#bEASTTexas Football Countdown: West Rusk

Published 5:45 am Monday, August 22, 2022

Editor’s Note: During the 30 days leading up to the high school football season, we will be spotlighting teams ranked in the preseason #bEASTTexas Fabulous 15 for the 2022 season. The series continues today with one of the teams tied for No. 2 in the Class 3A/2A/TAPPS poll: the West Rusk Raiders.

West Rusk advanced to the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year last season and won at least seven games each season in that span. West Rusk started the 2021 season 12-0 before falling to Daingerfield, 50-28, on Thanksgiving Day.

Poll history: West Rusk was ranked for the first eight weeks of the 2019 season before falling out of the poll for the final three weeks. West Rusk was preseason No. 10 in 2020, but dropped out of the rankings and didn’t return until landing at No. 14 in the final poll of the season. West Rusk was ranked throughout the 2021 season, starting at No. 8 in the preseason and only going up from there. After the fifth week of the season, the Raiders were ranked No. 1 and remained there for the rest of the season. West Rusk received two first-place votes in this year’s preseason poll.

That dude: Andon Mata. The Lamar commit was 145 of 245 for 2,599 yards with 35 touchdowns and five interceptions as a junior. He also had 40 carries for 420 yards with 13 touchdowns.

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For more on West Rusk and other East Texas high school football programs, check out The Zone magazine, which released on Aug. 21 inside the Tyler Morning Telegraph and Longview News-Journal.

Aug. 26: Malakoff

Sept. 2: at Sabine

Sept. 9: at Mineola

Sept. 16: Tatum

Sept. 23: *at Arp

Oct. 7: *Winona

Oct. 14: *at Grand Saline

Oct. 21: *Troup

Oct. 28: *at Quitman

Nov. 4: *Edgewood

*District 9-3A Division II Game 

All games at 7:30 p.m.