From left, Marques Tryon, Josh Whitfield, Rowe Athletic Coordinator Robert Vaughn, Cypress Park Head Football Coach Donald Lawrence, Cody Lancon and Eric Woodard pose after Rowe’s coaching staff won the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association’s Junior High Staff of the Year award. (Not pictured: Ryan Lee, Zach Dowling and Gregory Nash)

May 12, 2026—The Greater Houston Football Coaches Association (GHFCA) named the Rowe Middle School football coaches as its Junior High Staff of the Year at its annual awards ceremony on May 3.

The Rowe staff is led by Athletic Coordinator Robert Vaughn, who is also the eighth grade A team coach, and Cody Lancon, the seventh grade A team coach. Eric Woodard, Marques Tryon, Ryan Lee, Josh Whitfield, Zach Dowling and Gregory Nash are the other coaches on staff.

They helped lead the Rowe eighth grade A and B teams to district titles, while the seventh grade A team was the West Zone champion.

The Rowe Middle School eighth grade A football team celebrates after defeating Arnold Middle School for the district title on October 29.

“Our staff is special because we were able to build strong, trusting relationships with the student athletes,” Vaughn said. “Our staff does an amazing job of getting to know our student athletes. Once that bond was created, we were able to be successful.”

Rowe Middle School feeds directly into Cypress Park High School, so Donald Lawrence, the Tigers’ head football coach, has seen firsthand the way the Rowe staff has shaped athletes both on and off the field. That impact led him to nominate the Jaguars’ coaches for the award.

“At Cypress Park, the mission is winning, and winning, to us, is not just a scoreboard. It’s development, accountability and impact,” Lawrence said. “The Rowe staff fully embraces that vision. They prepare their athletes to compete with discipline, take ownership of their growth and love the process of becoming their best.”

This season was Lawrence’s first at Cypress Park, and he’s looking forward to seeing the fruit of Rowe’s staff’s labor for years to come.

For Rowe’s staff, it was a night that showed their efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

“It was an extreme honor to be recognized for all of our hard work this year,” Vaughn said. “Coach Lawrence at Cy Park seeing the hard work and dedication we put into these young men was very important to our staff.”

The Rowe Middle School eighth grade B football team celebrates after defeating Arnold Middle School for the district title on October 29.