Print
E-mail
Comment
Stewart hurting for not being able to deliver championship to Dayton
 |
| The Dayton Broncos enter the field to begin playing for the Texas 4A Division II State Championship against Sulphur Springs. |
By MIKE GEORGE
Dayton’s athletic director and head football coach Jerry Stewart sat down in his office Sunday afternoon and reflected on what he and his football staff and team had been through the past few weeks. The pain of losing the game and not being able to bring a championship to this community for Christmas was quite evident in both his speech and demeanor, but his words said it best.
“I want to start off by thanking all our school people – our school board, our central administration folks, Laurie Elliott and all the principals at our campuses and the great sendoff they gave our kids as befitting heroes,” Stewart explained. “That is something our kids will never forget and neither will the elementary kids that were out there. So, I want to thank them and I want to thank everyone in the community – it’s been a great run for me at Dayton. It’s been a good haul during my stay here. I want to thank them for their support and for the continuing support they give our Broncos. There were estimates of some 17 – 20,000 people in the Alamodome and that’s a great testament. The only regret, other than to my kiddos, was that I couldn’t bring that championship to Dayton for Christmas. It disappoints me more than anything in the world because I would have given anything to have brought Dayton that title – more for Dayton than even myself. I’ll just be real honest with you. I want to bring it more to Dayton and for our kids than for myself. I can live without it, but I would have liked to have brought that to them.”
That one thing, more than anything, was what haunted the 13-year Dayton High School athletic leader.
“So, I’m real saddened by that part – that’s the part I haven’t been able to shake,” admitted Stewart. “I can shake a loss – a loss doesn’t rock me. What rocks me is disappointing people and I really would have liked for us to have gotten to the point where hadn’t of disappointed. I would have liked to have brought that in for those kiddos, for these coaches that work so hard and really for our community and our school. I’d have done anything to have brought them the title and it didn’t work out – and that’s the only thing I haven’t shook, and I don’t know when I’m going to shake that.”
The coach then spoke about the unique relationship he has with this group of kids – something that will go with these kids and every one of these coaches for as long as they live.
“We are truly soul mates,” stated Stewart. “We (the coaches) have always represented the school in top-notch fashion and our kids just fight to the end and that’s why I’m extremely proud of them.”
Stewart then took time to discuss his first thoughts immediately after the game.
“We were all sad, of course,” began Stewart. “The players were sad, I’m sad – all of us were sad. You don’t know where to reach. You don’t know who to reach out to or what to do. All kids and adults alike are like that – the kids and the coaches. You’re scrambling with a thousand thoughts going through your mind. The biggest thing was that I felt for my kids and wanting them to be okay, and that was real tough. You try not to let it diminish what’s happened for the run and that’s what you’ve got to work at, too, because of the bitter taste that’s there. The thing to remember was that all we ask is for them to give us what they have for 48 minutes and that’s what they did and that’s the way it shakes.”
Stewart was trying to be there for his kids who after this kind of loss needed someone to answer them.
“You know, it’s like you’re empty,” Stewart explained. “It’s like dialing a phone and no one answers. It’s an empty feeling. You need somebody to answer so you can talk and that’s what I was there for – for the kids.”
The coach then recapped the game.
“The game was just like I thought it would be, a scoring fest,” said Stewart. “I thought we responded really well. We turned the ball over on downs twice, suffered two fumbles, an onside kick and a pass interception – six possessions that we do with what we’re capable and we’re right there with them.”
The coach then said the obvious.
“We couldn’t stop them, and they couldn’t stop us either – we stopped ourselves,” stated Stewart. “Our kids played really hard on both sides of the ball. I didn’t think we matched up well with them defensively and their quarterback was as good as I thought, but the guy I thought all along that was the difference maker with them was the running back, and we couldn’t tackle him. He and the quarterback just ran past us.”
The Bronco Boss just felt like Sulphur Springs was a better team and said as much.
