I attended that playoff game in Waco Saturday night. My son and I drove 3 hours to get there (even after a wrong turn) and truly enjoyed ourselves - that is, until the game began. Emotion was running high on both sides of the field as the two mediocre teams squared-off in state playoff competition. Noone cared about their team's regular season record anymore. This was a new season of hope - at least for about 5 minutes after the start of the game.
Malakoff received the opening kick-off, ran three plays and were forced to punt. That's when the trouble began. Hearne blocked the punt and recoved the ball inside the Malakoff 20-yard line. 3 plays later, the score was 7-0, in favor of Hearne. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by the Tigers, recovered by the Eagles on the Malakoff 17-yard line. 4 plays later, the score read 14-0, Hearne. Malakoff moved the ball after the game's 3rd kickoff, but had to punt again. The punt got away, but only traveled 10 yards. Hearne got the ball on the Malakoff 25. 3 plays later, 21-0, Hearne.
I do not intend for this blog to be sports column. There are much better sports writers around than I could ever hope to be. Instead, the outcome of the game, which was 40-7, Hearne over Malakoff, highlights two recent trends in Texas high school football that can be seen statewide. First is the matter of the expansion of the playoff system, which I discussed here previously. The 2005 Malakoff Tigers legally made the playoffs this year, but clearly showed they didn't belong or deserve to be there. The score beared that out.
The second trend, which is a result of shifting population centers, seems to be more of a factor from year to year. The trend isn't just happening in Texas. It's a national phenomenon. People are leaving rural areas for cities and suburbs. Larger cities in rural areas are even feeling the pinch as traditional job sources dry up forcing residents to look elsewhere for employment.
Case in point, Texarkana, Texas, which is a city of roughly 40-50 thousand. The former 5A powerhouse Texas High School was reclassified in 2004 and is now in the 4A class and is the number 1 seed in the 4A playoffs. Palestine, a city of 20,000+ has been a 4A playoff team for decades. This season was their first to be in the 3A class, thanks to an exodus of some 3-5 thousand residents within the past decade. This year, they, too, are well ranked as they begin their playoff run. Hearne was a good sized 3A school just a decade ago. In that span, railroad and oilfield work has dried up, forcing townsfolk elsewhere. Now, they are an underachieving 2A squad. Such stories are repeated all around the state, rural schools are losing students in droves year by year.
As for the cities and suburbs, enrollment continues to explode. New powerhouses continue to dominate throughout the season, year after year. Southlake Carroll, a 3A school only 10 years ago, is now classified as super 5A, enjoying the benefits of DFW area urban sprawl. In Montgomery County, north of Houston, the Woodlands High School also reaps the benefit, as the super 5A football runner-up from a year ago. There currently is another high school in the Woodlands. University Park HS had only 9th grade students this year. Within 4 years, the school's attendance should be roughly 5,000 students. The Woodlands High School also will have roughly 5,000 students. Magnolia HS was a 4A school only 3 years ago. Now, they are a mid-sized 5A school, trying to find their way among 5A powerhouses. There are plans to begin construction on a new high school in Magnolia in the next 3 years.
So, what does this mean? Possibly, the death of the small, rural school - at least as far as athletics is concerned. As the national trend continues, more and more people will continue to move to be closer to jobs available in big cities. As they do, they leave behind a rich history of competition, sportsmanship and small town comeradery that typifies sports in a small town.
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