As I watched the Houston Herald website’s live streaming video broadcast of the Houston High School football team’s season-opener last Friday at Hollister, there were moments when I couldn’t help but squirm and be a bit uncomfortable.
Like many other Tiger fans, I was fighting off the feeling of, “oh, no, not again.”
But I hung in there – as did the pesky HHS squad, and behold – the local football team prevailed 16-7 is now 1-0.
Whew.
I’d like to congratulate Head Coach Eric Sloan for being undefeated at the helm of the HHS grid program, but I know he’s not putting much effort into patting himself on the back. I could tell from his post-game interview that he was relieved, but also a bit shell-shocked from watching a nice performance turn into a survival exercise about half way through.
I also know Sloan isn’t about to dole out any “participation trophies” at the end of the season if he has a 2-8 team at that point. He wants more wins.
So do I. So do lots of people.
Recalling my days as a sports editor for a weekly fish wrap in North Georgia, high school football can be fun or frustrating – for both team members and observers. But when it’s fun, it’s a ton of fun, and there’s nothing quite like winning to bring on the fun.
Even if it’s a squeaker.
“It wasn’t pretty, but a win’s a win and we’ll take it,” Sloan said.
But boy, a win might not have been a win had it not been for some stout play by the HHS defense. I lost track of how many turnovers the Tigers offense amassed when the number reached umpteen, but I was so amazed (and proud) of the way the red-and-black clad defenders rose to each and every challenge and never seemed to tire of their all-to-frequent jaunts back onto the field.
To be sure, there were a few guys who had their names called during the broadcast often and compiled some pretty cool statistics while beating the daylights out of their Hollister counterparts, like safety Ethan Kelley (the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week), linebacker Stetson Welch and cornerback Matt Knarr. But it wasn’t just a handful of players who made the difference; there was a whole lot of help coming from about every direction and swarms of Houston guys flying toward the ball on every play.
The result was Hollister rushing for a scant 34 yards on the night and being held to a meager 52 total yards. Sure, the host Tigers had a habit of sending ill-equipped ball carriers right into a crowd of visiting Tigers, but any time there was anything resembling an opening, it was shut tight it a big hurry.
The reality is, those kind of defensive numbers don’t happen without a successful collective effort.
So here we go. I’m fully aware that last week’s game was like a warm up for what’s to come, and I completely understand that it doesn’t get any easier from here on.
But I also know that good high school football has to start somewhere, and I think I saw it start last week.
Maybe I’m wrong and just hungry to enjoy success, but it all seems so different this time around compare to so many recent years. I feel an atmosphere of anticipation, I detect a team and community rallying around a capable coach and I perceive he has a group of kids who are “all in” with his scheme.
I’ve seen big upsets on high school football fields, and I won’t be surprised if we see one this year with HHS on the high end of the score.
Anyway, when Houston Schools Superintendent Scott Dill announced Sloan’s hiring last year he said something along the lines of “we’re hoping he can take us to the next level.” Mission accomplished. The Tigers won a game, which qualifies as the next level (and as you’ve no doubt noticed is front-page news).
Now the entire team’s task – from coaches on down to hard-working reserve players – is to find the certain something that’s for the most part been missing since 2005 and keep it going (i.e. win again). Now things really begin, and the potential for something interesting to happen is possible.
Again recalling my days in Georgia, a coach who was a good friend of mine would often refer to having his team treat each week like a series of “one game seasons” and how he was trying to get them to go 1-0 in each season. With that in mind, last season’s over.
Let’s go gentlemen – make this next “season” memorable for all the right reasons.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.
