EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of 12 spring football previews. The Athlete’s Connection will run our “Spring Blitz” series every weekday through May 23.

Will Memorial break out and have a great 2008 in a stacked district?

Maybe.

Maybe because the Mustangs have a lot of returning players back from last season. Maybe because they are in a new district. Or maybe because after a couple of mediocre seasons, Memorial is due for a breakout year.

The Mustangs had some impressive wins early last season, beating Jersey Village and Spring Westfield. But bad losses to Nimitz and Aldine were too much for Memorial to overcome, and despite beating rival Stratford to end the season, the Mustangs were left out of the playoff picture.

Memorial went 6-4 overall, but 4-3 in district play. Now with Elsik, Hastings, Alief Taylor and Strake Jesuit joining the other Spring Branch ISD teams, the playoff race in the new District 18-5A should be competitive to say the least.

Coach Gary Koch is impressed in how spring practice is going ahead of Thursday night's spring game at Grob Stadium. He and his staff are working on the simple things to start off.

“We’re working on fundamentals on offense and defense,” Koch said.

Memorial will have a lot of returning starters on offense, including quarterback Davis Miller, who threw for 490 yards and five touchdowns last season. Wideout Daniel Neumann led the team with 378 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, but Koch has been impressed early with running back Jake Kight, who averaged almost five yards per carry last year.

The depth at running back is also boosted by a core group of offensive linemen returning, including tight end Chris Renaudin, who was second-team all-district last season.

“The offensive line isn’t playing badly,” Koch said. “At the beginning especially, because they appear to be more experienced than the others. ”

Defensively, the Mustangs hope that linebacker Michael Williams can contribute after missing most of last season with a leg injury. Also expected to contribute are all-district selection Nathan Miller, defensive linemen Will Fenton and Ross Sneed.

“David Oelfke, who was a backup in the secondary, is looking good at safety, ” Koch said.

Koch hasn’t yet scouted his new district opponents just yet, but as long as his team continues to play hard and execute, Memorial will be in the conversation for getting a playoff spot, let alone winning the district.

“Our retuning players are looking pretty good and our new kids are getting better every day,” Koch said.

MEMORIAL 2008 SCHEDULE

Sept. 6: at Jersey Village, 6 p.m. (at Pridgeon Stadium)
Sept. 12: Pearland, 7 p.m. (at Tully Stadium)
Sept. 19: at Spring Westfield, 7:30 p.m. (at George Stadium)
+Sept. 26: at Strake Jesuit, 7 p.m.
+Oct. 3: at Stratford, 7 p.m. (at Tully Stadium, as visiting team)
+Oct. 10: Northbrook, 7 p.m. (at Tully Stadium, as home team)
+Oct. 17: Elsik, 6 p.m. (at Tully Stadium)
+Oct. 25: Alief Taylor, 6 p.m. (at Tully Stadium)
+Nov. 1: at Hastings, 7 p.m. (at Crump Stadium)
+Nov. 7: Spring Woods, 7 p.m. (at Tully Stadium, as home team)

+ District 18-5A game

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