Game Over 
Go! Fight! Win!
Presenting the top twenty Texas high school football programs of all time. Let the debate begin.
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9. Judson
Location: Converse
Nickname: Rockets
Class: 5A
First Season: 1962
State Titles: 6 (1983, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002)
Runners-up: 4 (1990, 1996, 1998, 2005)
District Titles: 22
Overall Record: 387-157-10
Arguably the best team of the nineties, the Rockets made it to six state championship games that decade, winning three. D. W. Rutledge, who coached at Judson from 1984 to 2001, won four titles and helped produce an impressive roster of future NFL players, including offensive lineman Chris Samuels (San Diego Chargers), defensive back Derwin Gray (Indianapolis Colts), defensive end Corey Sears (Houston Texans), running back Darnell Stephens (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), defensive back Eric Brown (Denver Broncos), and defensive end Otis Grigsby (Miami Dolphins).
10. Cuero
Location: Cuero
Nickname: Gobblers
Class: 3A
First Season: 1911
State Titles: 3 (1973, 1974, 1987)
Runners-up: 7 (1970, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1998, 2004)
District Titles: 24
Overall Record: 607-327-36
Head coach Buster Gilbreth (below) took Cuero to the state finals four times in the seventies, winning twice. But the real story for the team has been the ten trips they have made to the championship: Only Odessa Permian has played in more. Though the Gobblers haven’t won a title since 1987, they continue to stand alongside Celina as the team to beat in Class 3A.
11. Carroll Senior
Location: Southlake
Nickname: Dragons
Class: 5A
First Season: 1964
State Titles: 7 (1988, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Runners-up: 1 (2003)
District Titles: 19
Overall Record: 398-126-8
If this list were to be compiled next year, Southlake Carroll might well hold the record for winning the most state titles (below, in a 2006 playoff game). Though head coach Todd Dodge left after the 2006 season to take over at the University of North Texas, his replacement, Hal Wasson, has plenty of talent to build on: The Dragons have played in the past five state championships, have won 79 of their past 80 games, and will return eight offensive starters, including Riley Dodge (Todd’s son), the 2006 Class 5A offensive player of the year. The Dragons, who were named national champs in 2004 and 2005, remain the team no one wants to line up against—and the program we’ll be talking about decades from now.
12. Stamford
Location: Stamford
Nickname: Bulldogs
Class: 2A
First Season: 1912
State Titles: 3 (1955, 1956, 1958)
Runners-up: 1 (1959)
District Titles: 30
Overall Record: 531-278-25
When Stamford celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its state title run in 2005, 62 out of the 76 players from that era came from as far away as Oregon back to their alma mater to be recognized (8 had passed away). During the fifties, the Bulldogs went 109-7; seven of those seasons found Gordon Wood patrolling the sidelines. In fact, the best team that Coach Wood claims to have coached never won a title. The 1954 squad, led by lineman Bob Harrison (below), lost to Colorado City in the district championship. The Bulldogs might have done better had Harrison not forgotten his shoes.
13. Garland
Location: Garland
Nickname: Owls
Class: 5A
First Season: 1904
State Titles: 4 (1956, 1963, 1964, 1999)
Runners-up: 1 (1955)
District Titles: 26
Overall Record: 589-291-44
One of the state’s oldest programs, Garland has won 26 district titles, including 9 of the past 12. But the Owls will forever be known for head coach Chuck Curtis (below), who led Garland to state titles in 1963 and 1964, the only years he was at the school.
14. Katy
Location: Katy
Nickname: Tigers
Class: 5A
First Season: 1939
State Titles: 4 (1959, 1997, 2000, 2003)
Runners-up: 3 (1994, 1999, 2005)
District Titles: 22
Overall Record: 412-259-18
Named the “5A Team of the ’90s” by the Houston Chronicle, the Katy Tigers established themselves as one of the state’s premier suburban powerhouses. In the past twelve seasons, they have produced two Texas state players of the year (running back Bill Jatzlau, in 1994, and linebacker Rusty Bucy, in 1997) and one state title MVP (James Aston [above] in 2003).
