The purple and gold bleachers of the large gym are usually filled with screaming students cheering on their team. On March 8, when head football coach Brent Whitson gathered his football team to let them know he was leaving for South Grand Prairie High School, the only thing felt in the stands was despair.

Coach Whitson not only ended the 11-year los¬ing streak against rival J.J. Pearce, but led the team to the playoffs two years in a row – after a 17-year drought.
Whitson’s positive influence didn’t end with football. In the four years he has served as head coach, the entire athletic department has thrived.

“Four years ago we began a journey,” Principal Charles Pickitt said. “Brent Whitson brought us hope, a desire to fight, and the ability to believe. We have now gained hope, developed the ability to fight, and found a reason to believe. Each class has taken us further and higher. RHS athletics, all programs, have gained respect as winners and as tough com¬petitors. We have reached the playoffs, but that is not the end. Our journey is not over.”
The future of the journey now rests on the shoulders of Coach Brian Chandler, former Lake Highlands offensive coordinator, who has high hopes for Eagle football.

“The team has gone far, but I want to take them farther,” Chandler said.
Even with such lofty expectations for the future, students look back on Whitson and remember the effect he had on their lives.
“He taught me to be a man and to work hard and never give up. Take responsibility for your ac¬tions. Be a leader,” senior Torrance Carr said. “On the football field, Whitson was like a father.”

He was also there when many of this year’s seniors signed with their future colleges – help¬ing them every step of the way by making calls and sending tapes.

“Whitson knows that selecting a college is a huge decision,” senior Avery Lewis said. “He was supportive of the process I used to narrow down my choices and ultimately decide on Yale.”

After all the team has been through together, Whitson knew making this decision would be hard. It took him and his wife, biology teacher Lisa Whit¬son, hours of discussion and prayer to discover what the “right” thing to do was.

“Leaving RHS was the hardest professional deci¬sion I have ever had to make, but for all concerned it was the correct decision,” Coach Whitson said. “Telling our kids was very difficult. I was very proud of how those guys gave me their attention and listened like champions. Many of the guys were visibly upset and I can understand their reaction. We have a family atmosphere in Eagle Football and I was disrupting the family.”

Carr, while upset, understands why Whitson had to leave.

“Sometimes you just got to do what’s best for you and your family,” Carr said.

Not all players are as supportive of Whitson’s move.

“At first I felt betrayed,” sophomore DeVante Branch said. “It felt like he quit on the team and I didn’t feel that was right.”

For Whitson, the opportunities offered at South Grand Prairie were too good to resist.

“Coaches are sometimes given opportunities that are difficult to turn down,” Whitson said. “SGP is that sort of place. Their administration has built incredible facilities and given me tremendous free¬dom in building a staff from scratch. South Grand Prairie faces many of the same challenges we in¬herited here in 2007 and the opportunity to go help them was attractive to us.”

The school was shocked when Whitson left mid-year with little notice. For Whitson, it was necessary to move quickly.

“Once the decision to go was finalized, it was important to get on to new things as soon as pos¬sible and give the Eagles a chance to move forward,” Whitson said. “I knew Coach Delay would start right where we were in our off-season plan and told the players that. Between hiring a staff at SGP and learning 200 players’ names, I needed to get to work immediately.”

Delay, along with many others on the football staff, are debating what their coaching future will hold. The number of people leaving can not be confirmed.

Though he is excited for his new position, Whit¬son said he has made unforgettable memories as an Eagle.

“My four years at RHS will make me an Eagle forever,” Whitson said. “Watching the students celebrate our first win against Denton in 2008, and finally beating JJP last fall made an impression on my mind that will never fade. It seems like a long time ago, but watching the clock run down at the close of our 2009 win against Berkner was a tremendous feeling. I remember sharing that happiness with Coach Delay and Coach Gunter as time expired and will never forget their faces.”

Whitson hopes to have similar success with the South Grand Prairie team.

“We will have high expectations,” Whitson said. “We are already talking about playing in Cowboys Stadium at Thanksgiving.”

He knows that similar success is attainable for the Eagles, even in his absence.

“The staff that I am leaving behind is the most capable I have ever worked with and they are as much responsible for the good things we accomplished as I am,” Whitson said. “If the administra¬tion recognizes that, there will be very little effect on football from my departure.”

Lisa Whitson is also not sure whether she will be back as a biology teacher next year.

For the Whitson family, Eagle football has meant more than they can express.

“I am not good enough with words to describe how much Lisa and I enjoyed the time here,” Whit¬son said. “Richardson High is so special, because this place gets it. Academics, community, athletics, fine arts all are top priority with respect to how Mr. Pickitt and our parents approach supporting kids. There are not many schools like that.”

Some players, like Branch, hope to see Coach Whitson on the field again.

“Next year we will make it to the playoffs and be undefeated, hopefully,” Branch said, “I hope to see South Grand Prairie in the championship so we can kill them.”

Coach Chandler’s approach on how achieve that is simple.

“Hard work,” Chandler said.