Pigskin Preview: Big Spring Steers

BIG SPRING, Texas (KOSA) - Sports has a history of great trios: The Dallas Cowboys “Triplets” of the 1990′s. The Miami Heat’s “Big 3″ in the 2010′s.

Big Spring’s football team has it’s own version of that, with record-setting quarterback Gavin Padron, dynamic running back Kavien Ford, and big play receiver Zyrie Franklin.

“It’s cool,” Ford said. “We’re all friends on and off the field. We really just enjoy time around each other.”

“We’ve got a quarterback with a strong arm and we’ve got a strong-running running back,” Franklin said. “They’re both quick. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

“They’re crazy athletes,” Padron said. “Kavien can go jump out the gym and get it. Zyrie will go jump out the gym, get it. And they can out-sprint anybody.”

The “Big 3″ are among nine starters that return to the “Steer Raid” offense.

“It’s a play on words from the Air Raid,” fifth-year head coach Cannon McWilliams said. “We took what Hal Mumme did, what Mike Leach did, and what I learned under David Wood and Ralph Mason, who was at Andrews. It’s fast, put people in space, put the ball in the air a bunch, and let athletes go to work.”

Padron threw for 3,411 yards and a school-record 28 touchdowns last season.

“We try to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible, and throw it as much as we can,” he said.

“I think he is 5′9″, 135 pounds soaking wet,” McWilliams said. “But he’s got that ‘it’ factor. I can’t explain it. But I’ve got a 2.5-year-old son and if he turns out like Gavin, I would be happy as heck.”

Several key players, like Ford and Franklin, will play on defense as well.

“I felt like our defense really led us toward the end of last year, and we’ve got a bunch of those starters coming back,” McWilliams said. “The fun part is developing those young kids and getting them ready to go. Because you mention those ‘Big 3′, but we’ve got to have other kids ready to go as well.”

After a miraculous playoff victory over El Paso Riverside last year, Big Spring wants to keep progressing.

“We want to get into playing in that Thanksgiving football range,” McWilliams said.

“We really want a district championship,” Ford said. " We haven’t had one since like 1990. There’s been a lot of doubt about this team, so for us to accomplish something like that would be huge.”

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