CHAPEL HILL, Texas — Making it to the state semifinals is a major accomplishment for any Texas high school football program. The Chapel Hill Bulldogs, however, advanced to their third straight state semifinal following a big win over their rival.
The Kilgore Bulldogs won the first edition of this matchup in the final game of the regular season by 23 points. Chapel Hill was waiting every single week for the chance for vengeance. When the opportunity arose, they took full advantage, winning 21-19 in the regional final round to send Kilgore home.
"We flipped the script on them for the playoff game," said Jeff Riordan, Chapel Hill's head coach. "We had the hate in our heart, the emotion, the passion. We just played better overall."
Many programs around the state claw their way to one state semifinal now and then. Chapel Hill has turned it into a routine. It may leave many coaches and players around the state asking one thing: "What's the secret?"
Riordan said simply, "Kids buying into what we do. The kids sell out to our offseason and summer program. We have a really good football program and a really good coaching staff. You tie that in with a community and an admin that backs you and you're going to have a successful program."
However, the state semifinal round has been their final stop in the last couple of years. They fell short in those games, left yearning for that trip to the state championship game.
This year, they're confident they can finally get past that roadblock and earn a chance to play for that grand prize.
"Our kids have played 45 games in three years. We've got the experience and we've battled adversity," said Riordan. "We've seen just about everything you can see over the course of a game."
The Bulldogs will take on San Antonio Davenport on Friday evening at Baylor's McLane Stadium. The Wolves have had a solid year themselves, going 11-3 to this point. But with the weapons that Chapel Hill possesses, they're hoping they can book a trip to Arlington next week.
They're also hoping to win on Friday for another very special reason: It's Coach Riordan's birthday.
"It's going to mean a lot to all of us. I know it's going to mean a lot to Coach Rio after the L that we took last year," said junior quarterback Demetrius Brisbon. "We put a goose egg up on the board, but that's not going to be the plan for this year."