Beaumont article on Kountze

[justafan1]

At long last, Kountze football team in good repair

By PERRYN KEYS

September, 9, 2008

KOUNTZE - Less than a month after he pulled into town in 2005, Stan Hodges' old four-door F-250 crapped out.

It was only then that the first-year coach at Kountze realized the kind of repair job he was getting himself into.

An auto mechanic, sitting behind his desk, quickly put Hodges in his place.

"You're the new football coach here, right?" the repair guy asked him.

Hodges all but puffed out his chest, feeling good about his newfound status as an important man in town. He had come off the staff at Converse Judson, the mighty Class 5A powerhouse where teams win big and coaches rarely have to buy their own lunch.

Yes, Hodges said; as a matter of fact, I am the new football coach.

"I'm sorry about that," the repair guy replied. "You could bring Tom Landry in here and it won't matter. You ain't never gonna win here."

Hodges recoiled a little. Then he shot back.

"I said, 'Well, that's the kind of stinkin' attitude we're going to change around here. We're going to win,' " Hodges recalled. "We had to change the attitudes of our kids, but also in the community."

Three years later, the Lions are well on their way.

They opened their season with a win over Woodville, then followed with a 28-26 victory over Class 3A opponent Bridge City .

With a win against Evadale at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Kountze will have its second 3-0 start in as many seasons.

Sure, hundreds of programs in Texas win three in a row. In fact, hundreds of programs do it on a yearly basis.

But for decades at Kountze, the best thing about a football game was that it got fans one week closer to basketball season.

How bad had it been? Consider this: In 2004, the Lions went 3-7. It was their best record in five years.

They haven't been to the playoffs since 1973, and according to Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Kountze holds the second-longest losing streak in state history - a run of 53 losses from 1977-82.

Before Hodges came to town, Kountze had four different coaches in four years, nine different coaches in the last 12.

Can you say "big stinking mess"?

"When I came in ... people were probably thinking, 'Oh, look at Hodges. He's probably not going to stick around,' " Hodges said. "Well, I did. ... So I brought a little continuity to the program, and the coaches and kids bought into it. Anytime you have a lot of changeover, that makes it hard on people."

Still, Hodges was hardly off to a great start. In a hurricane-shortened 2005, the Lions were 0-7.

They started to turn the corner from there, following with a 4-6 campaign - easily their best in a decade. Before long, some of the school's best athletes (i.e., its talented basketball players) showed an interest in football, too.

Last season was the big breakthrough. Kountze went 7-3 and scored a major upset of East Chambers in the second-to-last week of the season. But the Lions missed the playoffs because of losses to Buna and Hardin.

"We just tried to keep the whole team together," senior Domingo Smith said. "During the summertime, we'd come up here and work out a little bit. We wanted to make ourselves better and put Kountze on the map."

Now it's homecoming week, and football is finally fashionable. Yet again, there's a parade and a bonfire planned, and - how's this for good luck? - it looks like Hurricane Ike won't wipe out any of it.

Of course, it's not always an endless supply of bright flowers and chirping birds.

During 7-on-7 drills Tuesday afternoon, a series of flubs led to a verbal beatdown from the coaching staff, followed by a series of up-downs for the players on the half-grassy, half-dusty field.

But this much is apparent: Players there are willing to pay the price.

Just recently, Hodges asked two senior players to speak to a visitor after practice. Twelve seniors showed up.

Out of all 12 mouths, the same words kept pouring out - hard work, dedication, brotherhood.

"Most of this group started as sophomores," senior Milton Williams said, "so we've been together."

It's a special group of kids to Hodges, who can remember them all as gangly freshmen when they reported for that first camp in 2005. Three years later, they've got a new field house (built last spring) and an outlook that used to be unthinkable.

Asked about their goal for this season, all 12 players answered in unison: make the playoffs.

"There ain't one guy that carries this team," Hodges said. "One thing that we preach to our kids is a brotherhood. If you love what you're doing, and if you love who you're doing it with, good things are gonna come your way."

So far, it's been a repair job worth watching.

[footballfan5261]

good article... but i must add... the only basketball players that played football and didnt quit during the turnaround... are the ones that have been playing football since jr. high.  for the record..

[ddawson0770]

that's no doubt the truth. I bleed the red and black myself, and without Kountze football and the guidance of my coaches, I'm not sure that I would have made it as far in life as I have... so far.. I still have a long way to go.