LINDALE, Texas — As the rain continued to fall at the Tomato Bowl in Jacksonville, Clint Thurman only grew more and more motivated. The Lindale quarterback prepared for the weather, and he knew that his team was ready for the elements.
"We were talking about doing a wet ball drill in practice to prepare for the rain," said Lindale head coach Chris Cochran. "And he just responded and said that he hoped it did rain. Because then we would have the advantage."
Anyone in attendance could tell that Thurman was well-prepared. He only threw the ball seven times last Friday night. However, three of those throws were touchdowns. That kind of efficiency is a recipe to winning any game. It was also key in being named our Week 10 player of the week.
"We just took the rain to our advantage, and we showed them how it's done," Thurman said.
But the signal caller was quick to acknowledge his teammates. Thurman emphasized that no matter how good his stat sheet may look, he couldn't do it without his Eagle brothers out on the field.
"My running backs, well all of them. They do whatever they can. Whenever I run the ball, they just tell me they got me and to follow them," Thurman said. "And they go out there and just smoke people."
Also, Thurman just wanted to make one thing clear about his big boys up front.
"The o-line, we have the best o-line in the state. I can promise you that," he said.
Cochran had an immense amount of praise for the junior quarterback. From the preseason in August to this week and the beginning of playoffs, Cochran said Thurman's play on the field has improved exponentially. Most importantly, he said he's grown as a leader off the field as well.
"It doesn't matter what challenge is thrown in front of him," Cochran said. "He's going to go run right through it."