While Apex High’s football schedule may have begun Aug. 25 against Sanderson High, the Cougars’ season actually started months earlier.

Against the Spartans, the Cougars rallied from a 10-3 halftime deficit to produce a dramatic 12-10 victory, blocking a punt for a safety in the waning minutes. Apex’s resilience stems from its desire to be better.

After a promising 6-5-1 season last year, coach Bob Wolfe’s team headed into the off-season wanting more. In order to get more, Wolfe knew his team was going to have to put in more. More running, more lifting, more time.

“We challenged them to increase their strength and really work on their speed,” said Wolfe, who is in his 13th season at Apex. Led by the seniors, the returning Apex players met their coach’s challenge in full force this summer.

“These kids have worked really hard in the off season,” Wolfe said. “I’ve been really proud about how they all worked. The thing that is kind of unique about this group is that it wasn’t really an individual here or there, they really worked together as a group to make themselves better. They challenged each other a lot.”

The result of Apex’s summer of hard work? A closer, stronger, faster, more mature football team that is ready to compete for a Tri-Seven Conference title.

Apex is led this year by an experienced defense that returns four starting defensive linemen, standout defensive back Jim Nordt and Tri-Seven All-Conference safety Rayshad Horton.

“[The defense] is tremendous,” quarterback Mike Billings said. “They set the tempo for the game. They get the offense fired up. We rely on them to get us the ball and good field position.”

The defense is headed by the dynamic Horton, who isn’t just a special talent but also provides leadership and acts as a sparkplug for Apex.

“He’s a great leader,” said Wolfe of one of his four co-captains. “He’s very aggressive, strong, fast. He’s a good hub for everybody to work around. He plays emotionally most of the time. Not only does he talk a good game, but he really does play the game too.”

In the victory over Sanderson, the Cougars displayed their patented brand of exciting and aggressive defense. But Wolfe was impressed with his team’s performance on both sides of the ball against Sanderson and expects to see significant improvement from last season.

“I thought we played pretty aggressively,” Wolfe said. “I think the team realized how much more aggressive they have to be. They learned a lot about how to play together as a unit and everybody doing their responsibility.

“[The defense] moved to the ball better. They’re more aggressive than they were last year. They understand the game a little more this year.”

The Cougars offense features a triple option attack that focuses on controlling the ball and the clock. While the offense struggled to put points on the board against Sanderson, Wolfe believes it’s only a matter of time before that changes.

“I was fairly pleased with how we moved the ball on the ground,” Wolfe said. “The penalties hurt us. We had several penalties that cut drives out and ended up having to go for field goals instead.”