2026 Countdown to Kickoff: Canyon Eagles

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The Canyon Eagles are entering the high school football season with a renewed sense of stability, a championship-caliber coaching reunion, and a roster hungry to build on last year’s resilient postseason run.

For head coach Matt Lovorn, this season represents a major milestone: his first official offseason in full control of the program.

“Starting in January all the way to this point, we’ve been able to tweak things and just work on a lot of little details,” Lovorn said. “To be able to take a whole offseason to do that has been pretty cool. There’s a lot of preparation that comes to this point, and that’s the fun part, too, is the process of just getting here. As soon as the season gets started, you get to see some of the rewards that the kids have been working so hard for this offseason.”

Navigating the Storm of 2025

To understand the excitement surrounding the 2026 Eagles, one must look back at the turbulent but inspiring path they carved out last fall.

The 2025 season began with high expectations, but a mid-season coaching change shook the program.

Following a 4-1 start, Lovorn, then the offensive coordinator, took on the challenge of interim head coaching role. Under his guidance, the Eagles weathered the storm, going 4-4 to finish the season at 8-5 overall and 2-3 in District 2-4A Division I.

Though they entered the postseason as a fourth seed, the battle-tested Eagles caught fire when it mattered most. They posted a dominant victory over El Paso Ysleta in the Bi-District round before a thrilling 31-28 edge-of-your-seat win against Brownwood in the Area round.

Their resilient run finally came to an end in the regional semifinals in a hard-fought loss to cross-town rival West Plains.

However, Lovorn’s leadership throughout the crisis earned him the permanent head coaching job.

A Championship Staff Reunited

With the permanent job secured, Lovorn made a major splash in the offseason by bringing in veteran coach Jon Murphy as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

Lovorn and Murphy share a rich, highly successful history. In 2021, the two helped led the Stratford Elks to the UIL Class 2A Division II State Championship, the most recent football state championship won by a team from the Texas Panhandle.

Murphy succeeded Lovorn as Stratford’s head coach following that championship run, but the pull of working together again brought him to Canyon.

“Coach Murphy’s got 20 years of experience, and we worked together in Stratford for eight years,” Lovorn said. “Not only are we getting a great coach, but a good friend of mine... to coach together is really, really special.”

The transition has been filled with mixed emotions for Murphy, who leaves behind a beloved program at Stratford, but he is energized by the culture Lovorn is building.

“There’s a whole lot of love and respect that we have for that community up there in Stratford,” Murphy reflected. “We’re also really excited about the community and the kids that we have here in Canyon. These guys have been wonderful to me. They’ve made that transition really, really good.”

Murphy’s immediate focus has been establishing relationships on and off the field, spending his entire summer in the weight room with the players.

“Getting to know kids is more important than anything,” Murphy said. “They need to know that you’re a worker and they need to know that you care about them. Fortunately for me, we’ve been able to establish some relationships and get to know some personalities, start finding some nicknames and some common jokes, some things that we can feel good about.”

Murphy’s goals for Year One in the new offense are clear-cut: “First of all, an identity and a culture. We need to be sure that we know who we are. We need to feel really good about our scheme as far as fitting our kids and fitting our culture and making sure that we can have fun... I hope that we accomplish a lot of the basic things, a lot of the foundational things, especially at our run game, that we really believe in.”

Senior Leadership and Locker Room Brotherhood

The Eagles will rely heavily on a massive senior class to carry out Lovorn and Murphy’s vision. With 31 seniors on the roster, leadership will not be in short supply.

“We’ve got 31 guys right now in our senior class, and we’re going to lean pretty heavy on those guys in leadership roles,” Lovorn noted. “A lot of underclassmen that are coming back and had some experience last year. It’s a really well-rounded group and a really fun group to coach.”

Among those seniors is running back and cornerback Jaylyn “Boogie” Keith, who says the squad has been preparing for this moment for a long time.

“I’ve been thinking about it all summer. It started in the winter and it hasn’t stopped since,” Keith said. “I’m just happy to go out there with my guys one last time. We’ve got amazing coaches. The brotherhood out here is just something you can never recreate.”

Keith, who has embraced his leadership role, focuses strictly on the collective team success over individual accolades.

“I really just wanted to become a better leader, honestly,” Keith added. “It’s more about the guys than it is about me. It feels amazing. I love to lead these guys. Everybody really likes to learn, it’s a great team to play on.”

For Keith, a Canyon native, playing under the Friday night lights is about more than just football.

“It means a lot to me. I’ve been in this town my whole life, and I’ve always loved to come out and play for them.”

Looking Ahead

With two-a-days in full swing, Coach Lovorn is using every single opportunity to evaluate his full roster before week one kickoff.

“We’re trying to get as many reps as we can with every single player,” Lovorn said. “It’s really important for us to evaluate all those guys. Between now and that first week, even with our two scrimmages, man, we’re going to try to get as many reps as we can... and just kind of see where our guys are at.”

No matter who is on the field, Lovorn has a clear vision for the brand of football Canyon fans can expect.

“Our kids are going to be known for playing tough,” Lovorn said, “and playing the right way.”

2026 Canyon football Schedule

*denotes district games

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