SportzBuzz - March 2025 | The Buzz Magazines

By Todd Freed, Staff writer | February 25, 2025

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HEAD MUSTANG After helping lead Richmond Randle to a state championship as the team’s assistant coach and offensive coordinator, Brooks Haack has become the new head football coach for the Memorial Mustangs.

It’s a new era for Memorial High School with the hiring of Brooks Haack as the Mustangs head football coach and campus athletic director. The 31-year-old comes to Memorial after helping lead Richmond Randle High School to the 5A Division II State championship last season as the team’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. As a football player back in high school, Haack was the quarterback for the 2008 State Champion Katy Tigers before going on to play college football at the University of Louisiana.

For Memorial, Haack replaces legendary coach Gary Koch, who retired after 31 years as the Mustangs head football coach, which included 19 playoff berths and a state semifinal berth. “Growing up down the road in Katy, I was familiar with the great tradition that Coach Koch established at Memorial,” said Haack. “There’s a lot of reverence for Coach Koch and the tradition he built here. It’s going to be tough to follow, but it’s also an exciting opportunity to build on that success and be a part of a great community. The administration and staff at Memorial and Spring Branch ISD have been great and it already feels like a home environment to me,” said Haack. “It’s just been an amazing process.”

As a state champion both as a player and then as an assistant coach, Haack brings a unique pedigree to his first head coaching role. “Winning a state championship is extremely rewarding for the entire community. It was an unreal season last year at Randle,” said Haack. “When you have talented coaches and athletes, a lot of great things can happen. I’ve talked to the kids about what it takes to go through the process of an undefeated 16-0 season and a state championship. I understand the work it takes and how high the bar has to be set, and our job as coaches is to set that bar,” said Haack.

Setting the bar begins in the weight room, according to Haack. “You’ve got to be able to move people up front on both the offense and defensive line, so we need to be physically ready to compete at a highest level. The other big thing is developing leadership from within and having our guys go out there and rely on each other both on and off the field. I’m excited for the opportunity of taking the energy and culture of things here at Memorial to a whole new level.”

LEAD EAGLE The St. Thomas Eagles will head into the upcoming football season under the direction of first-year head coach Raymond Davis. Davis had been the Eagles defensive coordinator for the last eight seasons.

With the departure of longtime St. Thomas High School head coach Rich McGuire to the collegiate ranks, Eagles defensive coordinator Raymond Davis has stepped in as the school’s new head football coach. “I’m just extremely excited to take on this position,” said Davis. “I came to St. Thomas when Rich became the head coach in 2017 and he’s been a mentor in the entire process.”

Under McGuire as head coach and with Davis as defensive coordinator, the Eagles owned a lofty 52-19 overall record over an eight-season stretch including a historic berth to the TAPPS Division 1 State Final in 2023. “I’ve told the kids I want to double-down on the attributes that make St. Thomas so special. Our motto is: teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge.”

Along with his football know-how, Davis brings a notable military experience to the table. The Army veteran retired in 2021 as a Major in the National Guard, which led to a fairly remarkable juggling act during the Eagles 2018 and 2019 football seasons. “I was a commander along the border in the Brownsville sector stretching up to Kingsville for 14 months before being transferred to Austin for another 14 months. So, I was on location for my military duty Monday through Friday every week then made the long drive to Houston in time for Friday night’s games. I then stayed the weekend to break down game films with the kids on Saturdays followed by our Sunday coaches’ meetings. Right in the thick of all that in the 2018 football season, we knocked off a highly touted St. Pius team to wrap up an undefeated district championship.”

Moving forward, Davis has high expectations for the Eagles program. “We have loads of experience coming back including seven starters on offense and another seven on defense. Our plan is to definitely carry on the success we’ve had in recent years.”

Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email [email protected].