Legendary Texas Coach Passes Away

by Jeff Fisher
Texas High School Football Huddle

Brazoswood High School's first head football coach has died. L.Z. Bryan, who started the Buccaneers program in 1969, passed away on Monday. In 18-years, Bryan amassed a record of 150-40-4, including a 4A state championship. Click here to read the story from the Houston Chronicle

Cowboys Stadium to Host Quadruple-header For Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Series

by Jeff Fisher
Texas High School Football Huddle

The Dallas Cowboys new home will play host to a high school football quadruple-header on Monday, September 7th as part of the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Series.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, the showcase game will pit 2007 Texas 5A Division I champ Euless Trinity against Utah power Bingham. Bingham, which lost in the state's 5A championship game in 2008, is led by junior running back Harvey Langi, who was third in the state in rushing last year with 1,371 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. The Texas/Utah showdown will kick things off at noon with the game being broadcast nationally by ESPN.

The other interstate match-up is between Klein Oak (TX) taking-on Notre Dame Prep from Sherman Oaks, California. Notre Dame is led by one of the top junior quarterbacks in the country. Ryan Kasdorf (6-2, 205) was named the state's Gatorade Player of the Year after passing for nearly 3,300 yards and 36 touchdowns.

“Intersport is proud to team with Burger King, Fox Sports Net, and Kirk Herbstreit to once again bring you the best high school football in the nation,” said Intersport, Inc. Event Manager Joseph Salituro. “We look forward to having the new Cowboys Stadium as our host. We are excited for the players, coaches, and fans to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity. The four matchups that we have provided will be a great introduction of high school football to this wonderful facility.”

Here's the schedule for the day, plus the Ohio match-ups that were released earlier this year:

Texas Games at Cowboys Stadium
September 7, 2009

Noon - Euless Trinity (TX) vs. Bingham (UT)
2:30 P.M. - Klein Oak (TX) vs. Notre Dame Prep (CA)
5:00 P.M. - Colleyville Heritage (TX) vs. Irving MacArthur (TX)
7:30 P.M. - Mansfield Timberview (TX) vs. Mansfield Summit (TX)

Ohio Games at Ohio Stadium
August 29, 2009

Noon - Upper Arlington (OH) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
3:30 P.M. - Hilliard Davidson (OH) vs. Westville South (OH)

August 30, 2009

Noon - Olentangy Liberty (OH) vs. Dublin Coffman (OH)
3:30 P.M. - Orange Lutheran (CA) vs. Pickerington Central (OH)

Texas: The Birthplace of the Spread Offense

by Jeff Fisher
Texas High School Football Huddle

We all know that Texas high school football teams love to toss the ball around and light-up the scoreboard. Click here to read a good story on the origin of the spread offense in the Lone Star State from ESPN Rise.

5A Championships to be Played in Either Houston or San Antonio

by Jeff Fisher
Texas High School Football Huddle

The Cowboys new stadium in Arlington will not host the 2009 University Interscholastic League 5A championships this year, but the stadium is in-line for the Division I and II championships according to a report by Matt Wixon in the Dallas Morning News. Click here to find out why this year's championships will be played in either the Alamodome or Reliant Stadium.

Gaines on Gaines...Bill Bob Thornton on the Return of Gaines to Permian

by Jeff Fisher
Texas High School Football Huddle

Tuesday I had a meeting in St. Louis, before Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, where I met Billy Bob Thornton, the star of Friday Night Lights, who is currently working on producing a movie on Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's book 3 Nights in August. FNL's author Buzz Bissinger is also the author of La Russa's book.

Billy Bob was very cool...just like you'd expect him to be!!

I enjoyed a five minute conversation with him on baseball. For those of you that don't know, the Academy Award winning actor had aspirations of being a major league baseball player for the Redbirds, but the closest he got, was his current close friendship with La Russa.

Before the end of the chat, I asked Billy Bob for his thoughts on Gary Gaines returning to the sidelines at Odessa Permian this fall.

"It should be interesting," replied Thorton, who played the tough nose Gaines in 2004 movie.