supercentex
12-02-2005, 08:20 AM
Return to Glory
http://www.brazossports.com/images/1202/Consoltackle.jpg
By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer
The message written on the car windshield - STATE BOUND - didn't seem far-fetched this week as the A&M Consolidated football team prepared to play in the state semifinals, but 16 years ago it was hard to envision the Tigers reaching the championship game.
FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
WHO: A&M Consolidated vs. Euless Trinity
WHAT: 5A Division I state semifinal
WHERE: Waco ISD Stadium
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
TICKETS: Advance purchase - $10 adults, $8 students. Available at Consol ticket office Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. At the gate - $12. Parking - $3.
RADIO: WTAW (1620 AM)
Lee Fedora could see it, though, saying before his senior season in 1989 that the Tigers' goal was to make the state final even though they had gone 2-7-1 the previous year.
"I believed we had a chance to win big because of our senior class and because of coach [Ross] Rogers and his staff," Fedora said.
Believers are easier to come by these days, with the Consolidated football program making a deep run in the playoffs for the second time in four years. The Tigers (11-2) will play highly touted Euless Trinity (12-1) in the Class 5A Division I semifinal round at 1 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium.
The Tigers' longest playoff run since 1992 has revived memories of Consol's success in the early 1990s, and of how a downtrodden program turned in a state power.
Ask former players and coaches about the program's bad old days, and one word keeps coming up.
"We were Conslopidated," said defensive coordinator Ray Kavanaugh, who was a senior on the 1989 team that did what Fedora talked about and reached the state final. "We were always getting laughed at, and nobody wanted to go to the games.
"Then we started winning, and everywhere you looked it was 'Go Tigers.' It was a total reversal."
The Consol head coach's office should have had a revolving door during the 1980s. During one sad stretch, the Tigers had four different head coaches in four seasons.
"The kids had nobody that believed in them and was willing to stay here as a head football coach and build a program," said assistant Lucious Clemmons, who coached at the College Station junior high during the 1980s. "The coaches kept coming and going. I had no desire to go to the high school at that point."
Consol had a 32-54-4 record in the nine seasons before Rogers took over in 1988. The Tigers hadn't been to the state playoffs since 1960, and they had floundered after moving up to Class 5A.
"It was awful," said Clif Groce, a senior on the 1990 team who played at Texas A&M and in the NFL. "My sophomore year, I was going to transfer out of Consolidated because I thought nothing was going to happen there. Thank God I ended up coming back, and we started winning."
Rogers, who had taken Waller to the quarterfinals three times, arrived as Consol was dropping to 4A and a couple of talented classes were coming up to the varsity.
"In anything in life, timing is everything," Rogers said. "Going back to 4A and hitting a really good group of players, things just came together."
The Tigers went 2-7-1 in Rogers' first season, but the next year they were 14-2 and reached the state final, where they lost to Tyler Chapel Hill.
Consol lost in the semifinals the next year and then captured the Class 4A championship in 1991 with a team that included quarterback Jeff Watson, who played for Baylor, and lineman Kyle Walsh, now an assistant at Consol. The Tigers won 14 games for four consecutive seasons, returning to the title game in 1992 and losing to Waxahachie.
Tigerland Stadium and a new field house opened in 1990, allowing the Tigers to have a true home field instead of playing at Kyle Field.
Rogers said his assistant coaches played a big role in the turnaround. His early staff at Consol included Mike Mullins, Tim Buchanan and Mark Cunningham, now successful head coaches.
"I was very lucky to have those guys on my staff," said Rogers, who left Consol after the 1999 season to start a new program at Harker Heights.
Rogers coached 12 years at Consol, posting a record of 103-40-2 and making the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.
The Tigers were in Class 5A during Rogers' last six years. Consol made the playoffs in its first three seasons at 5A, but went 10-20 in Rogers' last three years.
"As invariably happens to small schools in a classification, we got down in talent and had some injuries and bad luck," Rogers said. "Next thing you know, we were fighting the same battles they were fighting before I got there."
Rogers left after disagreeing with administrators' decision to get rid of seventh grade athletic period and about teaching assignments for his assistant coaches.
"They needed another good coaching staff and a fresh approach, which I think coach [Jim] Slaughter gave them," Rogers said.
Slaughter has built a 44-23 record and taken the Tigers to the playoffs in four of his six seasons. Consol reached the Division I quarterfinals in 2002.
"Sometimes you wonder who would want to follow Ross Rogers after what he did there," Fedora said. "Jim Slaughter's done a tremendous job. I've been very impressed with him."
Slaughter considers Rogers' success a help rather than a hindrance.
"I think I'm the benefactor of the tradition built by Ross and those guys," Slaughter said. "If there's a belief within the community and the kids that you can win, no matter what level you're at, you can do it again."
