The San Angelo Standard-Times will preview local high school football teams throughout August ahead of the 2025 season.
Winters Blizzards
District: 7-2A DII
2025 record: 2-8, 0-5
Head coach: Ryan Pannell
Most recent district championship: 2014
State titles: N/A
What to know
It has been seven years since the Blizzards posted a winning season, but new coach Ryan Pannell said he is excited about the future of the football program. Pannell brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Winters after coaching stints in Dumas, Santo, San Saba, San Antonio Reagan and Sonora.
Pannell said he aims to improve two statistics for the Blizzards this season, which he believes will help the program get back to winning – turnovers and explosive plays. With less than half of their starters returning, running back Mark Moreno and wide receiver Jonah Whitaker will be big-play engines on offense and defense for the Blizzards. Winters also returns some good size on the offensive and defensive lines, starting with sophomore Braden Hoppe, who was an all-district selection as a freshman.
Even with the move down to 2A DII, the Winters still find themselves in a highly competitive district led by state powerhouse Albany. If Pannell can instill confidence I his young team, there is a path for major improvement and a return to winning in year one.
Coach Ryan Pannell on the 2025 season
“If you can win the turnover battle and the explosive play battle in the same game, you literally have like a 98% chance to win that game,” Pannell said. “And it’s something I’ve been studying for several years, and it’s something I believe in, and it believe it works, and that’s our plan to win – mainly. There’s other parts to it also, but we want to win the explosive play battle and the turnover battle. So, when we’re talking strategy, game planning, practice, scheduling, scheme, everything is centered around those two statistics.”
2025 schedule
Week 1 – Winters vs. Frost at Hamilton, 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28
Week 2 – Winters at Munday, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5
Week 3 – Sterling City at Winters, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept.12
Week 4 – Winters at Iraan, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19
Week 5 – TLCA Abilene at Winters, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26
Week 6 – OPEN
Week 7 – Winters at Hamlin, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10
Week 8 – Winters at Albany, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17
Week 9 – Roscoe at Winters, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24
Week 10 – Winters at Miles, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31
Week 11 – Cross Plains at Winters, 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Can new coach Ryan Pannell lead Winters high school football football back to winning?
Reporting by Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
