Well Let me tell OUR story then.. The 2009 Duncanville Christway Chaparrals!
Coming off losing to Coach Shipman and Freddy in the 2008 Tapps D2 title game, The Duncanville Christway Chaparral football team were on everyone’s radar heading into the spring of 2009… and then boom…. One shocking day we all come to school only for Our Head Football Coach and AD to tell us that he will be be let go! This was probably the most heartbreaking day in my life up to that point because Coach O’Connor was one of my favorite coaches of all time..
Fast forward to summer 2009.. we had no summer athletics program, we did play summer league basketball but we did nothing football related, we had no head coach… Coach O’Connor gets hired at Arlington High Point which is now closed.. July 2009, Christway was on the verge of closing, leaving a lot of us searching for a new school if budgets werent met.. A lot of us were on the way out… It came down to Desoto Canterbury, Arlington Grace Prep (Basketball), Trinity Christian Cedar Hill or Tyler Street for me….. and then boom!!! Christway says budgets have been met and we are staying open for the 2009-2010 school year (my senior year) …. Now imagine as a 17 year old kid going through this… and I’m not even close to being finished….
Mid July 2009- we still have no football coach.. with only one assistant which was Coach Robert Burns who was our best player Kolby Burns dad but coach burns did not want to be head coach..
A few days later we get a new head of school named Mrs. King, who til this day I owe alot too!!!
3 days before fall camp!! Mrs. King emails and says for all athletes to meet at school for a meeting…
When we walk in for the meeting we see this big muscular 29 year old Guy that looks like he is a Bodybuilder lol…. His name… Jerry Hargraves….
Once Mrs. King introduced him to us he gave us a speech… and til this day I get goosebumps just thinking about that speech!!!
We had a coach, we had our leader… now it was time to learn his system…
Before 2009 we were know man as a finesse passing team.. we graduated Brian Linn who was the best QB in the schools history up to that point..
Hargraves came in and from day one he says “We are going to play bully ball” “Run the ball and play top 5 defense”
Was it easy?? No indeed!!! Going from finesse to power with a span of a few weeks was rough, we had are arguments with coach, we fussed and my god did we fight but it was Week 2 on the road vs Fanindale.. we got down 38-12 quick before you could know it.. playing undiscipline football.. teammates fighting ,, teammates getting benched.. we were about to get 45d!
At half time Evryone sits quietly and waits for Hargraves to come in… Hargraves walks in…. Says nothing and then proceeds to walk around the locker room,,, as he was about to give a speech something happened that we’ve never seen before!!! Our silent leader Kolby Burns proceeds to let all of us have it… it shocked us all, even our coaches… Kolby wasn’t vocal when it came to things like that but on that certain night a switch had flippped and Our once silent leader became that vocal leader that had hindered us up til that point… It fired Hargraves up,, We go back out and we somehow get the game to OT and some how we won the game 71-65 in 2OT on a Kolby Burns juke move that faked all of ladonia out!!!
It was a big win for us because Private schools aren’t suppose to beat public schools as they say!! That win changed the trajectory of our season tremendously and we ended up finishing the year 9-1 losing the district title game to a Legendary Dallas Tyler Street squad!!
The 2009 playoffs are here and guess what… everyone was picking either Brenham, Tyler Street or Seguin Lifegate tonlife the trophy… round 1 we play against a scrappy and well coach San Antonio Town East team that tilt his day has my respect.. we went up 48-8 late in the 2nd quarter and. Town East never gave up and fought back to make it a physical and fun game. We ended up wining 65-40 we were just happy to survive!!
Playoff game week 2 was a clash vs Lubbock Christ The King !! This trip was memorable!! We ended up having to drive to Knox City for this one!!! I’ve never fed baby goats before a football game but that’s what happens in Knox City I guess lol … we took care of business 66-20
State semi final vs Houston Texas Christian or should I say Houston Texas University (If you know then you know) lol
It was a double header at Pacer field in Waco at Parkview Christian… Game 1 was a clashes of number 1 vs number 2 as Top ranked 12-0 Brehnam Christian took on 12-0 Dallas Tyler Street… This game was suppose to be the “best game of the year” it didn’t happen…. Tyler Street was missing 4 starters including Trevor Martinez who was the starting QB.. Brenham ended up winning this one 70-20 at half..
Not much to say for us as we handled Houston Texas Christian 60-14 to advance back to the title game for the 2nd year in a row
State Championship week
Playing for a state championship is something that every player dreams of.. losing is never an option… but that’s what everyone in the state Expected us to do when Coach Tarbuttons team takes the field vs us that cold Saturday night….
All week long us players were on this website watching folks say we would lose 88-12… some said it would be over in the 1st quarter and the 2nd and 3rd string players will mop us up in the 2nd quarter…. Did doubt start to set in for us??? Naw!!
Coach Hargraves printed out every post that trash talked us on this website and he posted them all around the school and in our lockers… it got to the point where our volleyball players got in on the fun and said we were scared of Brenham.. that week was crucial and you needed thick skin to get through that!!!
Fast forward to warmups… it was probably 20 degrees, couldn’t feel my toes, couldn’t feel my hands, I was playing with a groin injury that should’ve put me out for the year but I had been toughing it out… I was a decent blocker, not great.. my runners covered up alot of my bad blocking lol
Game starts, Brenham stops is o the first play in our J formation… we wasted no time…. We pulled out the formation that we had been working on everyday since September and Hargraves said “We will not use this offense until the state game” he knew we would get here!! The offense?? THE O’BRIEN WING!!!!
We dominated!!! Should’ve 45d them, we took our foot off the gas in a state title game.. up 42-12 in the 3rd… I could taste it…. Fast forward not too long later and the score is 50-44… in my head all the bad scenarios popped up in my head “what if we lose” “what will the folks on sixman say”? That’s all I was thinking about lol and then boom we score 56-44…. Brenham scored again to make it 56-52 but we never gave them the opportunity to get it back again….. Our starting QB Aaron Whitaker who I coach with at Dallas Lutheran for 5 seasons didn’t even have to kneel it… time expired. We were state champs!! Til this day I still can’t describe the feeling of winning that game… Beating a team like that sticks in your head forever!!
The job was finished and I could finally say that I would have my very own State Championship ring…
I’ve seen it all when it comes to 6man… Coaching it is even more fun than playing it….
I know this was long but if you read it all then thank you lol
RIP COACH JERRY HARGRAVES!!! I MISS YOU BIG DOG!!!!