During the final quarter against MacArthur, junior cornerback Tre Jerrels snagged an interception sealing the game. However, head coach Kendrick Holloway waited until the clock hit zero before he glanced up at the scoreboard and thought, “Man, we’re champions.”

As the team lined up in their victory formation, he turned to senior quarterback Lucas Sawyer, who never expected they’d be in this position, and said, “Congratulations, champ.”

“The dedication and commitment and consistency that they’ve shown throughout this season and even building up for years and months and days and minutes and seconds, and I sit there as the head coach like ‘Wow, that was amazing,'” Holloway said.

After beating MacArthur 42-7, the varsity football team won the district title for the first time in over 20 years. Next up is their playoff game against Haltom High School on November 14.

When the game ended, Sawyer felt it sink in that it was becoming a reality. At the beginning of the season, when they lost against Berkner, he didn’t expect them to be in this position.

“It was crazy and it was surreal,” Sawyer said.

The team celebrated the win by spraying water over each other, jumping up and down in excitement and going to their families and teammates.

Senior offensive player Tony Tran said there are no words to describe this feeling. He’s been hoping for this win throughout all four years of high school.

“It will for sure set an example for all the newer teams like our freshman, our jv team, and it’s going to be history for everybody,” Tran said.

Assistant Coach Monty Green said the team had a chip on their shoulder when they started the season because they still wanted to prove themselves to outsiders. Even though they made a big accomplishment winning the playoffs last year for the first time since 1992, he said they weren’t done yet.

“It motivates us because we know what kind of team we are,” Green said. “We know we want to win one game at a time.”

Holloway said that for the past two years, their standard has been being district champs, and the team has continued to build on the foundation they laid to reach that goal.

Senior wide receiver Dameon Crowe said the team put in a lot of work during off-season and carried over the momentum they built from last season.

“We deserve everything that we got right now,” Crowe said. “I feel like the work that we put here, I think we deserved it.”

The season’s turnaround came from a stronger team bond and increased discipline. Holloway also established the program’s standard and expectations for the other coaches and players, keeping everyone in the same direction.

Holloway began by working with the staff and sought to hire coaches who were not only knowledgeable about football but also passionate about developing kids on and off the field. He also wanted coaches who were great teachers in the building, and he said they were able to create that kind of staff.

The coaches always talk about bringing the H.E.A.T. to the players: hard work, encouragement, accountability and toughness. They also teach the players to put their heart into everything they do and encourage someone every single day.

“Every single day, you have to hold yourself accountable,” Holloway said. “You have to hold your teammates accountable. And then we want to be a tough program, mentally and physically as well.”

Crowe said the team holds each other accountable by telling the young players whenever they aren’t doing something right and even telling him whenever he messes up.

“It goes hand-in-hand,” Crowe said.

During off-season, the team started setting the tone for the type of program they want to be mentally. Holloway wanted to put their players in a situation that would tax them mentally but help them in the long run, so he implemented the “Four Quarter” program last December.

After every workout, the players did 10 perfect push-ups, 10 perfect sit-ups, 10 perfect squat jumps and a minute of breathing. The routine simulates the four quarters in a football game, and the goal is for the players to make it through each quarter regardless of any adversity they face.

“That helps them mentally, especially after a taxing workout that we’ve had to push themselves to another limit that they didn’t think that they were able to be pushed to and get through as well,” Holloway said.

Holloway said the Four Quarter program played a meaningful role in shaping the players’ discipline. For example, when they’re done with their push-ups, they have to hold that position instead of just lying down until the bell rings.

The team also continued their “family groups” that Holloway started when he first came into the program. He noticed that the 2024 team was really close, so he wanted to make sure this year’s team was just as close.

During off-season, the coaching staff did family drafts where each coach takes in at least 10 to 12 players throughout our program, which can consist of different positions and different grade levels. The purpose of these families is for the players to get to know each other, so come the actual game, the players know they can count on each other but also know what others are going through, so they can support them.

The purpose of these families is for the players to get to know each other so they know they can count on each other during games, but also know what others are going through so they can support them.

Crowe said since they don’t know everyone on the team, the families is a good opporunity to bond togheter.

Every Tuesday and Thursday before their workouts, the family groups get together and discuss character development while taking some time to bond with each other.

Holloway said it’s vital to keep the team connected instead of just having a bunch of individuals.

“When you take all those individuals, no matter what classification, they’re freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and be able to bring them all together and create one, it means something,” Holloway said.

Holloway said it had a tremendous impact on the field because the players were now playing for their team and community rather than just themselves.

“It was a point in our season to where we got real close as a team, as a program, to help us to go on this run that we’ve been on,” Holloway said.

Senior running back Zach Breazeale said working as a team and being able to bond made a big difference.

“We’re a lot more locked in and focused and prepared for the games,” Breazeale said.

Holloway saw the impact the team bonding had on the field. Before their game against Pearce, he heard the players saying “We’re going to do this for each other” and “Let’s play for each other, play for our school, our community.”

“Hearing them speak words like that made me feel even more powerful than going into that game,” Holloway said.

Crowe said since they haven’t beat Pearce in a decade, there was a lot of stuff getting into the player’s heads, so he calmed them down by reminding them how hard they prepared during their practices.

Also, during the game against Jesuit when they were down 13 points, the players went to the sidelines and encouraged each other by talking about their four pillars, their program and to play hard while holding each other accountable.

“Then we had to fight that game from a mental and physical standpoint [and we] came off victorious that day,” Holloway said.

Crowe told the players during that game that they were a better football team than them. He said once the game started going their way, the team started seeing the vision of what they can accomplish.

The team faced some adversity, especially during the beginning of their season, so the coaches held team meetings to discuss the bigger picture and the program’s standard.

“Those meetings helped us out,” Holloway said. “We were able to talk as coaches to the team. The kids and the players were able to talk to each other, voice their opinions and all of that, and then help us come closer together.”

Sawyer said what also helped the team this season was staying focused, blocking out distractions during big games and remaining resilient through their losses.

“I think that we needed those losses just to work back and really look ourselves in the mirror,” Sawyer said. “And so I think that helped us this year.”

Moving forward, the coaches will continue to put the players in an environment where they can bond with each other.

Holloway told the team Friday morning that this is the standard, and they accomplished that. But now, as one of 64 teams competing in the 6A Division I classification, he said to enjoy the moment, but let’s not be satisfied, and when they come back on Monday, it’s time to get back to work and get ready for the first round of playoffs.

“I think the momentum we have going into the playoffs, it’s going to be an exciting time,” Holloway said. “We have a great opponent who we faced last year in the first round.”