Hico –
Team: Midland Trail
2024 Recap
The Patriots started 0-2 and were never able to pull above .500 the rest of the way, struggling with turnovers and an inability to run the ball. They finished with a 4-6 record, missing the playoffs.
Gone are leading rushers Will McGraw (679 yards) and Kaden Lephew (659 yards) as well as starting quarterback Thad Brown who threw for 1,229 yards.
2025 Outlook
Trail graduated the bulk of its offensive production, entering the season with a new QB in Rayce Dickerson and a new lead back. Returning are a pair of talented and productive receivers that should help the sophomore Dickerson as he transitions into his new starting role.
“Rayce saw what Thad went through as far as the mental grind of it,” Midland Trail head coach Jeremy Moore said. “He knows what it takes and he’s got four senior offensive linemen and wide receivers and two senior tailbacks. He’s got a lot of pressure on him for a soph0more but I think he saw the grind last year and knows what it’s about.
Xaylen Johns led the Patriots with 439 yards receiving while Jamison Swafford was good for 399 yards. Both are back and bring an element of explosiveness to Hico.
“They’re very dynamic and we’ll have to find better, more creative ways to get them the ball,” Moore said. “It goes back to a consistent run game helps them too. If they don’t have safeties over them all the time you can give them the ball a little quicker and easier. We’re actually going to utilize tight ends this year too.”
To open up the offense for the aerial attack, Moore acknowledges the Patriots will need to find a way to run the ball as effectively as the Trail teams of the past.
“We’re just trying to consistently run the ball,”Moore said. “The teams we struggle with, the upper echelon playoff teams, we just couldn’t consistently move the ball. We could in spurts but at this level we have to be consistent. When we were in single-A we could get away with it but we’re one of the smaller double-A schools now so we have to be consistent.”
On defense the Patriots will need to replace McGraw as well, the heart of that unit.
“Will was a typical Midland Trail kid – tough, physical and coachable,” Moore said. “He did everything we asked him to do and called our defense the last three years. He’s tough to replace but we have Aiden Weis and Max White at linebacker. I don’t think we’ve had one missed assignment in camp. We obviously miss Will and you don’t replace that but we’ve got guys ready to step in.”
Midland Trail’s schedule will remain the same minus Week 4. The Patriots replaced Wheeling Central with Midland Trail. They’ll kickoff the season on Aug. 29 when they play Clay County at Roane County High School.
| 1 | 08/29/25 | 7:30PM | A – | CLAY COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 2 | 09/05/25 | 7:30PM | H – | POCA | – | |||
| 3 | 09/12/25 | 7:30PM | H – | BRAXTON COUNTY | – | |||
| 4 | 09/19/25 | 7:30PM | A – | CHAPMANVILLE REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 5 | 09/26/25 | 7:30PM | A – | SUMMERS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 6 | 10/03/25 | 7:30PM | H – | NICHOLAS COUNTY | – | |||
| 7 | 10/17/25 | 7:30PM | A – | JAMES MONROE | – | |||
| 8 | 10/24/25 | 7:30PM | H – | LIBERTY (RALEIGH) | – | |||
| 9 | 10/31/25 | 7:30PM | A – | GREENBRIER WEST | – | |||
| 10 | 11/07/25 | 7:30PM | H – | LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL | – |
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