Beyond the Lights: Football Across Texas

Wayne Elliott has been officiating for 47 years, from the junior high level all the way to the NFL.  Currently he is the Executive Secretary for the Austin Football Officials Association and officiates high school and college games.  We discuss the differences in officiating at the different levels and the challenges of officiating in general.  Join me as we take a look at the game from a differen...

Jeff Riordan, head football coach and athletic director for the Chapel Hill Bulldogs, lives out his motto of Code Blue for his program.   With the backing of the district administration all the way to the top, they put character and life before all else and keeping priorities straight has led to high levels of success for the Chapel Hill program.

As the son of a coach, Kody Yeager spent his share of time traveling through Texas working his way to the top.  Now he has returned home to find the paradise he left, unchanged from 20 plus years ago.  Same hard working kids, same family atmosphere and the same swimming and fishing spots he enjoyed as a kid are now enjoyed by his own family and kids.  We talk about what it was like playing and coa...

Steve Huff, head football coach and athletic director for Decatur ISD has coached in 7 different states across our great country from the lower levels to the college ranks.  But he found his home under the Friday night lights of Texas in College Station and now in Decatur.  Coach explains his program's foundation; built on character, commitment, sacrifice and effort that he expects to be lived out...

Ingram Tom Moore athletic director and head football coach, Tate DeMasco, believes that the foundational pillars for a successful athletic program are the same as those for a successful life.  The tragic flooding of the Guadalupe in July put that foundation to the test and Coach DeMasco is proud of the response from their students and athletes.  From the tragedy, the community has grown stronger a...

Jason Pitts is in year one with the Ozona Lions and is farther west than his family has been before.  Leaving the trees of east Texas for the western edge of the hill country, Coach Pitts is bringing his positivity with him to his new program.  His positive attitude and rise above mindset have caught on with his players helping them to a 5-0 start.  

Tony Salazar is the head football coach for Westlake HS and also assistant athletic director the district, Eanes ISD.  These roles keep him very busy leading one of the top 6A programs in the state.  But he still takes time for the important things, like caddying for his son, who plays competitive golf around the state.  Whatever the activity is, his expectations are high.  As a member of the West...

Adam Cummings is beginning year 4 for West Plains high school as the only man to have headed the football program in the schools existence.  Coach Cummings was born and raised in west Texas and has spent all of his coaching years there as well, learning under some west Texas legends.  In the schools first 3 years he has already accumulated 30 wins but winning isn't priority #1.  For him, it's fait...

Coach Salazar is a Goliad native who has spent most of his coaching years within a stones throw of home.  He begins his 6th season at the helm for the Tigers and hopes to continue their successful ways.  He believes "attitude reflects leadership" (as Julius reminded Gary- you football movie fans should get that) and he models this for his players.  He loves what he does and it shows in his smile w...

Brian Hodnett knows the history of Sweetwater football, having grown up just down the road in Hamlin.  Although one day he might go back to the cotton farms he came from, right now he has answered the call to help grow and develop young men and women to be successful after their athletic careers have ended.  Promoted to the head coach and AD this year, he is looking to take his 10 years of experie...

There are a lot of good coaches and men in Texas high school football, and Jim Kerbow definitely ranks towards the top of the list.  Every school across this great state where Coach Kerbow has been, he has gone above and beyond to meet the needs of his students and athletes at school and also at home.  He stresses the importance of being someone others can depend on and he works to instill this tr...

Joel Fontenot-Amedee, head football coach and athletic director for the Bandera Bulldogs, talks about the importance of having a community that feels like family and balancing priorities not just for himself but for his athletes.  He has know he wanted to be a coach since high school but did not expect to wind up in Texas high school football after growing up and playing college ball in his home s...

David Lucio starts year 10 in his hometown of Tidehaven with his Tigers ranked as one of the top 3A-2 schools in the state.  His background of Madden football and the military have created the perfect combination of strategy and discipline that have helped him to be successful everywhere he has been.  The pillars of his program are hard work and toughness, and with his son, Eric, at his side, the...

Head football coach and Athletic director for Mart ISD, Chris Lancaster, has spent his entire life on the football field, from high school to the college level and back to high school again.  His years of experience and travel have brought him to one of the most successful football programs in the state, with 8 state championships and 15 state appearances.  There is always pressure in a program wi...

Jax Brown recently signed with Arkansas State to play football for the Red Wolves.  But previously he had signed and played spring ball at Sam Houston State before entering the portal.  Jax is a good example of why the portal is necessary for athletes.  We discuss the portal and how he managed his serious injuries in high school to keep on his path to the D1 level.  I am joined in this episode by...

Head football coach and AD for the Giddings Buffaloes, Luke Hobbs, started his journey from over 1200 miles away but knew Texas was the place to be on Friday nights.  His family has been in Giddings before, but this time he is holding the reigns for the program.  He has a good staff around him and hopes to do big things for the Buffaloes.  

Head football coach and AD for Ruidoso HS, Shane Eidson is taking over as the new coach for the Ruidoso Warriors.  Expanding his role for the district from AD to the combination job, he will take what he has learned from his mentors as a coach in Texas and apply those same principles to football in New Mexico.  Coach Eidson talks about the similarities, differences and challenges for programs in N...

Kent Walker left his very successful program in Liberty Hill for the rolling hills of Blanco.  Coach Walker brings to Blanco a toughness that he has acquired through the difficult times in his life, that he hopes to pass on to his new athletes so they are prepared to handle the challenges life brings.

Season 1 had a lot of good information shared by coaches from all of the schools we visited.  I put together some of the more memorable moments and some of the funniest/unusual moments to wrap up the season.

From Texas to Oklahoma and back, from small schools to big schools and back, head football coach and AD for Mason ISD, Wade Griffin has seen it all.  With four kids in school and a wife who is also a coach, he hopes to make Mason his final resting place on his coaching journey.  Join us as Coach Griffin shares his thoughts and ideas for successful football programs and what he is bringing to a tow...

Coach Dewaine Lee wears a lot of big hats in the small 6-man community of Strawn.  Superintendent, head football coach and city council member are just a few.  In his 27 years as a head coach he has amassed over 250 wins and 5 state championships.  The lure of bigger and better things has not been able to drag him away from the town he has called home for the last 22 years.  We discuss the documen...

Eli Reinhart is fresh off his state championship win as the OC for the North Crowley Panthers.  He is taking over for the Hutto Hippos with his first head coaching role.  We discuss everything from Michigan high school football to his expectations for his new athletes as he begins a new era in Hippo football.

Randy Jackson has had experience as a head coach and specifically turning programs around by developing culture and very intentional actions to bring about the desired result:  a successful program.  Listen to Coach Jackson talk about the first steps and priorities you will want to attend to as you start your program.

Brent Kornegay enters his 22nd year as a head coach and athletic director, starting anew at Johnson City in the hill country.  After retiring once, the pull to get back on the field brought him back in 2 years ago and now he looks to revive the Eagles program for Johnson City.

Devon Dorris is closing out his 15th season as head coach for Azle ISD and that is probably the longest tenure of any head football coach in Azle high school history.  He has returned to his hometown and kept the hornets playing consistently at a high level against 5A powerhouses in the DFW area.  Coach Dorris has taken what he learned from his coaches in high school and college and put them into...