GERONIMO — A new era of Navarro football begins Friday night.
After more than 50 years at Erwin-Lee Field, the Navarro Panthers will officially open Panther Stadium when they host the Marble Falls Mustangs at 7 p.m. in their final non-district game.
Navarro enters the historic night looking to rebound from a 51-49 loss at La Vernia, but head coach Glenn Hill believes what his Panthers showed in defeat could prove important as they move closer to district play.
The Panthers fell behind 30-7 after three first-half turnovers against a La Vernia program that has reached the state semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Instead of folding, Navarro fought back and had an opportunity to win in the final minute.
“Really gritty,” Hill said when asked what he has learned about his team. “Our kids just kept fighting and showing me a lot about their resiliency and their buy-in to our culture. They never batted an eye. They just kept swinging.”
Navarro will now try to carry that fight into a considerably different setting.
Friday will mark the first varsity football game inside the new Panther Stadium, located behind Navarro High School. The facility replaces Erwin-Lee Field as the Panthers’ home after more than half a century.
Hill said the new stadium is a reflection of the community’s investment in its students and athletic programs.
“It’s just a really special place,” Hill said. “Our kids are very fortunate to be in a community that supports them and supports athletics, and ultimately voted yes on a bond to give them some state-of-the-art facilities. It’s not something that they’re taking lightly.”
The Panthers will bring an increasingly dangerous offense into their new home.
Quarterback Eli Baker is coming off one of the best passing performances in school history. He threw for 302 yards against La Vernia, becoming only the second Navarro quarterback to eclipse 300 yards in a game.
His favorite target, Brody Zoeller, made some history of his own with a school-record 246 receiving yards on 12 catches with three touchdowns.
Hill believes the production is about more than Baker simply getting the ball to Navarro’s top receiver.
“There were some other times that he was the second or even third option in a play, and it’s just kind of showing Eli’s mastery of the offense,” Hill said. “He’s patiently going through option one and two and three, and not forcing anything, and just finding the open guy.”
That patience has helped Navarro develop a more balanced attack.
Baker threw for 200 yards in the season-opening 27-14 victory over McCallum before the Panthers piled up 403 yards of offense in a 55-37 win over Floresville. Against La Vernia, Navarro showed it could lean heavily on the passing game when circumstances demanded it.
The Panthers will face a Marble Falls defense that Hill expects to challenge them physically. The Mustangs primarily use a four-man defensive front, with Hill particularly impressed by their outside linebackers and their ability to contain the running game.
“They’re really hard to kick out, and they’re making a bunch of plays for them,” Hill said. “We need to try to go out there and be the more physical team.”
Marble Falls will present challenges for Navarro’s defense as well.
Hill described the Mustangs as balanced and multiple offensively, with a dangerous runner (Hudson Salyers, 94 rushing yards/game, 2 touchdowns) and a receiving threat capable of stretching the field (Diego Aguilar, 18.8 yards/reception, 5.7 rushing yards/carry, 6 touchdowns).
Their ability to use different formations will test a Navarro defense that remains relatively inexperienced.
Eight of Navarro’s 11 defensive starters entered this season as rookies.
That inexperience has occasionally shown. Floresville quarterback Drake Coronado rushed for 128 yards, while La Vernia quarterback Cooper Null gashed Navarro for 202 rushing yards and five total scores last week.
Hill, however, sees a defense learning through those difficult assignments.
“That was very intentional in our scheduling,” Hill said. “We didn’t go out looking for a bunch of cupcakes. We’re trying to play some tough teams on purpose because we know the road ahead is not easy in district play.”
Friday represents Navarro’s final opportunity to apply those lessons before the games begin counting toward its postseason hopes.
Following Marble Falls, the Panthers will have their bye week before opening district play on the road against Pearsall.
Hill believes Navarro has checked many of the boxes it wanted to during its non-district schedule. A few remain.
“This is a huge game for us to kind of solidify, ‘Hey, we’ve had five weeks. These are the things we need to get better at,’” Hill said. “I think we’ve checked a lot of the boxes, but we still have a couple left.”
The Panthers will try to check a few more Friday.
And for the first time, they will do it under the lights of their new home.