Coach James Russell has stepped into the position of head coach with a difficult season ahead of him. After being the offensive coordinator here at Porter for three years, Coach Russell was promoted to head football coach after Jim Holley was moved up to athletic coordinator. He’s been coaching football for 24 years, three of which have been with Porter.

 “Most people across the state would say our district is one of the hardest in the state of Texas. 6 out of 8 teams were in the playoffs,” Coach Russell said.

Coach Russell does have some help this season from returning players, Josh Evans-Pickens, Evan Williams, Sam Garms, Elijah Reed, and Kyle Rigsby.

“We feel we have a chance to beat anybody we play,” said Russel. With the battle line game coming up on September 10th, the boys have been working very hard and are looking to show how well they have improved and plan to beat the New Caney High School Eagles.

The team is excited to go into this season with the stands being back to normal with students and family being able to cheer them on. Having that support on and off the field is very important during the game to boost morale and to feel the school spirit.

“We always love football but during the moment it feels like everyone loves football,” Coach Russel said.

Newcomer of the year for 2020-2021, Joshua Evans-Pickens said he was already familiar with Coach Russel from last year and knows having him as head coach will just strengthen the varsity team and make them stronger.

“I worked with him on offense last year and now this year we’re just using him as a new weapon,” said Pickens.

Since Coach Holley has moved up to the Athletic Director, Russell has been working hard to keep up the hard work they showed us last year.

Despite all odds, Russell says, “We love our kids and we love how hard they have been working to get to this point.”