James Soria, an assistant at Heights since 2019 under coach Stephen Dixon, was named the new football coach at Madison.

Soria takes over for Jason Davis, who coached the Marlins to a 12-10 record over two seasons and made the playoffs in both.

Soria got a chance to meet his future student-athletes Wednesday as he talked about the direction of the Marlins' program.

“When I had a chance to talk to them, they listened,” the 40-year-old coach said. “They made eye contact the whole time, and they’re excited. I was able to be in there for the weight room workout, and they put in a lot of work. I’m excited, and I can’t wait to get going with my team.”

Madison has made the playoffs three seasons in a row with no wins to show for it. The Marlins' last postseason victory was in 2008, when they defeated Atascocita 13-10 in a bi-district playoff game.

“The history and tradition have been there, and they have had years of winning teams,” Soria said. “They have had a number of NFL players and big-time college football players come out of the program. It’s not a rebuild; it’s just trying to get back to what it was. It’s up to me and my staff to get the job done and keep the winning tradition going.”

Soria has 12 years of coaching experience, including stops at St. Pius, Houston Austin and Texas City. A Houston ISD product who graduated from Waltrip, he called it a dream come true to be named Madison's new coach.

“It’s a blessing for me to say that my first head coaching job will be in Houston ISD," Soria said. “I have spent a majority of my time in Houston ISD in my education and as a football coach. It just feels so special to stay in the district and lead a program. There’s nothing more than I can ask for.”

The former assistant offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Heights, Soria will have 24 returnees who saw action as juniors last season. He wants that experience to translate into points.

“I like to light up the scoreboard,” Soria said. “We will be coming in with my background as a run-game coordinator. We know the game is won on the offensive and defensive line, and I know that we can get better at those spots. Once we build the fronts up, it’s going to free up those guys to make plays on both sides of the ball.”

Soria also wants to prepare his players for life off the field.  

“We’re going to get them wherever they want to go," he said. "Whether it’s to play college football, then we’re going to get them there. If they just want to go to college, we will get them going in the right direction. If they want to learn a trade, then we’re going to set them up for that next phase out of high school.”