I guess I go back to the early ‘80’s maybe, or I could go back to ’60, the year Gordon Wood won his first State Championship at Brownwood. We didn’t have any earthly idea what he was running, why he was running it, but all we knew was that he was winning! So, we won a State Championship in 1960. We had very good teams until ’65 and then won it again. Won it again in ‘67, ’69, ’70, ’78 and ’81. No question was ever asked. Gordon didn’t have public scrimmages and would go to great lengths to keep them secret. So we scrimmaged along and won seven State Championships. We got beat on occasion and if you criticized him it was not public.
Then ’85 came and we got this unknown from Ballinger named Randy Allen. He was heck of a good guy – a terrific guy! He had some very good coaches like John Harrison – well, the list would go very deep. Well, anyway, Randy came in and now scrimmages, he did everything but sell tickets for. I mean, it was overloaded including band and cheerleaders. It was almost a carnival and with Randy running and jumping and being Randy Allen. In 1985 we went 9-1, or 9-2 I think was our overall record. We followed that up with a trip to I think the Quarter Finals. Anyway, Randy had good ball clubs. Really good ball clubs. We didn’t know at that time that he was going to maybe end up the winningest coach in history – not in Brownwood High – but ever! I believe he’s won two State Championships at Highland Park, but mercy sakes what a good coach he was. Different? He was! I mean he was different. He was different personality wise, different offense, different, he was just different. Coach Wood, to his credit, I never heard the guy criticize Randy. I heard him say, “I’d do it this way” and some of the time it would result in a big play for Brownwood, then he would say, “I’m glad I’m not coaching!”
We had a blessed thirty years with Gordon Wood and Randy Allen! Then came a lot of other guys. Gee, I mean a LOT of other guys! I can’t even remember all of them. Some of them were only here two years, but I think a lot about them, I really do. The thing I remember about every one of them is that they brought in an offense that was tweaked a little, a little different, but most of them tried to run a form of the “Wing T” to satisfy the Brownwood fans. Me, I didn’t care as long as they won ballgames! To win ballgames you run whatever you want to.
So, we went through what six coaches, something like that, or seven. Now, by strange circumstances, we get a guy named Jeryl Brixey. I couldn’t get too much out of him because so many things have happened to him. More than half of the current staff went out to Early to try to turn their program around. There are so many things that have happened to him that we don’t know about, that it messes me up to even think about it. This has never happened in Brownwood. I think some of the teams in the District are chomping at the bit. They think this is their opportunity. Brownwood has taken a nose dive and we’re going to have fun. Yeah – so they think!
I go out and watch the scrimmage this week. They scrimmage themselves and it’s just hard to get hold of a program that you’ve never watched here before. I mean, we have never seen Brownwood in a program like this. They have always been the “Wing T” or some variation of it. No more, I don’t guess, because they run stuff that really looked unusual to me. Did it work? No, it wasn’t the “Wing T” so how could it work? That’s what me and most of the fans were saying about it.
Listen to me! This guy ran an offense that won a State Championship. Keep that in mind. It’s good! The thing that it will take is fans, and the players will get it first, but the fans will have to get used to it. If we lose the first game this year, the first two games, the first three, yeah, it may be a little bit of a tricky thing. But, this is a good football team. It wasn’t expected to be a great one, not expected to be a great team by any stretch. Go ask the guy that had it last year and the last six years. Go ask him. It’s not supposed to be a great team but one of these days, and hopefully it’s not too long into the season, about the time District starts, I think you’ll see a different team. A good team that is used to this offense, is used to playing it and used to winning with it!
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 [email protected].