By Jeff Osborne

Tribune-Herald staff writer

In a football-crazed state, with one of the most successful programs in history 90 minutes down the road at Brownwood, Stephenville spent most of its time prior to 1988 on the outside looking in.

Seeking to reverse its football fortunes, Stephenville tapped Art Briles to be its football coach. What followed is the stuff of Texas high school football legend.

For decades, the Stephenville Yellow Jacket football program was an after thought in its own community, as sports fans focused on a more successful Honeybee basketball program. The state powerhouse in the region was mighty Brownwood, coached by the legendary Gordon Wood, who won seven state championships and had completely dominated Stephenville on the football field. At one point, the Lions had beaten Stephenville 27 games in a row. The Yellow Jackets hadn’t made the playoffs since 1952.

Enter Briles.

The charismatic head coach had a dazzling 27-1-1 two-year run at Class 2A Hamlin, followed by a difficult two-year span in Georgetown in which his teams won just four games.

But he was the right fit in 1988 for Stephenville, immediately making an impact on the team’s success and attitude. That enthusiasm was contagious, making Stephenville a football town in short order. The success of football led to the advent of the Can Fans, who filled propane cans with BBs and traveled far and wide to support their team.

Coach Briles did not disappoint.

In his first season, Stephenville went 4-5-1 but shocked the state by tying Brownwood.

Two years later, while the Discovery Channel filmed a documentary on Texas high school football, the Yellow Jackets defeated Brownwood, 42-24, sending the stadium and the Stephenville community into a frenzy.

“They’re still celebrating,” Briles said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.

“That was a big win. During that game we were behind by 10 points three different times. . . . The way we came back and won it was big.”

The 1990 win over Brownwood was Stephenville’s equivalent of Baylor’s 1974 “Miracle on the Brazos” win over the Texas Longhorns that gave Baylor its first conference championship in 50 years.

Brownwood had been so powerful for so long, the Lions were to Texas high school football what the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns combined are to college football — with a little Texas A&M thrown in, for good measure.

“They were throwing it (the losing streak) in our face for years,” said Stephenville receiver Jody Glasgow in a 1996 Stephenville Empire-Tribune story, remembering the 1989 game. “We knew we had a lot better team that year. It was time to settle the score.”

It was a moment Jon Thompson, a 16-year-old cornerback for SHS in 1989, said he’d never forget.

“It was one of the biggest moments of my high school career,” he said. “I remember standing out on the field for hours, literally, with the whole team and the whole town. It was like one big party with everyone taking a big sigh of relief.”

Brant White, a 1983 Stephenville High grad who played defensive end, linebacker and fullback for the Jackets, said Briles was just what the community needed.

“Everybody wants to win, but he came along at the right time and really got everybody united for a common goal,” White said. “He got everyone involved — not just the football team, but the band, the school, the entire community. He made the players realize they can be successful and reach their goals. We were there for him and he was there for us, like family.”

Stephenville’s dynamic offense complemented a hard-nosed, old-school defense led by longtime assistant coach Mike Copeland, who succeeded Briles as the Jackets head coach in 2000.

Coach Copeland continued the team’s success, compiling a 26-9 record in three as the Jackets’ head coach, including a 10-2 mark in 2002 before retiring and going into private business in athletic supply.

It was a combination of innovation, excitement and focus on strength and the fundamentals that catapulted Stephenville to the state semifinals in 1990, and to the first of four state titles in 1993.

“He really did change the attitude of the entire school and town,” said Erath County Judge Tab Thompson, who played for Stephenville in 1973-74, and witnessed the team’s transformation as a fan 15 years later. “It was that dramatic. He’s a great motivator and very inspiring. He’s one of those leaders of men who has a special quality that’s tough to define, but you know it when you see it. I think he’ll do a great job at Baylor.

“He’s a wonderful head coach. Everybody better get ready because he’s going to shake things up, and I mean that in a positive way. He has the ability to get the most out of his players, and is a great tactician. He’s one of the coaches who should get credit for bringing the spread offense into prominence in Texas high school football. He was beating teams with better athletes because of his ability to get the most from his team.”

Fond memory of Floyd Casey Stadium

The key contest to propel the Jackets to state was, ironically, at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco in December 1993. The Yellow Jackets faced the defending state champion Waxahachie Indians, who were riding a 30-game win streak. On that frigid night on Baylor University’s home field, Stephenville fought past the Indians for an electrifying 22-21 victory. The next week, Stephenville defeated La Marque at Memorial Stadium in Austin to capture its first state title.

Former Stephenville coach and athletic director Sam Taylor, who coached the Yellow Jacket football to 7-3 and 6-4 records in 1969 and 1970, has spent all of his life in Stephenville. He led the Honeybees to a state basketball championship in 1968, but was thrilled to see what Briles’ leadership helped accomplish in Stephenville.

“Art and his family lived across the street from me,” Taylor said. “As far as a coach and an individual, there wasn’t any better. I believe he’s the type of coach who can take any program wherever he goes and turn it around. You can mark it on the calendar that Baylor is going to be good in football. He has a knack for getting the most out of people. He’s a very special person, and we’re thrilled to death he got the Baylor job.”

Boots Elliott, with Stephenville radio station KSTV, said Briles’ mark on the community transcended athletics.

“It was exciting and fun to be a part of,” Elliott said. “And it went beyond just energizing the community. It had a far-reaching economic impact as well. When you have a high school program that becomes one of the most admired throughout the state, it does a lot of good things for the community.”

Elliott said Stephenville residents will keep an eye on Briles and the Baylor Bears and are proud to be a part of what he has accomplished.

“Everybody in Stephenville perked up their ears and smiled when they heard that Coach Briles got the Baylor job,” he said. “We consider him one of our own, and we think he’ll really do well at Baylor.”

josborne@wacotrib.com

757-5731