Tyler Lee Red Raiders will represent Texas
Tyler Lee Red Raiders will represent Texas
Parry: Tyler Lee Red Raiders will represent Texas
by Chris Parry
Tyler Morning Telegraph
It's been an ongoing debate that has raged for decades.
Which state plays the best football? Or more to the point, which state plays the best high school football?
You talk to 100 Texans and you will get 100 identical responses. All of them touting the Lone Star State as having the best football this country has to offer. Other possible states in this debate are California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Well, California took a shot at knocking Texas off last year with San Diego Mira Mesa playing Wylie in the East Texas Football Classic. As many Texans expected, the California team could not keep up with Wylie, falling behind 27-0 and eventually losing 27-10.
That was one of the longest recorded road trips for a non-private high school team. As far as Texas teams - Abilene, John Tyler and Longview - have played Shreveport (La.) Evangel, Midland Lee and JT took on West Monroe (La.) and Robert E. Lee has taken on El Dorado (Ark.).
Results have been mixed in these games. Dallas Carter played a two-game series with Miami (Fla.) Southridge, but other than that, state crossover games have been few and far between.
Robert E. Lee will buck that trend next football season, playing not one, but two crossover games against teams from Florida and Ohio.
The Red Raiders battle Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna on Aug. 27 at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. Two weeks later, Lee will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on Colerain High School from Cincinnati.
"Everyone knows that Florida plays great football and Ohio states its claim to that too, so it's going to be a big deal," said Lee head coach Mike Owens about the two games. "I don't think that one football game is going to change anybody's mind. One team from Texas, one from Ohio, (one from Florida), and whichever one wins, (the) states will still say that we're better because anyone can beat anyone one time."
If nothing else, these games will spark more debate on whether Texas football is best. Both Lee and Colerain won state championships last year in the highest classification - Lee won 5A Division I and Colerain won Ohio District 1 - and Chaminade Madonna won the Florida 3A state championship in 2003 (ranked No. 1 team for all classifications in Florida that year).
One thing is for sure, Lee will no longer be an unknown. Across the nation, high school football fans are going to hear about a team from Texas that had the gall to challenge a former state champion from Florida and current state champion from Ohio. Many people across the nation have now watched "Friday Night Lights," and will be watching Lee to see if it can back up the "Texas Football" hype.
"We will be defending the state of Texas and we are looking forward to that," Owens said. "I don't want to put that much pressure on our kids. To make it sound like if we don't win this, the world is coming to an end, but deep-down inside, it will be that way."
Texas football fans are going to expect Lee to not only win both games, but do it with flair. The only comparison I can think of is from a sport many Texans could care less about - Brazil and its national soccer team.
Much like how Texans feel about football, Brazilians feel they own soccer, so just winning a game is not enough. When Brazil takes on another nation in soccer, they have to win with creativity, skill and domination.
That is what Lee will be expected to do next fall.
"I know that the whole state of Texas will be keeping an eye on it, whether it be radio or TV. They will want to find out what happened," Owens said. "In that sense, it puts a little pressure on us because I don't want to end my career as being, 'he's the one who represented Texas and lost to both of them'
"I don't want our program to be remembered as the school that didn't do a good job representing the state."
Chris Parry covers sports. He can be reached at 903.596.6335. e-mail:
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