“They were just a better ball club than we were,” Stewart said. “We could have matched them offensively, but our defense just couldn’t stand up to the test on that. Now, they tried – it wasn’t from lack of effort – they gave great effort and I was so proud of them for that – they did the best they could, but there’s not much you can do when you give the ball back to people like that.”
The coach then philosophized what he was trying to say.
“You’ve got two choices when you play a team like that,” Stewart began. “You’re either running the ball to take time off the clock, which we don’t’ do. Yeah, we’re throwing the ball so they’re going to get the ball back. Or, you outscore them, but their offense didn’t have but one turnover and we had six changes of possession and that’s what did it for us. We fumbled just before half or would have been tied at half in a huge score-a-thon. In the second half, they kept firing and we quit firing in the second half – that was the difference in the game.
On the Broncos’ second possession, Dayton went for it on first down and some may wonder why.
“We had a fourth down and went for it,” Stewart stated. “Normally, we wouldn’t have done that, but we knew we couldn’t stop them so we had to do something or we were going to have a hard time stopping them.”
Stewart then surmised it all up.
“It was a run for the ages. Some of our kids go both ways and get tired at the end. They were in a little bit better shape than we were and when we got tired at the end so they were able to move up and down the field pretty good. That was a shootout by the book and I’m so proud of our kids. But that’s part of the process. Your ecstatic one week and sad the next week, but you’ve got to learn to overcome both of them and that’s what we’ll do. We’ll overcome this and we’ll see what we can do.”
“I want to start off by thanking all our school people – our school board, our central administration folks, Laurie Elliott and all the principals at our campuses and the great sendoff they gave our kids as befitting heroes,” Stewart explained. “That is something our kids will never forget and neither will the elementary kids that were out there. So, I want to thank them and I want to thank everyone in the community – it’s been a great run for me at Dayton. It’s been a good haul during my stay here. I want to thank them for their support and for the continuing support they give our Broncos. There were estimates of some 17 – 20,000 people in the Alamodome and that’s a great testament. The only regret, other than to my kiddos, was that I couldn’t bring that championship to Dayton for Christmas. It disappoints me more than anything in the world because I would have given anything to have brought Dayton that title – more for Dayton than even myself. I’ll just be real honest with you. I want to bring it more to Dayton and for our kids than for myself. I can live without it, but I would have liked to have brought that to them.”
That one thing, more than anything, was what haunted the 13-year Dayton High School athletic leader.
“So, I’m real saddened by that part – that’s the part I haven’t been able to shake,” admitted Stewart. “I can shake a loss – a loss doesn’t rock me. What rocks me is disappointing people and I really would have liked for us to have gotten to the point where hadn’t of disappointed. I would have liked to have brought that in for those kiddos, for these coaches that work so hard and really for our community and our school. I’d have done anything to have brought them the title and it didn’t work out – and that’s the only thing I haven’t shook, and I don’t know when I’m going to shake that.”
The coach then spoke about the unique relationship he has with this group of kids – something that will go with these kids and every one of these coaches for as long as they live.
“We are truly soul mates,” stated Stewart. “We (the coaches) have always represented the school in top-notch fashion and our kids just fight to the end and that’s why I’m extremely proud of them.”
Stewart then took time to discuss his first thoughts immediately after the game.
“We were all sad, of course,” began Stewart. “The players were sad, I’m sad – all of us were sad. You don’t know where to reach. You don’t know who to reach out to or what to do. All kids and adults alike are like that – the kids and the coaches. You’re scrambling with a thousand thoughts going through your mind. The biggest thing was that I felt for my kids and wanting them to be okay, and that was real tough. You try not to let it diminish what’s happened for the run and that’s what you’ve got to work at, too, because of the bitter taste that’s there. The thing to remember was that all we ask is for them to give us what they have for 48 minutes and that’s what they did and that’s the way it shakes.”
Stewart was trying to be there for his kids who after this kind of loss needed someone to answer them.
