Spring High's football program enters 2026 under new head coach KaRon Coleman, facing a District 14-6A slate that includes a retooled Nimitz Cougars squad hungry to prove itself against the Lions.
Four losing seasons are enough. Coleman, a former Fort Bend Hightower offensive coordinator whose unit averaged 41.9 points per game in 2025, takes over a program that went 2-8 last year and hasn't made the playoffs since 2021, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Lions last won a district title in 2020.
An Aldine ISD season preview published Thursday, Aug. 13, offers a first look at what the Cougars will bring when the two teams meet in district play. Fifth-year head coach Cornelius Harmon has compiled a 29-15 record with four straight playoff appearances since taking over in 2022, but his 2026 roster is younger after graduating quarterback Albert Brown, District MVP Malachai Augustus and receiver Sincere Williams to the college level.
"It's going to look different," Harmon said in the preview. "Even though faces have changed, the expectations are the same. We have a really strong non-district schedule to get these young players ready for district competition."
Nimitz returns just two offensive players who scored a touchdown last season and will start four new offensive linemen and four new receivers. Junior quarterback Edwin Brown, Albert's younger brother, takes over after starting three games in 2025. Senior linebackers Elijah Taylor and Jamari Bondi, both all-district selections, anchor a defense that allowed just 16.4 points per game during the 2025 regular season and held opponents to 10 or fewer in five games.
That defense is the unit Spring's offense will need to solve. Coleman built his reputation on high-scoring attacks at Hightower and brings that offensive identity to a program searching for stability after cycling through coaches Sam Parker, Trent Miller and Freddie Strange in recent years. An Elkins High School graduate who played running back at Stephen F. Austin before a brief NFL stint, Coleman has playing experience and offensive creativity on his résumé.
Spring opens its season Sept. 4 against Waller at Planet Ford Stadium, followed by a home date with Cypress Lakes on Sept. 12 and an away trip to Dekaney on Sept. 25. The Lions host Westfield on Oct. 2 before facing Nimitz on Oct. 22 and closing district play against Aldine on Nov. 5.
The Cougars open Aug. 28 against Barbers Hill before beginning their own district schedule. Both teams compete in the eight-school District 14-6A, which also includes Aldine, Aldine Davis, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Dekaney and Westfield under the UIL's 2026-28 realignment.
