The Commerce Tigers aren't sneaking up on anybody this fall.
Commerce opens the 2026 high school football season Friday night at home against Lone Oak carrying expectations that would have seemed extraordinary for the program just a few years ago. The Tigers are coming off their first district championship since 2001 and a playoff run that ended by a single point against Grandview, which went on to play for the Class 3A Division I state championship.
Now, much of the core of that Commerce team is back.
KETR's Kevin Jefferies, longtime voice of Tigers football, says that has created an unusual amount of anticipation both inside the program and around Commerce.
“There’s a lot of hype in the locker room and the coaches after the best season they’ve had since their late state championship run,” Jefferies said. “But I think there’s a lot of hype in the community.”
Quarterback Aiden Brown and running back Ky’Mani Graham headline a senior-heavy Commerce roster. Brown emerged last season as one of the state's notable dual-threat quarterbacks, while Graham gives the Tigers another established weapon in the backfield.
There are questions to answer. Commerce graduated important receivers, including Wyatt Marker and Malik Garcia, and Jefferies said he'll be watching the development of both the offensive and defensive lines closely during the opening weeks.
But the Tigers aren't starting from scratch elsewhere. Jefferies pointed to B.J. Anderson and Donovan Maria as players who could take on significant roles in the passing game, with Anderson also an important part of the Commerce defense.
Coach John McSheffery has another reason for optimism: his players appear to have embraced the expectations surrounding them.
Jefferies said his conversations with McSheffery throughout the preseason have repeatedly returned to the attitude and participation of the players, including their willingness to show up for summer workouts and optional activities.
“They came to play, they’re ready to work hard, and they’re ready to have fun,” Jefferies said.
Even UIL realignment did little to change the landscape facing Commerce. The Tigers remain in a district with Malakoff, Winnsboro, Mount Vernon, Mineola, Rains and Eustace.
Commerce enters the season favored to finish at or near the top of that group, although Malakoff again figures prominently among the Tigers' challenges.
The larger question may be whether last season represented Commerce's breakthrough or the beginning of something bigger.
Jefferies remembers one moment in particular.
During Commerce's rout of Winnsboro last season, the Tigers built a lead of roughly 40 points or more. Jefferies expected Winnsboro, a program capable of scoring quickly, to come out after halftime prepared to make a run.
Instead, Winnsboro began pulling back.
“You went, ‘My goodness, Commerce has arrived,’” Jefferies recalled.
The Tigers eventually advanced through a difficult playoff path before meeting Grandview. After lengthy weather delays pushed the game deep into the night, Commerce attempted a two-point conversion that could have won it. The Tigers came up short, 36-35.
That experience has changed the standard for what might constitute a successful 2026 season.
Asked how high the ceiling could be for this Commerce team, Jefferies didn't hesitate.
“State championship. That’s the ceiling.”
Commerce and Lone Oak kick off Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Commerce. Jefferies and Ryan Fulkerson will have the call on 88.9 KETR.
