Darrell Lewis enters his second season as Crandall’s head football coach facing a very different set of circumstances than he did a year ago. He took over in 2025 after Crandall ISD restructured its athletic department, with Kyle Hardin becoming athletic director and Lewis stepping in as assistant athletic director and head football coach.
Crandall went 7-4 and reached the playoffs in his first season. Now the Pirates move into Class 5A Division I with a more experienced roster and expectations to match.
A Program Built on Continuity, Not a Rebuild
Lewis didn’t inherit a program that needed to be built from scratch. Crandall was already a playoff team when he arrived, and much of the group that helped get there last season is back.
That gives Lewis a real advantage heading into Year Two — players already know the terminology, the weekly structure and what’s expected of them, which frees up practice time for refinement rather than installation.
That should pay off most clearly on offense, where senior quarterback Isaac Briones returns after completing 69 of 101 passes for 789 yards and seven touchdowns in a shared role last season.
Junior running back Darrik Ward Jr. is back after rushing for 1,246 yards and 17 touchdowns, and senior receiver Jeremiah Douglas returns off a 1,032-yard, 11-touchdown season that earned him District 7-5A Division II Offensive MVP honors.
Coaching an offense with that much returning production looks very different from installing one with new starters at every skill position.
The Defense Is the Bigger Coaching Puzzle
Crandall’s biggest personnel questions sit on the other side of the ball. Several of last season’s leading defenders graduated, leaving real openings across the front seven and secondary.
Lewis and his staff now have to identify new pass rushers, build depth at linebacker and find players who can replace the takeaways that left with last year’s seniors.
That makes the season’s opening month especially valuable. Non-district games against Denton Braswell, Rowlett and Terrell will give the coaching staff a genuine chance to evaluate the defense under pressure before a single district game counts in the standings.
A New District Means New Homework
The move to District 7-5A Division I changes Crandall’s weekly preparation entirely. Last season’s district opponents are gone, replaced by West Mesquite, Tyler, Mesquite, North Mesquite, W.T. White, Sunset and Bryan Adams.
The realignment means film study, scouting reports, and game-planning all start from scratch against programs the staff didn’t face in 2025.
West Mesquite and Tyler are expected to be the district’s strongest teams, while Mesquite and North Mesquite carry enough playoff-caliber talent to complicate the race further. None of it is territory Lewis’ staff has already mapped out.
More Ways to Attack
Returning production gives Lewis real flexibility on offense. With an experienced quarterback in Briones, a proven rushing threat in Ward, and a legitimate go-to receiver in Douglas, Crandall can attack a defense multiple ways rather than leaning on a single dimension.
The coaching challenge is less about identifying playmakers and more about developing enough production around them that opponents can’t simply key on one or two names.
Early Games Will Set the Tone
Opening against two Class 6A opponents before hosting Terrell gives Lewis three data points before any of it affects the district standings.
A struggling offensive line reveals what needs fixing. Strong play from younger defenders opens the door to expand the rotation. A second receiver emerging alongside Douglas makes the entire passing game harder to defend.
By the time Crandall opens district play at Sunset, Lewis should have a much clearer picture of exactly where this team is headed.
The Standard Is Different Now
Reaching the playoffs in Lewis’ first season was a real accomplishment, and doing it again after jumping to Class 5A Division I would still mean something. But preseason projections place Crandall near the top of its new district, which raises the bar considerably.
The question entering Year Two isn’t whether Lewis can get Crandall back to the postseason. It’s whether the Pirates can take the next step and compete for the District 7-5A Division I championship.
