Six-Man Tall Tales

TX6manGuRu

Six-man fan
Let’s have some fun before a new season begins Thursday. Six man is full of fun stories, conspiracies, and larger than life teams, players, and coaches. I want anyone who has a tall tale or a conspiracy about any form of six man football, either today or throughout history, to share it in this thread.

I’ll start:
This story is about Rankin’s 1980 season… they weren’t six man yet, but they are now so I guess it counts. Rankin was loaded that year. Every guy on the team knew the Red Devils had what it took to take state. But you could always use a little luck right? That lucky charm for the 1980 Rankin Red Devils was grasshoppers. Every week, a team captain would eat a live grasshopper at the pep-rally. Week after week, the grasshopper theory won them game after game. A district championship was won, and so were playoff games. Fast forward to the State Championship game. Rankin vs Valley View. Rankin was undefeated up until that point. SEVEN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT AT KICKOFF. Before the team left, they desperately looked for a live grasshopper to eat. Couldn’t find one in the cold storm of 1980. They resorted to a dead grasshopper off of the front bumper of the school bus. Rankin lost the game, and the undefeated season, to Valley View. 7-6.
 
I've got one for you here from the year Northside won their state championship.

Back then I wore my flip-flops almost every day. I wore them to work, football games, etc. I almost never had any "normal" shoes on. Anyways, my oldest son was starting kindergarten that year so we started attending every game. A friend of mine started bringing a drum and we fell in line as the loud, obnoxious fans that everyone hated...including some of our own fans at times. Anyways, early in the season my flip-flops became a running joke because I kept wearing them even when it started getting cold.

Going into the Amarillo Bible Heritage game that year and I was going to meet up with my cousin for dinner and drinks and things before/after the game so I wore my blue jeans and boots. Northside lost that game and I can't begin to tell you the amount of crap I caught for not wearing my flip-flops.

I wore my flip-flops to every other game that season, until the (I believe) Woodson game. See, that week there was snow on the ground so there was no way I was wearing my flip-flops. Again, I wore my boots.

Northside got down 16-0 early in the 1st. That's when I was jumped by a bunch of grown men who picked me up, threw me on a picnic table, and stole my boots and my socks! I stood there barefoot the rest of the game while we watched Northside come back and take the victory.

Needless to say, the flip-flops made the trip to the next two games and we won the State Championship.
 
I've got one for you here from the year Northside won their state championship.

Back then I wore my flip-flops almost every day. I wore them to work, football games, etc. I almost never had any "normal" shoes on. Anyways, my oldest son was starting kindergarten that year so we started attending every game. A friend of mine started bringing a drum and we fell in line as the loud, obnoxious fans that everyone hated...including some of our own fans at times. Anyways, early in the season my flip-flops became a running joke because I kept wearing them even when it started getting cold.

Going into the Amarillo Bible Heritage game that year and I was going to meet up with my cousin for dinner and drinks and things before/after the game so I wore my blue jeans and boots. Northside lost that game and I can't begin to tell you the amount of crap I caught for not wearing my flip-flops.

I wore my flip-flops to every other game that season, until the (I believe) Woodson game. See, that week there was snow on the ground so there was no way I was wearing my flip-flops. Again, I wore my boots.

Northside got down 16-0 early in the 1st. That's when I was jumped by a bunch of grown men who picked me up, threw me on a picnic table, and stole my boots and my socks! I stood there barefoot the rest of the game while we watched Northside come back and take the victory.

Needless to say, the flip-flops made the trip to the next two games and we won the State Championship.
That’s amazing 😂 I love how teams can latch on to anything as outlandish as flip flops or a grasshopper for omens. It usually works, which makes me believe in the Football Gods more and more every day…
 
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!!!!
 
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!!!!
Coach Hargraves sounded like a great guy!
 
I told this today so might as well here:
Blackwell made the playoffs in 1968 and 1976, the coach for both teams was Ed Poehls and the opponent both times in the first round was Marathon. That 1976 team is famous for having played 11man road games all season, winning them all, and one 6man warmup game before the playoffs and then dominating in the playoffs winning state.

The Blackwell guys, I have known as men, have always said the 1976 Marathon team had 20+ year olds playing...but the best comment I have gotten along those lines was from Poehls...he told me with great dramatic effect that one of Marathon's star players in 1976 was also a star player on the 1968 team! Very dubious but great for a tall tale.

Many similar tales have been told about those Marathon teams...
 
I told this today so might as well here:
Blackwell made the playoffs in 1968 and 1976, the coach for both teams was Ed Poehls and the opponent both times in the first round was Marathon. That 1976 team is famous for having played 11man road games all season, winning them all, and one 6man warmup game before the playoffs and then dominating in the playoffs winning state.

The Blackwell guys, I have known as men, have always said the 1976 Marathon team had 20+ year olds playing...but the best comment I have gotten along those lines was from Poehls...he told me with great dramatic effect that one of Marathon's star players in 1976 was also a star player on the 1968 team! Very dubious but great for a tall tale.

