2025 Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Week Award for Week 1 include Cardae Mack, Caidyn Hoover, David Richardson, Kavian Bryant, Christian Villarreal and Keisean Henderson.
PLANO, TEXAS, September 3rd, 2025 - Ford is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the prestigious Built Ford Tough Player of the Week and Year Awards, one of the most celebrated honors in Texas high school sports that recognizes student-athletes for their performance, leadership, and commitment to excellence. During each week of the 2025 regular season, fans, coaches, and media are asked to nominate players at FordPlayeroftheWeek.com.
To mark the milestone, Ford is partnering with Texas’ most iconic media brand, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, to honor past recipients and showcase their achievements both on and off the field. Throughout the season, Dave Campbell’s will produce the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week Show each Thursday at 10:30 p.m. on Texan Live and across Dave Campbell’s social platforms, inviting fans to tune in weekly and follow along for highlights, stories, and exclusive content.
The campaign will also be celebrated through Dave Campbell’s statewide media channels and UIL postseason broadcasts, with special recognition leading into the Built Ford Tough Player of the Year Banquet in January. At the banquet, one of the honorees will also be recognized with the Dave Campbell’s Mr. Texas Football Award, a complementary honor that celebrates the state’s most outstanding high school football player as part of this season-long celebration.
This week’s winning athletes join a long list of remarkable players recognized for their exceptional efforts.
Class 6A: Cardae Mack, Senior, QB, Atascocita High School
Mascot: Eagles
Opponent: Houston Lamar High School
Senior quarterback Cardae Mack from Atascocita High School delivered a dominant performance, showcasing why he's one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the state. Mack completed 17 of 24 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns, boasting an impressive 71% completion rate. On the ground, he was equally unstoppable, racking up 224 rushing yards and three more touchdowns on 25 carries. With 471 total yards and six touchdowns, Mack proved to be a one-man offensive force. His standout performance adds to a stellar season, and with his commitment to play for Arizona State next year, the Sun Devils are getting a true playmaker with elite athleticism and poise under pressure.
“Cardae is a true leader. His performance week one is a reflection of what he does every day.”
ATASCOCITA HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH CRAIG STUMP
Class 5A: Caidyn Hoover, Junior, Safety, Robert Vela High School
Mascot: Sabercats
Opponent: Edinburg North High School
It isn't often that a defensive player gets all the attention to start the season. But, then again, it isn't every day a defensive player has a game like Caidyn Hoover, a junior safety at Edinburg Vela, did.
In a 38-2 victory over intracity rival Edinburg North, Caidyn led the Sabercats' stellar defensive effort by picking off 5 interceptions, which according to his coach, is just two picks shy of the national record of 7, which is held by four different players.
“I've never seen anything like it! Some players don't have 5 interceptions in their entire high school career, so to have 5 in one game is just something that we are very proud of. Caidyn is a smart, humble student-athlete with a bright future, and just a fun guy to be around.”
ROBERT VELA HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH ERNIE ALONZO
Class 4A: David Richardson, Senior, QB, Athens High School
Mascot: Hornets
Opponent: Henderson High School
With his team trailing and 89 yards from the end zone with three minutes remaining, David Richardson did what he always does. The Athens High School senior quarterback competed and led. Richardson capped a huge game for Athens with a 15-yard touchdown run with just :02 showing on the clock to lead his team to a 56-49 Week 1 victory over Henderson.
Richardson finished the night completing 21 of 35 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 18 carries for 148 yards and four touchdowns.
“I’ve never been around anyone who has worked as hard as David has at his craft. He’s blessed with some athletic ability, but he puts in countless hours on his own doing everything he can to be the best player he can be. He wants to win. He’s such a high-level competitor and great leader.”
ATHENS HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH ZAC HARRELL
Class 3A: Kavian Bryant, Junior, QB, Westwood High School
Mascot: Panthers
Opponent: Mexia High School
By the time Kavian Bryant finally threw an incomplete pass in a Week 1 54-14 win over Mexia, the game was out of hand. Bryant, who finished with more than 3,600 total yards and 51 touchdowns a year ago, has a way of doing that to teams.
The senior Palestine Westwood standout finished the night 26 of 34 passing for 469 yards and four touchdowns to go along with six carries for 89 yards and two more scores against Mexia. He completed 18 of 18 passes for 300 yards in the first half, and he got everyone involved in the offense throughout the contest – five different receivers had at least three catches.
“We’re not calling 1-2 receiver routes. Everything is full-field progression, and he’s making all of those decisions in a split second and getting the ball where it needs to be. I’m not trying to slight anyone, but he’s the best quarterback in the country. He’s a phenomenal kid and a phenomenal player. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
WESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH RICHARD BISHOP
Class 2A: Christian Villarreal, Senior, RB, Ozona High School
Mascot: Lions
Opponent: McCamey High School
Villarreal has a knack for putting together memorable games in season openers. He did it again last week when he rushed 18 times for 371 yards and seven touchdowns to lead Ozona to a 65-0 shutout of McCamey. Villarreal also scored on five 2-point conversion runs, accounting for 52 of the Lions’ points.
It was the second straight year that Villarreal claimed the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week for his season opening performance after he ran for 361 yards and six TDs in the 2024 opener against the same McCamey Badgers.
Villarreal’s monster game made it a memorable night for head coach Jason Pitts, who was making his debut as the leader of the Lions’ program.
Villarreal entered the 2025 season as the district 3-2A Division I Preseason Offensive MVP in Dave Campbell’s Texas Football after he ran for 1,438 yards and 17 TDs as a junior.
The Ozona coaching staff lauds Villarreal for mentoring younger kids and devoting his time to helping others in need.
“Not only did Christian top his award-winning performance from week 1 last year, he is, hands down the leader of the team. He will help coach up anyone on the team, runs his opponents over, then helps them up. He’s what every coach looks for in a kid.”
OZONA HIGH SCHOOL HEAD COACH JASON PITTS
Private School: Keisean Henderson, Senior, QB, Legacy the School of Sport Science
Mascot: Titans
Opponent: Second Baptist School
Keisean entered the season as Texas Football’s Super Team quarterback and as the consensus top-ranked college prospect in Greater Houston. He delivered promptly on that praise, completing 35 of 42 passes for 423 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 43 yards in a 45-27 season-opening win over Houston Second Baptist. Keisean is committed to the University of Houston and coached by Michael Bishop, the former All-American quarterback at Kansas State who was runner-up to Ricky Williams in the 1998 Heisman Trophy voting. He has attended Legacy, the Houston area’s first athletics-focused private school, since sixth grade, and wins high praise from his coach for leadership and performance skills.
“Keisean is as advertised. He’s amazing on the field, but to know him as a young man is absolutely incredible. He did some great things for his team last Friday night.”
LEGACY HEAD COACH MICHAEL BISHOP
How the program works
The Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Week program recognizes one high school student-athlete in six of the state’s athletic classifications each week of the regular season.
Nominees must excel in three categories:
Individual performance on the field, including significant statistics from that week’s game
Contribution to the team’s success through individual leadership abilities
Performance off the field, including academic success and good community citizenship
At the end of the regular season, Ford and its advisory board will select one student-athlete from the 11 weekly winners to be the Built Ford Tough Texas High School Football Player of the Year in each classification. Following the championship games, honorees will be recognized at a banquet next year and one winner will be elevated to be awarded Dave Campbell’s Mr. Texas Football.
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