BELTON, Texas — The Lake Belton Broncos are gearing up for their first full varsity football season in 2021, after going 9-1 in their first year as a program.
In 2020, the team played Junior Varsity teams across Central Texas and squared off with a few other new schools as well. The Broncos dominated several opponents on that schedule.
Now, they return just about everyone from that 2020 team. The freshmen and sophomores are a year older and ready to make the step to the varsity level.
"You know, we don't have a senior in the program right now and that's okay," Head Coach Brian Cope said. "We're teaching leadership right now and making sure they understand that the best teams we have are the ones that are player driven and not coach driven."
The Broncos are already developing an athletics powerhouse in Bell County. During their first season as a school, Lake Belton won district titles in baseball, softball and track. Their football team is not eligible for a district title or playoff appearance until 2022.
"It's a lot of fun to build a program," Cope said. "Every day is about thirty minutes longer than what I've been used to in the past, but those thirty minutes help get you ready to be prepared for every day."
Lake Belton's biggest strength will be on the offensive side of the field. Junior quarterback Connor Crews will have a lot of weapons at his disposal at skill positions, including Micah Hudson. Hudson shined for the Broncos in their first appearance at the state 7-on-7 tournament.
"It's just a true blessing having the chemistry with these guys for years since middle school. I've known most of these guys, and just being with each other builds a lot of bonds," Bronco junior Connor Brennan said.
Lake Belton opens the season at home against Mexia.
