua Ritchey has 24 seasons of high school coaching experience, but his 25th year on the sidelines will be different.
For the first time in his career, Ritchey will be an athletic director and head football coach after taking over the Electra Tigers in February. Good thing he has three assistants on his staff who have experience in those roles.
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Payton Jackson, Ryan Quillen and Trent Shelby offer Ritchey invaluable insight to the challenges he’s come across as he’s adjusting to his new role.
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“Being a first-time AD and head football coach, it’s nice to have those guys who you can bounce things off of,” Ritchey said. “Any time I run into a new problem, there’s a pretty good chance one of those guys have seen it before. I feel blessed to have them on my staff.”
Jackson is entering his second season as Electra’s defensive coordinator, coming to Tigers after serving as Quanah’s athletic director for two seasons. Quillen is an Electra native, entering his 20th season coaching at his alma mater. He’s coached almost every sport in the program at some point in his career.
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Shelby is the newcomer, at least to Electra, but he spent several years as the head coach and athletic director at Hollis (Okla.). Shelby ran the flexbone at Holliday and will be integral to Ritchey’s installment of the triple-option offense in Electra.
“That’s going to help a lot because we have a long way to go in getting this offense going,” Ritchey said. “We were able to get two basic plays in during the spring and summer, and we’re going to slowly implement more and more as the kids understand it.”
Offense
While it may not be a passing offense, the quarterback position is still vital in the flexbone. It’s not surprising the Tigers are trying out two of their best athletes as the likely starter under center.
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Senior Braylon Nava and junior Cordarian Duncan are both getting reps there, although sophomore Kolton Robeson and freshman Steven Hunter will at least figure in at the position in the future if not the present.
Whether it’s Nava or Duncan at quarterback, the other will be in the backfield somewhere.
“They’re too good of athletes to not have on the field on both sides of the ball,” Ritchey said.
Micah Booth, Jacob Wilson and Patrick McGee will be key figures at fullback to start the year, but the coaches are excited about the return of Austin Lacher, who is out until after the regular season begins after having surgery to fix an injury. Nolan Funk will find a role in the backfield as well.
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“They’re all getting time at every backfield position,” Ritchey said. “We want them to be interchangeable and able to play multiple positions. At 2A, you kind of need to have a few contingency plans if there’s an injury.”
The offensive line features four seniors, including returning starters Brayden Huffstutler, Brindle Breeding and Tomas DeLeon. Isaach Fonseca is the other senior starter who played more on the defensive line than offense last season. Sophomores Layton Hogan, Jackson Roby and Kenneth Byrd will join junior Presley Pok in a battle for the last spot on the line.
Defense
Defense is a point of emphasis for Ritchey even if he has spent most of his coaching career as an offensive coordinator.
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“The best teams I’ve been a part of have a great defense,” Ritchey said. “If our guys are going to rest, it will be on offense, not defense.’
Ritchey felt the Tigers excelled on defense last season, so he kept Jackson as his defensive coordinator with his odd-front, or 50, scheme.
Nava is one of the area’s top returning tacklers and will lead the defense at linebacker, while Booth is the team’s top returning pass rusher and will help Nava anchor the LB corps. Roby is in line to occupy another LB spot.
Fonseca and Huffstutler will play defensive end, while Breeding, Byrd, Pock and Hogan will rotate at defensive tackle.
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Duncan and Funk should be the starting corners with Nate DeLeon and Robeson manning the safety spots. McGee, Lacher and Wilson, who is a linebacker/defensive back hybrid, will also factor into secondary roles.
2025 Electra Tigers high school football outlook
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: 2025 Electra Tigers high school football preview, schedule
