The 2010 high school football season is a little more than two weeks away and excitement is building across the state that defines the passion of the season.

Tomball, Magnolia and Magnolia West each will be looking to improve on 2009 seasons that saw each of the teams miss out on the post season. Each squad also has motivation to make a better showing than in 2009.

For Tomball, 2010 will likely be one of the last, at least for a while, for the Cougars competing in class 5A, with realignment coming in 2012. With Tomball Memorial set to open in August 2011, the school’s enrollment will take a hit while many underclassmen will head to the new campus.

It’s been a struggle for Tommy Kaiser’s team since he took over the reins at Tomball, but there’s hope for a turnaround this year. In 2009, the Cougars played several underclassmen who gained valuable experience in a tough district.

The Cougars kick off their 2010 season on Saturday, Aug. 28 when they travel to take on a Morton Ranch Maverick team that is rebuilding after a turbulent 2009 season that saw them go just 1-9. The remaining non-district games for Tomball will be home against Jersey Village on Sept. 3 and away at Mayde Creek on Sept. 10.

Tomball begins district play with a tough Sept. 24 match up when they host Division 1 Area Finalists Westfield. The Cougars will also host 13-5A’s other favorite, Klein Collins, who finished 12-1 last year, on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.

Across town, the Magnolia West Mustang football program is hitting the restart button after the fiasco in 2009 in which the team had to forfeit all but one district game, ending up in the departure of coach David Joiner and the hiring of former Baylor Bears quarterback Shawn Bell.

Bell inherits a team that went just 2-8 last season, but is revamping the offense to more of pass-oriented style. If anything, the Mustangs should be more fun to watch in 2010.

Magnolia West opens their season Aug. 27 at 5A opponent Oak Ridge at 7:30 p.m. The Mustangs will also play Kingwood Park (Sept. 3) and Willis (Sept. 10) in non-district play.

After a week off, the Mustangs being 18-4A play on Sept. 24 when they play host to Houston Northbrook, a team that went winless in 2010 and was dropped to 4A.

The marquee game on the calendar for the Mustangs, as it is for the Magnolia Bulldogs, is Oct. 15 when the Bulldogs host Magnolia West in this year’s version of the battle between the town rivals.

Coming off a 5-5 season, the Magnolia Bulldogs are perhaps the local team with the best chance of making a run at a postseason berth. The Bulldogs return 18-4A Newcomer of the Year Chance David along with a talented offense.

The Bulldogs kick off their season Aug. 27 when they host Galena Park, a 1-9 team last year, at 7:30 p.m. Magnolia will take on Summer Creek and Westbury, wrapping up what should be a light early season schedule before heading into 18-4A play.

On Sept. 24, the Bulldogs will host Northbrook to start district play. In what will likely be the two toughest games of 2010 for Magnolia, Division 2 State Finalist Brenham will play host to Magnolia on Oct. 29, while Division 1 Area Finalist Montgomery will travel to Magnolia Nov. 5 in the season finale.

The Bulldogs will likely need to wrap up a playoff berth prior to the killer one-two punch to wrap up their season.

For more information and a full schedule for each of the teams, visit either tomballisd.net or magnoliaisd.org.

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