"Fifteen years from now, people will be talking about this Washington football team and how they never quit," Washington coach Dennis McCray said after his Warriors fell 33-23 at Millwood in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs. "They'll talk about how you fought and fought and fought, how you accomplished more than anybody thought you could."
It was like watching a speech from one of those inspirational football films, but not as corny. His players gathered around him on one knee, some crying, some staring at the ground, the Washington coach reminded his squad why it had reason to hold heads up high.
There's plenty for this year's Warriors to be proud of.
After a 1-4 start, it looked like Washington's season would be over by the time Week 11 started.
But that's when McCray said his team had its best practice of the year.
"We went out, gave all we could and came up with a big win at Frederick, which was 4-1 at that time," McCray said. "That sort of put in motion everything that happened the rest of the year."
What the Warriors did with that momentum was a lot of fun to watch.
After Frederick, they blew out Crooked Oak (45-6), Comanche (35-14), Riverside (59-0)and Hobart (32-6 in a game that secured third place in District 2A-3.
Then, in one of the most impressive games played by any area team this year, Washington went down to Plainview and upset the Indians 38-37 in the postseason's first round.
"We never gave up on ourselves," McCray said. "We fought to the end no matter the odds. We've had teams win more games over the years and go further in the playoffs, but this team will be remembered for a long, long time just for their character and the way they fought back."
They didn't win Friday night at Millwood, but the Warriors still showed that fight, that determination.
After the game, seniors like receiver Justin Noel were crying, holding onto loved ones after McCray finished speaking.
Noel and his class may be leaving, but there's still plenty to build on for next year's Washington squad, including the return of quarterback Dakota Treat, who'll be in his second year of running the flex-bone option.
"We're going to miss Justin, Chance Pistole at fullback, Jordan Edwards at defensive end ... We lost some good ones tonight," McCray said. "But we've got some good, young players coming up and we have a year under our belts running this offense. That'll make everything smoother next year.
"Hopefully the first five games go a lot smoother next year than this year."
Jeff Johncox 366-3535 jjohncox@normantranscript.com
Sports
What a season for Washington
- Sports
-
-
Red River rut
The rut Oklahoma has been trying to escape for the last two weeks continued to grow deeper with a 69-58 loss to Texas Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center....
-
Sooners did not show up to play
Texas had something to play for. So there’s that. If the Longhorns are to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, this was just the kind of game they absolutely had to win....
-
Rested Thunder throttle weary Jazz
OKLAHOMA CITY — James Harden scored 22 points, Kevin Durant added 21 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat Utah 111-85 on Tuesday night for their second win against the Jazz in five days....
-
Tigers get clinical win
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Norman High girls were loose and relaxed before the start of the regular-season finale on Tuesday night, even dancing courtside to the pre-game music. But as soon as the ball tipped off the Tigers were all business, ...
-
With W.V. set free by Big East, Big 12 schedule’s out and it’s backloaded for Sooners
With West Virginia finally receiving its release from the Big East Conference on Tuesday, the Big 12 Conference was finally able to release its conference football schedule for the 2012 season....
-
Aggies get ugly win over Red Raiders
LUBBOCK, Texas — Elston Turner felt relief that he and his Texas A&M teammates finally got a Big 12 road win, beating Texas Tech 47-38 on Tuesday night in their final Big 12 matchup with the Red Raiders. “Any win’s a great win,” said ...
-
Griffin grows up, feels critical sting
DALLAS — They blew it. Chris Paul played as if he was wearing mittens. As big as Texas is, Blake Griffin couldn’t have hit the state if he were given a free shot at it....
-
Will ‘Linsanity’ continue?
Everything is bigger in Manhattan. The skyscrapers, the avenues, the toll fees, the theatre prices, the stories....
-
Dodgers’ bidders to meet MLB’s ownership committee
NEW YORK — Remaining bidders for the Los Angeles Dodgers have been told they will be scheduled for meetings with Major League Baseball’s ownership committee early next month....
-
Retired players seeking better benefits
MINNEAPOLIS — The group of NFL retirees that was a part of the labor talks during the lockout last year has not given up their push for better post-career care....
- More Sports Headlines
-