“You know, it’s like you’re empty,” Stewart explained. “It’s like dialing a phone and no one answers. It’s an empty feeling. You need somebody to answer so you can talk and that’s what I was there for – for the kids.”
The coach then recapped the game.
“The game was just like I thought it would be, a scoring fest,” said Stewart. “I thought we responded really well. We turned the ball over on downs twice, suffered two fumbles, an onside kick and a pass interception – six possessions that we do with what we’re capable and we’re right there with them.”
The coach then said the obvious.
“We couldn’t stop them, and they couldn’t stop us either – we stopped ourselves,” stated Stewart. “Our kids played really hard on both sides of the ball. I didn’t think we matched up well with them defensively and their quarterback was as good as I thought, but the guy I thought all along that was the difference maker with them was the running back, and we couldn’t tackle him. He and the quarterback just ran past us.”
The Bronco Boss just felt like Sulphur Springs was a better team and said as much.
“They were just a better ball club than we were,” Stewart said. “We could have matched them offensively, but our defense just couldn’t stand up to the test on that. Now, they tried – it wasn’t from lack of effort – they gave great effort and I was so proud of them for that – they did the best they could, but there’s not much you can do when you give the ball back to people like that.”
The coach then philosophized what he was trying to say.
“You’ve got two choices when you play a team like that,” Stewart began. “You’re either running the ball to take time off the clock, which we don’t’ do. Yeah, we’re throwing the ball so they’re going to get the ball back. Or, you outscore them, but their offense didn’t have but one turnover and we had six changes of possession and that’s what did it for us. We fumbled just before half or would have been tied at half in a huge score-a-thon. In the second half, they kept firing and we quit firing in the second half – that was the difference in the game.
On the Broncos’ second possession, Dayton went for it on first down and some may wonder why.
“We had a fourth down and went for it,” Stewart stated. “Normally, we wouldn’t have done that, but we knew we couldn’t stop them so we had to do something or we were going to have a hard time stopping them.”
Stewart then surmised it all up.
“It was a run for the ages. Some of our kids go both ways and get tired at the end. They were in a little bit better shape than we were and when we got tired at the end so they were able to move up and down the field pretty good. That was a shootout by the book and I’m so proud of our kids. But that’s part of the process. Your ecstatic one week and sad the next week, but you’ve got to learn to overcome both of them and that’s what we’ll do. We’ll overcome this and we’ll see what we can do.”
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. Comments to stories and articles on the Web site are not edited or pre-approved before appearing online. Readers posting comments are solely responsible for those comments. Comments must be germane to the story to which they apply. Online comments that are libelous, profane or personally attack another site participant can be reported as abuse using the link provided on each comment. Comments reported as abusive will be reviewed and may be removed from view, as will off-topic comments. BE CIVIL. Individuals continually posting abusive comments to the site may have their registrations revoked. |
Reader Comments
BlueEyed wrote on Dec 22, 2008 12:14 PM:
" What a fabulous ride this season has been for the Dayton Broncos. While it seems that a lot of attention went to two standout players, Cody Green and AJ Dugat – and rightly so, we cannot overlook the guys behind that dynamic duo – and that is the rest of the team and a dedicated to the bones athletic director and coaching staff.
Starting out the season losing five or six of our defensive line, hurt big time but a new line of defense came out of that adversity. That experience taught an immeasurable lesson to the Broncos – you do the crime, you do the time.
Not overlooking the rest of the picture, but a huge thank you to the DHS cheerleaders and sponsors, DHS mascot Charger, the flag runners, DHS Steppers and sponsors, the DHS Band, twirlers, and flag corp for keeping all that spirit going. Parents – where would be without you guys, faculty and staff of DISD for always supporting us. A special nod to Bronco coaching staff – AD Jerry Stewart, Coaches Nations, Lawney, Whitehead, Stewart, Deuce, Hadnot, Wood, Craus, Little, BIghorse, Hancock, and Bell .
