The Malakoff High School Tigers are a 3A high school that plays in the 8-3A, D1 conference in Malakoff, Texas. They are led by longtime head coach, Jamie Driskell. Coach Driskell has been with Malakoff since he first took over as head coach and athletic director in 2009. Coach Driskell led the Tigers to an undefeated 16-0 record this season, and took home the State Championship when they beat Franklin 14-7. This stellar season won Coach Driskell the 3A Coach Of the Year Award for Texas High School Football. Malakoff was quarterbacked by class of 2025 signal caller Mike Jones, and he tore up the box scores. On his way to being named 3rd Team All- State, Mike threw for 2,621 yards and 31 touchdowns. While those are already very impressive stats, the talent doesn’t stop here for Mike. To add to his totals through the air, Mike also rushed for 831 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is a do it all type of quarterback. He has poise in the pocket, but can escape for a big gain if he needs. If he finds a receiver open, they will be getting the ball. Mike has insane arm strength that he couples with pinpoint precision to deliver the ball in any coverage. Her can throw it from all angles, showing flashes of Patrick Mahomes type of play. Overall, Mike is a quarterback who deserves much more coverage than he is receiving. Mike’s favorite target was class of 2024, and Trinity Valley Community College commit, wide receiver Chauncey Hogg. This season, Chauncey totaled 1,048 yards through the air with 12 touchdowns to go along with it. On the ground he had an additional 116 yards and 4 touchdowns. The talent doesn’t stop here as Chauncey is just as elite from the cornerback position. On defense, Chauncey totaled 11 tackles and and an eye opening 9 interceptions. These stats earned him 1st Team All State for defense. He is a very speedy player, running a 4.44s forty yard dash, that also possess soft hands to go up and come down with the ball. While it may seem Malakoff was a very pass heavy offense, they put up more than respectable stats in the run game. Class of 2026 running back, Jerrion Hall, put up video game numbers this season. Jerrion rushed for 1,490 yards and 31 touchdowns on only 168 carries. That averages out to a stunning 93.1 yards a game. His overall dominance was proved by the fact he was top 20 in the whole state of Texas for offensive points scored, a very hard feat for a sophomore. Jerrion was named to the 3rd Team All State as a running back. On defense, Malakoff was just as stellar. They were led by class of 2024 defensive end, Doc Renberg. Doc will be joining Chauncey Hogg at Trinity Valley Community College next semester. Doc had a solid season on the line, totaling 43 tackles with 11 of those being for a loss and a sack. Doc was named 3rd Team All State for his contributions this year. Doc is a very big body who is hard to move off of the line. He shows brute strength that can toss any tackle to the side. While Malakoff just won the State Championship, they are hungry for more. Don’t be surprised if Coach Driskell is hosting the championship trophy again next year.
What are some core values and coaching philosophies you believe build successful programs?
Well consistency is one of them for sure. I think all the coaches need to be on the same page and have everyone pulling the ropes in the same direction. Being consistent with everything on a daily basis, especially during the offseason grind is key. The kids don’t need to think they can only go to one guy and get something done over another coach. You need consistency across the board in terms of the coaches. As far as the kids, it’s good to have leadership and quarterback Mike Jones is definitely the leader. When kids see your better players working the hardest, they feel as if they need to follow suit.
You guys are losing some key pieces in the likes of Chauncy Hogg, Bubba Hicks, and Doc Renberg. How do you expect the returning players to step into their shoes and not miss a beat?
Well it’s a weird deal for us this particular year. We have a lot of returning starters coming back but losing those guys you just mentioned is definitely going to make us different. We won’t be able to depend on 3 or 4 kids like we did this last year. We’re gonna have to spread the load a little bit more among some of the other kids. We’re just gonna be different you know. Every year were different and it’s our job to figure out what this teams strengths and weaknesses are. We have some good upcoming juniors that were on Jv last year and they know what it takes. Whether or not they will be as good as last years kids is a whole nother deal but as a whole we are going to be a little bit different. We gotta figure out the best way for us to be successful.
What was that feeling like once you completed the journey to Malakoffs first undefeated season and State Championship win?
It was crazy. You dream about it and we’ve gotten really close for several years. We’ve made the finals before, the semifinals, we go 3 or 4 rounds deep into the playoffs and lose some games we should have won but they are learning moments. It’s so cool when your whole staff enjoys the wins as much as you do, and hurts as bad as you do when you lose that final game. So celebrating it all together as a unit takes the pressure off of me. It was awesome though, the kids were excited and the coaches were just as excited. It was a whole lot of work from a whole lot of people from 15 years of work.
You’ve been with Malakoff since 2009. What are some ways you have seen this program grow while you have been there?
The kids accountability. When we first got here, we had kids but they weren’t used to winning. They maybe weren’t used to putting in the work that they need so we had to stay on them a lot more. We still stay on the kids and push them but it’s a whole nother level. When the kids come down for athletics everyday they just know that it’s time to put the hard hat on and go to work. Just the mentality has changed a lot. The coaches mentality has changed a lot too due to the simple fact that it’s just totally different than it used to be. It’s happened over time naturally. You get new kids and they follow suit of the older kids so luckily it has kinda snowballed for us.
How do you think growing up with a brilliant football mind like your fathers, helped influence you down the coaching path?
Well I think it was more about how you handle the job. It wasn’t as much X’s and O’s as it’s how do you handle the assistant coaches, how do you handle people that work with and below you, how do you handle the kids on a daily basis? The work ethic that you put in and all that is more than the X’s and O’s that I learned from him. Just hard work and grinding it out and sacrificing time. You have to have a great family that understands it will take time away. It has had a lot of influence on me as an individual.
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