When Crandall travels to Denton Braswell on Friday night, the Pirates will see more than a Class 6A opponent trying to rebound from a 2-8 season.
They will see the beginning of the Justen Evans era.
Braswell hired Evans in February after he spent nine seasons transforming Corpus Christi Miller from a struggling program into one of South Texas’ most consistent winners.
His assignment at Braswell is another rebuilding job. Evans has been here before.
Building a Winner at Miller
Evans took over Miller in 2017 after the Buccaneers had won only three games during the previous three seasons.
The turnaround did not happen immediately. Miller went 4-6 during Evans’ first season and improved to 7-3 the following year, narrowly missing the playoffs.
By 2019, the transformation was obvious. The Buccaneers finished 12-1, won their first district championship since 2001, and ended a six year playoff drought.
That season began a run that established Miller as a regular South Texas contender.
During Evans’ tenure, Miller won three district championships and advanced to the regional finals three times, in three different classifications, a sign the program stayed competitive despite UIL realignment.
The Buccaneers reached the regional finals in Class 4A Division I in 2020, Class 5A Division I in 2023, and Class 5A Division II in 2024.
The 2023 team finished 13-1, Miller’s best season since the school reached the state championship game in 1963. Evans eventually became the winningest head football coach in Miller history.
A Coaching Career Built in South Texas
Evans is a Corpus Christi native and a 2001 graduate of Moody High School. He played tight end and defensive end at Moody before continuing his playing career for one season at Southern Arkansas.
His coaching career included stops at Taft, Santa Gertrudis Academy, and Corpus Christi King before he received his first opportunity to become a head coach.
That opportunity came at Alice in 2016. Evans went 7-3 in his only season with the Coyotes before returning to Corpus Christi to take over Miller the following year.
After 10 seasons as a head coach, Evans arrived at Braswell with an 84-36 career record, a winning percentage of .700.
More Than Wins and Losses
Evans’ record tells only part of his story.
During his years at Miller, he regularly emphasized player development and building a program rather than simply assembling talented football teams.
Miller produced numerous players who continued their careers beyond high school, including quarterback Andrew Body, who became one of the most productive quarterbacks in Texas high school football history before playing college football.
Evans has also spoken throughout his career about using coaching to influence players beyond football.
That philosophy became part of Miller’s turnaround, and the Buccaneers developed an identity built around accountability, preparation, and players buying into the program rather than individual recognition.
The results eventually followed.
Why Braswell Interested Him
Evans did considerable homework before accepting the Braswell job. He watched every Braswell game from the 2025 season and studied the roster and program before agreeing to take over.
What he saw mattered. Despite consecutive 2-8 seasons, Evans believed Braswell already had enough talent in the building to become competitive if that talent could be developed within the right system.
He also pointed to Denton ISD’s facilities, administration, and coaching leadership as reasons the position interested him.
Braswell was not simply hiring a coach looking for his first opportunity. The Bengals were hiring someone who had already demonstrated he could take over a struggling program and change its expectations.
Familiar Territory for Evans
There are obvious differences between Miller and Braswell.
Braswell competes in Class 6A in the Dallas Fort Worth area, where the depth of programs and weekly competition can be substantial.
But the starting point is familiar. Evans inherited a Miller program that had struggled badly before his arrival. He now inherits a Braswell program coming off back to back 2-8 seasons.
There is one significant advantage this time. Braswell returns 45 lettermen, nine offensive starters, and seven defensive starters from last season.
Running back Zahir Trufant, safety Emanuel Fuller, defensive end Ivory Marshall, and linebackers Huran Brown III and Grant Goshton give Evans proven varsity players to build around.
This is not a complete roster reconstruction. The question is whether Evans can change the performance of the roster already in place.
Crandall Gets the First Look
That makes Friday night’s opener particularly interesting for Crandall.
There is no regular season film of Evans coaching Braswell. Crandall can study his previous offenses at Miller, evaluate Braswell’s returning personnel from last season, and pull tendencies from preseason scrimmages.
But nobody outside the Braswell program knows exactly what the finished product will look like when the Bengals take the field for the first time under their new coach. That uncertainty is part of the Week 1 challenge.
Evans’ Miller teams became known for explosive offense, but they were not limited to throwing the football. His better teams were willing to run when defenses gave them favorable numbers and could adjust their approach based on personnel and matchups.
With an experienced running back in Trufant and a large number of returning offensive starters, Evans has the pieces available to begin installing that philosophy at Braswell.
A New Era Starts Against Crandall
One game will not determine whether Evans can repeat what he accomplished at Miller. Braswell plays in a difficult district and still has to prove that returning experience can translate into victories.
But Evans’ résumé gives Crandall a reason to take the Bengals seriously. He has already inherited one struggling football program and turned it into a regional contender.
Now he gets another opportunity.
And the first team standing across the sideline when the Justen Evans era officially begins at Denton Braswell will be the Crandall Pirates.
