After two miserable seasons, the Houston Tigers can call themselves winners once again.
The Tigers put consecutive winless seasons to rest for good Friday night as they thumped Cuba 62-22 to secure a winning season.
“It was a good feeling to look at the kids after the game and see it on their faces that they had gone from as low as you can go to winners,” said coach Chris Edwards, who endured one of those winless seasons last year. “Being there through that and seeing that reality, I’m just proud of the kids and really happy for them.”
Houston (6-4) got a consolation gift as well. The Tigers finished second in the district, advancing the team into the playoffs under MSHSAA’s new postseason format that debuted this season. They traveled to Fair Grove Wednesday night to face record-setting running back Caleb Schaffitzel and the seventh-ranked Eagles.
Edwards said he was neither for or against the new playoff system. It certainly benefited his team this season.
“The one argument I’ve heard that makes me believe it’s a good thing is that football is the only sport where three of our games in the regular season are district games,” Edwards said. “Every other sport plays an entire season, then has their district meets afterwards.”
Houston enters the postseason for the first time since consecutive semifinal appearances in 2005 on the heels of an impressive victory.
Senior quarterback David Weybright accounted for six touchdowns – three rushing and three passing – while surpassing the 2,000-yard mark for the season. Kyle Poynter had a pair of touchdown receptions for the Tigers, who led 21-0 after the first quarter and 42-8 following touchdown runs by Justin Schmidt and Weybright to begin the third quarter.
Houston outgained Cuba 574-136, had 19 more first downs and didn’t punt. Three of the Wildcats’ six first downs were via penalties.
“We jumped on them quick and were playing pretty well, then kind of relaxed a little bit,” Edwards said of Houston’s 29-8 hafltime advantage. “At halftime I reminded them that’s not how you become a truly successful team.”
Weybright, who was 17-of-26 passing for 298 yards and three scores, had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first half and hooked up with Poynter and senior Martin Crawford for a pair of touchdowns.
Weybright rushed for 108 yards and Schmidt had 94 to account for a large chunk of Houston’s season-best 276 rushing yards. Brad Pounds had a third-quarter rushing score, and Kyle Jones’ first varsity touchdown in the fourth put the Tigers ahead 62-16.
No matter the outcome of Wednesday’s playoff game, Houston will have a winning record for the first time since the Tigers went 9-4 in 2005.
“We put a lot into it – the kids, coaches and families. It truly is a community involved at this school,” Edwards said. “This is for everybody, not just a certain few.”