When Chris Jensen's first year at Southmoore was complete, from the outside view there wasn't much to be positive about. His SaberCats fought through an injury riddled season to post a 2-8 record.
While most coaches may have felt that was sign of how far away they were from being a legit contender, Jensen saw something else -- potential.
So when No. 4 Southmoore takes the field at Putnam City Stadium at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Class 6A semifinals against No. 1 Jenks, it will not come as a total astonishment to the second year coach.
"I am not completely surprised," Jensen said. "As a coaching staff, as an individual, this is what we point towards. We are not paying it lip service. This is really what we try to direct our kids towards. And our players have responded. They put themselves in a pretty good position to go out here and play this football game."
The Cats and Trojans are playing for the chance to play for a state title next week. It's old news for Jenks, who has won nine titles since 1996. That includes playing Union in the championship game the past two seasons. Most prognosticators believe they will be there for a third time in a row.
However, Southmoore has refused to do things by the book all year. Even as they were told they were too young and inexperienced to make it this far, the players and coaches knew differently.
"With the kids we have, I thought it was possible," Jensen said. " I thought we could have achieved more last year with the kids we had. We had some pretty good players. We suffered some serious injuries that took a huge toll on our football team. When we lost Kendal (Thompson) and Kyaunn (Thompson), that was the difference in going 2-8 and possibly winning two or three or maybe four more games in a season."
While Kyaunn Thompson has been lost for most of the season with his second ACL injury, Kendal Thompson returned in better form than before. As a junior, he led the state in scoring with 38 total touchdowns to go along with 2,500 yards passing, as Southmoore ripped off an 11-1 record.
"Within the locker room I think we thought we could do it," Thompson said. "But it was just a matter of proving it to everybody else."
Part of what gave the SaberCats the confidence to contend with the top teams in the state was Jensen's insistence that Southmoore think of itself as an elite squad. When he took the job, he didn't wait to see who would be on his roster before he started scheduling tough opponents.
Southmoore didn't see Jenks in the preseason, but they faced off with Union in the summer passing leagues and a preseason scrimmage.
"This is what we were pointing to when I first got this job," Jensen said. "I called Kirk Fridrich (Union) just as soon as I could to see if I could get in his first scrimmage. Because that is where I want to be. You don't ever want to get to the semifinals or finals and be surprised by who you are playing. You know Jenks and Union are always going to be there, so that is who you want to go against early."
Despite their achievements, Southmoore will go into the semifinals as an underdog to the tradition-rich Trojans, who are also ranked No. 8 in the ESPN national rankings. But that hasn't stopped the players from believing they can do what no other Westside team has done in more than a decade.
"Like I say every time," senior Julian Wilson said, "we are doing things a second year school shouldn't be doing."
Michael Kinney 366-3537 mkinney@normantranscript.com
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