Many similar tales have been told about those Marathon teams...
So many great stories and conspiracies coming out of the sleeping giant Marathon…
 
2003 - 2023. 20 years. No, said Coach Lee last year after a scrimmage. He'd counted it up and last year was 20 years. Using all my digits I confirmed this after we parted.
So, 21 years ago Strawn had been to the state semi finals twice but not advanced. Both times under former Gordon player's Campbell and Parham as coaches.
2003, a new coach from Silverton. Not much expected. They got beat by Gordon but made they playoff's as the second seed. A Cold quarterfinal in DeLeon vs Zephyr, behind by 2 scores at half time, this could be it. A good season for the new coach, but they came back and won! On to the state semi again!
Against Richland Springs, heavily favored, having been to regional's and the qf the year before. At Gordon Wood stadium in Brownwood. What HS football fan hadn't heard of him? There was a statue of him by the entrance. A shootout in the first half.
Gordon Wood commented in the press box to Granger Huntress, the original Guru, among others what an amazing game they were seeing. Two weeks before he passed.
Nobody scored in the 3rd quarter. Both teams did in the 4th. RS leads 54-50, a little more than a minute left, Strawn holds them near the 40. They punt. Down to the 5 yard line. A run by state champion weight lifter Clifton Baker for 5 yards. Coach, we don't have time to run the ball! Why I'm not the coach! From the 10 a 50 yard pass to the 20. Another pass to the One yard line. Two quick rushes up the middle to Clifton stopped. No time outs. QB Derek Hinkson spikes the ball to stop the clock with i thin 4 (?) seconds left.
All State MVP Linebacker and rb Jonathon Parsons up the middle stopped, stepped right and surges forward sticking his arm and the ball over the goal line.
The world stopped for a split second.
I saw people rushing down the steps and yelled to my wife and Jr Hi cheerleader daughter, Let's Go! She said Where? On The Field! We're going to State! The police held us back until RS cleared the field. I'd met Coach Lee at the meet the Greyhounds event at the start of the year, I was another face in the crowd. I shook his hand and told him and Johnny congratulations, among others on the 5-10 yard line.

After the state game at Ratliff stadium in Odessa (Friday Night Lights), and dinner, I tried to lead the buss back to Strawn at 80 mph+ it was traveling. I had to pee. Caught up to them at Ranger Hill and led them into town blowing my horn and flashing the lights until my wife (a former SHS cheerleader) told me to stop, after about the third or fourth request.
 
I've got one for you here from the year Northside won their state championship.

Back then I wore my flip-flops almost every day. I wore them to work, football games, etc. I almost never had any "normal" shoes on. Anyways, my oldest son was starting kindergarten that year so we started attending every game. A friend of mine started bringing a drum and we fell in line as the loud, obnoxious fans that everyone hated...including some of our own fans at times. Anyways, early in the season my flip-flops became a running joke because I kept wearing them even when it started getting cold.

Going into the Amarillo Bible Heritage game that year and I was going to meet up with my cousin for dinner and drinks and things before/after the game so I wore my blue jeans and boots. Northside lost that game and I can't begin to tell you the amount of crap I caught for not wearing my flip-flops.

I wore my flip-flops to every other game that season, until the (I believe) Woodson game. See, that week there was snow on the ground so there was no way I was wearing my flip-flops. Again, I wore my boots.

Northside got down 16-0 early in the 1st. That's when I was jumped by a bunch of grown men who picked me up, threw me on a picnic table, and stole my boots and my socks! I stood there barefoot the rest of the game while we watched Northside come back and take the victory.

Needless to say, the flip-flops made the trip to the next two games and we won the State Championship.

So @Leman Saunders posted an old video today, which got me going down the rabbit hole of watching old six-man film. During that, I found the video to the Woodson game this happened at. I was wrong about Northside being down 16-0 to start. It was actually 13-0. Also, I'd forgotten that after those guys stole my boots from me, leaving me to stand barefoot in the freezing cold, Northside ran the very next kick-off back for a touchdown and never looked back.

I'll leave the video below. My boots were stolen at around the 5:30 mark. Also, if y'all haven't checked out Leman's YouTube channel before, go have a look. There are tons of six-man games, and other six-man related videos, on there.

 
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!!!!
Vincent Davis, this is spot on. I remember Trey Bolden having a few good words being told to his cousin Chris Polk at half time of that game. Hargraves and I walked in on the last of Kolby's speech to the team. Those words from him was all sweetness to my ears. I remember Chris Polks field goal right before half being made was the difference of us winning our Championship 56-52. I remember talking to Hargraves that monday before practice after that game. I told him that i had a gut feeling that we were going to win State. He thought i was crazy and he told me so. I saw something that you all didn't. Do you remember me going off before practice after our first playoff win? Well we had a edge about us. We had finally found that "smell blood" killer shark instinct and I didn't want you guys to lose it. This coming December (2024) will be 15 years ago, time has passed and every December, I take a long look at my hardware. It means so much to us and not only to us but to entire school. I miss my guys, I miss that coaching fraternity. I miss my man Hargraves. He told me after we won that night that he owed me so much. He told me that the 2009 Christway Academy team was my team because of the way I held the team together and I told him it was his because he was a true 6-Man Football Coach. Coach Hargraves, whatever you're doing up in Heaven you are truly missed. From my Football sized heart, much love my brother.

Robert Burns III
Duncanville Christway Coach (2006-2010)
 
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