CBS 19 (Longview, TX)
June 19, 2025
“They wanted to come to Longview High School. We’re the best brand there is in the state of Texas,” Coach King said.
LONGVIEW, Texas — Longview just became the safest school in Texas, at least under the Friday night lights.
In May, it was announced the entire roster will be outfitted with the top safety rated Vicis helmet. They are the first team in Texas to have the entire roster equipped with the helmet.
“The Vicis helmet is the highest rated helmet based off the NFL, the NFL Players Association and the Virginia Tech helmet test that there is in the country,” Longview Head Coach John King said.
That’s no easy task because every single helmet is custom made to the player, and Vicis came in and scanned every head.
“It’s like something you’re watching off of Sci-Fi channel what it looked like watch them get scanned, but they’re all excited,” King said.
This ain’t your grandads bucket no hard shells here. Viscis takes a softer approach.
“The Vicis 2.0 is the shell of the helmet gives it disperses a blow, as opposed to being like a hard shell helmet, where those blows they are not giving and not dispersed through the helmet,” King said.
According to their website, an individual Vicis helmet can cost from $569.99 to $929.99.
According to King, adding the helmets isn’t just protecting the players, but the game itself.
“Football is a game that’s under attack. There’s a lot of reasons people choose not to play football. A lot of reasons people say that football is unsafe,” King said. “But now every one of our kids, nine through 12, of being the best helmet there is in the country, and as a parent, that would be important to me.”
They don’t play about their ball in Lobo Land; that’s why Vicis is marketing the flying ‘L’ on their biggest stages.
“They wanted to come to Longview High School, get the Longview Lobos, be a part of that ambassador program. Because we are a brand, right, and we’re the best brand there is in state of Texas,” King said. “We’re wearing the best helmet there is in the country. So they just don’t put that on anybody.”