15. Sealy
Location: Sealy
Nickname: Fighting Tigers
Class: 3A
First Season: 1928
State Titles: 5 (1978, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
Runners-up: 0
District Titles: 21
Overall Record: 438-370-22
Eric Dickerson’s legend casts a long shadow on the lore of Sealy football. Rushing for 5,877 yards in his career, Dickerson also carried the Tigers to an undefeated state and national championship in 1978. Then, in 1994, Fred Smith rushed for 324 yards in the title game, breaking a record held by Dickerson. Smith also surpassed Dickerson with 6,588 rushing yards in his career. But the most significant member of Sealy’s program would have to be coach T.J. Mills, who led the Tigers to a record of 63-1 and four consecutive state titles between 1994 and 1997.
16. Sonora
Location: Sonora
Nickname: Broncos
Class: 2A
First Season: 1919
State Titles: 5 (1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 2000)
Runners-up: 1 (1969)
District Titles: 17
Overall Record: 516-309-31
One of the four teams on the list from the 325 area code, Sonora led the way for Class A teams in the sixties and seventies. Coach Jerry Hopkins won the first three state titles for the program, in part because of a stand- out running back named Ed Renfro (below), who went on to play for Texas Tech. The Broncos won their most recent championship in 2000, after their move to Class 2A.
17. Waco
Location: Waco
Nickname: Lions
Class: 4A
First Season: 1920
State Titles: 6 (1922, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1945 [tie], 1948)
Runners-up: 3 (1923, 1924, 1939)
District Titles: 9 (figures available only since 1986)
Overall Record: 169-76-1 (figures available only since 1986)
During the twenties, Waco won four state championships and lost two others, making the Lions the most dominant team of the decade. But the program has consistently produced NFL-caliber players, from wide receiver George Sauer, who won Super Bowl III with the New York Jets (and quarterback Joe Namath), to linebacker Derrick Johnson, a standout at the University of Texas who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.
18. Reagan
Location: Austin
Nickname: Raiders
Class: 4A
First Season: 1965
State Titles: 3 (1967, 1968, 1970)
Runners-up: 1 (1973)
District Titles: 20
Overall Record: 335-132-9
It would take only two years after Reagan fielded its first team, in 1965, for Coach Travis Raven (below) to win a state championship. Before leaving the program after the 1970 season, Raven would go on to win two more titles, a feat that still has old-timers talking. Helping Raven’s Raiders win their first state title was All-American defensive tackle Ray Dowdy, who was later named All-SWC at the University of Texas.
19. Stephenville
Location: Stephenville
Nickname: Yellow Jackets
Class: 4A
First Season: 1920
State Titles: 4 (1993, 1994, 1998, 1999)
Runners-up: 0
District Titles: 17
Overall Record: 513-343-26
Known as the state’s most prolific quarterback factory, Stephenville has produced nine top recruits for Division I-A college programs since 1989 (including Jevan Snead, who bolted from the University of Texas last year to play for Ole Miss). Much of the credit for this talent goes to former head coach Art Briles, who led the Yellow Jackets to all four of their state titles. The best-known quarterback of the crop, Kevin Kolb, followed Briles to the University of Houston, where he started for four straight years. He was also the thirty-sixth overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft, taken by the Philadelphia Eagles.
20. Lee
Location: Midland
Nickname: Rebels
Class: 5A
First Season: 1961
State Titles: 3 (1998, 1999, 2000)
Runners-up: 1 (1983)
District Titles: 13
Overall Record: 348-176-9
The West Texas Tornado, running back Cedric Benson, set the state’s 5A record for career rushing yards (8,423) and carried the Rebels to three state titles and one national title in 1999 (Benson rushed for fifteen touchdowns in the championship games alone). Like their rival, the Permian Panthers, the Rebels have faltered lately, but they have still won thirteen district championships in one of the most competitive regions of the state.
Drew Webb wrote about the best golf holes in the state in the January 2007 issue.
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