KQ2 Pigskin Preview: New head coach Tate Raboin leads Cameron Dragons into new era

CAMERON, Mo. (KQTV) - Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin once said, "if you dance with dragons, you must expect to burn." The Cameron Dragons High School football team is hoping to torch every opponent in their wake this coming fall.

Cameron enters 2026 with a brand new head coach, Tate Raboin. He was a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, Saint Thomas Aquinas in Kansas. He helped them win a state title back in 2020. 23, and he quarterbacked Aquinas to a state title during his time playing there from 2015 to 2018. He comes to Cameron with the opportunity to be a head coach for the first time in his career.

"Obviously, we're gonna run the football. We're going to throw a bit too, a little bit more than Aquinas does. Just fun, spirited competitiveness," said Raboin. "We're going out there, play fun and play fast. It's a football town. You can tell from the stadium, all the community comes out and supports. It's been awesome to be around everyone here so far."

This is a Dragons team that went 7-5 last year and made it all the way to the District Championship game, but Cameron still feels they're slighted this season in the tough Midland Empire Conference, even with a strong group of upperclassmen coming back who are now seniors. The Dragons are using that underdog role as motivation.

"A lot of people kind of look past Cameron, which I kind of like having like the underdog kind of deal," said senior Kaden Robinson. "It is a very tough conference, in all sports, not just football. It definitely brings a lot of competitiveness, and I think it makes like our team better as a whole."

"I think it makes everybody want to work a little bit harder because we're better than a lot of these teams out here," said senior Carter Flick. It's just going out there and showing everybody we can do it. Some years haven't been able to get it done, but this year I think we're gonna be able to do it."

"I think there's less nervousness, like we've been there before and we know how the other teams will play and how we will play as a team, so just less nervousness this year," said senior Jacob Fontaine.

The Dragons kick off the season on August 28th at Odessa at 7 p.m.