Marty Secord is the only Head Football Coach Frisco Wakeland has ever had. Coach Secord was hired to build the program as the school opened in August 2006. He said Wakeland began in a Class 3A district that featured talented schools such as Celina, Pilot Point and Prosper. Coach Secord said the Wolverines took their lumps but it prepared them to compete at their current level. They are now a big school Division 1 Class 5-A school. The Wildcats are in the smaller enrollment Division 2 in Class 5A.
Wakeland has made the playoffs the last five years and nine of their twelve years according to Coach Secord. He said he has pretty much been successful in keeping his staff together in recent years. Coach Secord said among his goals for this year’s team are to get back into the playoffs again, to play for the district championship and to make a long run in the playoffs. Obviously Coach Secord finds Wakeland to be a good place to work. He said the kids are great. He added he has a good coaching staff of good men and he said the administration is good.
Coach Secord said this Wolverines’ team is young and a work in progress. He said he is playing non-district games to get his team ready for district play. Coach Secord also coaches quarterbacks and this year’s starter is 6-foot-5 junior Dylan Liable, who played all last season on the JV team. Wildcats Coach Greg Owens said Liable showed poise and looked very good in Wakeland’s scrimmage win against West Mesquite last Friday. Coach Secord said other offensive players he is counting on are receiver Kevin Rychel, running back Cade Starnes and receiver and defensive back Garrett Field.
On defense, Coach Secord especially likes his linebackers. He said the Wolverines run the same defense as the Wildcats. Coach Secord and Coach Owens traded scrimmage videos. Coach Secord said he was impressed with the Wildcats defense against Liberty-Eylau. He called them hard nosed. Coach Secord said the Wildcats’ outside linebackers look like a strength of the defense although he also was complimentary toward the Wildcats safeties, cornerbacks, defensive linemen and inside linebackers.
On offense, he said D’Corian Young could hurt you running and passing. He also liked the Wildcats’ running backs. Coach Secord said the Wildcats also appear to be a work in progress, just like the Wolverines. He said as usual in a first game, it will probably come down to execution and the kicking game. Coach Secord compared it to a chess match with each team trying to exploit the other. He called Sulphur Springs a quality opponent and he added the Wildcats had a tradition of having good teams. The two teams have never played each other.
