It Takes A Road Warrior

It Takes a True Western Road Warrior to Take Down the East

By Travis Erwin

No school that regularly faces the Elks would describe Stratford as an underdog. Since their state title in 2000, the school has dominated the gridiron landscape both in the Panhandle region and statewide with four state championships, including last season.

Over their last three hundred games, the Elks have gone 242-58 for a winning percentage just north of eighty percent. For comparison, the Brady-Belichick era in New England produced only a .740 winning percentage. I give you that information to indicate that the Stratford Elks have an excellent football program that, year in and year out, can compete with any other in the state. And yet, each year, they are indeed

underdogs, as is every team that call the Panhandle and far West Texas home. You might ask … What defines an underdog? From the purest sense of the word, the term is used to describe the perceived loser in a competition. In sports, it is often associated with gambling, and the underdog is determined by the odds maker, but that is a bit convoluted by their need to balance the books and get equal money bet on both sides. In short, I would say an underdog is any team that faces an uphill battle to victory, and yes, Stratford and every team from the far rural reaches of Texas face exactly that. All Titles Run Through Big D

Geography is cut and dry. Point A is so many miles from point B. The home of the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium sits in Arlington, Texas. Jerry’s World is a sports beacon in the Lone Star State, but its geographical location in the Metroplex isn’t exactly handy for every school. A few examples … Texline sits 468 miles away, Harlingen 510 miles, Terlingua 560, and Anthony 638 miles.

Of course, making it to the Cowboys’ stadium is not a single-stop journey. Stratford played five postseason games just to qualify for their appearance in the state title game. During the complete playoff march to Arlington, the Elks traveled 1208 miles to meet their opponents. Here is how that went down …

Beat Wheeler at Wheeler 147 miles travelled.

Beat Seagraves at Tulia 133 miles. Beat Wink in Lubbock 207 miles.

Beat Wellington in Amarillo 83 miles Beat Albany in Lubbock 207 miles Beat Falls City in Arlington 431 miles

TOTAL PLAYOFF TRAVEL - 1208 Miles

The other 2A State Championship team, Shiner, traveled right at half as much with 605 total miles while amassing the same amount of playoff victories as Stratford. That amounts to a good ten hours less time traveling on a cramped school bus. Mileage and time

spent on the road are, of course, only one factor in the geographical disadvantage, but before I move on, let me toss out a few more numbers to put Stratford’s 1208 miles of playoff travel into perspective. Finding Quality Opponents

Remoteness. That brings us to a newer, perhaps more modern hurdle. Travel, of course, isn’t limited only to postseason play. Shiner Traveled 298 miles to play regular season games, whereas Stratford covered 320 miles. A negligible difference, but Texas is dotted with small towns, and even in the rural Panhandle, there are comparable teams to be played within an hour or two. Bigger schools face a different set of problems.

Let’s compare 5A schools, Dallas South Oak Cliff and Tascosa High in Amarillo. South Oak Cliff won the state title game, so they played five postseason games traveling 293 miles to do so. Tascosa played three postseason games before being eliminated. The first at home and then twice in Wichita Falls for a playoff total of 452 miles. Tascosa played two fewer games but traveled 159 miles more, and had they made it to the state championship game, that contest alone would have added 357 more miles.

But the Rebels did not make it that far, and I’ll give you 746 (miles) reasons why. The Rebels travelled to Midland and Lubbock twice during the regular season because for a 5A school, that is how far they have to go to find teams of comparable size. South Oak Cliff covered a mere 96 miles to play their six road games in the 2021 regular season. Tascosa played five road games, and one of those was “road” in name only as they were the visitors against in-town rival Caprock. The wear and tear of travel is not easy to overcome, but there are still other factors.

On The Road Again

A person could leave Stratford, Texas, heading west and drive to the very end of Route 66 at its terminus overlooking the Pacific Ocean from the Santa Monica Pier in California, and they would drive 1107 miles or 101 less than the Elks did during last year’s title run. Want to go due north instead? Well, you’d hit the US-Canada border in only 1017 miles. Maybe you’d like to take in a game at Lambeau Field? If so, you’d only travel 1104 miles from Stratford to Green Bay, Wisconsin. More of a college football fan? Okay, take off for Tuscaloosa to watch Alabama play at home, and you will merely travel 1006 miles or roughly 200 less than the Elks travelled during the playoffs in 2021. I hear a few doubters out there whispering … But Stratford isn’t the only school to travel so far. No, they are not, but in the last three seasons, only one team has won a state title from a farther distance than the 431 miles between Stratford and AT&T Stadium. That was Balmorhea’s 446 miles in 2020. As a matter of fact, through all classifications, only four of the thirty-six state championship teams have called someplace home more than 300 miles from Arlington. Stratford in 2021, Balmorhea and Canadian in 2020, and Refugio in 2019. The grind of playing on the road is real, even in professional sports, but add in homework, part-time jobs, and family obligations, and these studentathletes and coaches are stretched thin throughout the season. Add the stress and long travel come playoff time, and it is easy to see how arduous the journey is for the more remote programs. Look at me! I Can Play!

In this day and age of social media, most of us are guilty of putting ourselves out there, hoping to get some attention. For athletes, being seen is the only way to keep playing, and while the knock-on-your-door days of Johnny B Good brand recruiting have become legends of the past, players do transfer to schools they feel provides them with increased exposure and playing in West Texas, and the Panhandle has never given kids the greatest exposure. This is a shame because, for my money, the area is underrepresented in collegiate athletics.

I lived in Amarillo for my first four decades of life. I graduated from Caprock High School in Amarillo in the early 90s. I played some, officiated a ton more games, and watched countless hours of Texas high school football.

I still watch some high school football even though I’ve moved out of state, but let me tell you, it is different outside of Texas. My boys played their final games in California, and I marveled at the style of play which frankly is at least two decades behind what you will find even in the smallest, most far-flung schools in Texas. And still, more kids are recruited to play at the next level from their new school than I ever saw get signed while living in Texas. I can’t answer why, but I can say I am certain the talent seems comparable, whereas the football acumen of players was far greater back in the Panhandle than I’ve found here in Southern California.

More players from West Texas and the Panhandle deserve a shot to keep playing that have ever gotten them, so while I don’t like it, I can certainly understand why some kids transfer to schools in the south or east Texas.

Reputation Rules

Perhaps more kids are not recruited because more teams from the area do not win State Championships. If that is the case, then the whole scenario is a ironic circle where the road is tougher and the hills steeper for every team from the far reaches of the DFW Metroplex. These longer odds lead to a handful of the best players searching for greener grass which in turn further lengthens the odds and making it tougher to break through the geographical difficulties. Which leads to the reputation that the quality of play isn’t as formidable, thereby leading to good players on good teams getting overlooked.

Call this a theory if you want but the mileage difference is undeniable and the lack of state winners from the western half of the state is clear. I concede the issue is complex and other factors such as population density are at work, but anytime a team such as Stratford can break through and bring the trophy back home the entire region benefits.

So no matter where you stand in the rivalries of Stratford and Canadian. Tascosa and Amarillo High, Permian or Midland Lee/Legacy welcome playoff time it is us versus them. And by them I mean the North Texas, East Texas, and South Texas versus West Texas because while the odds are long and the road difficult, the pride is strong and the talent too often underappreciated still teams like the 2021 Stratford Elks find a way to represent us all when they lift that trophy in Jerry’s World.

Travis Erwin is a writer and avid football fan. Author of numerous books his latest novel THE GOOD FORTUNE OF BAD LUCK released in May of 2022. Follow him @traviserwin