Some bad news, but lots of good for Texas football
This past weekend was a sad one for Texas football fans, in one sense. I say this as a fan of both the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys.
Vince Young, the rookie quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, handed the Texans their lunch when he capped a comeback by personally scrambling for a 39-yard touchdown in overtime. That last, best effort on VY’s part was somewhat of a signature thing he was known for in his years leading the Texas Longhorns to a national championship this past January. When the NFL draft came around, scores of Texans fans called for Vince as the obvious choice for the Texans #1 draft selection. Besides being the heralded champion hero of the Longhorns, Vince first got attention in the Houston area when he played QB at Houston’s Madison High. So, I’m sure it was a sweet thumb Vince got to stick in the Texan’s eye when it was his valiant scramble that was the difference maker in his homecoming game on Sunday.
Before the Texans were formed, I was raised a Cowboys fan. As a result, I’m always cheering on the Boys…unless it is that once every fourth year game where they play the Texans. I still feel their pain any time they lose and Sunday night was no different. After the Texans’ heartbreaking loss, I was hoping for solace from quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the Pokes.
Their opponent was the feel-good team of the season, the New Orleans Saints. BTW, the Saints have the other much-ballyhooed rookie this year, Heisman winner Reggie Bush, who other Texans fans felt we should’ve drafted if we weren’t going to take Vince Young. The Saints were an impressive force, dismantling the usually stalwart Dallas defense, upending the Cowboys 42-17.
In the opening paragraph of this post, I said it was a sad weekend for Texas football. That one sense is for the two professional teams. In another sense, fans of Texas high school football really had many points to celebrate because some of our best young players are out there taking the national spotlight.
In the Monday sports section of the Houston Chronicle, three of the six featured sports articles on the news page were about NFL games of the previous day. Each of those three headlines prominently featured the name of a former Texas high school football standout. Aside from Vince Young, whom I’ve already said played at Houston Madison, there was also Drew Brees (QB for the Saints) and San Diego Charger’s star running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
Brees led the Saints in the offensive field day at the Cowboys expense. He played his high school ball at Austin Westlake. Before Sunday’s game, he recalled the last time he played in the Cowboys’ home, Texas Stadium. It was when he quarterbacked the Westlake team to the state 5A championship.
Tomlinson, or LT, as he is commonly referred to, made headlines for breaking the record for the number of touchdowns scored in a single season by a player. He scored #29 on Sunday, surpassing the mark of 28 set last year by Sean Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks. What really gets my attention is that there are still three more weeks in the regular season and he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. That means he will probably raise that bar a good bit higher before he’s done this year. LT played high school football in Waco. He still goes back there in the summers and runs a camp for teens to work on their football skills.
So, like I said, while it might have been a bad weekend for the Texas professional teams, our brand of football is all over the place in the professional league. Continuing that tradition, I will proudly brag on my hometown Copperas Cove Bulldawgs. For the first time in school history, they are playing for the state championship this Saturday in the Alamodome. It is the first year the Dawgs are playing in 4A, but I think it is more a proper fit for them than 5A. Like my sister commented when I told her how the team was doing, “See what they can do when placed in the right division.”
Go Dawgs!
OGV
Vince Young, the rookie quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, handed the Texans their lunch when he capped a comeback by personally scrambling for a 39-yard touchdown in overtime. That last, best effort on VY’s part was somewhat of a signature thing he was known for in his years leading the Texas Longhorns to a national championship this past January. When the NFL draft came around, scores of Texans fans called for Vince as the obvious choice for the Texans #1 draft selection. Besides being the heralded champion hero of the Longhorns, Vince first got attention in the Houston area when he played QB at Houston’s Madison High. So, I’m sure it was a sweet thumb Vince got to stick in the Texan’s eye when it was his valiant scramble that was the difference maker in his homecoming game on Sunday.
Before the Texans were formed, I was raised a Cowboys fan. As a result, I’m always cheering on the Boys…unless it is that once every fourth year game where they play the Texans. I still feel their pain any time they lose and Sunday night was no different. After the Texans’ heartbreaking loss, I was hoping for solace from quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the Pokes.
Their opponent was the feel-good team of the season, the New Orleans Saints. BTW, the Saints have the other much-ballyhooed rookie this year, Heisman winner Reggie Bush, who other Texans fans felt we should’ve drafted if we weren’t going to take Vince Young. The Saints were an impressive force, dismantling the usually stalwart Dallas defense, upending the Cowboys 42-17.
In the opening paragraph of this post, I said it was a sad weekend for Texas football. That one sense is for the two professional teams. In another sense, fans of Texas high school football really had many points to celebrate because some of our best young players are out there taking the national spotlight.
In the Monday sports section of the Houston Chronicle, three of the six featured sports articles on the news page were about NFL games of the previous day. Each of those three headlines prominently featured the name of a former Texas high school football standout. Aside from Vince Young, whom I’ve already said played at Houston Madison, there was also Drew Brees (QB for the Saints) and San Diego Charger’s star running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
Brees led the Saints in the offensive field day at the Cowboys expense. He played his high school ball at Austin Westlake. Before Sunday’s game, he recalled the last time he played in the Cowboys’ home, Texas Stadium. It was when he quarterbacked the Westlake team to the state 5A championship.
Tomlinson, or LT, as he is commonly referred to, made headlines for breaking the record for the number of touchdowns scored in a single season by a player. He scored #29 on Sunday, surpassing the mark of 28 set last year by Sean Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks. What really gets my attention is that there are still three more weeks in the regular season and he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down. That means he will probably raise that bar a good bit higher before he’s done this year. LT played high school football in Waco. He still goes back there in the summers and runs a camp for teens to work on their football skills.
So, like I said, while it might have been a bad weekend for the Texas professional teams, our brand of football is all over the place in the professional league. Continuing that tradition, I will proudly brag on my hometown Copperas Cove Bulldawgs. For the first time in school history, they are playing for the state championship this Saturday in the Alamodome. It is the first year the Dawgs are playing in 4A, but I think it is more a proper fit for them than 5A. Like my sister commented when I told her how the team was doing, “See what they can do when placed in the right division.”
Go Dawgs!
OGV
posted by Ron Graham at
2:04 PM
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