Strength, talent, camaraderie, and mostly heart defined this Bronco team and this season to take us to the State playoffs. You know going into that game only one team wins, but in reality, everyone won. You guys got us there and we will always be grateful for the experience. Tears were shed on both sides yesterday. What a game that was!
It’s said that the heart is the body’s strongest muscle and you guys proved that many times over; when you thought you couldn’t run anymore or knock anyone else down, you continued to the end. You will always be champions in our hearts.
So, we thank you, Dayton Broncos from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication, your guts and glory, but mostly for your heart. "
Starting out the season losing five or six of our defensive line, hurt big time but a new line of defense came out of that adversity. That experience taught an immeasurable lesson to the Broncos – you do the crime, you do the time.
Not overlooking the rest of the picture, but a huge thank you to the DHS cheerleaders and sponsors, DHS mascot Charger, the flag runners, DHS Steppers and sponsors, the DHS Band, twirlers, and flag corp for keeping all that spirit going. Parents – where would be without you guys, faculty and staff of DISD for always supporting us. A special nod to Bronco coaching staff – AD Jerry Stewart, Coaches Nations, Lawney, Whitehead, Stewart, Deuce, Hadnot, Wood, Craus, Little, BIghorse, Hancock, and Bell .
Strength, talent, camaraderie, and mostly heart defined this Bronco team and this season to take us to the State playoffs. You know going into that game only one team wins, but in reality, everyone won. You guys got us there and we will always be grateful for the experience. Tears were shed on both sides yesterday. What a game that was!
It’s said that the heart is the body’s strongest muscle and you guys proved that many times over; when you thought you couldn’t run anymore or knock anyone else down, you continued to the end. You will always be champions in our hearts.
So, we thank you, Dayton Broncos from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication, your guts and glory, but mostly for your heart. "
southtexasborn wrote on Dec 22, 2008 2:23 PM:
" You got us there Coach.
We are SO proud of our players and coaches. You all put so much effort, time, and hard work into this season that I am sure many people can't come to understand. Thank you for giving this to Dayton. It is more than I could have ever imagined. The feeling of nowing you are the best team in state is one that I will never forget. You all gave more than 100% and we are so thankful for that.
And thank you to all the families and fans who stood behind our Broncos from that very first game of the year to the end of the season. Once again we are so proud of all the players and coaches. You gave your heart and soul to the game. This team, this year, will never be forgotten.
Good Luck to all the graduating seniors! And Thank You for such a wonderfull season!
You got us there Coach and you did a great job! ;) "
We are SO proud of our players and coaches. You all put so much effort, time, and hard work into this season that I am sure many people can't come to understand. Thank you for giving this to Dayton. It is more than I could have ever imagined. The feeling of nowing you are the best team in state is one that I will never forget. You all gave more than 100% and we are so thankful for that.
And thank you to all the families and fans who stood behind our Broncos from that very first game of the year to the end of the season. Once again we are so proud of all the players and coaches. You gave your heart and soul to the game. This team, this year, will never be forgotten.
Good Luck to all the graduating seniors! And Thank You for such a wonderfull season!
You got us there Coach and you did a great job! ;) "
liltex wrote on Dec 22, 2008 7:22 PM:
" Bronco mania:What else could anybody want.Uncertain about the 08 Broncos early on w/Cody coming back from injury and losing 5 def.players from a altercation only proves once again the ability of Coach Stewart and his staff to find some spare parts-rebuild a engine that almost had enough horsepower to beat NASCAR a nickname for Sulphur Springs.Broncos played w/the heart of a champion and made school history as well as state history for most points ever scored in a 11 man UIL state championship game.Congradulations from all of us for a fantastic season-looking forward to seeing more future Bronco rising stars as we look good through 2011 w/underclassmen moving up.Thanks to all the support groups for your effort and energy in 2008.May you all be blessed this Christmas as you blessed us your loyal Royal Purple Has Power Fans.It has been another fine DHS year. "
tpratka wrote on Dec 22, 2008 9:38 AM: