Vitals:

    Leander's been one of the rising programs in the Super Centex this decade, and have established themselves as a consistent playoff team.  The Lions have played in 12 playoff games so far this decade compared to only one throughout the 90s.  Leander's most successful season came in 2003 when the Lions went 12-2.  Last season, Leander advanced to the Regional Semis before falling to Garland.  This is a very solid program now starting to enjoy consistent success.

    The 2007 Lions are led by one of the best players in all of Class 5A, senior WR-DB Blake Gideon.  Gideon earned first team all-state recognition in 2006, recording well over 100 tackles on the year.  Gideon also contributes on offense.  He is committed to UT-Austin.  Experienced senior OLs Anthony Rodriguez and Josh Connally will help pave the way for senior tailback Reggie Hodges.  The Lions return an all-district player at each spot on defense (DL-LB-DB), so they have a proven base of talent to build from on that side of the ball.  The defense should carry the load early while new starters like QB Massoni step into their roles, and grow up as varsity players.

    Again, this program seems to be hitting its stride right now and have been consistently strong since 2001.  The only hiccup came in 2004 when the Lions missed out on the playoffs with a 6-4 mark.  They've had one losing season this decade (2000) compared to six in the 90s.  Leander should definitely be expected to contend for district, and challenge whoever they come up against in the playoffs.  Much of Leander's team strength will likely depend on how good the offense is after losing established playmakers such as Josh McKinley and Curenski Gilleylen to graduation.

The Bottom Line:

2007 Schedule

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Forecast:

Key returning players on defense,
Two All-District OLs,
Rising program

Inexperienced Offense Overall,
Depth

Will contend for district,
A  possible 3-4 round playoff threat

Top Players: