coyote_king
11-man fan
What is the greatest underdog/Cinderella story of all-time in six man? I know there's a lot of six man gurus on here that got to have some good stories!
Greatest underdog/Cinderella story?
- Thread starter coyote_king
- Start date
coyote_king
11-man fan
Wow.. Figured plenty of people would have responded to this by now!
Shad Kline
Six-man fan
I thought Mingus was the mustangs.topher80":13xka7p9 said:
Old Bearkat
Six-man expert
I thought they were the Longnecks.....hornkeeper12":21cqyrwx said:
Bob Marley
11-man fan
08 Follett. 45d by strawn first game of the season, district runner up to Valley and making it all the way to state even though they came up short again to strawn.
Dogface
Six-man fan
Well,
at least that's the
longest post
I've seen on here.
at least that's the
longest post
I've seen on here.
I'll spin one out Coyote King, I haven't posted in about a year anyway.
I’m not sure this would qualify for a “Cinderella story” but it is my favorite by far since I’ve been coaching 6-man football (which isn’t all that long, 12 seasons). I can’t say that everything written below is exactly how it went as far as the team’s goals, what the players and coaches might have said in the locker rooms etc. but from what I’ve gathered in speaking with the coaches about this more than once this is the jest of what took place. In 2006 Greenville Christian had a group of young men who said they believed they had what it took to win 3 state championships before they graduated. In 2006 that group came up short on that first championship opportunity and lost to Rockwall when they were defeated 79-43 in the state final. As the 2007 season started Greenville was off to what looked to be a good season with a solid competitive team. They were wiping the floor with some teams, and taking some hard knocks with some solid public school programs, as they tested themselves.
Wk 0 Greenville Christian 58 Lucas Christian 12
Wk 1 Trinidad 79 Greenville Christian 62
Wk 2 Calvert 57 Greenville Christian 8
Wk 3 Greenville Christian 62 Leverett's Chapel 14
Wk 4 Greenville Christian 40 Blum 38
After having an open week in week 5 Greenville opened up district play with a very good TAPPS Div. 1 team, Denton Calvary. Well it proved to be a tough one for Greenville and they ended up getting 45ed losing 59-14 in their district opener. Greenville went on the next 3 weeks beating the other teams in their district handily. However in week 10 Greenville would be facing the team they had lost to in that state final the year before, Rockwall Heritage. Well as most of the state figured, according to previous matchups and comparing scores with common opponents across the state, Rockwall made short work of Greenville and ended the game 46-0. This put Greenville in third place in their district with two big losses, just barely making the play-offs by the skin of their teeth. And even though they ended up on a decent side of the bracket it didn’t look very promising much past the 2nd round. If indeed they were to even make it past the first two rounds. I’d seen several films on them that year, and even caught them in person a couple of times. They had some kids that looked pretty decent but the bottom line was against teams like Rockwall they just looked outmatched plain and simple. Not only were they outmatched they just didn’t play with the same intensity, or aggression. It’s like the kids knew it going into the game, they just showed up and took it. There was absolutely zero synergy with this Greenville team.
Well, what happened next, again I’m not exactly sure. The only ones who know are those players and those coaches. But from what I understand the coaches attribute it entirely to the players. I think the catalyst was something as simple as well, “you said you wanted to win three state championships, we came up short last year, there’s only three years left, where is it?” “You’ve talked about three and we don’t even have the one”, “If you’re doing the math we need three, there’s only three years left, and here we sit, third place, 45’d by two other teams in our district that are in the play-offs.” Then someone said, “I DON’T WANT TO PLAY BASKETBALL, I WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL!”
The first two rounds Greenville 45’d both opponents, and I for one didn’t put much stock in it because earlier in the season they had beat some other opponents that had less ability than they had pretty convincingly. This season Greenville struck me as the kind of team that if they thought they were better than the other team, they would play with a lot of confidence etc. But if they were up against some stiff competition they just more or less wilted. This pattern had seemed to be taking shape progressively since week 0. Greenville had been beaten by Trinidad, Calvert, Denton and Rockwall, with outcomes that seemed to more or less prove this theory. Up against tough competition they were pretty much done before they started. So when the semi-final round of the play-offs came up with Greenville facing Rockwall (the team who beat them in the previous year’s state final, and 45’d them three weeks before) I can assure you that no one gave Greenville a snowballs chance. I’m confident the only ones who thought they could win were the Greenville players and the coaches. I even heard TAPPS prematurely had already sent the game balls for the state championship to Rockwall. Not a knock against TAPPS but all things considered up to that point I’d of probably been guilty of doing the same thing myself. I certainly didn’t think they’d win either. Up to this point there was no reason to indicate otherwise. Well, the game was played and to everyone, and I mean everyone’s surprise (not Greenville’s players and coaches) Greenville came out on top and beat Rockwall 48-30. I called everybody I could think of that might have actually gone to a game that should have “been over before it started” to verify the score. Everyone said the same thing, “you’re not going to believe it, they won, the score’s right”!! And they were right, I couldn’t believe it. I had talked to coach Uland just a couple of weeks before. Our team had the great privilege of playing Rockwall in the first round. Our scrappy little bunch had managed to put 28 points on the board against Rockwall, which was kind of a big deal since up to that point no one had managed to put that many on the board against them in 2007. I just figured Larry was being professional, focusing on the task at hand, exercising that blind faith, in spite of the obvious, that so many of us coaches are know for. No matter what the odds we always focus on the teeny tiny things that give us just an inkling of hope. We believe under just the right circumstances, and how we’ve prepared we can win, no matter what the odds. Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. I like that definition because I personally don’t believe in “luck” not in the traditional sense anyway. I think most of us look at luck this way: Webster’s- “good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance: He had no luck finding work.” Well it’s obvious how Greenville was looking at it. I was so excited for those guys. I could hardly stand it. I couldn’t wait to see how their season would end. I’d just finished writing a gut-wrenching letter to our team and their families a week or so before trying to encourage them for the upcoming season, and was still stinging a bit myself from our own season. But now my attention was turned to Moody. I wanted to see how things were going to turn out for this little Greenville team who weeks before had been completely written off. Well they didn’t disappoint. They not only beat Denton for the state championship, they beat them convincingly with a score of 70-22. Denton, a team who had previously 45’d them back in week 6, 59-14. I’ve shared that story with my teams over the past several seasons at various and appropriate times. And for those of you who might not know, the guys made good on their commitment to one another, winning state titles in ’08 over Rockwall and again in ’09 over Dallas Covenant. Larry once told me that one of the toughest things to do in football was beat the same team twice in one season. He had that very recognizable tone and smile when he said it too.
There’s a lot I could say in concluding, but I’d rather not. I think the story speaks for itself. Many thanks for the memories, 2007 Greenville coaches and players, wherever it is this may find you.
His richest blessings,
Philip Hudgens
Austin Hill Country
I’m not sure this would qualify for a “Cinderella story” but it is my favorite by far since I’ve been coaching 6-man football (which isn’t all that long, 12 seasons). I can’t say that everything written below is exactly how it went as far as the team’s goals, what the players and coaches might have said in the locker rooms etc. but from what I’ve gathered in speaking with the coaches about this more than once this is the jest of what took place. In 2006 Greenville Christian had a group of young men who said they believed they had what it took to win 3 state championships before they graduated. In 2006 that group came up short on that first championship opportunity and lost to Rockwall when they were defeated 79-43 in the state final. As the 2007 season started Greenville was off to what looked to be a good season with a solid competitive team. They were wiping the floor with some teams, and taking some hard knocks with some solid public school programs, as they tested themselves.
Wk 0 Greenville Christian 58 Lucas Christian 12
Wk 1 Trinidad 79 Greenville Christian 62
Wk 2 Calvert 57 Greenville Christian 8
Wk 3 Greenville Christian 62 Leverett's Chapel 14
Wk 4 Greenville Christian 40 Blum 38
After having an open week in week 5 Greenville opened up district play with a very good TAPPS Div. 1 team, Denton Calvary. Well it proved to be a tough one for Greenville and they ended up getting 45ed losing 59-14 in their district opener. Greenville went on the next 3 weeks beating the other teams in their district handily. However in week 10 Greenville would be facing the team they had lost to in that state final the year before, Rockwall Heritage. Well as most of the state figured, according to previous matchups and comparing scores with common opponents across the state, Rockwall made short work of Greenville and ended the game 46-0. This put Greenville in third place in their district with two big losses, just barely making the play-offs by the skin of their teeth. And even though they ended up on a decent side of the bracket it didn’t look very promising much past the 2nd round. If indeed they were to even make it past the first two rounds. I’d seen several films on them that year, and even caught them in person a couple of times. They had some kids that looked pretty decent but the bottom line was against teams like Rockwall they just looked outmatched plain and simple. Not only were they outmatched they just didn’t play with the same intensity, or aggression. It’s like the kids knew it going into the game, they just showed up and took it. There was absolutely zero synergy with this Greenville team.
Well, what happened next, again I’m not exactly sure. The only ones who know are those players and those coaches. But from what I understand the coaches attribute it entirely to the players. I think the catalyst was something as simple as well, “you said you wanted to win three state championships, we came up short last year, there’s only three years left, where is it?” “You’ve talked about three and we don’t even have the one”, “If you’re doing the math we need three, there’s only three years left, and here we sit, third place, 45’d by two other teams in our district that are in the play-offs.” Then someone said, “I DON’T WANT TO PLAY BASKETBALL, I WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL!”
The first two rounds Greenville 45’d both opponents, and I for one didn’t put much stock in it because earlier in the season they had beat some other opponents that had less ability than they had pretty convincingly. This season Greenville struck me as the kind of team that if they thought they were better than the other team, they would play with a lot of confidence etc. But if they were up against some stiff competition they just more or less wilted. This pattern had seemed to be taking shape progressively since week 0. Greenville had been beaten by Trinidad, Calvert, Denton and Rockwall, with outcomes that seemed to more or less prove this theory. Up against tough competition they were pretty much done before they started. So when the semi-final round of the play-offs came up with Greenville facing Rockwall (the team who beat them in the previous year’s state final, and 45’d them three weeks before) I can assure you that no one gave Greenville a snowballs chance. I’m confident the only ones who thought they could win were the Greenville players and the coaches. I even heard TAPPS prematurely had already sent the game balls for the state championship to Rockwall. Not a knock against TAPPS but all things considered up to that point I’d of probably been guilty of doing the same thing myself. I certainly didn’t think they’d win either. Up to this point there was no reason to indicate otherwise. Well, the game was played and to everyone, and I mean everyone’s surprise (not Greenville’s players and coaches) Greenville came out on top and beat Rockwall 48-30. I called everybody I could think of that might have actually gone to a game that should have “been over before it started” to verify the score. Everyone said the same thing, “you’re not going to believe it, they won, the score’s right”!! And they were right, I couldn’t believe it. I had talked to coach Uland just a couple of weeks before. Our team had the great privilege of playing Rockwall in the first round. Our scrappy little bunch had managed to put 28 points on the board against Rockwall, which was kind of a big deal since up to that point no one had managed to put that many on the board against them in 2007. I just figured Larry was being professional, focusing on the task at hand, exercising that blind faith, in spite of the obvious, that so many of us coaches are know for. No matter what the odds we always focus on the teeny tiny things that give us just an inkling of hope. We believe under just the right circumstances, and how we’ve prepared we can win, no matter what the odds. Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. I like that definition because I personally don’t believe in “luck” not in the traditional sense anyway. I think most of us look at luck this way: Webster’s- “good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance: He had no luck finding work.” Well it’s obvious how Greenville was looking at it. I was so excited for those guys. I could hardly stand it. I couldn’t wait to see how their season would end. I’d just finished writing a gut-wrenching letter to our team and their families a week or so before trying to encourage them for the upcoming season, and was still stinging a bit myself from our own season. But now my attention was turned to Moody. I wanted to see how things were going to turn out for this little Greenville team who weeks before had been completely written off. Well they didn’t disappoint. They not only beat Denton for the state championship, they beat them convincingly with a score of 70-22. Denton, a team who had previously 45’d them back in week 6, 59-14. I’ve shared that story with my teams over the past several seasons at various and appropriate times. And for those of you who might not know, the guys made good on their commitment to one another, winning state titles in ’08 over Rockwall and again in ’09 over Dallas Covenant. Larry once told me that one of the toughest things to do in football was beat the same team twice in one season. He had that very recognizable tone and smile when he said it too.
There’s a lot I could say in concluding, but I’d rather not. I think the story speaks for itself. Many thanks for the memories, 2007 Greenville coaches and players, wherever it is this may find you.
His richest blessings,
Philip Hudgens
Austin Hill Country
1987 Lohn and 2000 Aquilla are the 2 that come to my mind
1994 Amherst as well