Well, the Brownwood Lion football season for 2023 came to a screeching halt in Waco against the Decatur Eagles. What a terrific ballgame it was and what a terrific game the Lions played. Did Waco have anything to do with us finishing 12-2? No! We’ve had some great games in that town and then we’ve had some pretty bad games, too. This wasn’t a bad game. This was a Regional Final between Brownwood and Decatur and it was a whale of a ballgame. I mean a REALLY GOOD game. Fact is, as a friend of mine used to say, “If I hadn’t paid money and I didn’t really care, it was a great game.” It was!
Seven-nothing Decatur, then it was tied at seven. It looked like Decatur was going to take off because they led 21-7, but we scored before halftime and made it 21-14. We tied it in the third quarter at 21. We went down and scored again and made it 28-21, but then kicked off and it was returned so it was 28 all. They went ahead 31-28 fairly late in the ballgame. There was time for us to have a possession and who knows.
Sure enough, on our possession, we go up 35-31. They have no option of a field goal so they’ve got to score a touchdown. What do they do in the last minute and a half or so, they simply drive down and they score a touchdown and they win the ballgame, scoring with four seconds left on the clock – 38-35.
It was a terrifically entertaining ballgame – if you were watching on TV and didn’t care who won. Obviously we care! We care very much! We care because of these terrific young men. We care because we care about all of our kids and the coaches. We care because we have pride in the town that we live in. I guess I’ll simply sit here and watch the State Championship games in a couple of weeks. I’ll smile and say, “We could have been there, too. We COULD have been there, too.” There’s no question about that.
This was a good Brownwood team. A REAL good Brownwood team. I look at the four finalists now and I can honestly say there’s not a monster in the bunch. We could have played and could have won any of those games and I hope that’s enough for our kids. But to be real honest for an old man like me, it’s not quite the same. I can tell you this. I’m old enough to have seen all of Brownwood’s State Championship teams – all of them – up close and personal! This bunch of Brownwood Lions can be listed right there with them! They are a good football team – a REALLY GOOD football team – and a team that certainly could have – could have – won the State Championship in 2023!
Until next time, so long everybody.
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‘Out of the Box’ with Dallas Huston is published each Monday morning at BrownwoodNews.com. Dallas was the radio voice of the Brownwood Lions and Howard Payne Yellow Jackets for more than 55 years. He currently is Pastor of Center City Baptist Church and hosts a Men’s Bible Study in Brownwood on Monday evenings. Your comments are welcome at lindalh2@verizon.net.