Eli Rodgers, Brayden Alexander, Gunner Holm, Gage Deckard, Braxton Etheridge, Ben Green, Zane Hepler, Rex Clark, Jesse Cagle, Mason Bendabout, Josh Bump, Logan Woods, Elijah Webster, Cameron Braswell, Drew Mason, Court Nelms, Aaron Braswell, Ben Jordan, Ben Wilson, Sam Christy, Carter Johnson, Landon Tah, Micah Teel, Nick Garbani.
That is a list of the seniors that were the leaders for the title of the article. This group has set the new standard for Zebra football. The way they did it will be burnt in the minds of the players, coaches, and fans forever.
This season had five 1 point games, records being broken, a trip to the semis for the first time in over 30 years. It had a Thanksgiving day practice, over 100 days in a row of work for our coaches, the lights going out in the middle of a game. It had many crazy runs by Micah Teel, 20 plus connections from Ethridge to Deckard for touchdowns, interceptions by the defense, and Cagle causing havoc in the backfield. The list could go on and on of what all took place, but the thing I will miss the most is the feeling this season provided the community. I am talking about inside the school and outside the school. You would walk into Wal-Mart and hear "hey coach these kids are tough and never quit." Then you would go eat at Boom-a-rang and hear "are we going to win again next week against Collinsville." It did not matter where you were, someone wanted to talk Zebra Football. It gave the entire town something positive to rally around, instead of sitting around talking about the gas prices and how awful things are. It gave an escape to the negative that our daily lives are flooded with on a daily basis.
I guess the only thing left to say is thank you. Thank you Coaches for all of your hard work. No one deserved this season to happen more than the coaches. They are the ones that have to give up time with their own families to love on and coach other people's kid. They are the ones that have to make-up the time missed with their wives. The wives that played second fiddle to a game, and did so with a smile on their face as they supported these kids and their husbands. None of these men deserve these ladies, and none of these men could do this without these ladies either.
Thank you to the senior players that bought into the process. The process that took time and had some obstacles to navigate. The group that did all the extra work that no one knew about. The group that starting in June got together and practiced on their own. The group that set an attendance record for summer pride. The group that is the definition of the statement "hard work is the only way, there is no short cut." Thank you.
One last thank you goes to the parents and the booster club. The group that made sure everything was special, not just the games. The meals after the wins. The meals on Saturday mornings. The charter buses during the playoffs. The snacks for the long rides. The noise made from the stands. That is just a few examples of all the amazing things you all did for this program during this historic year.
Congrats to all and I for one already miss the Friday Night Lights.