Does Six-Man Football Need Richland Springs to win its 9th Title?
by Leman Saunders
All six-man football fans know about Richland Springs. In fact, most Texas high school football aficionados now know about Richland Springs and their eight state championships. This week, the Coyotes begin their quest for a 9th state title, which will set the record for most state titles won by any school in the state of Texas.
My question is this: If Richland Springs sets a new state record for most football championships won, will it force some sports writers to start treating six-man football more seriously? Does six-man football need Richland Springs to win its 9th title to gain respect for the sport?
The answer unfortunately is NO. Not because it wouldn’t be an amazing accomplishment, but because it will not matter. In the end, it will go largely unrecognized by many in the media.
There is a history of ignoring similar school/team accomplishments of six-man teams.
If you look around at which Texas high school team has won the most consecutive games, you will come up with Celina’s 68 straight wins from 1998-2002. Completely ignored is Fort Hancock’s 70 straight wins from 1988-1993. The Fort’s epic win streak was well covered in the press, so ignorance to the record cannot be used as an excuse. In fact, rarely are any six-man win streaks listed at all. Nueces Canyon’s 47 (1955-60) straight is lost to history, as are long streaks by Jayton, Marathon, Weinert, Highland and others.
To help prove my point, we can also look at how the mass media, by in large, treats individual six-man statistics, to try to understand how they feel about the sport. Never is Lance Morris listed as the state’s career leading rusher with his 11,866 yards at Ira High School. Sugar Land’s Ken Hall and his 11,232 yards are still at the top of that category. When McKinney RB Matt Gadek rushed for 599 yards in a game against Plano East this year, he was pronounced as setting the “new Texas single-game rushing record.” Ignored is the fact that Tony Diaz of Paint Rock rushed 621 yards against Novice in 2010 and Andrew Bischsel of White Deer rushed for 615 against Hart in 2014.
If you bring up these facts, you will be shouted down with the excuse that six-man football isn’t the same and thus not worthy of inclusion on the list. If you point out that, in fact, six-man IS a UIL classification, and express Gadek does not actually hold the Texas HS record (which he doesn’t), you will be told, “that is just semantics”, and to, “stop being the word police.” If individual statistics of six-man players are cited at all, they are pushed to the side and given separate but equal status.
I only bring this up to being my answer to the question at hand into focus. I think that by looking at how individual statistics are treated, we will see how any records set by a team or school will also be treated. So, if Richland Springs happens to win its 9th football title this year, while it would be an amazing record setting accomplishment, don’t expect the mass media by in large to recognize them as the record holder. The separate but equal status is the best we can expect.
The Associated Press does not even rank class 1A football. It is the only classification they do not rank. Along the same lines the Texas Sports Writers’ Association, an organization I use to be a part of, does not select an All-State Football team for class 1A football. They select volleyball, basketball, and even baseball all-state teams for 1A, but not football. While I was a member I offered several times to help the TSWA select a six-man All-State team, my offer fell on deaf ears.
All these issues are related to the same problem, the unwillingness of writers and reporters to treat six-man football the same as all other classifications.
So how can we change this? There are great newspaper and television reporters out there that treat six-man well and those men and women need to be acknowledge and thanked at every chance. Those who follow six-man football know who they are, as they are based in regions that have a large number of these schools in their area. I would suggest reaching out to these reporters and ask their help in convincing their colleagues at other outlets that make up the mass media, the Texas Sports Writers’ Association and AP writers, to start treating six-man/class 1A football the same as they do all others. That would be a baby step in the right direction and maybe over time the separate but equal status for six-man football will be a thing of the past.
by Leman Saunders
All six-man football fans know about Richland Springs. In fact, most Texas high school football aficionados now know about Richland Springs and their eight state championships. This week, the Coyotes begin their quest for a 9th state title, which will set the record for most state titles won by any school in the state of Texas.
My question is this: If Richland Springs sets a new state record for most football championships won, will it force some sports writers to start treating six-man football more seriously? Does six-man football need Richland Springs to win its 9th title to gain respect for the sport?
The answer unfortunately is NO. Not because it wouldn’t be an amazing accomplishment, but because it will not matter. In the end, it will go largely unrecognized by many in the media.
There is a history of ignoring similar school/team accomplishments of six-man teams.
If you look around at which Texas high school team has won the most consecutive games, you will come up with Celina’s 68 straight wins from 1998-2002. Completely ignored is Fort Hancock’s 70 straight wins from 1988-1993. The Fort’s epic win streak was well covered in the press, so ignorance to the record cannot be used as an excuse. In fact, rarely are any six-man win streaks listed at all. Nueces Canyon’s 47 (1955-60) straight is lost to history, as are long streaks by Jayton, Marathon, Weinert, Highland and others.
To help prove my point, we can also look at how the mass media, by in large, treats individual six-man statistics, to try to understand how they feel about the sport. Never is Lance Morris listed as the state’s career leading rusher with his 11,866 yards at Ira High School. Sugar Land’s Ken Hall and his 11,232 yards are still at the top of that category. When McKinney RB Matt Gadek rushed for 599 yards in a game against Plano East this year, he was pronounced as setting the “new Texas single-game rushing record.” Ignored is the fact that Tony Diaz of Paint Rock rushed 621 yards against Novice in 2010 and Andrew Bischsel of White Deer rushed for 615 against Hart in 2014.
If you bring up these facts, you will be shouted down with the excuse that six-man football isn’t the same and thus not worthy of inclusion on the list. If you point out that, in fact, six-man IS a UIL classification, and express Gadek does not actually hold the Texas HS record (which he doesn’t), you will be told, “that is just semantics”, and to, “stop being the word police.” If individual statistics of six-man players are cited at all, they are pushed to the side and given separate but equal status.
I only bring this up to being my answer to the question at hand into focus. I think that by looking at how individual statistics are treated, we will see how any records set by a team or school will also be treated. So, if Richland Springs happens to win its 9th football title this year, while it would be an amazing record setting accomplishment, don’t expect the mass media by in large to recognize them as the record holder. The separate but equal status is the best we can expect.
The Associated Press does not even rank class 1A football. It is the only classification they do not rank. Along the same lines the Texas Sports Writers’ Association, an organization I use to be a part of, does not select an All-State Football team for class 1A football. They select volleyball, basketball, and even baseball all-state teams for 1A, but not football. While I was a member I offered several times to help the TSWA select a six-man All-State team, my offer fell on deaf ears.
All these issues are related to the same problem, the unwillingness of writers and reporters to treat six-man football the same as all other classifications.
So how can we change this? There are great newspaper and television reporters out there that treat six-man well and those men and women need to be acknowledge and thanked at every chance. Those who follow six-man football know who they are, as they are based in regions that have a large number of these schools in their area. I would suggest reaching out to these reporters and ask their help in convincing their colleagues at other outlets that make up the mass media, the Texas Sports Writers’ Association and AP writers, to start treating six-man/class 1A football the same as they do all others. That would be a baby step in the right direction and maybe over time the separate but equal status for six-man football will be a thing of the past.
