2018 El Paso Area Football Review
El Paso area high school football reached a high point in 2014 with the great playoff run made by Canutillo . No team has come close to these heights since unless you want to count the two straight TAPPS state championships that Cathedral won in 2016 and 2017. The 2018 season was no different. El Paso area playoff teams made a quick exit in the state playoffs. Most were eliminated in the Bi-District round and the rest were gone after the Area round. Area football fans often question why El Paso teams fare so badly in the playoffs or when will an El Paso team win a 11-man public school state championship? Not easy questions to answer. Are there too many school districts? Are there too many schools? Are our coaches not good enough? Is there a lack of football talent in the area or is the available talent spread to thinly? Are our school districts really committed to winning a state championship? Are El Paso area athletes too small or not quick enough? All of these are legitimate questions. I don’t believe our coaches are inferior. There have been coaches in El Paso that left the city and won state championships in other Texas cities or in other states. Midland Lee was a state powerhouse in the early 1990’s when Cedric Benson was their featured running back. The Rebels won two state titles. Their coach was a former El Paso coach John Parchman . I can also go back to the early 1960’s when Ysleta was coached by Red Coats. He was very successful at Ysleta but felt that the school district wasn’t committed to winning championships. He left El Paso and won state titles in Colorado. What about too many schools or too many school districts. Probably true but Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio have just as many schools and just as many school districts. What about lack of talent or is the talent spread too thinly? There is football talent in the El Paso area but no one school has an over abundance of talent. Irvin and Andress had great football teams in the early 1990’s but then Chapin High School was built. The Northeast talent was then spread out amongst 4 high schools and the truly great teams were no more. Maybe head football coaches should recruit athletes to their schools. Many schools in the area are magnet schools so there is nothing preventing the recruitment of athletes. I am not naïve enough to think that this is not already happening or has happened in the past. Then we come to the questions about size. That, to me, is a major part of the problem. El Paso area athletes are talented but they are not overly big. They do well against El Paso area competition but then run into schools that have far more talent and far more size. I can think back to Canutillo’s great team in 2014. The Eagles were very talented but they weren’t very big. They finally ran into an Ennis team that had at least 11 Division 1 recruited players and great size at the skilled positions. Canutillo played valiantly but they couldn’t stop two 6 foot 5 inch receivers. Ever wonder why El Paso does so well in Soccer or Cross-Country? Those sports don’t require great size. They require speed and agility and El Paso area athletes are very gifted in those two qualities. Will an El Paso team ever win a football public school championship. I won’t say never but it would take a lot to happen. A coach would have to recruit talent to his school and that recruitment would have to start early on. A high school coach would have to have some say in the hiring of middle school coaches and those schools would have to play the same system of football that their future high school uses. For many years, El Paso area head coaches were teachers first and coaches second. The districts finally allowed the head coach just be the athletic director of the school. This was a step in the right direction but many more steps are needed. So much for my preaching. Here are the playoff results from 2018.
6A Playoff teams: Franklin, Coronado, Americas, and Pebble Hills.
Bi District: Franklin beat Midland 79-56; Coronado lost to Permian 42-0; Americas was defeated by Midland Lee 70-12; Pebble Hills lost to Tascosa 57-35.
Area: Euless Trinity defeated Franklin 44-28
5A Playoff teams: Eastwood, Eastlake, Chapin, Del Valle, Parkland, Irvin, Andress , Hanks, Austin, Canutillo , Burges , and Horizon
Bi-District: Abeline Cooper beat Eastwood 49-41; Eastlake lost to Caprock 42-17; Chapin lost to Lubbock Coronado 35-17; Del Valle beat Amarillo 21-10; Parkland beat Irvin 48-12; Andress beat Hanks 33-12; Austin beat Canutillo 38-10; and Burges beat Horizon 31-14.
Area: Del Valle lost to Denton Ryan 42-14; Parkland lost to Canyon Randall 38-28; Andress lost to Wichita Falls Rider 41-10; Lubbock Coronado beat Austin 45-0; and Burges lost to Northwest 48-14.
4A Playoff teams: Clint, Fabens , San Elizario , and Mountain View
Bi District: Clint was defeated by Big Spring 28-27; Fabens lost to Seminole 42-7; San Elizario lost to Andrews 57-6; and Mountain View lost to San Angelo Lake View 28-21.
3A Bi District: Tornillo lost to Shallowater 63-0 and Anthony lost to Abernathy 68-21.
