WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The Waco Lions enter year two under head coach Esrom Martinez.
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With the longtime Central Texas coach going into his second season — he tells me that the team has more of an identity.
"Last year I had to come in late, couldn't create our own culture, couldn't really run the offseason or summer, so this year's been good for us because it's us, you know, it's our offseason, it's our summer, it's our culture," Martinez said.
"It's been crazy. I mean just from like being just from being the coach in general, it's like having like another father to me, honestly, just him watching me grow also and just becoming a better person," defensive end Torian Barnett said.
Last season, the Lions didn't win a game. The last time Waco had a winning season was in 2017. Going into 2026, the players are motivated to bring home some W's
"I mean, I feel like we just come, we come a lot more together, you know, it's a different type of brotherhood. It's no more cliques going on; we're all together. I feel like it's gonna be a whole different thing this year," Barnett said.
"They know it's bigger than them. It's their family. It's a community, it's a school, so they know what's at stake, and they're just hungry and ready to prove and, you know, we just tell them one game at a time," Martinez said.
The Lions begin the season against the Killeen Kangaroos on August 20.
