Sports
The buzz over YellowJacket football in Stephenville, the roar of Bobkatz basketball in Moulton: Ten places where we can’t wait to let the games begin.
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Baseball and Rodeo, Alpine
ALTHOUGH THE RANGERS AND ASTROS play a long way from tiny Alpine, the crack of the baseball bat is just as stirring a sound in far West Texas as it is in the big cities. Beginning in February at Sul Ross State University’s Kokernot Field—an old-time shrine to baseball considered by many to be the Yankee Stadium of Texas—875 fans can sit in original wood-slat seats and see games three or four nights a week. The Sul Ross Lobos play here, as do the Alpine High School Bucks, and the significance of the experience isn’t lost on members of either team. “It’s a big thing for kids all over West Texas to come and play here,” says Sul Ross baseball coach Donnie Randell. Elsewhere in town, there’s just as much enthusiasm for the rodeo. Each year Sul Ross’s renowned range-animal science program hosts the Sul Ross State University Intercollegiate Rodeo at the city’s San Antonio Livestock Exhibition and Equine Science Center. When to go: College, high school, little league, and old-timer teams play at Kokernot Field from February through November. For details call 915-837-8226. The rodeo is held the first weekend in October. Call 915-837-8200 for information.
Six-Man Football, Gordon
SIX-MAN FOOTBALL IS A CLASSIC SMALL-town pastime, a scaled-down version of the traditional game that’s meant to be played in sparsely populated areas. But it still inspires big passions in this North Texas town. One of the state’s premier six-man teams, the Gordon High School Longhorns have made it to at least the state quarterfinals each of the past five years, winning the championship in 1996, and have functioned as the sport’s unofficial ambassadors to the rest of the world. They received national attention in 1994 when the Associated Press covered their game against a team from Colorado, and in 1996 they were featured on ESPN and in the pages of Sports Illustrated. Although the population of the town of Gordon is only 465, the school’s stadium has 2,500 seats—and yet even that wasn’t enough to accommodate the 3,000-plus fans on hand at last year’s “Super Bowl of Six-Man” against neighboring Strawn. “They’ve been trying to beat us for the last nine years,” says Nelson Campbell, Gordon High’s principal and head coach. “They were ranked higher than we were, and they just brought everybody in the dang county out to watch the game. They did wind up beating us by six points—but they had to fight to do it.” When to go: Football season runs September through November, with playoffs in December. For a complete schedule call 254-693-5342.
Baseball, Robstown
“IF YOU ASK ME WHERE BASEBALL’S BIG in Texas,” says Charles Breithaupt, the athletic director of the University Interscholastic League, “one of the first places I think of is Robstown.” Led by Coach Steve Castro, the Robstown High Cotton Pickers have been to the state playoffs each of the past twelve years, and they’ve won two state championships; no wonder the stadium is almost always packed. Here in the cotton country of South Texas, the population is more than 90 percent Hispanic, so the atmosphere of the games is distinct. Tejano music pours out of the loudspeakers between innings, and the particular brand of baseball played—light hitting, great defense—is squarely in the Latin American tradition. Among the graduates who’ve gone on to bigger things is second baseman Jesse Garcia (class of ’92), who has been invited to spring training by the Baltimore Orioles this year. When to go: The regular season began on February 22 and ends April 30, but put a star by April 13; that’s when Robstown plays at home against archrival Corpus Christi Calallen. For a complete schedule call 512-387-5999.
Basketball, Krum
TROY HAMM, THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL principal and head basketball coach in this North Texas town, says that he’s heard stories of Krumians visiting places as far away as San Francisco, mentioning where they’re from, and getting asked, “Isn’t that that basketball town?” Yes, it is—and it deserves its national reputation for excellence in the sport. Krum High (which doesn’t even field a football team) won the state basketball championship last year and seems a good bet to repeat this year. Although the entire student body is just 302 people, they regularly compete against much larger 4A and 5A schools, and they rarely lose; in fact, they’ve won 134 district games in a row, putting them in range to break the record set by East Texas’ Buna High School from 1955 to 1964. Not surprisingly, hoops are erected in almost every driveway in Krum, and kids start dribbling in kindergarten. “We have a tradition,” says Vaughn Andrus, whose fifth son now plays for Krum, “and if you live here, you can’t help but get caught up in it.” When to go: Krum High’s regular season runs from November through the middle of February; the playoffs run through March. For the team’s schedule call 940-482-6000.
Basketball, Moulton
WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE THE BASKETBALL fervor in this Central Texas town, you might daydream that you’ve somehow been transported to a small town in Indiana or Kentucky. Pinch yourself: You’re in Moulton, a community with a proud hoops history and a knack for producing gym rats of both genders. The Moulton High School girls’ team has gone to the playoffs seventeen straight times; the boys have been there seven times, winning state championships in 1991 and 1998. How big is basketball here? The school’s state-of-the-art arena holds 950 people, just 17 fewer than the entire population of Moulton. As in many small Texas towns, the team is the community and the community—here, mostly of Czech and German decent—is the team. The roster of this year’s boys’ varsity team tells the tale: Darilek, Patek, Simper, Henke, Chaloupka, Petrek. Many of these same surnames could probably have been found on the rosters of Moulton High teams twenty or more years ago, just beneath the name of head coach Sammie Koudelka, who has led the Bobkatz since 1972. When to go: The regular season runs from November through February, with playoffs in March. For a schedule of games call 512-596-4691.
Baseball, Brenham
THERE’S A SIGN IN BRENHAM that heralds the East Texas town as the state’s baseball capital. Call it truth in advertising. In the eighties—led by pitcher Jon Peters, whose 53 consecutive victories set a high school record—the Brenham High School Cubs won three state championships. The Cubs haven’t won any state titles since then, but baseball is still a way of life in Brenham, which has an astonishing number of diamonds around town (and is getting three more as part of a new recreational facility). “Little League is real big here,” says Arthur Hahn, the managing editor of the Brenham’s Banner-Press. “You’ve got kids playing all hours of the night during the summer.” This year Brenham will be the site of the first-ever Amateur Athletic Union baseball high school championships, with 32 of the best high school teams in the country competing in a nine-day tournament beginning July 16. Frank Dorner, the baseball chair of the AAU’s Texas Gulf association, said Brenham was the natural place to kick off what will be an annual event. “These people get out and support their teams,” he says. “It’s amazing.” When to go: Baseball is played in Brenham from February through the end of the summer. Call 409-277-6570 for information on the Cubs or 281-469-6721 if you’re interested in seeing the AAU tournament.
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