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.
http://www.brazossports.com/images/1202/Consoltackle.jpg
By LARRY BOWEN
Eagle Staff Writer
The message written on the car windshield - STATE BOUND - didn't seem far-fetched this week as the A&M Consolidated football team prepared to play in the state semifinals, but 16 years ago it was hard to envision the Tigers reaching the championship game.
FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
WHO: A&M Consolidated vs. Euless Trinity
WHAT: 5A Division I state semifinal
WHERE: Waco ISD Stadium
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
TICKETS: Advance purchase - $10 adults, $8 students. Available at Consol ticket office Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. At the gate - $12. Parking - $3.
RADIO: WTAW (1620 AM)
Lee Fedora could see it, though, saying before his senior season in 1989 that the Tigers' goal was to make the state final even though they had gone 2-7-1 the previous year.
"I believed we had a chance to win big because of our senior class and because of coach [Ross] Rogers and his staff," Fedora said.
Believers are easier to come by these days, with the Consolidated football program making a deep run in the playoffs for the second time in four years. The Tigers (11-2) will play highly touted Euless Trinity (12-1) in the Class 5A Division I semifinal round at 1 p.m. Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium.
The Tigers' longest playoff run since 1992 has revived memories of Consol's success in the early 1990s, and of how a downtrodden program turned in a state power.
Ask former players and coaches about the program's bad old days, and one word keeps coming up.
"We were Conslopidated," said defensive coordinator Ray Kavanaugh, who was a senior on the 1989 team that did what Fedora talked about and reached the state final. "We were always getting laughed at, and nobody wanted to go to the games.
"Then we started winning, and everywhere you looked it was 'Go Tigers.' It was a total reversal."
The Consol head coach's office should have had a revolving door during the 1980s. During one sad stretch, the Tigers had four different head coaches in four seasons.
"The kids had nobody that believed in them and was willing to stay here as a head football coach and build a program," said assistant Lucious Clemmons, who coached at the College Station junior high during the 1980s. "The coaches kept coming and going. I had no desire to go to the high school at that point."
Consol had a 32-54-4 record in the nine seasons before Rogers took over in 1988. The Tigers hadn't been to the state playoffs since 1960, and they had floundered after moving up to Class 5A.
"It was awful," said Clif Groce, a senior on the 1990 team who played at Texas A&M and in the NFL. "My sophomore year, I was going to transfer out of Consolidated because I thought nothing was going to happen there. Thank God I ended up coming back, and we started winning."
Rogers, who had taken Waller to the quarterfinals three times, arrived as Consol was dropping to 4A and a couple of talented classes were coming up to the varsity.
"In anything in life, timing is everything," Rogers said. "Going back to 4A and hitting a really good group of players, things just came together."
The Tigers went 2-7-1 in Rogers' first season, but the next year they were 14-2 and reached the state final, where they lost to Tyler Chapel Hill.
Consol lost in the semifinals the next year and then captured the Class 4A championship in 1991 with a team that included quarterback Jeff Watson, who played for Baylor, and lineman Kyle Walsh, now an assistant at Consol. The Tigers won 14 games for four consecutive seasons, returning to the title game in 1992 and losing to Waxahachie.
Tigerland Stadium and a new field house opened in 1990, allowing the Tigers to have a true home field instead of playing at Kyle Field.
Rogers said his assistant coaches played a big role in the turnaround. His early staff at Consol included Mike Mullins, Tim Buchanan and Mark Cunningham, now successful head coaches.
"I was very lucky to have those guys on my staff," said Rogers, who left Consol after the 1999 season to start a new program at Harker Heights.
Rogers coached 12 years at Consol, posting a record of 103-40-2 and making the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.
The Tigers were in Class 5A during Rogers' last six years. Consol made the playoffs in its first three seasons at 5A, but went 10-20 in Rogers' last three years.
"As invariably happens to small schools in a classification, we got down in talent and had some injuries and bad luck," Rogers said. "Next thing you know, we were fighting the same battles they were fighting before I got there."
Rogers left after disagreeing with administrators' decision to get rid of seventh grade athletic period and about teaching assignments for his assistant coaches.
"They needed another good coaching staff and a fresh approach, which I think coach [Jim] Slaughter gave them," Rogers said.
Slaughter has built a 44-23 record and taken the Tigers to the playoffs in four of his six seasons. Consol reached the Division I quarterfinals in 2002.
"Sometimes you wonder who would want to follow Ross Rogers after what he did there," Fedora said. "Jim Slaughter's done a tremendous job. I've been very impressed with him."
Slaughter considers Rogers' success a help rather than a hindrance.
"I think I'm the benefactor of the tradition built by Ross and those guys," Slaughter said. "If there's a belief within the community and the kids that you can win, no matter what level you're at, you can do it again."
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.