Damen Clow

Special to the Caller-Times

Ray football players have always had plenty to look up to, going back to the state championship team of 1959. These days, they look higher than ever.

The newest member of the Texans’ high-flying offense is a definite throwback to that Cold War era – a drone helicopter with video capabilities, a hefty price tag and a select group of handlers answering questions from a curious public.

“We had a lot of people assuming we’re in the A/V club,” said sophomore Hunter Wagoner, one of four members of the crew that flies the DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter and films Texans’ practices. “But it’s its own separate thing.”

Second-year head football coach Craig Charlton was looking for a new way to film practice last year when he and offensive coordinator Danny Faust reached out to Austin-area coaches they knew had used drone technology.

“It’s so versatile,” Charlton said. “If you’re in a tower, you’ve got to move the players to the angle that you want. With a drone, you just practice. The players just play. The drone can move to the angle that it needs. The film crew can adjust based on your needs.”

The booster club and other donors contributed the near $1,800 for the drone, extra batteries and related equipment last spring. To operate it, co-offensive coordinator Lee Leifeste turned to a group of students in his English class – Hunter, Christian Tanguma, Lee Ramirez and Jade Castro.

“Those were the first four kids I thought of,” Leifeste said. “They were a great bunch of kids, really sharp. I really bonded with them and I wanted to keep them involved in something. They’ve done a fantastic job for us this year.”

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” Lee said. “I’d never flown a drone before and I really wanted to. And we all really liked the coach and we didn’t want to say no to him.”

“We had an opportunity to get kids involved in our program who were totally on the outside but who were interested in learning about this technology, and hopefully help them open up an avenue to get a college opportunity if they wanted to pursue this further,” Charlton said.

Jade said she enjoyed “making people happy” – either the coaches who needed the film or the people who come to her with questions as she’s working the controls.

“They’ll want to ask me all about the drone, so I tell them,” Jade said. “Maybe they’ll want to join (the crew) next year.”

“I think I was the one that, out of all of us, I enjoyed it the most,” said Hunter, who filmed most of the morning practices. “Just seeing it fly around and maneuver, and how high you can go. You can see the ocean from the football field if you fly up, I think it’s only 200 feet up.”

The crew films practices with the drone, then switches to ground cameras on game day, per UIL rules. Principal Cissy Reynolds-Perez has also shared videos taken from the drone of Homecoming events such as the parade down Staples Street and the Burning of the T on social media.

“I like being able to be the first drone crew in Ray history. It’s quite an honor,” Christian said. “Being able to do it with three of my closest friends really brought out the fun in it.”